The Eighth Year Universe

Love Wins

The Truth Remains


! - TRIGGER WARNING - !

This chapter deals with suicide/self-harm. Not to a main character, but it's quite graphically mentioned.


The Victory Graveyard, Hogwarts

Wednesday the 15th of September

Teddy was already sitting in front of his parents' graves when Harry stepped through the iron-wrought gate into the graveyard.

He didn't look over at Harry until his dad had sat down next to him on the grass.

"You only ask to meet here when things are bad," Teddy said quietly.

Harry shrugged and looked at the graves in front of them, "I talk to your dad when things get bad."

"Yeah," Teddy said quietly, "I do too."

Harry smiled sadly, "He always seemed to know what to say, him and Sirius."

Teddy looked at the stone and sighed, "I wish he had seen me get married."

Harry reached over and patted Teddy on the back, "He did."

Teddy didn't look up, but Harry spoke softly anyway, "Maybe he wasn't there in the flesh, but he saw you get married; they all did."

Teddy swallowed and nodded, "How bad is it?"

"Things don't look great for Almina's family," Harry confessed, "And you know how I feel about honesty, Ted. I don't want to be like Dumbledore. I tell the people I love the truth, even when it hurts. If you choose not to tell Almina, Nick and Nina about this, then that is entirely your choice."

Teddy nodded and looked up at his dad, "Okay."

"We know who Lazarus is," Harry said quietly, "His name is Alfred Nott, and he is Almina's grandfather."

Teddy was silent for a long moment. He looked from his dad to his father's grave, and then he shook his head.

"I thought he was dead?"

"He was," Harry said darkly, "He used a dark ritual to bring himself back."

Teddy had always been a smart kid; he instantly clicked, "Like Voldemort did?"

"Exactly like Voldemort did," Harry replied.

"Then…the prophecy?"

"It most likely relates to him and everything with the Statute Saboteurs, yes," Harry agreed with a nod.

"And Mabon is less than a week away," Teddy finished.

Harry nodded again, "I've tried everything I can, Teddy. But…I'm beginning to accept that there might not be anything I can do this time."

Teddy frowned and looked at him, "That doesn't sound like you."

Harry shrugged and looked down.

"Dad, you taught me that when you get knocked back down, you get back up again," Teddy said firmly, "You taught me that you never give up. Mum always says you're the guy who likes to fix things."

"Some things can't be fixed, Teddy," Harry said, and his voice broke, "We're against destiny here and….trust me, you can't run from that. Sirius taught me that."

Teddy frowned and ran a hand through his hair, and Harry smiled sadly because he looked so like Remus when he did that.

"So you're just giving up?" Teddy asked.

Harry shook his head and looked at Remus's tombstone, "No, I'm not giving up. But sometimes we have to accept that bad things happen to people we love, to people who don't deserve it. By Merlin, it hurts, but that is the way of the world, Teddy. Your dad taught me that."

Teddy nodded and pulled his knees up to his chest tightly. He fell silent, and Harry reached out to grip his son's shoulder, but no more words passed between them.


The Burrow

Harry was worried about a lot of things, and whilst the priority had to be Alfred Nott and the impending prophecy, he couldn't turn off his concern for Daphne; he had never been able to do that.

That was why he was here, drinking coffee in the kitchen with George, who was temporarily homeless, in the wake of the Diagon Alley attack.

"How bad is the damage to the flat?"

George shrugged and leant back in his chair, "The flat is fine, but there's structural damage to the whole building. Honestly though, Harry, I don't think we're ever going to get back in."

Harry frowned, "What do you mean?"

George shook his head and looked over at Harry, "I don't reckon they're going to rebuild."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "You think they're going to leave it as it is? George, it's Diagon Alley. It's been around forever."

"Yeah, and that's the problem, isn't it?" George pointed out, "It's vulnerable, easy to attack and let's be honest, there have been problems in the alley for years. No matter how many reforms you push through, The Closes still aren't quite fit for purpose."

Harry frowned and sipped his coffee, "What happens to your business if they don't rebuild?"

"They pay Ron and me what we're owed," George answered, "We own that building outright, and Angie and I own the flat above it. Then we focus on the Hogsmeade branch until we decide where to re-open."

Harry's frown deepened, "What do you mean?"

"We still need shops," George pointed out, "I just don't think Diagon Alley is the best place for them anymore, and I'm not the only one either. A lot of people don't want to go back; they just don't feel safe anymore."

"But…if Diagon Alley closes, then what about the people who lived in the Closes?" Harry pointed out, "None of them owned those flats. They were all rented out by rich businessmen."

George nodded, "Might be time for our new Minister to consider welfare, don't you think? Give folks like that a home without a landlord whose breathing down their necks?"

Harry nodded thoughtfully and sipped his coffee. He had never imagined Draco to be the sort of Minister who brought about welfare, but then again, he had never expected him to change his name to Black and marry Hermione either.

"In the meantime, Mum's got enough room for us," George added, pulling Harry out of his reverie.

"Yeah," Harry said with a nod, "You have somewhere to go, which is more than a lot of people can say right now."

"Do you still have refugees camped out at Hogwarts then?" George asked.

Harry nodded and put his coffee cup down, "Yeah, your sister has been a godsend. She's got the house-elves on what she's calling 'soup kitchen' duty. It's keeping everyone fed quite nicely."

George smiled at that, "That's Ginny for you, always trying to help people."

Harry smiled too, "I think it's a family thing."

George chuckled and put his coffee mug down, "Did you really come over here just to catch up?"

"Not really," Harry admitted sheepishly, "Something is worrying Daphne, and I wondered if you could shed some light on the mystery."

George raised an eyebrow, "Go on. I love a good mystery."

Harry smiled sadly, "I don't suppose you remember Lydia Cruickshank? She was a Slytherin, and she would have been in your year at Hogwarts."

George nodded, "Yeah, I remember Lydia. She was pretty, quite tall, dark blonde hair."

Harry nodded too, "Yeah, that sounds about right. What do you remember about her?"

George frowned for a moment as he thought back, "She was quiet. I reckon she got bullied by the other Slytherins because she was a Muggle-born, and they don't often end up in Slytherin."

That was because she wasn't a Muggle-born, Harry thought to himself, but outwardly he just nodded.

"I didn't talk to her much," George admitted, "You know Fred and I sort of kept to our own little Quidditch mad group, but you know who was friends with her?"

Harry looked up hopefully, "Who?"

"Blanche Zabini," George said with a nod, "Never saw one without the other. They were always walking around arm in arm, and they were both in Slytherin."

Harry sighed; it would be less easy to casually bring this up in conversation with Blanche than it had been with George. But Daphne needed answers, and Harry would do everything he could to get them for her.

"What makes you ask about her anyway?" George asked.

Harry picked his coffee mug up once more, "It's not really my place to say. Do you know what happened to her?"

George shook his head, "I never saw her after we left school. The rumour was that she'd gotten pregnant and run off with the guy. But Blanche always swore that wasn't the truth. It was why she wanted to be an Auror, you know?"

Harry frowned. He hadn't known that.

"Said she'd never let people in power spread lies again," George said. He shrugged, "I guess something bad happened to her if you're asking these questions, though?"

Harry nodded and sighed, "She died at the end of your final year of school. You would already have left by that point, though. After your little stunt with Umbridge."

George smiled slightly, "Yeah. Don't you remember her? You were in fifth year then."

"Yeah," Harry said darkly, "I wouldn't have been too concerned with whatever secrets Snape was hiding. There was too much going on for me with Sirius and…everything."

George patted him on the shoulder, "I hope you find out what happened to her, mate."

Harry felt so distracted, but he tried to clear the haze in his mind. He looked up at George and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure I will."


Shell Cottage

"Have a cup of tea, sweetheart."

Victoire made a face at the cup of tea that Bill had just placed in front of her.

"Come on, I'm English. I make a good cup of tea, unlike your mother."

An insult came from the floor above, in French. It was enough to make Victoire smile slightly.

Bill sat down opposite her and looked Victoire in the eye, "You look peaky, drink it."

Victoire sighed and gave him a long look, "I'm fine. What's going on with you and Mum?"

Bill smiled slightly, "Nothing really. Well, a lot of things, but you know what I mean."

Victoire raised an eyebrow, "Have you told Grandma yet?"

"No," Bill confessed, "And I know that I need to. Your mother has already given me that rant. But it's just not the right time."

"Uh-huh," Victoire said, clearly unconvinced.

"We're taking a couple of kids in soon," Bill continued carefully, "Which does not mean that you're being thrown out, just so you know. You will always have a room here, you and the little one when he arrives."

Victoire nodded and looked down, "I know, Dad, and I appreciate it. But Charlie and I have to live our own life. We lost the flat above Diagon Alley obviously, but he spoke to his parents, and they offered us a place to stay."

Bill tried his best not to be upset about that, "Mmhm. Is it nice?"

"It needs a little work, but yes, it's nice," Victoire promised with a small smile, "It's in Scotland."

"Scotland?" Bill asked sharply, "That's…quite some way from Devon."

Victoire sighed and shook her head, "I knew you would react like this, Dad. It was why I was worried about telling you! We can apparate. Scotland is not far."

"No, but it's closer to Charlie's family than yours, isn't it?" Bill pointed out, "You're not moving into the Blacknot Estate?"

"No, we are not," Victoire said, "And didn't you move to Egypt when you were my age?"

Bill made a face, "Touche."

Victoire smirked triumphantly, "It's called Hope Tower; it belongs to Charlie's mum. There used to be a house too, but it was destroyed in a fire, and the family never rebuilt it."

"So you're going to live in a tower?" Bill asked, once more trying to be objective.

Victoire gave him an exasperated look, "It's small, but it will be fine for us. There are three stories – There's a basement kitchen on the first floor, then an open plan lounge, and two bedrooms on the second floor, one is small, but that's all the baby will need for a while."

Bill was nodding along as Victoire explained.

"The only thing is that the basement isn't accessible from the top two floors," Victoire shrugged, "But Charlie's dad gave us a house-elf, so that's not the end of the world, and there is a secret passageway that goes down the way, I suppose you could crawl up it too."

"Not with a baby in your arms, though," Bill pointed out.

"Dad," Victoire said, "Stop - " she paused to wince, " – stop blowing holes in everything."

Bill frowned, "Are you feeling alright? What was that about?"

"It was nothing," Victoire replied irritably, "I'm like six weeks off my due date. I'm going to have Braxton Hicks."

Bill reached over to touch her forehead, "You feel a little hot, Vic. It wouldn't hurt to go into St. Mungo's and get checked over, would it?"

"Dad!" Victoire despaired, "I'm not going into St Mungos for a bit of pain. They are literally in crisis mode right now."

"Then I'll floo Daphne, and she'll have Lilly come over here and check on you," Bill countered.

"No, I'm fine," Victoire said firmly, "Dad, I'm a Healer, okay? I would know if something was wrong, and my best friend is also a Healer. If I was worried, I would have called her!"

She got to her feet and winced again.

"Well, I'm worried," Bill remarked.

"And I'm not!" Victoire exclaimed, "And neither is Charlie. I'll have a bath, and the pains will go away like they always do. Just relax!"

She disappeared upstairs before Bill could argue any further.

Fleur set a cup of coffee in front of him and murmured, "She is fine, William. But she is pregnant, and that makes a woman irritable."

Bill sighed, "You're not worried about her, then?"

Fleur shook her head and smiled at him, "If I were worried, I would check on her myself," she promised him.

The French woman pushed the cup of coffee towards him and playfully said, "Détendez-vous, William!"


Serenity Falls, Wales

The Montgomery Family Home

Harry shuffled from foot to foot as he waited outside the beautiful home Blanche and Lux had bought for themselves in rural Wales. He felt a little guilty about the fact he had only been here a handful of times, and now he was showing up for a favour.

But Blanche would understand, she was from a big family like the Weasley's, and she shared Daphne's 'family first' mentality.

The door opened, and a house-elf led Harry into a parlour, where a cup of tea was set in front of him. He raised an eyebrow at the woman who had just clicked into the room.

"Quite a reception."

"You probably get a mouthful of abuse when Blanche answers the door," Lux remarked as she stepped into the room in smart trousers, a blouse and elegant robes.

She worked at the Auror Training Centre and was one of the most revered trainers.

Harry laughed and nodded, "Something like that, yeah. Is she here?"

"She was summoned to High Top House by her Mother," Lux said matter of factly. She sat down opposite Harry and poured herself a cup of tea, "I have no idea when she'll be back or what mood she'll be in when she gets back."

"I know that feeling," Harry said with a slight smile, "And my mother-in-law has just moved in with us."

Lux shuddered, "I can't imagine anything worse."

Harry smiled and asked, "How are the kids?"

Lux smiled at that, "Excited to start Hogwarts and, like all children, completely ignorant as to the reason they can't start until October."

Harry nodded and looked down.

"You did what was best, though," Lux assured him, "For everyone, not just the children. They need time to heal, but I think we need them to heal too."

Harry cleared his throat and sipped his tea, "I think it will take time for the nation as a whole to heal."

Lux nodded too. She leant back in her chair and said, "So does the Headmaster do house calls to the parents of all future students now? Or is there another reason for this visit?"

Harry shot her an amused look, "You know, when you were just an Auror who I worked with, I had no idea how sarcastic you could be."

Lux chuckled, "You didn't know me very well then."

Harry smiled slightly, "I was hoping to catch Blanche. I wanted to ask her about a girl that she went to school with."

Lux narrowed her eyes, "This isn't about Lydia Cruickshank, is it?"

Harry looked up in surprise, "Yes, it is."

"Does this mean the Ministry is finally looking into that cold case?" Lux asked hopefully, "Because someone really ought to have been charged for what they did to her."

"Uh, no," Harry frowned, "I didn't know there had been a case. I just…I'm just trying to solve the mystery over who she was."

Lux's frown deepened, "Why would you do that? Unless you think she is connected to you or someone that you know?"

"I think she might be Daphne's half-sister," Harry admitted, "Her mother had a baby with Evan Rosier while she was in her seventh year, and she called her Lydia. The timeline matches up, so I'm trying to find out what happened to Lydia to give Daphne some closure and George said Blanche was her friend."

Lux nodded and looked down into her teacup, "Blanche was her best friend, but I knew her too. We were all in Slytherin, but my mother discouraged my friendship with her because she was a Muggle-born. Blanche didn't care about that, and those two…they were like sisters."

"Do you know what happened to her?" Harry asked.

Lux sighed and looked up at Harry. She nodded and a slight frown formed on her face, "She found out that she was pregnant about a month after our seventh year started, and she told us that somebody had forced her. Blanche and I fell out over it because I said that it was just an excuse she was making up because she was embarrassed about who the father was."

She shook her head and looked down, "Don't judge me on the things I said back then, Harry. I was younger and far more foolish."

Harry shook his head, "I said and did stupid things when I was young too," he assured her.

Lux sighed, "Lydia hid the pregnancy, and Blanche helped her. The baby was born in June, in a bathroom, I think. Blanche said that Professor Snape took it away before Umbridge could find out, which was some small mercy for Lydia. But Blanche never knew where the baby was taken, and now, Snape's dead."

Harry frowned, "And what happened to Lydia?"

"She killed herself," Lux replied quietly, "About a week later, in the same bathroom. Blanche was worried about her, and she…found her in a pool of blood, dead. It still haunts Blanche. I'm actually glad that you weren't able to talk to her about it. That would bring back old nightmares for her. She still says Lydia's name in her sleep sometimes."

"I'm sorry," Harry said quietly.

Lux shook her head and set her teacup down on the table, "Blanche still feels like she failed Lydia, but I think her mind was troubled from the moment she got pregnant."

"Did she ever tell you, or Blanche, who the father was?" Harry asked.

"She told Blanche," Lux admitted, "Who told me much later in life, and in confidence."

Harry nodded, "And I know you don't want to betray that trust, Lux, but all I want is justice for Lydia, and I think that's a cause that Blanche could get behind."

Lux looked away from Harry and fell silent for a moment.

"She had a good life; her parents weren't cruel to her or anything," Lux eventually said, "Not like my mother was to us. Her father was strict because he was a Colonel in the army, but her mother was a nice person, and she had an older brother."

That caught Harry's attention, "Did she?"

Lux bowed her head, "Dominic was a lot older than her. He was in his sixth year when Lydia was born. He was an Auror, and from what Blanche told me, it was his best friend who hurt Lydia that summer."

Harry nodded, "And he was called Dominic Cruickshank?"

Lux nodded too, "Does this mean you're going to investigate it properly?"

"Technically, I can't because I'm not an Auror anymore," Harry admitted, "But I'll get to the bottom of what happened to her, I promise."

Lux smiled and reached across to grab his hand, "Thank you, Harry."


The Ministry of Magic

Thursday the 16th of September

By Thursday, Draco was more on edge than ever. Harry understood why. He had his own worries, and those of his families toppled onto that. And above all, he was trying his best to lead the Ministry through this, knowing fine well he may not come out the other side of it.

As such, Harry didn't blame him for taking the bad news the way he did that day.

"Are we getting anywhere?" Draco asked shortly.

"Honestly? No," Ben replied, "As suspected, Judge Patil declined the Exploration Order."

Draco swore loudly and had to turn around to compose himself.

Harry took a step towards the man but was careful not to touch him. He wouldn't be surprised if Draco swung at him right now.

"Draco, we knew it was a long shot - "

"Don't start, Harry," Draco hissed. He refused to meet Harry's eye as he lowered his voice, "It was all we had."

Harry took a step closer and lowered his own voice so that Ben couldn't hear what he was saying.

"Draco, nothing can change this. What's going to happen is going to happen. We're on that path right now, whether we know it or like it. There's no way off, you know that."

Draco's eyes flashed angrily. He shook his head and looked up at Harry, staring at him with a resoluteness that Harry associated with Hermione.

"No," He said simply, "Everyone has given up, even Hermione. She tried to stay positive for a while. Then she gave up. But it was Hermione who taught me that we fight for the things we believe in, and I believe in my family."

Harry nodded, "Okay. So what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to have a conversation with an old friend," Draco replied.

He took a step past Harry then strode out of the room, looking more like Severus Snape than ever.

Ben sighed heavily, "I don't suppose you have time to help me select the skeleton staff for Mabon?"

Harry looked at the younger man and swore he could see the physical strain on his shoulders. He remembered that feeling all too well from his days as Head Auror, so Harry nodded, although he had several other things that he needed to do.

"Let me look at two files, and I'm all yours for the afternoon."

Ben raised an eyebrow, "Names?"

"Lydia and Dominic Cruickshank," Harry answered, "It's a cold case from 1996, but I think Lydia might be Daphne's half-sister."

Ben just nodded, "Sure. If you make a start on that rota, I'll grab you those files out."

Harry smiled and patted the younger man on the shoulder, "Thanks, Ben."

He couldn't concentrate in the ten minutes that Ben was out of the room, but Harry had done so many rotas in his time as Head Auror that he was autopiloting through it anyway. By the time Ben came back, he was halfway through a rota comprised entirely of fully trained Aurors who he knew wouldn't have any significant family commitments for Mabon.

Ben stepped back into the room with his nose in a file.

"I don't think you're going to get much out of either of these, to be honest. They both seem pretty cut and dry."

"That means nothing," Harry remarked. He looked up at Ben, "I never trust a file dated pre-2000 until I see who signed it off."

Ben glanced down and frowned, "Uh, someone called Gareth Graves?"

Harry scoffed, "Then it's definitely not trustworthy."

Ben shot Harry an amused look, "I take it he wasn't a friend of yours then?"

"No," Harry replied with a chuckle, "And I'm not surprised that you don't know who he is. He was a dirty Auror who liked to cut corners, but that was before your time. He got fired in the early 2000s."

"Right," Ben realised with a nod, "Well, he definitely cut corners on the investigation into Lydia's death."

He dropped a file in front of Harry and said, "That's all there is."


MINISTRY OF MAGIC

Auror Office - Department of Magical Law Enforcement

DEATH REPORT

Name: Lydia Cruickshank.

DOB: 3rd January 1978.

Birthplace: Yeovil, Somerset.

Sex: Female.

Occupation: Student.

Marital Status: Single.

Blood Status: Muggle-born.

PROFILE

Hair Colour: Dark blonde.

Eye Colour: Brown.

Height: 5 ft 5 inches.

Complexion: Olive.

SCHOOLING:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

House: Slytherin

CAUSE OF DEATH:

Suicide.

AGE AT DEATH:

Eighteen.

PLACE OF DEATH:

Hogwarts Castle, Scotland.

DATE OF DEATH:

8th June 1996.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The victim was discovered in a pool of blood in the bathroom. Her wrists had been cut. A suicide note was found on the scene.

INVESTIGATING AUROR(S):

Senior Auror Gareth Graves.

INVESTIGATING DEPARTMENT:

Homicide.


Once he was finished reading, Harry sighed, "She was found with cut wrists, and they decided not to investigate - bearing in mind that 1996 was when the war was beginning to brew, wouldn't you err on the side of caution and investigate?"

Ben nodded, "I would because that's the way that you and Draco taught me, but things were different back then, weren't they?"

"Disgustingly so, yeah," Harry replied, "Is this really all there is? No autopsy report? Or a copy of the suicide note that they found on the scene?"

"Nothing," Ben replied, "That crumpled old report was it. This was before Voldemort's takeover, though. The evidence might have been lost then."

"More likely Graves just didn't do his job right," Harry muttered irritably, "Aurors like him were everything that was wrong with this department."

Ben nodded in agreement, "I know it was before my time, but I've got to agree with you there. I mean, the guy didn't even investigate Dominic's death, and he was an Auror."

Harry looked up sharply, "Wait, Dominic died too?"

"Yeah, not long after Lydia," Ben replied as he threw the file onto the desk, "Didn't you know that?"

"No," Harry replied distractedly as he eyed the file in front of him.


MINISTRY OF MAGIC

Auror Office - Department of Magical Law Enforcement

DEATH REPORT

Name: Dominic Cruickshank.

DOB: 14th July 1961.

Birthplace: Yeovil, Somerset.

Sex: Male

Occupation: Auror (Vice).

Marital Status: Single.

Blood Status: Muggle-born.

PROFILE

Hair Colour: Dark brown.

Eye Colour: Brown.

Height: 6 ft 1 inch.

Complexion: Olive.

SCHOOLING:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

House: Gryffindor

CAUSE OF DEATH:

Suicide.

AGE AT DEATH:

Thirty-five.

PLACE OF DEATH:

Acorn Cottage, Yeovil, Somerset.

DATE OF DEATH:

3rd January 1997

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The victim was found hanging from a tree on his property by his friend, Dorian Frost. No suicide note was found.

INVESTIGATING AUROR(S):

Senior Auror Gareth Graves.

INVESTIGATING DEPARTMENT:

Homicide.


Harry's eyes darkened, "He killed himself, but there was no note, and Graves decided that there was no need to investigate? Merlin, just when I thought I couldn't hate him anymore."

Ben nodded in vague agreement.

Harry looked up at the Head Auror, "And I don't think it's a coincidence that Dominic committed suicide on his dead sister's birthday. Do you?"

Ben frowned over at Harry, "You think he had something to do with Lydia's death?"

"Not necessarily, but I think he felt guilty about it," Harry said. He tapped his finger against the file, "And I know the name Dorian Frost too."

"Yeah….Frost, not one you hear that often. Wasn't that what Nick's girl's surname was before they got married?" Ben asked.

Harry nodded and looked up at Ben, "Dorian was her father. He and his wife Anastasia, who everyone called Stacey, died in 2000 when Nina was a little kid. Do you know if Lydia and Dominic's parents are still alive?"

Ben glanced at the file in his hands, then shook his head, "Victoria Cruickshank died of cancer in 2011 and Silas Cruickshank, that's a weird name, died of a heart attack in 2019."

"He's a squib. That's why he has a weird name," Harry remarked dryly, "He was born with the surname 'Crouch'."

"Does everything come back to that bloody family?" Ben remarked, thinking back to Lucia.

"It seems to," Harry replied. He rubbed his eyes and looked down at Lydia's file again.

"I don't think you're going to find the answers you want, Harry," Ben admitted, "Everyone involved is dead."

"Not quite everyone," Harry replied as he thought back to what Rob had said when Harry met him – about how he'd been thrown into Domestics when he sided with Harry for saying Voldemort was back in 1995.

"There was no CPS back then, so if a teacher took a newborn baby from a student, they would have had to bring it into the Ministry, right?" Harry asked the younger man.

"Unless they wanted to be convicted of kidnapping, yes," Ben remarked, "Why? Since when was there a baby involved?"

"Lydia killed herself a week after she gave birth in a bathroom alone," Harry replied darkly, "And if we believe the account she gave to her best friend at the time, she was raped by a friend of her brothers."

"Dorian Frost," Ben realised.

"Nina's father," Harry sighed.

"Your daughter-in-law," Ben added.

"Yeah," Harry grimaced, "I'm going to talk to Rob Wolfe. I sure as hell don't think he'd forget Severus Snape bringing a newborn baby into the Ministry."

He got to his feet and held something out to Ben, "There's your Mabon rota."

Ben took it and looked at Harry in disbelief, "That was fast."

"I did this for 15 years, Ben," Harry replied. He patted Ben on the shoulder on his way out of the door.

"I am fast."


Belgravia, London

The Wolfe Residence

When Rob answered the door and saw Harry, he raised his hands.

"I ain't been drinking, I swear."

Harry smiled weakly, "I'm not here as your sponsor. I'm here as your friend, who needs to grill you about something that happened in 1996."

Rob whistled, "I was drinking in 1996, so that might be a tough one, but come on in."

He opened the door a little wider, and Harry stepped inside, "It's a long shot anyway. It happened around the time Nick was born, so I don't know if you were even on the job."

"Didn't miss a day," Rob shrugged, "Wasn't anything like paternity leave back then. You wetted the kid's head with some whiskey, then got on with it."

Harry nodded and sat down heavily in the small parlour of Rob and Jen's terraced house. Rob sat down opposite him and crossed his arms.

"That weight on your shoulders looks mighty heavy."

Harry sighed, "Feels it too."

Rob nodded and leant back, "Come on then, kid, take a load off."

Harry leant forward and rested his head in his hands, "Please tell me you remember Severus Snape bringing a newborn baby into Domestics in June 1996."

Rob grimaced, "No can do, and I would definitely remember that – drink or no drink. But I'll tell you what I do remember around about that time. A girl died at Hogwarts, and Graves ruled it as a suicide. There was a big fight in the office about it because she was the sister of Dom Cruickshanks; he was big in Vice back then."

Harry frowned and looked up at Rob.

"Graves told Dom to quieten down about it if he didn't want there being a family scandal, and then a few months later Dom killed himself."

"Do you know anything about that?" Harry asked.

Rob frowned over at Harry, "Dom's suicide? Not much, Graves kept that hushed too. Why do you ask?"

"Because the person who found his body was his best friend," Harry replied, "Dorian Frost."

Rob's frown deepened, "Nina's dad?"

Harry nodded, "Did you know him? You two were in the same year at Hogwarts, weren't you?"

"Nah, they were in the year above me," Rob replied, "I'm a December birthday, mind, so I was nearly 12 when I started Hogwarts."

"Right, of course," Harry realised, "Do you remember anything about Dorian Frost?"

Rob shook his head, "He was a Ravenclaw, I think. Dom was in Gryffindor; that was how I knew him to speak to and not Dorian. I can't say I remember anything about him, but his name rang a bell when him and his wife died, and Nina found herself in the department."

Harry sighed and leant back, "Fuck, Rob. I feel like I'm so close to putting all of these pieces together, but I just can't quite get there! That girl who died was Dom's sister. She was called Lydia Cruickshank, she killed herself a week after having a baby and from her best friend's account…I don't think she got pregnant by choice."

Rob cursed under his breath at that.

"Snape took the baby away, but if he didn't bring it into Domestics, then where would he have taken it?"

Rob frowned, "Uh, back then, it probably would have been St Mungos. They had some whackjob way of rehoming babies like that back then. They'd just do a maternity and paternity test and find the closest living relative."

"Did they keep that on file?" Harry asked anxiously.

Rob looked baffled, "Uh, I dunno. You'd have to ask your second wife. She'd be the one who knew about that. Harry, are you alright? You seem pretty wired about all of this."

"I am," Harry admitted, "Because Lydia was Daphne's sister, Rob, so this baby that she had…."

" - is your niece or nephew," Rob realised.

Harry nodded, and Rob summed the situation up perfectly with just one word.

"Fuck."

- TBC -