Edit: so the (P)atreon page is taking longer to set up than I thought. However something new has come up. Our car decided to spin out in the middle of a winter storm. i have set up a go fund me. i hate to ask for help like this, but i have no other options left other than going further into debt. If you can help please consider it (gf).(me)(/u/w7)d8mq just remove all the paranthesis.

Phoenix Dark ( creator name)

Reality Check

"Daffy? Are you awake?"

A quiet groan answered the little figure who stood at the open door, clutching a small stuffed animal. The shadow shifted in the following silence.

"Daffy?"

"Yes Stori, I'm awake. What did you want?" A tired voice finally answered.

Astoria Greengrass stepped into the room, her face illuminated by the growing light filtering in from the east window.

"Daddy says it's time for you to get up and get ready to g-go t-t-to…" the little girl's lip quivered, as big fat tears rolled down her cheek.

Daphne sat up and looked at her younger sister sympathetically. Throwing back the covers, the blonde opened her arms in invitation. Astoria bolted for the bed, throwing herself into her big sisters embrace.

"I don't want you to go," she whispered, "What if I never see you again?"

Daphne chuckled softly, running a hand through her little sisters' golden hair. "Stori, you will be going to school next year and, by law, I am required to attend Hogwarts at least through my OWL year. So, we will see each other again. Besides, Lord Black doesn't seem to be the type to take me and disappear. After all he did send us back home after the will readings."

"That's because he was going to dinner with the Weasleys."

"He could have just as easily taken us along Stori," Daphne said seriously.

Shooting a glance out the brightening window, the blonde shooed her sister out of the room with a promise to buy her something from Diagon Alley, before standing and shedding her nightdress. A soft pop announced the arrival of Polly, her house elf.

"Here is Mistresses robsies! They be fresh pressed!" the creature squeaked, smoothing out an imaginary wrinkle in the soft green robes.

"Thankyou, Polly," Daphne smiled fondly

"Will Mistress be needings anything else?"

"No," Daphne said, "I think that will be all. Is my trunk packed?"

"Yes Mistress, the trunk be packs'd and shrunk in your gold pockets." the elf hesitated, "Don't be forgetting Mistress, I am but a call away."

With that the small being disappeared. Daphne smiled at the now empty space before walking to her dresser. There, resting in a small ring cushion, sat the Ladies Ring of the House Black. The girl swallowed nervously, her hand hovering just above the obsidian ring. It would take some getting used to, wearing that ring. She had been raised to accept whatever position in the house her future husband and lord had dictated for her, but she had so hoped it would have happened after she was done with school. But Fate had dealt her hand and she should make the most of it.

Plucking the ring from the cushion, Daphne slid it onto her left ring finger. The weight felt odd compared to the Heiress ring she wore on her right hand, but she would grow accustomed to it eventually. Turning to her bed, the girl dressed quickly, careful not to wrinkle the robes. A small purse of gold was tucked into a small pocket with her trunk, and her new wand was slipped inside of its equally new wand sheath. She ran her brush through her hair one final time before picking up her cloak and exiting her room, possibly for the last time.

Her father stood when she entered the dining room. Pride shone from his eyes as he inspected her. The ends of his lips twitched up slightly, the action making Daphne feel warm.

"You look good, daughter. Sit, have something to eat before you leave," Francis Greengrass invited indicating the chair to his right. Daphne slid into the chair, tucking her napkin over her lap. She filled her plate with choice portions of the large selection spread out upon the table and took a bite.

The two ate in silence, both simply enjoying the company of the other, though neither gave any hint to their inner thoughts. Minutes slipped by in silence, during which, Astoria slipped into her chair, and started to eat.

"Are you nervous, Daphne?"

Two sets of ice blue eyes snapped up to meet dark grey. Francis looked at his eldest daughter, pain shining in his gaze.

"Father?" Daphne asked in confusion.

"Oh, Daffy," her father chuckled, "Both you and your sister are the perfect Slytherins. You get that from me I guess, but I'm going to tell you something now that your mother taught me before we got married. There are times when even the most stoic of men must release their emotions."

Daphne and Astoria stared at their father in astonishment as a tear dripped down his cheek.

"Your mother was the perfect Hufflepuff. She was the only one I could drop everything for. I didn't have to worry about anything around her. I could laugh, cry, scream, curse, and shout, and she would be there right beside me. What I'm saying Daphne is to find someone with which you can do that to. I hope that it is your betrothed, he is a nice boy, but you can't make the same mistake I have made ever since you mother died. Don't bottle it up, Daughter. Find times to let go."

Daphne nodded dumbly, her breakfast all but forgotten. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen her father cry or had heard him use her pet name. Pushing her chair back, she stepped up to his side and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"I love you, Daddy," she whispered.

Her father nodded slowly as he fought to keep his emotions under control. "I love you too, daughter," he answered, as the great grandfather clock struck 6.

Standing quickly, Daphne wrapped her traveling cloak around her shoulders, and walked to the floo.

"I am proud of you Daphne, I always have been, and I always will be," Francis called as the fire erupted into a green blaze.

The large fire place in the Leaky Cauldron flared in an emerald blaze and Daphne stepped out of the flames, brushing soot off her shoulders, her Father's last words ringing in her ears. A solitary tear slid down her cheek which was quickly brushed away. After checking the logbook, the young girl made her way to the stairs.

Outside of room 10, a group of girls were huddled whispering fervently together. Daphne approached the group and gently touched the nearest one on the shoulder. Susan whipped around startled, but a glance at who it was, and she was instantly calm.

"Hi Daphne," the red head said, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Susan," Daphne responded politely. Annoyance and resignation flashed in Susan's honey brown eyes, before she smiled gently as Daphne, Su, and Dora all exchanged greetings.

"So," Dora started, looking at the door, "Who wants to knock?"

The four girls glanced among themselves, apprehension stalling them all. Finally, Susan released a nervous sigh, and lightly rapped on the door. Silence answered her, so she knocked again, a little harder.

"Well, what do we do now?" Su whispered when no one answered.

"We, enter," Daphne answered.

The rest of the girls looked at her, wary astonishment written in their eyes.

"What?" the blonde asked, "We were told to be in that room this morning, and so we will be in that room. We will perform our duties as we should, and…"

Daphne trailed off, a slight hitch in her voice. Dora laid an encouraging arm on the younger girls arm before squaring her shoulders and trying the doorknob.

The door opened soundlessly, and all four girls took a deep breath before stepping into the room. Immediately, they froze in shock at the mess that greeted them. Books were scattered about, clothing sprawled haphazardly across the room, a vase that had once been sitting on the dresser lay smashed on the floor. But, Harry himself lay peacefully on the bed, his breathing long and deep.

"What happened?" Susan asked quietly, picking her way through the mess.

"It looks like someone set off a blasting hex in here," Su responded, examining the broken vase.

Daphne, bent and picked up a book, "Spells and Magic for Dummies," she whispered, before picking up another. Susan started to sort through the scattered clothing, while Su righted the various trunks in the room. Dora meandered off to a corner by herself, her interest caught on something else.

"I don't see any robes," Susan commented, "We'll have to get him in to get fitted."

"Unless of course he already has and is simply waiting for them," Su responded as she pushed a clothing trunk to the dresser.

Susan opened her mouth to acquiesce when Dora interrupted.

"Hey guys, come here," the older girl whispered.

Turning the other three saw Harry, staring at himself in a mirror, but a quick glance confirmed Harry was still in his bed, sound asleep.

"Nymphadora," Daphne hissed, "What do you think your doing!"

"Don't call me Nymphadora," the Metamorph growled, "Just come here, and look at this."

Sighing in exasperation, Daphne walked over to the corner followed closely by Susan and Su.

"What is it," the blonde asked.

"Look, at the mirror."

Susan and Su glanced at the mirror but saw nothing out of the ordinary, except for a little bit of dust.

"I don't see anything," Su said turning to Dora, "What are we looking at?"

"The mirror is cracked," Daphne said.

The girls turned back to the mirror, and studied it carefully. Dora, still with the appearance of Harry, stood in front of it. Daphne indicated Dora's emerald irises. "See," she said, "the eyes looked cracked. And if Dora steps away," the older girl turned aside, "there are two sets of cracks, in a perfect circle."

Susan gently ran her finger over the fractals, awe in her eyes.

"What spell could have caused that?" she asked.

"I dunno, but whatever it was probably created the mess," Dora whispered, morphing back to her usual spiky pink hair and heart-shaped face.

"It almost looks like a physical manifestation of a legilimancy attack," Su commented, studying cracks closely.

Daphne touched the mirror, "What have we gotten ourselves into?" she asked, "Just how powerful is Lord Potter-Black?"

"Don't call him Lord, Daphne," Susan corrected her gently, touching her shoulder, "I had dinner with him the night before last and he reprimanded me for calling him that. Of course, he didn't know at the time that we were betrothed. But he certainly did not seem to like the title at the bank yesterday. My advice? Just call him Harry."

"Thankyou Susan," Daphne said primly, "But I would prefer to take a reprimand for addressing him correctly, then be scolded for not knowing my place."

Susan sighed, but nodded knowing that the girl would not back off until she was told by Harry himself. "Well, let's get the rest of the room clean, before he wakes," she said.

The rest nodded and turned back to their cleaning. Minutes passed in near silence as four girls cleaned the disaster that cluttered the room. The books were gathered and stored in the library trunk, while clothing was folded and put away in the room's dresser with a towel and change of clothes laid out. A broom was found and the floor swept spotless. Daphne was cleaning the last corner by the door, when her hand encountered a long solid object. Removing the clothing that covered the object revealed an ornate staff. Daphne gasped, her hand hovering inches from the gleaming black and white surface. A tingle ran up her arm as she flexed her hand, swallowing nervously. If her new lord had a staff and was powerful enough to crack a mirror with accidental legilmancy, she wondered just what she had been thrown into.

Steeling her nerves, the girl picked up the staff and quickly carried it to the bedside table where Harry's glasses and wand lay, before rubbing her hand trying to massage away the sharp feeling of pins and needles. Glancing at the small watch her father had given her, she saw that it was nearing 7:30 in the morning. Waving the other girls over, she took a quick glace around the room. Everything was cleaned, and put back in their rightful place, at least as close as they could get it.

"Well, should we wake him up?" Susan asked, noting the time on her own watch.

"I don't know, do you think he wants to be up this early?" Dora asked, looking over Susan's shoulder.

"My father has always said, 'A wise man is up with the sun, for progress waits for no one,'" Su whispered, then shivered as a soft breeze rustled the curtains on the bed. Dora turned to check the window, only to find it shut and locked, but not before she heard a small gasp from Susan. Turning back, her dark eyes fixed on a pair of shining emerald, studying the room from the bed.

The room was fuzzy, but Harry could make out four distinctly feminine blurs as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He quickly dismissed the possibility that what he was seeing was wistful dream as he plucked his glasses from the bedside table. The room came into sharp focus as his spectacles slid onto his nose, and his eyes immediately locked on the small cluster of girls gathered at the foot of his bed who were clearly all very real.

"Oh, er…um g-good morning!" he stuttered, before mentally slapping himself. He had asked them to be here but had never appointed a time. From what little he knew, he should have guessed that they would have shown up exceedingly early.

"Good morning, my lord. I hope that you are well rested?" Daphne asked with a curtsy.

Harry frowned at the honorific. He noted with some amusement that Susan was rolling her eyes at the blonde, but he quickly turned his attention to the slightly pale Daphne.

"I just want to make one thing straight," he said, "My wish is that we can all be friends first and foremost. That means no 'my lords,' no curtsies, no bowing, and no groveling. If you have something to say, say it. If I'm being a prat tell me. Apparently, I am more powerful than you magically, but I'm still a human. I bleed red, shite brown and piss yellow just like everyone else. Understand?"

Three of the girls turned red at the cruder language, but Dora grinned and shot Harry a wink. Su hesitated a second before stepping to the center of the group.

"My Lor… Harry," she amended at his frown, "What of places where it is required or expected?"

Harry sighed, "Those places will be the exceptions, but I expect you to keep it as informal as possible alright?"

Su nodded before slipping back to her previous place, half hidden behind Dora. Daphne had a small frown on her face but nodded with the rest of the group.

"Now then, I'm going to take a shower," Harry said, throwing off the sheets, "If one of you would be so kind as to order up breakfast, we can start our day!"

Grabbing the towel and clothing laid out on his trunk, Harry stepped into the bathroom, closed and locked the door, and immediately dropped his head onto the sink. What had he been thinking! Just casually ordering them around after he had told them to not be so formal with him. Making up his mind to apologize once he had taken his shower, he turned his back to the mirror and stripped down out of the pajama's he had no recollection of putting on the previous night. Stepping into the stall, he took a quick hot shower, letting the water take away the last bit of sleep. As the water ran over his shoulders, he closed his eyes and let the music in his ears wash over him. It sounded so calming to him, much like what he imagined giving a mother a hug after a fright would feel like. Stopping the water, he dried himself and got dressed, trying to word his apology as he got ready to meet his day.

The first thing he noticed when he opened the door, was the large table filled with food that now took up most of the space in the room. The girls were already seated, clearly waiting for him to take the last empty chair at the head of the table. Swallowing, he moved to the seat and sat, reaching for a plate of eggs. As soon as he dished himself a healthy serving, the girls each reached for an item and started to fill their own plates. Harry noticed that Daphne and Su both seemed to take only a little, but he didn't mind. Perhaps they had already had some breakfast.

"So, Harry, what did you have planned for us today?" Susan asked quietly, sipping her water.

The young man swallowed, "Oh, uh, well I actually wasn't sure," he said sheepishly, "I guess we get to know each other, and perhaps go into Diagon Alley. One thing is for sure, I want to have fun," he finished with a smile.

"So you have nothing planned," Dora asked cheekily, before wincing at the kick to her knee from Su.

Harry blushed, "Yeah, basically," he admitted with a small smile.

The rest of breakfast past quickly in a comfortable silence. Harry moderated himself, but it was hard not to finally eat as much as he wanted. Of course, he didn't want to end up like Dudley, but he was tired of his knobby knees and skinny frame. Maybe it was time to start one of those exercise regimes he had heard about on the telly.

Setting down his silverware next to his now empty plate, Harry stood and stretched, forcing several loud pops out of his back as the girls started to gather the dishes and place them on a cart Dora brought in from the hall. Harry grabbed the last two bowls of food and met Daphne halfway to the door. Handing her one of the bowls, he stepped passed her and placed his bowl onto the cart next to the plates. Daphne stood still for a second before following and placing the bowl given her into the cart. Susan gave the cart a small push and it trundled off by itself.

Harry turned back to the room to find it empty except for his trunks and the dresser. Su stood in front of the dresser, digging in a small drawer.

"Hey, what happened to the table? And my bed?" he demanded.

Su looked up with a confused look. "In the drawer," she answered as if it were obvious.

"The drawer?" Harry repeated, walking over to the dresser, taking the place Su had just vacated. There in the narrow drawer, sat a small copy of the room they stood in complete with miniature furniture. There was the bed, the table, and several chairs, both straight and stuffed. But there was a few spots that obviously was missing something.

Turning, he looked at Su who was looking at him with a bewildered look holding a mini over stuffed chair, and two sofas. Seeing the furniture, a figurative light bulb went off in Harry's head.

"Oh, I'm stupid. The furniture can shrink down allowing for fast storage and various set-ups," he said, running his hand through his hair.

"Um, yeah…" Dora responded, her voice indicating the obvious.

Susan rolled her eyes at the older girl, before stepping up to stand next to Harry. "Have you ever stayed in a magical inn, Harry?"

"Until the day before yesterday, I didn't even know magic existed," the boy responded collapsing on the chair that had just appeared. He watched as Su gently pressed her finger against the bottom of the couches in each hand, before placing them on the floor where they sprang to full size. The girls all took a seat, Susan and Dora on one couch, Daphne and Su on the other, and stared expectantly at Harry. The boy sighed leaning back in his chair.

"I guess I should start and explain," he said, "my entire life I've been raised by my relatives as a muggle, I believe that's what you call non-magicals." At Daphne's nod he swallowed and continued. "My relatives … they didn't want me to be apart of this community, so they didn't tell me the truth about my parents' death, or my legacy, or anything, assuming of course they even knew."

"But, your Harry Potter!" Su blurted out before blushing furiously and hiding her face in her hands.

"Is that supposed to mean something, Su?" Harry asked kindly, "If it does, then please tell me. Because all I know is I got swamped with fans when I first arrived, all thanking me for something I didn't know I did."

"You are something of a celebrity in the magical world," Daphne responded, leveling a slight glare at Su.

"Ok, I get that, Professor Dumbledore explained what happened on that night," Harry said, a little confused.

"It's more than that, Harry" Susan chimed in, "People have taken what happened that night, and expounded on it, novelizing and fictionalizing your life."

Harry looked at her sideways, "Meaning?"

"No one knew where you had gone after you defeated You-Know-Who," Dora answered, "You simply vanished without a trace. And so, people started to speculate. Some thought you had been taken in by an Unspeakable, or Dumbledore to be trained, others said you were sent off to a magical family overseas, maybe in America, or France, others said that you had been taken by the followers of You-Know-Who to be raised as the next dark lord. Either way, your life was written about in history books, novels, newspapers, magazines, everything."

"And these people don't care that almost all of it had to be false?" Harry asked dumbfounded.

All four girls shook their heads, Su still hiding her face. A small glisten on the Asian girl's cheek caught Harry's eye and he cocked his head.

"Su, what's wrong?" he said gently.

The girl raised her head as a tear fell from her eye with a dumbfounded look on her face, "I spoke out of turn and in disagreement, my lord. I was out of place."

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "Let me clarify here. Your upset because you didn't fully understand what I was saying, and so spoke up to try and clarify what I was saying."

At the four confused looks he received, Harry chuckled as he rubbed his eyes.

"Ladies, I don't have the same type of etiquette and behavioral training you clearly have," he said, "That means that what others may find offensive, I probably have no problems with. Such as speaking up when you have something to say."

"You mean, your not angry?" Su asked hopefully.

"No, I'm not, Su," Harry smiled.

"I mean no disrespect, Harry," Daphne started, hesitantly, saying his name as if it were difficult, "And no offense to Su, but you should be upset. I understand that you havn't grown up as we have, but if you want to survive the political game of the magical community, you have to become a pureblood."

"Maybe," Harry acquiesced, "But, does it have to be me, or can I just play the part?"

Daphne looked at him as if he had gone mad.

"What I mean is, do I really have to turn into some arrogant, bigoted, suck-arse or can I fake it till I make it?" Harry clarified, a slight smirk curving his lips.

"I believe what Harry is trying to say," Dora said quietly, "Is, does he have to be pureblood polite all the time, in and out of public. And the answer is no, my lor… Harry," she corrected.

"Very few people are that polite all the time, and the only ones who are, are the bigots who believe that the only people who should be allowed into the wizarding community are purebloods," Susan added.

Daphne nodded, "My father is always polite, but he is only pureblood polite, as you say, when it is required. However, household roles are never forgotten!"

"But do these roles always have to be so … formal?" Harry asked.

"Well, no, but…" Daphne started.

"Great," Harry interrupted with a slight smirk, "Then that means me asking to drop the formalities wasn't wrong or insulting?"

"N-no, b-but…" the girl stammered.

"Ok, then," the boy grinned, "That settles it. Now onto some more sobering matters."

The girls looked at him, all confused at what he might mean. Harry took a breath before sweeping his arm around the group.

"Us," he said, "is not sitting right with me." The looks of confusion on the girls slowly faded as terror consumed them all.

"Wh-what do you mean, Harry?" Susan ask, a slight tremble in her voice.

"I mean that you are being forced into this and are going to be forced to fall in love with me," he said soberly, "That's not right."

"Forced?" Dora asked, "Ok, fine. Yeah, our parents signed the contracts before we could walk, some before we were born, but forced to fall in love with you? No."

"I was told yesterday that the magics in the contracts would ensure that you were to fall in love with me," Harry responded, "Granted, I'm no expert in magic by any means, but still."

"The way I best understand it Harry, is that everyone will have some sort of relationship with everyone else," Su started slowly, "Everyone has a perfect match somewhere in the world, whether it be guy or girl, magical or not. These people will meet sometime in their life and will be the best of friends for life, nothing will be able to separate them. Everyone else will have some varying degree of either respect and love or absolute hate. What the contracts do, while certainly archaic, is ensure that the people in the contract will be able to tolerate each other and will remove any inhibitions like jealousy if there is a multiple marriage. Otherwise how we feel for you emotionally is completely up to us. And I think I can safely say, that all of us respect you, if not for the fact that you need a freaking staff, then for who you are and what you have done, even if you can't remember."

The girls all nodded while Harry looked thoughtful.

"What about the 'perfect one'? What if it's a guy and girl. Won't they feel some sort of romantic attraction to each other?" he asked.

"In a lot of cases, yes," Dora said bluntly, "But not always. I remember when my mother finally met my Uncle Joe. They are Soul Mates, as we call them, and are both happily married to other people, and feel absolutely no romantic attraction to each other. They are the best of friends and Uncle Joe and Aunt Jane come over for dinner almost every weekend."

Their Lord nodded before asking his next question, "What about people who can't tolerate each other. What happens then?"

"It depends. Firstly, the magic of the contract doesn't really take hold and only lasts until the heir is born. Once the heir is born the magic of the contract fails and the individuals will usually part ways with a quiet divorce, often with the husband taking a consort and the wife becoming a consort," Daphne responded, "If it's a strong revulsion, the contract magic will reverse and increase those feelings of revulsion. However, many bigot purebloods will write out a second magical non-marriage contract that will force the wife to stay with the husband, unless the head of the wife's birth house annuls both contracts."

"And since the second contract is not a marriage contract, that magic is still binding," Harry guessed, "That would explain what Sirius meant when talking about Lady Malfoy."

"Yeah," Susan said quietly.

Silence reigned as Harry mulled over the new information. The girls all sat patiently, their terror from earlier gone as they studied the young lord before them. There were many things to learn but the girls were confident that, within the seven years of their magical schooling, they would be able to turn Harry into the most powerful lord in the wizarding world.

"Ladies," the young man blurted suddenly, "I wish to apologize for earlier. I asked you to remain informal with me, and then I went and essentially ordered you to get breakfast."

A loud smack immediately accompanied by a horrendous high-pitched squeal in Harry's ear followed his statement and all eyes turned to the pink haired girl who's hand covered her eyes, her skin slowly turning red from the obvious slap.

"Let me guess," Harry grumbled, wincing as he rubbed at an ear, "That was the wrong thing to say, because your all supposed to do whatever I say. 'It's expected because your women.'"

Susan nodded a bright smile on her face, "Basically. It's what we've been trying to get across."

"Bloody backwards society," the boy scowled, throwing his hands up "You know what? Let's forget this nonsense and go spend the rest of the day in the Alley."

The girls smiled and rose, gathering donning cloaks as they left the room. Harry stood, rubbed his eyes in exasperation and ran out the door, grabbing his staff from the corner.

The setting sun was shining through Harry's window as he collapsed into his chair with a loud sigh. It had been a fight to get the girls to leave. Harry still could not understand why those girls, or their families would be so willing to throw away their lives because of some bloody piece of paper. All four girls had tried to convince him that he needed them, and it was only proper. He snorted quietly. The things his aunt would say if she had heard that. Daphne had been the hardest to convince, but eventually she had been talked into walking out of the room, though Harry wondered if she had left or was going to rent a room nearby.

Smiling to himself slightly, Harry reached into the pocket of his jeans and removed one of his purchases of the day. Opening the pack of playing cards, he removed the deck and started to shuffle the cards. His fingers took on the well-practiced routine as his thoughts continued to wander. The library had been his only refuge from the Dursleys as it was the only place Dudley would never enter. One afternoon he had met an older man who had spoken kindly to him. They had fallen into conversation and had quickly become friends. Trips to the library had become a regular for both as they met almost daily to talk. The old man had taught Harry how to play cards, how to perform card tricks, how to play chess, and many life lessons. Then one day, the old man stopped coming. It was many months before Harry learned that Old George had died in a mugging. After that card tricks had quickly become an escape.

Harry's hands froze as he thought of the old man. He credited Old George with many things including his maturity and world view. He looked down at the deck to see it in a two-layer fan. Shaking his head, he brought the cards together and slipped them back into the box. Standing, he dropped the deck and his wand onto the nightstand that stood in the corner before walking to the dresser and removing the miniature bed. Studying the bottom, he found a weird symbol carved into the frame. Pressing his finger to it, he felt the bed start to vibrate. Placing it on the floor he stepped back just in time for the bed to spring to full size. Quickly changing into his pajamas, he crawled into the bed, rolled over, and closed his eyes.

"Harry, it's time we talked," a soft voice called.

Inhaling a startled gasp, Harry jumped from his bed his eyes snapping open. Looking around he realized he stood in nothing.

LP:HoH

In a castle settled upon the hills of Scotland, an old man slumped at his desk, staring at a picture of a young man with round glasses and a shock of black hair, and a beautiful woman with flowing red hair. The old man's usually sparkling blue eyes were dull and filled with tears. "James, Lilly," he muttered brokenly, "I'm so sorry, so very sorry." Finding a partially filled bottle amongst the empty ones he poured another glass.