A/N

The whole story is now beta-read by butterfly83. Thank you very much.

It's a bit funny to read the different opinions about the end fight. Some of you especially like the idea of Harry's family fighting together, but others wanted to see more of a solo-Harry-hero. Obviously I can't please everybody.

Regretfully I don't like the canon story about that part. To use a two-way-portkey to trap Harry (and leaving it in his reach), was a massive failure on Crouch's part. Why didn't he use a one-way-ticket? And Harry didn't survive the abduction through his skill (or only partly), but because of his special wand, the twin of Voldemort's.

Is there anyone who really believes that the Harry from book four would have been able to out-duel Voldemort? I don't think he would. He's not even fifteen; he has only four years of magical training on his back. How could he be able to defeat someone like Crouch or even Voldemort? Not to mention the fact that the idea of 30 Deatheaters not being able to catch him is a bit ridiculous in my opinion.

My story is more about teamwork. Yes, Harry grows stronger over time. You'll see (in the sequel) some of his new abilities (one of them will be "the power Voldemort knows not"), but still his family/friends will be very important. Harry is a central figure, but mostly because many people THINK that he is important. Because of that they hate him, love him, fight him or support him.

In the books Minerva and the other teachers behaved irresponsibly most of the time. I don't want to have my story with family behaving the same only to allow Harry to be the hero-who-saves-them-all. Harry won the tournament, he fought on despite exhaustion and pain, and he saved his godmother from a deadly spell. I think that's heroic enough.

And a last word about his reaction towards Crouch's death: Gosh, he's not even fifteen. I really hope that a boy his age would be shocked about killing someone, irrespective of his identity (especially if the death was unplanned as in this case).

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Epilogue (kind of)

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Hogwarts – Headmaster Office – 26th of June

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"Please, Filius, he's dying there. Sent him back where he belongs. My little baby is a Gryffindor, not a Snake." With her best puppy-eyes face Molly Weasley was sitting in Filius' office, pleading to have 'her baby' Ron sent back to the Gryffindor tower.

He only has to learn how to behave, Filius thought. To his regret this was a very big 'only'. One month among the Slytherins and he still did not have a single friend among them. According to Severus they weren't even willing to speak with him in a civil manner. His behaviour so far hadn't been helpful and especially the Slytherin girls apparently put him at the top of their shit-list. Four stays at the Hospital Wing, a large number of smaller injuries and pranks had been the result.

Yes, he was able to understand why Molly wanted him back to the Gryffindor tower. There he would be safe at least – at least as long as he learned to behave and restrain himself. After the second sorting of Ronald Weasley he had hoped that the boy would learn, that he would change. Severus hadn't believed that it would happen for a second and slowly Filius was willing to share that opinion.

"He's so unhappy, Filius. A few more weeks among them and I don't know what he'll do."

Filius frowned and narrowed his eyes. She wasn't really willing to play the 'suicide attempt' card, was she? The petite Headmaster grimaced shortly and sighed: "I'll think about it."

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Hogwarts – Charms Teacher's Office – 28th of June

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It was for the first time in a week that all family members were able to sit together and away from the Hospital Wing. Only this morning Poppy had allowed Daphne to leave her care, not without a lengthy lecture about how to behave in the next few days and telling her at least three times which potion she had to use how often. But Daphne had been willing to endure all of this without complaint, if only she was allowed to leave. She really missed her mother and grandma, and she missed Harry.

Now the teenagers were occupying Roxanne's sole couch, holding hands and grinning happily. In a sudden move Harry dragged her into his embrace, her head resting on his chest. Harry still couldn't believe that Snape of all people had been the one to rescue her from the effects of the snake poison. The Bezoar – while a very powerful antidote in itself – had only been able to slow the effect of Nagini's poison. Together with the potions Poppy had administered to Daphne, it had been enough to stall the effects until Snape created a special antidote. Daphne was still very weak and her arm hurt most of the time, but at least she was safe now.

"Two days until we go home, Daphne," Harry pressed her hand a bit.

"But tomorrow we'll have to say farewell to our guests first," Roxanne reminded them.

Daphne nodded. "It will be weird without them. They have only been here for a year and most of them were too old to spend time with, but still…"

"Yes," Harry agreed "it will be a little boring without them."

"I fear, it will never be boring," Agatha admonished him "with you around, Harry."

Harry's smile faltered a bit and he got more serious now, even a bit sad. "Do you think I'll ever have a year without any dangers, without madmen, beasts and dark curses? The past few years have been bad already but with 'his' return…"

All were quiet for a while. The news of Voldemort's return had been shocking – shocking at least to those who believed them. But if they expected that with this amount of testimonies it would be easy to convince the Ministry of the real events, they had been in for a bad surprise.

"He's full of fear," Agatha had explained after the unbelievable press conference of Minister Fudge. "He fears his return. He fears that he'll be the man who has to fight all of this. Fudge is an administrator and politician, he never was a fighter. At the moment he is like a little child – closing his eyes and telling the monster to go away."

The official declaration had been that a small group of fanatics had tried to re-establish the old order, and failed miserably. Crouch had been declared the – deceased – ring leader and the Aurors were searching for the fleeing rest. Not a word about a living Voldemort had been printed in the Daily Prophet and even the Quibbler had been more or less strong-armed to stay quiet about this. Luna's father wasn't allowed to print the truth if he wanted to keep his newspaper.

At least the capture of Pettigrew had been a flicker of hope. With Amelia Bones interrogating him in front of hundreds of spectators, there was no doubt that Sirius Black would be exonerated through the official investigation. The Deatheater had been imprisoned and he was now guarded by a carefully selected group of Aurors under Kingsley Shacklebolt's leadership. Sirius' trial – the first one as he never had been given a trial thirteen years ago – would be in a week. He would be free again.

"I have to train more," Harry suddenly stated. When everyone was staring at him he continued: "I was too weak. I had the chance to duel him and he was only playing with me. Without your Gryffindorish rescue party I would have died there."

"Do you really think that a bit of training would have changed that?" Roxanne stopped his interjection with a wave of her hand. "Harry, you're very talented and an extremely powerful wizard. In ten years I see you quite above all of us, even surpassing Ana. But none of us would have been able to defeat him alone. Even Ana was barely able to occupy him without being killed. And that was with Voldemort being in a weakened state. You did very well there on the cemetery, Harry. That you were able to fight after all of this was amazing enough. And your shields – without your protection Crouch would have killed me. That last Messorius spell of him was strong enough to simply shatter any normal shield I could have erected.

"Harry: You're right about needing more training. But the result can't be an 'improved-Harry', able to finish them all alone."

"Roxanne is right, you know," Agatha agreed. "We'll train you. You must be able to survive or even win a fight against someone like Crouch – or Lucius Malfoy. But you're not alone. You have been able – through the sacrifice of your mother – to defeat him once. You battled 'parts' of him twice since you entered Hogwarts. But you don't have to fight him alone the next time you'll meet him. You have friends and a family. Alone each of us is strong in his own way, but together… don't forget: Together we have been able to force him to flee. Next time we'll finish him off."

"I want to train on that link more, to share our power" Daphne calmly stated. "We have been able to enhance my Mindlink to Harry. We have been able to use this to protect our minds before. Perhaps we can use it in other ways too. Ana hinted at the possibility."

Roxanne and Agatha exchanged a weird look and frowned a bit. After a minute of silence Agatha slowly nodded: "We'll speak about this after your fifteenth birthdays. But in principle you're right."

Harry felt the urge to ask about that. He sensed that this could be very important for him. But something in Agatha's voice and expression told him that she was serious about stalling this until his next birthday. He could do this – wait a month. "And I want to learn Animagus magic," he changed the topic. Agatha smiled: "I'll teach you. And Neville too, if he still wants."

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Hogwarts – Courtyard – 29th of June

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It was time to say goodbye. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were gathering at the courtyard, with many of their new friends surrounding them. In a few minutes they would depart and Hogwarts would be 'British-only' once again.

"I'll watch her, I promise."

Fleur locked eyes with the girl for a long moment, before she slowly nodded, a small smile creeping on her lips. Hermione had become a good and trustworthy friend over the course of the last months. She would be a good friend to Gabrielle too, a good influence to her madcap of a sister, when she entered Hogwarts in a few months.

"I still don't like the idea of her being away from our home for so long, but perhaps my parents are right. Perhaps it will be good for her to discover life in another country for a while."

"And you'll be here too," Hermione added.

Fleur nodded again and sighed. Gringotts had offered her a job as a curse breaker – courtesy of Charlie's brother Bill. "But only for two years, until I have my initial training."

"I still can't believe that you're able to study under Old Ironsides' son," Hermione was delighted. "You really must have impressed her with your performance at the tournament."

"Maybe," Fleur smiled, not really certain how much it had been this and how much it had been Bill's frenetic recommendation. But she was more than happy about the result. She would study under Tremors, Ironsides eldest son and successor as Chief Curse-Breaker at Gringotts. After these two years – if all went well – they wanted to offer her a position at their branch in Romania. She would be near Charlie, Daphne sighed.

"She's still glaring," Daphne interjected with a malicious smile. She still didn't like the French teacher and had been more than content to hear about the repercussions of her behaviour at the tournament.

Fleur turned around and frowned. Mistress Ancuille was watching her with death in her eyes. Professor Poliakoff stood at her side, appearing to be not much happier. But at least he had only been scolded and fined for his lack of activity at the tournament. 'Soon to be ex'-Mistress Ancuille had no such luck. Hermione shrugged: "It's her own fault. It's not really clever to behave like that, to say things like that about Fleur, especially if everyone is listening thanks to the goggles."

"My mother was… unhappy." Fleur smiled evilly. She hadn't been pleased to hear about Ancuille and her unwillingness to heal her. But the icing on the cake was her string of curses and insults directed especially at Fleur's Veela-part. Stupid as she was, Ancuille apparently had forgotten that everyone – especially the Delacours and her Headmistress – were listening to her ramblings. And Headmistress Maxime didn't renew her contract – poor slob."

"You have to go," Hermione pointed towards Headmistress Maxime who started to gather her flock. She embraced the older girl. "Please write me this summer."

"I will. And I'll visit you on your Hogsmeade weekends." Fleur hugged her back. "Stay safe."

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"You don't have to feel guilty."

Tonks looked and stared into Harry's eyes. "Am I this transparent?"

Harry smiled weakly. "You seemed a bit sad, yes. But mostly I know how I would feel in your stead. I would think that this all is my fault, that I should have been more careful, and that I should have been able to see through his disguise. But you know what? Daphne and Hermione would knock some sense into my head, because those thoughts are stupid. Yes, you erred. But you tried to do your best. And you'll never repeat that error in the future. Merlin – Dumbledore himself was unable to see through his disguise. But now he is dead. None of us died and Daphne will be healthy again in a few weeks."

"But he's back." Tonks had been one of the few officials who had never doubted Harry's words about Voldemort's return. "He's back and many will die."

"And it's not your fault. He would have been able to abduct me anyhow. It's impossible to watch me 24/7. And even if you had been able to protect me – he didn't really need me for this. He only needed the blood of an enemy. If not me, it would have been someone else. He was able to cling to this side of the Veil somehow. He would have been able to return anyhow. Now it's our duty to defeat him again – preferably permanently."

"Can we do this? Defeat him permanently?"

Harry pondered about the question. There had been many discussions about how he had been able to return. Had the tiny part of his soul that he was wearing in his head to do with this? Was it the same with the snake? That both – Harry and Voldemort – bodily reacted to the snake's wounds was a grave giveaway. But these thoughts were not for everyone's ear at the moment. So he nodded after a while: "I'm certain. We'll find a way to destroy him – this time forever."

Tonks wanted to believe him. She put a hand on his shoulder. "You changed since I met you six months ago. You matured."

Harry grinned back. "The Pinegrew ladies did a fine job, didn't they?"

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Somewhere – at the same time

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"I'm displeased, Lucius."

The voice was cold and without emotions. The snake-like eyes narrowed as the inhuman figure stalked around the room, ignoring the pitiful sobs stemming from the man crumpled on the ground.

A full week Voldemort had stalled to call his followers to his new hideout. With Pettigrew captured, his knowledge in reach of the Aurors, he had to search for a new secure place. He had to leave behind the house of his family and found this place, god-forsaken ruins in the middle of nowhere. Quite a few Deatheaters had followed his call, but most of them were nothing more than muscles: Crabbe, Goyle, Avery and McNair as well as the Carrow twins had their uses. But he needed men with brains to further his plans. It was the only reason he hadn't killed Lucius Malfoy on the spot after he heard about how he lost his diary. His lieutenant hadn't known about the real importance of the book, but still it had been something given to him, trusted to his care, and he had dared to use it.

I have to check the other Horcruxes, he mused. But he had to be careful about it.

"Stand up."

Lucius Malfoy struggled to obey the command. Nobody was coming to his aid – not that he expected otherwise. He was Voldemort's right hand man, his most important follower until they freed Bellatrix Lestrange. It was an idea the Dark Lord had already mentioned. But this high position came with its own risks, the most important one being jealousy and the wish of his 'comrades' to see him fall.

"I'll need another Headquarter. Your Manor would do fine."

Lucius paled but there was only one possible answer. He bowed: "You honour me, Dark Lord. I'll prepare everything for your arrival."

"Will your wife be there, too?" There was a glint in Voldemort's eyes that sent shivers down Lucius' spine and caused evil grins on the faces of the other Deatheaters.

"No, Dark Lord. She'll be on vacation with our son over the summer. And after that she'll start at Hogwarts."

"Do you think it is appropriate for her to have a job?"

Lucius hadn't to turn around to know that it was Nott who had asked this. Since his son had been sent away to Durmstrang, he had been ill tempered. He hated everything about Hogwarts, but especially he hated the Grangers and the Pinegrews. And with Cyrus Greengrass close to him, it was no big step to hate Lucius Malfoy too – not to mention the fact that Nott had for years been eager to replace him.

"It's not simply a job. With all the changes at Hogwarts we thought it would be a good idea to have someone there, trustworthy, able to act in an intelligent way." He sneered at Nott: "Unlike some others." He addressed the Dark Lord. "She'll teach DADA next year. She'll be able to give detailed information about the potential of the students. And she'll have an eye on Severus."

"Severus, yes," Voldemort sighed uneasily. "Too bad how he changed. I was disappointed that he didn't follow my call."

"At least he isn't on Dumbledore's side," Lucius tried to placate him. "He hates the old goat even more than you do, Dark Lord. But I fear he's not trustworthy anymore. He wants to stay neutral, I suppose."

"Neutral," Voldemort smiled: "What a silly idea. Parkinson and Zabini want to be 'neutral' too. But there can't be such a thing. They have to be on our side or they'll be crushed."

"Yes, Dark Lord," Lucius bowed.

"And what about that friend of yours: Cyrus Greengrass?"

Nott hissed at the mention of the name, but Lucius smiled. "He's eager to be part of us. But perhaps it would be better not to give him the mark. His wife and mother-in-law made it quite clear that they wouldn't accept it. And we need them at the moment. Their connection to the Potter-boy is too valuable."

"We don't need him anymore," Nott interjected. "We should kill them. And Greengrass is obviously too weak if he allows his wife…"

"Crucio!"

Nott slumped to the ground, wriggling in pain. "I didn't ask for your opinion about this, Nott." He addressed Lucius again, nodding once. "Continue as planned, Lucius. Order your wife to watch Potter. And she is to befriend Roxanne Greengrass and Severus, her dear colleagues. I want to know where they stand in this war and how we can sway them to our side. And I agree: For now Cyrus Greengrass will remain without the Dark Mark. But tell him that I expect him to show a better grasp of his family in the future. I don't endure weaklings."

"Yes, Dark Lord. I understand." And Lucius really understood. This wasn't only addressed at Cyrus but at him as well. He had to make sure that Narcissa wouldn't stray afar too much.

"And now let us plan how to free our precious Bella."

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Somewhere in Muggle London – 2nd of July

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The "Scots' Cup" was a modest but elegant tea salon in the middle of Muggle London. Despite the superb tea and wonderful cake certainly not a location anyone would look for Narcissa Malfoy. But this exactly was the reason for her to choose it as a meeting place with Severus Snape.

"He's deeply dissatisfied with your behaviour of the last months, Severus." Narcissa took a small sip from her tea and watched her old friend. He looked far better than last year: More balanced and at peace, content with his life. And his voice was less snarky than usual. He even showed a small smile now, a smile, not a smirk.

"I know. I expected it even before… his return. Many things changed: The situation at Hogwarts, Dumbledore, my memory…"

Narcissa's eyes narrowed and she nodded slowly. "Roxanne told me about that. I think I would have killed him for doing that to me."

"Perhaps I will someday," Severus answered, not completely joking. "But I have to hurry, there is already a line of assailants waiting – some of them I wouldn't dare to step in front of."

"Agatha," Narcissa smiled.

"And Augusta Longbottom," Severus added. "She is really furious about the matter with her grandson. The only thing that saved Albus was the fact that the Pinegrews were able to correct Longbottom's condition."

"And he really improved that much?"

Severus sighed. "I'm certainly not Mister Longbottom's greatest fan, but I have to admit that he isn't the dunderhead he has been anymore. Another year with Miss Granger and I'm certain he'll even be able to make his dream come true: A NEWT in Potions in preparations for his Healer training."

"Ah, Miss Granger," Narcissa leaned back with a thoughtful expression. "Draco is speaking about her quite often – especially since both have entered your additional lessons."

"The lessons are a good opportunity for him to learn some self-control. He still has some problems to adjust to the changes."

"You mean," Narcissa asked "that you aren't favouring your Slytherins anymore."

"Yes," Severus agreed. "I still don't like Gryffindors, but that's because of the amount of hot-tempered rule-breakers among them. But now I'm able to teach and behave how I want to do – firm but fair, more or less. I won't allow anyone again to tell me otherwise."

"I'm really happy for you, Severus. I hope this won't change again through…" She hesitated.

"Have you seen him already?"

"No, Lucius has naturally but not I. He'll come to Malfoy Manor, intends to make it his Headquarters."

Severus held his breath for a moment. "You have to stay away then. You know how he is."

Narcissa nodded. "I will. In two days Draco and I will start a long vacation. We'll go to Greece, Italy and France – educational leaves. After that we'll stay at London until the new school year starts. I don't want Draco anywhere near him – or near his stupid father."

"You should leave him," Severus urged her with a soft voice. "He'll drag you down. The Dark Lord will lose – again. I have no doubts about that, not with the changes that happened. And Lucius won't be able to save his neck again this time."

Narcissa sighed. "I thought about it already, even spoke about… ways… with Sirius."

Severus grimaced at the mentioning of the name, but relaxed again. "He'll be free in a few weeks at most. And then… will he be the Head of House Black?"

Narcissa nodded. "Yes, he will. He was disowned, but his status as the potential Head of House Black never changed. His parents hoped till the end that he would see reason some day. With me and Andromeda married and Bella in Azkaban, he's the only one left. Perhaps there will be some trouble about the splitting of the inheritance, but he'll be Lord Black at the end of the year."

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"One more evening with Cyrus and I'll have to find a way to poison his whiskey," Narcissa groaned.

"This bad?"

"Worse," Narcissa sighed. "He's there every damned evening, behaving like a puppy, following Lucius around like he's some kind of bloody revelation." That she used a curse was a sure sign how much Cyrus grated on Narcissa's nerves.

Severus, who had been a relaxed conversation partner for the last hour, turned a bit sour now. He grimaced and obviously thought about something serious. That Narcissa was able to read his face only proved how troubled he was. "What's on your mind, Severus? Something about Cyrus?"

Severus nodded slowly. "I've been… dishonest, Narcissa, towards you but especially towards Roxanne. And I don't know how to correct it without making it worse."

"Tell me, Sev. Perhaps I can help you."

Severus sighed deeply. "I know something, something about Cyrus and Lucius. But if I tell Roxanne… I fear she'll overreact. I don't want to see her in Azkaban."

Narcissa paled a bit but tried to remain calm. "What could you know that… Severus, tell me."

Slowly he fetched some papers from his cloak and put them in front of Narcissa.

"I know these papers. This is the marriage contract between Draco and Astoria."

"You know the official contract, Narcissa, but not this one. Look at page four."

Slowly and carefully Narcissa began to read, her face more and more darkening. "This sum is far larger than the official one. How can he hope to ever pay this amount of money?"

"He can't." Severus answered plainly. "That's the reason he wants to engage Potter with Daphne. He hopes to get access to Potter's wealth. And the Goblins agreed to loan him money as soon as the engagement is official."

Narcissa nodded understandingly, but suddenly stopped. "Stop, Severus. This contract had been negotiated two years ago. Not even Roxanne knew about Harry's adoption back then."

Severus stayed silent and allowed Narcissa's mind to go on.

"He had other plans before, plans that had nothing to do with Potter." She stared intensely at Severus but the Potions Master tried his best to hold his expression under control. Suddenly Narcissa paled visibly. "No," she whispered. "You can't think… no. He wouldn't…"

"Cyrus has ambitions, Narcissa. Agatha didn't allow him to control the Pinegrew wealth or their seat a Wizengamot as he had hoped years ago. He has only one chance to accomplish his goals: Lucius. He more or less lost Daphne to her mother. Now only Astoria is important to him. He would do anything to ascertain the marriage between Draco and her – anything."

Narcissa ordered a Cognac and drank the spirit in one gulp. All the time Severus watched her in silence. He had been anxious to tell someone about this, but had never known how to begin. With this disclosure he started something serious, he knew that.

"And Lucius… he agreed with this plan?"

Severus shrugged. "At least he didn't complain. I think he would prefer another solution. That's certainly the reason why he's helping Cyrus with Potter now. But in the end…"

"I have to tell her, Severus."

"I know," Severus sighed. "She deserves to know."

"I'll think about it. I'll speak about it with her after my return. She'll be safe for the time now, don't you think?"

"I assume," Severus agreed.

Narcissa stared at the papers for a long time. "I can't believe it. You're really a bastard, Cyrus Greengrass."

"He deserves to die," Severus agreed, adding with a grin: "But without a trace."

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Pavilion of Potter Manor – 4th of July

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Only a few more days, Sirius Black mused. Only a few more days until all this will be over. I'll be free again, able to show my face openly. Free to spend time with Harry.

He liked this place, liked to spend time with Remus. But while this was a golden prison cage, it was still a prison.

I can't believe that Harry caught him. Pettigrew, bastard, traitor – I'll see you sent to Azkaban like you deserve.

While he didn't trust Fudge or Dumbledore, he trusted Amelia Bones. And that first interrogation already proved for many people, what really had happened thirteen years ago. Sirius grinned, as he thought of Roxanne and Hermione stopping the Minister himself. I'll have to get the girl some nice birthday present next September.

A scraping at the window called his attention to the owl seeking entry. Sirius frowned. Not many people knew where he lived. But the owl appeared familiar. He opened the window and allowed the bird to land on the table. Narcissa – this is Narcissa's owl. Patiently the bird allowed him to fetch the message and waited for a reply.

Dear Sirius, the letter started. Sirius smiled. Apparently Narcissa was still trying to get back into his good graces. But his smile faded as he continued to read. At the end he let the letter sank down and grimaced. Yes, Narcissa, I'll meet you. And then we'll make some plans. You'll be Narcissa Black again.

Sirius grinned evilly. Lucius will be fuming with rage. He had allowed Narcissa to take the position of the DADA teacher, certainly hoping to have an ear at Hogwarts, hoping to have someone to watch Snape, Roxanne and Harry. And now she was willing to leave him. He understood her reasoning. Narcissa had been thinking about this idea already months ago. And with Voldemort back it was only more urgent.

"Please wait a moment. I'll have an answer for you." The bird seemed to nod. "And perhaps you could deliver another letter too? I need to speak with Andromeda." He grimaced again. "It's time for a little war council of the Blacks."

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The Burrow

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Ron was a very happy young man. He was with his mother. He had more than enough to eat. And he was a lion again as he should be. Headmaster Flitwick had followed his mother's wishes and after the break he would get back his old bed.

Actually, I've been a lion the whole time, he thought happily. I only wasn't allowed to wear the colours. It was like an underground operation: show me how the snakes live.

Stuffing his food into his big mouth, he nodded happily. He would remember those weeks forever. The snakes had shown their true colours, proved that he had been right about them. Snakes were disgusting little bullies that loved to prank and hurt the sole lion in their midst.

I'll get my revenge, he grinned, some of his food dripping on the table without Ron noticing.

You'll pay for this, Slytherin.

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Pinegrew Manor – Harry's room – same time

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"Good night."

Harry placed a long kiss on Daphne's lips before she closed the door of her room. Like in a dream he walked towards his own, grinning like mad. The last days had been wonderful. Tomorrow would be the start of the trial. Roxanne had allowed Daphne and him some days of leisure until then. But soon enough the training would start – and only three more weeks until his fifteenth birthday.

With a happy sigh he entered his room and walked towards his bed. Then he sensed it. Something was wrong – no, not wrong but changed. He looked around. At first he didn't see it: His bed, his wardrobe, the painting, his… – the painting. Harry whirled around. He gasped. His parents… they weren't sleeping anymore. His father showed a soft smile and his mother – her happy eyes greeted him, the same eyes he saw every morning looking into the mirror.

"Hello Harry."

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A/N

This was the last real chapter of this story. I'll add a summary next week and after that I'll start the sequel "Harry Potter and the Congregation of the Asp". It will encompass his fifth year and be even more AU than this story. Hope to see you again.