A/N 1) –Thank you all for your continued support, and to say thanks to my Beta CaskettFan5, who is making me a better writer and who is currently writing his own Haphne, which he has just started publishing on here check out Harry Potter and the Unexpected Friend it's a great read.
A/N 2) – To help with ease of reading thoughts are in 'Italics', I hope that this helps differentiate talking and thinking.
A/N 3) – Recommended Reading, it is a Haphne story and one of the best that I have read - Harry Potter and the Betrothal Contract by James Spookie. James is a brilliant writer and this is I believe one of his early stories, but like all James Spookie stories the characters are well rounded, well thought out and whilst the emotions portrayed can be savage at times they are also oh so rewarding.
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all; I am just playing in her sandbox and just maybe I am getting better at it, tragically I don't own anything of it except maybe Daphne, but then she probably owns me.
Harry's mind froze, 'destroy her wand, no she couldn't be serious! She couldn't snap Daphne's wand, he knew what that felt like! The despair he felt when he found out that his wand had snapped. A wand was an extension of the witch or wizard who wielded it, it became like an extension of the person, bound to them by their will and talent. When his had snapped it felt like a limb had been removed, he didn't want anyone to go through that if he could help it.'
'There must be some other options, there must… you can't just go to snapping her wand, there have to be other options to explore,' he felt numb, Daphne's anguish poured across the tether and he found himself struggling to keep his thoughts lucid.
'I am sorry Harry, I really am. I will of course be consulting with some experts before we go down that path, but given what Cassandra and I have managed to translate, I believe that will be the most likely outcome,' Slyvera tried to placate him, 'I hope that I am wrong, but I am almost positive to break the cycle, Daphne's wand will have to be broken.'
'Who, who will you talk to?'
'Garrick Ollivander with regards to repairing the wand and Mistress Meghan Scribulas from the Runic Guild, I studied under Mistress Scribulas when working on my own runic arrays, and believe that if anyone can decode the arrays on Daphne's wand it will be her.'
Harry nodded, trying to hold on to his sanity, it felt like he was standing on a rock as wave after wave washed over him trying to sweep him away, his thoughts shifted to the girl in his arms, 'You need to help her…, can we give her something? She's drowning herself and me in pain.'
- AFW -
They found him sitting slumped on the stairs to the astronomy tower; his tears by this stage had all but dried up, however his body was still wracked with the sobs of a broken and emotionally drained soul. He had run as far as the tether would allow him to go after depositing Daphne back in the ward. Her distress still flowed through him in waves, battering and then tearing down the walls that he had built to shield himself from the pain of loss that had threatened to overwhelm him since the battle had finished, pain that was magnified as he started to miss funeral after funeral for people that he had known and or cared for.
'Hello Harry,' her voice broke his hope that they would just pass on by leaving him to wallow in his current episode of self-recrimination. Her voice again pierced his consciousness, 'she is hurting, and you can feel it can't you?' she waited for him to indicate that he had heard her and when he did nothing she pushed again. 'She needs your help to get through this Harry…, she will help you when she can, that is who she is or at least who she used to be and you were bringing her back to us, you can heal each other but she needs you now… please.'
Harry looked up into the blue eyes of Astoria, the anguish he was currently feeling was written across his face, 'and what of me Tori, what if I don't have anything left to offer her, what if I have nothing left to give anyone?'
'That's not true Harry,' Neville answered instead, 'we know you're hurting and you have every right to sit here and wallow in your pain and grieve at your own pace, but it won't just be your pain will it? Cassandra gave us the broad brush strokes regarding what happened at the session this morning, its ugly and cruel and no-one deserves to be going through what Daphne has gone through, but she is and she needs help to start healing again and until that happens you're going to be feeling her pain as well.'
'And just what do you expect of me, haven't I given enough, my parents, my godfather, Tonks Remus, Fred… the hundreds of lives spent here because of me, what more do you think I have to give, Nev? The well has run dry and I have no more fight left, nothing... I am hollow' his voice was ragged and full of pain.
'And what of Daphne mate, why save her if you are just going to abandon her now?
Harry snapped his face towards Neville's, 'that's a low blow Longbottom,' eyes pulsing with anger, his grief temporarily forgotten.
'Yeah true, but it snapped you out your funk for a moment didn't it,' Neville rubbed the back of his neck and sighed heavily, 'Your right it was a low blow, but it was a necessary one, look, no-one seems to be able to get through to her, she is catatonic and has been for the last two hours. You know that the tether is going to start pulling you back to her soon, they are just asking to you try and help, Cassandra said that you were able to modulate her emotions somewhat in the session they are hoping that you can maybe do that again, so that they can at least try and speak to her, they can't give her anything in the state she is in as it would likely do more damage than good and she may never come out of it,' Neville frowned down at him slightly before his face slid to neutral.
'I don't think I am capable of helping, I was pulling on her emotions allowing them to wash over me during that session rather than fight them… I am not sure that I can take much more at this point…' he rested his head against the stone wall again.
'Please Harry,' Astoria took his hand, 'I beg you, please just try, they can't even give her anything to rest that will affect her mental capacity like dreamless sleep as in this state it could do some serious damage to her brain, please, please I just want my sister back and you were doing so well.'
Tears splashed the back of his hand, causing Harry to refocus on Astoria, he huffed air through his nostrils before glaring again at Neville who's hand was gently squeezing Astoria's shoulder in comfort, 'fine, but if I do this I will do it my way, no-one interferes,' receiving their affirmation he continued, 'give me five minutes, I need time to gather myself.'
'Thank you, thank you, thank you,' Astoria let his hand go and hugged him, he felt himself stiffen as she embraced him; 'I'll go let everyone know that you are coming.'
Neville sank down beside him as Astoria hurried off, 'I am sorry Harry, I shouldn't have said what I said, it was…'
'Necessary…, who cares about Harry Potter anyway,' interjected Harry with venom and a sneer on his face.
'I was going to say a shit thing to say,' Neville answered with a soft voice. 'It seemed like you were heading down the same path as Daphne, we have been looking for you for the past hour and a half, and to be perfectly honest you looked like Daphne does but still roughly coherent.' Neville sighed loudly, 'and so I thought that you needed to feel another emotion and anger is the only thing I have found that will block out emotional pain, something I am intimately familiar with… I am sorry it was such a crude way to do it.'
Harry blushed slightly, whatever he had been expecting Neville to say that wasn't it so he just nodded silently watching his friend.
'We are all here for you mate, we won't let you hide and crumble to pieces, so whenever you need us just let us know and we will be there and we'll do the best that we can,' Neville's meaty hand came to rest on his shoulder, 'to be honest we will probably be there when you don't think you need us as well,' giving Harry a sad smile.
'Neville, why all of a sudden, are you so… wise?' Harry asked changing the subject and curious that Neville had all this knowledge at his fingertips.
'That would be Tori,' Neville gave him a rueful smile, 'she is pretty much pulling me into any meeting she is invited to, accompanying me to any I get asked to and dragging me around the castle talking to many different people.' Neville's smile became wistful, 'I will give you a hot tip mate; she is far more intelligent and knowledgeable than I will ever be… but she talks to me and asks my opinion on stuff, hell she has even taken my advice once.'
Harry gave a small chuckle, 'and how are you dealing with that?'
He laid his head back against the wall and looked at Harry from the corner of his eye, 'more comfortably than I should be, I find her… fascinating Harry, she is not someone I looked at previously but she is so alive and in the moment, if that makes sense, plus her celebrations are nice too…' he gave a distracted smile as he trailed off.
Harry chuckled to himself and nodded again, 'I hear you brother,' before closing his eyes and doing the best he could to prepare himself for what was to come.
- AFW –
Harry slowly followed Neville back through the corridors towards Daphne; he could again feel the tug on his magic, throbbing in the background of his consciousness like a heartbeat. Neville had been right he couldn't escape her, so he would need to suck it up and try to help. The closer he got to her the more her emotions poured through the bond, it was heartbreaking just being exposed to some of her feelings; he couldn't fathom what it must be like in her head at this moment.
Rounding the curtain his eyes cut straight to the blonde headed girl… she hadn't moved, she was still in the same position he left her, laying on her back almost lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling, the only difference appeared to be that she had stopped crying. He could see what Neville meant by catatonic, to all outward appearances it appeared that she was unresponsive. But he could feel her; she was still there hidden behind the pain.
He didn't know how he knew how to do what he was going to do, but somehow over the last few days he had discovered that he could regulate the tether somewhat drawing her emotions into himself whenever she was struggling. He settled in the chair at her side taking her hand, closing his eyes and steeling himself, he reached within his magic, pulled on the tether and her pain flooded him. At first that was all he could feel, but slowly other emotions filtered through, it was different this time though, almost like he could feel the thoughts behind the emotions.
She wanted it to end! She felt she had nothing left of herself! Her memories were lies and if she couldn't trust her memories then what could she trust? How could she trust any interaction that she had going forward if her memories could be changed…altered… made to lie to her?
Not sure if it would work the other way or not he tried to push the images and feelings that her family and friends held for her that he had observed, the emotions that Astoria had shown him when she came begging to him to help her sister, the way that Cassandra had all but suffocated him when thanking him for saving her eldest daughters life, the way she had clung to Daphne crying over her unconscious daughter as they waited for her to wake, Tracey and Astoria telling him stories of their times together, her father kissing her forehead as tears leaked from his eyes. As the images slowed he felt her eyes shift towards him and he opened his eyes.
Her glacial blue eyes still had a lifelessness to them but deep within them he could sense that he had gotten through to her somewhat, but he knew it wasn't enough. Looking around at all the people gathered around her bed, it was too many people. 'Everyone get out.'
Voices were raised and questions were thrown at him but he paid them no heed, 'I said to Astoria that I would do this my way, so if you want my help, then get out until I call you all back.' It didn't surprise him that there was discontent with his decision, but he could not bring himself to do what he was planning to do in front of an audience.
'Please everyone if you want me to reach her then please leave, I cannot… no I will not be able to help her with an audience, please make them all leave Tori.' Silence reigned in the room, before it was broken by Neville's voice ordering them all out, he felt a hand clasp his shoulder for a momentary squeeze and then its presence was gone. As he waited for them to vacate he mentally prepared himself for what was to come. He would be breaking his own cardinal rule, never let them see your pain, but as the saying went misery loves company.
He had no idea how long they sat watching each other, but when he finally became aware of the silence again the room was empty. 'I know approximately what you are going through Daphne,' he started voice soft and gentle as he could make it. 'You are wondering why you? What did you do to deserve this? What is the point of living anymore? And you want the pain to stop!'
He paused, waiting for an answer that never left her lips. 'I know how you feel because I have been there, I know the anguish that you are feeling, not in the same way for you have suffered in a way that I cannot fathom, but I know the pain of isolation.' Something flickered in her eyes, a small awakening of spirit that gave him hope that he was on the right path.
- AFW –
'How could you possibly know what I am going through, you know nothing about what I am feeling,' her mind screamed at him but she couldn't be bothered uttering a sentence, 'it was not worth it, it no longer mattered tonight she would raid the potions store and her pain would end.' He was still talking to her, surprising herself she focussed on what he was saying.
'I want to show you something, something that I have never talked about to anyone else but something that I know you are contemplating,' he rolled up the sleeve on his left arm, a ragged scar ran from near his elbow to an inch above his wrist. A small tear formed in his eye as he picked up her hand and ran her fingertips down the scar, she felt herself shiver as her finger tips traced the scar up and down. 'You heard me when I accidently let slip that I was locked in my cupboard when I was younger.'
'The scar felt like a poorly braided rope' and for the first time she felt the pain recede slightly and for the first time in two hours felt her mind become somewhat alert to outside stimuli as she nodded. He continued to talk and she found herself engaged.
'Well that wasn't a one off occurrence,' he took a deep breath through his nose before exhaling audibly. 'One of the few excursions that I was taken on was to the zoo for Dudley's birthday. The usual sitters weren't available and so they had to bring me along, during that trip I spoke to a snake for the first time, a snake which Dudley had tormented by banging on the glass to wake it up. I apologised to the snake who started talking to me, however this drew the attention of Dudley back to the now moving snake and he again repeatedly banged on the glass, trying to get it to move around more,' he kept his voice low but his eyes never left hers.
Through the tether she could feel his shame well up in him, it had started as nothing more than a dull murmur subdued and hardly noticeable but as he spoke she could feel it grow until it became his most pronounced emotion as he continued.
'I got angry that Dudley was bothering the snake and then all of a sudden the glass disappeared, Dudley fell in to the exhibit and the snake slithered out, before the glass reappeared trapping Dudley inside.' He looked up and away from her, 'needless to say I got in trouble for that. I don't exactly remember what happened when we got home, but the next thing I do remember was waking in agony in my cupboard,'
Tears now escaped his eyes with alarming regularity and Daphne felt something shift inside of her, dulling her own pain further, 'he was opening himself up in an alarming way, the raw emotion boiling across the tether now was burning her self-loathing, anger and fear that she would never again trust her memory away, she shifted her free hand to wipe some of his tears away and he flinched slightly before leaning into her hand like she had done to his. She listened to him now avidly, his story compelling in a horrifying way.
'I have no idea how many days I lay trapped in that cupboard, but I know that two days before they released me I had managed to pull a large nail from the wood,' his voice broke as he tried to continue. It took him several minutes of deep breathing to bring his emotions under control. 'I was suffering Daphne, dying I think in most ways, you see up until this point in my life, I had deluded myself into thinking that somewhere out there someone was going to come and rescue me, but something broke that day and I realised that I had no one that I could count on except myself.'
His shame had reached a crescendo and she almost asked him to stop, almost but she couldn't bring herself to form the words and speak, all she could do was offer him some small physical comfort, a comfort that he seemed to soak in.
He took another deep breath, 'and so I resolved within myself that they wouldn't take from me the one thing I had control over… my life… I,' he closed his eyes and bowed his head, cheeks marred with watery tracks. 'I waited until night time and when they had stopped moving about, I said my goodbyes to my mother and father, because I knew on some level that they had loved me but that they would be disappointed by what I was about to do, before… before… stabbing the nail in here,' he moved her fingers towards the top of the scar at his elbow. 'Before dragging it to here,' again he moved her fingertips to trace the length of the scar. 'Doing it over and over again, cutting deeper and deeper… I must have passed out at some point because the next memory I have is waking up with my arm somewhat healed, blood still oozing down my fingertips…, disappointed in myself that I couldn't even manage my own death properly.'
He wouldn't look at her, that was the first thing she noticed, shame and humiliation still pulsed through the bond, this was probably his most significant secret, that he had tried to take his life and thankfully failed shamed him, more than he could obviously find the words to say.
- AFW –
It had taken him a long time to come to terms with what he had tried to do and if he was honest with himself he probably still harboured doubts as to what had driven him to make the attempt but the reason he gave Daphne was accurate on most levels. He flinched again when he felt her soft hand touch his cheek once more, brushing away his tears with a gentleness that he had seldom felt before.
Drawing strength from the touch he continued, 'You can't let this experience define you Daphne, not when you have so much to live for and experience, when I tried to take my life I had no one, no parents who cared for me, no little sister or cousins who would miss me, no friends to mourn for me, I was so very alone. But you have a mother and a father who love you, who would take your pain from you if they could, you have a sister who has fought for you and begged for you, and you have friends who have fought with you, bled with you and who you saved in their hours of need.'
Her fingers lifted his head so that his eyes met hers, tears streamed down her cheeks and her glacial blue eyes again pulsed with an inner light. His voice was rough, 'You have much to live for Daphne, don't let this one prick ruin your life, don't let him have any influence with regards to how you measure your worth, because I can tell you in the few days that I have come to know you, that you are worth more than I could possibly explain.'
They stared at each other, for how long neither knew, before Daphne broke the silence between them. 'Thank you Harry, I don't think that I will ever be able to repay your for what you have just done,' her voice cracked heavy with emotion.
'It's okay…, trust me I understand, and I just want you to know that I won't tell anyone what I sense you were… planning, it will remain a secret that we share,' he gave her a small crooked grin. 'If you ever want to talk about it then I am ready to listen, but I can promise you I have no solutions to how you will feel as you come to terms with things, I am very good at bottling things up, or so I have been told.' He smirked slightly, 'Clichéd as this sounds, all I have ever managed to do is put one foot in front of the other and done my best to move forward.'
She nodded her understanding found his hand and gave it a squeeze, 'you are a better man than I have been giving you credit for Harry, and I am sorry for making your life difficult, I will do my best in the future to serve you and House Potter to the best of my ability,' her voice was grave.
'I have no doubt that you couldn't do anything but your best Daphne,' she blushed at his complement. 'Do you feel up to visitors again?'
'In a moment I think,' she smiled shyly at him, 'what is the time?'
He shrugged before his wand flicked into his hand and green numbers appeared above it, three thirty, why?'
'Circe's tits,' yelped Daphne, 'come on Harry you have a meeting with McGonagall in thirty minutes, I can't believe that you were going to miss it, have you rescheduled it? Has she told you what it is about?' Harry shook his head a little gobsmacked in the sudden change in direction of Daphne's mood. 'Right, we need to get ready, okay so we don't know what the meeting is about but we should be able to make a few guesses, it could be…'
'Daphne,' Harry tried to interrupt her train of thought but she continued to talk, as though he hadn't tried to get her attention.
'Daphne,' He tried again a little louder, but still got no response as she continued to chatter to herself.
'Daphne,' still nothing, whatever was going on in Daphne's head was now completely consuming her focus. He shook her shoulders a little bit, 'Daphne!' Again no acknowledgement, he reached out and turned her face towards him but still she continued to talk to herself. Running his hand through his hair he wracked his brain trying to think of a way to get her attention when a crazy idea popped into his head, something he had used once on Ginny to get her to stop talking.
'Well here goes nothing,' cupping the back of her head, he leaned forward and captured her lips, kissing her softly and successfully shutting her up. Her lips were soft and surprisingly to him tasted slightly of strawberry as he held himself in position he was almost positive he could feel the exact moment her brain short circuited and she relaxed.
- AFW -
His lips lingered on hers for what felt like but a moment before ghosting away as she felt herself relax, 'You kissed me,' her hand involuntarily going to her lips, she frowned at herself, 'stating the obvious was something that she tried never to do.'
'I did,' was his calm rejoinder.
'But you kissed me,' 'what the hell was wrong with her, she had already stated that once she didn't need to do it again did she?'
He chuckled, 'Yes I did.'
She narrowed her eyes at him, 'why?'
'Because you were babbling and not listening to me and it was the only thing I could think of to make you stop,' he said in the same calm voice, 'it was that or slap you and I didn't really want to deal with the consequences of that idea,' a smile capturing his lips.
'So not because you wanted to?' her eyes opened wide and her hands were too slow to cover her mouth, 'where the hell did that question come from she asked herself, mortified that she had actually asked it.' He chuckled again, 'ohhhh, she was going to kill him, she decided, there were still acromantulas in the forbidden forest they would dispose of the body.'
He raised both eyebrows at her, 'Oh no, I definitely wanted to, you are after all a beautiful woman Daphne, it was just that I had a need at this time.' He chuckled again, 'I like your lip gloss by the way, soooo umm, shall I invite everyone back into see that you are articulate again?'
She cocked her head to the side, unable to keep the wry smile to herself before nodding to him, 'fine, but only for a few minutes we still need to go to that meeting, I will not let you down any further Harry…'
Harry cut her off, 'Daphne you are not capable of letting me down or yourself, please don't let today define your thinking, you've had a bad day, it's not the end of the world.'
She stared at him, he was entirely different to the boy she thought that she went to school with, she licked her lips. 'Thank you Harry' she gave a wan smile, 'and by the way you need a shave.'
He barked a small laugh, and gave her that crooked smile again, 'noted I will be back in a moment.'
- AFW -
Almost precisely thirty minutes later Harry and Daphne were making their way to the Headmistress's office, Daphne had been adamant about accompanying him to the meeting, and no one could dissuade her that she should be resting, not even Poppy. Daphne had been unyielding in her determination to help Harry in some small way given the help that he had provided her today; even Harry had been unable to convince her that it would be okay for her to rest.
As they approached the gargoyle it leapt to the side allowing them to enter the stairway without a password, Harry cocked his head as they passed and hummed to himself quizzically.
'What are you thinking Harry?'
Daphne's voice cut through his musings, 'Oh umm nothing much, just curious as to why the gargoyle didn't require a password.' As they neared the top Harry could see the door that he had walked through so many times in his years at Hogwarts. However this time the door was ajar waiting for them to knock and enter.
At their knock Minerva McGonagall bid them to enter, 'Good afternoon Mr Potter… and Miss Greengrass please come in, we have much to discuss.'
'Thank you Professor,' they said in unison, before turning and smiling at each other. Harry looked around the office, not much had changed from the last time he had been in here however no longer were there gadgets buzzing and whirling puffing out smoke, the gadgets were still in place but they were silent.
'I do hope you have been well, Mr Potter,' the Professor asked from behind her desk, Harry nodded. 'Please take a seat, Professor Dumbledore asked to talk with you, he tells me that he has some further things to that he would like discuss with you.'
The portrait of Albus Dumbledore was front and centre hanging on the wall behind the Headmistresses desk. 'Mr Potter, words cannot express my delight in seeing you walk through that door, I had hoped that you would but that is all that I had, hope.' The portrait paused for a moment before shifting its attention, 'it is a pleasure to see you again as well Miss Greengrass, I understand from Professor McGonagall that it is because of your bravery and knowledge that many of our younger students and six of your classmates survived.'
Harry felt Daphne blush, still not used to praise regarding what had happened in the basement of Hogwarts not that long ago, he squeezed her hand almost automatically now, instinctively knowing that she was uncomfortable with the praise and for once in her life unsure of how to act .
'Thank you Professor, but I was not alone in that fight.'
'No you were not but you stood with your fellow classmates, defended those that couldn't defend themselves and saved the lives of those who stood with you, not an inconsiderable feat Miss Greengrass, you should not sell yourself short nor downplay the role you played in the defence of our world.'
Harry gave her an encouraging smile, before looking back to the portrait, 'what can I do for you sir?'
'Ah Harry, it is not what you can do for me but what I can do for you,' said the portrait with a sad smile. 'But first are you sure that you wish Miss Greengrass to remain for this discussion as it will pertain information with regards to House Potter.'
'She is my advocate under a succour agreement signed by Houses Potter, Greengrass and Longbottom, she needs to stay, it is also something that I need to discuss with you sir, maybe at a later date.'
Dumbledore only raised an eyebrow before nodding, 'I owe you a large apology Harry, for what I have done to you, how I have manoeuvred you and for the life you have led. I could say to you that I did it for the greater good of our world, but I find myself loathing what those words have come to mean to me. I sacrificed far too many good men and women in the pursuit of the safety of our world, most significantly you, Harry.'
'I don't understand sir,' Harry replied after a few moments of confusion self-evident.
'I know Harry and that is because you are a good man, you have grown into one of the finest men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and teaching, and yet you arrived to the man you are today despite to my everlasting shame my interference in your life.'
'I am still not sure what you mean sir and I umm don't suppose we could get to the point here soon as Daphne has had a long and tiring day,' Harry asked politely, squeezing Daphne's hand as she went to interject.
'Dumbledore chuckled, 'of course Harry my apologies, to business then, everything I did, I did to ensure the safety of our world, but as time passed I saw the toll that my decisions were having on the one person that I could not protect… you Harry.' Dumbledore lowered his head, 'to my everlasting shame every time I tried to protect you Harry it cost you more, starting the night that I left you on the Dursley's door step.'
'It's okay sir, it doesn't matter anymore, I survived,' Harry, said halting Dumbledore again.
'Ahhh survived, yes you did Harry, but you did not live, did you? I understood that they would detest your gift but I never truly understood how they could transfer that hate on to a small child. I should have watched over you more but I thought by staying away they would treat you as their own as your parents would have if the tables were reversed.'
'I perhaps should have done something when you returned to our world in your first year looking less than you should have but by then it was too late to change your living conditions because of my hubris, which led me to believe that I was infallible I had already tied the protection wards that protected you to your aunt through a blood ward variant, which tied you to her for at least eight weeks every year, failure for you to meet this condition would lead to a weakening of your core.'
Daphne gasped, outrage evident on her face, 'you used blood wards linked to another human, are you insane!?'
'A fair question, Miss Greengrass, but at the time, specifically straight after the defeat of Lord Voldemort many. many people were trying to locate Harry, and it was the only way that I could ensure his safety by using Petunia as the key, I could ensure that the wards were as powerful as possible. Late during his second year I managed to move a majority of the ward to a newly placed ward stone on their property and use the blood of both Petunia and young Dudley to sustain it for a while, but still it required Harry to live within the house for some time though most years'
Daphne was shaking her head in disbelief and Harry knew that he would have to get her to explain later what was wrong but for now he just wanted this meeting to end, it had been a very trying day and he still wasn't entirely sure why he had given up one of his most tightly kept secrets. 'Sir, can we please keep moving this along, we really have had a long day.'
Daphne gave him a sideways look but Dumbledore continued, 'Certainly Harry, I guess I should first tell you what I have done to secure your future in the hopes that you would have one, before you were even three years of age a young writer approached me via your magical guardianship with an idea to write a series of children's books with you as the star. I deliberated long and hard before making a decision regarding this possibility but a number of factors formed the basis of my decision.
'One, no matter how hard we tried we couldn't unlock your parents will, all it kept doing was insulting those that tried and requesting Messer Padfoot, Moony & Wormtail or Mistresses Shadow & Chase. We had no clue as to the identity of any of those people and given the inability to read the will the Potter vaults were locked until such time as the Heir came of age.'
'Padfoot was Sirius, Moony was Remus, Wormtail was Pettigrew, but I have no idea who the two ladies were,' Harry ran his hand through his hair a glum look on his face as he thought of both Remus and Tonks.' He felt Daphne offer him the same token of support that he had given her not so long ago.
Dumbledore pursed his lips and considered Harry for a moment, 'Ahhh yes that would explain much, I would hazard a guess then that the ladies would be two of Marlene McKinnon, Alice Gage, Carissa Beckford, Sarah Ashdowne or Rebecca Lannister, of which only Remus Lupin would have been available then and he was nowhere to be found at the time, lost in his grief as he was.' Dumbledore paused momentarily before deciding to continue. 'After your Grandfather's death in suspicious circumstances, your Father poured money into the war effort, and with the sealing of the family vaults, I had no way of knowing what the financial situation of House Potter was so I determined that it wouldn't hurt for you to benefit from your celebrity status and I offered the use of your name to the young writer for one third share of all the profits from any associated books and merchandise sales.'
Daphne's eyes widened considerably, so Harry looked at her before asking 'What?'
She licked her lips, 'those books, toys and dolls are some of the most profitable lines to come out of Magical Britain in the last fifty years, the books were translated into at least forty different languages, and if a third of the profits are yours then, Harry you must be worth a fortune.'
'Very good Miss Greengrass, Harry is still raking in a tidy profit every year, but the current worth of that vault I believe sits somewhere in the range of seven point two million Galleons. This would equate to approximately five hundred years' service in the lower echelons of the ministry, quite the tidy sum and a valuable nest egg for House Potter, enough to easily rebuild the manor of your forbearers. This contract is still earning you approximately fifty to eighty thousand Galleons per year at the moment as there hasn't been a new release since you started your first year at Hogwarts.'
Harry was speechless; he knew that he still had a vast majority of his trust fund available having been a frugal spender during his time at Hogwarts not wanting to waste his inheritance from his parents. 'I ummm wow, sir, thank you I guess.'
'Ahhh but I have not yet finished young Harry,' Dumbledore gave his first genuine smile, 'Once I became aware that you would not be clamming the Basilisk corpse that you defeated, I decided to do it for you with the help of Fawkes who could access the chamber. I had the body harvested during the middle of your third year, leaving the skeleton in place and quietly sold it piece by piece. The beast was so large that I could not sell it all at once for fear of flooding the market; the only remains that I left were the intact skeleton which I thought you may like as a trophy. It took three years to sell the harvested parts and given the scarcity of fresh basilisk parts on the market the profit turned was beyond impressive and into the absurd, meaning in all likely hood that even if you gave away half the money that your great-great-grandchildren would be unlikely to have to work.'
Harry's mind was boggled; he couldn't comprehend what it was that Professor Dumbledore was telling him, he was still trying to get his head around the idea that he was really rich when Daphne started talking.
'Just how big was this snake and how much did Harry get from the sale?'
Dumbledore smiled down at Daphne, 'the snake was a mere fifty five feet long and approximately six feet wide at it largest point, Miss Greengrass,' Daphne gasped as Dumbledore continued, 'and the over three years of sales have netted Harry more than thirteen million Galleons, added to which there is still approximately a quarter of the beast still held in stasis for Harry to do with as he wishes,' Dumbledore added with a slight chuckle.
Daphne had wild eyes, and had turned slightly white, whilst Harry goggled, 'I, I, I, thank you, I ummm, am not really sure what to say sir, I, I am stunned.'
'I do not require thanks for this Harry, I have let you down numerous times during your education and I felt that I am glad to have at least put in place some measures by which I could compensate you for all my failures,' Dumbledore's sad smile lingered on his face.
'You didn't hav…' Harry started.
'Yes I did Harry, I should have done more to protect you, you shouldn't have had to continually save the day at the end of every school year, I should have done more, but I was blinded to my own foibles by looking at the long game to save our world and you were the collateral damage. I have done very little and although what I have done will aid you in your life moving forward, they are the only two things in the entire time that I have known you that I have done for you and you alone.'
Harry could only nod as Daphne sat there still somewhat stunned at where the conversation had taken them. 'I do have a couple more things that I believe we should talk about, if you feel up to it?' Dumbledore continued.
Harry wasn't sure how many more surprises he could take so he turned to Daphne, 'how are you doing? Do you need a rest or a break?'
'I could do with some air for five minutes or so, if you don't mind,' she answered.
'Could we take a short break?' Harry asked both Dumbledore and McGonagall.
'Certainly, we can resume when you return,' smiled McGonagall, 'take your time.'
- AFW –
Daphne's mind was reeling with the numbers that were being thrown around by the portrait of Dumbledore, they were mind blowing and she was glad that Harry had taken the break. Apparently Harry was talking to her, 'I am sorry, I missed that Harry.'
He smiled 'I asked if you were okay, because I am struggling to come to terms with the numbers that he was throwing around in there and I don't really have any context to understand if those numbers are big in the magical world or not, hell, I don't even know what the exchange rate is so that I can put into some sort of context that I could understand.'
Daphne considered what she knew of the state of banking prior to the war, 'well I believe that the exchange rate before the war started was approximately one Galleon to five and a half pounds or thereabouts, but given the war it may be much higher today.'
Harry gaped at her, 'you can't be serious, that's like One Hundred million pounds he has just dropped into my pocket.' He looked around as though needing something before his wand popped into his hand a seat appeared. 'Merlin,' he whispered so quietly that Daphne nearly missed it.
'You deserve it Harry, think of it as a reward for all the crappy things that have happened in your life, and for saving our world… and to be quite honest it's the least he could do for dropping you off to those fucking abusive animals he calls your relatives.'
Harry chuckled before she glared at him, 'What?' she asked pointedly.
'I don't think I have heard you swear before, and I didn't know that that particular word was used in the magical world,' he said with a smile.
She smirked at him, 'oh it's not used much in the magical world, but I find it has a satisfying feel to it, when used in the right context… don't you think?'
'Yes, I suppose it does,' he laughed, 'thank you Daphne, I needed some… context for all that he said' pointing back towards the Headmistress's office, 'so what about the magical world does that make me rich or just well off?'
She chewed her lip, 'that's hard to quantify Harry, most families don't flaunt their wealth but there are a few who it is known as to what they are worth, it won't put you in the same league as the Malfoys but after the war who knows how much is left of their reported hundred million galleon fortune. Lockhart was reportedly worth around two to three million Galleons but his books weren't as universally popular as yours, the Ogden fortune is based on the sale of Fire Whiskey and was invented in 1732, it is estimated that their fortune is around twenty five to thirty million Galleons due to several major plant upgrades and at least a dozen significant fires over the years and the total destruction of their facility during the last war, that have taken a toll on their profits.
'There are other families of note some of which include the Longbottoms, the McMillians, the Rivers and the Spinkses who would have somewhere in the same range as the Ogden's, give or take twenty to thirty percent, she watched Harry as he sat there taking in the information she had just provided him.'
Finally nodding he turned to look at her, 'do you want a drink or something before we go back in?'
'I could use a drink of water, if you could arrange it please,' she asked him.
Nodding he suddenly called out, 'Kreacher.'
Seconds later the elf popped into the hallway, 'Master calls?' the elf asked bowing to Harry.
'Thank you Kreacher, yes I did can you please get Daphne and I some chilled water and a couple of glasses.'
Kreacher clicked his fingers and a large pitcher of iced water appeared with two glasses and a selection of sliced fruits on a silver tray. 'Would Master or Mistress like anything else?'
Daphne shook her head at Harry who then addressed the elf, 'thank you Kreacher that will be all, thanks.'
Daphne watched as the elf popped away and then waited as Harry poured her a drink, answering his silent question with, 'a wedge of lemon please.' She took a drink of the water and contemplated him over the edge of her glass. Waiting whilst he prepared himself a drink and then took his own sip she asked, 'why do you have a House of Black elf?'
Harry's eyebrows rose, 'how did you know that?'
'His crest is that of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, what I don't understand is why he is calling you Master! Given I was of the understanding that Draco would be the next Lord of Black.'
'Ahhh that's easy, my Godfather left him to me,' Harry said with a smile and a salute of his glass.
'You Harry Potter, are the most infuriating individual that I have ever met,' she gave him a small glare. 'Who pray tell was your Godfather that he could leave you a Black family elf, and what else did he leave you?'
Harry frowned at her, 'ummm I am not really sure actually, I wasn't at the reading of the will, with regards to the "who", well, my Godfather was my father's best friend… Sirius Black.'
'The psychopathic mass murder, who was trying to kill you in our third year?' she could feel her eyes boggle.
He frowned at her, before shaking his head slightly, 'no not the mass murder, the innocent man who never got a trial and was thrown into Azkaban for twelve years, before escaping to come and try to protect me…' his voice tailed off towards the end and his eyes got a slightly vacant look to them.
Her mind was racing trying to determine the implications of the statement Harry had just uttered, 'I am sorry Harry, I didn't mean to drag up painful memories, but I think that we have to sit down in the near future and you take me through everything that has happened in your life so that I can get up to speed so that I can fulfil my role as your advocate,' she reached out and grasped his arm. 'Are you ready to head back in or would you like some more time?'
He shook his head coming back to himself, 'let's head back in and get this over with, I am not sure how many more surprises I can handle,' he chuckled ruefully, standing he offered his hand to her.
- AFW -
Harry helped her take her seat again before sitting next to her, his hand seemingly reaching out on its own to snag hers. Dumbledore's portrait smiled at them as they made themselves comfortable, his eyes almost twinkling as he noticed them holding hands, Daphne was unsure why but felt herself blushing slightly under his scrutiny.
'So what was next on you agenda sir,' Harry's question startled her slightly, but she willed herself to be calm and concentrated on the conversation at hand.
'Well my boy, a couple of small things really… things to consider, firstly I wonder if you will indulge me, whilst I ask you a few questions?' Dumbledore gave Harry a small smile.
'Of course sir, ask away,' Harry answered and she rolled her eyes, 'he gave up information too easily without asking for anything in return,' she thought as she waited for the first question. What followed was twenty minutes of questions regarding Harry's emotions, thought patterns and understanding of seemingly random topics both magical and muggle.
'I find this very interesting Harry, but I guess that I should as they say get to the point,' Dumbledore said as he adjusted himself in his seat and steepled his hands, elbows resting on the arms of his chair. 'Whilst I was unsure of the true impact of the piece of Tom's soul that you had harboured in you, I now believe that its influence was minimal yet significant at the same time.'
She gasped at what she had just heard and yet Harry just pressed her hand catching her eye before giving her a sad smile as Dumbledore continued, 'During you first three years at Hogwarts, I did have a small inclination that your anger and temper were not completely your own and that although you would occasionally make great leaps of logic within your magical education the academic drive that both your parents had in their own ways was missing for a majority of your schooling, so whilst I believe it had some effect on your personality traits I was unsure of the size of the effect and how effective your magic and that of your mothers protection was at reigning in its influence on you. '
'It seemed then as I puzzled about this after you told me about your dreams during fourth year that something was holding you back and affecting your emotional state, something that I had never heard of before. I had started my search into the darkest magic's imaginable after you came out of the chamber in your second year and now I redoubled my efforts, trying to find the answer as to how you had this connection to Tom, and for the next seven months I failed to discern what it was that happened, until I had a break through,' Dumbledore looked into the distance.
'A break through that horrified me, I could not fathom how he could do that to himself and what it likely meant for you dear boy, it also gave me insight later as to why you never really researched your parents or your fathers family something that I waited for you to discover during your time here a conversation that I dreaded having once you understood the role your family had in our society, for how could I justify placing you with the Dursley's, but year after year you seemed comfortable in your… for want of a better word, ignorance.'
Harry stared at the Dumbledore, 'why didn't you just tell me, about my family? I…' he trailed off again eyes misting. She squeezed his hand, Dumbledore still hadn't spoken and so he cleared his throat before he continued, 'every time I thought about asking it seemed that people didn't seem to want to discuss them with me as it dragged up bad memories, so I guess after asking a couple of times I gave up trying.'
'I don't think it was just you not wanting to cause distress to people Harry, I believe that the soul piece was trying to isolate you, but this was not a hypothesis that I came to quickly it took me quite some time to have these epiphanies.' A wistful smile crossed Dumbledore's lips, 'for the rest of my life I searched, talked to anyone that I thought could help but to no avail it appeared that the only way that, it could be destroyed was to destroy the vessel.' A tear tracked down Dumbledore's cheek, 'but I persisted, it was during your sixth year that I tried the riskiest potential solution available to me, exorcising the soul piece from you and transferring it to me, after slipping you some Draught of Living Death during one of our sessions.'
They both sucked in their breath together, before Harry asked 'but sir why would you do that, we needed your guidance so much at that time?'
'Ahhh my boy, but remember I was already dying, the sacrifice was small and when I died I would have taken that piece of soul with me, alas its hold on you was too tight and I was unable to successfully complete the transfer. The last option that was available was a long shot that was suggested to me by a very old goblin shaman, she believe that if the owner of the soul housed in the alternate's body used the killing curse then it was highly likely that the originators soul would target the piece within the potential alternate, thus eliminating a potential rival. And the rest they say is history…, you Harry are the single bravest man that I ever had the privilege to meet, that you walked to your death to save the magical world is something that I will never be able to fathom.'
'I believe now that you are no longer under its influence, that you are exhibiting small changes in your personality and cognitive reasoning, finally giving you a chance to live up to your parents academic legacy and fulfil your potential as a wizard.'
'I am not sure what to say sir… I owe…' Harry started but Dumbledore cut him off.
'You do not owe me anything Harry, I do not feel like I deserve your forgiveness for some of the decisions that I have made for your life, I only hope that the two small things that I did will make the rest of your life far easier than it otherwise would have been.'
'I will need time sir to come to terms with everything we have discussed today, is there anything else that you want to talk to us about?' Harry asked in a hollow voice as her thumb stroked the back of his hand, letting him know she was there if he needed her.
Dumbledore gave a tight smile, 'I would ask a couple of things of you if you would listen,' at Harry's nod he continued, 'please consider publishing some more of the Harry Potter series, basing them on your adventures during your Hogwarts years, they have been a source of entertainment and inspiration for a generation of young witches and wizards.
She watched as Harry's face blanched at the thought of having to tell a stranger about some of his Hogwarts years.
McGonagall must have noticed to because she interjected with, 'maybe having your friends Miss Granger and Mr Weasley narrate them to the young author will mean that you do not have to relive them yourself and you never know it might be a good way to get the truth about certain individuals out there, and I am sure that Snuffles would consider it a grand prank.'
She watched as Harry sat back dumbfounded, whatever he had expected that wasn't it, 'and who the hell was Snuffles?' She didn't have time to start making wild guesses given that as soon as Harry acknowledged the suggestions from both Professors with a thoughtful, 'Okay,' Dumbledore continued to talk.
'I would also ask you to aid those who come to you, and look at every circumstance before passing judgement; sometimes someone has a story that is far deeper than you can see from the surface.'
She watched as Harry chewed his lip but nodded at Dumbledore's request.
'And Harry… live your life to the best of your ability, travel, study, love, do whatever makes you happy for the rest of your life for you richly deserve it.'
Harry bowed his head but nodded at the same time, 'anything else, sir?'
Dumbledore smiled, 'just one more thing, something I think you will find rather fascinating, and my last gift to you once you understand the possibilities, Minerva I release proceedings to your capable hands.'
'Thank you Albus,' McGonagall said with a large smile, 'this is possibly the one of the best parts of being the Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts.' She walked over to an easel in the corner of the room, after removing the sheet that covered the picture she invited them over.
Her hand went to her mouth, the picture showed Professor Snape seated in his potions laboratory, she turned to watch Harry's reaction and felt numerous emotions roll across the tether but she couldn't pin them down so fast did they change.
'Why isn't it moving?' Harry asked staring quizzically at the picture.
Before she could answer Professor McGonagall spoke, 'for a magical portrait to awake a final ingredient must be added to the frame,' and she walked back to her desk before taking a crystal vial from one of the drawers. 'Magic lingers in the blood of a witch or wizard for days after death, this sample was taken from Severus after his body was retrieved and stored in a Spinks Vial, named after the inventor Jobus Spinks, the vials have runic arrays on them one of which cleanses the blood of impurities except for the strongest of poisons and toxins, Severus' blood has just today become viable for a portrait, but it was touch and go as to whether the vial would manage to cleanse the blood given the venom contained within it,' she showed them the vial before taking it back.
'All magical portraits have a specialised frame which allows the introduction of such a vial, the blood will slowly permeate the portrait over a month after their initial quickening from the burst of magic contained in their frame that will last approximately ten minutes. During this time they will know some names but have no real memory, the portrait will then sleep before awakening fully and the subject will have all their memories up to their deaths.'
She watched as Harry thought about the information that they had just imparted, she could see his mind mulling over the possibilities and the limitations of what could have been. She could see the moment that his mind made the intuitive leap to ask about his parents.
'Did my parents have one made?
Dumbledore answered him, 'No at the time of their deaths we could not commission paintings for them, although James had worked as an Auror he had only been in the role for less than a year after his training, and Lily was still working through her charms mastery, and you were far too young to commission the portraits even with the samples that were taken.'
'So you had vials of their blood taken? How long will blood last in the vial? And where are the vials?' Harry asked eagerly.
'Yes we did, Harry the Ministry took a vial from each of your parents, as to how long the blood will last, well the vials themselves have another runic array on them which induces a type of stasis once the blood added to them has undergone purification, so in theory they should still be viable, however there in lays the problem and the reason why I have never broached the subject previously.'
Dumbledore gave a sad smile, 'It was a time of great turmoil in the days after you defeated Voldemort the first time, and someone within the Ministry with the best of intentions released the vials to your estate, which meant that they were added to your family vault in Gringotts which as we discussed before was locked down when your parents will could not be read until you reached your majority.'
Harry nodded his understanding, a small half smile on his face, before a look of unease passed across his features, 'how long does the magic in blood in the body last?'
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips, 'thirteen days give or take a couple of hours, once that threshold is crossed the magic in the blood starts to degrade and any portrait wakes with gaps within their memories the older the blood the more gaps.' McGonagall peered at him, 'why do you ask Mr Potter?'
Harry's eyes narrowed, 'I have an idea, how many of the fallen had their blood collected, and what are the usual magical funeral practices, are people interred in the ground or are they cremated?'
Daphne decided that she should answer him, having been quiet for the majority of the discussion, 'I don't know if any samples were taken, but it is standard practice for my family, and to be honest the wizarding world doesn't have a standard practice for funerals they will very much depend on family practices, why, what are you thinking about doing?'
He gave a tight smile, 'I am thinking that I may as well use some of that money the Professor has kindly gathered for me, by constructing a memorial of some description maybe with magical portraits of all the fallen, something to think about I guess.' He gave an easy grin, 'it looks like we are going to be busy Daphne!'
'To answer your question Harry, all bodies from the battle of Hogwarts have had a sample taken and stored on behalf of the Ministry Kingsley ordered it to be done once we started the clean-up operation, once a body has been identified and they are about to be released, the Spinks Vial will be given to the next of kin at the same time for them to do with as they wish.' McGonagall gave him a smile, 'I am sure that your idea will have a lot of support.'
'Shall we?' she queried with a raised eyebrow, holding the vial aloft. She invited them to the back of the portrait and indicated the slot at the top of the frame. 'The vial is inserted in here, there is a barb similar to an Athame Dagger with a blood channel, this will pierce the top of the Spinks Vial and begin the process of quickening the portrait.' And with that she placed the blood red vial top down within the slot, they heard a click and then a gasp.
Racing around the other side of the easel, Harry watched amazed, mouth agape, as Snape's figure shifted within his chair before the eyes popped open, looking directly at him with cool black eyes. 'Potter, close your mouth' came the familiar sarcastic drawl.
Harry smiled ruefully and shook his head as Snape proceeded to ignore him and engage in quick greetings with Daphne and Professor McGonagall.
Harry smiled as Daphne squeezed his hand once more, he turned and gave her a bright smile, 'Thank you Professors, today has been… most enlightening, do we have anything further to discuss?'
'No Mr Potter, I think that will be all for today,' Professor McGonagall said moving her attention away from the portrait, 'I will require your assistance in a couple of other matters at a later date, but for now I believe we can release you into Miss Greengrass' care.' She smiled at them both, 'I would however ask that you both consider what you are going to do in the future, initial discussions with the remaining School Board and the Wizarding Examinations Authority indicate that all of this year's seventh years will be offered a place back at Hogwarts to finish their education. I would be, if I am confirmed Headmistress, keen to have you both back at school, perhaps together we might heal the rifts that have wrought the school for so long.'
Harry turned again to Daphne with a quizzical look, before she gave an imperceptible nod and rotated to answer the Professor, 'we will think long and hard about your offer and once a decision either way has been made, we will let you know what we have decided.'
'Very well then, I bid you good day and will be in touch soon, regarding the other matters,' and with that the Professor turned her attention back to the portrait.
