The Impossible Choice

"That's not yours to offer." said Sirius cooly, making Harry wince.

"It is not. You will understand in a moment that it is not my offer." said Moriarty.

The door opened and Dumbledore walked in, followed by Lucius, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. There was a shadow behind Draco. It was tall and familiar to Hermione.

"Rodo!" exclaimed Hermione angrily.

"Hi, Hermione." he said tiredly.

Neville stood up and aimed his wand at Rodolphus Lestrange.

"Neville! Please restrain yourself." said Dumbledore.

Harry could see that Rodolphus Lestrange was not very comfortable there standing so near Neville Longbottom.

"There's no escape here, Rodo." said Lucius softly, "That's James Moriarty. He's the head of the Department of Mysteries."

"The one you refused to Imperius?" asked Rodolphus.

Malfoy snorted unhappily.

"Why don't you try now?" he said contemptuously.

Rodolphus Drew his wand out.

Everyone except Harry, Filch and Dumbledore reached for their wands but they found nothing.

Rodolphus cried, "Imperio."

A murky yellow light hit Moriarty in the chest. Moriarty did not seem phased. He stood up and aimed his wand at Dumbledore. Every jumped from their seats to stop him but the green spell had already hit Dumbledore.

Rodolphus smiled triumphantly. Moriarty faced Rodolphus.

"Anything else?"

His smile faltered. Dumbledore opened his eyes and stood up.

"But…"

"You are a fool, Rodolphus." said Malfoy coldly.

"Lucius, I should say, it's nice to see you again," said Moriarty amiably.

Malfoy gulped.

"The pleasure is mine Head-Director Moriarty." said Malfoy meekly.

Dumbledore stood up and explained how Rodolphus had been involved in saving Malfoys from certain death. He had a difficult time convincing the members that Mr Lestrange was not an enemy anymore. Harry blamed it on his first impression.

"Mr Malfoy was my spy within Death Eaters," said Moriarty, "I guarantee you he has not cost anyone their life and in fact he has managed to save a few."

His warm smile calmed everyone.

"Now, I wish it was not needed but you must leave Albus and me with our guests. Some of the information shared might be sensitive," said Moriarty and faced Harry, "Harry, could you please stay behind? Severus, Filch, and Lucinda since you have mental protection you can stay, too."

Lucinda sat next to her brother. Sirius, who was not asked to stay, refused to leave and stayed anyway. Moriarty did not object to his presence.

"How did you do it?" asked Rodolphus.

"I am very old and well-trained," said Moriarty, "Unlike poor Bode who wasn't so lucky. Everyone check and see that your wands are where they're supposed to be."

Malfoy moved uneasily to Moriarty.

"You are surely forgiving enough to…"

"He is, brother!" said Lucinda, "Surely you don't think he would have rescued you hadn't he forgiven you first."

"Lucius, Bode was careless. He made a fatal mistake. I know that you put him under the Imperius Curse, yet you did your best to make sure he fails. I appreciate the fact that you could see Voldemort's wrongness even before he fell. That's why I asked you to help me when he returned."

"The Dark Lord is an existential threat to our world. If only you knew what we know." said Malfoy shivering wildly.

Rodolphus looked slightly disturbed.

"What do you know, my dear sir?" asked Moriarty calmly.

"He has made Horcruxes." said Rodolphus, "Several of them that is."

The lack of reaction to this revelation surprised the Death Eaters.

"What is a Horcrux, father?" asked Draco.

"Miss Riddle?" said Moriarty.

"It's a physical medium for a piece of your soul." she replied, "You must commit murder in order to create one and have no regrets toward your action."

"Never have any regrets toward your actions. Never is the key word, Hermione." said Lucius hastily, "One with no regrets will massacre a world. He will asounder his army only for destruction and annihilation. We cannot let him take over."

Moriarty looked at Lucius intensely.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Are you certain that you wish to be more than just an ex-spy?"

"Yes!" Lucius responded firmly.

"What about you, Mr. Lestrange?"

Rodolphus looked unsure.

"As long as Narcissa is safe, I don't mind helping you," he said.

Harry was confused. What was going on between Narcissa Malfoy and Rodolphus Lestrange? How come Lucius was cool with it?

"Rodo, I don't intend to peer, but what is your relationship with my aunt?" Hermione asked.

"I - I - ?"

"Rodolphus used to love her," said Lucius rigidly, "but, Orion Black suggested that I'd make a better groom for Narcissa. My father and hers followed him like blind men. "

"We both married the wrong wife," said Rodolphus.

Narcissa cringed next to her husband.

"You married my love, I married yours. That, I believe, is fair." said Lucius.

"No… that's insane." said Harry.

Harry was shocked. He didn't know why, but he had a really bad feeling about all this.

"Yes, fortunately the source of insanity is now dead. When all this is over I will be marrying Narcissa and Lucius can … well he can have Bella for all I care."

"Weren't Rodolphus Lestrange and his wife called the legendary pair? I thought they liked each other." said Filch to Moriarty.

"Legendary Duo!" Rodolphus corrected Filch.

"I've heard Pair," Filch insisted.

"Not the point, Unspeakable Filch." said Moriarty frustratedly, "Mr Malfoy, would your answer be any different if I told you Orion Black was alive?"

Malfoy looked at him nervously.

"The old turd is alive?" exclaimed Rodolphus.

"I saw him die," said Narcissa.

Lucinda looked at her and grimaced. "I don't know what you saw, Cissy. I for one saw Orion Black and he didn't look a day older than 40."

"My answer won't change." said Lucius.

"Mine won't either." said Lestrange.

Moriarty took a deep breath and began explaining everything, omitting a few facts he had told Harry. What Harry had not expected was him telling them about Harry's real parents. Fortunately, he did not tell them about Lily and Sirius being brother and sister.

Malfoy seemed genuinely shocked. Rodolphus on the other hand nodded indifferently.

"That makes the prophecy even more valid," said Narcissa Malfoy, "Sirius definitely defied the Dark Lord by refusing him three times."

Dumbledore nodded.

Sirius coughed behind his palms. Once the truth had been revealed he simply covered his face and refused to look at anyone. It was understandable as Severus Snape had not ceased his death glare.

"Did you really sleep with your best friend's girlfriend?" asked Malfoy, failing to hide his curiosity. "How Orion of you."

"How come he did not appear on my heritage tree?" Draco asked.

Suddenly, Harry felt a tiny spark of hope in his heart. Draco was right. His heritage tree had not shown Sirius as his father and Lily had not been depicted as a Black. Maybe Orion had lied to them and then had faked the new tapestry.

"That's easy, Draco. All you have to do is to mess with the family tapestry. That's how the potion works. It accesses the same magic that the tapestry uses. All the tapestries are connected just like all the wizards and witches are connected. If an individual is capable enough and is the Head of his House, he or she can temper with the core of the strings that connect all the tapestries or heritage trees together and fake a person's identity for sometime. However, for it to work the person has to believe it. Once Harry found out all the modifications were nullified." said Moriarty.

"Who did it then?"

"Draco, I believe Orion Black was behind it. For some reason he did not want people to know who Harry was." he responded.

"Potter's my cousin twice removed, Hermione is my first cousin." Draco said in awe, "And they're dating?"

"That wouldn't be far off the tradition, Draco." said his father.

Draco's face paled, which Harry found funny.

Moriarty told them that they had to keep all they had heard to themselves. Narcissa was surprised that even the order didn't know about Harry.

"Why won't you tell them?" she asked.

"To preserve Sirius's remaining mental health. We also want to avoid magic recognising him as Harry Black. That would prove to be troublesome." Dumbledore responded, "Thanks to Orion Black manipulations we have Harry under James Potter's name. If we're lucky we can keep pretending for another decade."

"We can?" Sirius asked him hopefully.

"Why not? There are no official records now. unless... is there any physical evidence, Sirius?"

"There is. The tapestry." said Lucinda.

Moriarty smiled. "Ah, that actually helps us. As long as Sirius stays off…" his face became ugly as he saw Lucinda's mind.

"What have you done!?" he shouted at Hermione.

Hermione was so surprised that she fell backwards.

"We had to destroy it. It had Hermione as Voldemort's child!" said Harry.

"This is all my fault! I should have come to you years ago, but noooo … I had to procrastinate!" Moriarty yelled angrily, "Dumbledore's wrong! You don't have ten years. It's ten weeks now!"

He breathed sharply through his nose and hummed.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt much to tell you now. We've had a little discovery recently. Orion Black confessed that Lily Potter was his illegitimate daughter. You would find out anyway the moment you looked at the new tapestry."

The room plunged into silence. Narcissa looked at Harry pitifully as Lucius looked at Sirius in horror. Draco seemed confused.

"Wait, didn't you just say… hmmm"

Rodolphus put his hand on Draco's mouth and stopped him.

"Hush, Draco. Sometimes, you need to restrain your tongue." he said.

Harry was more interested in his nails than anything else.

"The Dark Lord has told me that he never intended to kill Lily Potter." said Rodolphus, "Could he have known?"

"I doubt it." said Dumbledore, "Tom chose Harry because he was a half-blood just like him. The similarity made Harry a more likely equal."

"Is he really… you know… half-blood?" asked Narcissa.

Rodolphus and Lucius looked at her tensely.

"He is." said Dumbledore.

"This is madness!" said Severus with a raspy voice.

"I think Severus is too shocked," said Moriarty, "Albus, I need you to restrain him before he does something stupid."

"This doesn't make sense," Severus ranted, "Potter's a carbon copy of his father. The similarities are undeniable. He is nothing like Sirius Black and I for one cannot believe it."

He tried to stand up but he was stuck to his chair.

"He is like him because he was given a Potion that would change his appearance. James Potter was magical and the other parent was his real mother, therefore it has kept working even after puberty." said Filch.

"I'm not sure that's not how it works." said Narcissa.

From there Harry could not distinguish between words as everyone entered a shooting match, each declaring their own opinion.

He simply stood up and left the kitchen without anyone noticing. As he was about to close the door, a hand held the door and opened it.

Hermione and Draco came out of the kitchen and closed the door behind themselves.

"Well, you have the worst luck imaginable, Potter." said Draco.

Harry sniffed unhappily.

"Harry, we can go to our room. I think Ginny and I can make you relaxed." said Hermione.

"Look, I'm fine." said Harry.

"Of course, you are. You're Harry Potter." said Draco.

Harry looked at him suspiciously, looking for any hint of sarcasm, but if there was any, he couldn't recognise it.

"Draco, stop being funny." spat Hermione.

"But I am funny." Draco responded.

"And you smell funny." said Harry dryly.

Hermione smiled, "Oh, you do!"

"That's because I didn't have access to a proper bathroom." Draco reasoned, "Are you really concerned with my smell? You should be concerned about your hair. Let me fix it for you."

"Uhm… you shouldn't, Draco." said Hermione, "Harry is being tested by Professor Moriarty."

"Being tested to see how he can look like a girl?"

"No. They want my body to get used to transfiguration for an extended period of time." said Harry, feeding him the lie he had been instructed to tell.

Filch had told him this excuse would convince most people, especially those who had a good understanding of transfiguration.

"Makes sense. Are you planning to run away?" Draco asked.

"No, but I'd love to be capable of hiding when necessary." Harry responded.

Draco was convinced. Hermione on the other hand was not and once they were alone, Harry told her everything before she could even ask.

He did not want to have any more secrets that Hermione didn't know. She was going to know everything from now on.

***GW***

Ginny Weasley absolutely hated Fleur Delacour. The woman kept flirting with Harry shamelessly. She managed to keep her tongue under control until Fleur decided that she wanted Harry to help her with the wedding dress.

Ginny used the worst kind of insults, both wizarding and muggle, that Hermione could think of.

It did not bother Fleur the slightest. She simply sent her a kiss which enraged Ginny. She became happy once Fleur came back with a grumpy face. Harry had not given in.

Harry decided to spend the rest of the day with Neville, Luna and Ron in his mother's room. Adriana Dumbledore was very skilled at playing Exploding Snap.

Moriarty and Filch had switched their room with her so they could study the tapestry and keep it out of access.

So now Adriana was more than happy to invite children to her room.

Their time alone ended at dinnertime. That night Fleur tried to sit next to Harry, but Ginny and Hermione occupied the seats on his left and right, blocking Fleur and stopping her constant harassment.

Harry was glad that Bill and Fleur would be leaving tomorrow after the wedding. Harry wished that Fleur would forget all about him during her honeymoon.

Fleur sat next to Filch who dramatically moved his chair away from her, as if she had an infectious disease.

Moriarty and Snape smirked simultaneously. Snape asked Harry to pass over the salt.

"Potter, I've yet to receive your work on indestructible leather. Have you got it started?" he said.

Harry gulped. He most certainly had not.

"Stop harassing the boy. It's summer." said Kingsley.

"Are you suggesting that the-boy-who-lived cannot hand over a simple project?" Snape snarled.

Lily coughed.

"What?" spat Snape.

"You call that simple?" she said.

"Of course, Ms Dumbledore. Potter has chosen a task he can handle and I intend to push him to do so."

Harry was surprised by his compliment.

"Hogwarts' letters are here," said Mr Weasley who had just entered the kitchen. "It seems that the results came early."

He gave the stack to Ron and asked him to hand them to his friends and sister.

Ginny and Hermione immediately tore through their envelopes to see their results. Harry saw Ginny smile beamingly as she looked at her results.

Ron absentmindedly put the last pocket letter in Harry's hand.

The moment Harry looked at the back of the letter he froze.

This letter was not sent to Harry Potter. It was sent to Harry J. Black.

Magic had recognised him as a Black.

Hermione next to him stared at his envelope in horror.

"... I got Potter some Polyjuice Potion." Harry heard Snape say. He looked at him disapprovingly, "Put that thing in your pocket. You can read it later. I will not explain this twice."

Harry immediately shoved the letter into his pocket.

"I - I have to tell you something." said Lucinda.

"It's not the time." Sirius warned her. However, his warning was ignored.

"Sirius and I found a letter. It was put in a place where only Sirius could find it."

Everyone was looking at her. Harry wondered what kind of letter it could be.

"I have been avoiding my original room as most of you know," said Sirius anxiously, "Lucinda and I had to spend the last few nights there, since this place has become overcrowded. When we were cleaning we found this."

He put a letter on the desk and removed his hand immediately as if it could bite him.

"It's a letter from Lily. It was transfigured masterfully to show a different content after her death. Unfortunately, Sirius never got to see it, that is, until today." said Lucinda sadly.

"I won't read it to you." said Sirius, "It's too personal to be read here, but it mentions something that everyone needs to know."

"What is it?" said Molly impatiently.

Lupin leaned forward to hear Sirius better, and Tonks stopped eating her food.

Moody's magical eye wouldn't budge away from the letter in Sirius's hand. He growled unhappily.

"Harry is my son."

For a second Harry thought that something had exploded. Not a single individual was sitting on their chair. Moriarty was trying to keep Lupin away from Sirius. Tonks was trying to help Ginny and Hermione wake Mrs Weasley up, as she had fainted upon hearing the news. Harry himself had to stand up as everyone rushed toward Sirius.

Filch waved his wand and suddenly the bubble of tension burst into nothing.

They all felt tired and weak.

"I think we all need some calming draught, Severus," said Moriarty.

Half an hour later the order was assembled in the new conference room.

"You better have a good explanation," said Lupin, "How come you're Harry's father? Did you two cheat on James!?"

"I don't think they did that." said Moody with a grumpy voice. He looked at Harry sadly. "Harry was born soon after they married each other. James told me they had gone out after Halloween. Their boy was born too soon in my opinion."

"Then why didn't Sirius marry Lily?" said Lupin angrily. "Why would let James have her?"

"He had no idea, Remus," said Lucinda.

Harry looked at his mother who was sitting tightly next to Snape. She seemed stoic yet Harry knew she was worried.

In the end everyone came to accept the reality.

"Are we telling our guests?" said Moody.

By guests, of course, he meant Death Eaters who had been settled in a secure room.

"No!" said Sirius.

"I agree. Let's not tell them." said Tonks.

"They will find out anyway," said Moriarty, "I'm sorry to break it to you, but my agents have access to the records. I just received a notification that his surname has been changed to Black. It will make it to the Daily Prophet by tomorrow."

"I'll make sure we won't be receiving anything tomorrow." said Lucinda, "I don't have time for hate mail on my wedding broom."

"Speaking of the wedding, we have got our place ready. Would you like to see it dear brides?" said Filch.

He did not receive any answers.

Harry was too tired. Eventually, his eyes drifted off and he collapsed on the sofa as people around him continued their talks.

**AR**

Augustus Rookwood fell on his knees. He couldn't believe he was defeated by an obnoxious schoolgirl with a ponytail.

Next to her stood a very familiar man. Yes, it was definitely Barty. Rookwood wondered how he was alive. Wasn't he kissed by a dementor?

"Do not kill him! He is my friend." said Barty.

"I didn't intend to harm him beyond this, kid." said the schoolgirl. It made Augustus laugh.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Eve Morningstar, at your service." she responded.

No! It couldn't be. All she needed to do was take a look into his mind.

Augustus jumped back in time. The killing curse narrowly missed him. Just a second before he could touch his emergency portkey a spell hit him in the chest, but he held the portkey hard and yelled, "Dawn is near."

The portkey kicked in and took him away. He landed on a hard floor.

"God! Argus, come here now." a man yelled desperately.

Rookwood's vision was blurry but he could see that he was among a crowd. He coughed some blood on his rescuer's face.

"Sorry," he breathed out.

"Don't worry, Augustus. Just relax and hold on!" said a desperate voice above him.

"Sally?" he whispered.

The man who was swiftly healing his wounds chortelled.

After a few minutes Rookwood's vision began to get normal. He smiled as he saw his boss's happy face.

"We must talk." he said with difficulty.

"It can wait." said James Moriarty.

"Jim, it could be important." said Argus Filch next to him.

"Sally! It is you!" cried Rookwood.

"It's not Sally, you oaf. I'm sure you've hit your head somewhere. I'm Filch!"

Rookwood suddenly realised they were not alone. He could see the Order of Phoenix all around him. Most of them had their wands ready.

Between Arthur Weasley and Sirius Black, he spotted a boy with pink hair.

"Is that Potter?" he asked, "What's with the hair?"

"Don't move so much!" Moriarty ordered irritably.

"Yes boss." he responded.

"Boss?" exclaimed a boy next to Arthur Weasley.

"Morningstar was there," said Rookwood.

Moriarty froze for a second, he got a hold on himself and continued healing Rookwood.

"She's going for Riddle?" asked Filch.

"Don't ask questions, Argus. He needs to calm down." said Moriarty tiredly.

For the next five minutes no one talked. Rookwood slumped unconscious and snored.

"Is he snoring?" exclaimed Filch.

"It's a mild side effect of the medicine I gave him."

Moriarty conjured a small bed and put Rookwood in it.

"I've lost my last spy within Voldemort's ranks." Moriarty said to himself.

**OB**

"Your friend is our enemy, boy," said Orion Black.

"No matter, my dear Orion." said the schoolgirl next to him, "Moriarty won't get much out of him."

A shadow emerged behind them. Orion smiled bitterly and turned into Horace Slughorn.

"Professor Slughorn, have you come here to join us?" said Voldemort smoothly.

His red eyes pierced their mental barriers. However, for the first time in his life, Lord Voldemort was unable to see his enemies' thoughts.

"We are very interested," said Eve Morningstar.

"No one asked you." Voldemort responded trying to be as condescending as possible.

The young girl, however, didn't get upset. She simply smiled broadly.

"Are you mad, girl?" said Voldemort.

"I couldn't really objectively evaluate my own mental health, could I? Why don't you figure that out yourself?" she answered.

Voldemort aimed his wand at her and cast, "Crucio!"

Eve didn't even flinch. She kept smiling as if she hadn't been hit by an Unforgivable Curse.

"You can't even begin to understand what pain is. Allow me to demonstrate."

She looked into Voldemort's eyes. He instantly fell on his knees. Voldemort wasn't screaming or moving, and his face was empty. A second later he snapped out of his trance and began to cry.

"Such a thing is what I call pain."

Eve walked to Voldemort and caressed his wet cheek.

"Please, don't do that to me again!" Voldemort begged.

"All I need is your snake, milord." she said calmly, "I shall keep it safe, no worries! I have nothing to gain from destroying it."

"But…"

"I'm making a world without death." she interrupted him.

Voldemort paused. Her power was real, so was her promise. What would happen if Voldemort went against her. It was not the time. He needed to know more.

"Let me serve you. You shall have everything I have," Voldemort promised. To Orion it was a surprise.

"As a gift I've brought back a faithful servant of yours." she said pointing at Barty Jr, "I am a giver and not a taker. You don't need Nagini to be close. I shall keep her safe."

The snake appeared out of nowhere. It fixed her eyes on the young girl in front of her, ready to attack upon any movement.

"Be what you are!" Eve commanded.

Orion and Barty both looked at her in amazement. They had no idea she could speak Parseltongue.

Suddenly the snake fell on the ground and quivered. It's form lost its length and gained width. Eventually, it wasn't a snake but a young lady whose scream pierced the night.

**HP**

The wedding was rather crowded, even though they had a large garden made for it. Harry had used his power to look like a long lost cousin of Weasleys. He regretted making that choice once Aunt Muriel took an interest in him. For some unfathomable reason Elphias Doge, an old man who wouldn't stop talking about Dumbledore, decided to join them and ruin Harry's evening even more.

It surprised Hermione that not a single person suspected the boy next to Muriel to be Harry Potter. What surprised her even more was the fact that Luna Lovegood did.

When she introduced Hermione to her father, Xenophilius Lovegood, his warm smile made Hermione calm down.

You see, Hermione's presence today was much like a strong human repellent enchantment: People would avoid her at all costs. As a result, Ginny and Hermione had been quite alone in their own little island of isolation.

Harry tried a few times to approach them, but aunt Muriel had wisely, as Percy Weasley would put it, prevented that from happening.

Voldemort's daughter was not welcome to be there.

"I don't think that would be wise, young Barny." said Elphias Doge as Muriel refused to let Harry go, "That one you should leave be."

"I hear that witch and Ginnevra are involved," said Muriel.

Harry could tell she was not happy about that.

"They're with Harry Potter, of course." said Harry or rather Barny.

"Ah, there are so many rumors about the boy. I wouldn't be surprised if they said he was in love with either of the brides." said Aunt Muriel.

It made Harry's stomach turn.

"That's James Moriarty, isn't he?" said Aunt Muriel.

Doge turned his head so fast that Harry heard his poor bones crack.

"HDM? Merlin's pants! What is he doing here?" said Doge.

"That's all just publicity! He wants to be here so he can't be blamed for what they did to poor Sirius Black." said Aunt Muriel venomously.

Harry barely managed to restrain his tongue.

"Ah no! She's coming over here!" said Doge.

Harry looked behind him and saw Hermione approaching them with Ginny, Luna and a man who looked astonishingly like a huge banana.

"Look at Xenophilius! What's that costume?! He looks like an omelette!" exclaimed Muriel.

Hermione sat next to Doge as Ginny sat next to Muriel.

Luna sat next to Harry whispering, "Hey, Harry,"

Harry was glad that she was sensible enough to be discreet.

"You seem to like Barny, aunt Muriel." said Ginny.

"He's a good boy, unlike your twin brothers." she responded defensively.

"Look who I found here?" said Jim Moriarty as he squeezed himself between Harry and Luna.

Harry had not seen him nearby and apparently neither had others.

Muriel tried to smile pleasantly, but it looked like she was grimacing.

"Good evening, professor." said Hermione politely.

"Where's your boyfriend? I can't find him anywhere?" said Moriarty. He faced Harry, "Have you seen him?"

"No, sir, I'm not sure who her boyfriend … is..." said Harry awkwardly.

"Harry Potter, of course. The Minister is here. He asked me to find Harry."

"I don't think you'll find him here," said Ginny.

"Really? I thought you two of all people would be able to help me. That's a pity."

He left them as swiftly as he had come.

"So it's true?!" asked Doge, "You're with Harry Potter?"

"Yes." said Hermione.

"Does he know…"

"He does." she said firmly, "He does read."

In that moment Victor Krum decided to join them. While he did not recognise Harry, Victor befriended him quickly.

His warm attitude towards Hermione surprised everyone.

Aunt Muriel, Xenophilius Lovegood and Elphias Doge decided to leave for more drinks.

Krum immediately asked Harry if he knew Xenophilius Lovegood. Harry, of course said that he did not. Krum explained that Xenophilius was wearing the sign of Grindelwald. Harry wondered if Luna's father was somehow connected to Grindelwald and John Dee.

Harry in his haste tried to explain that Xenophilius might not know the origin of the symbol, but a chilling voice behind them stopped him from talking.

"Oh, he knows what they are."

A young woman with a soft violet robe sat next to Harry.

"Barny, isn't it?" she said innocently.

Harry could not move. This wasn't happening.

"You two don't know what that symbol is."

She effortlessly carved a line through the wooden table with her index.

"The Elder wand,"

She carved a triangle.

"The invisibility cloak,"

She carved a very clean circle in the middle.

"The resurrection stone,"

She smiled like a predator. Only Harry could see her wild expression.

"What are they?" asked Harry.

"Ah those are the things that can make you the master of Death. That's what the legend says. Grindelwald was looking for them."

"Why did he want them?" asked Krum. He, too, had felt the threat.

"Some foolish notions, really. He wanted to rule the world. He realised that they were useless to him, but it was too late. He had already fallen." said the young girl.

"James Moriarty is here," said Harry cooly.

"I know, Barny. That's why I'm here, to show you how helpless he is."

Eve Morningstar snapped her fingers and flames surrounded them.

Fortunately, Hermione managed to take it under control and contain it before it could burn Harry and Krum to ashes.

Harry didn't know how, but five seconds later Harry and Eve were alone. Viktor was laying on the ground while Hermione and Ginny were twenty yards further away.

The fire roared again, but it didn't attack Harry. It attacked the woman who had come to his rescue.

Harry screamed as Lily Potter turned into dust in front of him. He stopped screaming once he saw her mother's figure was once again reconstructed out of thin air.

He looked in amazement as Lily desperately tried to save him. Her features were now as they had been the first time.

"See?" Eve said into his ear, "Now look!"

The fire roared. It hit Ronald first. Harry cried painfully as Ron disintegrated. Lupin, who tried to protect others, was the next. Sirius was about to step forward, but in that moment a man was thrown into fire. Oddly he wasn't harmed by it as he landed next to Harry.

To Harry and Krum's horror, it was Grindelwald.

"I couldn't keep him away." he yelled.

His face was smeared with blood.

"No matter," said Eve.

Suddenly, the fire turned into ice and snow.

"How?" whispered Grindelwald.

Morningstar was not impressed.

"It's that all you can do?" she taunted.

She waved her hand. Harry felt something change. As if the air was thicker.

The snow petals that were falling around them were suspended in the air.

At first Harry thought it was an attack, but when he paid more attention he realised that everyone and everything were suspended, including Jim Moriarty.

"That will buy us some time to talk," said Eve.

Harry found out that he could move. It wasn't a suspension spell. It was a time freezing spell.

Harry looked at her in awe.

"Are you surprised? Isn't this something you would expect from Morgana Le Fay?" she asked.

Harry simply nodded.

"Harry, two people died tonight. One of them was Ronald Weasley, your first friend amongst wizards after poor Hagrid. The other was Remus Lupin, your father's friend and your mentor. Ronald was a young boy and had a girlfriend called Lavender. She will surely cry for him, her heart will be broken and she will never forget her Won-Won." she smiled sadly, "Remus, was a lonely man, but he finally found love last year. He and Tonks clicked. She is pregnant, it's true. Remus will not see his son who will be raised as an orphan, like you."

She pointed at him.

"You bitch… you…"

"Harry, wait… I have more things to say." she said patiently with a morbid smile, "Both of your friends were doomed from birth. They were going to die anyway."

She looked at Lily Potter who was hovering in the ice.

"Your mother died too, but she returned," said Eve softly.

Harry could understand now. He thought he knew what was coming next, but he was wrong. She didn't ask Harry to join her. She simply smiled and said, "I will bring back one of your friends if only you can choose."

Harry noticed that the snow petals were beginning to move again.

"The thing is… you don't have much time."

A/N: Whom will Harry choose?