The Eighth Year Universe

Love Wins

It's an Uphill Road to Run


The chapter title comes from the song:

Younger Me – Brothers Osborne.


Blacknot Castle

Sunday the 12th of September

The Black-Nott's were under no illusions that they were fine. News like that didn't hit and then just go away, and tensions were heightened with the day of the prophecy drawing ever nearer.

To their credit – the children hadn't mentioned it. Hermione could see that Ada and Dora sensed the tension, even though they didn't know about the prophecy. Ella and Cas were perceptive too, and Almina knew the truth. Charlus was absent for the most part, but they couldn't be upset about that – he was with Victoire, and she needed him more than they did.

Daphne had called Sadie earlier, and she had forced a smile and lied her way through. But she was breaking apart inside. Her brother was gone, and that was hard enough to contend with, but now? Knowing her parents were behind it just made the blow hurt all the more.

After the floo disconnected, Sadie took herself away to her favourite room in the castle. She hadn't seen Theo or Hermione all day, so she didn't suppose that anyone would come to find her up there.

So Sadie sat in the Astronomy room and busied herself with charts because they occupied her mind. She must have been up there for an hour or two when the door creaked open.

She looked up, expecting to see Theo, but it was Draco who had just let himself into the room. Sadie stiffened slightly and turned away from him.

"Be honest – you weren't planning on telling us. Were you?"

"Sadie…I…"

"If Clara hadn't come, you wouldn't have," Sadie added.

Draco sighed and sat down in one of the bay window seats. He frowned, then shook his head, "I didn't want to tell you."

Sadie scoffed, but Draco continued before she could get a word in.

"I didn't want to put you through anymore," He admitted, "You, or Theo. You've been hurt enough by your parents. I just…I didn't want you to have to bear that burden."

"So you were going to bear it for us?" Sadie asked, her eyes flashing irritably. She looked up from her chart to Draco, "All alone?"

"Yes," Draco said honestly, "Because that's what you do to protect the people you love, isn't it?"

Sadie sighed and dropped her quill, "No, Draco, it's not. What you do is tell the people you love and share that burden. Maybe…with all of us in the loop, maybe we can…."

"Maybe we can what?" Draco asked quietly, "Change the prophecy, or stop it? We can't, Sadie. You know that better than anyone."

"And I wish I didn't have to!" Sadie snapped, "I wish I didn't have to keep the secrets underneath the Ministry to myself, but I do, and that burden is so heavy! So when you don't have to keep a burden like that, you don't."

Draco nodded and looked down, "I'm sorry."

Sadie sighed, and there was a long silence.

"You did it for the right reasons, at least."

Draco looked up at her, his eyes shining with tears and a vulnerability that only his family got to see in him.

Sadie managed a small smile, "That's more than Draco Malfoy could have said."

Draco laughed weakly, then nodded, "That's….true, I suppose."

Sadie rubbed her eyes and looked down at her chart again, "If it makes you feel any better, I'm harbouring a pretty big burden right now too."

Draco wasn't always the most perceptive, but Sadie was a little easier to read than Hermione or Theo.

"You know what the prophecy means, don't you?"

"Not all of it," Sadie admitted, "But parts of it? Yes."

Draco nodded and leaned his head against the cool glass of the window, "Like you said, a burden shared is a burden halved."

Sadie would have given him a long-suffering look under other circumstances.

"We think it's about time, but I don't know how it can be," Sadie admitted, "I know the line 'the consequences of meddling shall be revealed' does lend us to believe that this is our comeuppance for what I did to save you….but it doesn't add up."

"How so?" Draco asked calmly.

"Because of the line 'through the spirits door, where the breeze breaks'," Sadie replied. She frowned and looked up at Draco, "I've been thinking about that line for weeks, Draco. It doesn't make sense. It has to be the veil because what other spirits door could it refer to? But…"

"But what?" Draco prodded.

Sadie sighed, "There's always a breeze at the veil. It's creepy; it's the spirits on the other side calling to their loved ones. When you get close, you can hear them whispering. The veil is sentient; it wants to pull people in because when it does, it absorbs their magic, and that's how it sustains itself."

Draco frowned, "So it's like a vampire that feeds on magic?"

"Sort of," Sadie replied absentmindedly.

"But there's this tattered old curtain that hangs over the doorway of the veil, and because of the whispering, it always moves in this minuscule breeze."

Draco nodded, "So what could make the breeze break?"

"Only one thing that I know of," Sadie admitted, "Which would be opening the portal to the Land of Eternal Summer."

"The Land of the Dead?" Draco echoed.

Sadie bowed her head, "When the portal is open, the whispering and the wind stops, and the curtain is still."

Draco frowned, "But then…that means if we all end up down there…someone is going to activate the veil."

"Exactly," Sadie said darkly, "And why would they do that?"

"To bring someone back?" Draco suggested.

"You can't. That's not how the veil works; it's ancient magic, Draco," Sadie said, suddenly she was whispering, "It's a life for a life. If you want to send someone back, you have to sacrifice yourself."

Draco's eyes darkened, "Do you think he wants to bring Voldemort back? Because he would be willing to sacrifice himself for that, wouldn't he?"

"Probably, but he can't bring Voldemort back," Sadie replied, "The Land of Eternal Summer is where ultimately good souls go. Or…misguided ones, anyway. The truly evil people…they end up somewhere else."

Draco looked up at Sadie then, "Do you think Alfred Nott knows that?"

Sadie sighed and glanced down once more.

"I don't know."


Somewhere on the Blacknot Estate

Sunday the 12th of September

Theo dismounted his horse when he heard muffled yells and blasts coming from the forest. He stroked the horse's pure white mane and mumbled, "Exactly where I thought she'd be, Shadowfax. You stay here; that's a good lad."

The horse bowed its head and whinnied. Theo took a few steps into the woods, where he found Hermione's horse, who was used to the noise and not shaken at all by it. He stroked her mane when he reached her and murmured, "Nothing phases you, does it, Beauty?"

He and Hermione had both gotten some stick from the others for naming their horses after famous literary ones – Theo thought the Lord of the Rings was the coolest thing ever, so of course, he called his pure white horse Shadowfax. And Hermione's favourites books as a child had been Anne of Green Gables and Black Beauty, so she named her all-black horse in honour of that.

They had, in turn, told Draco and Sadie that at least they had used unique names rather than boring ones. Sadie's Appaloosa was named 'Lady', and Draco's Andalusian was called 'Max'.

Theo shielded himself then pushed through the dense foliage into the clearing that Hermione was currently destroying.

"Thought I'd find you out here, Princess."

Hermione turned to look at him and sighed, "Theo."

Theo removed his shield charm and stepped into view, "How often do you destroy our trees? Beauty seems pretty used to it."

Hermione shrugged and sat down on a tree stump, "Being Minister for Magic was stressful."

"Hm," Theo nodded, "I imagine it was."

He sat down next to her on the tree stump, and they were both silent for a while.

"Where have you been all morning?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Riding," Theo admitted, "You know it clears my head."

Hermione nodded, "Where did you go?"

"Up to Hogwarts, around the lake and to the edge of the mountains," Theo replied quietly, "Then I came back and saw that Beauty was out, so I came to find you."

"You didn't need to," Hermione promised, "I'm fine. This isn't about me. It's about you and Sadie."

Theo took her hand, "It's about all of us, and you know it. My father is behind this… that means that while it's Draco's prophecy, it involves our whole family."

Hermione let her head drop into her hands, "It does seem that way."

Theo moved his hand to let it rest on Hermione's lower back.

"There's nothing we can do to change it, Hermione," He said softly, "It's a prophecy; it's literally written in the stars. It's a fixed point in time; no matter what we did, we would always end up where the prophecy wanted us to."

"I know," Hermione said. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and shook her head, "But I wish there were something we could do, Theo."

Theo smiled sadly, "Princess, all we ever want is more time. We could die in our 90s, and there would still be things we wish we had done. It's only human."

Hermione reached over and grabbed his hand, "You're coping better than I am with all of this, and he's your father."

Theo shrugged and looked down at the ground, "It's easier for me. After I found out about my mother, about how he had loved her and Lucius had killed her…I started to think maybe I had been wrong and he had been redeemable, but now this?"

He shook his head, "It reminds me that he's exactly who I thought he was. He is cruel and cold. He only cares about himself and not the collateral damage because that's what Diagon Alley was to him, collateral damage."

Theo was practically spitting his words by the end of that sentence, "And that's what makes me different from him, Hermione."

His eyes were full of tears as he spoke.

"To him, they were collateral damage. To me, they were people I helped to save in the Closes or children I taught," Theo said, his voice strained, "Addison Fawley was a loudmouth, but he was great at Potion work. His sister Melody was sweet and quiet and terrified of flying. Poppy Hopkins was confident, brilliant on a broom, but a bit too chatty. Her sister Posey was at her happiest in a greenhouse. Maisie Hopkirk was so smart and obsessed with Astronomy, Sadie loaned her Hogwarts level books, and she read them in a week."

Hermione felt her own eyes fill with tears again. She swallowed a lump in her throat and squeezed Theo's hand.

"Dan Jackson loved history and his sister, Amy; she was interested in Arithmancy. I haven't seen a kid that good with numbers since her. Alfie McCarthy wasn't smart, but he was a nice kid, and he grew into a kind adult. Reeva Patel was smart, crazy smart, and everyone said she blew it by getting pregnant at 18, but she was going to train as a teacher once Emily started Nursery, and she - " his voice broke, " – she never did."

Theo wiped his eyes hastily, "Josiah Shaw was arrogant but smart, and Eleanor Travers was quietly brilliant. Their oldest son Jonas was doing so well at school, and Jaimie, he'd just started Nursery. Lucy and Ellie Syme were both bubbly, kind kids, and Constance Kelly tried so hard in school, it never came naturally to her, but she didn't give up."

He shook his head, "Freya Flint was a gossip, but she was insecure, which was why she acted like that. Natalie Hill was bullied horribly until Marianne Moore stepped in, and they were best friends from that day forward. Sophie Hurley was shy; she was a Muggle-born, so she thought that limited her, but she was excited because she was just about to go to Hogwarts."

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut tightly. He knew every child who had died that day, and he had taught some of the younger adults too.

"Skyla Knott was so smart. I had complete faith she would take over Ollivander's legacy. Elroy Montague was a brilliant flier, and I would have pegged him to fly for England one day. Levi Strang was so shy, he hardly spoke, not until Cleo Parry brought him out of his shell and then they had a baby, he wasn't even one yet. Rebecca Andrews, Lauren Seaton and Jessica Wood were inseparable; they had been friends since Reception. June Cox was quiet, but she always smiled and said hello when you passed her in the hall."

Theo continued to stare down at the ground.

"Skye Day was loud and obnoxious, but she was insecure underneath that. Ivy-Rose Hall always felt like she had to measure up to her big sister. Brandon Doyle struggled in school, but he was great when he got a wand in his hand. Daniel Elder was a brilliant student, and his sister Diana had been so excited to start Reception."

Hermione had to wonder how many more names would come out and how much Theo needed to talk about this. It was like saying them all out loud; he let go of them.

"Ava Goldstein was such a pure soul. May Hart was going to cure Lycanthropy because she didn't want any children to suffer the way she had because of her werewolf father. Louisa Holmes was quiet unless she was with the Lane twins. Minnie and Mollie were so loud and bubbly. Then they brought Kenna Mulciber into their little group, and she was so glad to be included because people judged her by her last name all of the time. But her mother refused to change it because she was proud of who they were."

Hermione wrapped her arms around Theo, but he didn't lean in to hug her.

"Sorcha McLaggen struggled to concentrate in class, but she loved flying. Her little boy Niall had just started Nursery, and he was struggling to settle in because he missed his mother. Zoe Yaxley was smart and loved numbers, and her little sister Mia was so artistic, her drawings always ended up on the classroom wall."

Theo shook his head again, "Blake Fletcher had a chip on his shoulder; he never thought he was good enough, so he took a job in the Apothecary when he could have done so much more. Sienna Hunt never spoke up in class because she didn't trust her opinion, but when she did speak, what she had to say was worth listening to. Ariyah Kaur was always tired because she stayed up late looking through her telescope, and Forrest Moss hated Herbology and wished his name wasn't so linked to the subject."

He fell silent, and Hermione didn't move. Theo moved into her a little, though. He hid his face, but she could feel his body shaking.

"That's why I'm different, Hermione. To me, they were people with lives, families and futures that he took from them, not collateral damage," He said through his tears.

"You're right, Theo. You are nothing like him," Hermione said. She tried to keep her voice steady, but she couldn't.

"He was a Nott, but you're so much more than that," Hermione said softly as she took Theo's hand and wove her fingers through his.

He looked up at her tearfully and nodded.

"I'm a Black-Nott."


Potter Manor

Sunday the 12th of September

"Doing the right thing sucks."

Daphne looked at Harry sympathetically. They were lying in bed, but neither of them could sleep. They both had other things occupying their minds.

"I know. But Draco will thank you for it one day," Daphne promised.

"Yeah," Harry said. He probably sounded as disheartened as he felt, "Maybe."

Daphne closed the book she was perusing, an account of the Crouch family history.

"Any luck?" Harry asked.

Daphne shook her head, "It was a dead-end, as I suspected. There's a note about Lydia Cruickshank, which was my Squib Great Uncle's surname because, of course, he wasn't allowed to use the family name."

Harry nodded, "No birth certificate?"

"Nope," Daphne replied, "It was noted that she was born in 1978 and that she started Hogwarts in 1989 and was sorted into Slytherin. There was no mention of her death at all."

"Well, you knew it was a longshot," Harry sighed. He climbed into bed and looked over at his wife, "You don't remember her at all? She was only a few years above us at school, and you two must have shared a common room."

"She was never a Prefect or Head Girl," Daphne replied, "I didn't pay much attention to the people in the years above us. The Slytherin common room wasn't like the Gryffindor or the Eighth Year one. You kept your head down there unless you had a rich daddy and could get away with saying what you wanted."

"I know you're talking about Draco, but didn't you have a rich daddy too?" Harry asked. He shot her an amused look.

"Mine didn't have his fingers in every pie at the Ministry, that's the difference," Daphne remarked dryly, "And although you knew my father as a political man, during our school years, he was an alcoholic. I kept my head down because everyone had an opinion about him. And I suspect Lydia kept her head down because everyone knew she had a squib surname and had grown up in the Muggle world."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, "Still…1978, she must have been in Fred and George's year at school. I could ask George if he remembers her? It might spark something."

Daphne rubbed her eyes, "Sure, you can give it a try, but I don't have much hope in finding anything if I'm honest."

Harry nodded, and they fell silent for a moment.

"I spoke to Sadie via the floo earlier," Daphne admitted, "Without saying any names. I know the floo isn't as secure as we thought it was."

Harry turned to look at his wife, "How is she?"

Daphne sighed, "She's pretending she's fine, but she isn't. First Sorenson…then finding out that her parents are behind it, and her mother is probably going to die…it's a lot."

Harry nodded and rubbed his eyes, "All of this is a lot, Daph. I just…I've always been pretty convinced that we'll get the bad guy, but this is harder."

"Because it takes you back to the worst time of your life," Daphne said perceptively.

Harry just nodded in response.

Daphne shuffled over and lay her head on his chest.

"You'll get him, Harry. You always do."

Harry frowned slightly as a thought flitted across his mind – but what if it's too late?


The Ministry of Magic

Monday the 13th of September

The air was tense in the Head Aurors office. Harry was, once more, leaning in a doorway while Draco paced the room. Ben was sitting behind his desk; his fingers were tapping out a rhythm on top of the brown file that lay atop it.

They were waiting for the remainder of their party to arrive before the meeting commenced.

The door clicked open, and Tiberius McLaggen stepped inside. He bowed his head and said, "I apologise for my lateness. I was held up with matters of rather significant importance in the office."

Draco raised an eyebrow, "Do elaborate, Tiberius."

Tiberius took a seat opposite Ben and held up a brown file, "My request for information from the Russian Ministry came through early this morning, and it contains some information worthy of note."

Harry was about to lean forward and ask what sort of information, but before he had the chance – the door opened again. This time Owen stepped in; he looked a little red in the face and flustered as he said, "So sorry I'm late."

Harry looked at him in disbelief, "Owen, your wife just gave birth. What are you doing here?"

Owen raised an eyebrow at Harry, "We're at war, Harry. Did you take the luxury of paternity leave when Lucia Cross was at her greatest threat?"

"No," Harry admitted, "But that nearly destroyed my marriage, so I wouldn't advise you to base your decisions on my former ones, Owen."

Ben cut in, "Owen, nobody would judge you for taking this time to be with your wife and son."

Owen shook his head, "I need to be here, Ben. I'm useful here."

Ben met the other man's eye then nodded. Harry assumed whatever had passed between them was like the unspoken communication he and Neville had developed when they were Auror partners.

Tiberius cleared his throat, "Congratulations on the birth of your son, Owen. But if we may begin?"

Owen stood behind Ben's chair and nodded, "Of course, sir."

Tiberius flipped open the file in his hands, "The Russians were very helpful, surprising as that may be. They provided me with what they know about the branch of the Lestrange family who live outside Murmansk. As you would expect, they are involved in local governing and the like, but they have no involvement with the Russian ministry because nobody wants to go near them with a barge pole."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"If I loosely translate my Russian friend here's words…." Tiberius smirked down at the file in his hands, "They are untrustworthy rats."

"No change from our branch of Lestrange's then," Draco remarked dryly.

"It does not appear so," Tiberius agreed, "The information of note in this file is the land that this branch of the family owns. Included among their many acres are stables and the like. But interestingly enough, they also own an observatory which has been out of commission since 2004."

"2004," Harry and Draco repeated in unison.

They caught each other's eye across the room. Draco nodded at Harry, "That would have been around the time when Lucia Cross was beginning to gather support."

"And Lotus started kidnapping children a year later," Harry agreed with a nod.

"That has to be the secret lab then," Owen remarked.

Tiberius bowed his head, "Alas, it is not quite that simple. This branch of Lestrange's is as paranoid as ours were. Their entire estate is protected with wards on a par with those at Hogwarts. I am sure you will all remember the amount of magic it took to bring them down prior to the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Of course we remember," Draco said quietly.

"That is not to say that it cannot be done," Tiberius pointed out, "But it would be a huge strain on our resources. We would have to send a great percentage of our Auror force to Russia, and we would have to wait for the clearance to do that, which could take some weeks."

"We don't have weeks," Draco said.

Everyone looked up at him, although Harry knew what he was talking about.

Draco sighed and elaborated, "The attack on Diagon Alley was designed to scramble us and drain our resources. That is why we are on high alert, there will be another attack, and it will happen soon. The last one happened on August weekend when Diagon Alley was busy. I suspect the next one will happen on Mabon."

Harry nodded, "When everyone is celebrating, and nobody suspects it."

"And when the Ministry is bare," Draco added, "The Saboteurs and Lazarus, they have attacked several Ministries already – Hungary, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland, to name a few."

Tiberius bowed his head in agreement, "Were he to target our Ministry, he would do it while it was sparsely protected."

"Sending people to Russia isn't an option, then," Ben concluded.

"No, nor is it necessary," Draco added, "He is coming here. We do not need to find him. We simply have to let him find us. But we do need to know what his motives are, which means getting a judge to sign an Exploration Order on Lotus Cauldwell."

Ben raised both eyebrows, "You think a judge will do that?"

"It is an exceptional case," Owen argued.

"Yes," Tiberius said carefully, "But an Exploration Order? She is medically in a coma and thereby not able to consent. Viewing her memories and forcing our way into her head when she is in such a state would be a complete violation."

"Not that she doesn't deserve it," Harry agreed, "But still, getting a judge to sign that will be hard."

Draco set his jaw and had to take a breath through his nose to calm himself.

"Just try," He said.

Ben nodded. He knew when to argue and when to agree. This man was his friend and had been his mentor, but he was also the Minister for Magic.

Tiberius flipped open a small notepad and wisely changed the subject.

"Minister. What security measures do you suggest we put in for Mabon?"

Draco thought about that for a moment, then replied, "We already have reduced staff in the Ministry thanks to the emergency lockdown procedure. But I think we need to limit it further. The necessary departments must run on a skeleton staff, and we ought to strengthen the wards on all entrances."

"We could lock the floo and force the staff to use the main entrance that day?" Harry suggested.

Draco nodded, "Yes, we ought to do that."

"What about the Auror department?" Ben asked, looking across at Draco, "Surely you don't want that to run on a skeleton staff?"

Draco sighed, then bowed his head, "Yes, I do. If we have every Auror on duty, he will know we're onto him. Keep it to a skeleton staff, but I want the best people in here – no trainees, qualified Aurors only who know the script."

Ben bowed his head, "Anyone in particular?"

Draco sat down heavily and sighed again, "Don't have Jack Sheppard in here, he's about to become a father, and Ritchie Coote has two young children. Be sensible about who you put on duty, just in case."

Ben nodded, then Draco turned his attention to Tiberius.

"And Tiberius, ensure the wards on that single entrance match the wards on Hogwarts Castle, for one day only."

Tiberius nodded and flipped his notebook shut, "Yes, sir."


Potter Manor

Tuesday the 14th of September

Harry knew that things were bad when Theo showed up at Potter Manor. It wasn't that he and Theo weren't friends; they were. It was just that Theo tended to keep how he felt to his own family group, and if he ever spoke to anyone out with that, it was Neville, not Harry.

Naturally, when he stepped into Harry's basement hideout, Harry raised an eyebrow, "Hey, Theo."

Theo sighed and returned, "Hey, Harry."

Harry knew better than to ask if everything was okay. The prophecy was weighing on his mind, so he couldn't begin to imagine how Theo felt, especially with his father being the one behind all of this.

"How are you coping?"

"I'm not," Theo admitted quietly, "I mean, I pretend I am for their sake because I can't break down when everyone else is….but I'm not, Harry. I…I haven't told Sally or Lacey. I know they probably deserve to know because that man hurt them as much as he hurt me, but if they don't know, then he can't hurt them again."

Harry nodded.

"And Lacey is pregnant. I don't want anything to ruin that for her," Theo said quietly, "I just want it all to go to plan. I know how excited she is to be a mum."

"Sometimes not telling people the truth…it's not lying to them, Theo, it's omitting a detail that is only going to cause them pain," Harry said gently.

Theo ran a hand through his hair then sat down on a barstool.

"I can't accept it, Harry," Theo admitted. His voice cracked, "I know it's him, and I trust you. But accepting what he did…how he came back, I just…I can't, and I don't know why."

Harry was silent for a moment as a thought flitted through his head and slowly began to form.

"I think….maybe I could help you," Harry eventually said, "Would being able to see how he did it help?"

Theo frowned, "What do you mean?"

"The ritual he used," Harry explained, "It's the same one that I saw Voldemort use to come back. I could show you that memory if it would help you?"

Theo's frown deepened. He was about to say no on autopilot because that would be an invasion of Harry's privacy. Then he thought about it in a little more detail and realised that visualising it might be precisely what he needed.

"If you don't mind sharing that with me, then yeah, I think it might help."

Harry nodded and crossed the room. He returned with a heavy stone bowl on wheels which Theo knew to be a pensieve.

"I don't mind sharing my trauma with my friends," Harry said with a slight smile, "I've shared it with enough therapists already."

Theo laughed weakly and watched Harry pull the memory from his head then deposit it in the pensieve.

He motioned at the silvery water and said, "Be my guest."

Theo took a breath, then nodded and plunged his head into the pensive. The memory materialised, and Theo watched from the moment that Voldemort yelled, "Kill the spare!". He watched Harry's reaction to Cedric's death and suddenly understood why he had hated all the teasing he got about Cedric.

He saw the ritual – using the bones of Voldemort's father, with the house that his Muggle ancestors had lived in looming behind them. He watched Pettigrew lose his hand, and then he watched Harry's blood be taken to complete the ritual.

It was with a sickening feeling in his gut that he watched all the Death Eaters return to the graveyard – his father among them. Then the memory began to fade, and Theo pulled his head out of the pensive.

Harry was watching him curiously, or maybe it was with concern – Theo wasn't entirely sure.

"He used his father's bones," Theo said slowly, "And Septimus Cauldwell sacrificed something for him, didn't he?"

Harry nodded.

"So whose blood brought him back?" Theo asked. He looked up at Harry, "Who is his enemy?"

"You," Harry replied quietly, "Lucia took a lot of things from you, Theo – your blood being one of them."

Theo swallowed then turned around. He shook his head and took a few steps towards the door, but he didn't storm out as Harry had expected.

"I brought him back?"

Theo hadn't turned to face Harry, but he suspected that the other man was crying, and he could hear the fury in his voice.

"No, Theo, you didn't," Harry said firmly, "If you brought your father back, then I brought Voldemort back."

Theo looked at him then, and Harry had never seen the other man look so vulnerable before.

"We had something stolen from us," Harry said, "Against our will, forcibly, like the ritual says. I didn't bring Voldemort back; Peter Pettigrew and Barty Crouch junior did. And you didn't bring your father back; Lotus and Septimus Cauldwell did. Lotus instructed Lucia to take your blood; she would have had no idea why. I could only imagine how disgusted she would have been if she had known she was working for Alfred Nott."

"Because she thought he had killed our mother," Theo said quietly, "But he didn't. Lucius Malfoy did that."

"I know," Harry promised.

Theo shook his head again, "Does it ever end, Harry? Do the blows ever stop coming?"

Harry sighed too, "They don't seem to."

Theo reached for the door handle and let out a breath, "Thanks for showing me that and….I'm sorry that happened to you."

Harry took a couple of steps and grabbed Theo's shoulder.

"I'm sorry it happened to you too."

- TBC -