A/N: This is a story of revenge and betrayal. Please R&R
"Ron, you need to talk to him. He just lost his wife..." Hermione said, looking over at the stationary form of Harry Potter whose hand was resting on a jet-black coffin. His shoulders seemed to jump every once in a while, indicating to Hermione that her best friend was crying. A small girl with golden blonde hair stood next to Harry, holding his hand and crying as well.
"What am I supposed to say? I already told him I was sorry for his loss." Ron replied, seemingly more concerned about his now fussing 3rd child rather than his friend.
It had been a week since Daphne Potter had passed, sadly in her sleep, from the blood curse that affected the Greengrass family. That morning, Harry had woken and kissed her head before going to work at the Ministry. By that time, she had already passed but he didn't know until their daughter had floo called him in a panic stating that Mum wouldn't wake up. Harry had said that she was perfectly fine the previous night. They had played a muggle board game called Clue and had worked on a puzzle as a family. Now she was gone...
"Seriously? You have been best friends since first year but can't comfort him?" Hermione said, slightly raising her voice, "Wow. Waited too long now. Draco is going to talk to him."
She was right. Draco Malfoy had seemed to approach his former enemy and given him a handshake with his wife, Astoria, giving Harry a huge hug. She held on for probably longer than appropriate, but soon let go to hug the small girl next to Harry.
Draco and Harry conversed for a moment before the couple bid goodbye to their... former... brother-in-law. Harry then stepped away from the coffin and produced his wand, slowly lifting the coffin into the ground and depositing the dirt on top of it. He transfigured a gravestone and apparated away with his daughter shortly after.
Hermione had stayed, speaking with the Weasley family longer than Harry had stayed. She made her way over to the grave and prayed before examining the headstone.
Daphne Nicole Potter
December 26th, 1980 - July 30th, 2014
Loving Sister, Wife, and Mother
Murdered in her sleep by a disease she didn't know she had.
'I will love you in this world and the next, Daphne' -H.J.P.
Hermione saw Harry again two weeks later. He looked a lot happier, with Isabelle on his shoulders, walking through the atrium of the Ministry. It had come out a week ago that Harry had quit his job to "focus on his daughter". Hermione understood. He needed time to grieve. But she saw the bags under his eyes. His face showed he wasn't sleeping but his smile showed that he was getting better...
Three weeks later Harry sent her an owl asking her about blood feuds and if the ministry had a record of them. She was surprised at Harry's newfound interest in history, but provided the needed document, nevertheless. It was concerning that he had suddenly started looking into that specific topic, so she vowed to look at whatever Harry was looking into once she got the document back.
Famed Curse Breaker Bill Weasley killed in botched tomb excavation
Story by Jamison MacMullins
Early Friday morning, the famed curse breaker William "Bill" Weasley was found in a recently discovered magical tomb in Egypt, seemingly killed by a rudimentary organ expelling and crucifying rune. It appears to investigators that Mr. Weasley had failed to see the curse on a stone below him and had accidentally set it off. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
Please see page 8 for the rest of the story.
The Daily Prophet extends its sympathies to the Weasley family.
Accident at Holly Head Harpies Practice! Chaser Ginevra Weasley killed by rogue Bludger.
Story by Ernie Simmons
Yesterday, Holly Head Harpies Star Chaser Ginevra "Ginny" Weasley was killed when a bludger impacted her head at over 250 mph. The bludger in question, after being inspected by authorities, was believed to have malfunctioned and increased in velocity to the 250-mph mark. This is the second Weasley this year to have died in an accident, the first being Bill Weasley, who was killed in Egypt while curse breaking.
We extend our deepest sympathies to the Weasley family for their losses.
Harry attended both funerals of the Weasley children, offering sympathy to Molly and the family. He provided platitudes and understanding to what they must be going through. He felt the same when he lost his wife suddenly...
Hermione, however, skeptical of their "accidental" deaths. She had spent many hours looking at the blood feud documents and searching through them for anything Harry might have been looking for. She had started with any feuds that the Potter family was involved in, but none included anything of substance. They had all been ended and nothing too bad had occurred in them.
She did discover a blood feud that still existed between the Greengrass family and the Weasleys. It contained at least 10 pages of how bloody the feud was until it stagnated in the 15th century. Maybe Astoria was restarting it? But that didn't make any sense... Why now? She would need to do more research.
One year later...
New Dark Lord in France?
Story by Pierre Mismaque
Is there a new Dark Lord rising in France? Last night, the French Minister of Magic's daughter, Fleur Delacour and her two children were killed in Paris following an attempted assassination of the Minister.
The small family had gone shopping earlier in the day and were returning to the French Ministry to see their grandfather; however, they were ambushed by a dark cloaked person who cast an unknown spell that destroyed the street, killed the family, and severely injured the Minister.
The Daily Prophet spoke with recently reappointed DMLE Director, Harry Potter, about the attack, "This was obviously not some spur of the moment type of attack." He stated after reviewing the footage with the Prophet's news team, "See how the person apparates in right at the most opportune moment to launch his attack? That indicates that were was likely someone watching the Minister prior to the attack."
When asked about the type of spell used, Director Potter had this to say, "Most definitely some sort of war spell. Wide area effect with little wand movement and, if you look closely at the large damage on the street, large power. I'm not an expert by any means in war spells, however based on this view, it was probably "Castle's Bane" spell. Used in the 14th century to bring down Castle's walls during sieges."
There have been scant leads on who committed this crime; however, the best clue was the 'Dark Mark' left at the scene of the crime. A dragon clutching a wand in one hand and a lily in the other. "The best bet for the French Ministry is to look into the mark itself. It might provide some insight. Reminds me of the Dark Mark used by You-Know-Who."
The Daily Prophet will keep you updated on the investigation and leads if there are any. We extend our condolences to the Delacour and Weasley families.
One Year Later...
Minister of Magic Hermione Weasley stood before the Wizengamot as the members debated about the mysterious Dark Lord now tormenting the United Kingdom's wizarding population.
"This is outrageous! I demand Lady Bones retract her statement!" Lady Astoria Greengrass demanded over the crowd. The session had started as normal with legislation being proposed and voted on. It quickly turned negative once Lady Susan Bones had taken the floor to suggest a new law outlawing any non-public organization. She had then suggested that several members of the body were supporting the new dark lord and needed to be arrested.
"I will not recant! You and your Death Eater scum are once again supporting a dark lord! We must put an end to this!" Several gasps tore through the crowd before Lord Longbottom stood, quieting the meeting.
"I spent my teenage years fighting an evil far greater than any we had seen before since the Dark Lord Grindelwald. Many of you fought with me," Neville smiled at Hermione and Susan, "and some of you supported the others." He looked to Draco and Theodore Nott. "We have moved on and created a better society. Or so I thought. But now, once we have another enemy, we return to the same prejudices that contributed to the last war. I put blame on all for stoking the fires of division and whatnot. However, I must lay the most blame on the current administration. Minister Weasley has failed to combat the growing influence of this new Dark Lord while continuing to handicap the DMLE! I know that Director Potter has asked twelve times for additional authority to combat this threat..."
Hermione was shocked by the betrayal of one of her longtime friends. While it was true that she had ignored Harry's pleas, she had not expected it to get this bad...
"Minister Weasley continues to pass elf rights bills and other unneeded changes while several families of wizards have been murdered. Most recently, Percy and Penelope Weasley and their three children. Their home exploded friends. You would think this would spur the Minister to action, but it seems to be the last thing on her list." Neville continued, looking sad as he spoke, "It is with great sadness that I call for a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Minister Weasley."
One month later...
Hermione smiled sadly as her oldest friend was sworn in as the new Minister. She had never thought Harry would take an active role in the government, let alone run it... As he finished his 'oath' and the applause subsided, Lady Bones asked to be recognized, which the Chief Wizard granted.
"The crisis of the Dark Lord has not abated since Minister Potter was installed. In fact, the attacks have only increased. We must act quickly to get this under control before it spirals. This, I motion for the Wizengamot grant emergency powers to Minister Potter for the duration of this crisis." A thunderous applause erupted in the room, followed by chants of 'vote now'. Of course, once they did, the results were clear.
Hermione watched as her friend reluctantly accepted and promised a return to normal once the crisis ended. While she was sad and defeated to lose her position, she was certain Harry would uphold the office well.
Six months later...
Lady Greengrass stood silently as her husband's casket was lowered into the ground. The final victim of the last war. Ironic really. Daphne taken by the Greengrass blood curse; Draco taken by the half-blood's dark mark. The doctors had said that Voldemort had inserted a sort of dead man's switch in the mark. After a certain amount of time, the mark would kill the Death Eater if Voldemort was ever defeated. A sick idea from a sick mind. Sadly, Draco had been one of the few to receive the mark in his generation. But luckily, the other deaths could be prevented now...
Astoria had never truly loved Draco. Sure, she had lived with him for years, but their marriage was purely for political gain. 'Produce an heir and a spare' as her father had told her. Funny that that didn't work out either. She had discovered Draco was not able to father children due to his treatment by Voldemort.
By God, how life isn't fair. Daphne would have loved to have more children and here Astoria was, unable to have children with a man due to the previous dark lord. Plus, the Blood Curse that had taken Daphne had not been found in her blood when she had decided to get tested immediately after Daphne's death. Why was it fair that the good girl, who had brightened the world with kindness and laughter had to be the one who was taken?
As she stood there, Astoria began to sob. She sobbed until Harry Potter hugged her and told her it would be okay. She felt some small arms wrap around hew midsection as Isabelle tried to comfort her as well. A small smile reached her lips as she thought about their broken family.
Eleven months later...
Former-Minister Weasley attacked in home, barely escapes with her life!
by Dee Nutmeg
Late last night, Aurors were called to the private residence of Former-Minister Weasley on an urgent call that their home was under attack by forces of the Dark Lord. Ronald Weasley, her husband, was frantically calling for help as the Former-Minister dueled the assailant in the hallway...
"Bested by a woman who hasn't dueled anyone in twenty years! You failed!" The Dark Lord exclaimed as they threw the paper at the injured witch, "Must I do it myself?" he said in a low tone.
"No, my Lord. I will complete the task as directed." the woman replied, nodding in agreement.
"No, it is too late now. They are aware of our plans. We must adapt. I have a new mission for you..."
Seven Days Later...
Astoria was brought out of her musings by a shadowy figure who entered the study
"I trust your mission was successful?" She asked, never looking back at the figure. The woman responded by throwing down the Daily Prophet which read on a back page, British National, Charles Weasley, killed by Dragon in Romania. "Who is taking care of the Burrow and the Weasley parents?" the figure said, discarding her invisibility cloak before vanishing the newspaper. The cloak revealed her red hair that spread out across her back. A signature feature that not many in the UK magical community had.
"A loyal friend... Theo Nott." Astoria said, handing the woman a piece of paper.
She read the paper and returned it, "The Dark Lord will not like that information. That mudblood is too close to our trail. Especially with the death of the dragon handler."
"She is. But soon, the blood curse will cease to exist, and Isabelle will be safe... That is all that matters..." Astoria responded, looking up at the frowning image of Daphne
"Astoria, you know I wouldn't approve of what you have done. The Weasleys of today did not create the curse..." The portrait said, sadly looking at her 'sister'.
"But we still carry it as long as one Weasley lives." Astoria replied, "Do not tell me what is right. Our family has been reduced to me and your daughter. 500 years ago, our family branches numbered in the 20s. 250 members and growing. Reduced to two." Astoria's eyes began to fill with tears as the redhead took that as her cue to leave.
"I can't lose anyone else." Astoria before she closed the curtains of her sister's portrait.
Hermione stood with the group of former DA members and other allies in the room of requirement at Hogwarts. Headmaster McGonagall had been kind enough to let them have a secure place to meet for their secret meeting.
"We must speak with Harry, give him our concerns. He will listen to us; we are his friends!" Cho Chang said quietly.
"Hermione, we can't give him a petition from the Wizengamot. Sure, those that will sign are likely a third of the body, but that just hands him a list of non-supporters. The Daily Prophet is already running Lord McKinnon through the mud for just suggesting Harry has too much power." Cormac McLaggen said, obviously mellowing out since Hogwarts. The debate raged on for about twenty minutes before Hermione interrupted.
"I think the Dark Lord is Astoria." Suddenly there was dead silence.
"Excuse me?" Susan Bones said, her eyebrows nearly touching her redhaired bangs
"I said, I think Astoria..." She was cut off by Neville.
"We all heard what you said. Why do you think that?"
"I have been doing some research. A couple of years ago, after Daphne's death, Harry asked me for the Ministries records on blood feuds in wizarding Britain. He looked through them for a few weeks then returned them with a quick 'thanks'. At that time, I did my own research and discovered that there is only one still outstanding blood feud in the entire country. The House of Weasley blood feud against the Noble House of Greengrass. Interesting but not useful at that time... However, five weeks later Bill was killed in a freak tomb accident..." She began pacing around the room, getting her thoughts together.
"Bill was an excellent curse breaker. Probably the best in the UK. But he is killed by a rudimentary organ expelling curse? By itself, not suspicious. But two months later, Ginny is killed by a rogue blugder..."
"Hold it. I see where you are going, but wouldn't this point to Harry blaming the Weasley's and him being the dark lord? Not Astoria?" Susan asked.
"Harry loves the Weasley's like his own family. I think he gave the document to Astoria as a favor."
Susan nodded for her to continue, but not before whispering to Neville, "I don't know if I would love a family that I believed murdered you..." Neville smiled and kissed her head.
"Are you sure of this?" the Astoria asked as the man nodded, "Thank you for your information, Neville. You have done well. Say hello to Susan for me when you head home."
"Of course, 'Stori. Hannah should be over tomorrow to test Isabelle for the blood curse. Now that her magic is not as volatile, we should be able to detect it." Neville responded
"Let us hope for the Weasley's sake that she shows no signs of the disease." Astoria replied, looking at the girl playing in the garden with her father.
Harry slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor in Potter Manor as Astoria kneeled next to him, "I'm so sorry, Harry." She brought him into to an awkward hug and the young man's eyes filled with unshed tears, "Hannah said that Isabelle should make it to her 12th birthday, but past that... Daphne was special. The curse was dormant until she had children. Isa is not so lucky."
"Daddy?" Isabelle said as she rounded the corner to see her father and Astoria hugging on the floor, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Isa dear. Here," Astoria pulled Harry up from his position, "You and Dad go play, okay?" She pulled Harry close and whispered in his ear, "Hannah said she will pass in the night like Daphne. Go, be with her while you have time."
He nodded sadly before reaching for Isabelle's hand and soon being pulled away to go pet the horses...
Astoria watched from the window as the little girl riding her favorite horse and her father riding his walked along the stream that cut through the property. "What are you going to do now?" Portrait Daphne asked, "Now that you know?"
"We were too slow at ending the feud. If..." Astoria said before being stopped by the portrait.
"Hannah said Isabelle's curse was active from the moment she received magic. There is nothing you could have done, 'Stori... But you can still have children... I gave seen the way you look at Harry... For what it's worth, you have my blessing."
"No, Daph. I love him, but..." her voice caught in her throat, "He still loves you. He always will... And I'm okay with that." Daphne smiled sadly before leaving her portrait empty.
Four years later...
All Quiet from the Dark Lord?
by Billy Maize
It has been four years since the last attack by the forces of the Dragon Dark Lord. Since the murder of Arthur, Molly, and George Weasley, there have been no new attacks. Yesterday, Minister Potter stated that the war seemed to be on a ceasefire and that his emergency powers would be returned to the Wizengamot in the coming weeks.
The total of war dead due to the Dark Lord was 794. A majority of these were directly related to the Weasley family. By this reporter's estimation the only remaining descendant from Gerald Weasley, the founder of the family, is Ron and Hermione Weasley.
In other news, Minister Potter recently tied the knot with Astoria Greengrass, the younger sister of his deceased wife Daphne. It has been reported that they currently live together to take care of Minister Potter's daughter, Isabelle. We wish them fortune and happiness.
Please see the rest of this story on page 7.
Three years later...
Ron and Harry hadn't spoken in years. Ron began blaming Harry for not doing enough to protect his family as they were obviously targets. Hermione would exchange letters with him, but it was the same. Astoria had done him well and he seemed much happier in her letters. Even if Hermione believed that Astoria was the Dark Lord, she was always so kind when they met in Diagon Alley.
Life went on for them even though their family was reduced to just them and their five children. Hermione had only wanted three, but Ron had convinced her to have more due to their only being a few Weasley's left. So, with their five children at home, Hermione had a full-time job raising them. She was cooking dinner while Ron played in the living room with their youngest when there was a knock on their door. Ron stood and grabbed the handle, revealing Harry and Astoria.
Harry's mouth opened and then closed, so thus Astoria spoke first, "Good evening, Ronald, may we come in." Her attitude screamed serious, so Ron quickly allowed them entry.
"We need to speak with your entire family, Ronald. Could you please gather them?" Ron nodded dumbly before calling the kids down from upstairs and Hermione from the kitchen.
"You must hear us out, before you speak." Astoria began, "Your wands please? We need to speak candidly without threat of violence." Ron handed over his wand quickly, but Hermione wavered. Why would they need their wands? Ron nudged her to give it up a moment later, so she reluctantly did.
"In the fourteenth century, your ancestor, Gerald Weasley created a blook feud between the Greengrass and Weasley families. It lasted many years of active combat and was the bloodiest feud in British history. At some point, someone in your family performed a blood ritual using a member of my family. They cursed us with a blood malediction that would, over the next few centuries, reduce our family to just four members: my father, Lord Greengrass, my mother, Lady Greengrass, Daphne and me. The curse took my father when I was ten. My mother, luckily, was Bella Rosier and was not affected by the curse. Ironically, she died of Dragonpox when I was 18. That left Daphne and I." She looked at the family before her and smiled sadly.
"The Greengrass family never thought that the Weasley family would stoop to a blood malediction, so we looked elsewhere. Genetic deficiencies? Wizard cancer? We could never figure it out until Daphne, a healthy and fit young woman, died in her sleep. We checked the blood feud histories. If only a head of House Weasley had ended the feud within the first 100 years of the ritual being performed. But alas, the feud is still ongoing... and the only way to end the curse is to kill the other family to the last member."
Harry and Astoria quickly cast body binds on the seven Weasleys, "You are the last... But it doesn't matter anymore. Isabelle passed three years ago. I am the last Greengrass. So, we have decided to use you for a different purpose... We discovered the cure to the curse three weeks ago. But it doesn't help us in this time. So, it's time to go back to when it can help us."
Harry began unpacking their bag and cleared an area in the center of the living room. He began inscribing runes onto the floor and pouring what looked to Hermione like time turner sand onto his drawings.
"With magic, all things are possible..." Astoria said as she grabbed the youngest Weasley child and slit their throat before casting a blood draining curse. Pouring the blood onto the floor in the correct sequence, she killed each of the children before leaving just Hermione and Ron.
"I'm sorry, Hermione." Harry said. Harry finished writing the required runes onto Astoria's naked body as she did the same to him. Together, they slit Ron's throat and spoke the words before they felt immense pain.
Blue eyes suddenly opened, and the girl shot up in bed gasping for air. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light, but when they finally did, she smiled. Astoria found herself in Greengrass manor in her childhood bedroom. She slid out from under the covers and ran through the hallways before reaching the dining room door. She could hear the soft voices of her parents beyond...
Astoria pushed open the door and smiled at the couple eating breakfast. They both smiled back. "I've missed you both" She whispered as she took a seat at the table, "Mummy, can we go to Hogwarts to see Daphne? I had a bad dream and I want to make sure she is alright." Her Dad smiled, but yet rolled his eyes.
"I have some errands to run today, so how about we meet Daphne is Hogsmeade?" He said, placing a waffle on Astoria's empty plate. She nodded in agreement.
At the same time Harry Potter awoke suddenly in the Gryffindor dorms. He fumbled for his wand and then shot a tempus spell to see the time. 8:21 am, January 20th, 1991. Good. He rushed out of his bed and through the halls to the entrance to the Great Hall. He stood there for a moment before slowly pushing the door open. His eyes immediately locked with the golden blonde beauty at the Slytherin table. She was talking to her best friend Tracey Davis, who noticed Harry was staring at them. She nudged Daphne to look at Harry and then shot him a confused look about his current state of dress. She giggled before Harry smiled widely at her.
Quickly, Harry made his way over to their table and sat down right across from her. He shot out his hand and smiled, "I'm Harry Potter and I want to be your friend."
Daphne took it gently and nodded, "I would like that, Harry." He let out a sigh of relief before piling some bacon onto his plate.
All was finally well.
