The Eighth Year Universe

Love Wins

Chasing Shadows


The chapter title comes from the song:

I See Stars by The Shires.


Songs that inspired Daphne's interactions with her mother in this chapter;

~ Growing Od Young by Tenille Arts.

~ Homecoming Queen by Kelsea Ballerini [this is just Daphne's ANTHEM, in my very humble and not at all important opinion].


St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies

"She's awake."

Michael looked up at the Healer in front of her, "I'm sorry, Miss Hall, but could you have made that anymore vague or ominous if you tried?"

Nevaeh sighed and stepped into Michael's office, "I'm sorry, sir, but Lotus Cauldwell is awake, and we are under very strict instructions to get the Aurors in here for questioning as soon as possible in the event of her regaining consciousness."

Michael's eyes widened because he knew just how strict those instructions were. He bowed his head and got to his feet, "Have a Healer on the door at all times; nobody goes in there until the Aurors get here. Understood?"

Nevaeh nodded, "Yes, sir," she said, disappearing out of the office in the direction of the Janus Thickey Ward.

Michael threw some floo powder into the fire and directed it straight to the temporary floo address for the Head Auror.

"Head Auror Smith? Yes, it's Michael Corner – Lotus Cauldwell is awake."


Hogwarts Castle

"Miss Potter, what does the position of Venus tell us?"

Thea jerked herself out of the half-slumber she had been in, "Uh…that….there's a goddess about to pop up and sing a brilliant Bananarama song?"

Cas snorted into his star chart, and Thea grinned at him.

Sadie was less impressed, "Miss Potter. Need I remind you that if you are serious about becoming a curse breaker, you need an A in this class?"

Thea sighed, "Professor Blacknot, why do I need an A in Astronomy to be a Curse Breaker?"

"Because ancient curses were cast according to the night sky," Sadie replied matter of factly, "Ask your mother if you don't believe me."

"Your super hot mother," Tyler whispered.

"Shut up, Tyler," Thea muttered.

"Mr Zabini," Sadie said calmly, "Please refrain from discussing your professor's appearance in front of other professors."

Tyler grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, Professor Blacknot."

"That star is out of place, Caspian," Sadie said, tapping his star chart.

Cas groaned and let his head fall onto the star chart.

"You just got owned by your mum," Mason Macmillan giggled.

"Mr Macmillan – focus on your own star chart, not your classmates," Sadie said sternly.

Cas muttered to Thea, "She's so strict; I hate her."

"I just hate this year," Thea muttered.

A knock sounded on the door to the tower, and it was pushed open by Harry.

"Professor Blacknot, an urgent message for you," Harry said, holding up a piece of parchment.

Sadie frowned but instructed them not to do anything stupid for the next five minutes, and then she stepped into the corridor with Harry.

"It's from St Mungos," Sadie said quietly.

Harry nodded, "From what I just heard from Ben, I think your mother has woken up."

Sadie swallowed and tried to cover up how she felt about that, but her emotions swam in her eyes. She glanced at the message and nodded, "She's awake but detained. No visitors are allowed. I don't know why they even thought I would want to visit her."

"It's protocol," Harry explained, "They would have to send this out to the next of kin in every event. How you feel about seeing her, though, that's entirely your choice."

Sadie sighed, then nodded, "Thank you, Harry. Oh, and do me a favour – have Daphne speak to Thea about why she needs Astronomy for Curse Breaking. That girl needs tutoring if she wants to pass my class and become a Curse Breaker."

Harry smiled and gave Sadie a slight nod, "Will do. Let me know if you guys need anything, okay? Anything at all."

Sadie smiled back at him, "I will, thank you."


The Town Hall, Godric's Hollow

Temporary HQ of the Auror Department

Ben was pacing, which was never a good sign. Owen looked exhausted, but he had an infant son at home, so that look was nothing new. Looking at the two of them, though, Jason Savage thought maybe it was a different kind of tired today.

"What did she say?"

Ben had asked the question a few minutes ago, then immediately began to pace. Jason headed up Homicide these days, along with Terry Higgs. But it hadn't been Terry who he had taken to question Lotus with him. No, it had been Blaine Zabini, who headed up Organised Crime with Owen.

They had suspected that whatever truths Lotus unwillingly told them under veritaserum questioning would fall under one of their departments, and they had been right.

Jason answered, "We asked her if she had been involved in any crimes, other than the ones we had listed. She told us a bunch of stuff about fraudulent paperwork, then said she had facilitated in murder and killed two other people."

Ben looked up, "When?"

"1996," Jason answered.

Ben shook his head, "Damnit, I knew it was connected! She was involved in the murder of Lydia Cruickshank?"

Jason nodded, "Yes, sir, she was."

"She was pretty heavily involved," Blaine said darkly. He was having a little trouble separating himself from this case because he remembered how much it had torn up his younger sister when she lost her best friend. Blanche had been devastated by Lydia's death.

"But, like every other crime she's committed, she was careful not to get her hands dirty," Jason said quietly. It was hard to get privacy in an open-plan bullpen which was why they were currently hiding in the former Mayor's office.

"She had Dorian Frost do it," Jason continued, "According to Lotus, Lydia and Dorian had consensual sex, but Lydia was drunk then threatened to out Dorian and publically call it rape. That was when Lotus stepped in to help Dorian, who was a distant relation through the French branch of the Lestrange family."

"Of course," Ben muttered irritably.

"She used Dorian's grief about the whole situation to control him with the imperius curse, and then she instructed him to kill Lydia and make it look like a suicide," Jason said. He leant against the door and sighed, "He felt wracked with guilt afterwards and confessed to his wife, Anastasia, or 'Stacey' as she went by, about what he had done. They took Nina in out of guilt over what happened to Lydia."

"Then Lydia's brother, Dominic, found out and couldn't handle the guilt of knowing," Blaine said darkly, "But Lotus blackmailed him into keeping his mouth shut until the next year when he couldn't anymore, so he killed himself."

Jason cleared his throat and nodded, "Then in 2000, when Dorian couldn't take the guilt anymore and was about to hand himself into the Aurors, Lotus silenced him and his wife for good."

"She confessed to the murder of Dorian and Anastasia Frost?" Ben asked in surprise.

Jason nodded and held up a piece of parchment, "She did."

Ben let out a relieved sigh, "Then she's going away for life. Good work, guys….but do you know why she did it?"

Jason's eyes darkened, "We do, and I think the victim's mother needs to know too."

Ben nodded, "Alright, get Lareina Crouch in here."

"Yes, sir."


Potter Manor

It was the evening, and Daphne wasn't on patrol, so she was at home, drinking wine with her mother because Neville and Harry were on patrol tonight, and Lilly was working.

They weren't drunk, but with a glass of wine, Daphne felt like the time was right to tell her mother the truth.

"I found out more about Lydia."

Lareina looked up in surprise, "What?"

Daphne bit her lip and put her wine glass down, "I looked into who she was, for closure. I thought if there was a grave where I could lay flowers…it might help. But I just found a mystery to unravel instead."

Lareina put her wine glass down, "What do you mean?"

Daphne took a breath, "I know that you know she died, Mum. But do you know how?"

"I know that the Auror report said it was suicide," Lareina answered, her eyes flashing, "A week after the birth of her child. But…I never believed it because I never wanted to believe it."

Daphne nodded and looked down at her hand, "You were told that the baby died, but it didn't. The little girl was taken to St Mungos where some wacky scheme gave her a name and reunited her with her closest birth family, her father."

Lareina's eyes widened, "The person …who hurt Lydia?"

Daphne could only nod, and Lareina brought her hand to her mouth.

Lareina's eyes filled with tears, and she said, "He didn't…he didn't hurt the little girl, did he?"

"No," Daphne said tearfully, "He tried to repent for what he did through her. But he and his wife died when that little girl was only six years old, and she was raised in Lupin House."

Lareina looked at Daphne with tears in her eyes.

"And call it fate or destiny," Daphne shook her head and wiped her eyes, "But even though you had no idea who she was, you saw your granddaughter get married."

Lareina's eyes widened with realisation, "Nina…."

Daphne nodded, "Nina Frost, well, Nina Potter-Wolfe, now. She is your granddaughter; she's Lydia's daughter."

Lareina was silent for a long moment. She didn't try to dry her eyes. She just stared into the fireplace and let that revelation wash over her.

"And she…she's pregnant," Lareina said.

Daphne smiled and nodded, "You would always have gotten a great-grandchild when Nina gave birth, through your connection to Teddy, but I suppose it means more now."

Lareina could only nod.

"I…I had no idea."

"I know," Daphne said, reaching across to grab her mother's hand.

Lareina cleared her throat and squeezed Daphne's hand, "Thank you for finding the truth. I couldn't look, I…I didn't want to know, but I think I did need the closure."

Daphne smiled and hugged her mother, "I think we both did," she said tearfully.


The Town Hall, Godric's Hollow

Temporary HQ of the Auror Department

Lareina knew, somewhere in her gut, that this was about Lydia. Perhaps it was because her eldest daughter was all that could occupy her mind right now, after what Daphne had told her the night before.

But the sick feeling in her stomach turned to a wrenching feeling when an Auror showed up on her doorstep and asked her if she minded coming in for a while told her that this was bad.

Surely enough, the sympathetic smile she got from the Head Auror cemented that.

"Good morning, Ms Crouch. Thank you for coming in."

Lareina nodded stiffly, "Would you mind telling me what this is about?"

Ben bowed his head, "Of course. Lotus Cauldwell, an old friend of yours, woke up from her coma yesterday evening and confessed to three crimes – two murders and one assisted murder."

Lareina swallowed and nodded, "Yes?"

"There's no easy way to say this, Ms Crouch, I'm sorry," Ben said, and he did genuinely sound sorry, "But your birth daughter, Lydia Cruickshank, she was murdered."

That sentence took the breath out of Lareina's lungs, and the world spun around her for a moment. The man who had shown up on her doorstep, Jason Savage, gently took her arm and gave her some water.

It took Lareina a good five minutes to get her wits back together, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at Ben when she did.

"By who?"

Ben launched into the explanation – about how Lotus had imperiused Dorian Frost into killing Lydia. Then her adopted brother, Dominic, had found out and had been blackmailed into silence until he couldn't handle the guilt and killed himself. He finished by telling Lareina how Lotus had silenced Dorian and Anastasia Frost in 2000. Then he waited for the inevitable explosion of anger.

But it never came.

"Why?" Lareina hissed, "Lotus was my friend. She was one of the only people who knew about my pregnancy with Lydia! The only others were my younger siblings, Almina and Julian, and my father cursed them to forget Lydia, just like he did to me."

Jason nodded, "You're right, Ms Crouch. The only person who didn't forget Lydia's birth was Lotus Lestrange, as she was back then."

"But she was my best friend," Lareina said coldly, "We were both in Slytherin, seven years we went through Hogwarts together. Why would she do that to me?"

Jason perched on the edge of Ben's desk to be in Lareina's eye line. He sighed and bowed his head, "When you returned to school in January 1978 after what your parents called a 'short illness', Lotus realised that you'd had the baby but didn't remember it. She assumed you having a baby out of wedlock would mean that you would never be able to find a good match."

Lareina swallowed because she was far from stupid, and she knew where this was going.

"In February, not long after your 18th birthday, Lotus asked her oldest brother, Raphael, to secure a marriage contract for her," Jason continued, "Because her father - "

" - died when she was a baby, I know," Lareina cut in, "Just get to the point, please."

Jason nodded, "Raphael told her that he couldn't secure a marriage contract with Phineas or Cygnus Greengrass because the family were staunchly neutral and were reluctant to be connected to the Lestrange family during the height of the First Wizarding War."

Lareina nodded, "Which is why they made a contract with the Crouch family. My Uncle Bartemius was at the height of his political favour when my father drew up Cygnus and I's marriage contract."

"Exactly," Jason said with a nod, "So when you started complaining about being forced to marry Cygnus Greengrass – the newly pronounced heir of the family following his elder brother's problems with alcohol and gambling, Lotus was furious, and she pledged to…."

"Ruin my life," Lareina finished quietly.

Jason nodded, "She…she confessed to a lot of things, Ms Crouch, not just her part in the murder of your eldest daughter."

Lareina looked up, her eyes wide with horror, "What…what else did she confess to?"

Jason looked over at Ben, who nodded and took over, "We know that your husband was an alcoholic, but Lotus decided to use that to her advantage."

"Oh, Merlin," Lareina breathed, "She…I had lunch with her while our children played, I drank wine with her. She's the reason I even considered sleeping with Phineas. She pushed me straight into his arms."

Ben nodded, "Maliciously, to try and destroy your marriage. When your affair with Cygnus's brother and Cygnus's stressful work life made his alcohol habits worse, Lotus used his weak state of mind and held him under the imperius curse."

"When?" Lareina asked, her mouth dry.

"July 1987," Jason replied.

Lareina swore under her breath, "The fire? The fire that nearly killed me? That terrified and scarred my daughters? The fire that made me hate my husband! That was her?"

Tearfully, she got to her feet and looked at the Aurors, "Cygnus never forgave himself for that! He took that regret to the grave, and he died thinking he had nearly killed them at his lowest! And he…"

Her voice broke, and she shook her head, "It was her all along. I… I feel sick."

"Sit down, Ms Crouch," Jason said gently, "Drink some water."

"I don't want any damn water!" Lareina snapped, "I want to kill Lotus Cauldwell!"

Ben held up a hand, "Ms Crouch, you need to hear the whole story."

"The whole story?" Lareina breathed, "There's more?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Ben replied.

"Oh, for the love of Merlin," Lareina muttered, "Fine, what else is there?"

Ben handed back over to Jason, "Lotus seized the chance to kill Lydia in 1996, knowing that doing so would force you to remember her and lose her all at once. She then imperiused Phineas Greengrass into manipulating you, making you think that killing your husband was your idea. She intended to have you imprisoned for Cygnus's death, and then she would have taken everything from you – your dignity, your freedom and your family."

"But she didn't get that revenge until after the war because of a sordid deal she did with Alfred Nott, promising to bring him back for power, and then her husband's subsequent imprisonment," Ben finished.

"She did take everything from me," Lareina whispered tearfully, "I lost Lydia, my husband, my dignity and my freedom. I lost Phineas, and I lost my daughter's respect. I never….I never saw my grandchildren grow up…."

She shook her head and took a step away from the two Aurors.

"She took everything from me."

"If it's any consolation," Ben said quietly, "She's dead."

Lareina spun around, "How?"

"She confessed yesterday, and this morning, she had a heart attack," Jason replied.

Lareina laughed bitterly, "Oh, that's ironic. Her heart chose that moment to stop working."

She took a breath and swallowed.

"Thank you for finding the truth," Lareina said, giving them a slight nod, "But I need to process this alone."

"Of course," Ben said, "I'm sorry for your loss, Ms Crouch."

Lareina nodded and left the room, letting the door shut loudly behind her.

Jason looked over at Ben and asked, "You gonna tell him?"

Ben ran a hand through his hair, "I mean, I've got to. He's Harry Potter, and she's his mother-in-law. I need to give him a heads up."

Jason snorted and patted the Head Auror on the back, "Good luck with that."


Hogsmeade

Harry walked into the Three Broomsticks and leaned against the bar, "Asking a recovered alcoholic to meet in a bar, bold of you, Ben."

Ben shot Harry a sidelong look, "You haven't touched a drink in over a decade."

Harry chuckled, "No, I know I haven't. What's going on?"

Ben glanced behind him, then lowered his voice, "I shouldn't be telling you this, but she's your mother-in-law, and you ought to know."

Harry's eyes darkened, "Oh, what's she done?"

"She hasn't done anything," Ben admitted, "But that digging you did into who Lydia was? Well, it did lead somewhere. Yesterday, Lotus Cauldwell confessed to Lydia's murder, then this morning, she died of a heart attack. I told Lareina this afternoon about Lotus's confession, but it was a lot more than murder."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "More than murder?" he whispered.

"Lotus hated Lareina; she conspired to ruin her life," Ben whispered, "She imperiused Cygnus, forced him to set that fire to Greengrass House. She encouraged Lareina to have an affair with Phineas, then imperiused Phineas and had him manipulate Lareina into thinking her plan to kill Cygnus was her idea. She had Dorian Frost, Nina's father, kill Lydia and then in 2000, when he was overcome with guilt and wanted to confess, Lotus silenced him and his wife."

Harry swallowed in disbelief, "So it…it all leads back to Lotus Cauldwell? Everything that Daphne had to work so hard to overcome….one of her best friend's mothers was behind it the entire time?"

Ben nodded, "I'm afraid so, sorry."

Harry sighed and let his head drop onto the bar, "Does Sadie know her mother is dead?"

"Not yet, I was on my way to Blacknot Castle to inform her, but I wanted to speak to you first," Ben admitted, "I thought Daphne deserved the truth, and I wasn't sure if her mother would tell her."

Harry lifted his head and nodded, "Thanks, Ben. I appreciate that."

Ben nodded and patted Harry on the back, "Sorry that this wasn't over better terms."

"It's fine," Harry said. He gave Ben a stiff smile, "That's the job, right?"

"Right," Ben said, his smile just as tight as Harry's.

It was the job, and Harry remembered how soul-destroying it had been for him at times.


Potter Manor

When Daphne came home from Hogwarts, her mother was nowhere in sight. That in itself wasn't unusual. Sometimes she stayed with friends for days at a time, went out shopping, or stayed at the apartment in Paris with a girlfriend from school.

So she kicked off her shoes, hung up her cloak and headed into the kitchen, which was when she saw that the basement door was ajar.

With a frown, Daphne stepped inside and looked down the stairs to the bar, where her mother was drinking her way through a case of wine.

"For the love of Merlin," Daphne muttered. She snapped the door shut behind her and started to stalk down the stairs, "I thought it was my father who was the alcoholic?"

Lareina laughed bitterly, "Everything you thought is wrong."

Daphne gave her mother a dubious look, "Do you know how messed up I am because of how I was raised?"

Lareina didn't even bother looking up at Daphne.

"I know you went through pain when you lost Lydia, and I'm sorry about that," Daphne continued, "But you shouldn't have let your pain ruin the two children you had left! I've gone through pain and lost children, but I will never let my pain hurt them the way you let yours hurt Astoria and me!"

Lareina shook her head and filled her wine glass up.

Daphne took another step towards her mother, "Lilly once told me that she grew up young, and I don't think I really understood until she explained that it meant she had fast-forwarded through the innocent things."

Lareina looked up, and Daphne fixed her with a hard stare, "I never got the young, puppy love thing. I thought I did with Draco, but I could never trust it, and I couldn't trust him because I had never seen you trust a man. I spent the years they say are the best of your life, wondering if I would ever be enough because I wasn't enough to stop you from disappearing to another continent or stop my own father from drinking!"

Tears filled her eyes, but she ignored her mother's attempt to cut in, "Before I had even kissed a boy, I knew how that path ended because of you. Before I'd had a drink, I knew what it could do because of Dad, so I agreed with Lilly. I grew up young too."

"Daphne, you don't understand," Lareina said, holding a shaky hand, "You don't understand how hard it was for me - "

"For you?" Daphne asked in disbelief, "Mum, I was just a kid! I was a kid who had to pretend I was fine because that was the pureblood way! Nobody could know how much you and Father hated each other because that made us weak to our enemies. I went through school with people always assuming I was fine when I was breaking inside, and that's on you."

"Daphne…"

"No, it is," Daphne retorted, "Because you were the one who told me to smile when I wanted to cry. That was how I lived for so long, the same way you did. I thought that if you look damn good in the dress, zip up the mess, then dance with your best foot forward, everyone will think you're fine, and eventually, you'll feel it for real."

Daphne took a breath, "But it got hard to keep playing the part of the perfect pureblood daughter, and if it hadn't been for Tracey…."

She shook her head, "She was the one person who told me that I could carve out my own story and that it wasn't a weakness to break down or cry."

"Even the Ice Queen cries," Lareina said, looking at her daughter.

Daphne frowned, "Wh…what?"

"You aren't the only woman in this family who had that nickname," Lareina said. She looked away from Daphne, back into the depths of her wine glass.

"And…I'm sorry that I failed you, Daphne," Lareina said, her voice thick with emotion.

Daphne faltered by the bar, "Mum, what's going on?"

Lareina sighed but didn't say anything. Then the door to the basement opened, and Harry stepped onto the timber staircase.

He looked down at them, from Lareina, who was halfway through a bottle of wine, and Daphne, who had tear tracks on her cheeks.

"You know then?"

"No," Daphne said, looking from her mother to her husband, "But I think we were getting there."

Lareina looked up at Harry, "I…I can't."

Harry nodded and jogged down the stairs, "I've just met with Ben," his eyes met Daphne's.

She frowned, "About?"

"Lydia," Harry replied honestly.

He launched into the lengthy explanation, and Daphne listened intently but did not say a word until it was all out. That was when she drew in a breath and nodded as she tried to wrap her head around the truth.

"All of this time….the fire…he…it wasn't him?"

Harry shook his head.

Daphne sank into a barstool and let her head rest against the scored wood. Harry could tell that she was crying by how her body moved, so he stepped forward to hug her.

"I gave him hell for that," Daphne said, looking up at Harry tearfully, "Even after I said that I forgave him, I still brought it up all the time."

"But he died knowing you loved him, Daphne," Harry said. He got to her level and looked her in the eye, "And that's what matters."

Daphne swallowed hard and shook her head.

"Does…does Sadie know?"

"Ben's informing her of her mother's death," Harry answered, "I don't know if he'll tell her everything."

Daphne sighed and looked along the bar at her mother, "I'm sorry about what I said before.'"

Lareina shook her head, "You meant it, and you had clearly been holding it in for a long time. I never expected you to forgive me at the drop of a pin, Daphne. I knew we were only at the beginning of a long road."

Daphne looked a little guilty all the same, "But - "

"Regardless of the circumstances or any manipulation from Lotus Cauldwell, I still failed you," Lareina said simply, "I was not under the influence of anyone when I taught you to hide behind a smile. I made you the Ice Queen because I thought it would protect you….I thought it would stop you from ending up like me."

Daphne looked up at her, "Like you?"

"Pregnant at 17, with no dignity," Lareina said, her voice was suddenly very quiet, "And in a loveless marriage."

Daphne sighed and looked at Harry, who did look a little sympathetic to Lareina's plight.

"Well, she adopted at 19, and this isn't a loveless marriage," Harry said, managing to give Daphne a small smile, "So I think your twisted logic worked, in a roundabout way."

"But it ruined your childhood, and for that, I am truly sorry, Daphne," Lareina said.

Daphne nodded, "Yeah, I'm sorry too."

They both fell silent, and Harry leant against the bar, observing both women.

"Sitting in a dark basement isn't going to make anyone feel better about anything, is it?" He asked sagely, "Why don't we visit Lydia's grave? We could take some flowers from the gardens, and you could make your peace with this – both of you."

Lareina nodded and wiped her eyes hastily.

Daphne cleared her throat, "I think that's a good idea," she admitted.

Harry smiled weakly, "And soon, we'll tell Nina the truth, and you can get to know your granddaughter, Lareina."

Lareina did manage a small smile at that.

"If nothing else can get you through this difficult time, then hopefully that can," Harry finished, reaching out to squeeze Lareina's shoulder.

Lareina cleared her throat and nodded. She looked over at Daphne and smiled tightly, "You found a good one."

Daphne smiled tearfully at Harry, "Yes, I really did."

Harry smiled and reached for her hand. It took a squeeze and a smile, and Daphne knew that it would all be okay. That was how Harry had always made her feel, and her mother was right; she had found a good one, a good man and a man who loved her the way she had always wanted to be loved.

The way she deserved.


Yeovil Cemetery

It was sunny but cold when they stepped into the cemetery where Lydia had been buried. This was where her adopted parents had brought her up.

They found her grave, right next to Dominic's, and Lareina broke down when she saw it in stone.

In

Loving Memory of

Lydia Cruickshank

Beloved Daughter and Friend

3rd January 1978 – 8th June 1996

Harry put his arm around Daphne, and Lareina knelt in front of the grave, placing flowers before it and not minding that her expensive cloak was getting damp.

"She died too young," Daphne whispered, she and Harry giving Lareina a little bit of space to grieve.

Harry nodded and gave her arm a slight squeeze, "A lot of people did in the late 90s."

"At least they died fighting for something they loved," Daphne said, bitterness coming into her voice.

Harry looked at his wife, "Lydia did too. She died fighting for a life for her little girl. Her death wasn't in vain. Take one look at Nina Frost if you need convincing otherwise."

Daphne swallowed and nodded, her eyes on her mother, who was speaking quietly.

"I'm sorry," Lareina whispered, "I'm sorry that I failed you like I failed your sisters. I'm sorry that you never got to meet them. I will never stop wondering who you would be today, Lydia. I will never stop seeing your face in a crowd, even though I know you're gone. I just hope you are at peace."

Harry stepped forward and knelt on the ground next to Lareina, "She is."

Lareina looked up sharply, "You don't know that."

Harry nodded, "I do. Lareina, I nearly died. I was in limbo, and I saw the other side. It is beautiful and for the pure souls, which Lydia was."

Lareina frowned, "She had a baby out of wedlock."

Harry shook his head, "That's not what matters, Lareina. Her magic was pure, and she never used it to hurt others. It's those people who get to the other side. She is at peace."

Lareina looked away from Harry. She nodded and looked at the gravestone for a moment longer.

A breeze blew through the graveyard, and Daphne shivered, pulling her cloak closer to her.

She looked up at the way the leaves blew through the air above them and smiled slightly.

Harry was right; Lydia was at peace.

- TBC -