A few words before we begin. Mr. Virus has finally arrived here, in the Westfjords. We had honestly been hoping the bastard would not crash the party, but now that he has, we are simply going to have to do our best to help keep each other safe. It's on all of us. At least two meters between each person, keep washing, and sanitizing our hands, and stay home, as much as possible. You know, this winter has been pretty bad, weather wise. Avalanches, roads closed for days, and just bad weather, in general. But, I can't help but think it may help us in the fight against that bastard Corona. Anyway, stay safe everyone, and good luck.
Here's chapter ten. Hope you'll enjoy it, as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)
X
Harry woke up in the middle of the night, feeling a little hot under a blanket he did not remember from the night before. He turned his head and found Bellatrix was still there, sleeping beside him. She had, at some point expanded the sofa so that it could comfortably hold two people, or even a third. Suppressing a pained grunt, he very gently got to his feet, so that he did not wake her and walked to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of milk from the refrigerator.
He poured himself a glass and then another. He leaned against the counter and stared at the white liquid he was now rolling around the rim of the glass. Nym was right. He could not do this any more. The guilt had finally gnawed at him enough that he was now a sodding, bleeding mess. It was time, he decided. Once he'd gotten his hands on Rowena's diadem, he'd contact his friends and reveal himself to the world. Once that was done, he would figure out how to get to Nagini.
Harry took a large sip of milk. Lodging a Horcrux in a living being was incredibly risky and showed a level of astounding arrogance. It seemed obvious that Riddle did not believe anyone knew of the Horcruxes, since he clearly had not checked on them since his return. He'd seemed perfectly content to let the goblet lie in the Ministry, at least.
It was mostly under his control, so that might have had something to do with it, Harry supposed. Now, finding Nagini could be a simple matter, as Riddle usually did not seem to go anywhere without his trusted familiar. It might even be a simple matter of challenging Riddle to attract his attention.
If he got wind that Harry Potter was in fact not only alive, but also the one who'd been disrupting so many of his plans, he would not be able to resist making a personal appearance. He had to. It would not do for Riddle to leave him be after all that he had done.
Harry smiled ruefully. There was absolutely no chance it would be that easy. Perhaps Riddle would leave the snake behind. If old snake face did that, then Harry would use any battle against Riddle as a distraction... He was much to tired to be thinking about that. Shaking his head, Harry downed the rest of his milk.
He returned to the living room and crawled back under the covers to his Bella. She mumbled something and snuggled closer to him, placed an arm over his chest and draped a leg over one of his. He wasn't going anywhere, that was for certain. Holding back a chuckle, Harry closed his eyes and was almost asleep when he felt another presence in the room.
He cracked one eye and saw Narcissa standing in the doorway in her nightgown, looking at them with a somewhat envious expression. Harry smiled at her and scooted a little closer to Bellatrix and Narcissa crawled into the sofa with them and rested her head on Harry's shoulder, completely content. Despite feeling silly at being in bed with two women, Harry closed his eyes and felt himself drawn into his dreams...
Harry was utterly miserable. In the week since he had told Andie, Bella and Cissy his secret, he had shut himself off in Gryffindor's stronghold and moped about. Truth was, he was a bloody coward. He had not felt so low since Sirius' death and he was certain they wanted nothing to do with him now. Still, it was something he'd had to do. It was only fair, after all. He ran a hand through his hair and ruffled it a little.
Why had he allowed himself to fall in love with them? (How the bloody hell had it happened in the first place?) He had accepted that he would not survive this quest and that he'd have to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Then fate had decided to toy with him some more. When would it be enough? Shaking his head, Harry wanted to scream in frustration over his life. Instead, he went down to the basement and meditated.
A few hours later, Harry made his way to Andie's house and, as per usual, it appeared before him. Fighting the urge to turn away, Harry mustered his courage and walked up the steps and just before he placed his hand on the knob, he heard someone race to the door. The door opened and he was pulled inside by Bellatrix. She slammed the door shut and practically threw him against it and pounced on him.
Harry caught her and turned around to press her against the door, while she crossed her legs behind his back. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him fully on the lips and a second later, they were locked in a passionate kiss, completely oblivious to anything else. This went on for a while before someone cleared their throat close by. The pair broke apart and Harry gently placed Bella on her feet. She locked eyes with him and placed a finger on his lips when he opened his mouth.
"Be quiet, you. We forgive you, but don't ever disappear like that again, you hear me!" Bella said and poked him in the chest, hard enough to bruise, he was certain. "We've been worried sick about you. Do you know how I've felt this past week with you so miserable? It kept bleeding over the bond! I'm making a new rule, Harry Potter. From now on, there will be no self pity or self loathing and none of that angsty shit, either! No lover of mine is going to be a mopey little git."
Bellatrix then stalked down the hall and disappeared into the living room, leaving a slightly bemused Harry Potter behind, rubbing a sore spot on his chest. When he had not moved a moment later, Bella stuck her head into the hallway.
"Get in here. Now!"
Harry chuckled and made his way into the living room and into a comfy chair Bella pointed to. As soon as he did, Bellatrix walked over to Narcissa, grabbed her hand and practically threw her into his lap. Cissy giggled like a teenage girl and made herself comfortable, before she placed a hand on the back of Harry's head and brought him in for a searing kiss.
"Welcome back, my love," she said and rested her head against his shoulder, and sighed softly, happy he was back. Harry placed his hands around her, enjoying her warmth.
Bellatrix sat down on the sofa and Andromeda joined her. "As you can see, Cissy and I have decided to not let this thing in your chest affect our feelings for you. We realize you may not be around for much longer, but we cannot deny ourselves the chance of exploring whatever this is and if that kiss I shared with you just now and the way Cissy is smiling tell us anything, then it's that it is worth it. Andromeda says she needs to think about things, but she'll come around, I'm sure."
"Bella!" Andie almost shouted in indignation. Her sister merely gave her an impish smile.
"Oh, come off it, Andie! You're on your way too, you're just not quite there yet. Can you look at how happy Cissy is and tell me you don't want that?" Andie blushed and looked away, catching sight of her younger sister, who wiggled her fingers her way. "No, I did not think so. You know he can make us all so very happy."
Harry laughed at their antics. Every time he saw them all together, he felt happy that he'd been able to do this for them, reunite them. Riddle had torn apart so many families, his own was just one of dozens, hundreds even.
He knew that, of course, but it was always hard, thinking about it. He leaned his head back and sighed happily as Narcissa burrowed just a little further into him. The thought that this would not last threatened to enter his mind, but he refused to let it and simply focused on the feeling of being around these women who loved him.
"Harry?" Andie began.
"Hmm?" he responded eloquently.
"Can you tell us about your childhood?"
Harry opened his eyes, but kept them focused on the ceiling. "Why would you like to hear about that? It's nothing special. I imagine yours was miles worse than mine ever was."
Andie was not about to let it lie, though. "Never mind us, Harry. Nymphadora mentioned to me once that it had been rather ghastly. Something about the worst type of Muggles, a cupboard and padlocks and a cat flap. There was mention of bars on your window. I may have mentioned it to my sisters."
Narcissa had not moved, but her eyes were open and she was listening intently. While she, like her sisters knew Harry on an instinctual level, that he was a good and honest man, she yearned to learn more about him. As did her sisters, apparently. She had been so curious to know just what kind of upbringing Harry had had, given his apparent boundless capacity for love, yet be so blind to the affection of others.
What Andie had mentioned earlier did not bode well. She had, of course often heard her son go on an on about Harry and his friends ever since his first year and Severus had on a few occasions ranted about the entitled Potter brat that was just as arrogant and foolish as his father.
Harry's father had been five years her junior, but what little she remembered of James Potter at Hogwarts, Severus was certainly right about his arrogance. Regarding Harry, she had, however summarily discounted Severus and Draco both, because she knew they were both vindictive and cruel.
As it turned out, they were very wrong. Harry was certainly not arrogant, he was humble, shy even, and he had a tendency to deflect praise, which was quite unbecoming of a man such as him. She felt her love take a deep breath and rub her arm a few times. She relished his touch and purred in satisfaction.
"When my parents died, Sirius arrived in Godric's Hollow and found the house completely destroyed. As I understand it, he had retrieved me from the wreckage, right about when Hagrid arrived. Rather than take me to his home, he handed me over to Hagrid and went after Peter Pettigrew. You all know what happened there, about the Rat's deception and how Sirius was thrown into Azkaban without a trial."
Andie made a disgusted sound in her throat. "A fine day for the Ministry," she said sarcastically, and her sisters readily agreed.
Harry smiled. "Well, that night, Hagrid brought me to Little Whinging, on Sirius' motorcycle. There he met with Dumbledore and they left me at my aunt's doorstep. The first ten years of my life, I mostly spent in the cupboard under the stairs. It was my room, you see. I didn't mind it much, since it was all I had known. I didn't like my relatives and at least they left me alone in there. Really, the only thing that annoyed me about it was the fact the fuse box was in there and it gave off this annoying buzzing sound."
Despite the serious discussion, Andromeda grinned at Harry. "It must have been rather annoying in bad weather if they had to go in there often to check on the fuses."
"Right!" Harry said and grinned at her in return, his eyes twinkling in mirth.
Noting the lost expressions on Cissy and Bella's faces, they moved the discussion further. Of course they did not know what fuses were... Harry went over his life in some detail and the sisters were rather appalled at a few points.
For example when Harry described the summer after his first year at Hogwarts and told them about the bars on his window and the padlocks on his door and of course, the cat flap where his food was served through.
Bella was particularly angry and it was all Andie could do to stop her from going to Surrey and hex those 'filthy Muggles' into next week. She eventually relented at Harry's disapproving look over her language.
"Where they ever physically violent, Harry?" Andromeda asked. At that point, Narcissa had moved and sat beside him and she watched him very closely when he answered that particular question.
"Aside from Dudley? No," Harry replied. "I think if Dursley had ever done something like that, Petunia would have murdered him. You see, after I mastered my Occlumency, I've spent quite a lot of time organizing my mind and I've gone through my childhood memories and I've come to suspect certain things that I would like to keep to myself until I've talked with Petunia. Whenever that may be."
After that, things moved rather smoothly until Harry came to his fourth year. The sisters were quite annoyed at learning the school staff did nothing to curb the student's behaviour towards Harry after his name was pulled out of the Goblet of Fire. It was very similar to the way Harry had been shunned when everyone thought he was the heir of Slytherin.
Harry brushed it off and the sisters let it go, albeit reluctantly. (Unbeknownst to Harry, the three sisters each vowed to have a talk with one Minerva McGonagall one of these days.) When they reached the events of the graveyard, Bellatrix insisted on expanding the chair and to sit on Harry's other side. Harry did get a little emotional when he told them of Cedric's death and the Priori Incantatem, seeing his parents and how he barely escaped with his life.
"Wait, there's one thing I do not understand," Cissy said after Harry had mentioned his return to the Dursleys after Voldemort's resurrection. "Why were you required to return to Privet Drive for the blood wards if Riddle used your blood in his resurrection? I would imagine they'd be useless."
Harry merely shrugged. "I don't know. I did not ask at the time and no one seemed to question anything Dumbledore did. Perhaps he put up some additional wards? I really don't know."
Then came fifth year. Harry went over the Dementor attack and his subsequent trial and the sisters, once again became really quite irritated with the Ministry and the bumbling idiot Fudge. As the conversation went along, Bellatrix became more and more agitated.
When Harry got to his detentions with Umbridge, Bella took a hold of his hand and rubbed the back of it affectionately, while occasionally murmuring what she would like to do to the bitch if she ever got her hands on her.
Bella eventually broke down when Harry came to the events in the Department of Mysteries. She crawled into Harry's lap and sobbed quietly into his neck, begging him over and over to forgive her for taking Sirius from him.
"Bellatrix. Bella! Stop it this instant!" She looked at Harry, who grabbed her head in his hands and wiped away the tears with his thumbs. "I already told you. I do not hold you accountable for his death. That has not changed. We will take care of Rodolphus and Riddle eventually and avenge his death." He leaned down and kissed her passionately and she relaxed against him.
Harry mostly breezed past sixth year. He told them of his lessons with Dumbledore and their sojourns into memories from Tom's past and the failed quest for the locket and of course the battle of the Astronomy tower.
"I'm curious, why were you absent in that battle, Bella?" Harry asked once the story was over.
"Riddle did not want me there, distracting Draco. He was supposed to kill Dumbledore and Riddle was afraid that I'd be too excited and do the deed for him. I'm a bit surprised, though. Considering who the bastard sent through the cabinet, I half believe he did not think the attack would be a success."
Harry leaned back in the chair, before he suddenly sat up and looked over to Andromeda with a inquisitive expression on his face as he remembered the stones he'd wanted to ask her about.
"Andie, what are those white stones in your study?"
Andie looked in the general direction of the room in question. "They're emergency Portkeys that take you directly to the emergency room of St. Mungo's. All mind healers that work from home are provided with these, in case a patient becomes violent. Of course, all patients are required to leave their wands out here, but St. Mungo's isn't taking any chances. Accidental magic is rather common when working with a troubled mind. The activation word is 'Help', but they are further charmed in such a way that if they are grabbed by a bloody hand, they activate instantly."
"Good thinking," Harry said and eased himself back into the chair.
The room had settled into a comfortable silence and Harry found himself relaxing completely with Narcissa on one side and Bellatrix on the other. After a while, Harry closed his eyes and was asleep in moments. Narcissa watched Harry's chest and when his breathing had deepened and evened, she conjured a blanket and motioned for her sister to rise from the chair, which slowly rearranged itself to its original size. Harry stirred a little, but remained asleep. The three women went into the kitchen and Bella made tea.
"Well, that was awful." Narcissa said after a while and made a face. "Harry's story, I mean. The tea is excellent."
Fuming, Bellatrix nodded. "I am so angry right now, Cissy, I can't... How could Dumbledore let all this happen? Wasn't he supposed to watch over him? Or that crazy Kneazle lady, Figg. And those relatives... It's not like the old man didn't know! Harry's Hogwarts letters were addressed to 'The cupboard under the stairs' for Merlin's sake!"
Andie scowled fiercely. "If that man was still alive, I imagine I would have a few choice words for him myself. I'm amazed Harry turned out as well as he did. He is kind and caring and he loves those he takes into his heart without reservation. And he is selfless. Perhaps too much so, which I think leads us to his largest problem; his sense of self worth. He's much too willing to endanger himself for others."
At her sisters somewhat incredulous looks, Andie raised her hands in a pacifying gesture. "What I mean to say is, he's much too reckless. Who in their right mind would have continued into the Chamber of Secrets without any help?I can understand doing that for his best friend's sister and the daughter of the people that took him in, or rather saved him from those awful relatives of his. In the end, it worked out for the best, I suppose, but for a twelve year old to kill a Basilisk? And with a sword, no less... It goes beyond anything I would call even remotely sensible. Not that the magical world makes a lot of sense, mind you."
Bella growled at the mention of the Dursleys and Narcissa placed a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down. Despite herself, Andie chuckled at her sister, then continued. "And now he's risking it all for complete strangers over and over again. It's not his job. He's not a bloody Auror. It's not a healthy mindset, sisters. I fear it may result in his death, eventually. And I think Dumbledore is responsible for it."
Bella shared a look with Narcissa, who smiled at her sister. "And yet this is why we love him. He's everything our former... owners... were not," Bella said and took a sip of her tea.
"Bella and I would not be here if not for his selfless, forgiving nature. The intense look in those emerald eyes when he looks at me... It's intoxicating, Andie," Cissy said as she rose from her chair to look out the window. "One advice, I'll give you, sister; do not wait too long," she said and turned to look at Andie. "I know you're falling in love with him. Bella and I may tease you with it, but he most likely does not realize the truth of it. He is a bit dim when it comes to women, but we can both see it in the way you stare at him when he's not looking. Don't even try denying it. Or understanding it. Merlin knows Bella and I have tried."
As Andie made to answer Cissy, a loud gasp from the living room startled them, but before they could go investigate, they heard Harry come racing down the hallway at full speed. He spared a glance their way as he flew by the doorway and into Andie's study.
"I'll be back!" he shouted and proceeded to burst out the front door, his sword in hand. A deafening silence settled over the sisters as they moved and stared at the front door.
"Was he holding a sword?" Andie asked after a while.
"He was, wasn't he?" Bella asked no one in particular.
A few moments of silence followed, before Narcissa frowned and looked at Andromeda. "You were saying something about Dumbledore being responsible for Harry's behaviour?"
Her sister scowled at that. "Knowing what we do now, both about Harry's life and the Horcrux in his chest, I think I know why Harry is so willing to sacrifice himself for 'the greater good'. I think Dumbledore may have slowly conditioned Harry into what he is and created a martyr. I think the old man always meant for Harry to die."
Harry appeared in a small clearing, not too far away from the Burrow and the small village of Ottery St. Catchpole. The Burrow wasn't where he was headed, however. His destination was a ways to the west, the home of one Xenophilius Lovegood and his daughter Luna.
Harry strapped his sword onto his back and started running toward his friend's house at full speed. The wind in his face, Harry could already smell the fire that had been started at the house. Cursing his phoenix friend for not alerting him sooner, Harry was becoming frantic. But he had to wonder. Why attack Mr. Lovegood now? Why not sooner?
He suspected the very nature of the paper might have something to do with it. It rarely featured anything really noteworthy and most people did not take anything printed in there seriously. Unless you were a bit weird, which Luna most certainly was, but she was a good friend, and Harry wouldn't change a thing about her, even if given the chance.
Had Xeno perhaps stumbled onto something that he should not have and been careless when researching? Very likely. It was also more than likely that Mr. Lovegood had told Luna whatever it was he was doing, they were very close, after all.
Harry slowed down when he neared the hill where the Lovegoods lived. The house, which was affectionately referred to as 'The Rook' was a tall building, shaped like a chess piece and was surrounded by trees that obscured all but the circular battlements, when looked at from the foot of the hill.
Luna had told him that she and her father were known to have a bonfire on occasion, and by the time the Weasleys would notice anything was amiss, the house would be ablaze and they'd most likely be too late to do anything.
As Harry neared the house, he could hear the voices of the Death Eaters, who were clearly enjoying themselves. They joked about and laughed as they fired spell after spell at the house, wearing down the wards. Then suddenly, one of them cried out in triumph and the others cheered. Harry heard the front door crash open and a man in obvious panic yelled a few incantations before the intruder subdued him and set to get him outside.
"That's enough for tonight, lads. We'll take care of this from here. The rest of you, go back to your families."
Harry had almost reached the house and hid behind a tree as a few Death Eaters popped away, leaving behind three of them. Harry had recognized what he thought was the voice of Avery, but he did not know the other man, who was waiting for the third one to bring poor Xenophilius to them.
Harry frowned deeply as he saw the intruder drag the poor man outside by his long, blonde hair. Mr. Lovegood was obviously badly hurt and bleeding. The Death Eater dropped him onto the ground like a piece of garbage. He was nearly unconscious, Harry noted in alarm. Taking in the third attacker, he recognized the axe hanging from the attacker's belt and the frown turned into a murderous scowl.
Walden Macnair. The sadistic bastard the Ministry had sent to execute Buckbeak. He had also taken Luna hostage in the Dept. of Mysteries and the memory of it had Harry quivering with rage. It seemed like Macnair was unhappy with the fact that he could not kill Luna, or probably something worse.
Harry wanted to simply Apparate to them and leave, but earlier, he had felt as the anti Apparition charm was placed over the area once their mates had left. After a moment's hesitation, Harry gathered his power into the arm braces and sent a gust of wind toward the men.
They reacted by turning in all directions, Mr. Lovegood all but forgotten. There was panic evident in their movements. (Bravery and Death Eater were not terms used together). They knew who was there and they wanted to flee, but their master had warned them, that anyone who ran from him without at least trying to defeat him would face the full brunt of his wrath and that was too frightening for them to even consider running.
They watched the man walk slowly toward them, his eyes literally glowing. How in the blazes did that man appear so often when they were going about their business? Their master had been very... thorough in the way he went through their ranks, trying to determine if there was a traitor among them. They had also changed almost everything about the internal workings of the Death Eaters after Bellatrix disappeared, so that couldn't be it.
One of the men sent a Cruciatus Harry's way, which he almost lazily avoided and tore a chunk of stone from the ground and sent it their way, which was quickly dealt with. He needed to get them away from Mr. Lovegood, so that he could give the wounded man Andie's Portkey, but the question was how.
Mr. Lovegood was getting steadily weaker and Harry was starting to panic. Macnair and Avery and the third one, which Harry suspected was Mulchiber, started throwing spell after spell his way, hoping to overwhelm him.
Harry barely managed to avoid the curses sent his way and only managed to retaliate a little, before being forced on the defensive. If Harry had identified these men correctly, they were all from the Inner Circle of Riddle's forces and the difference in skill was startling, when compared to the usual riff raff he had encountered since the start of his crusade. Their spells were more powerful, more decisive and their speed and accuracy were on another level entirely.
Harry ducked, rolled and weaved out of the way of the curses and all the while, he moved in a circular pattern. Each time he avoided an attack, he managed to get a little closer to Mr. Lovegood. Thankfully, the Death Eaters were too focused on their enemy to notice what he was doing. Eventually, Harry got close enough to Mr. Lovegood and dived toward the man, praying there were not anti-Portkey wards in the air.
He placed the white stone on his chest. Luna's father was unconscious by then, but Harry managed to grab the man's bloodied arm as he rolled over him and drop it onto the stone, and just like that, there were just Harry and his three enemies left.
Harry grinned at the way the men seemed to stare at the ground where their intended victim had lain and used the distraction and sent three rather weak spears of air towards the men and unmasked them in the process.
"Well, well. If it isn't some of Riddle's most loyal slaves. This is the first time I've actually run into any of the Inner Circle since all this began. Well, except Rowle, but he's an incompetent idiot, so he doesn't count," Harry said as he slowly removed his coat. "And Bellatrix, of course, but I took care of her." At that, Mulciber's face locked in a grimace of near panic, while Avery and Macnair sneered at him, their eyes shining with hate.
"Don't you dare mention his name! This will be your last fight, you filthy mongrel!" Macnair snarled. "And besides, even if you defeat us, we'll be released within the week anyway."
Harry actually laughed at that, a cold emotionless laugh. He carefully unsheathed his sword and it flashed in the light cast from the house, which was now completely on fire. He needed to finish this quick before the Weasleys arrived. He stared at the men in front of him with contempt.
"What gave you the idea I was going to let any of you live to see another day?"
Harry tore three rocks from the ground and launched them at his enemies. Avery and Macnair easily transfigured the incoming stones to harmless feathers and sent curses Harry's way, but they missed and Harry darted toward Mulchiber who, in his panic, had not managed to deal with the initial attack. Harry reached the man, who was stumbling from being hit with the stone and with a quick swipe of his sword, severed the man's head from his body.
Enraged, Avery summoned a fiery whip and lashed it toward Harry, who simply grinned and let the thing wrap itself around the arm brace on his left hand. With his inhuman strength and speed, Harry pulled on the whip and launched him into the Lovegood house and he could hear beams and stones crash on top of Avery and drown out his pained screams. If he'd managed to hold onto his wand, he might have gotten clear, but the wand lay on the ground, several feet away.
"So, Macnair. It's you and me, then. How about we see if you can do anything with that axe on your hip? Or is it just for show?" Harry asked as he twirled his sword lazily and paced slowly in front of the older man.
"You don't want to avenge your comrades? Perhaps they were even your friends? Nah. A goon with your ugly mug can't possibly have any friends. It's probably why you wear a mask, after all. To hide that ugly face. Or is this your arse? I'm honestly not sure. If you had a woman, I'd ask her, but I imagine she prefers the mask on, so she might be just as confused as I am."
As Harry kept throwing insults Macnair's way, the executioner's rage kept building. Who was this whelp to speak to him in such a way? He was Walden Macnair! A man feared for his ruthlessness and skill with the Unforgivables. Not to mention his delight in hurting others.
And it was time to hurt that little bastard in a way he had never been hurt before and to show him how a real man wielded a proper weapon! He holstered his wand and pulled the axe from its loop on his belt and gripped it tightly and with an enraged roar, he charged toward Harry, raising the axe above his head, preparing to cleave his adversary down the middle.
He never got that far. So enraged was the Death Eater that he never noticed the big chunk of stone that came his way and slammed into his side with the force of a fully loaded lorry. With a sickening crunch, Macnair tumbled away and Harry let the slab fall to the ground with a thump.
He sheathed his sword and made his way over to the axe, which had buried itself in the ground. After yanking it free, Harry walked over to Macnair, who lay moaning and gurgling on the ground. Harry shook his head at the sight.
A part of him wanted to leave right then and let him suffer until the Weasleys arrived and either helped him or put him out of his misery, but he wasn't willing to listen to that voice. He was better than that. He stared at Macnair in disgust and contempt. He was better than them.
Harry took a firm hold of the handle of the axe and with one smooth motion, dropped the weapon onto Macnair's neck and ended his life. Leaving the axe where it had sunk into the ground, Harry strolled over to his coat and pulled it on. Almost as soon as he had put on the coat, he heard a few popping noises to the west and he quickly Apparated away, leaving the mess for his friends to clean up.
Mad Eye, all of the Weasleys, bar Ginny appeared at The Rook, along with Remus, Tonks and Hermione. Kingsley arrived a few moments later. Moody made his way toward the house, his wand at the ready, his magical eye whirring in its socket, taking in every minute detail. A house on fire, two bodies on the ground and one buried in the wreckage of the destroyed building. Standing over the body of one Walden Macnair, Moody resisted the urge to spit on the corpse.
Everyone deserved respect in death, even an enemy such as this. Alive was another matter entirely. He was vaguely aware of the gasp that escaped the lips of Granger as she noticed the bodies, but she did not avert her eyes. Even Molly Weasley looked at it all with the grim acceptance of a person who had long ago dismissed any foolish notions that Death Eater filth deserved anything less than what was on display here.
"So, he finally decided to do something about those Inner Circle scum," Moody said, his tone clearly indicating his approval. Hermione shot him a dirty look, but said nothing, having had quite a bracing 'discussion' with Moody on one occasion, when she had learned their leader had killed a pair of Death Eaters who had surrendered, early in the war.
"Macnair and Mulchiber..." Mr. Weasley mused as he surveyed the scene, putting an arm around his wife. "Any sign of Xeno?"
Moody shook his head and pointed toward the ground a few feet away. "Nay, he's not here, but I'm fairly certain that blood on the ground there belongs to him. Tonks, lass, pop over to 'Mungo's and see if he's there, would you?" Tonks nodded and disappeared with a crack. "There's is another person buried in the wreckage, Arthur," Moody continued as his magical eye trained itself on the house.
Mrs. Weasley gasped, but quickly reined herself in. "Luna is still at Hogwarts. Perhaps a third attacker?"
Moody nodded and started extinguishing fires and with the help of the others, it was accomplished quickly. As soon as they had managed that, they set about clearing the rubble, intent on discovering the identity of the body buried there. It soon became apparent.
"Avery," Shacklebolt said and levitated the charred body out onto the lawn. It was not burned beyond recognition, but pretty ghastly, nontheless.
"Brother mine?" George said.
"Yes, my esteemed brother and colleague?" Fred replied.
"Remind me to-" George began
"- never get on his bad side?" Fred went on.
"Yes. It seems painful," concluded George.
Shaking his head at the twin's antics, Percy made his way toward the bodies and looked at them pensively as Hermione examined them more closely.
"Avery was clearly thrown into the house with incredible force, Mr. Moody. You can see where his back and shoulders shattered on impact. He was unlucky, though. He survived that and burned alive."
Moody shot a glance at the young witch and gave her an approving nod. She went on to examine the other two corpses, which Moody felt was rather pointless as the cause of death was clear; the men were missing their bloody heads. Suddenly, a quiet laughter could be heard and the group turned as one toward Kingsley, who was staring at the bodies. Moody cocked his head to the side. What could the man be laughing about?
"I'm sorry. I know this is hardly the place for mirth, but I wonder just what will happen to Rowle if the vigilante ever gets his hands on him again. Somehow, I doubt there'll be much left for the Ministry to find that time."
Moody smirked at that, before shaking his head. "Those three and Bellatrix, presumably. Seems to me the Inner Circle's getting smaller... Riddle's not going to take this lying down, so be prepared for a fight."
Harry brushed as much of the dirt and soot of his coat as possible, as he walked down the street to Andie's house. Blast it, he smelled like he'd gone through the Floo ten times over the last hour. Oh, well. He walked up to the door and entered the house to find all the lights off, except in the living room. He moved down the hall and into the room and found the sisters sitting in front of the fire, their faces showing different states of worry.
"I'm back," Harry said helpfully and dropped into the nearest chair with an exhausted sigh. He looked at the ceiling for a while, before he leaned forward and his hands came together beneath his nose and he blew a long breath through his nose in an effort calm himself down. He took in their expectant faces and it really hit him then, that he wasn't going to be able to keep everything to himself any more.
"The Lovegood home was attacked tonight by Death Eaters. Avery, Macnair and Mulciber were among them. It got... violent."
Narcissa eyed him carefully. He seemed to be alright. Physically, at least, but there was a furrow in his brow she had not seen before. "What happened over there, Harry?" she asked as she went over and took his hand in hers, tracing small circles on the back of his hand with her thumb.
Harry stared into the fire, not really seeing it, his eyes a bit too wide. "When I got there, the house was on fire and Macnair was dragging Mr. Lovegood out of the building by the hair. I got really angry at that, mostly, I think, because Luna is a dear friend of mine. She's a bit quirky, but I wouldn't have it any other way."
Narcissa, Andromeda and Bellatrix chuckled a little at that. "Well, she is the daughter of Xenophilius and Pandora Lovegood, how could she be anything less? Her father went to Hogwarts the same time as us. He was in Ravenclaw and as quirky as they come." Andie said with a smile. "According to Nymphadora, Luna is very smart and a friend to her friends."
"That she is," Harry said with a smile. "She went with me to the DoM and people don't do that sort of thing for just anybody."
Harry was silent for a few moments, his green eyes flashing in the fire. "I was just so angry, you know? I've seen all this before, destroyed homes, dead bodies, whole families slaughtered, because I didn't get there in time, but none of it had quite the same effect as this attack did. Anyway, I watched them send away most of their force, leaving behind just the three of the Inner circle. At that moment, I made the decision I was going to kill them. Those three would not destroy any more lives. Not if I had any say in it. So I did. Avery, Macnair and Mulciber are dead. I cut the heads off Macnair and Mulciber and buried Avery under a burning building."
Harry stared glassy eyed into the fire, his expression vacant and distant. All three sisters were looking at Harry in a new light. They realized he had crossed a threshold this night, one he had been reluctant to go beyond. And he had not stepped over it, he had leaped.
Killing beings such as vampires, and werewolves in transformation and causing the death of other humans in the heat of battle was one thing, but making a conscious decision to end another human life with cold determination was something altogether different.
Before anyone said anything, Harry let go of Narcissa's hand and reached into the Bag to pull out a bloodstained sword. He laid it across his knees, then reached into the Bag for a piece of cloth and a vial of oil and a whetstone. As he set about cleaning the sword, Andie and Bella conjured a pair of chairs and sat closer to Harry.
They watched in silence as their Head of House cleaned the blood of his weapon, mesmerized at the familiarity with which he handled the sword in his hands. Once it was clean, Harry picked up the whetstone and examined it, before he ran it along the edges of the blade with practised and measured movements. Once he was done, he oiled it and put the sword back into the bag, along with everything else, but he stared at the whetstone, turning it in his hands as he began speaking again.
"I had not thought I would feel so awful after killing men like that, but I do. I feel dirty, disgusting and evil. They had to be stopped, I know that and I could have done so without killing them, but I did not; I took their lives and it was so easy. They were no match for me, the only reason it took as long as it did was because I had to get Mr. Lovegood out of there. He's at St. Mungo's now Andie, thanks to your Portkey, but that's all I know. I don't know if he lived, but I doubt it. He was very weak when I got him out of there."
Harry took a deep breath. "I've decided that should I run into any of the Inner Circle, they will not survive, if I can manage it," Harry declared in a dark, cold tone of voice.
A thought came over Harry then and he looked over at Andromeda in alarm. "The Portkeys are not registered specifically to each person they're handed out to, are they?"
She shook her head at that. "No, they're not. All 'Mungo's knows is that I have four of them," Andromeda said. "Harry, what you're feeling now is completely normal for someone who does not kill for the simple pleasure of it. They had to be stopped, you said so yourself and handing them over to the Ministry would have had them out within the week, free to do whatever their master wished. And please, do not fall into the trap of asking yourself how you can be the judge of who lives and who dies. We are at war and those men chose their side."
Harry nodded, but seemed unconvinced to Andie. "Riddle is going to want recompense for the loss of three of his more trusted lieutenants and I expect to be very busy for the immediate future, so I do not think I'll be able to come here for a while. But I have to ask you, Bella, why has Riddle not shown himself since he murdered Amelia Bones? I meant to ask you, but it honestly slipped my mind until now."
Bella looked at Harry for a moment, before grinning maliciously. "Ever since he tried to possess you in the DoM, his magic has been in constant state of flux, he can't control it properly. The last I heard, it was steadily getting worse. It is known to only a few, but the loss of Snape has severely limited his recovery, so he was turning toward runes," Bella said.
She fixed Harry with a serious look. "Whatever you do, do not underestimate him, Harry. Even with this problem, he is the most powerful mage in the Isles, bar yourself, perhaps. And even if he wasn't, his knowledge is awe inspiring."
Harry got to his feet and shouldered his Bag and smiled at the three women, who were looking at him with very disapproving eyes, because they knew exactly what he was planning to do. He wrapped his arms around Narcissa and kissed her passionately and did the same with Bellatrix. Finally, he gave Andromeda a lingering hug and once he released her, he ran his hands a couple of times up and down her upper arms and smiled at her.
"I'll be fine, girls. It's going to be fine. Honest. Will you let Remus and Tonks know I'm OK when they come by later? I'll come by as soon as I am able, all right? Perhaps I'm wrong and Riddle will take the hint and lay low for a while." Harry smirked at the collective snort that followed and he quit the house in the dead of night, heading back to Gryffindor's stronghold.
Once Harry was gone, there was a heavy silence in the house. "This cannot go on, sisters," Bella said with conviction. "We may not be able to help him directly, but I can't to do nothing!"
Narcissa nodded and turned to Andromeda. "Nor can I. Perhaps we can convince Nymphadora to allow us to help the Order? On a different note, we need to approach someone about those disgusting Horcruxes and if there's a way to remove them from a living body. I refuse to give up. Harry may have resigned himself to his fate, but I have not."
As Andie made to answer her sister, the flames of the Floo turned green and her daughter stepped out of the fireplace with a worried look on her face. She walked right up to her mother and stared her in the eyes, her own full of anger, worry and hurt.
"Where is he!?" Tonks all but yelled at her mother, who drew herself up and gazed down her nose at her daughter. This seemed to calm the younger woman somewhat, but she was still terribly anxious. "Well? I've been trying to get through for ages!"
"I locked the Floo when he returned," Andie said. "I'm happy I did, too. Harry needed some peace and quiet, Nymphadora, to at least start to come to grips with what he did this evening. Oh, and he's fine, by the way. Did Xeno make it?"
Tonks shook her head. "No," she said and sighed sadly.
Another roar of fire and Lupin emerged from the Floo, looking aghast."He's gone, isn't he?" He asked without needing to, once he saw his friend's son wasn't in the room.
Andromeda walked over to Lupin and put a hand on his shoulder. "He did what he needed to do, Remus. He told us he was done holding back against the Inner Circle."
That did little to settle Lupin, though. "He should not be going it alone! How long until he snaps?" He asked the woman in front of him. She motioned for Lupin and Tonks to take a seat in the sofa and conjured chairs for herself and her sisters. Once they were all comfortable, she started to speak.
"You are right, of course, Remus. Harry should not be alone out there. I am, however not overly concerned with his mental state at this moment. He has shown remarkable resilience, since I met him. It will start to wear on him more and more, and once he decides to fully open up, we three will be there for him," Andie said with conviction and motioned towards her sisters.
Tonks scowled at her mother when she said that and she seemed to catch her second wind. "Are you sure there isn't something else clouding your judgement, Mum?"
Andie's eyes flashed angrily at that and she turned a furious gaze on her daughter. "You will remember I am your mother, Nymphadora, and that when you are in my house, you will treat me with the respect I am due! Now, my feelings toward Harry, whatever they may be, are not under discussion at the moment and I'll thank you to refrain from such remarks in the future."
Tonks looked similarly furious and looked ready for an epic row, when her husband placed a hand on her thigh. "Dora, I know I was messing about before, but surely you don't think it was anything more than a fleeting fancy?"
He looked at the three women and became decidedly uncomfortable when Bellatrix and Narcissa smiled very satisfied smiles at each other. Andromeda called upon her Occlumency training and schooled herself; it would not do for her daughter to see the blush that was fighting to break out on her face.
Andromeda seized the lull in the conversation to take control. "We have a request, Remus. We agree that what Harry is doing cannot go on any further, but we do ask you to keep the secret for a while longer. He's planning to 'come home' soon. I think it should not be more than a few weeks longer, in fact. That being said, we want to take a more active role in this war."
She turned to her daughter. "Dora, you know we are more than capable. Our power is matched by few and we want to help Harry any way we can. Could you please talk to Alastor for us? I do request that Bellatrix remain out of the discussion, however. At least for now. I don't think people are quite ready for her yet."
Tonks sighed softly as she eyed her mother and her sisters appraisingly. She knew her mother was telling the truth; the Black sisters were extremely powerful and would, without a doubt be a massive boost to the swelling ranks of the Order. She also agreed that her aunt should not be outed to the world just yet.
She was of a mind with her mother that no one was quite ready for such a revelation, Neville Longbottom and his grandmother least of all. Perhaps, once Harry came back, he could ease the blow for his friend. Standing up, she gave her mother a quick hug and apologized for her outburst and her mother assured her that she understood. They were all worried about Harry, after all.
"I'll see what I can do, Mum. I make no promises" she said as she followed her husband through the Floo.
As Harry predicted, the weeks that followed were some of the worst since the war began in earnest, after the death of Dumbledore. Harry criss crossed the country, fighting like never before, the news of the death of Luna's father driving him. Voldemort's forces were particularly ruthless in the first week after Harry had killed the three members of the Inner Circle and it was clear they were out for blood. It did not matter whose blood they spilled, it seemed, so long as it flowed.
Harry had contacted the Order a few times, when Fawkes had sent him visions of more than one attack and more than once, he had joined Mad Eye in attacking a Death Eater safe house. He had managed to warn the Order well in advance of an impending attack on Hogsmeade, the combined presence of the vigilante group as well as a surprising number of Aurors, given the state of the Ministry had apparently deterred the enemy on that occasion.
It wasn't only Death Eaters Harry had to content with, though. Marcus had also enlisted his help one time when he'd learned the location of a few rouge vampires. Interestingly, Maria had been absent, and when Harry queried the elder vampire about it, he sent the young man a withering glance, and told him she'd been almost unbearable and completely depressed since Harry had spurned her advances. Once they had taken care of their enemies, with the help of another vampire Marcus knew he could trust, he proceeded to give Harry another warning concerning Maria.
"Harry, my boy, this was very well done and I see you've improved your swordsmanship a little since the last time we met. That is good. Now, I must be on my way, but I leave you with a warning," he said and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned..."
Harry frowned and cocked his head to the side, eyeing Marcus and the other vampire warily. What the hell did that mean? Harry raised a finger at the vampire leader, about to say something, but realized he had nothing to say, really. Were they serious?
They were smiling and chuckling as they turned and walked away from the young man. It did nothing to allay Harry's fears. Well, they were probably joking. Weren't they? Was he going to have to keep an eye out against Maria now? Great, just great. Harry sighed wearily. Typical, really. Why was his life always so bloody complicated?
Harry made his way slowly across the field, heading to yet another Muggle farm. It had been almost three weeks since his fight with Avery, Macnair and Mulciber and things had been extremely hectic. To Harry's annoyance, he had missed a chance to go to Hogwarts during the Easter holiday, to hopefully find and destroy the Horcrux in the diadem.
He had hoped the castle would be less packed with students during the holiday, but realized after thinking about it that most parents would probably have elected to have their kids spend as much time as possible in the relative safety of Hogwarts.
Amid big attacks all over and one failed attack on Hogsmeade, there were reports of renewed attacks on out of the way Muggle farms across the country. Harry let out a sigh as he came into view of the house, but the sigh turned into a low snarl as he heard a man's pained scream, the scream of someone being held under the Cruciatus.
It was when Harry felt a pained prickle in his scar that he went practically livid. Riddle was there! And he was alone, no less. Harry reached into a pocket on the inside of his coat for his mask and placed it over his face, then pulled the hood over his head.
It would have to do, besides, he was fairly certain Riddle would not recognize him. The snake had never felt it when they were close to one another, so Harry had the element of surprise. He angled around the house and found four people lying on the ground, with one of them writhing in pain.
The unfortunate victim suddenly stopped moving and the man standing over the unmoving forms screamed in frustration. He turned toward what Harry recognized as a little girl and aimed his wand at her and prepared to do something, but Harry was not about to let him play that game any longer.
"Hey! You! Come and face me, you bloody coward! I'm right here, you snake faced bastard!" Harry shouted at his nemesis, who jerked away from his intended victim. He sent a stream of water his way, followed by a shower of stones and effectively shepherded his enemy away from the m-Muggles, who were slowly coming around and inching their way toward their house again.
Riddle had blocked Harry's water stream and easily transfigured the hail of stones into harmless flakes of snow. Harry did not give him any chance of retaliating and worked himself into a bit of a frenzy as he attacked with rare fervour.
Tom Riddle was no amateur, though and slowly eased himself into the pace of the duel, and before long, the two combatants were exchanging fierce shots, very nearly catching each other with their attacks. Having not seen Riddle for almost three years, Harry could not resist taunting the bastard a little bit.
"Come on, Riddle! That's the best you can do? Even Avery was better than that! As were Macnair and Mulciber. What is there to fear from you if that's all you have?" Harry said and sent a large boulder Riddle's way, which his enemy transfigured into a rain of boiling oil, which he sent toward Harry with a speed which surprised the younger man.
Harry wove a shield of air in front of himself, but had to dispel it and roll out of the way as a big wooden barrel came flying his way and transfigured into some kind of monster Harry couldn't name. Harry unsheathed his sword and sent a big fireball toward Riddle, who summoned a part of a barn wall to block it.
While that was happening, Harry charged the beast, which looked like some kind of cat/dog hybrid and slashed his blade downwards and the beast morphed back into a completely destroyed barrel when it collapsed.
Moving away from the barrel, Harry saw a curse coming his way, which had the distinct colour of the Cruciatus. Realizing it was too close for him to effectively dodge, Harry moved his sword in a desperate attempt to block the curse.
The weapon intercepted the beam and deflected it the way whence it came. Harry felt nothing, except a little cramp in his hands on the sword. Under different circumstances, Harry would have laughed at Riddle's total shock, but as it was, Riddle recovered quickly and fired a bevy of curses at an astonishing rate.
Harry calmed his mind and worked his sword carefully and blocked each and every one of them and even managed to deflect a few back with great accuracy, all the while advancing on his adversary, who was obviously quite shaken by this new development. That's when he tried throwing the killing curse. Harry recognized the movement and got ready to dodge as he did not think the sword would be enough to deflect that particular piece of magic.
"AVADA KEDAVRA" Riddle screamed at the top of his lungs.
To say what happened next shocked Harry was like saying Hermione didn't mind reading Hogwarts: A history. Riddle screamed in pain and frustration when all he could produce was a faint green glow at the end of his wand. Riddle stood there a moment and stared hatefully at the failing apparatus, and then at Harry, who stared right back. Both combatants were shocked out of their reverie when a gunshot was heard and a piece of earth was torn loose as the bullet buried itself in the ground close to Riddle's feet.
Harry stole a look in the direction it came from and found the badly twitching father standing in the door to his home, holding an old hunting rifle, which he pointed toward Riddle. Harry actually grinned at that and sent a fireball towards his enemy, who barely managed to freeze it before it reached him. With a last, hateful look toward the Muggle, Tom Riddle fled the fight, Apparating away, leaving Harry alone in the dark, chuckling at the fact that a Muggle had actually driven off the almighty Dark Lord.
Harry turned toward the house and held up his hand, palm forward. He sheathed his sword and held his hands away from his body as he approached the house slowly.
"He's gone, sir. May I have a word with you?"
The man regarded Harry with suspicion, before nodding curtly and inviting him onto the front porch. The man unloaded the weapon and placed it on a table, before sitting down, his body jerking involuntarily every now and then. He eyed Harry as he came upon him and motioned for him to take the other chair.
"How is your family, sir? Any injuries?"
The man ran a hand over his face before answering. "No. At least not anything life threatening. They are quite sore from exposure to that curse of his." At Harry's perplexed expression, the man smiled a little. "My older sister has a son that went to Hogwarts. We're Muggles all, except for him. He was staying with us the summer when he discovered he wasn't like the rest of us. Perhaps you remember him? Richard Thompson? Dark hair, tall, played Quidditch? Went to Ravenclaw, graduated in '88. He works at St. Mungo's now as a first responder."
Harry smiled at the enthusiasm the man clearly showed when talking about his nephew. Seemed like they were close. "The after effects of curse will last a few hours and should not have caused any lasting harm, if no one was held under it for any extended while. And, no, I'm afraid I don't know your nephew. I started Hogwarts in '91. Have you contacted anybody?"
"Aye. My wife phoned her sister. Help should arrive soon, lad. Any idea who that bastard was?" The farmer asked warily. Harry grimaced, wondering whether or not he should tell him the truth. Deciding it wouldn't hurt, Harry told him the truth.
"His name is Riddle. Tom Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort."
The look on the man's face said it all. He'd obviously heard of Voldemort. Harry assumed the man's nephew had briefed him. Before Harry could say anything more, he heard a faint pop on the other side of the house. He ignited a fireball in his palm and got to his feet. The farmer scrambled to his feet and reached for his gun.
"Someone is here." Harry whispered. He had taken but one step when he heard a shout.
"Uncle Gerald? You there?" Gerald's shoulders slumped in relief as a young man walked around the corner and came to an abrupt halt when he noticed Harry standing in front of his uncle. He immediately raised his wand at Harry, who let the fireball dissipate slowly.
"Ricky?" At the man's nod, Harry moved aside and walked down the stairs and the man lowered his wand, but kept his guard. "They've all been held under the Cruciatus tonight. I don't know for how long, but I imagine your uncle got the worst of it. You brought Portkeys? Good man. Go, bring them to safety. I'll stand guard until you're all away. They may come back."
"Death Eaters?" Richard asked unnecessarily. Harry managed not to roll his eyes. Who else would do this?
"The Top Dog, Richard."
The man went white as a sheet. "You-know-who?"
Harry sighed. "His name is Tom Riddle, but yes, it was he who attacked this place. He was alone for some reason. Now, hurry and get your relatives to safety, I've places to be."
Harry waited as every family member Portkeyed out and when Richard himself had left, Harry Apparated away and soon found himself in the basement of Gryffindor's stronghold. He was to worked up to sleep, so he decided to meditate in front of the fire instead.
A good while later, Harry got to his feet and stared into the fire, his thoughts on the Burrow. March thirty first. Fred and George's birthday was April first, funnily enough. Thinking on it, Harry wondered if it was possible the twins had become the pranksters that they were simply because of the date of their birth?
Feeling very tired by now, Harry walked over to a bench in the room and dragged it over to the fire and lay down on it and stared at the ceiling. He needed to make time to check in with Bella and the others. An involuntary shiver ran down his spine as he wondered just how angry they were at him, considering he had not been to see them once since that evening after the battle at the Lovegood house.
Resolving to go to Croydon as soon as possible, Harry closed his eyes to go to sleep. Almost as soon as he did, he received a vision of small village called Bullswick and he realized he had a day or so to get there, before whatever was to happen took place. Harry jerked awake. He sighed and got to his feet. Time to get moving.
Harry opened his eyes slowly and noticed he was alone on the expanded sofa. He wasn't alone for long, though as Andromeda crawled on top of him and rested her head on his chest. He ignored the slight pain in his ribs; they had healed during the night but were slightly tender still.
Harry bid her a good morning and proceeded to stroke her hair fondly. A thought entered his mind and he halted his ministrations, causing the woman to raise her head. She placed her hands on his chest and rested her chin on top of them. Harry smiled at her, while Andie gazed into his eyes, wondering what he was thinking.
"What is it?" she asked Harry, whose smile had been replaced with a slight frown. She waited patiently for her lover to answer her, content to bask in his warmth for a while.
"Have you three given any thought as to how this is going to work? Between the four of us, I mean. I'm afraid one of you, or all of you are going to have to take the lead on this, Andie, because I'm so far out of my depth, I don't know which way is up and which way is down."
Andromeda laughed softly before scooting a little further up to find his lips with her own. She wasn't surprised he was a little troubled with this arrangement, but she and her sisters were quite happy do let it sort itself out for now.
After she told Harry so, she got up and pulled him to his feet. She watched her lover stretch and bend his body this way and that, noting a few winces, but nothing too troubling and decided he'd be alright in a day or so.
He followed her into the kitchen where Bella and Cissy were making breakfast. He accepted a cup of tea, from Bella, which she followed by giving Harry a chaste kiss on the lips. Narcissa contented herself with a smile this time, making certain the bacon did not burn. After a while, they were all sat at the table, chatting about everything and nothing.
"So," Harry said and pushed his empty plate away and crossed his arms on the table. "How do you like working with the Order?" He laughed at their crestfallen looks. "I'm not completely oblivious, you know. I knew you were responsible for protecting at least some of the places I alerted Moody of these last few weeks. Can't say I was all that surprised, to be honest. You were really unhappy when I left after that night at The Rook."
"How did you know?" Bella asked surprised.
"I recognized your scents."
"Pardon?" Andromeda asked, incredulously. "Are you saying we stink?"
Harry smiled at her and laughed heartily. "No! You smell like a meadow! It's... I believe it's time for me to tell you about what happened to me two years ago."
The sisters looked exceedingly pleased at that declaration. Narcissa, in particular was happy. Harry was just such a conundrum and she was looking forward to unlocking more of the mystery that was her lover. A little after breakfast, Harry led his women out of the house, but stopped after a while sniffing the air. He thought he recognized a familiar scent in the air and before he could react, he was set upon by a snowy white owl.
"PRECK!" Hedwig barked at her owner and attacked him again, before flying into a nearby tree where she stared at him in obvious displeasure. Harry, very nearly overcome with emotion walked over to a nearby bench, sat down and stared at his first real friend. Tears began falling and he realized just how much he had missed her. Andie, Bella and Cissy made their way over to Harry and sat on the bench with him.
"Is everything alright, Harry?" Bella asked, somewhat alarmed by his reaction to the bird. Harry did not answer and did not take his eyes of the beautiful owl. Harry wiped his eyes, but the tears kept falling.
"Hedwig, come here, girl. Please?" Harry pleaded as he raised his arm. The owl somehow managed to look haughty and proud, before she swept out of the tree and landed on her human's leather clad arm. He brought her up to his face and they stared into each other's eyes for a long minute.
Finally, she jumped onto his shoulder and cooed softly at him and nibbled at his earlobe. Harry smiled brilliantly, the happiness literally pulsing out of him. Hedwig let Harry take her in his arms and stroke her feathers and she revelled in his touch, simply elated to have finally found her human again. Her Harry.
The sisters looked on, completely forgotten as Harry lost himself in the presence of what they knew now was his pet. But the more they watched them, the more they realized the owl – Hedwig, was so much more than just a pet. In fact, she acted more like a familiar than anything. The way they interacted with one another and seemed to understand each other on an almost instinctual level all but confirmed it.
Eventually, though, Harry got up and put her on his shoulder again, and she was quite happy to perch there. He turned to his lovers and smiled happily.
"Would one of you put up some notice-me-nots, please? Now, I'm going to lower my Occlumency shields for a moment and I want you three to grasp the location I am thinking of and Apparate there. I'll go first and wait for you there." After confirming they all had successfully found what he wanted them to find, he Apparated away, leaving them behind on the sidewalk.
"That has got to be one of the most endearing things I have ever witnessed," Andie said and smiled wistfully at her sisters. "We can only hope he will at some point show us the same level of affection and loyalty." Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at that, prompting Andie to ask her sister what was wrong. Bella became a little flustered and embarrassed, and mumbled something.
"I just never imagined I'd be jealous of a bloody bird!" Bella exclaimed, fuming. Her sisters laughed loudly at that and Apparated away, followed a few minutes later by Bellatrix, once she had gathered herself.
Bella arrived in what she quickly discovered was a large cave. Standing a few feet from her were her companions. They were facing a large door and Harry beckoned for her to join them. He walked up to the door and opened it and asked them to light the torches on the wall in the foyer. Harry walked over to an owl perch next to the door and leaned over to it, meaning for Hedwig to go there.
She did not move. Harry nudged her a little with his head and again, she did not move. Harry gently placed his hands on his owl and attempted to put her on the perch but winced when Hedwig sunk her talons into his shoulder. It was quite apparent that Harry's familiar was not at all ready to be separated from her friend, now that they had finally been reunited. Harry turned and smiled sheepishly at his companions, who were all shaking in silent laughter.
"She won't move," Harry said and stroked Hedwig's beak fondly and received a happy hoot for his troubles.
"You don't say," Bella said with a grin and moved over to the pair and regarded the owl with a newfound respect. "Well, Hedwig, I think I rather like you. It takes quite a strong girl to make this blockhead do as he's told. Merlin knows he never listens to us. The only way I've thought of involves tying him down, but I think it best we do that sort of thing when it's just the two of us. Wouldn't you agree, Harry?"
"If I get to do the same to you, Bella, I'm all for it," Harry quipped as Hedwig allowed Bellatrix to stroke her feathers. The woman gave Harry an approving look. She did so enjoy it when Harry played along when she was feeling naughty and she knew she was going to have her way with him soon.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Narcissa give them an appraising look that was replaced with one of determination. Bella managed to refrain from smiling. While she was manipulating her sister into moving things along with Harry for her own sake, she had no doubt Narcissa would be most appreciative once the deed was done. Bella almost shivered. Merlin, she hoped Cissy would act quickly.
Andie's eyes roamed the room they were in, coming to a stop on the portrait of a man she knew she was supposed to know from somewhere. She was positive she had seen him on a chocolate frog card sometime, but she was having great difficulty finding the name in her memories. She noticed Harry had walked over to her, eyes intent on the painting.
"Godric Gryffindor."
Of course! Andie resisted the urge to click her tongue in annoyance with 's who he was. Once she had heard the name, she remembered having seen another portrait in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. And he was on every other chocolate frog card... Harry turned around and faced the sisters and smiled at them.
"This place once belonged to Gryffindor. Now, it belongs to me. He gave it to me, right before I set out to find the Horcruxes. Follow me and I'll explain," Harry said and walked further into the building, the Blacks following in his wake.
As they walked, the sisters lit every torch they could find and the occasional fireplace. Soon, the place was pleasantly warm. Harry took them on a tour through the 'stronghold' as he called it. He showed them various rooms, the kitchen, the bedrooms, the baths and the massive library. Once there, he showed the sisters the staff he had found and not been compatible with.
Curious, Bella walked over to it and picked it up, and was quite surprised when a euphoric sensation slowly worked its way through her system and left her breathless. Harry stared at her, before a small smile formed on his face.
"Well, I certainly did not expect that. I felt like I was holding the wrong end of a stunning baton when I grasped it. I assumed it was because I was still bonded to my wand. Apparently that's not it."
Bella looked at Harry, then back at the staff. She cast a levitating spell on one of the tables in the room and found that her affinity with the staff was actually greater than with her wand.
"It's yours if you want it, Bella. I'm certain there's a book about the basics of staff wielding in here somewhere," Harry offered, before quitting the library, not waiting for a response. Finally, after an hour or so, Harry brought them down to the basement where he sat down at the table there and motioned for his lovers to do the same.
"A few days before my seventeenth birthday, Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix familiar appeared at Nr. Four Privet Drive and 'flamed' me away from there. Do you remember that freak storm that hit Britain almost two years ago? That was when it happened. But anyway, I arrived here and met Gryffindor, only he was in portrait form, the one in the foyer.
I don't want to waste too many words on how, but the portrait was him, not the pale reflections you see around Hogwarts. He decided to make me his apprentice and two days later, I became like this," Harry said and indicated his body. He stood up and made his way over to a cabinet and retrieved an empty potions bottle and placed it on the table.
"The potion that was stored in this bottle turned me into what I am. Merlin and Gryffindor brewed it way back when and infused it with the spirits of a number of animals. In my depression and in desperate bid to attain some power to reduce the gap between Riddle and myself, I drank the potion and had to overcome the spirits in order to both keep a hold of my sanity and to actually receive the gifts Gryffindor promised it would bring."
Andie rose from her seat and paced in front of the fireplace, her expression darkening with each passing. Finally, she reached for the bottle and smashed it on the far wall, before she yanked Harry from his chair and started screaming at him. This time, Hedwig gave a soft hoot and flew over to an empty armour rack and perched there for a first class view of a scolding she was certain her Harry deserved.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you, you insufferable git!? You can't go around drinking thousand year old potions, just because some portrait told you to! Is there no sense of self preservation in that thick skull of yours?! What could possibly have possessed you to do such a thing?!"
Andie was literally shaking with anger. If Harry thought Tonks had been angry before, her mother was on different level. Her eyes flashed dangerously as she held onto his shirt with both hands, forcing him to stoop a little.
While she was not rethinking her decision to allow herself to fall in love with and be with Harry, she needed to let him know that such foolish acts were not on the table any longer. She moved her hands from his shirt and grasped a fistful of hair in both hands and brought his head down to hers, and kissed him possessively before she released him and eyed him angrily.
"This must stop, Harry. You cannot-"
"- I agree," Harry cut in and took her hand and walked her over to the table again, where her sisters were sitting, both wearing a look which told Harry that if Andie had not done what she did, one of them would have, instead.
"So, what did the potion do to you Harry, except the obvious physical changes?" Andie asked trying to overcome her irritation and anger toward the young man.
Harry smiled at her, thankful for a way out of the argument, but he did not for a minute think that it would not be revisited at some later date. "I have gained superhuman strength, reflexes and senses; sight, hearing, smell, touch. All of it has been greatly enhanced. Though, I quickly learned to limit my hearing to what it was before, because I have absolutely no desire to learn whatever everyone else is saying, or discover their secrets. It's just rude."
Narcissa raised an eyebrow at that. "Just how sensitive is your hearing?"
Harry turned his piercing gaze toward her and she felt like he was looking into her soul. "I can clearly hear your heartbeats, Cissy. While Andie's is slightly elevated still, after her outburst, you are all very calm. Every being, every individual has a very distinct heartbeat. Family members tend to have similar heartbeats, but yours are near identical. You are very close, after all, despite all the time you spent apart. There's more, but you get the idea."
Harry looked around the room and smiled softly. "This is where I learned it all, the swordplay, to wield the magic of my arm braces, mastered Occlumency and learned to meditate properly. I can enter my magical center and play with it if I have to, but I haven't for a long time, since I managed to stabilize it properly."
Bellatrix cleared her throat, a little embarrassed. "Did it enhance your magic, too? After all, we fought and I can tell you're extremely powerful. I think I barely would have won our duel at the Snatcher's, had we not been interrupted."
Harry furrowed his brow at that, but realized Bella was probably correct, she was very powerful and resourceful, not to mention knowledgeable and most likely the best duellist in Britain. Harry rose to his feet and the sisters did the same. Hedwig flew across the room and took her place on his shoulder.
The group ascended the stairs and Harry led them to the 'portal' that was the entrance to Gryffindor's study. He approached it and Hedwig became decidedly uncomfortable. Harry grinned at his familiar, fully aware of how she felt about it, as they were very much in tune with one another.
"Perhaps you'd like to perch in the foyer for a while, Hedwig? This thing is rather unpleasant." His owl hooted at him and took off. Harry stepped aside, turned to the women and pressed one finger into surface of the painting. "You just step through and emerge on the other side. I don't like it, so I don't go in here much." And with that, Harry strode through and, after a moment's hesitation, Andie Bella and Cissy followed.
They found Harry standing on the other side, leaning against a desk, facing a small alcove in the wall opposite and they saw a pedestal holding a sphere of some kind.
"The potion did not enhance my magic as such, but it did condition my body to be able to withstand a very sudden influx of magical energy, which was the main reason for me to actually take the potion in the first place. Once Gryffindor had taught me all he could within a reasonable time frame, he told me to take the power from that sphere, but the sphere did not infuse me with power, per se. What it did was force my body to unlock its potential.
What I mean to say is, it hastened my magical maturity and my mind is stronger. Not on level with Hermione, I think, but certainly better than before. I am now as powerful as I'll ever be. Which I'm sure is somewhat less than Riddle, unfortunately. I'm just lucky he's handicapped at the moment, or I wouldn't have survived the encounter when I stopped him from murdering a Muggle family a few days ago."
Bella perked up at that. "You faced Riddle? How was the bastard?"
"Strong and powerful. Sadistic and evil. You know, the usual. I could tell almost immediately that he was not firing his spells at full power. It's as you say, Bella, there's something wrong with him. He almost keeled over when he tried to send the killing curse my way. We can't expect that to last, though. He'll find a way to recover. Or at the very least compensate for anything that's holding him back."
Harry moved to sit in a chair and motioned for the other three to do so as well. He hung his head for a second before he raised it again, to look his lovers in the eye.
"Tonks was right and so were you, Andie. I cannot go on like this, the guilt will eventually eat me up until there's nothing left. Which is why I have decided to ask you three if you'd be willing to accompany me to Hogwarts tomorrow night to destroy the Diadem."
The response was immediate and unanimous. Yes, they were most certainly willing to accompany him to Hogwarts. When they asked Harry if they needed to conceal their identities, he told them it was their choice, but that he himself wasn't about to, that after that night he was done hiding. That last bit made the three women extremely happy, Andie in particular, because she knew that for Harry to meet his friends again would do him a world of good.
"Besides, if I know Ginny, she has the Marauder's map and I'd be surprised if she does not check it several times a day." Harry grinned at the quizzical looks the women gave him. "The Marauder's map is an almost complete map of Hogwarts, created by my father, Remus, Sirius and the Rat. The best feature on it is that it shows the current location of anyone inside the castle at any given moment, with their names attached.
It also shows a little of the grounds and a number of secret tunnels and passageways. I'm also going to assume the Order has made copies by now. I'm going to assume Ginny has the original and if they have in fact made copies, there's no chance Professor McGonagall doesn't have one. She is Headmistress, after all."
Narcissa nodded along. "I think it likely that Flitwick and Sprout and whoever became heads of Slytherin and Gryffindor have their own copies."
"Agreed," said Harry.
After a moment of silence, Andie turned to Cissy with an expectant look. "Do you know anyone who can supply us with proper robes?"
Narcissa smiled at her sister. "I know just who to approach for such a thing." She turned to Harry and put her hand on his knee. "I am going to need to grab a few galleons from that chest Harry and take my sisters on an outing in Knockturn Alley."
Harry handed her his coin purse and told her it was linked to the chest. "I should go with you. What if you're recognized?"
"We'll be fine, Harry," Cissy said. "We're about done hiding, aren't we? Besides, if anyone in Knockturn recognizes us, Bella and I have enough of a reputation to protect us from the wretches in that place. Mr. Malfoy's wife and the Dark Lord's right hand? Even if they know we are formerly those things, I should think the cowards that hide in that disgusting place won't dare do anything. Please do not worry, Harry. We shall return in the afternoon or early evening."
Deep in the night, Harry stirred when he heard the door to his room open and close softly. He recognized Narcissa's scent, coupled with an incredibly alluring fragrance of wildflowers and vanilla, and a touch of something else... Coffee and cedarwood?
Whatever it was, it lit his senses on fire. Realizing she was standing at the foot of the bed, Harry opened his eyes and sat up against the headboard, the sheet falling to his waist, revealing his chiselled chest and abs.
His eyes were intent on Narcissa as she stood there in her robes, her eyes roaming his body. She reached up and released her dark brown hair and it cascaded down to her lower back, slightly messy, which only added to her beauty. Once that was done, she slowly shed her robes, revealing her perfect, naked body to Harry, who swallowed nervously.
"Narcissa, what..."
The cat seemed to have gained possession of Harry's tongue as Narcissa climbed into the bed and crawled to him, her movements sensuous and enticing. She straddled his waist, grasped his head and kissed him with immense passion. Once the kiss ended, she gazed into his eyes, her own smouldering with desire.
She drew a shuddering breath and leaned into him. Before Harry could say anything, she started kissing his neck, while grazing her manicured nails along his torso, making him shiver and break out in goosebumps, despite the warmth in the room.
Narcissa sensed that Harry was very rapidly falling under her spell and her ministrations became more insistent. From somewhere, she produced her wand and vanished the sheets and his boxer briefs. The slightly cold sensation brought a semblance of rationality to Harry and he took hold of her upper arms, meaning to talk to her, but she was having none of it and kissed him once more, her tongue invading his mouth. They broke apart a minute later, breathless with even greater desire and need.
"Narcissa, I..."
His lover put a finger on his lips, silencing him. "You needn't worry about a thing, my love. I will teach you all you need to know..."
So, the last scene. I was trying for a bit of sensuality, but I don't know if I managed it, to be honest.
Chapter ten. We're done with the flashbacks, and things are moving forward. Thanks for reading :)
