What's a Little Death between friends?

by kathryn518

After the defeat of Voldmort didn't turn out quite like he envisioned, Harry stared into the Abyss preparing to prove something to himself, instead he tumbles into an experience he never expected, and he doesn't go alone.

2. Meals and Meetings

~Chapter 2~

What's a Little Death between Friends?

The flirting between Dora and Harry only grew in terms of how almost all subtlety departed their words and instead seemed to compete for just how vulgar their declarations became. They were oblivious to the rather disturbed looks that the few people out at this time gave them when they heard tiny portions of the conversation between the two time-travelers, nor would they have cared if they had noticed the looks.

At least until they were forced to.

"Harry, I don't think you understand just what I can do with my throa-" Tonks was saying as they stepped through the portal at the far end of Diagon Alley into the Leaky Cauldron, only to stop as she and Harry both saw what was in front of them.

They made it only one step into the inn proper when they were immediately recognized by everyone in the pub, causing a raucous set of applause to break out. The apparent 'late-night' crowd had been trading stories of both their deeds all day long, and now that the heroes of the hour were there in person, they wouldn't rest until each person present shook both of their hands.

Eventually, the younger version of Tom who was at the bar shouted to be heard, "Let the young couple have some space, folks! They didn't save all our lives today only to be mobbed here."

With those words, the suitably chastised crowd backed away and let Harry and Dora have some space to approach the bar. "Now, I assume you two want some food. If you're also staying, I can have it sent up to your room so you won't be disturbed."

He then leaned in close, "I'll also tell everyone you're in the 'VIP' room, then give you one on a different floor at the other end. Don't think I don't know that mad man wouldn't fall over himself now to get you both while asleep if word gets out you're here."

Harry nodded in thanks, but he would still be sure to place as many wards up on the room as possible once their food was in their hands.

"Room and food will be free tonight! We can't say again how much this all means to us that someone finally put that man in his place. Enjoy the VIP room," said Tom as he handed over a key which, like the man said, was not for the VIP room.

"Thank you," said both Harry and Dora simultaneously, and both were followed by every eye in the pub as they ascended the stairs up to where their lodgings were for the night.

The room was easy to find, at the end of the second floor, ensuring that the only people who would be travelling this far down the hall meant to enter their room, allowing Harry to put up wards to counter this. The moment they entered the room, Harry began casting the wards and leaving them open for the moment. He would tie them down the moment their food arrived so that they would essentially be impregnable until morning.

While Harry began casting the wards and prepared to hold them for however long it would take for their food to arrive, Dora disappeared immediately into the washroom. He heard the shower run and an extended amount of spell casting after she finished, but she never came out.

Twenty minutes after they arrived at the room, and five minutes after Harry finished preparing his protective wards for the night, there was a sharp knock suddenly on the door. Harry, ever the cautious one, performed a "Homenum Revelio" charm to ensure there was at least one person and only one person, beyond the door before he even approached it to look through the eye hole. Seeing Tom himself there with a large cart laden with multiple dishes of food, Harry quickly opened the door and ushered him inside.

"Here you go, sir," Tom said as he placed all of the food on a corner table and took the lids off of each dish that had been brought. Three pitchers of liquids were added, one being hot water for tea, another of what appeared to be pumpkin juice, and a third of wine already aerated and ready for consumption.

"Thank you again, please enjoy the meal," he said quickly as he walked out and shut the door behind him.

Instantly Harry began casting, tying every ward he could down to the bed itself as it was the sturdiest object in the room and the furthest away from the door. As he was tying down the multiple strands of spells, he heard the door to the bathroom open, and the soft footfalls of Dora behind him, which stopped only a few feet away out of his sight.

Thirty seconds later, he finished the wards, effectively locking them both inside a temporary impregnable fortress which would take someone of Dumbledore's or the Dark Lord's skill at least twenty minutes to brute force their way through, or even longer to sneak by the dozens of alarms and traps laden over the entire latticework.

He let his shoulders drop, the tension leaving them as the wards fully left him to settle on the bed. He took a deep breath and signed, forcing out the tension that had had slowly built over the course of the day and let him to this moment.

His mind, wanted to ponder what had happened. It wanted to make plans and contingencies for all the possible actions that the Dark Lord, the Ministry, and Dumbledore could make now that he was a mostly unknown player on the chessboard of Magical Britain.

But Nymphadora Tonks, now known as Theodora Nimue to the people of the 1970's, had entirely different plans for the moment.

Harry turned around, only for both his mental and physical motions to halt halfway as his eyes locked on to Dora's form.

Her absolutely nude form.

Throughout the entire day, Dora had remained someone subdued from her normal extravagant self. Say whatever you would about her normal self-control, when she felt she was 'on the clock' Dora was quite serious about her work. As she was on duty when she tumbled into the Veil with him, she never quite left that mindset. Which meant a rather normal looking 'morph' was used on her body, and her hair was a rather flat looking dark brown that hung to her shoulders.

Now though, she had blazing hot pink hair cropped an inch from her head on one side, while lengthening as it went to the other side of her head, long enough to get the back of her neck and partially over her eye. That was the was the first thing that caught his eyes. The second, was the hot pink lightning bolt seen above her perfectly visible and puffy nether lips. Her breasts, which had been quite modest for the majority of the day when she wasn't trying to tease Harry, were now scandalously large, approaching the size of a melon with each massive mound.

She sauntered towards him, her breasts nearly overbalancing her as they bounced. As she reached him, she reached up to kiss him, only to find herself lifted up into the air and thrown against the nearby wall by Harry as he felt him finally begin to lose control of the urges that plagued him almost every time he laid eyes upon the beautiful woman now pressed against his body.

Before she could make a sound, Harry smashed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he hoisted her into the air by her the back of her upper thighs, Her feet locked behind his back as soon as they were able as he drove multiple fingers from one hand into her slickened love canal and rubbed her clit with the other.

Suddenly though, all those reservations and worries slammed into him again. He slowly withdrew his fingers from Dora's dripping snatch, settling for merely cupping her thighs to keep her still securely in the air and against the wall.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" he felt himself suddenly ask.

All the nightmares of letting the remnants of the Dark Lord's soul fragment consume him seemed to slam all at once into him. He wasn't kidding about wanting to take her. He wanted to plunder every hole in her body, to make him scream his name the entire night, and when she could go no further, when she could barely lift herself from the soaking bed they would have despoiled with their lewd acts….

… he fully intended to then take her at least one more time.

Dora, who had been in a heightened sense of bliss as Harry finally seemed ready to act upon the months of hard work she had put into this moment, narrowed her eyes and pushed Harry back slightly, allowing her feet to drop to the floor.

She poked him, forcefully in the chest and said in a steady voice, "Harry… I am not Ginevra Weasley, who freaks out because her storybook hero, the one that her mother brainwashed her into thinking you are, doesn't kiss her in a chaste, fairytale, and outright prudish way. Then, when he doesn't act the way she expects him to after a war, a war that she, at worst, had a few detentions that went bad, suddenly yells at him for thinking that he's not the same man."

Harry's eyes darkened, he didn't know that Dora had known the real reason their relationship had fragmented.

"You aren't going to break me. You aren't going to hurt me… well… not in a way I don't want," she grinned impishly as she thrust her bare chest out a bit.

Harry's eyes darkened further, and Tonks was thrilled to see they were from lust. She only needed a little more to push him over the edge and she'd be walking bow legged for days.

Well, at least until she spent half a second and morphed the injuries away she's incur from hours of him pounding away at her. There were plenty of reasons for her to love her powers, and she was about to go through most of them like a wizarding Karma Sutra.

"I certainly hope you bite on occasion," she whispered as she drew closer, her arms raising up again to wrap around his neck, drawing his eyes deliberately to her chest which rose along with her arms.

"You have no idea what you're playing with," he warned one final time.

"I do know what I'm playing with. I know you. I want you. Stop hiding from what you want," Tonks whispered as their noses drew only a few centimeters apart. A sultry look passed over her eyes. "Fuck me, Harry!"

A slow smile crossed Harry's face, and Tonks had only an instant of warning before Harry stepped forward again. She let out a gasp as he grabbed her hair and pulled her forward into a violent kiss.

A moment later, he broke away and commanded, "Grow your hair longer, now!"

Dora shuddered at the command, flushing in arousal as she instantly obeyed, and he changed his grip on his hair so that he could more securely grip her head in his hand. His other hand dropped to twist one of her erect nipples in his hand.

They dueled tongues for a moment before he shifted his head and dove at her ear. He bit down on her earlobe, his hot breath loud and rushed in her ear as he said, "Take off my pants."

Her arms dropped from his neck and down to the buckles of his dragon skin pants. They fumbled for only a moment before it was unclasped and pulled out. Almost as if she was panicking she wasn't doing it fast enough, she twisted and turned as she pulled apart each button of the front of the crafted trousers.

She was about to reach into them to grip her prize when Harry decided he didn't like that plan.

"On your knees," he grunted as he gave one last lick of her jawline before he looked into her eyes to see if she'd follow him.

Her eyes widened only momentarily, before she gave a lusty smirk and fell down to her knees before him. She removed his thick combat boots, something she had long since convinced him were far more comfortable and protective than the flimsy old-world style shoes of the Wizarding World. Returning to his waist, she slowly peeled down his trousers, leaving his boxers in place.

Pulling his legs out one by one, she was left nude before him while he was in only his boxers. She seemed to toy with him now, leaning in close and breathing deeply while she rubbed her cheek along the outside of his groin, all while running an open palm up and down his obviously erect cock through the cotton fabric.

After a few moments of teasing him, he grunted in annoyance. She looked up, morphing her eyes to be slightly bigger and giving her a faux-innocent look that fooled no one.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked as she continued to stroke him through his boxers.

"Oh," said Dora, batting her eyelashes. She sat up a bit, and if it was possible, her breasts became even more massive as she squeezed his cock between them through her boxers. "You haven't told me what you want next, Hero."

Harry groaned as the feeling of her tits began to undulate and vibrate, felt keenly through even his last remaining article of clothing. The feeling was out of this world, and likely something only Dora could accomplish due to her abilities.

The look of false confusion never left her face, even as her breasts fell away, returning to their only slightly exaggerated size equaling her head. It was only as she leaned her head down, her eyes returning to normal and the devious taunting shined through perfectly as she morphed her tongue to twice its normal size and licked the entire span of his still hidden length while never breaking eye contact with Harry.

His hand suddenly found her still lengthened hot pink hair and pulled slightly on it. Her eyes, still focused on his, continued to look up at his face, awaiting a command which he gladly gave, "Suck me, Tonks."

The smile seemed radiant on the beautiful older woman, who pulled down his boxers without even looking at them, not even batting an eye as his hardened length fell down and grazed her cheek as it slightly bounced in freedom.

She gripped it firmly with one hand, and licked the side of his shaft directly, once again, never breaking contact with his eyes.

Finally, she backed off, positioning the tip on her chin as she looked up and said, "I thought you'd never ask, Harry."

He couldn't hold his eyes open as she dove down on his length, causing him to groan in pleasure as his head leaned back as his back arched involuntarily at the sudden feeling of half of his cock vanishing into her warm mouth.

-o0o0o-

Harry stretched slightly. He only briefly considered that the day's events had been a dream. That was quickly dismissed as his entire body felt… well-worn and he felt the person right next him. His eyes opened and he realized Tonks was curled up on her side and pressed against Harry, her head resting on Harry's arm.

Harry smiled a bit seeing the contented smile on Tonks face as she slept completely insensate. He gently slipped out from under her and she let out a soft sound that seemed as much about taking her warmth, and disturbing her comfort as anything.

Harry slipped off the bed, it was still late, or early judging by the light, or lack thereof coming in through the window. He left the bedroom for the bathroom still naked as he stepped into the shower provided in the room. He did slide his wand holster back on.

It wasn't paranoia if they were out to get you.

He was honestly a little bit surprised that there had been no attempts at reprisal from any of the Dark Lord's minions. But his wards remained undisturbed. He was aware that most of the Dark Lord's minions barely seemed to think, much less act without being directed by their master.

He focused on not thinking as the water washed over him, just cleaning up from a very active day. Twenty minutes later slipped back out in the room, wrapped in a towel

A glance over at Tonks showed that she hadn't so much as twitched since he left the room.

Harry opened the window with a light push. It was a clear and relatively warm night as he breathed the fresh air. Harry stared up at the stars as he let himself think.

He was coming to terms with the fact that this wasn't a dream or a delusion. His overly logical side was forced to concede that there was still the remote possibility it was a hallucination or that he was lying in a hospital bed somewhere much like the Longbottoms had been.

However if that were the case, it was a damn good delusion and one in which he'd just thoroughly fucked a metamorph who very closely seemed to live up to her original namesake.

No, not that bad of a delusion at all.

So he had decided to take it at face value for the moment. He was honest enough to admit that he had reacted to the unexpected situation fairly well. He had thrown the Peverell name simply to hide his origins because he had the Hallows, and Dumbledore was right there in his mind.

He had not expected the rest. In some ways it left him a number of options, in others it opened up a whole new set of them. Harry had learned from experience that meddling with time could create unintended consequences.

Unfortunately he had already done so. Massively so, in fact

He could already count at least five major changes to the timeline caused by one day in this time. The man who was being tortured by the Dark Lord hadn't died. Harry wasn't positive the man had died in their own time. But given that his continued existence was due completely to Harry, he was relatively certain that was the case.

The rest he was positive hadn't happened. Tom had lost his arm and his wand. The head of the Lestrange family dying from a lethal curse from the nascent Dark Lord, and himself claiming the headship of three legendary families.

Ted Tonks injury also had been prevented, though how major a change that had been, Harry was less certain.

With all the changes, Harry was certain the damage had already been done, they could only make the best of it going forward. The only question became… what should they do now? If anything.

He said 'they' without thought. Tonks was now with him, irrevocably bound to him through any choice he made going forward. He wasn't going to let her go.

Yet another reason he was different from the Dark Lord, despite so much of the man's knowledge being in his head. The Dark Lord wanted power and control over others, and yes that was definitely something that had changed Harry from the soul fragment in him.

However the Dark Lord would've cast Nym aside at the first convenient opportunity, or when she could no longer be used to further his aims.

Harry was different. While he still wanted power and control, Nym was his. He valued her. He wasn't going to let anyone touch her, much less hurt her. The thought of someone doing so brought thoughts of extreme retribution.

Right now though, Harry couldn't ponder such an act, only beyond knowing that the Dark Lord would sneer at him for being weak for keeping such a 'hindrance' around.

He glanced over at Tonks, still asleep after their nightly exertions, then remembering how strong she had been during the fight the previous day. He gazed at her for a few moments before he turned his attention back out at the night sky with a satisfied smile on his face. No… not by any stretch of the imagination could she be considered weak

Harry lightly tapped his fingers on the window as his minds once more considered things. He had confronted the Dark Lord on impulse.

But he had won, luck potion influenced or not.

He'd won the fight. And not only beaten the dark lord but had taken his wand… and his arm… and then practically to rub salt in the wounds, even if he hadn't intended to do so, took the Lordship Tom had always desired and fraudulently claimed to be heir of.

Of course, that also now meant that he had a pissed off Dark lord who would be beyond homicidal with anger.

Yes, because he was so unfamiliar with that state of affairs.

He searched his mind, his extremely limited knowledge of history useless, so as he had so often lately, he searched the Dark Lord's knowledge and experience. Harry was damn sure the events of the day had never happened in the previous timeline

Harry's possession of the Dark Lord's wand was proof of that. So things had already changed.

Taking into account all the differences that had already been initiated, Harry's mind tried to take stock of what the war was like at this point in time and make plans and contingencies.

Plans to fight.

Plans, more importantly, to win.

Harry had a vague outline of what to do next. He wanted to get his hands on at least one of Tom's Horcruxes.

The problems were that none of them were exactly easily accessible at the moment. Based on Tom's memories, and if everything was the same, Harry knew that right now the diadem was in place, which was in Hogwarts.

Sneaking in under Dumbledore's nose… probably not the best idea.

The diary should already be in Lucius Malfoy's possession, as his father had died mysteriously the previous year, and Lucius had been rewarded protection of the book after a year of diligent service and the chaos he had sown in the ministry.

The locket wouldn't be in the cave until after Regulus had graduated Hogwarts, also in 1980.

Hufflepuff cup was given to Bellatrix Lestrange after their wedding and marking, ceremonies that happened on the same day almost two years from now, something which may not even happen now thanks to the death of the Lestrange family head.

The snake wasn't even made until 1994.

The ring was a possibility, but the curse Tom had put on that ring would almost certainly require a sacrifice, since it could only be picked up by a wizard and the curse on the ring would infect whoever touched it.

He wanted to get his hand on at least one of the Horcruxes, though he preferred to have his hands on more. It wasn't that he thought he could end the Dark Lord by having possession of them. But the Dark Lord's research had turned up some interesting possibilities about how magic could affect all the pieces.

Magic that Dumbledore would never have researched into. Magic able to affect the soul. With Tom's memories and his own clarity of thinking Harry had some ideas about that.

His thoughts were interrupted by Dora's voice intruding, "Mm… Harry?"

He turned back to the bed and saw Dora staring at him. It was highly distracting, the way she looked at him.

If a professional photographer had set up the shot, Harry doubted a more sensual and desire-inducing position could be found for just how she lay now on the bed. She had kicked the covers mostly off of her, leaving the white sheet to cover only small portions of her long toned legs.

Her pointed and curled toes stuck out from under a pile of covers at the end of the bed, increasing the illusion of legs going on for miles. She lay upon the pillow while on her side, her still pink hair relaxed and flayed out randomly, looking delightfully tousled

The extravagant morphs she had placed upon her chest had receded, leaving them at a much more human yet still quite substantial size that pressed against the arm that lay underneath them.

Her toned and completely taut stomach moved in and out slightly with each breath, the shadows from the light that shined in from the outside perfectly outlining her abs that could have been morphed there, but more than likely had been earned through hours of hard work and dedication But it was, even despite the almost divine beauty that was on display, her face that he locked his gaze upon.

It was that expression that hammered all of Harry's doubts away with one blow. There was devotion and lust there. But there was also acceptance… and, much to his shock, adoration and love.

No one had ever looked at him like that before. But he realized her look hadn't really changed from before they fell through the Veil. The only thing that had shifted was the intensity.

He had given into his impulses, he had stopped worrying about the guilt or what anyone was thinking. The impulses that he had partially chalked up to selfishness, and therefore the Dark Lord's influence, Merlin knew he had practically been indoctrinated that he didn't deserve good things, and to be self-sacrificing in the extreme.

Sex with an attractive metamorph who obviously wanted him just as badly as he did, was obviously a good thing, and thus something he had been indoctrinated to avoid. He had gone against that. He had done what he wanted. Taken what he wanted, and this was the result.

It was a heady feeling and something about it settled the last fleeting bits of Harry's self-doubt. No, he wouldn't change a thing about the decisions he had made thus far.

In fact, it was about time to repeat them.

Tonks' expression turned to concern, "Harry? Is everything alright?"

"Everything…. is great." Harry grinned in response and moved toward her, dropping the towel around his waist on the ground.

Her expression turned into one of excitement, causing her to lean back on the pillows behind her, and part her legs, inviting him towards the exact destination he intended to go anyways, which was the only response that he needed.

-o0o0o-

Because of the rather long day, as well as the night's activities… and another round that morning, Harry and Nym didn't get out of bed until nearly eleven the next morning.

A quick note dropped outside the door to Tom brought them a large brunch which they had both devoured. They had to dress at least a little as the food had arrived.

Harry had thrown on pants that he pulled from a mokeskin pouch. His year on the run left him prepared for such things. He had removed a shirt to wear as well, but Nym had snagged it from him and slid it on, wearing only a pair of panties beneath it.

It was a slightly longer shirt so it fell to her mid thighs and preserved her modesty. They had just finished and Nym had curled back up against Harry's side, though this time they were both sitting up. She was reading with him as he perused The Prophet, which Tom had provided.

"I've never been in the Prophet, much less front page before," Nym observed with a grin.

Indeed they were front and center with a bold picture showing the two of them kissing. She was even a bit more smug than usual since it was just as Ted Tonks had predicted the day before.

"They're calling me a boy again." Harry groused in contrast to Tonk's expression.

The headlines were large and bold "A New Hope? Boy Defeats Dark Lord in Diagon Alley! Claims Headship of Three Ancient Families! "

The article seemed to recap the events of the day before in great detail.

What was somewhat surprising to even Harry was that they seemed to devote nearly the same amount of space to the fact that he had fought and beaten back Voldemort as they did the announcement that he had claimed headship of three families thought lost to myth and legend.

He and Tonks both laughed at portions of the latter article. There were several wild theories and speculation as to the circumstances behind his parentage and where he might have been hiding.

Mostly though there was intensive analysis of what it might mean that suddenly the head of three ancient houses once more had ascended to prominence.

"They keep calling me your betrothed," Nym said quietly though abruptly.

Harry had noticed that and hadn't drawn attention to it, but something in her voice drew his attention.

She was looking up at him tremulously, while Harry just raised an eyebrow curiously as he met her gaze.

"I'm... sorry." she apologized. When he didn't say anything, or react beyond keeping the same curious look on his face, she continued.

"I didn't mean to presume and I wasn't really thinking about how it would get spread so quickly. But my parents were right there and I had just talked to my Mum and Dad and saw myself. And we're really in the freaking past! You seemed to have a plan and I just didn't want them to separate us or anything. So I just blurted out the first thing that came to my mind."

She barely took a breath and forged on. "You're the only one in this time who knows me or anything and I don't even know where to start planning how to deal with all this without buggering it up."

"Dora, I-" Harry started to say only to get cut off.

"And I swear I'm not trying to get you marry me, not that I don't want to, but I don't want you to think that I think that one night of shagging, even if it was the best night of my life, means I'm expecting we have to get married. I mean even before we got here I was trying to work up the nerve to ask you on a date but don't want to assume. I don't think you'd just abandon me but we could always say we called it off without too much of a scanda-"

Harry's puzzlement at Nym's babbling had quickly turned to amusement as she continued to talk. However, he could tell by the way her hair was rapidly flicking through colors how she truly was agitated and upset.

He placed a finger over her lips cutting her off.

She quieted instantly, though she couldn't resist giving his finger a kiss.

He looked in her eyes, and he didn't need to use legilimency. Her heart was in her eyes as well as all her hopes and fears.

After a few moments, he began to speak. It was a quiet and firm voice that commanded all of Dora's attention, "Nym. I don't know how the Veil leads to this moment in time. But we are here together. I trust precisely one person in this world and she's the one currently wearing my shirt and curled up against me."

"In case last night didn't make my point. Allow me to make it crystal clear so there is absolutely no misunderstanding." He traced a finger over her cheek, "Nym, you are mine."

He enjoyed the way she blushed and smiled shyly at the same time.

"I'm not going to allow anyone to try and make a claim on you. Other men can look at you, undress you with their eyes, or even hit on you," Harry chuckled a little bit, before his voice took on a hard edge, "So long as they're just looking and not seriously touching, I don't care."

"Of course the same thing applies to you," Harry, said, his voice hardening slightly.

"What's that?" Nym asked, an amused smile on her face.

"Look all you want, but no serious touching," Harry said, curling a lock of her hair around his finger and tugging gently on it.

"I'm a flirt by nature," Nym said slowly, despite the shiver of pleasure at the possessiveness in his voice. Her personality had always irritated the boyfriends in her past.

"Oh I'm well aware of that." Harry grinned slightly, "I encourage you to be yourself. Flirt and tease to your heart's content. You've got it, flaunt it."

"But you are mine. No other man will ever be allowed to have you," Harry said, his voice taking on an edge, "If they lay an unwelcome hand on you, they best not be worried about remaining attached to said hand."

Nym shivered slightly at the possessiveness in his voice. She knew he was serious, and that excited the hell out of her. A slow smile crossed her face. She didn't have to constantly check herself. She could tease and flirt, and wouldn't be told to be more reserved or to be more proper or have to suffer irritated looks or scolding later. Inwardly she smirked, Harry never said anything about women. She knew him well enough that he probably wasn't thinking that way, but she'd keep that little tidbit in her back pocket for the future.

"I can agree to that," she said softly, looking up at him.

Harry's smirk turned into a much wider smile, "In that case, the only question left in my mind is how quickly we can make it official."

Nym grinned wide at that, she didn't need to ask if he was serious. His expression told her all she needed to know.

Harry's eyes twinkled as he grinned wider, watching her expression "And as it only requires a marriage contract being signed, and two witnesses. I thought that assuming our meeting with them goes well, though I don't want to tell them… of our origins… perhaps Ted and Andromeda Tonks might agree to be witnesses."

He negligently gestured to the other letter they had received that morning. It had apparently been hand delivered to Tom by Ted Tonks and it was an invite from the Tonks family for Harry and Nym to have dinner with them the following day. The letter may have been delivered by Ted Tonks, but Nym recognized her mother's handwriting, not to mention the formal writing and invitation, in an instant.

Nym barely thought about the letter as she gasped softly and her smile blossomed across her face as she reached forward and grabbed his head and pulled him down to kiss him hungrily. She knew they wouldn't really know the significance of it, but having her parents there and signing as witness to their union... it meant the world to her.

Harry smiled and pulled her up on his lap, indulging in the kiss for several minutes as he held her close. The kiss continued for quite some time as Harry caressed Nym's legs slowly.

Finally the kiss broke apart and he found her looking up into his eyes once more.

"What do we do now?" Nym asked quietly, her bright smile fading into a contented one as she pressed her body close to his.

In response, Harry let his hand drop and run along the side of her abdomen before lifting up the bunched up shirt she wore, and immensely enjoyed the look on Dora's face when his hand brushed the cleft between her legs and he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She lightly flicked a few fingers across his chest, but didn't even acknowledge the hand that was still between her legs, "I meant after our next round of hot monkey sex is over. Where do we go from here?"

Harry paused, once more her faith in him was more than a bit startling. It was clear that she expected him to have the plan and make the decisions, and that she would follow whatever path he chose. So he laid out exactly what he had in mind thus far, all while continuing to absent-mindedly rub her sex.

"Now? We find some way to get our hands on the horcruxes the Dark Lord made," Harry said, his tone certain. "I know where three of them are currently. All three present different challenges."

"What challenges?" Nym asked quietly, her breathing coming in controlled deep breaths trying to focus despite Harry distracting her quite effectively.

"One is currently in Hogwarts, where the Dark Lord thinks he's the only person to have ever discovered the room he put it in," Harry answered. "He's wrong, and it doesn't really have any other protections on it. Just the idea that no one else would stumble on it. Simple security through obscurity."

"But it's in Hogwarts, and getting in and out again will be more than a little challenging," Nym responded, biting her bottom lip as she continued to squirm.

"Nothing that can't be easily handled though. The second one is hidden in a shack. But it can't be moved by anyone but a wizard, and has a curse on it that will infect anyone who touches it." Harry idly curled a lock of her hair around the fingers on the hand that wasn't distracting her and tugged gently on it, "At the moment I do not know a counter to the curse."

"One is currently possessed by Lucius Malfoy. I have to assume somewhere in his family manor. And their family protections and wards..." Harry scowled at that, before he trailed off as a memory came to him regarding the wards on Malfoy Manor.

He started to laugh softly.

"What is it?" Nym asked at his sudden mood shift, likely because his slow massage of her nether region had ceased because of it.

Harry grinned at her, "Oh… Tom Riddle was a paranoid bastard."

"Right now he's never in the same place for long. Too worried about betrayal from the 'old guard' of purebloods. Its part of why he focused so much recruiting the younger ones." Harry explained.

"Okay…" Nym responded, still not quite following.

"Well, while I don't know where he's staying. I do know that in places he stayed where he was able, he added his own magic to the wards. Supposedly to strengthen them, which to be fair, he did… but he also left himself a backdoor. A way for him to slip in."

"A way that was simply a Parseltongue password, with no magical signature recognition trips." Harry chuckled darkly. "We ought to be able to get in, and get out."

"When?" Nym asked, staring at him.

Harry tilted his head, in consideration "Tonight possibly. I hurt the Dark Lord, but I know of several rituals he could use to replace his arm. Even if I have his wand, he will be searching for a suitable replacement. I want to strike while the iron is hot."

Nym tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and nodded at that. "Alright, sounds like date night is off the table tonight."

"Ideally I'd like to get my hands on all three pieces," Harry mused quietly, "If only to make sure he doesn't get even more paranoid and move their locations."

"And then what? You can end the Dark Lord?"

"No, he has at least two others right now. That he keeps close to himself and tends to move them around. Much like he himself does. He rarely stays in the same place for long." Harry's brow scrunched together as he considered, "I hope once I get my hands on I might be able to use them to somehow affect Riddle from afar."

"But more than likely, judging by how things played out last time, it'll take a few years before he gets comfortable enough with his protections that he places those in semi-permanent homes." Harry summed up with an irritated sigh. "And if we make enough changes like we did today, they may never go there in the first place."

Tonks nodded slowly, before she grabbed his wrist and got him to start fondling her again, "So, easy stuff first. We'll need, a way into Hogwarts. Anything else?"

"Well… we have to figure out what to do about the fallout from yesterday." Harry answered, shifting his free hand to cup her breast and press into her lips for a brief but passionate kiss. "Right, we need to find a safe place to stay. This place won't do any longer. Riddle is sure to attack again soon, or more than likely, send his minions to do so."

They were both quietly musing on their thoughts, Harry's fingers lightly grazing the center, sides, and top of her chest along with continuing to rub her bare nether lips. They were both distracted as a small paper seemed to soar through the lock of the room and hover in front of them.

Harry reached up and snagged the short range messaging spell "Hm. A bit faster than I expected." Harry mused as he read the message.

"What's that?" Nym peeked over his arm. "Tom says Dumbledore is here, and would like to meet with us."

Nym nodded a little bit, barely acknowledging him as Harry's fingers continued to roam deeper inside of her, "Hardly that surprising, I'm actually surprised he didn't corner us yesterday after we left the bank for more information."

She looked up at Harry, "Are we going to tell him?"

There was no need for Harry to ask what she was asking about. Once more he was a bit amazed at just how much she was looking up to him to make the decision.

"No," Harry replied almost immediately. He had considered that the night before. He didn't think of the old man as his nemesis or enemy but at the same time…

"We've seen what happens if we let things play out Dumbledore's way. We're going to do things my way. So hopefully no matter what happens we aren't treated to a sequel in twenty years or so."

He chuckled, and removed his hand, placing each of his fingers in his mouth in full display of Dora, who actually moaned at the sight. He laughed again, then with a brief wave of his wand upon the small piece of parchment, the ink changed the message to extend an invite up to Dumbledore to come up and join them, as he preferred not to be overheard.

Nym sighed and pushed away a little bit, sitting back on her haunches letting her shirt drop back down, "I suppose I better get dressed then," She moved to get up only to have Harry's arm snake around her waist and pull her back in close to him.

"Why?" He asked with amusement on his face as he sent the return message spell with a wave of his wand.

"Harry, the Headmaster is coming up!" Nym eyes widened as she regarded him with confusion.

Harry grinned able to read the embarrassment and disbelief on her face, but he also could read a flash of excitement there.

"So?" She gasped a bit only to be cut off as Harry's lips captured hers.

She couldn't help but let out a soft purr of pleasure even as a thrill went down her spine. Really for the first time someone wasn't telling her to be more demure. To cover up, to blend in or hide. She loved her family, but stifling everything that had comprised Tonks' boisterous personality had been one of the main goal of every authority figure she had ever encountered while she had been growing up. And despite all of her various romantic relationships, most of the men she had thought to pursue attempted to do the same thing.

Harry was doing just the opposite and she couldn't deny the pure thrill she was getting from it. She lost herself in the kiss, and Harry only relinquished her lips when there was a knock on the door to their room. He leaned back and gave her a mischievous smirk.

Gave her no time to say anything before he called out "Come in!"

There was only a moment's hesitation and the door opened. Tom the Bartender came in leading a Dumbledore who today was wearing dark blue robes

Tom stopped in the room and seemed startled, "Oh, I'm sorry I thought your message meant you were ready to meet."

Tom's face was only slightly redder than the Headmasters', although that could easily be due to the man's beard hiding his blush. Harry just shook his head and waved off the apologies, looking unbothered, "We are. How can we help you Headmaster?"

"Oh... um. Right okay. I'll just leave you to it," Tom spoke up, looking very flustered at their state of undress quickly departed.

"Are you certain you would like to talk now? I don't mean to impose on you," Dumbledore asked, his tone was also more than a little surprised, but recovering quickly from the initial shock at their state of dress..

"No imposition at all, Headmaster. What can we do for you?" Harry inclined his head and squeezed Nym around the waist, he could feel that she was a bit embarrassed at being caught in such a state, but enjoyed the Harry putting her in this position, pushing her boundaries rather than her doing the same to him.

He was inwardly amused at Dumbledore's response, the older wizard seemed so unflappable most of the time that this reaction wasn't one he expected. The man always seemed to control every confrontation and conversation he had, so it was interesting to see him off-balance for once. Even more to know that so far, Harry was the one controlling this encounter, despite the Headmaster initiating it.

"Please Mr. Dumbledore, have a seat," Harry gestured at the empty chair on the opposite side of the little loveseat they'd made to eat their breakfast on.

Dumbledore seemed to gather his control as he nodded genially and sat down.

Harry waved his wand and was inwardly impressed that the Headmaster didn't so much as flinch since there was no forewarning of him doing so, and he knew that he was still twitchy around people with wands. But Harry just silenced and protected the door.

"So, what can we do for you Mr. Dumbledore?" Nym just settled her cheek on Harry's shoulder and regarded him with a curious expression.

"Ah yes, Mr. Peverell," Albus began.

"Please call me Harry," the dark haired wizard interjected.

"Then please call me Albus," Dumbledore responded.

Harry dipped his head in acknowledgement.

Dumbledore's eyes fell on the prophet, discarded next to the pair, "I see you have already seen this morning's news and that the two of you are front and center."

"I thought it was a rather flattering picture," Harry replied, his tone one of amusement, "Not to mention a pleasant article all around."

"Yes, well, it was quite the day, all around," Dumbledore responded with a small shake of his head, "However I came here on rather important business. I realize I was extremely remiss yesterday and hoped to talk to you."

"Remiss in what?" Harry responded,

"The man you defeated yesterday, he is not known for letting bygones be bygones. He is rather vindictive for the smallest perceived slight," Dumbledore began to explain in a serious voice, only to be interrupted by Harry's less than serious one.

"Are you worried he's going to sue me for assault?" Harry asked with twinkling eyes, "If it comes to that, I'm sure the nice chap and I can reach an out of court settlement."

Dumbledore shook his head, not being baited into an amusing back and forth, "Hardly, he has a much more direct approach with people who tend to fall on his bad side. I daresay that you have done far more than that."

"That's implying he has a good side. He doesn't. But I'm not afraid of his 'bad' side," Harry's expression barely changed but somehow all amusement drained from his face and the smile became a cold one, "I can also be somewhat vindictive toward people who find themselves on mine. Fairly safe to say that he, and many of his friends from yesterday, managed to find themselves firmly entrenched there."

"That may be, but you have insulted him in a way no one else has," Dumbledore looked troubled as his fingers stroked his beard, "I daresay, even I have not earned his ire in such a manner."

"What can I say?" Harry smiled. "It's a natural talent."

Tonks smiled salaciously, "That's not his only talent."

Harry looked down at her and spoke in a faux-whisper voice, "No giving away secrets, love."

Tonks looked stunned for a moment at the term of endearment, before she smiled brilliantly, leaping up to kiss Harry on the cheek.

Harry smiled in genuine amusement before he looked seriously at Dumbledore, "Albus, I'm well aware he's going to be upset by the loss of his arm, and wand. Though I'd give even odds he's more upset about losing the latter than the former."

"I have no doubt that in that you're correct." Dumbledore mused, "But do you understand exactly who he is and what he is truly capable of?

Harry's expression met Dumbledore's grimly, "I know exactly who and what I am dealing with. He's the reason we're both orphans, after all. Though given the bodies that pile up in his wake, I doubt the man even remembers it."

'Of course it would be hard for Tom to remember the future. But that's neither here nor there.' Harry thought before meeting Albus' eyes, 'Time to really throw him off.'

"Tom Riddle is a megalomaniacal psychopath, who has severe inadequacy issues, and from my research, that likely stems from parental issues beyond belief. His only desire is for power and to grind the world into dust around him." Harry said, his tone slightly more offhand than he intended.

But his eyes were focused on Dumbledore's and he definitely got the reaction he was looking for.

Dumbledore coughed slightly, his eyebrows raising at that comment, "You are… very well informed."

"Why call him by a made-up name?" Harry asked curiously.

"Most people deem it the safer course. We've been at war for years, and he has killed anyone who might know of his true origins, save myself and perhaps a handful of others.

Harry smirked slightly, "Well after yesterday, he knows that I know."

Dumbledore nodded slowly as his fingers stroked his beard slowly, "Given how well informed you are, I have to ask, are you sure it was wise to antagonize him?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair and glanced down at Dora before looking back up, "I wasn't 'antagonizing' him. Well... no I take that back. I was. But I fought him in the alley for another reason."

"What reason is that?" Dumbledore asked, steepling his fingers as he regarded Harry intently.

"I was blunting his most dangerous weapon, and he's finding out that there is someone out there that can wield it as well as he can." Harry answered with a smirk.

"His wand may be powerful, but-" Dumbledore started.

"I'm not talking about his wand. You and I both know that's not his most dangerous weapon." Harry scolded.

"As a matter of fact you are a benefactor of that weapon as well. You just don't use it." Harry added as he looked thoughtful, "At least not actively."

"What are you talking about?" Dumbledore asked cautiously.

"Your war here in this country has lasted for what? Six? Seven years?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore just nodded in affirmation, he was listening in rapt attention.

"He's attacked homes, businesses, Diagon Alley, the Ministry itself, but how many times has he attacked Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore tilted his head, "None, but I fail to see-"

"And why hasn't he attacked Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore was silent at that, as he seemed to realize exactly what Harry was saying.

"Fear. He's afraid of you. Your power and skill have been publicly recognized for over three decades." Harry leaned forward slightly for emphasis, "To challenge you is no small task. Without you at Hogwarts, it would have fallen a long time ago."

"Everyone else? They're all afraid of him." Harry gestured expansively at the walls of the room, indicating the wizarding world at large, "They see him as this force that can't be beaten, that will kill them. He uses that fear, and exploits people's weaknesses. Most of the wizards he encounters are beaten before he so much as lifts his wand."

"Yesterday, ol' Tom got a double dose of bad news." Harry leaned back into the love seat, Tonks shifting with him, as she was enthralled by what he was saying as Dumbledore was. "Yesterday I showed not only am I not afraid of him. So his strongest weapon is useless. And I can beat him."

"I have to think he got another dose of bad news with this morning's Prophet." Nym murmured, somewhat vindictively, "Telling him he was the heir of Slytherin no more. Slytherin has a head."

Harry nodded in agreement, "Oh, I'm sure he was more than a little miffed to hear that."

"If you are so confident you can defeat him? Why did you let him escape?" Dumbledore inquired slowly/

Harry leaned back, and he affected a look of surprise, "I'm… surprised you haven't noticed yourself."

"Noticed what?" Dumbledore asked.

"Those of us who are sensitive to magic, can feel when something inherently wrong is nearby." Harry replied, "The fool has shredded his soul."

Dumbledore rocked backwards slightly and his eyes opened wide as he considered that.

"Now… I may not know for sure why he's done this. I only have suspicions, I can tell you to the best of my knowledge there is only a single positive ritual that results from someone splitting their soul. And Tom does not have the altruistic or sacrificial nature requisite for that particular ritual." Harry explained, "Until I figure out, exactly what he's done I'm afraid his defeat is easier said than it is done."

Dumbledore stroked his beard slowly. "I… confess I hadn't known that. I thought it was from how deeply he delved into the dark arts."

His eyes suddenly focused on Harry sharply, "For someone so young to have such knowledge, is rather surprising." He said leadingly.

"Let's just say, my family is quite competent in the understanding of souls. One of our… family traits if you will. There is absolutely no question in my mind that he has purposefully mutilated his soul." Harry replied.

"You have given me much to think on, and I had intended to warn you." Dumbledore said after an extended pause in which he reflected on what Harry was implying by his family having a knack for understanding souls. "Pardon me for being so forward, but I'm afraid I must ask. How old are you?"

Harry tilted his head as he looked at the head master. "Seventeen,"

Nym leaned forward with a smirk and interjected, "We're both of age, if you're worried about us needing a chaperone."

Dumbledore chuckled a little bit at Nym's comment shaking his head, "Not at all. Just that you both seem rather young, especially for the skill level you apparently displayed yesterday."

A humorless smile crossed Harry's face. "Let's just say I've practically been raised for this my entire life."

Dumbledore looked saddened at that and Harry waved him off.

Harry gave a sardonic look to Dumbledore, well aware of his thoughts on people needing childhoods. "However, I'm sure you didn't come to hear me discuss the faults of a psychotic dark wizard, or his reasons for fearing you. And I have no interest in discussing my upbringing," He added cutting off any further inquiry there. "So, was there something specific you wanted to see me about?

"Several things actually," Dumbledore nodded a little bit, "First I was hoping you might be willing to tell me about the family names you claimed yesterday."

"Haven't you seen the speculation, Headmaster?" Nym asked, with more than a trace of mischief in her eyes. She tapped the discarded Daily Prophet on the table, "There's all sorts of theories in the paper."

Dumbledore nodded, and his eyes twinkled, "I did, I quite liked the theory from Mr. Lovegood that Slytherin and Gryffindor were brothers and that you were their father, sent from the past to stop the squabbling of their forebears."

Harry snorted a little bit but rolled his eyes, "That's… one possibility certainly." He wasn't going to touch time travel, he certainly didn't want the man more suspicious than he already was.

Dumbledore shrugged, looking unapologetic, "That lead me to my curiosity."

Harry shrugged, "Well, I'm sorry sir, but that is one thing I intend to keep to myself. Let people wonder. It's certified, and they can't contest it without contesting one of their own foundations for power."

Harry was surprised when Dumbledore just nodded. "You know that many people are going to want to talk to you. Meet with you and hope to get things from you. For various reasons, not all of them altruistic."

"Most of them self-serving, selfish or downright malevolent," Harry replied dryly. "I am aware of how to deal with who people want to use me,"

"Not just you, but your name. Rather, your names. They carry powerful weight in a society such as ours. That doesn't even touch on the power you displayed yesterday," Dumbledore replied, "You are likely soon to be beset on all sides. They will all want something from you."

"What they want and what they will get is two separate things." Harry replied with the faintest traces of a humorless smile.

Dumbledore seemed to mull that response over as he tried to read Harry's intentions. He finally nodded and settled back in the chair a bit more, "So, if it isn't too forward to ask, what will you do now?"

Harry frowned and reached up to stroke his fingers through Nym's hair, as she shifted to look up at him as well for a moment, before closing her eyes and enjoying his hands in her hair

"Well, a couple of things… really. First is to find a place to reside. Despite my blasé attitude, I am not so foolish as to think your Dark Lord will just let things slide." Harry commented. His expression didn't shift as a thought occurred to him, but his eyes flicked up to meet Dumbledore's. "We also need to pay a stop to the wand maker, Ollivander I believe?"

Harry seemed to glance at Dumbledore for confirmation.

"Why? Your wand seemed like it was in fine working order yesterday from all reports." Dumbledore responded with amusement after nodding.

"That's right, which is why I want to speak to him, see if he has someplace safe for himself." Harry said grimly, "Since any Dark Lord without a wand is going to look into reacquiring a new one. Sooner, rather than later. And to the best of my knowledge he is the only supplier in the immediate area, and one of the best for several thousand miles."

That caused Dumbledore's mouth to open and closed several times as his brows lifted. "That… is a well thought out point." His tone made it clear that he blamed himself for missing such a point.

"You're in a war, Mr. Dumbledore, you know more than most that you have to try and think several steps ahead." Harry chided lightly.

Harry was somewhat surprised when Dumbledore merely nodded in agreement.

"I fear you're quite right. He is likely to go after Ollivander sooner rather than later." Dumbledore commented quietly, his hand stroking through his beard slowly.

"Unfortunately while I am aware that Garrick protects his shop with various wards, none are strong enough to repel Voldemort's followers," Albus looked distinctly unhappy, "Nor am I aware of any protections I might add without extensive preparation that would be sure to keep his shop safe."

"Him going into hiding would be problematic too…" Harry allowed a thoughtful look to cross his face, not wanting it to appear too tidy.

Albus nodded, "Absolutely, no one would be able to find him, and a lack of wand supply might benefit Voldemort as much as anyone."

Harry scowled and nodded slowly in acknowledgement. Dumbledore was right, a cut off of a wand supply would hurt those who were muggleborn more as they had no family wands at their disposal, when older families probably had dozens if not more.

"Well… you don't need to protect the shop… just the man." Harry ventured slowly then looked up and met Dumbledore's eyes. "Why not move him to Hogwarts?"

Albus sat back looking at first stunned and then thoughtful at the suggestion before slowly nodding, "If I could convince him of the necessity of it, I think he might actually do that."

"Most of his business is done in the summer anyway, the occasional customer could always come to Hogwarts…" Albus seemed to be talking more to himself than to anyone else present.

"And if students are forced to wait a bit longer to acquire their wands, just to ensure their ability to get them in the first place, then all the better," added Nym.

"Also it may allow Ollivander to speak to individuals who may be using legacy wands… family members placing unreal expectations on children to be like powerful relatives by giving them their wands, regardless of whether that wand is even a remote match for them." Harry stated. He was obviously thinking of Neville, but the formerly timid youth was not an isolated case by any stretch of the imagination.

"Another well thought out point," said Dumbledore stroking his beard, his eyes twinkling once more.

"Mentioning Hogwarts does lead to my next question," stated Dumbledore, looking at both of them. "Have either of you considered time spending with us at Hogwarts?"

"For what?" Harry tilted his head, his eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out the Headmaster's angle.

"Well, you said yourself, you were looking for a place to reside." Dumbledore reasoned, "That Tom Riddle wasn't going to let things go that easily. It's good that you don't plan to stay here, but to the best of my knowledge there aren't any family manors available for purchase at this point."

"Nor would the magics protect us as much as it would the family whose magics it was steeped in," Harry pointed out, showing that he wasn't ignorant in the way protections and wards worked.

"Quite right," Dumbledore agreed. "But if you know that, then you also know that setting up any place with wards strong enough to protect yourselves isn't something that's going to happen overnight. It's a process that could take months, at the least."

Harry ran a hand over his face. The headmaster had a point there, of course he could use a fidelius charm, but he also wanted to get into Hogwarts. However, he didn't want to seem too eager, and he wasn't just going to follow the headmaster around without figuring out what the old man's angle was.

"I wasn't aware you were keen to turn the castle of Hogwarts into a hotel," Harry replied cautiously.

Nym snorted in amusement at Harry's response.

Dumbledore chuckled in amusement, his eyes twinkling, "I meant join us as a student. You said you're seventeen."

Harry blinked several times in disbelief staring at the headmaster. Then he started to laugh. Hard.

He kept coming close to stop laughing only to look up, see Dumbledore's expression and then dissolve into more laughter.

"I'm sorry Albus, I have to ask. Have you gone barmy?" Harry asked, his voice still carrying amused disbelief. Nym coughed and pressed her face into his shoulder, to stifle her own reaction to Harry asking Dumbledore that.

"It's entirely possible," Albus agreed easily. "Though I wonder if I had, would I know. Or would I just think it was everyone else that had gone barmy?"

Harry snickered again at Albus' comment and ran a hand through his hair, the laughter finally died, though the amusement on his face did not, "You can't be serious."

"I am quite serious," Albus looked unbothered by the laughter, his lips merely lifted in an amused smile. "I did take the liberty of checking for the academic records of either of you this morning and discovered no OWL or NEWT scores on file with the British of the International registry."

Harry's laughter slowly trailed off, exchanging a glance with Nym, obviously made up identities were not going to have records.

"Albus… while my schooling may not have been public, and I can honestly say I've never personally taken my NEWTS," Harry finally said, clearly conceding the point before he smirked, "I'm also fairly certain delivering a very public beat down to a Dark Lord displays a fairly high degree of competence, I doubt anyone is going to be asking for my test results."

Nym spoke up fixing Dumbledore with an amused smile, "Just how many people have asked you for your NEWT results after you defeated Grindelwald?"

Dumbledore tilted his head in acknowledgement of the point and looked at Harry inquisitively, "But what is your alternative? Stay here? I hardly think you'd be safe here. Even with the rather impressive ward scheme I detected coming in. At the very least, Tom downstairs may become annoyed with people attempting to burn down his inn."

Harry looked doubtful at that point, so Dumbledore pressed slightly, "Hogwarts would present a level of safety…"

Harry scowled slightly at the enticement in the Headmaster's voice, as much irritated by the tone as the fact that the man had a point.

He leaned forward, shifting Dora with him, just short of the point where the shirt would fall far enough to expose her chest. His voice was flat, "What are you hoping to get out of this? No griffin shit. What is it you're trying to do here?"

Rather than being offended, Albus actually seemed somewhat impressed by the bluntness and confidence in the younger man's pose and tone. He leaned back and slowly stroked his beard. A silence descended, one in which Harry was patient to wait for a response.

When Albus started to speak, his tone was musing, though honest, "To be perfectly forthright, having you as a student would not be my first choice. You have displayed a level that shows competence that would well serve our students. Unfortunately all of my teaching positions are filled for the year, including the defense position appointed by the Ministry. I am less than enthused with their choice, but my own choice disappeared less than a week ago, and finding someone on short notice has proven… difficult."

Harry went very still at the mention of the Ministry appointing a defense professor. He vividly remembered the last time that the Ministry did that. It was the misery of his fifth year and everything that accompanied that experience with Umbridge. It took Voldemort's extensive knowledge of potions to remove the scars that had set into his hand from the wounds inflicted by the blood quill.

The problem wasn't the scars themselves, but rather that they were inflicted repeatedly with an item that was at its core dark magic, but was also had ties to ritual magic via contracts and the like. The repeated use had made it incredibly difficult to heal that injury. He knew he wasn't the only one the woman had tortured.

If the Ministry had done the same thing that was something he wanted to cut off at the source.

Dumbledore took a moment to stroke his fingers through his beard, unaware of the thoughts going through Harry's head. "In truth… while it is not perfectly ideal, the idea of having you there as students is not without its merits."

"How's that?" Harry inquired, shaking himself out of the thoughts that had briefly consumed him.

"We have a rather contentious group of students currently in their fifth, sixth, and seventh years."

Harry just nodded in encouragement, sitting back and listening while watching the old wizard carefully. Nym looked back and forth between the Headmaster and Harry trying to get a gauge on what both men were thinking, but she remained quiet, letting Harry lead.

"The students we have, represent the full gambit of our society. A few frighteningly dangerous purebloods who have leanings that will leave them inclined to throw their lot in with Voldemort." Dumbledore explained, weariness in his voice. "There are heirs of families of all political parties and spectrums. Remarkably intelligent muggleborns who will no doubt become targets the moment they step out of the castle when they graduate, and a few members of Dark families trying desperately to escape the call of their parents' beliefs, but having no one else they feel they can throw their lot in with."

"No one?" Harry asked, looking at Dumbledore meaningfully, "I believe you are underselling the impact of your own presence."

Dumbledore sighed a little, though he was forced to concede the point "Some I can persuade, but others have no interest in following me. Indeed my very presence may be part of what pushes them toward Voldemort."

Dumbledore lapsed into silence, as Harry just regarded the headmaster, in a way he had never seen him before. When the headmaster spoke his tone was an odd one that Harry had trouble pinning. Weary, amused at the folly of youth, frustrated. It was all there.

"I've been around and present longer than any of them have been alive. In some ways they don't feel they could relate to me. In others, their parents and family have passed on dislike or worse for me." Dumbledore closed his eyes a moment and sighed sadly, "Some think I'm simply an alternative Dark Lord, manipulating people and events in some grand scheme to be remembered as modern day Merlin."

He looked down, and his sad face shifted to one of embarrassment, "Some simply think I'm too old."

"And some think you're barmy," Harry added with a wry smile, attempting to brighten up the man. He was showing a far more human face here than Harry had ever seen before.

"Quite so." Albus mood shifted to one more upbeat as he cheerfully agreed while he reached into his pocket and popped a lemon drop into his mouth.

"However, a polarizing presence such as yourself could ultimately be something that gives them alternatives." He said after sucking on his favorite sweet for several moments.

"Alternatives?" Harry asked, furrowing his brow at the older man.

"I am many things, Mr. Peverell. But I'm not stupid. And one thing I like to think I'm fairly competent at is reading people," Albus' tone was still genial but now, where before had been weariness, now had a trace of steel in it.

Harry just raised a brow in response, thinking of the many many times Albus had failed at doing just that. Tom. Snape. Sirius. Pettigrew. Pretty much all of his defense professors… ever. It proved that to be a nebulous statement at best and a delusion at worst.

"Yesterday, while it was clear that the situation was not something you expected, you handled it and the aftermath brilliantly," Albus stated obliquely.

"Which part? The Dark Lord? We already covered that," Nym interjected, "Or maybe you mean dealing with the slightly paranoid and grumpy Auror? Or the other one who was about a hairsbreadth from cursing us because Harry dared to do something besides cower? Mostly likely because he himself was so used to bowing before his Master."

Dumbledore only looked startled for a moment at the insinuation that the Auror was a Death Eater, but he answered quickly. "In part, but I was referring to the part where you handled the goblins and everything else masterfully. You have made a very large splash in our society, and yet can still pretend that you were simply going along with events, not using circumstances to your advantage." Dumbledore's expression was piercing and knowing as he focused on both of them.

Harry was reminded once more of why Albus Dumbledore was so respected by so many and feared by just as many. Despite the image he portrayed and the mistakes he made, the man could be frighteningly perceptive at times.

"I hope your presence alone will be able to stem Tom's influence among the younger generation," Dumbledore gestured toward the paper laying on the table. "The paper proves you have the power and the name to offer a different rallying point amongst my students."

Harry leaned back slightly, his fingers stroking through Nym's hair as she looked back and forth between Harry and Dumbledore. Harry was trying to read between the lines and guess the older man's agenda here.

Obviously Dumbledore wanted Harry around to keep an eye on him, something Harry was more than familiar with. But Harry was certain there was something more than that at play here.

Harry rubbed his chin slowly as he regarded Dumbledore, "There's something more though. Something else you haven't said."

Dumbledore just tilted his head, his eyes twinkling but refusing to give anything away.

Harry stared at him as the silence stretched, as his mind worked. His eyes widened slightly as a thought occurred to him.

"You're concerned about the houses I just took control of," Harry spoke slowly as he considered the thought.

The idea wasn't certain, and sounded somewhat fanciful, it actually came from a random fantasy Tom Riddle had at age sixteen. The prat imagined going to the goblins and getting his heritage confirmed as the Heir of Slytherin, then being able to kick Dumbledore out of the castle at seventeen.

Dumbledore's expression didn't change but his eyes remained intent on Harry.

"You are doubly concerned. Politically the names themselves carry a great deal of power. Enough to make an impact in the Wizengamot. But more than that, the potential impacts the name might have on different families." Harry mused slowly as he met Dumbledore's eyes. "You are also concerned about the names of Slytherin and Gryffindor… Because as founders of Hogwarts, you wonder how the castle magics might respond to them finally having a head. One that was in residence once more."

Dumbledore inclined his head, though did not confirm or deny Harry's assertions.

Harry had no idea what claiming Slytherin and Gryffindor would do, and if it would have any power over Hogwarts. Harry was relatively certain that if he didn't know, and Tom's memories were uncertain, than Dumbledore wouldn't know either but he would be concerned.

Of course, given the wand that Dumbledore currently had, Harry knew the headmaster could be far more worried about the claim to the Peverell name. Harry was uncertain there, but that was knowledge he was not supposed to have.

"There is one major problem with that idea, at least on our end, Headmaster," Harry said slowly, as an idea formed in his mind.

"What is that?" Dumbledore asked leaning back, sensing that he was in the beginning of a negotiation with the teen in front of him.

"Our current level of skill in several areas surpasses anything at the level of seventh year," Harry said confidently.

"Do you have any idea which areas and how far you believe you surpass the current NEWT levels?" Dumbledore asked evenly, with no hint that he'd actually doubted their word.

Harry glanced down at Nym and with a slight nod, encouraged her to answer the question.

She looked up at him, trying to figure out if he wanted her to prevaricate or be honest. After a moment of consideration she responded first, "Well, I can tell you that I'm NEWT level on most of your core topics. Because of some one on one instruction, I'm easily on the level that I could qualify as a fully trained Auror if I so chose." She said with an amused grin, thinking about her training with a grizzled and uber-paranoid Mad-Eye Moody.

Then her brow scrunched up, "I could probably pass a mastery in transfiguration."

Dumbledore leaned back slightly into the chair looking unsurprised at that and considered the statement as he looked at the barely clad woman speculatively. "I suppose your skill in transfiguration is to be expected, given your familiarity with changing shape and form as a metamorph."

Nym looked startled at that comment, as to the best of her knowledge she hadn't shifted around him, and wondered how the headmaster could possibly know that.

But Harry cut in, "I presume Ted or Andromeda Tonks was the one that informed you."

"Quite so," Dumbledore admitted. "They have been looking for someone who can instruct their daughter as well as help them, as there hasn't been a metamorph of such skill in Great Britain in centuries. Interesting how there are now two of them."

Nym lifted her shoulder in a half shrug, looking vaguely uncomfortable, though she shifted her hair through a variety of colors quickly, to prove her status as a metamorph. Thankfully that was enough to shift Dumbledore's attention, first to her ability and having his knowledge confirmed, before he focused on Harry.

"My abilities are quite a bit higher, though that's mostly because I… have quite a bit more experience than Nym does," Harry stated honestly meeting Dumbledore's gaze with his own.

"Oh?" Dumbledore inquired, steepling his fingers together as he leaned forward slightly, his interest abundantly clear.

Harry wasn't really caught off guard by the blatant attention. He knew the old wizard was interested in the extreme, so there was no need for the man to hide it.

"Well, let's see. I could easily attain masteries in potions, charms, ancient studies, arithmancy, dark arts, defense of said, and magical theory." Harry rattled off, enjoying the raising eyebrows on the man in front of him. "I could easily pass NEWTS in transfiguration, wards and wardbreaking, and, though Alchemy is not offered, nor certified as a NEWT due to the dearth of people studying in it, I judge myself approximately on the same level due to my own interest in the topic."

"I would claim that you are easily exaggerating, since I have only known a handful of people who could claim skills at that level," Dumbledore coughed slightly at the extensive list, his eyes rather wide as he commented, "However, given your display yesterday, and not to mention the rather impressive ward scheme I observed upon entry, I would hazard a guess that you are being completely upfront with me."

"I am," Harry said shortly. "So given that I can sit NEWTS in any of those without taking a single class. The question becomes what NEWT level classes hold anything for me at Hogwarts and very few that fit Nym's interests or skillset."

"Well, we have several classes that didn't come up on your rather impressive list." Dumbledore responded in the tones of an educational administrator. "Astronomy, Herbology, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes, and Divination are all options as well as a number of electives."

"Please Dumbledore, don't insult me. I'm not completely ignorant of the status of Hogwarts." Harry rolled his eyes, disgust obvious in his tone, "Your History of Magic is a complete joke pretty much everywhere. Goblins rebelled because wizards were being arseholes and repeatedly broke their treaties. Shocking. Truly."

"Well, yes, given your handling of the goblins yesterday, I daresay you don't need that," Dumbledore allowed, wincing at the disdain in Harry's voice.

"Astronomy and Herbology hold absolutely no interest for me. Those who chose to follow divination are fools." Harry scowled, "Life is the choices and the decisions you make. If you let what someone says in a foretelling or prophecy guide you, you blind yourself to the effects of your decisions."

"And to be perfectly frank, given current perceptions of muggles in most magical countries are fifty to a hundred years behind… I'd rather learn chivalry from a troll than I would about Muggles' from a wizard. Their understanding and knowledge of the two would be about the same." Harry paused, taking a deep breath as he had gotten on a bit of a rant, and could tell from Dumbledore's expression the man was bothered by what was said.

"Now I grant, the opportunity to learn Runes, of which I only have an OWL level knowledge, would be interesting," Harry took another breath, before continuing in a more calm tone after he gave Dora a sidelong glance of confirmation, "Other than that, I'm not sure what it is that Hogwarts really has to offer me."

Dumbledore steepled his fingers in thought as he considered the duo before him.

"I believe we can easily arrange to fit your needs," he said slowly. "Independent NEWTS testing can be scheduled at Hogwarts, a location which won't cause any danger to yourself, after all… because of your actions yesterday, any Ministry-sanctioned testing center would likely be a target. But, if as you say, since you both could attain your NEWTS already, Hogwarts could offer you very little in a classroom setting."

He ran a hand slowly down his bear, obviously pondering his words intently, "You, Mr. Peverell could easily be placed in one of our Rune courses, and don't see anyone raising an objection to that."

He glanced to the side at Dora, "I would normally inquire as to what specific courses your companion would wish to take, but I will make the conjecture that she would desire to take everything you are."

Dora looked thoughtful, glancing up at Harry in consideration, while Harry simply stated, "While true to an extent, that only accounts for one course for us after we've taken and passed our NEWTS."

Dumbledore acknowledged that with a nod, "Which leaves us with what you will do with your free time. You mentioned alchemy? I've found, with what few fellow colleagues still openly acknowledge their skills in the art, that their training is widely based upon the teacher. While I'm not sure of young Dora's interest, would you have any desire to quietly study alchemy with me and possibly some of the various scholars I've learned under?"

"You're referring to Nicholas Flamel?" Harry probed, not giving away any interest the subject would have.

"As well as his wife Perenelle," Dumbledore said with a nod. "Both are quite learned, and with both of your backgrounds already covering such a wide scope, I'm sure if you are as talented as you claim, and seem both would be willing to occasionally make visits over the course of the coming year and tutor you privately."

Harry nodded. It was certainly an interesting offer, and almost exactly what he was angling for when he began negotiation, one which he could definitely see himself accepting, but…

"What about the rest of the year? One Rune course, plus random lectures that, while extremely beneficial, will be spread out throughout the year. What else would we do?" Harry inquired, leaning back slightly.

"Well, our faculty members are considered some of the best in the world." Dumbledore spread his arms, "Many of them may have skills or wisdom they may be able to impart on you. But beyond that, any research you do in alchemy, will be time consuming and intensive in terms of thought and theory required."

Harry nodded, sensing that was all that Dumbledore was willing to concede at the moment. Understandable when they both were still relatively unknown. Nym looked up at him, not making any comment one way or the other, and trusting him to decide.

He stroked his fingers through her hair while he considered Dumbledore's offer as a whole, on one hand it would allow Dumbledore to keep a close eye on him. Something Harry was sure the old man was desperate for. On the other it would give them access to Hogwarts, practically gifting them a Horcrux, and a well-warded and protected place to work from in the short term.

Harry weighed the pros and cons slowly before he responded, 'You understand Albus, that if we go to Hogwarts, we're very likely… going to cause you a rather large number of problems."

"Oh?" Dumbledore inquired, this time Harry was certain the man's eyes began to twinkle.

"I do not know all the teachers you have there, but if they try and make our lives difficult simply to do so, or because of personal feelings or beliefs, we'll deal with them in the same way we'll deal with others," Harry said bluntly. "I'm not you. Albus. As discussed earlier, I'm more than willing to make people afraid of me if it means that they aren't going to act like bigoted bastards."

"You have Death Eaters-in-waiting inside your castle, if not actual Death Eaters." Harry added, "That means you have students in your castle who may have already raped and murdered innocents. After what happened yesterday, they are bound to challenge us, attack us if they think they can get away with it. We're not going to just take it. It's likely going to cause injuries at the very least. To be perfectly blunt, I would be greatly surprised if all your students survived till the end of the year if the two of us are there. Given my current standing it would more than likely be perfectly legal as well."

Harry realized with a start that Tom Riddle would have been far more dangerous if he had managed to lay claim to a house. He would have been able to kill with impunity and with only the flimsiest of justifications and legally few would have been able to touch him.

"Knowing that, no one in their right mind would want us to attend their school. So I have to ask you, Mr. Dumbledore, without any offense intended, have you gone barmy?" Harry inquired, his tone serious as his eyes focused entirely on Dumbledore's.

Dumbledore met his gaze with his own. Before the man sighed, and his entire posture shifted. The wizard slumped and his eyes fell to his hands. He looking weary, and old. "Perhaps."

"Perhaps I am a fool for doing so, or perhaps I am merely desperate," Dumbledore ran a hand over his face before he looked up, "But there are some who haven't decided yet, whose paths are undetermined and that may turn back from that path and I have to give them a chance. But they're not responding to me, by virtue of how they see me or how their parents or family have molded them to view me… so I have to try something else."

Harry had to allow himself a bit of grudging respect for that stance. He idly realized that Dumbledore was treating his currently students similar to how he had treated Draco Malfoy, and others like him. Unfortunately the only person he had to fill that role at the time was Snape. Hoping the man could turn them from their path.

Unfortunately, Snape couldn't be trusted to convince a goldfish not to drown, much less inspire a Slytherin steeped in their family's beliefs for years not to follow a Dark Lord.

Harry put aside the minor revulsion he felt at being treated like Snape. Harry just wasn't going to coddle students he would attend class alongside, ignoring their threats and holding his tongue through their vitriol. He was well aware that approach didn't work.

"Alright, Albus," Harry said after appearing to give it some more consideration. "We'll join you at Hogwarts. Assuming of course you're comfortable with us staying on Hogwarts's premises until school starts, or we find suitable alternative accommodation."

Albus nodded and reached out his hand offering to shake. Harry took it and shook briefly.

Albus glanced at the two of them, "Can we expect you this evening then?"

Harry glanced at Nym, "No, I think we won't be there until tomorrow."

Dumbledore looked at Harry curiously but when he didn't elaborate, the man nodded his head, "I believe I need to go have a discussion with Ollivander. See if he is amenable to coming to moving his shop in the interim."

He tipped his head forward, "Good day to you both."

Harry and Tonks watched the man leave. After Dumbledore shut the door behind him, Harry leaned back and shut his eyes. He returned to running his fingers through Tonks' hair and breathed deeply, attempting to run through everything that had just occurred in his mind for ways Albus may have tricked him.

Tonks, meanwhile, simply looked up at Harry with a puzzled expression, "Harry?"

He held up his hand for her to quit speaking, then waved his wand, checking for listening charms. He then resealed the door and activated their protections once more. She waited and once it was sealed, and he opened his eyes to look at her expectantly.

"Why the hell did you decide we were going back to school?" Nym demanded with her arms crossed.

Harry smiled a bit at how easily she lumped the two of them in together. "You mean, aside from the reasons you heard?" he asked in amusement.

"Yes," Tonks said after sticking out her tongue briefly.

Harry reached around her waist, and lifted her up so she was straddling him. His hands quickly found the hem of the oversized T-shirt she had been wearing. A wave of his hand had the shirt slowly rise, revealing her bare mound, taut stomach, large breasts, and then her slender neck as the t-shirt went over her head.

He gripped her arse as she leaned forward, her breasts smashing against his bare chest as she went to kiss him. He held up a finger to stop her, then then guided her face into the crook of his heck as he began to gently massage her back while he spoke into her ear.

"To answer your question, this lets us get the Horcrux from the castle without having to sneak in. It will place us closer to many rising Death Eaters, Dumbledore and his Order, and allows me to end the damn curse on the defense position. Hogwarts is a semi-safe place to stay that Voldemort will at least have to think twice before attacking in a frontal assault… while at the same time a place that he will now focus all his attention on rather than going out and murdering random innocents. It'll also give us a chance to destroy the Acromantula colony in the Forest so Tom can't use it against us again," Harry summed up succinctly.

"Oh," Nym responded, letting the various reasons percolate through her mind before she began to grind her hips into Harry's.

"Yes. Oh," he said with a smile, not acknowledging the fact a nude metamorph was doing her best to gyrate on top of him. "It'll be just like when I did attend Hogwarts. Riddle will be single-mindedly focused on both myself and Dumbledore. Riddle's plans are often convoluted and needlessly complex. I'm hoping that if we get him to put that effort into focusing on a somewhat impregnable fortress like Hogwarts, then he'll ignore everything else, reducing casualties somewhat out in the real-world," Harry explained with a wry smile.

Nym stopped to pout up at him, "I just didn't expect to be going back to Hogwarts at twenty three." She commented wryly.

"Why does it matter to you?" Harry asked as his eyes locked on hers, in a penetrating gaze. "It's not like you're going to run out of time."

Nym paused in the midst of squirming against Harry, frozen in his gaze. "What… do you mean?" she asked carefully.

"The secret of being a metamorph," Harry reached up with one hand and idly twisted a lock of her hair around his finger, tugging on it lightly, "And the fact that you will only ever get wrinkles or grey hair if you chose to have them."

Nym had a sharp intake of breath, "How did you know?"

"That you don't age?" Harry responded, lightly tugging that lock of hair until she turned her head slightly into the palm of his hand. "Well, I could say that you talk in your sleep."

"You do, but not about that," Harry smirked, and brushed a thumb over her cheekbone, "It was one of the things Tom researched when attempting to achieve immortality."

"How did he know?" Nym asked, staring at him, "It's something that's only supposed to be told from one metamorph to another."

"Yes, I gathered that," Harry commented, "Tom ran across an old journal while working in Borgin and Burkes that someone had made reference too. He spent awhile trying to figure out how to become a metamorph, but never got very far. So I know that if things stay as they are, you would easily outlive me."

Nym's eyes fell down and she opened her mouth to reply, but his next words cut her off.

"That's why I expressed my interest in alchemy so strongly to Dumbledore," Harry said, that same smirk on his face. "What better opportunity might I have to craft a philosopher's stone?"

Nym's mouth opened and shut and then opened again as the depth of Harry's ability to plan, and the implications hit her. Instead of saying anything, she surged forward, planting her lips on his once more.

When they both eventually broke nearly a minute later, both were breathing heavily, Harry murmured quietly, "Now. I say we both get a shower, because we have to get prepared for tonight."

"What are we doing tonight?" Nym asked, making no move towards getting off of the naked wizard below her. In fact, she reached down between her legs, and guided the heavily aroused male inside of her, breathing heavily as she sank down atop him.

Harry just smirked in response, giving her no answer question as his hands rose up her body to cup her breasts.

-o0o0o-

Twelve hours later, under the cover of night, found two heavily camouflaged individuals creeping along the edges of Malfoy manor's outer ward line. Harry was in the lead, followed closely behind by Tonks. This was something that was rather completely out of her depth, as while she had been on a number of Auror-sanctioned raids in her short career, none had ever targeted as well a guarded place as the ancestral home of the Malfoys.

Nor one that would likely contain so many potential enemies.

Harry had warned her not to speak until he had given the signal that it was safe to do so. His primary concern was the secrecy of this mission, as under no circumstances could they be discovered, and he wasn't certain one way or the other whether someone would be there.

If Voldemort had taken refuge here after their battle today, then other followers almost certainly would be present. If that were the case they might have to attempt another night. Harry was not foolish enough to attack Voldemort in a place that might be an area of strength for the man, especially when his paranoia and reliance on magical defenses would be at an all-time high.

However, given the fact that Voldemort was a paranoid bastard, Harry had an advantage as he stopped just outside the farthest alert wards.

He reached out with his hand until he felt the magic shimmering just outside his touch. He hissed softly and felt the protections respond, opening in invitation, and providing him information on those in the house.

He frowned a bit when the wards reported that there was two magicals present in the home. He knew for certain neither was Voldemort, as neither would have been powerful enough for that. Harry also knew that Voldemort would not be without a significant number of sycophants at hand.

Harry also doubted it because from his memories, the Dark Lord avoided staying with any family who might fall under suspicion by authorities. Especially after attacks which would draw that sort of scrutiny.

Harry wasn't sure who else might be here, but wasn't willing to turn just because he might have another wizard there.

"Two magicals." Harry said quietly. Nym glanced at him and nodded without response, understanding.

He grabbed Dora's hand, and then with another hiss the wards let him in without so much as reporting his presence. Tonks followed him as they made their way up the path to the house. Harry was still watching cautiously, but moved quickly.

He hissed at the main doors and they opened without pause. They both slipped inside the darkened manor. Harry had only been here the one time that he had been captured during the war. However, Voldemort was very familiar with Malfoy Manor.

After a brief pause Harry moved toward the sitting room, only to find it empty. It wasn't much of a surprise as he hadn't really expected to find Lucius there, instead they made their way up the stairs. It became relatively obvious which room he was in as only one had light spilling from inside of it.

Harry glanced at Tonks, and with a gesture ordered her to stay out and act as backup if both magicals weren't in the room.

He moved forward slowly before pushing the door open into the room. He saw Lucius sitting examining a piece of parchment, over a large case that was laying out on the desk. The man stopped and look up at him in surprise as he entered. The blonde aristocrat opened his mouth and moved his hand for his desk.

But before he could do anything else, Harry petrified him with a quick spell. Lucius instantly locked up and couldn't move beyond occasional blinks.

Harry quickly realized the man was the only one in the room.

"I have Malfoy. We've still got one magical loose." Harry said quietly.

Nym pushed her way into the room and then turned to watch the door. With a second magical on the loose she didn't want to let her guard down for a moment. She kept her wand loose and ready in preparation.

Harry took a moment and with a simple pair of spells divested Lucius of every magical item he had on him. Portkeys, a sneakoscope, and several other items all ended up in a pile beside him. He still had to laugh at anyone who actually utilized a sneakoscope. True assassins knew occlumency, and would never register on a sneakoscope.

After he had cleared Lucius of everything, Harry had levitated the prone Malfoy into a chair in the center of the room. Then a quick spell to wrap ropes around his arms and legs. Harry tossed a spell around the room, muffling anything he said, so the man starting shouting wouldn't gather attention. For a moment Harry just examined Lucius with interest. He barely looked any different than he would twenty plus years from this point, less lines on his face, but the cruelty Harry was very familiar with was still there.

Though that probably had something to do with the man's position tied up and helpless in his own home.

Harry allowed a brief, smirk to cross his face, as he waved his wand, dispelling just the petrification spell on the man.

"How dare you break into my-" Lucius started to sneer the instant he was unpetrified only to be cut off with a backhand to the face by Harry.

Lucius' head whipped around from the impact before he turned to stare at Harry in surprise, stunned the man had actually struck him.

Eventually he found his voice, sneering in such a manner that led Harry to believe that Lucius must have been the one to coach Snape and his future son on how to contort his face in such a manner. "You have no idea what you have done by daring to touch me. Your life is over now. My Master... No, the entire wizarding world of Britain will hunt you down for this outrage. There will be no safe place for you to hide. My Master is the one who controls this country through me, and an attack upon me, is an attack upon him."

"He will find you for this outrage. He will torture you endlessly. He will break that whore in front of you. She will beg us to stop, and when my Master grants her mercy, he will kill her in front of you, before killing you in the same place you dared defy him. My Master will ensure it!"

This time Harry waited until the man finished speaking to backhand him from the other direction. Then he very deliberately, slid the wand he had claimed from Voldemort the day before and spun it in the air.

"Lucius, there are one of two ways we're going to do this," Harry said calmly, watching the man's eyes, which now fell on the wand with the distinctive ivory carved white claw added the base that Harry spun slowly between his fingers. "There's the easy way, and the hard way."

Malfoy straightened and took a breath before he looked up at Harry in an expression filled with anger and defiance. He lifted his chin, "I am a faithful and loyal follower of the Dark Lord. I know what you did, and he will not be caught off guard again. He will leave you a mewling and gibbering wreck before granting you the release of death."

"Pretty sure that's his way of asking for the hard way," Nym commented with a smirk as she glanced over her shoulder.

"Alright," Harry nodded agreeably, "Hard way it is."

"Imperio."

-o0o0o-

Three figures stood outside Malfoy Manor and watched as the inferno poured through the building, consuming the structure with gleeful abandon. It burst out of windows and up the outside walls, spreading over the building without any sign of stopping.

Nym stood there with a satisfied smirk on her face. Though her gaze kept slipping to Harry, she was enjoying the show and after all the issues she remembered facing because of Malfoy and not only his interference on behalf of his master, but also all the favors he pulled when she was a trainee Auror. There was never any proof, but more than once, after the man had conversations with the Minister, she had been assigned crap jobs from higher ups in the Auror corp.

At least until Moody had taken her under his wing as a rookie.

That was nothing compared to all the pressure she was certain he exerted on her father's law firm in his best effort to put him out of business. Malfoy had never succeeded in doing so, but her father had been a fantastic lawyer who should have been far more successful rather than only taking cases from muggleborn and those opposed to Malfoy.

Of course all that paled in comparison to his support of the monster that had taken her family from her.

Harry stood there watching the manor burn with a smirk on his face. It had worked perfectly.

Tonks had only glanced at him briefly when he had cast the imperius curse. She seemed surprised, then undecided for merely a moment before a smirk crossed her face and her attention returned to focusing on their surroundings.

The other magical presence that Harry had detected when he'd taken control of the wards had been a prisoner, held in the basement of the large house. Lucius didn't even know her name; just that she was to be kept alive and at least relatively whole. He did know his master was using her to leverage pressure on the French to keep them sidelined in the war.

The prisoner was a dark haired female that neither Harry, nor Nym recognized and she hadn't regained consciousness when they checked on her. She was suffering from cruciatus exposure and several other curses.

Harry freed the woman of two of the active curses on her, knowing that they weren't doing the unnamed witch any good. Then Harry created a portkey from a piece of rubble and dropped it on the woman, portkeying her to St. Mungo's entrance.

Then Harry turned his attention to what Lucius had been doing when they arrived. Apparently the sycophant had been collecting every wand in the house in an attempt to bring them to his master to see if one fit the bastard. Harry stuffed all those in a mokeskin pouch before inspiration struck him. He had Lucius show them every secret stash he had in the entire manor, something that took quite a while. Even Harry was surprised, Voldemort never suspected half the items Malfoy had in little hidey holes.

Included in that stash was the exact item Harry had wanted to procure when he decided to go on this excursion.

The diary of one Tom Marvolo Riddle.

That immediately went into Harry's pocket. He could feel compulsion spells on it. With the book closed they were weak and only noticeable to someone who was very sensitive to magic. But Harry also knew every bit of how the spells on the book were crafted, and how the compulsions were much stronger if one were to open the book.

It was a suggestion from Tonks that kind of escalated what they had planned to do that night.

Harry had initially given thought to obliviating Lucius and then setting him up as a spy. But knew the Dark Lord would be too paranoid for that, and all it would take was the spell slipping once, or a command from Voldemort with a hold through the Dark Mark to burn through any compulsions he could place on Lucius. So he had figured out what he was going to do with the wizard.

When Harry had mentioned that he couldn't think of any other reason to hang around, Tonks reply had been succinct. "Too bad we can't loot this place and then burn it to the bloody ground."

Harry had blinked when he heard that and then grinned. It had been the quick work of a few orders to Lucius for the man to call all of his house elves. When three appeared, Harry was caught off guard for a minute to find that one of them was Dobby. It took one look to see that all three appeared fearful, so Lucius obviously hadn't treated them better than he had later in life.

It just made it easier for Harry to have Lucius give the orders for them to pack up everything of value in the house into as few trunks as possible as fast as possible.

Three elves, Dobby as well as two other elves named Tirzy and Fimble, working together had taken less than an hour. Harry was anxious the entire hour because even Lucius didn't know if Voldemort was would get impatient and send someone to fetch him. He didn't even know where the Dark Lord was staying, he had a portkey that would take him someplace where he would be met by another death eater and then taken to the master.

Then Harry had forced Lucius to turn over possession of all three house elves to himself. A simple transaction that Harry was surprised to find required only a single statement from the man transferring ownership. He ordered them not to talk about how they were freed or anything about their owners, although Harry knew he might have to obliviate them later. Then he sent them to go help out at Hogwarts since he would be staying there in the near future. Although, he let them know that he might call for them soon.

Finally, they stood outside the manor and stepped back, he offered to let Tonks do the honors and cast fiendfyre on the house. But the metamorph had confessed she didn't know how.

To which Harry replied, "There's nothing like learning on the job then!"

It took Harry ten minutes to coach Dora through her first-ever attempt at casting Fiendfyre. He conjured a blackboard and put a bad pair of glasses on, doing his best impression of Professor McGonagall. In the back of his mind, he knew he was taking a risk, as he had no idea if Voldemort would follow up on the current status of Lucius, but for once in his life, he was having fun, and Dora egging him on with her enthusiasm.

The fact that she transfigured her clothes into a not-even-close-to-appropriate schoolgirl outfit as he taught her a dark and unstable spell made all doubts he had go away.

The fact that an imperiused Lucius Malfoy stood there watching under orders not to move or act, like a perfectly appropriate Draco stand-in made the time even more amusing to Harry.

He stood beside her and watched as Nym, still in her schoolgirl outfit, had lifted her wand and with a grunt of effort had managed to cast the fiendfyre spell directly through the front doors of Malfoy Manor. All while Lucius stood silent and observing.

She also lost control of it almost immediately, and the fire turned immediately to focus on her. Luckily, Harry had suspected that it was unlikely that Nym had the magical control or power to control fiendfyre and had been more than prepared and apparated all three of them away from the Manor. He moved them to a point a distance away from the house, near the gates leading up to the house.

With its caster and focus, no longer in the immediate area, the fire had turned on the nearby magic concentrated within the house and merrily began to consume everything in its path.

When the fire that consumed the mansion began to burn itself out, Nym turned to Harry, her eyes bright with mischief. He could certainly understand the joy in burning this monument to darkness and hatred. Of course as Lucius was also part of the organization that had murdered her parents in the first place, he could understand the satisfaction.

Finally Nym's attention fell on Lucius once more, she strode up to him stepping up to meet him eye to eye, holding up her wand and pointing right at his forehead, the tip already glowing "Are we going to kill this bloody arse now?" she asked with a gleam in her eye as she practically bounced, seemingly high on adrenaline.

Harry's hand snatched out, gripping her wrist and spinning her, pulling her against him. "No, we're not."

She was startled by the action only for a moment before she sighed and looked up at Harry. "Then what're we gonna do to him?"

"Do to him?" Harry asked mildly, a smirk appearing on his face at an idea that had occurred to him a few moments earlier. "My dear Nym, we're not going to do anything to him."

Nym blinked at the unexpected response, slumping slightly with a pout on her lips, "Why not?" she practically whined.

"Well, we're going to have the esteemed Mr. Malfoy retrieve an item for us." Harry smiled beatifically, "Retrieving an item belonging to an old pureblood family, as a matter of fact, one belonging to our family. He will be honored to help with such a burden, I'm sure."

Nym slowly began to perk up as she read the mischief and even malice in Harry's eyes.

-o0o0o-

Harry held a transfigured stone box up and examined the ring laying inside of it. The ring gleamed there without any hint of the compulsions that it was exuding to anyone who got so close to it.

"Well, that's two pieces in our hands now. With a third hopefully soon to come. This week has been far more productive than I expected." Harry commented idly, shutting the case of the lid with a small snap. He shrunk it with a wave of his wand and deposited the now shrunken box in his pocket.

"Now what?" Nym asked, looking up at him curiously.

"Urrgghh…" Malfoy's voice replied

"I don't believe she was asking you, Mister Malfoy," Harry said in a scolding manner, although amusement danced in his eyes, "Terribly rude of you to intrude on a private conversation."

The aforementioned Malfoy was curled up in the fetal position on the ground. He was clutching his left arm with his right hand as it spasmed and shook, and there were clear black lines running up and down his arm and they seemed to be slowly spreading. The man himself seemed to be occasionally seizing.

"Some people, are so inconsiderate." Nym said solemnly with a nod of agreement before she broke out into laughter once more.

Harry found himself chuckling in amusement, before he heaved a put upon sigh. "Well, as I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted. I have everything I hoped to accomplish and far more this evening."

"And now what?" Nym re-iterated, pressing in close as she looked up at him.

Harry's attention turned to her and regarded Nym with a thoughtful and serious expression. One that she met without her grin faltering. He slowly reached his hand up to brush the tips of his fingers over her cheek and into her hair, once more long and pink. He idly curled a lock around his fingers. "Are you okay with all this?"

"Okay with what?" Nym asked, as a puzzled expression crossed her face.

"Everything," Harry waved his hand, the one not entangled in her hair, and still holding Voldemort's wand. "Being here in this time, my actions and whatever I decide to do to change the wizarding world."

"Of course," Nym's amused and puzzled face didn't change at all, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You know what I'm asking," Harry said, remonstration in his tone as his fingers lightly tugged on her hair for emphasis. "If things go the way the way I'm planning, I'll probably have to take over the wizarding world to save it from itself."

"Yeah, so?" Nym demanded in an uncaring voice. "The world is a bloody mess as it is, you can't do all that much to make it worse."

"And what I'm willing to do to change it?" Harry demanded, once more lightly tugging on her hair.

"What about it?" Nym asked her expression amused once more.

"This isn't a game or a lark Nym. You saw what I did tonight!" Harry said gravely. "I freely used an unforgivable, albeit the one with the least application of dark magic of the three. I used dark magic, taught dark magic to you. I destroyed a man's life, hell if you count Draco I destroyed a whole family… and I don't feel guilty about it at all. So yes, I'm asking if you're okay with it."

"I don't-" Nym started to say, only to be cut off.

"Arrghkk." Lucius let out a pained cry as his entire body jolted and he reached out grab Harry's leg.

"Stop trying to interrupt!" Nym snapped in irritation at the distraction, she turned and with a flash of her wand she cast a cutting curse, hitting Lucius in the throat and causing his cry to choke off into a wet gurgling sound.

She turned back to stare up at Harry, "I don't care what you need to do. I am going to be with you every step of the way. When I lost my family, my friends… everything, you were there. You became the only bright part of my life long before we fell through that damned Veil. I am not going to leave you, Harry."

Harry's only response to the casual execution and slow bleeding out of Lucius was a blink of surprise as he stared into Nym's eyes. He didn't need to read her mind to see the devotion there, but he did it anyway, skimming her mind lightly with legilimency and found himself surprised, not only did she not balk at the intrusion, but she eagerly let him in.

He was able to read her emotions and the intensity there. Harry realized that he had personally never felt that before, but Voldemort's memories had very similar views of Bellatrix and her fanatical devotion to his cause.

While Harry could see that Nym would do all that she could not to let him cross certain lines, he also read quite clearly she would follow him up to and over anything short of hurting children or sacrificing innocents for dark rituals. Those were things that he found repugnant anyway, as she had commented the day previous.

But she would support Harry in any venture he chose whether that was resurrecting the wizarding world, and saving it or burning it to the ground and salting the earth after. She would stand beside him and face the world and she would also provide him encouragement daring him to do things he might not otherwise consider.

That sort of devotion was humbling to him.

He pulled out of her mind and stared into her eyes, and could see she knew exactly what he had seen in her mind.

Harry did the only thing he could think of, he pulled her forward into a ferocious kiss. Telling her with every movement that as much as she was devoted to him, he was possessive of her and he wasn't going to let her go for anything.

Lucius Malfoy died at their feet without anyone noticing as he passed over.

He would later be transfigured into a stick and tossed negligently into a ditch.

-o0o0o-

They hadn't gone back to the Leaky Cauldron after the events of the night, or very early morning. Instead they had changed things up, and had gone to a muggle hotel for the remainder of the night and late into the next day. Then they had spent the day in the muggle world, including some shopping for much needed clothing. After some minor consideration and input from Nym, Harry had decided they would go far more muggle than wizard to meet with her family that night.

As they approached the door, Harry reminded her, "Now remember, ask directions before you wander off to go to the bathroom or kitchen if you need something."

"I know, I know," said an irritated Tonks as they climbed the steps to the front-door.

Harry's hand snapped out to grab Nym's hand, just as it had approached the door handle. A brief glare from him froze her while he reached out and instead pressed the doorbell.

"Sorry," Nym murmured ducking her head, though she was reassured as Harry slid his arm around her waist. She hadn't even really thought about it when she had half bounded up the steps to her family home. The same home she had grown up in that she never needed to knock or ring the doorbell, just let her right in.

"I guess that would be rude," she half mumbled to herself.

Harry snorted, "No, rude would likely be your second inclination to sneak off and do it somewhere with your parents in the house."

Tonks barely had the chance to blush at him when the door opened, and Ted Tonks stood there with a smile on his face. He was dressed much the same way he had been the other evening, in jeans, though he had a nice polo shirt on at the moment, "Hello, if you intend no harm to us, be welcome at our home." He stepped back into the doorway, the invitation obvious.

Harry bowed his head in response, recognizing the words for what they were an invitation through the wards if they didn't intend harm. "We intend no harm, and thank you for the invitation." Nym just nodded slightly as she found herself slightly tongue tied facing her father.

They stepped into the house, and Harry could feel the slight buzz of the house protections as they slid over their skin. Harry could feel the protections were stronger than the standard ones he was aware were set on most houses, but they weren't anything that would stand up to any significant assault.

When they crossed through them without any sort of reaction, Ted relaxed slightly, and offered Harry his hand, "Good to see you again."

Harry shook the man's hand and looked around the house, "Thank you for the invitation."

"We weren't actually certain you were going to accept," a female voice spoke up from the hallway, causing them to turn. Andromeda faced them in greeting, her black dress robes were, despite their less than stellar current financial situation, completely immaculate. She had limited, yet very tasteful jewelry that she must have taken before her banishment from the Black Family, and her hair was up in a rather regal looking bun that didn't look nearly as stern as Professor McGonagall's very similar preference in hairstyle.

"Why ever not?" Harry asked curiously after a brief pause told him that Nym was not taking the lead in this.

"Given everything that happened, we weren't certain if you'd be lying low, or what you'd be doing." Ted answered.

"And then, we went to owl you the moment we got home, and the owl wouldn't take the mail anywhere." Andromeda commented.

"Mail diverting ward," Harry commented idly, with an amused expression, he was familiar enough with those. Having lived with one most of his life without realizing it. And Voldemort had learned how to put one up before he'd left school as a Hogwarts student. "I did notice you managed to get us mail anyway."

"Only because Ol' Tom owes me a favor, he passed it on for us. Though it was my wife's idea." Ted responded his tone equally amused.

Nym was distracted, her mother and father were both so young. While she had seen it the other day when she had first seen them, it had been a high tension time and there were other things on her mind. But they were both just out of their teens. She noted that neither seemed to have the stress or worry lines that she always seemed to remember the two of them having. She barely followed the conversation as her mother led them into a dining room.

She also had to keep the surprise out of her expression, as the dining room, she had always remembered as a nice room where they kept all the fine china in an antique cabinet and the expensive oak dining room table. None of that was there now. The dining room table while functional, was just that, well repaired but no more. There was no cabinet or anything else. The entire place was decorated far less finely than she remembered it.

She barely registered as they sat down, or rather she and Harry sat down with Ted while Andromeda left and moved back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room. It wasn't until she sat down a few minutes later with drinks and Harry laughed at something her father said that she seemed to snap out of it.

She focused her attention and noticed that both her mother and father were looking at her with a combination of bemusement and concern.

"Don't worry, Nym just had a bit of a long night last night," Harry commented easily with a glance her way.

She stuck her tongue out at him, "And whose fault is that?"

Then she froze remembering exactly where she was. She glanced up to see her mother's faintly disapproving expression on her face. Though Nym idly noted that it was far less obvious than she recalled it being when she had done such things at dinner in the past.

"I'm sure Madame Tonks and her husband won't begrudge us our celebration after knocking the Dark Lord off his pedestal," Harry said, patting her hand gently.

"I daresay you're right," Ted commented with a snort of amusement, something that eased Andromeda's expression. "Anyway, let's not stand on ceremony, dinner is served!"

With that comment on the empty platters on the center of the table appeared several different items, including a roast and several sides. Harry realized the displacement spellwork involved, transporting the meal from the dishes in the kitchen to the ones on the table. Far less of a hassle than doing it themselves.

"This looks excellent," said Harry, definitely appreciative of the finely made roast after his own years of toiling away in the Dursley's kitchen. A massive roast this size was easily cooked two or three times a month at least, and the centerpiece and all the trimmings had been very well prepared.

"Roast and Yorkshire Pudding is one of my favorites," said Ted, giving his wife a happy nod.

The group got into the meal with light conversation before Ted brought up the question that had been on their minds most prevalently, "Where did you come from?"

Nym froze mid-bite, but Harry took the question in stride, with an amused smile on his face, "Well, when two people love each other, or they get sufficiently sloshed,-"

Ted laughed out loud, but Andromeda focused on him, "Amusing, but you know that's not what he meant, you seemed to pop out of nowhere just in time to face off against the Dark Lord in one of the few times he has publicly unveiled himself," her gaze piercing and letting him know his deflection hadn't work.

Harry met Andromeda's eyes and shrugged, "Maybe, but until very recently we've kept our heads down and practically have been in seclusion. We did sort of just pop out the other day, it was completely unexpected to find ourselves face to face with the Dark Lord."

"And yet somehow you not only managed to survive a fight with him, but you managed to beat him," countered Andromeda.

"And not just beat him forcing him to retreat, you beat him decisively." Ted added.

"Something I daresay that even Dumbledore has not accomplished in the past." Andromeda picked the thread back up.

"I am not sure I actually heard a question there," commented Harry, more amused than offended by the discussion. He hadn't expected that the Tonks would just trust them sight unseen. If they had, Harry would have merely assumed they were naive at best and fools at worst.

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been rising for years. He is the second most powerful wizard next to Dumbledore, himself one of the most powerful wizards in decades, if not centuries," Andromeda spoke, her gaze locked on Harry's. "And yet someone who looks like he's still a teenager managed to beat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Nym glanced at her mother and swallowed. Her father was smart and tended to appear more so because he hid it behind an easygoing and friendly demeanor. However, her father had always admitted that her mother was always the more intelligent of the two. She never made any pretense of hiding her intelligence.

Andromeda was the one who could read people better than anyone Nym knew, and could always spot a lie or a holes in a story. She hoped Harry treaded carefully here. Because if the woman managed to find anything to latch onto she could dig and corner someone in a story without the person realizing what was happening.

"Well, other than the fact that you're wrong, I again didn't actually hear a question in there," Harry commented with a faint smile.

Nym glanced at Harry and just barely managed to keep from face palming. He had just challenged her mother and she was going to take it as such. She really hoped he knew what he was getting into.

"Wrong? Wrong in what?" Andromeda asked, "I'm sorry, but you absolutely still look like a teenager."

"Oh, no, you're not wrong about that," easily admitted Harry easily, although there was somewhat of a sad smile on his face, which Dora couldn't tell was real or an act for her mother's benefit. "I am very much a teenager. I meant your comment about Voldemort being the second most powerful wizard next to Dumbledore."

Andromeda tilted her head as she regarded him thoughtfully, "In what way? You're claiming to be more powerful?"

"I'm not counting myself at the moment, but the Dark Lord is more powerful than Dumbledore," Harry commented before taking a drink of wine, seemingly oblivious to the bomb that he had just dropped on the group.

"What?" Ted demanded in disbelief, "You must be mistaken."

Andromeda's reaction was more muted, but no less shocked.

"Not at all, Dumbledore isn't any slouch in the power department. They're probably about on even footing when it comes to knowledge, although the You-Know-Who's knowledge obviously skews to the dark arts while as Dumbledore's tends toward the more esoteric," Harry commented honestly. "Hell, I'm sure if you corner him privately, and ask him, he will confess that Tom is more powerful than he is. Where the Chief Mugwump makes up for it is in his control, which is unparalleled."

"What? Tom? Leaky Cauldron Tom?" Ted asked, disbelief giving way to confusion latching onto that statement.

"No, Tom as in Tom Riddle. That's You-Know-Who's real name," answered Harry blithely.

"Are you sure? How… do you know that?" Andromeda breathed in a very small voice.

"I know a great deal about him, he left me an orphan, and did the same to Nym. I've found all I can about the bastard and I intend to ensure Riddle's downfall," Harry stated with a hard voice.

Both Andromeda's and Ted's eyes seemed to not know where to look, somewhat caught off guard by the conviction in his voice and going between Harry and Dora, and then away as if offering them pity on their loss would somehow offend their guests. An uncomfortable silence descended over the table.

"But talk about that isn't why you invited us here tonight," Nym spoke up, finally breaking the silence. She noticed a very brief smirk on Harry's face and wondered if he had taken the conversation in an awkward direction purposefully. But judging by the way he leaned back slightly in his chair, it was clear he was letting her take the lead.

"No," Andromeda responded, a relieved tone for the change of topic in her voice. "No, we invited you here to talk to you, Theodora."

"Please, call me… Dora, or Nym," Nym responded, pausing only to bite back the reflexive 'Tonks' from slipping out. "I'm far more comfortable with either of those than that formal name."

Andromeda seemed to pause a moment looking vaguely displeased with that idea before seeming to accept it, "Very well, as I mentioned we wanted to talk about our daughter Nymphadora, and advice you may be able to offer regarding her metamorph abilities."

Nym did her best to look caught off guard, but Harry biting his lip to hide his laughter wasn't helpful, "Your daughter's name is Nymphadora?"

"Yes," Andromeda responded evenly, her eyes narrowing slightly at Nym's tone. Ted on the other hand glanced at his wife and leaned back slightly as if to distance himself from a suddenly dangerous animal, or expected cauldron explosion.

"Well, the first bit of advice I would give you is to choose a nickname or allow her to use one of her choice," Nym responded in a clipped tone.

"It is a perfectly acceptable name," Andromeda countered sharply, her expression clearly less than pleased to be having this discussion.

"Then you should be prepared for the first time she comes home sobbing because she's been teased relentlessly for it," Nym responded in a matching tone.

"Why in Merlin's name would that happen?" Andromeda couldn't resist rolling her eyes at the dramatic proclamation, "And your opinion on her name isn't why we asked you here."

"Oh, I don't know." Nym responded, her voice heating up, ignoring the last part of the statement. "Maybe because her peers will all go through puberty at some point? Where the capabilities of a metamorph become very obvious to an adolescent mind. And you've given her a name with the word nymph in it."

Andromeda looked taken aback by the heat in Nym's voice.

It was Ted that smoothly broke up the tension, "That's the sort of thing we were looking for insight on." His tone was calm and soothing.

Nym recognized the familiarity there, the role of mediating falling to him so easily. She remembered how often he had done the same thing when she and her mother had clashed growing up. She took a breath and relaxed into the seat, "Sorry, I did not mean to get so intense. Metamorphs are rare in the extreme and I'm aware of some of the difficulties growing up as one."

"What else can you tell us?" Ted asked, glancing over at his wife who still look taken off guard.

"I can tell you that you shouldn't try and forbid her from changing her appearance as much as possible." Nym explained, her own intensity relaxing as she spoke, "Certainly there are some times you should have her practice not shifting, but her body is constantly in flux so trying to arbitrarily tell her not to shift is like trying to tell yourself not to breath."

The conversation drifted on from there, with Nym trying to remember her own trials and tribulations and prepare her parents as best they could to avoid pitfalls as she remembered them. Making sure to mention clumsiness, and things of that nature.

They were interrupted by the distinctive cracking sound of an apparition.

"Andi, Andi!" A distinctive voice called through the house.

"That would be one of my younger sisters," Andromeda said as pushed back from the table, a curious look on her face.

A younger version of Andromeda burst into the room. She was nearly as tall as her older sister, with many of the same facial features, but that's where the similarities ended. Her hair, a slightly darker shade of brown, was a wild mane of curls, where Andromeda's seemed to be meticulously done. Andromeda had a presence that had a slightly regal bearing, her posture always stiff, as if years of etiquette training were constantly being applied. The newcomer seemed to exude energy, her face alight in an excited smile that seemed determined press her mood upon everyone around her.

And then there were the eyes.

When Nym saw the eyes, she stiffened and her hand shifted to palm her wand, only to find her wrist in an iron grip as Harry held it tightly. He had barely shifted positions and hadn't set down his drink but stopped her from drawing her wand when she realized who it was.

The future Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Andi, you won't believe it. Father's been… forced… to…" the teenage witch trailed off and stood completely agape seeing Harry and Nym sitting at the dining room table.

"Bellatrix, we have guests," Andromeda scolded, looking a bit more worried about things than the situation dictated. "This is-"

"It's you." Bellatrix cut her off, pointing incredulously at Harry. She turned, to stare at Andromeda, "It's him!"

Andromeda went to respond, only for Bellatrix to whirl again and point at Harry once more, "What are you doing here?"

Before Harry could respond to her demand, she was loudly chastised by Andromeda.

"I realize I've been thrown out of the family, but this is not how you were raised to behave around guests, Bellatrix Cassiopeia Black," she said, punctuating each of Bellatrix's names with a jab of her finger into Bellatrix's shoulder.

Bellatrix seemed gob smacked by Andromeda's tongue-lashing. "But Andi… that's… that's..."

"Those are our guests, if you can't realize that," Andromeda reaffirmed. "Yes, that's the man who took down the Dark Lord. Sitting next to him is his fiancé, who personally saved my husband's, my daughter's, and my own life during that debacle."

Bellatrix's eyes snapped to the female in the room, apparently only now fully recognizing in her mind the fact that there was another person present in the room. Then her eyes snapped back to Harry and then to Andromeda.

Before she could form another statement, Andromeda cut her off once more. "Unless you think they'll miss you, why don't you sit down and join us?"

Bellatrix glanced around before actually laughing, "Miss me? I doubt it, the family is in such a tizzy at the moment that you could probably set a muggle loose in the Grimmauld Place saying that 'Wizards are Freaks' and even Aunt Walburga wouldn't notice."

Andromeda rolled her eyes slightly but with a wave of her wand, summoned a fifth chair and a table setting to the table with practiced ease.

As she did, Harry spoke up, with an amused cast to his tone, "As for what we're doing here, I'd say it's fairly obvious we're eating dinner." There was no hint in his voice of the iron grip he had locked on Nym's wrist. She had stopped trying to raise her wand but he hadn't let go yet. It wasn't until he felt her relax and slowly settle back into her chair that he released her wrist.

Bellatrix sat down, seeming to regain her composure as she did. She spoke in a much more restrained manner, her eyes not leaving Harry's. "I'm sorry, I just didn't expect to find part of the reason all the old families are in an uproar, here of all places."

"Part of the reason?" Ted inquired, taking his gaze away from Harry, "I assume the old families, at least the ones of a particular mindset are all frantic now that the man they all toss black robes and masks on and follow around got his bloody arse handed to him in public."

"Edward, that's hardly appropriate dinner language," Andromeda scolded as she sat back down, before turning her attention back to Bellatrix.

"Well, that's certainly part of the reason," Bellatrix allowed with a flat look aimed towards Ted before she glanced at Andromeda, then turned back to Ted. "But you know how that is, they don't tell us anything and the Dark Lord is hiding at the moment. I think Grandma Irma knows something but she's not said anything to the family. I do know that Father gave all of the family wands, currently not in use to a friend."

"The 'Dark Lord' is probably hoping he can find one he can use well enough to replace the one I took," Harry commented with a brief smirk.

"So at least some of the rumors are true," Bellatrix said, staring at Harry, her expression matched the evaluating tone she had taken. It wasn't a friendly stare, though it wasn't an unfriendly one either.

"Well, there's a hint of truth in most rumors. The challenge always resides in picking out the kernels of truth in them." Harry responded. His eyes were evaluating this Bellatrix with the one that was vividly in his memories

Bellatrix seemed disappointed briefly, that Harry wasn't going to rise to any bait. But then her focus shifted back to Andromeda, who seem vaguely amused.

"I was wondering when you were going to manage to slip away, and pop by," Andromeda commented, a genuine smile breaking on her face, "I assume the news of the death of Reginuald had your particular situation at the very least put on hold?"

"Well… yes." Bellatrix nodded slowly in agreement, to both statements "Without the head of a family there to sign off on the betrothal, all major decisions within the Lestrange family are now on semi-permanent hold. And the heir is on the continent doing Merlin knows what. The entire Lestrange family is trying to track him down now."

Ted snorted, "Yeah good luck with that."

"Track him down," reiterated Harry. "Is that what they call organizing a hit these days."

"Not quite," Bellatrix responded, looking up. "When Reginuald died, he hadn't named his heir. With his son dead from Dragonpox some time ago, the heir apparent was Rodolphus. But he was following tradition and waiting to name him until Rodolphus passed his NEWTS. However, unfortunate for Rudy, his father was Reginuald's second son, and not the primary heir at the time."

"What happened to the eldest?" Nym asked, leaning forward.

"The eldest, Radulf had a falling out with his father. He left for the continent and to the best of my knowledge hasn't set foot here since he left. That was years ago," Andromeda answered calmly. "Reginuald always thought Radulf would come to his senses and return to his home. It just hasn't happened yet."

"What did they fight over?" Harry asked, this wasn't something he had any prior knowledge of. Besides Bellatrix herself, the Lestranges were little more than thugs in this generation, their father's value to Tom having only been in that he had been one of his original Death Eaters, and had easily convinced his father Reginauld to join his cause. In their time, Rudolphus had in fact been named the Lestrange heir upon the day of his graduation, but with the family head's death, any history Harry knew from Riddle's memories was now completely out the window.

"I'm not entirely certain," Bellatrix answered with a shrug, "From what I understand he had a rather queer interest in searching for history and buried treasure."

"So if the head of the family fell to him, then it would probably fall to any children he may have," Harry mused thoughtfully.

"Unlikely. While Radulf had certain predilections that his father disapproved of, including a complete lack of belief in anything remotely resembling traditions," Andromeda commented delicately. "One in particular irritated his father more than any other, and would also have prevented any offspring."

Harry leaned back, looking thoughtful at that comment as he realized what she was referring to.

Nym however was far less discrete, "Er, wot?"

"She's saying that Radulf preferred the company of other men to that of women," Ted commented dryly.

"What, don't blame me for not getting it? For all I know, she could've meant goats," Nym said defensively, getting mixed looks of disgust and amusement from all in the room. "What? Don't tell me I'm the only one whose hear the rumors about Aberforth Dumbledore!"

Ted tried valiantly to hold back a laugh, but failed and burst out into a full throated chuckle, despite Andromeda's disapproving look. Bellatrix look startled and then actually snorted in amusement. Nym looked up at the woman in surprise, stunned that she seemed to be capable of a laugh that was anything other than a demented cackle.

"So all Lestrange family business is on hold until they track down their heir, and convince him to come home, and convince him to act on things." Andromeda commented, "Which means you are off the hook, at least in the short term."

"Maybe, but not likely for the reason you think," Bellatrix said with a sigh, using a fork to pick at the food. "As much as I detest the thought of a match with that buffoon. Father raised the possibility of finding another match. Mother is adamant it will be worked out."

"You don't want to marry Rodulphus?" Nym blurted out in disbelief. It was hard for her to imagine the idea of the woman who had practically had the Lestrange brothers with her everywhere, not wanting to do so.

"Merlin, no!" Bellatrix responded immediately, looking across at the woman. "Mother wants me to do so because it would unite two ancient and pureblood houses, and because they're rich."

Nym and Bellatrix both missed the sharp look Andromeda shot across at her, though Harry did not. Though he managed to keep his expression even.

"My parents, along with my Cousin Sirius' mother, found me a pureblood match to an old and rich family," Bellatrix commented, a bright fake smile on her face, "But they picked one of the worst possible ones!"

"How so?" Harry inquired, his focus on Bellatrix, though he reached his hand over to take Nym's. He wanted to be able to cut her off if she looked like she might slip up again.

"Please, Rodolphus and Rabastan have about half a brain between the two of them on a good day," Bellatrix said with a trace of dismissiveness, "They are mediocre wizards at best, and I could take them both out without breaking a sweat."

"So you're particularly happy Lestrange Senior is out of the picture." Harry said quietly in observation.

Bellatrix looked back up at him, curiosity coming once more to the forefront, "Did you really use Lord Lestrange to block one of the Dark Lord's curses?"

"He was just the right shape and height," Harry said with a nod of his head, then quirked his head as he examined Bellatrix a bit closer. She was articulate and showed a sharp mind without any of the traces of insanity that were so prevalent later in her life. Though she wasn't particularly good at hiding her emotions given the way her eyes kept flicking to Harry, curiosity and interest evident there.

"I take it you're happy with my choice of shields?" Harry finally asked.

Bellatrix stared at Harry for only the briefest moments, glanced at Dora an event shorter period of time, then turned back to Harry. She opened her mouth and then hesitated, clearly changing her mind one what she intended to say, "Even if it's only a temporary reprieve, it's better than nothing. Thank you."

The disgust which Bellatrix apparently felt for her situation became more apparent the longer she spoke, as by the time she'd finished she was openly sneering, and Andromeda had moved closer to place a comforting arm upon her younger sister's shoulder. That touch seemed to spark something in younger woman, because she turned back to look at her sister, "But that isn't actually why I came over!"

"Why did you come over then?" Andromeda asked her sister.

"Because while my situation might only be paused, our sister's betrothal has been dissolved completely," Bellatrix said slowly.

"How?" asked Andromeda, with an incredulous look upon her face. "There's no way Lucius Malfoy would agree to end her betrothal, especially with how much money Cissy brought to the Malfoy's with her dowry. Paying it back would bankrupt Lucius. Not to mention as far as I can tell, he's as taken with her as that silly crush she has on him!"

"And there's no way your family would just let him go without exacting every penalty they could from him," Ted added, his focus completely on his sister-in-law.

Bellatrix felt as if she had drawn out the tension long enough and said, "Lucius Malfoy is dead. Almost the entirety of the Malfoy Manor was destroyed through Fiendfyre sometime last night, as well as most of the surrounding estate."

There was a brief pause and then Andromeda, normally so composed and refined, spit the tea she was drinking across the table as the words sank in. Afterward, there stunned silence from Andromeda and Ted as they stared at Bellatrix in disbelief. Harry's expression reflected the same, and so did Nym's at least after a brief smirk had crossed her face.

"Is it possible he faked his death?" Andromeda asked quietly.

"I guess… it's technically possible." Bellatrix mused as she considered the question, "But it's pretty unlikely, to be certain. When the contract dissolved with a flash of magic, Grandfather checked at Gringotts, intent on getting the dowry back. But, based on Narcissa's betrothal, he managed to claim the entirety of the Malfoy vaults without too much of a hassle." Bellatrix explained, "With Lucius' father Abraxus dying last year due to Dragon Pox, the Black family had the only living claim on it, so the goblins allowed it to go forward uncontested."

"Lucius is definitely dead then," Andromeda said with certainty, "He would rather die than destroy his manor, but nothing on earth could compel him to abandon his wealth for anything."

"Given what we suspect of his… loyalties, is it possible he did something to displease You-Know-Who?" Ted asked Andromeda bluntly.

"I have no idea," Andromeda replied after a few moments. "Lucius not only had legitimate political connections, but he was likely a major source of revenue for his forces, and to push his agenda through the Wizengamot with purchased votes. Killing Lucius would be a massive blow for him… and rather short-sighted."

Throughout the discussion, neither Dora nor Harry had said a word. Although, when he glanced at Dora once while Andromeda was speaking, he realized that Dora really needed to work on her 'I'm trying to appear innocent' look.

Bellatrix turned her attention back to Harry, her eyes focused on him with undisguised interest once more. Her expression was sharp once more having imparted the news she had been so eager to share. She was locked on him and seemed to be trying to understand him.

"Although speaking of political connections, is it true that you've claimed headship of three houses?" Bellatrix asked in a manner that was far more blunt than he would have expected from the teenaged girl.

"It is true. The Prophet practically took out a front page announcement on it," Harry responded.

"The Prophet is hardly the most reliable source," Bellatrix countered, her piercing gaze focused on Harry. And she wasn't the only one, Andromeda and Ted's attention had done the same.

Harry looked unruffled by the attention, though Nym seemed caught off guard and more wary. A reassuring squeeze from Harry's hand relaxed her as she once more let him take the lead.

"There were multiple ministry flunkies there, along with Albus Dumbledore, when the goblins verified my claim," responded the now former Potter. "For once, the paper was surprisingly accurate."

"So somehow you are the head of Gryffindor, Slytherin and Peverell," Bellatrix said flatly.

Harry smiled faintly, "I see that there's more than a family resemblance. There's that tendency again to not actually ask questions."

"How is that possible?" Andromeda asked, speaking up for her sister "To be head of all three, but specifically Gryffindor and Slytherin? I would think that if anyone carried those ancient blood in their veins they would have revealed themselves before now. They are one of the founding families."

"And everyone knows that the Dark Lord is the heir of Slytherin," Bellatrix said, her dark eyes glittering as she looked at Harry.

"Not anymore," Harry said smugly, putting his hand on the table and rather blatantly showing the Slytherin ring which materialized for nearly ten seconds before he willed it away once more. "I can designate any heir I want. I could designate Ted here to be my heir. What do you think Ted, how would you like to be the Heir of Slytherin?"

Ted started violently, and shook his head quickly, "No, no, I'm quite alright being Ted Tonks, thanks."

Harry grinned and winked at the man who realized he had been teased, and responded with a grin of his own.

"That doesn't answer the question," Andromeda observed.

"Sometimes its blood that ensures you inherit a House, sometimes its deeds," Harry responded, taking a moment to take a drink, "Sometimes it happens to be both, and more."

"You know that almost every family in Britain is scrambling to find you right now, correct?" Bellatrix half asked, and half stated.

"Yup," Harry popped the p in the sound with a grin that could only be described as insolent. Although his eyes twinkled in amusement as Bellatrix stared at him like a particularly confounding puzzle that she wasn't quite able to solve.

"No mail owls can find you, nor any other messaging spells. Everyone is looking high and low, I even think the Rowles were going to attempt to scry for you," Bellatrix said flatly, "And you're here with my sister, who was cast out from the Black family after getting knocked up and then marrying her muggleborn beau, rather than with any one of those pureblood families who would likely offer their souls for a solid connection to you. Why?"

"Bellatrix Black!" Andromeda remonstrated, and true anger flashed across her face at the bluntness with which her sister spoke. Though Bellatrix didn't even turn to look at her sister, her gaze was fixed on Harry.

"Well, firstly it was because they invited us. A rather polite offer of dinner," Harry turned to Andromeda and smiled, "Which again, I must say, was excellent. When Dora and I get settled, you must come visit us and we'll have to do this again."

Then he returned his gaze to Bellatrix and narrowed his eyes and pinned her under his gaze, "But I don't think that really answers your question, if there really was one in there other than 'why'."

"The true answer to your question is that I don't give a tinker's damn about how pure your blood is," he spoke slowly and deliberately, enough that even the comment Andromeda looked like she was about to deliver to her sister was cut off. Harry's voice was passionate and practically spellbinding, "There are two reasons that blood doesn't matter. Would you like to know them?"

Harry didn't wait for a response, instead he picked up a knife from the dinner table and very deliberately and slowly cut a long shallow cut across his palm. Blood welled up immediately as he held up his palm facing the three others sitting at the table, "Pureblood, half-blood, new blood. All blood looks the same when it's draining from you. And no matter whether it's draining from my palm because of this shallow scratch, or from someone's neck because their throat has been cut, it's all the same."

None of them said anything, as he reached over with his hand and traced a finger over the wound, a flash of silver sealing it closed.

"What's the second point?" Bellatrix asked, there was as much curiosity as there was challenge in her voice. But there was also a clear tone of interest there.

"The second point?" Harry's tone turned amused, "Bellatrix Black, the second point is that blood doesn't matter… all that matters is power."

As he said the final word, his voice seemed to get deeper. And suddenly the entire room was filled with the feeling of magic. Harry hadn't moved a muscle, but his emerald eyes began to glow faintly with power and suddenly every object in the room levitated in the air.

The table and chairs lifted to hover several inches off the ground. Every piece of silverware similarly levitated as well. Every object hovered in the room as Harry kept Bellatrix pinned with his gaze.

No movement had been made.

No wand had been drawn.

And they all realized it.

There were slack jaws by all four other people at the display of magical power. Even Nym was staring at Harry in something akin to awe. Especially considering he was levitating all five of the chairs with people in them as well.

Harry simply held Bellatrix gaze for a full thirty seconds, as silence filled the room before, as if by some invisible signal, every piece in the room slowly lowered and settled to the ground, with only soft clinks and thunks to signal anything had been moved.

He didn't say anything, just stared into Bellatrix eyes. Truthfully, Harry wasn't sure why he was so insistent on making his point with the woman across from him. She was an adult who had made her own choices in their future, bad choices that lead to her own demise.

But Riddle's memories were full of just how devoted she had been to his cause and how she had gotten that way. Looking for something to devote herself to, she had been easy prey when he already had the Lestranges in his pocket. But she had been special, talented and more powerful by far than any of his other followers, and how grateful and eagerly she had taken to Riddle's tutelage and his attention.

If Harry could send her down another path, away from pureblood dogma and the hook Riddle had used so easily, perhaps her future might be changed.

Then again, batshit crazy could still be plain batshit crazy.

With a bit of loco thrown in for a side-dish.

A soft buzzing ended the silence in the room. Bellatrix blinked, as if coming out from under a spell as she looked at her wrist where one of her bracelets was vibrating slightly. "Narcissa, letting me know someone is looking for me. I need to go."

Andromeda sighed, and a brief flash of sadness crossed her face. The fact that her sisters had to see her surreptitiously obviously hurt the woman. But the look quickly disappeared, "Be careful Bella. You don't know what the family will do now."

"Thanks, Dromeda," Bellatrix said, with genuine appreciation. She took one more long look at Harry before she twisted and apparated away with a soft crack.

"Well, that was interesting." Harry commented idly, and looked at their hosts politely, "What's for dessert?"

-o0o0o-

Dinner was excellent, thank you for inviting us." Harry said politely as Nym and Andromeda rejoined them. The two women had left the room to go check on Nym's younger counterpart, while Harry and Ted had lingered over drinks and dessert. They hadn't talked of anything substantive during dessert, but had gone with light conversation, until Andromeda suggested Nym go and meet her daughter formally.

"Well, we appreciate you taking the time to speak with us, and offer advice about our daughter." Ted responded, as the two women took their seats.

"Miss Nimue has offered to teach Nymphadora more as she grows up, and answer questions whenever we need them," Andromeda added with a pleased smile. "As well as offer Nymphadora someone to talk to whenever she might need to just talk."

Harry raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Nym curiously, who just smiled self-consciously in return. Harry reached over and squeezed her hand lightly which turned the smile more genuine, and he turned to regard them, "I wonder if that was because she knows we intended to ask you for favors of our own."

"Oh?" Andromeda asked curiously, looking very unsurprised. A favor for a favor was a common currency among families, so it certainly wasn't a foreign concept to her, nor was it completely unexpected.

"Well the first one isn't so much a favor as an offer for occasional free-lance employment," Harry commented, looking directly at Ted as he spoke. "At the moment I'm not sure I need a full time barrister, but I might in the future and in the meantime I could probably use an occasional ear to bounce things off of."

"Well, I…" Ted looked slightly flustered as he was put on the spot, "I'm a rather junior worker at our office. You might want one of the older lawyers at the firm. They're more well known."

"I'm not looking for well known," Harry commented.

"Yes but…" He trailed off, glancing at his wife and then at Harry, squaring his shoulders. "The only reason I have a job there at all is one of the partners owed my father a significant debt. Otherwise they wouldn't have hired me on. Too much trouble with the old families working with a muggleborn, especially me."

"Yeah, well I don't care about," Harry answered with a dismissive shrug of his shoulders.

"You realize the partners at our firm, and the other major ones, are all there for a reason. The Ministry doesn't tangle with them lightly." Ted explained, his tone sincere and concerned, "If there is legislation that looks like it might be passed and significantly harm a family, or occasionally even a law that might target a specific individual then those are the lawyers you go to. Because they justifiably have a reputation of stopping at nothing to protect their clients and their interests."

"I'll reiterate, I don't care about that," Harry commented, "What I am looking for is a man of conviction. One who will not hesitate to speak up with me when he disagrees. The same sort who is willing to abscond with the eldest daughter of the Black family because of how you feel for one another, risking the wrath of a powerful pureblood family in the process."

Andromeda despite her control couldn't keep a proud smile from briefly emerging on her face.

"And when someone tries to pass a law targeted specifically at you?" Ted asked quietly.

"Funny thing about laws," Harry responded after a moment's pause, a brief smile, that held no humor what so ever on it crossed his face, "They only work if you can enforce them. Should someone target me in way or another. I'm sure they'll… quickly learn the error of their ways."

Ted regarded Harry quietly for several long moments before a slow smile crossed his face, "You sir, are likely to shake the wizarding world. Yes, I will happily provide you my legal services when you need them."

"Excellent!" Harry looked imminently pleased, before he glanced over at Nym and his smile grew a bit wider, "Which neatly brings me to my next request for a favor."

"I'm all ears," Ted responded with a chuckle.

"As I explained earlier this evening. Nym and I are both orphans, and any relations we have, aren't exactly ones we're keen to interact with in any manner." Harry explained. Getting nods from the two Tonks, he continued, "So we were wondering if you would be willing to stand as witnesses to our marriage."

There was silence in the room as both Tonks seemed to take a moment to digest that, Ted seemed to regain his wits first as he nodded slowly, "I remember when we were in Diagon Alley, she did mention that she was going to take the last name Peverell soon."

"I'm just surprised that you have no one that could stand as witnesses," Andromeda interjected looking back and forth between the two.

Harry shrugged easily, "Like I said we were fairly isolated growing up, Tom Riddle and his merry band of sycophants and followers orphaned us both, and neither of us know anyone well enough to feel comfortable asking them to join us."

Ted and Andromeda exchanged a glance, "And you just want witnesses? You don't want a wedding or anything?"

"Yes, neither of us would particularly care for anything overly elaborate," Harry answered.

Andromeda and Ted exchanged another look, before Ted spoke up hesitantly, "Is there a particular… rush to do so?" He asked with a glance at Nym, before averting his eyes back to Harry in embarrassment.

"Well we would like to get it done before the end of August," Nym spoke up,

"A due date that soon?" Andromeda blurted, as she stared at Nym, or more precisely, her stomach, "You can hardly tell!"

Harry snorted as he realized what conclusion they had jumped to.

"Er, wot?" For a second time that night Nym was completely confused, especially as beside her Harry was shaking silently in mirth.

"She thinks you're pregnant," Harry said bluntly, outright laughing as he lost the battle to hold it in.

"What?!" Nym half screeched as she immediately looked down at herself and turned left and right, her hair fluctuating colors rapidly, "Do I look pregnant?!"

Ted joined Harry in laughter at Nym's reaction, and even Andromeda allowed a small chuckle to escape her. Nym finally pouted dramatically, crossing her arms, her hair turning a deep purple as she huffed.

"If there is no reason to do so, why the end of August as a deadline?" Andromeda asked, recovering from her amusement.

"Because we've agreed to attend Hogwarts this upcoming year in order to formally get our NEWTS," Harry said dryly.

"I… see." Andromeda said slowly, clearly not understanding but not willing to pry at the moment

"I don't see any reason why we wouldn't be able to stand as witnesses," Ted said after a few moment's pause, his own thoughts on the matter clearly puzzled.

"We even have a gift for you in return," Harry offered with a smile.

"Oh?" Andromeda tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at Harry's suspiciously bright smile.

"Yes," Harry said earnestly, "Tell me, how you feel about giving a pair of house elves a home?"

-o0o0o-

"That… was interesting," Ted commented to his wife after she had seen their guests off.

"Very," Andromeda commented, as she sat on the arm of the chair next to her husband, "They're hiding many things."

Ted snorted in response, "Is there a single family out there that isn't?"

Andromeda didn't deign to respond to that question, instead reaching up to let her hair out of its bun. "Miss Nimue was… interesting. She was incredibly nervous all throughout dinner, more so when we checked in on Nymphadora and the look in her eyes…"

"You saw it too," Ted said, nodding in agreement, "I'm not sure, but some of her mannerisms make her seem awfully familiar."

"That could also be the fact that she likely is used to mimicking people," Andromeda commented, "But you're right. She also knew more about our family than expected."

"Oh?" Ted looked up at his wife, who was staring out the window.

"She knew Bellatrix was matched with Rodolphus, and we never said his name." Andromeda said slowly.

"They seem pretty well informed in general, it's possible they found out about it through other means," Ted countered gently.

"That's true." Andromeda hummed thoughtfully.

Ted ran a hand up his wife's back, slowly as he mused, "That young man is certainly going to cause some trouble."

"If You-Know-Who doesn't manage to kill him first, you mean." Andromeda responded, relaxing into her husband's touch.

"Do you think he's the one that killed Malfoy?" Ted asked quietly.

Andromeda stilled for several long seconds and sighed, "It's possible. I do know it makes no sense for You-Know-Who to kill Lucius."

"Does that bother you?" Ted asked quietly.

Andromeda shifted into her husband's touch, taking time to consider her answer. "Not particularly. Lucius was an evil sadistic bastard, who would have killed you at the earliest opportunity."

"That's what I was thinking as well," Ted offered, not bothered by the blunt statement, "Although, I gotta say, it doesn't really change my opinion of them all that much. They've done more to put You-Know-Who on his heels than anyone has in years. And they treated us better than any of the old families have done."

Andromeda nodded, "That's true. Asking us to be witnesses is a sign of immense respect, even if they don't know us all that well."

"Also giving us house elves in return for that privilege. They're strange, there is no doubt about that." Ted commented, "But a good kind of strange and a kind of strange I think our society could really use right about now. And did you feel the power coming off of him when he floated everything? I've never felt anything like it."

"Oh yes. That was an immense amount of power, it made quite the impression." Andromeda said as genuine a smile crossed her face, "And not just on us."

"Oh?" Ted asked, looking up at his wife while his hand brushed over her shoulders.

"I think my sister was impressed as well," Andromeda grinned and turned her attention to look down in his eyes. "Very very impressed."

"Uh oh," Ted commented, his hand stilling as he met his wife's eyes, "The last time I saw that look you were about to convince me to elope with you."

"Oh no, you're perfectly safe this time my dear," Andromeda replied with a serious expression turned more serious, "But given the look on Bella's face, maybe this is something that will pull her attention away from her fascination with You-Know-Who and his cronies."

"Like the Lestranges," Ted agreed as he considered his wife's words.

"I'm not in a position to do anything at the moment," Andromeda laughed softly, "I just think that after his little demonstration, my sister is far more interested in the young man than he realizes."

"Er, yes, but he is about to be married…" Ted replied, looking puzzled.

"And the fact that he is going to be at Hogwarts this year…" Andromeda shook her head, "I don't know what will happen, but I think it's safe to say there are definitely interesting times ahead."

"Oh dear." Ted said, suddenly feeling an immense amount of pity for their new friends.

-o0o0o-

Author's notes:

Holy crap. Another update.

1st) Yes. We totally messed with people's ages in this. Author prerogative. So please if you're going to yowl at us about Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa being about 10 years older. Yeah. We know. We don't care. LET ME REPEAT! WE DO NOT CARE. AT ALL.

2nd) Hey look, they got together and it didn't take 300k words.

3rd) Yes. Harry is definitely darker in this version, and he's not Crazy McEmopants either. He has element's of Voldemort's personality (Plums - more that he won't hesitate in some situations) and they come out from time to time. He's not screwing around as he goes after Voldemort's Horcruxes. He has no problem with killing. He's not going to just go off killing people. Nor does he have access to everything right now (Oh, i'ma just waltz into every death eaters house and kill them) but my thought behind the unforgiveables is that it's the cruciatus and avada kedavra that truly require revelling in hate and darkness. The imperio is an unforgiveable because of the effect, not because it requires hate or darkness.

4th) Yes we are sending them to Hogwarts. Harry wants to get in and provided an honest assessment of his skills. (Remember he has Tom's and his own :P) So it's not like any of the classes except ones he hadn't actually taken would present any sort of challenge to him. He had to be entreated to do so. Will they stay students there? Good question

5th) Plums Pontifications:

We had the first ⅓ of this chapter written at least a year ago, then this story took a vacation. We got back to it in the past few weeks, and made more progress fairly quickly.

We're riding a line with Tonks. Is she a submissive Bellatrix Lestrange clone? No, not really, but we're well aware that line exists and we don't want to go quite past it. Close on occasion sure, but that's the kind of mentality we want Tonks to have.

Kat: Yes, very devoted to Harry, with a bit more influence over him.

Alternate Chapter titles:

"Finally! Harry gets laid in one of Kat's stories!"- Plums

"Yeah, seriously, what's the hold up?" - Harry

"Hush." - Kat

"Dumbledore's gone barmy!" - Harry

"There are two of me, can the world handle that much awesome?"- Tonks

"With your luck she'll grow up to be like your mother," - Harry

"Oh dear Merlin no!" - Tonks

"Dumbledore isn't a manipulative old bastard? Is that allowed?"- Reviewer

"Wooohooo! I'm not an evil manipulating masterminded prick!" - Albus as he happy dances.

"I dunno getting Harry to go to Hogwarts in hope of turning children away from Tom seems pretty manipulative." - Tonks

"Especially if you're warned up front that they might not all survive." - Harry

"LA LA LA I CANT HEAR YOU! I AM NOT MANIPULATIVE! LA LA LA!" - Albus

"Dobby makes a cameo!" - Dobby

"Seriously, do I look pregnant?" - Nym

"Lucius dies." - Harry.

"But… but what happens to me then?" - Draco.

"Well… I guess you're probably not born. Such a terrible shame." - Harry.

"But… but…" - Draco

"Fiendfyre 101"- Tonks

"Ah… you appear to have incorrectly cast it," - Harry

"But their house is burning" - Tonks

"No, No. Practice makes perfect." - Harry

"Are you sure? Looks pretty perfect to me." - Tonks

"No, We'll head on over to Avery's place. I hear he has an excellent front lawn where you can practice again." - Harry

"Albus has a heart attack"

"I told you I should've put more clothes on." - Tonks

"How could I have known his heart couldn't take it?" - Harry

"He's got old balls. Of course he couldn't take it. And it's ME he saw naked." - Tonks

"Wait… why would that matter?" - Harry