Disclaimer I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.
Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Here is the next chappie. It's extra long! Enjoy!
Chapter Forty Three
Harry tried to make sense of what he saw before him. He tried to slow down the influx of memories that Bella was giving him but all he saw was rushing flashes of Bella's past. Slowly the flashes of images started to slow down so Harry could make sense of what he was seeing.
The first proper memory he saw was of a very young looking Bella. She looked like she was in her mid twenties. She was standing next to blonde girl, who Harry realised with a jolt was Narcissa. Both girls were standing in front of a group of boys. By the décor and atmosphere around them it looked like a formal Ball of some sort. Harry recognised the Manor they were standing in front of as belonging to Cygnus Black, Narcissa and Bella's father.
Bella was focusing her attention on a young dark haired man. It only took one look for Harry to recognise him. It was Bella's husband, Rodolphus Lestrange. Harry felt his heart leap in his chest at the sight of him. Harry was only ten years old when Rodolphus had been killed but Harry a lot of memories of him. A lot of good memories.
Harry watched the memory of Bella speaking to Rodolphus for what seemed like the very first time.
"Who is your friend?" Bella asked a sandy haired man who Harry didn't recognise.
The man clapped a hand on Rodolphus' back and introduced him.
"This is Rodolphus Lestrange."
Bella looked at the incredibly handsome, dark haired man. She focused on his amazing blue eyes that sparkled with life. She smiled at him and Harry realised that he had never seen her smile like that before. It was full of life and she looked less like a Death Eater and more like a normal witch.
"Lestrange? I thought the only descendant of the noble house of Lestrange was Rabastan Lestrange. I am most certain I read about his misfortunate death last year." She said, never taking her eyes away from the man before her.
Harry turned to watch the reaction of Rodolphus. He noticed straight away the look in his eyes. He was smiling at Bella but his eyes had a strange look in them. An almost longing look, there was no other word to describe it. Without breaking eye contact he answered.
"Rabastan was my elder brother. You are quite correct. He died last year."
Bella dropped her gaze as she muttered a small condolence. It was clear from her tone that she wasn't sorry of his death as she didn't know him. Harry knew that that was just Bella; it was her way of thinking. However, this didn't seem to affect Rodolphus. He shrugged away her pitiful condolence and started talking to her. The two seemed so deeply engrossed with each other that they ignored their surrounding company.
"I never knew there was a last remaining descendant of Lestrange. You're a surprise." Bella said. Harry cringed as he heard the flirty underlying tone.
Rodolphus laughed and Bella seemed to stop in her tracks. The sight of the handsome man laughing had visibly taken her off guard.
"That I am." He replied and fixed Bella with another dazzling smile. "I was the youngest; my parents never really bothered introducing me to anyone of importance. In fact I never even lived with them I've been living abroad my whole life. I only came back last year, after my brother's death." He explained.
This time Bella looked genuinely sorry. She looked away and shot a spiteful look at her father who was standing with a crowd of people, happily discussing politics. She looked over at Narcissa who was too busy chatting with her blond haired boyfriend, to notice her sister's expression.
"I know what that feels like." She said quietly.
"You're the youngest as well, aren't you?" Rodolphus asked.
Bella nodded her head and looked away.
The memory started to fade and was soon replaced with another one. Bella was with Narcissa again but this time they were outside a café and seemed to be chatting about something. Harry watched as the two sisters sat in the sun, sipping on their cold drinks. Bella's dark hair was really long, longer that he remembered and she kept flicking it behind her shoulders. Harry spotted a young man, Rodolphus, came out of a bookstore. He looked over and saw the two female Blacks and waved at Bella who waved back, a smile spreading quickly on her pretty face. Rodolphus started walking towards them.
"Oh, I see your stalker has found you again." Narcissa said slyly, sipping her drink while keeping her eyes fixed on Bella.
"He's not a stalker." Bella admonished.
"Uh-huh, so why is it for the last few months he appears wherever you go?" Narcissa asked, a smirk on her face.
Bella rolled her eyes at her older sister and focused on her drink.
"It's called coincidence, Cissy." She said with her eyes diverted.
Narcissa looked over at the still approaching Rodolphus and quickly whispered to her sister.
"He seems really nice, I think you should give him a chance."
Bella looked at Narcissa in exaggerated shock.
"Are you mad? I can't date him! I have other commitments."
The playful look on Narcissa's face was replaced by a look that showed both fear and annoyance.
"Yes, well, I think you deserve to have more than one commitment!"
Bella's retort was cut off by the arrival of Rodolphus who greeted both sisters warmly. Harry could clearly see the look of approval on Narcissa's face as she beamed at the dark haired man. Bella seemed uneasy at first but soon melted at Rodolphus' presence.
The memory slowly faded away to be replaced by another one. This time it was just two people in front of Harry. It looked like a good time had passed as Bella looked slightly older than that last memory. Harry could tell right away that regardless of what she had told her sister, Bella and Rodolphus had evidently come a lot closer and a relationship had formed.
Harry watched as Bella spoke quietly and somewhat seriously to Rodolphus.
"I know that you want an answer but it's a lot more complicated than that." She said with her eyes turned away from him.
Rodolphus smiled again and took her hands into his.
"It's not complicated Bella. It's simple. 'Yes' or 'No', personally I would say 'Yes'." He said before laughing.
At the sound of his laugh Bella looked up at him. She studied him closely and finally gave a reluctant smile.
"I want to say 'Yes' but I need you to know something about me before that."
"Whatever it is, I accept it. There is nothing about you that I don't love." Rodolphus said kissing Bella's hand.
Harry quickly looked away. This was making him blush; it was like watching his parents being romantic with one another, very awkward and very wrong.
Bella looked at Rodolphus. Keeping her eyes locked with him she pulled up the left sleeve to her robes to reveal the dark tattoo of the Dark Mark. Rodolphus looked at it before gently running his finger across the mark. He looked back up at Bella, his expression unreadable.
"If you want me, you have to accept this too. This is the true me. I belong to Him, to the Dark Lord. If you really want to marry me then you will have to accept this into your life." Bella said seriously, her eyes never leaving Rodolphus' face.
Rodolphus looked at Bella, his blue eyes boring into hers. He was still holding her left hand. He suddenly pulled her arm, exposing the mark again and he lowered his head, kissing the mark and touching his forehead to it, a sign of respect.
Bella seemed caught off guard but her face exploded into a deeply relieved smile. Rodolphus straightened up and smiled at her again. Bella threw her arms around him before laughing, her relief and previous nervousness showing in her laugh. She kissed him deeply just as the memory faded.
Harry was wondering why he was watching Bella and Rodolphus' private moments but was unable to do anything about it. He watched as another memory materialised before him. This time the surroundings took his breath away. He was standing in Voldemort's chamber.
The torches hung low on the walls, throwing the room into flickering shadows. The chamber was filled with masked men in dark robes and white masks. Harry watched with a thumping heart as a sole figure walked to stand before the mass of masked men. Voldemort stood silently as he scanned the room through crimson eyes. He raised a hand, gesturing a silent command. Harry watched in awe as a figure clad in ritualistic robes came out from the crowd and walked steadily to Voldemort. He kneeled down and kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes. His face was hidden as his hood was pulled over his head. He sat on his knees and waited patiently for his master.
Voldemort looked down at the man sitting obediently at his feet. Harry watched closely. He knew what was happening even though he had never been present at one of these meetings. It was the marking ritual. This was when a new Death Eater was initiated and given the Dark Mark.
Two Death Eaters appeared at Voldemort's side. One of them removed the white mask and revealed herself. The only female Death Eater. She watched, visibly worried as Voldemort spoke with the man sitting on the ground before him. Whatever Voldemort said wasn't heard, even though the chamber was deathly silent. The figure spoke with its head lowered.
"Yes, Master."
Voldemort straightened and looked at the man before turning his head to look pointedly at Bella. His eyes rested on her and she too looked at her master with a worried and fretful look.
"Rise!" came the command.
The hooded man rose to stand on his feet. Voldemort extended his hand while the other hand revealed his wand. The hooded man finally lowered his hood so his face was visible to Voldemort.
Harry already knew who it was. Rodolphus' handsome face appeared behind the hood and although he looked nervous, that did nothing to the playful glint in his eyes. Voldemort seemed to disagree with the expression in his eyes but didn't say anything. Rodolphus offered his left arm to Voldemort and stood rigid, waiting for the branding.
Voldemort seemed to be studying the man before him. His wand shook ever so slightly but Harry saw it. He knew what that meant. It meant that Voldemort was unsure of something. That itself was unnerving since it was very rare for Voldemort to be unsure of his actions. He took Rodolphus' arm and pressed the tip of his wand to the forearm.
Rodolphus didn't flinch as the spell was spoken and the Dark Mark started spreading across his forearm. The skin burned and itched as the tattoo was burned indefinitely on his skin. Rodolphus turned his head so he could see Bella. His eyes were fixed on her and a small smile graced his face. Through the excruciating pain of having the Dark Mark burned intro his forearm, Rodolphus kept his eyes fixed on Bella, almost like it didn't hurt as much if he was looking at her. The smile never left his face as the tattoo was completed.
Just as Voldemort let Rodolphus' arm drop away from him, the room began to fade away and Harry found himself being thrust into another memory. He saw Rodolphus and Bella in the potions lab in Riddle Manor. Both were standing before cauldrons brewing a colourless potion. Harry recognised it straight away as the truth potion, Vertiserum. With a jolt Harry saw his own eight year old self sitting near the front of the lab, deep in lesson with Lucius Malfoy. Harry remembered that day himself. He was in the middle of his potions lesson when Bella and Rodolphus had came in, insisting that they needed to make up an emergency batch of the truth potion on Voldemort's orders. Lucius had made a fuss but allowed them access as the orders had come straight from the Dark Lord himself.
Harry remembered how Rodolphus had walked in behind Bella, his usual charming smile on his face. He annoyed Lucius by walking straight inside without apologising for disrupting his potions lesson. He had ruffled Harry's messy hair as he walked by, annoying Lucius even more. The eight year old Harry had just mock glared at him before turning around and secretly grinning at him. Lucius and Rodolphus were forever in competition with each other. Harry didn't want to make it any worse for them.
As the eighteen year old Harry watched the memory, he saw Bella and Rodolphus quietly whispering to each other.
"Do you know why the Dark Lord has ordered emergency brewing of Vertiserum?" Rodolphus asked. He asked the question casually but there was something about his voice that alerted Harry. Perhaps it was nervousness?
"I don't know. He probably just wants the stores to be kept up to date." Bella answered as she stirred the potion counter clockwise.
"I was under the impression he wanted to interrogate someone." Rodolphus said, his words said carefully and worriedly.
Bella cocked up an eyebrow at him and said in a mocking tone.
"Ooh, a guilty conscience, huh? Are you afraid he might slip you some?"
Harry could see that Rodolphus smiled and laughed Bella off, but there was something in his eyes when Bella spoke, something that made Harry feel that maybe what Bella had joked about may have been true.
"You know I don't have any secrets." Rodolphus said with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I know, and it better stay that way." Bella warned playfully.
The memory faded away and Harry found himself starting to worry. Why was Bella showing him these memories? Did Rodolphus have a secret? What did that have to do with Harry? Why was he shown these memories? Rodolphus was dead. Harry knew that, he remembered the day he had seen Rodolphus' dead body and Bella's broken form sitting next to it. He remembered how angry is father, Voldemort, had been when he saw the dead body of one of his most talented Death Eater, being brought in by the others. It had taken Harry a few days to get over the pain in his scar and the pain in his heart at losing Rodolphus. He and Draco were very fond of Bella's husband and they knew that Rodolphus was very fond of them also.
Harry forced himself out of these thoughts when he felt another memory materialise before him. This time, Harry felt his breath leave him completely. He was standing in the midst of a raid. A raid that involved the Death Eaters and blue robed Aurors. There were flashes of light everywhere as the spells zoomed in every direction. Harry watched the familiar scene with a thumping heart. He had seen this; he had seen this very memory again and again in his dreams for the past year.
Harry watched the memory even though he knew what he was going to see. He saw Bella appear, laughing and thoroughly enjoying the raid. Harry watched as she removed her mask and started duelling. Suddenly Harry realised that he was going to be able to see this memory in full. Since he was watching Bella's memory, there should be no distortion. He was finally going to see what happened to her to make her gasp out in pain.
Sure enough, after a few minutes of duelling a stray curse caught Bella in her side. Bella's gasp of pain rang in Harry's ears. Bella's robes were stained as blood leaked from a horrendous cut, just under her ribs. Bella tried, but she was unable to stop the next curse from hitting her. Bella was too busy duelling the two Aurors before her and couldn't stop the third Auror from hitting her with a body bind curse.
Bella hit the ground with a cry. She struggled against the curse but her stiff limbs were under the spell and she couldn't break out of it. Only her eyes were free from the effects of the curse and she frantically looked around herself.
Harry watched as three Aurors made their way over to her, intending to do more harm or arrest her. Bella's wide panicked eyes scanned the area frantically and finally rested on someone. Harry followed her gaze and saw Rodolphus. He had just cast the killing curse on an Auror and had turned around to see Bella on the ground, bleeding and in pain.
At that same moment a shout of 'Retreat!' was heard. The Death Eaters were being instructed to leave.
Harry knew the panicked thoughts running through Rodolphus' mind at that moment. He couldn't leave Bella. Loud pops were heard as Death Eaters starting apparating away. The three Aurors heading towards Bella were either going to kill her or attempt to arrest her. Judging by the littered bodies of the Death Eaters, it didn't look like these Aurors were interested in making arrests.
Rodolphus attempted to blast the three Aurors away from Bella's fallen form but only two men flew away from Bella. The other Auror pointed at Bella and the words of the killing curse was already leaving his lips. It all happened in the blink of any eye but for Harry it seemed as if everything had slowed down.
He saw the look of sheer panic and fear in Bella's eyes as she locked eyes with her husband. Rodolphus reached over and pulled the chain around his neck. The chain snapped and Rodolphus threw it with all his might towards Bella. The look on his face as he threw the chain was clear to read. He knew he was never going to see her again. Harry could see the raw pain in his eyes as he watched the chain land on Bella.
Just as the chain hit Bella's still immobile form, the portkey was activated and Bella was pulled with the portkey, back to Riddle Manor, back to safety.
The memory abruptly ended as Bella was portkeyed away but Harry caught the final glimpse of the Auror's green light hitting the spot Bella had been at only a mere second ago. The last thing Harry saw was Rodolphus being hit by two Aurors.
Harry was breathing hard. Watching that last memory had been torture. He assumed that the Aurors must have killed Rodolphus after he portkeyed Bella to safety. Harry hadn't known that Rodolphus had done that. He had sacrificed himself for her. He felt an odd emotion bubble inside him. He never knew Bella and Rodolphus had been that much in love. He remembered Narcissa once saying that Bella was never quite the same after Rodolphus' death. He understood that now.
Just as Harry thought the memories were finished, he found himself standing inside Riddle Manor. As soon as Harry saw the two figures in the otherwise empty chamber, he felt his insides turn to ice. Voldemort was standing with Bella. Harry had never seen anyone look as broken as Bella did right now. She had her head lowered but he could see that her face was pale, her eyes red rimmed but it was the look of complete horror on her face that took Harry's breath away.
Voldemort was watching her, his red eyes looking at her without a hint of mercy in them. Harry didn't understand what was going on. He looked from Voldemort back to Bella and this time he spotted a thin file in Bella's hand. It was clutched tightly in her hands but she wasn't looking at it. She seemed to be in shock.
"It…it can't be." She whispered, her voice laced with pain.
Voldemort reacted to her words by snarling at her.
"It is true! The truth is before your eyes!" he said pointing at the papers held in her hands. "You brought him here! Presented him before me without investigating his background! Look where that led you!"
Harry was finding it truly bizarre how Voldemort could be so angry and it not affect Harry in the slightest. His scar hadn't hurt ever since Voldemort' death, last year. He knew that when this must have happened, he must have suffered severely. Voldemort was beyond angry, he was livid.
Bella still hadn't looked up but shook her head a fraction. That made Voldemort lose whatever patience he had. He marched up to Bella and grabbed her harshly by the arms, forcing the shocked woman to fearfully look at him.
"Do you understand what has happened?! He lied to you! He lied to me! Are you taking any of this in?!" he hissed at her. "You've been misled! The filthy half blood lied to you! He lied about everything! He's not a Lestrange! He's a half blood, the bastard child of some filthy mudblood!"
Harry watched feeling bile rise in his throat from pure fear. He had never seen Voldemort like this and it wasn't easy watching Bella cower and cry before him. He didn't know if her tears were because of fear or because of something else.
"Master! I…I…" Bella couldn't talk. She was shaking and crying as Voldemort continued to hiss at her.
"You took his word and convinced me that he was the last descendant of the Lestrange family. I only allowed him in my presence because of you! What became of your trust in him? He used you, lied to you. He's not Rodolphus Lestrange. There never was a Rodolphus Lestrange! That man you married and brought into my service is a half blood by the name of Cole Bailey!" Voldemort shouted, gesturing to the file in Bella's hands.
His words hit Harry like physical blows. Rodolphus Lestrange was Cole Bailey?! He had lied about being a pureblood and had pretended to be someone else. But why? Suddenly Harry remembered the very first memory Bella showed him. The look of longing in Rodolphus' eyes when he looked at Bella made sense now. He must have been in love with Bella. As everyone knew of the Black family's obsession with purebloods, he pretended to be the last descendant of a dead family to get close to Bella.
Harry felt sick. Rodolphus wasn't Rodolphus at all. He was Cole Bailey, a half blood wizard who pretended to be a pureblood. Harry suddenly realised the enormity of the revelation. If Rodolphus was in fact Cole Bailey then that meant that the person who was impersonating the Dark Prince, the person responsible for trying to frame him for attacks and killings, the person responsible for Draco's condition was Rodolphus!
Harry's head was spinning. The phone call made to threaten Harry with Damien's life, that was Rodolphus. The fight Harry had had on the rooftops of Hogwarts, that had been with Rodolphus. Every time Harry saw the masked figure's picture in the newspaper, that had been Rodolphus staring back at him.
Harry felt like he could easily throw up. Rodolphus was the one behind everything. But Harry still didn't understand how that was possible. He had seen Rodolphus' dead body being brought back by the Death Eaters. He wasn't present at the funeral as he was still in hiding. Voldemort had only revealed Harry when he was fourteen years old and at the time of Rodolphus' supposed death, Harry was only ten.
Harry's attention snapped back to the scene happening before him. Bella was still crying, her strong persona had been shattered and she stood with anguished tears running down her cheeks. Voldemort was looking like he couldn't contain the desire to kill someone, to kill Cole Bailey.
"He doesn't know what he's done! If he thinks he can get away with cheating me, the Dark Lord, then he is gravely mistaken! Just because he is in Azkaban, doesn't mean I can't get to him!"
Bella looked up at Voldemort but didn't say anything. She looked at the thin file clutched in her hands and Harry took the opportunity to see what it was as well.
It was the arrest file on Cole Bailey. It stated clearly that the wizard, identified as Cole Bailey had been arrested during the raid and was sentenced to a life time in Azkaban. It had other details as well but Harry wasn't bothered to read it at the moment.
"Get the others ready. We're leaving for the half blood tonight!" Voldemort said and moved to leave the room.
Suddenly Bella was standing before him, her tear filled eyes fixed on Voldemort. Bella dropped to her knees but kept eye contact with him.
"Master, please!" she begged.
Voldemort stood silently. He was looking at Bella with a mixture of repulsion and anger.
"You stupid woman!" he hissed. "Do you realise what it is you are asking of me? You wish for the person who lied to you, who lied to your Master! You ask for him to be spared!?"
Bella dropped her head as Voldemort shouted the last part out. She sat on her knees, head bowed and didn't speak. Voldemort turned away from her, his back turned on the broken woman on the ground.
After what seemed like hours, Voldemort spoke in a much calmer but just as furious voice.
"I will grant you your plead. I will not kill that half blood!" here he turned around to face her. "But he will stay in Azkaban forever! He will rot there!"
Bella nodded her head and got up to her feet, trembling a little.
"Thank you, Master." She whispered.
Voldemort looked carefully at her before he spoke again.
"I will not allow his deceit to be known by anyone. I will make arrangement and we will bury him before all the others. Rodolphus Lestrange will be dead to all who knew him. Cole Bailey-!" Voldemort spat the name, "will spend the rest of his days in Azkaban!"
That was when it all made sense to Harry. The body he had seen and the body that was buried under the gravestone of 'Rodolphus Lestrange' was a fake. It was something Voldemort had created so that no one questioned the whereabouts of the most talented Death Eater. Voldemort didn't want his Death Eaters knowing that a half blood Metamorphmagus had fooled him into believing he was a pureblood. If this fact came out, Voldemort would be ridiculed and that was not acceptable to the Dark Lord.
Judging from the file sitting on the ground, all documented proof of Cole Bailey was gone from the Ministry. That was why Remus and Sirius couldn't find anything. Voldemort's Ministry spies had made sure nothing remained on the wizard Cole Bailey. The Death Eaters captured rarely ever got a trial, so no one knew that Cole Bailey had fooled everyone into thinking he was the pureblood descendant of the Lestrange family. The fact of the matter was that had the Ministry not questioned Rodolphus using Vertiserum, no one would have known of his true identity.
Harry watched as Bella stood with her head lowered, tears still cascading down her face. She was trembling. Her arms were by her sides, fists clenched hard. Her breath was coming out raggedly to stop herself from crying.
Lord Voldemort studied Bella carefully before speaking.
"You should be thankful he's gone, Bella. If he were here, I would have killed him myself." He hissed.
Harry felt his stomach turn as he heard the familiar words. He had seen this memory, this part of the memory before. He had dreamt of it but at the time he had been convinced that Voldemort was talking about him. He was certain that Voldemort was referring to Harry and that this was the time Harry had run away from Voldemort and was hunting his Horcruxes.
The memory faded and Harry found himself staring up at the white ceiling of his bedroom. He shot up in his bed, his breathing short and difficult. He was drenched in cold sweat and his hair was sticking to his head. But all that Harry could hear was the sound of Bella's stifled sobs ring in his ears.
"Oh God!" Harry whispered to himself as he thought about who he was going to face behind that silver mask.
xxx
"I don't understand. How is this possible? Rodolphus is-"
"Dead, yes we thought that too." Lucius drawled, cutting James off.
James was still clutching the newspaper copy in his hand, staring at the handsome dark haired man.
"We looked up the muggle resources, hoping to find something on Cole Bailey. It turns out that when he was a teenager, he had been suspected as an accomplice to arson." Hermione supplied, answering James' unasked question. "No one was killed, just damage done to property and such. We found his picture and Sirius said that he looked familiar." Here she looked at Sirius and he took over the conversation.
"I had never met Rodolphus but I remember seeing him with…with Bella. I showed the picture to Lucius, hoping he would recognise him." Sirius looked at Lucius and swallowed heavily. "That was an understatement."
Lucius raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Instead he turned to James and started to explain.
"I was there when we buried Rodolphus Lestrange's body. I was present at his funeral. I was also there at the raid where he 'supposedly' lost his life. I never saw anything but we were told that Rodolphus had given his life, saving Bella's. Our men working under cover at the Ministry smuggled the body out and returned him to Voldemort, where he and Bella proceeded to hold a proper funeral. Rodolphus was one of the most talented and useful Death Eaters Voldemort had. His death had been taken very hard." Lucius stopped here and James got the impression that even though the blonde haired man was acting like he wasn't affected by all this, he was.
"Voldemort must have found out that Rodolphus was actually Cole Bailey, a half blood wizard. Rodolphus was never killed in that raid. He was arrested and during his questioning it must have been revealed that he was actually Cole Bailey. Voldemort faked Rodolphus' death and funeral so no one would ever question why Voldemort left such an important Death Eater in Azkaban."
No one quite knew what to say to this. They stared at each other.
"Why did Cole Bailey lie?" Hermione asked, not able to understand the man's motive.
Lucius didn't have the answer.
"I don't know. I don't understand it any better than the rest of you. Rodolphus, he was very close to Draco and to Harry for that matter. He cared for them like they were his own. I don't understand how he could have hurt Draco. Why he would try and hurt Harry. I don't understand it at all." He said painfully, his Slytherin mask falling to show how much this revelation was affecting him.
James didn't know what to say. He turned to face his best friend.
"Sirius, get Dumbledore and Remus here. Hermione, Lily is in the garden, can you please get her in here. I'll get Harry." With that James left
James was running up the stairs. He had to tell Harry about what Sirius and Hermione had found out. He reached the top landing and literally bumped into Damien, Ginny and Ron.
"Whoa, what's wrong?" Damien asked as he saw his dad's pale face.
"Where's Harry?" James asked hurriedly.
"He's taking a nap." Damien replied, confused at his dad's worried expression.
James moved towards Harry's room making Damien and the other two follow him.
"Dad! What are you doing?" Damien asked as he saw James approach Harry's door.
James didn't answer, instead he threw open Harry's door. This was important. He was sure Harry wouldn't mind being woken up to be told they had found the Dark Prince impostor.
The door swung open to reveal the large room. James scanned the room and felt his heart plummet into his stomach. The room was empty. Harry was gone.
Before James could turn to leave he spotted a parchment lying open on Harry's desk. James strode towards it and recognised Harry's hand writing. He read the letter without picking it up, his hands were shaking too much for him to lift anything.
'Dad,
I know who the impostor is. I'm sorry but I have to face him alone. Please don't get involved in this. I have to deal with him myself. I'll return soon. I promise.
Harry.'
James looked up from Harry's scribbled note, a strange panic taking over him. How did Harry find out about the impostor's identity? Did he over hear them? James figured that was probably the most likely explanation. He turned to see that Sirius, Lucius and Hermione had joined the other three teens and was standing at the door, looking at the empty room with panicked expressions as well.
"Do you know where he is?" James asked. He was referring to Rodolphus.
Lucius found everyone turn to stare at him. He looked back at James and met his worried eyes.
"I have an idea of where he might be." Lucius answered.
xxx
Harry walked into the darkened room and took a painful look around. Although Harry had been at this location many times before, he had never been inside the small cottage that belonged to Bella and Rodolphus. Any time he had come here, he had visited the gravestones outside and left.
Harry had never had any business in Cornwall other than to visit the graves that belonged to Bella and Rodolphus. Now he knew that the grave next to Bella was and had always been empty.
The room Harry had walked inside was littered with empty glass bottles and strewn with old newspapers. Harry noticed most had the silver masked figure on its pages. Harry glanced at the walls and saw a large portrait. It was the Dark Mark, the skull with the serpent protruding from its mouth. There were many other portraits decorating the walls, most portrayed the occupants obsession with dark magic.
Harry was standing in front of the portrait of the Dark Mark when he heard the floorboards creak, giving away the fact that someone had walked inside.
"I see you finally remembered."
The voice echoed in the dark room. Harry stood where he was, his back turned to the speaker. He had to calm his frantic heart before he faced him. Slowly Harry turned around but the sight took his breath away anyway.
He was standing there. A few steps away from him. The silver mask was still covering his face and Harry could tell the metamorphmagus was still mimicking him. Harry stared back at him, at Rodolphus, the man he grown up with and had believed to be dead for the last eight years or so.
No one spoke, the two wizards continued to stare at each other. Harry could see the hate and anger swim in the emerald orbs. Neither wizard made any move to attack each other and just stood in the darkened room.
"You can remove your mask. I know who you are now." Harry said quietly.
The masked man didn't react straight away. Slowly, he raised his hand and pulled the silver mask away from him face. At the same time, Harry noticed the changes taking place so Rodolphus took his true form. The messy hair changed to long dark locks. He grew a few inches taller as well.
Harry sucked in a breath as he saw Rodolphus' face. Harry had never seen anyone who had been to Azkaban. It was therefore a shock to see what the wizard prison did to an individual.
Rodolphus' once handsome face had been reduced to gaunt and pale. His eyes that had once sparkled with life now had a pained haunted look. His cheeks looked like they had been sucked in. His face looked nothing more than a skeleton with thin skin stretched painfully over it.
Harry took an involuntary step backwards at the sight of him.
Rodolphus smiled, a pained smile, nothing like his usual smiles, and fixed his eyes at Harry.
"Not quite what you expected?" he asked, taking a step further into the room.
Harry felt his insides freeze as he heard his proper voice again.
"Considering I thought you were dead, yeah, you're a bit of a surprise." Harry voiced.
The smile vanished from Rodolphus' face and he looked angrily at Harry.
"I am dead. I died with her! I died the night you betrayed her, the night you killed her!"
Harry looked at Rodolphus, caught off in surprise. He knew who the 'she' was that he was referring to. It could only be one person.
"Rodolphus, I never killed her." Harry said with difficulty, mostly because his own guilt at causing Bella's death was weighing him down.
Rodolphus' eyes flared up at once and he gripped the wand in his hand tightly.
"Look at you! You can't even lie properly." He hissed at Harry.
"You would know all about that, wouldn't you Cole Bailey!" Harry retorted. He wasn't going to be called a liar by the person who had cheated his own wife.
Rodolphus stopped and stared at Harry, an unreadable emotion in his eyes.
"My lies never hurt anyone." He argued.
"Yes, they only kept everyone in the dark. Especially people you claimed to have loved!"
Harry had to bring up his shield since as soon as the last words left his mouth, Rodolphus had fired a spell at him. The light of the hex hit Harry's blue shield and melted away. Harry brought down his shield and looked at the man before him.
"I wondered were your bitch had learnt that from." Rodolphus said with a smirk.
Harry had to tell himself to stay calm. He had decided before coming here that he wasn't going to let himself be coaxed into doing something he didn't want to do. Rodolphus could talk badly about Ginny or anyone for that matter; he wasn't going to lose control.
"Do you have no shame at all? To pass the Dark Lord's teachings onto blood traitors is a disgrace!" Rodolphus spat.
Harry still didn't say anything. He was keeping a close eye on the wand held in Rodolphus' grip.
"But then again, you are a disgrace yourself. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by your actions." Rodolphus said, the words piercing Harry's forced calm.
"You don't know what…" Harry was interrupted by another attack, this time Harry jumped out of the way as a crucio was aimed at him.
"Don't you dare try and lie to me! I don't want to hear your pathetic lies and excuses!" Rodolphus raged. He aimed another crucio at Harry but Harry was ready to avoid it.
Harry had just narrowly missed the curse and turned to point his wand at Rodolphus. Both wizards were aiming at each other. Slowly Harry lowered his wand, surprising Rodolphus.
"I'm not going to fight you, Rodolphus." Harry said. "I didn't come here to fight you. You're not my enemy."
Rodolphus let out a snarl and fired another curse at Harry, this time his cutting hex caught Harry in his side and he stumbled back a few steps.
"You are the enemy!" Rodolphus all but screamed, his wand brandished in front of him. He fired curse after curse and it was all Harry could do to shield himself against them. "You left us and changed sides! After all we did for you! We brought you up, we cared for you, loved you! Loved you like you were our own and what did you do?! You left us! You betrayed us!" Rodolphus was lost in his rage and kept firing at Harry.
If Harry had chosen to fight back, he would have easily fought off the maddened wizard. But Harry didn't. It wasn't just because the person in front of him was from his past but because Harry knew that Rodolphus was partly right. Harry did betray Voldemort, he did cause Bella's downfall. He did leave them at the time of war and whatever his reasons were, they didn't take away from the fact that he, Harry, had killed the people that had brought him up.
The other thing and perhaps the factor that stopped Harry from fighting Rodolphus at all, was that Harry knew that Rodolphus never knew about the abuse Voldemort and Bella inflicted on him. Harry had met Rodolphus when he was married to Bella and had spent considerable time as a Death Eater. Voldemort wouldn't trust a new Death Eater with Harry. It was the fact that Rodolphus showed such talent that he was introduced to Harry at all.
Harry was only six years old when he met Rodolphus. The abuse stopped when Harry was four. Rodolphus never knew how his master and wife had broken the boy before they build him into a warrior. Harry knew that was why Rodolphus had such unadulterated anger towards him. To Rodolphus, Harry had changed sides for no reason other than to cause Voldemort's downfall.
Harry managed to block the curses and jumped out of the way of the Unforgivables as they couldn't be blocked. He was on the ground when he managed to cast 'Expelliarmus' and disarm Rodolphus. But even without his wand, the Azkaban escapee didn't stop with his attacks.
He threw himself at Harry and started to punch any part he could. Harry fought back but only to protect himself, he never made any move to hurt Rodolphus. Harry blocked the physical assault and pushed Rodolphus away from himself.
"You left them! You left them when they needed you the most! You're a traitor!" Rodolphus yelled as he made to kick Harry.
Harry blocked him and finally had enough. He wandlessly blasted Rodolphus away from himself. The grown wizard fell to the ground with a smash; his head collided terribly with the table. He lay there panting and trying to get his breath back.
Awful guilt flooded into Harry. He could see that Rodolphus wasn't in his right mind. He didn't know what drove Harry to do what he did. He didn't understand it.
"I didn't betray them." Harry said as he saw Rodolphus get to his feet. The man glared at Harry.
"You left them! You sided with the Ministry! You helped destroy Master!" Rodolphus said, his voce not only showing his anger but also his heartbreak.
"No, I didn't!" Harry defended.
"I know what happened! I saw it all! I saw what you did! I saw everything!" Rodolphus yelled, catching Harry off guard.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, his heart thumping hard at his insides.
"I saw it. I saw how she…she…and what you did….how could you, Harry? How could you do that to Master?" Rodolphus' voce broke at this point and he looked at Harry with pain in his eyes.
Harry was lost. What did Rodolphus mean when he said he saw it? What did he see?
"What are you talking about…?" Harry started but stopped when he heard Rodolphus starting to explain.
"When he was dying, I saw it all. I forced the memories from him. He couldn't stop them, Snape couldn't stop me from seeing his memories." Harry could hardly breathe. He stood in silence and listened to Rodolphus. "I cast Legimens but Snape blocked me. He was good, his Occulmency skills were legendary but when a person is dying, their mind shields aren't strong enough to fight. I easily invaded his mind and forced everything from him."
Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Rodolphus had raped Snape's mind when he was dying. Even for a Death Eater, that was about the cruellest thing you could do.
"I saw what happened. I saw how you left him! I saw how she begged for you to come back. She was afraid for you, for you! She didn't want you to get hurt! And you didn't even care. Bella loved you! She loved you like you were her son! And you, you didn't even care!"
Harry couldn't speak, he listened to Rodolphus' maddened confession.
"And then I saw her punishment…her punishment…she shouldn't have been punished! It was your fault! Not hers! She wasn't the one who lost the Horcrux, you were the one who destroyed it! I know you did! I saw that old fool, Dumbledore tell Snape it was you! You took the ring from her knowing it would cause her death! You killed her! You sentenced her to the Kiss! It wasn't Master's fault! It wasn't, it was your fault!"
Harry was feeling sick. He was right. Rodolphus was right. It was Harry's fault. He had known Bella would be punished but he still destroyed the Horcrux. It was Harry's fault.
"I…I didn't…" Harry started.
"Shut up! Just shut up! You did it on purpose! You did it so you could go back to your blood traitor father and your mud blood mother! You left those who brought you up, gave you everything your heart desired and you went back to the people who couldn't even bother looking for you!" Rodolphus was lost in his rage.
"Why did you do it, Harry? Why did you kill them? They never did anything but love you. You destroyed the Dark Lord, the man you called father all your life. You killed him, I saw it!" Rodolphus' voice had changed and Harry could hear the pain in his voice.
"I never wanted to believe it. I saw the news of the Dark Lord's destruction while I was still in Azkaban. I refused to believe it! I was convinced that you would rather die than raise your wand to him. But then I saw you! I saw you with your newfound family!" the last word was spat out with hate. "And I realised what you had done. I knew Snape had led the Aurors to my Masters noble home and I tracked him down. I killed him and while he was taking his last breath, I ripped the memories from him and saw, with my own eyes your deceit!"
Here, Rodolphus' manner changed and it seemed like he had lost all his anger. He sagged a little, his arms wrapping against his thin torso. His pale face twisted to show pain and heartbreak. His eyes had suddenly glazed over, as if he was seeing something only he could see.
"I saw what had happened. I saw her and I knew what I had to do. I remembered the promises we had made to one another and I had to do it. She wouldn't forgive me if I didn't. She didn't look like how I remembered her. She was…different. I saw her lying in her bed, her beautiful face turned to the ceiling, her eyes, oh, her lifeless eyes staring at me, but no light danced in them like they usually did." A strangled sob left him and Harry could feel his own heart beat heavily against his chest.
"What did you do, Rodolphus?" Harry asked painfully. He knew Rodolphus was speaking about Bella and from what he had said, it was obvious that he met Bella after she had been given the Kiss.
"I knew I had to, it was asked of me. She told me that if she was ever humiliated like this, for me to end it for her. I love her so much, I could do it." Rodolphus was looking past Harry, his eyes unfocused and still glazed. The words repeated as if he was trying to convince himself of them more than Harry.
"I did what I had to. I did what she had asked of me. I looked at her for the last time, kissed her for the last time and softly released her, took her away from the disgrace she had been forced to endure. I took her away from everyone and I brought her home, where she wanted to come." Here Rodolphus looked over to the front door, outside which were the two graves.
That was the last straw and Harry's resolve to stay calm broke. His emerald eyes darkened and the ground he was standing on shook beneath him. This snapped Rodolphus out of his daze and he looked at Harry, true fear showing in his eyes at the sight of the boy before him.
"You killed her." Harry hissed at him.
Bella hadn't died in her bed, like everyone had thought. She had been killed by Rodolphus. He had killed her.
Despite the rage directed at him, Rodolphus matched Harry's anger and yelled.
"Killed?! I never killed her! You killed her! You're responsible for her destruction, not me. I loved her! I went to Azkaban for her! To keep her safe!"
Rodolphus was suddenly blasted from the spot he stood. He flew back and his body smashed into the wall behind him, knocking the portrait behind him. He fell to the ground, spitting out blood in the process.
Harry was dangerously close to burning the place down. His rage was such he could actually feel it spread through his veins. He was standing before Rodolphus before he had even hit the ground. With a flick of his wrist, Rodolphus was picked up and held in the air.
"You killed her!" Harry spat at him again before throwing him across the room.
Rodolphus' body smashed to the ground and he skidded a few feet before hitting the wall.
Harry was beyond the point for any reasoning. He couldn't see Rodolphus standing before him anymore. All he could see was Bella's killer.
Rodolphus got to his feet and accioed his wand. He pointed it at Harry and tried to curse him but before the words could leave him, Harry had raised his hand and wandlessly twisted his wand holding arm. A horrid snap rang through the air as Rodolphus' wrist snapped and the wand fell to the ground. Rodolphus was too surprised to even scream in pain.
Harry smashed his foot into the older man's stomach and he was propelled into the air. He smashed straight through a door and ended up in the bedroom. Harry was quick to reach him and once again he lifted the man into the air. Rodolphus gasped in pain but as he was suspended in mid air, there wasn't anything he could do to protect himself.
He stared at Harry as his black eyes radiated with darkness.
"You wanted to see what I'd become, didn't you?!" Harry asked, his voice sounded inhuman, as if a demon had spoken.
Rodolphus cried out as he felt his blood begin to boil. He found Harry's black eyes fixed on him. Just as Rodolphus thought he couldn't take the torture anymore, he was freed from the curse and sent smashing to the ground. He gasped in excruciating pain and looked up to see black eyed Harry looking at him murderously.
Harry moved towards him, his hand outstretched before him, pointing at Rodolphus. He was just about to rip him apart, limb from limb when he suddenly stopped. His eyes caught a portrait on the wall, a portrait of a beautiful woman. A sudden flash of memory hit Harry, a tearful Bella falling to her knees, begging Voldemort to spare the life of the man she loved. Harry's eyes changed back to green and he stared at the wall before him.
The dark haired woman in the portrait had looked straight at Harry, stopping him from killing Rodolphus. Harry stared at the portrait of Bella and felt his heart ache in unbearable pain. He had lost her. She was gone the day she had been Kissed. Harry knew that but there was a part of him that believed that maybe, just maybe, she could be brought back. After all it wasn't a real Dementor that had given her the Kiss. Maybe there would be a way to bring her soul back. Even when Draco had told him that it wasn't possible, Harry never believed him. He was certain that there must be a way to bring her back. But Rodolphus had killed her. There could have been a way to bring her back but Rodolphus had killed her before anything could happen.
Harry moved away from the man in disgust. He had been ready to forgive Rodolphus. He came here with the intentions to make Rodolphus understand that he wasn't his enemy. To perhaps tell him about his past and what caused him to leave Voldemort. Even after what Rodolphus did to Harry, all the attacks he carried out under Harry's name, the killings and everything. After what he did to Draco, the threat he made to Damien's life, after everything, Harry was ready and willing to put it behind him. Because it was Rodolphus, Bella's husband. That last person linked to Harry's past and to Bella.
Harry stepped away and left the injured man on the ground.
"I'm not going to kill you, Rodolphus." Harry said his breathing making his voice strained. "You can live with the knowledge that you killed Bella when there was a chance she could have been revived. You're the one who killed her." Harry turned to leave. Just as he reached the door he spoke again. "And you should know that the man you still serve today, the man you wanted to avenge had left you to rot in Azkaban." At this Rodolphus looked up, his eyes wide and unbelieving.
"No! My Master was coming for me. He was going to break me out! He would never leave me!" he croaked.
"He was never going to come for you. You were destined to die behind the bars of Azkaban." Harry hissed cruelly.
Rodolphus struggled to stand up but couldn't manage. He sat up though.
"I don't believe your lies! He…he wouldn't leave me like that! Bella…Bella wouldn't let…"
"Bella didn't do anything because you lied to her! You had always lied to her and she left you to your fate."
Rodolphus shook his head vigorously.
"No! She would have forgiven me! She loved me, she would forgive me. I know it! I only lied because I loved her! She would believe me!" he yelled.
Harry looked at the man, covered in blood and felt the familiar stab of pity stir in him.
"She loved you, yes. The only reason you are still breathing is because she loved you." Harry looked him in the eye before going on. "You spent eight years in prison, waiting for someone to come for you. Face the truth. Voldemort wasn't coming for you. They were never coming for you. Look outside Rodolphus, they buried you long ago."
With that Harry moved out of the room leaving behind the broken man.
xxx
Just as Harry moved out of the room he looked up to see four men run inside, wands held in their hands. He saw the panicked looks on his dad's face.
"Harry! Are you okay?" James asked while Sirius, Remus and a dark haired man, who Harry assumed was Lucius with glamour, ran into the room behind Harry.
Harry looked tiredly at his dad. He felt like all his energy had been sapped out of him.
"I'm fine, dad." He said in a strained voice.
James and Harry turned as they heard Sirius yell from the room that they were taking Bailey to St Mungos.
James looked at Harry with a questioning look.
"Not now, dad. I can't explain just now. Yell at me later." Harry said, feeling his emotions too close to the surface.
"I'm not…I'm surprised." James said making Harry look at him questioningly. "I thought you would've killed him."
Harry looked back at the room, he could still see a part of Bella's portrait.
"He's already dead. What would I gain from killing him?" Harry whispered as he saw Sirius and Remus check the broken looking man.
James looked confusedly at him but didn't say anymore. He put a comforting arm around his emotionally drained son.
"Come on, we're going home." He said quietly.
Harry was too tired to say anything but gave his dad a thankful look. James guided Harry outside so he could apparate together, back to their home, back to Potter Manor.
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Okay, there you go. Hope you liked it. The Epilogue will tie all loose ends, Malfoy senior and junior, Rodolphus' fate, the new Minister and of course Harry.
Please review to tell me what you thought of it. Cheers!!
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