Chapter 7
...Don't count you chickens before they are hatched...
~Benjamin Franklin
Morning of Saint Giles Massacre
Riddle Manor
Tom Riddle, exhausted from his recent fight with the assassins, sank heavily into his lavish recliner. A small glass of Brandy nearby dulled his aches. He didn't plan on joining the battle, he should have just let General Bones handle the operation. Either way, the outcome would have been the same concerning Peter.
His friend's magical abilities were priceless to Tom. Of course, he could have used other means of infiltrating and spying, but he spent a lot of time molding Peter into the perfect spy. It was no easy task to take a mediocre wizard and teach him complicated magic for espionage. Tom made a note to gather all of Peter's belongings while thinking of a replacement. 'I'm sure Peter had a collection of "dirt" files on foreign leaders', Tom thought.
With the assassins dead, Tom could relax knowing that the crimes he committed to become Emperor were buried with them. The only other person that could threaten his integrity would be Joseph Evans and he hasn't been heard from in years. And so Tom's thoughts drifted to the future. While his country was thriving from magical means and muggle technology, they were still ostracized from the rest of the world because they broke the Secrecy Statute. The other nations were still not ready to mix the two societies; probably out of spite for him.
Tom was not naive to think that information would not get back to the other world leaders. He knew that they were keeping tabs on him. But he also knew that they feared him. They feared his success, his power, and most notably...change.
Like any person, Tom was not without his faults. His grand plan for a unified world was on hiatus, and has been for a few years. Thinking about it, Tom realized that he had become complacent. He didn't want to fall into the same trap most people with power do. Tom wasn't greedy for more power, or so he thought. He wanted to push his dream into realization. Now was a good time as any to move his grand plan forward. He wasn't getting any younger after all.
He flicked his hand in the air and summoned a notepad and pen. "It took twenty years to completely merge the muggle and magical worlds. Both populaces were slowly introduced to each other so that when the time came, there wasn't a major shock. No conspiracies, no looting, no chaos. How do I pull off the same effect? Instead of twenty years...I want it done within two."
Tom's pen was a flurry of motion as it scribbled what he spoke aloud. "How do you unify two nations of people quickly? War and a helluva lot of propaganda!"
Tom thought of the ramifications of going to war with the rest of the world. He felt justified with going to war as long as his goal for a unified world was met. World leaders should not stop the human race on advancing because they fear a secret. 'Look at my country', Tom thought, 'we have been self-sufficient for years without any type of trade from other countries'.
Before planning further, Tom thought of another way to unify people. Maybe, he could unleash the magical secret by force. Just show up and dazzle them with Britain's new technology and magic. Show them that their government has been lying to their faces so that the masses would denounce them. Promote that type of chaos and anarchy to cripple law and order and bring those bastards to their knees before he swooped in like a hero! But would Tom want to inherit a country in flames?
"No", Tom said aloud. "War is the answer I am looking for, but I still need something that would get the people with me. Not unite against me." Thinking harder, Tom thought he had come up with a solution.
After World War II, the United States flexed their military muscles to the other countries of the world in a (basically) penis showing contest. They turned the tide and stopped Hitler from world domination..yadda yadda capitalism! The Korean War was another example. Military might against superior numbers forced a standstill.
Then Tom thought of the fiasco that was the Vietnam War. Television sets were becoming household items, battles were being viewed by every U.S citizen with a T.V. set. The glories of faraway battles and honorable deaths were replaced with the gritty reality of what war really is. The horror of people being burned alive, torn apart by shrapnel, or riddled with lead were brought into the American household for their viewing pleasure. Or displeasure...
Vietnam was the first major war the Americans had where the citizens rebelled and had no faith within the government. They even went so far as to spitting on soldiers returning from war. After tens of thousands of casualties, news broadcasts of gruesome violence, and ten long years of battle and political strife, the American people lost the taste for war. 'Maybe, just maybe...I can get the American people to do the same', Riddle thought.
"Political propaganda and conspiracies will get the masses talking...as long as I can show some truth...they will wonder why Britain is getting bullied. So, when my army comes around to crush them from the South...we will not be seen as the aggressors but as the little guy that has had enough!"
Riddle was interrupted from his rant by a frantic Bella that was spit out of the floo. The yellow flames of his fireplace illuminated a sickly green for a brief second before returning. "Emperor", Bella said,"we have a problem. You need to see this."
"What has you frazzled my dear?"
"We didn't get them all...," her breathing was ragged, "you need to come see...I can't describe it."
Tom nodded and downed the rest of his Brandy and stood to follow her. "Where were going?"
"Back to Bowes Castle, someone must have returned afterwards or was able to escape the battle!"
The blood in Tom's face washed away. To Bella, he looked as white as the paper he loved to write on. Without a moments hesitation, Tom ran out of his office to his personal apparition point with Bella in tow. Floo travel and hard liqueur never mixes well after all. It only took a moment for both of them to apparate to Bowes Castle.
When Tom appeared on the street, his Aurors were trying to conduct crowd control. As he walked past the pointing civilians and caught snippets of frantic conversation, he caught sight of the massive emblem the assassin's had on the stone wall of Bowes Castle.
Upon closer inspection, Riddle realized that a man was crucified within a red heart made with blood. The dead person's hands were nailed to a cross and his throat was slashed from ear to ear. Tom felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise up. 'How', he asked himself. 'The operation was perfect! How did someone survive?'
"Get him down and clean this up. I want..."
"That's not all", Bella interrupted. "The casualty collection area was hit too." Tom ran back to the apparition point as Bella told an Auror to have the dead man removed and identified. Tom had already left for the casualty area by the time Bella ran to catch up with him.
When she appeared at the road gate, she watched as Tom stood as still as stone. His eyes never left the twisted monument the assassins had made. The surrounding Aurors were instructed not to interfere until the Emperor was on-site. "What do we know", Tom asked nobody in general. When he didn't get a response, Tom took his eyes of the monument and hollered, "REPORT!"
A nervous looking Auror cleared his throat, "I was conducting a perimeter round at the battle site when I seen the area light up in flames. No shots were fired, we would've heard them. All of the assassin's bodies are gone so we've been trying to track portkey and apparition usage but we haven't had any luck sir."
"Somebody had to hear or see something!" Riddle hollered furiously. "I want answers damn it!"
Not one Auror moved until Bella ordered them to secure the scene. "Get Investigator Black over here now! Get all of them!"
...Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present...
~Bil Keane
Harry awoke to the joyous sounds of chirping just outside his tent. He looked out of the flap and noticed that the sun was overly bright, especially since the night held so much death. Looking over, he noticed that Davin was awake and staring at the ceiling of the tent. Harry still felt weak from the events from the night before. Fighting with Dumbledore, getting captured by his lovely daughter, finding out the truth to his parent's murderer, and the annihilation of his entire adoptive family; except Davin of course.
Emotionally, Harry felt numb. He didn't know where Davin and himself would go from this point. There was nothing left for them but revenge. The desire for it consumed his thoughts until he reigned them in. Father Jacobs used to preach against it.
"If left unchecked, revenge will consume you," Father Jacobs told his group of students. "Rage will encompass your thoughts giving you tunnel vision."
"What is that Father," asked a twelve year old Harry.
Father Jacobs smiled warmly at his prodigy, "tunnel vision is where you can only see what is in front of you, just like looking through a scope. This leaves you blind to your surroundings and on a larger scale, the battle. A smarter opponent will use this and attack you from the peripheral. NEVER...Never fight angry."
"Instead, you must learn to channel your anger into focus. Be aware of everything."
Harry could be mad at him all he wants, but deep down, he did love Father Jacobs. Davin was right when he said Harry held a special place in the man's heart. Small memories kept flooding Harry's thoughts making it hard for him to think.
Harry huffed in annoyance and jumped off his cot. He walked outside and headed towards the headstone that stood above the body of his mentor. He knelt down in front of it and slowed his breathing.
"Meditation", Father Jacobs told him, "has two major benefits for magical beings. Number One...it will center your emotions. It will help calm you and give you strength. Even non-magical martial artists have seen the benefit to performing it. Visualize breathing in positive energy, let it fill you up like water in a glass. As you exhale, visualize the negative energy releasing from your body."
"The second use is only for magical beings. As you breath in, feel the magic around you. Just like with the positive energy, pull the magic into your body and visualize it empower you from within. With practice and skill, you will be able to feel the magic in the air. Feel and pick apart wards like reading a book. But, only those in tune with their mind and magic can achieve this ability."
Young Harry sat kneeling in front of Father Jacobs. He let the older man's soothing voice encompass his being as he meditated. The dark haired boy felt the energy around him and started to pull it to him. After a moment, he started to pushing it out.
"Good", Father Jacobs said. "You certainly are a quick study, Harry."
Harry returned from the memory feeling slightly lighter. While his body felt better, his mind was still caught in a storm. Looking at the sky, Harry noticed that the sun had moved a noticeable distance since he came out of the tent. With one last look at the grave marker, Harry returned to the tent. Davin was sitting at the table eating a sandwich.
"You should eat something", Davin said mentally. Harry sat opposite of his friend and grabbed a bite for himself. Davin looked at his friend, "I think we should return to Dumbledore's hideout", thinking of his promise to the old man.
Harry thought for a minute and replied with, "yeah, sure. They'll be looking for us anyway...and the old man's camp is very well hidden." Davin nodded his head and chewed for a moment and tried his hand at getting a little levity out of Harry. "It probably helps that there is a drop dead gorgeous blond there that was making googly eyes at you the entire time we were at Dumbledore's table."
Harry choked on his sandwich, "what? She was not!"
Davin chuckled at Harry until half of a sandwich smacked him in the face.
"Prat."
********oooo********
An hour later, the tent was packed away along with all of their gear. Before leaving, they stood at the mass grave where their brother and sisters were laid and whispered a silent prayer. They took a minute to compose themselves and then grabbed the portkey to Dumbledore's hideout. After saying the pass phrase, they were once again whisked away to Bransgore.
Even though they had come the night before, to Harry it had felt like ages ago. So much had happened within such a small time frame. The young man actually wondered what type of reception they would receive. But Harry didn't have anything to worry about.
The two assassins walked past the wards and stopped near the barn to watch Dumbledore and Lilliana practicing some type of transfiguration. After watching the old man give the pretty blonde a brief moment of instruction, mini pylons of water shot twenty feet into the sky. Lilliana held her wand high to control them with a look of pure concentration. Suddenly, she dropped her arm and took a step forward into a half crouch. She touched her wand to the dirt with enough force that Harry thought she might have broken her wand.
The small water pylons she had levitated slammed into the ground in front of her. Upon contact, it turned into small diameters of ice and formed a cage...just like Harry had done to her.
Davin smiled and looked at his friend, "told you she gave you the fuck me eyes!"
Harry turned a bit red and shoulder bumped Davin, "dick." The movement caught the eyes of Dumbledore and the girl in question. The old man stayed put and awaited their return while Lilliana had no such reservations.
"Hey guys", she hollered running up to them. "Glad you came..."
Her voice died in her throat as she got a good look at Harry and Davin's appearance. Her facial expressions turned to one of horror as she screamed for her father to come help. Dumbledore, as well as many from inside the house, ran to the assassins thinking that they were injured.
Harry and Davin looked at Lilliana confused as she ran the rest of the way to meet them. When she called for help, they turned to look behind them thinking that they were followed. Seeing nobody there, they turned back to Lilliana and the rest of the occupants.
"What happened? Are you hurt? Is that all your blood?"
Lilliana fired question after question while turning both around looking for obvious physical wounds. It was only then that the two assassins realized that they haven't washed up from the blood bath they invoked hours earlier.
Harry took lead as the duo's spokesman for obvious reasons, "Please, calm down...we are not hurt. Both of us are just fine. This is not our blood."
"What has happened Harry," Dumbledore asked. "Does your appearance have anything to do with your revelation from last night."
Harry thought for a moment, the memory of his dead family was still fresh in his, and Davin's, mind. Harry's sadness was evident as he looked to Davin then back to Dumbledore. "Sort of." Harry tried to spit it out, 'they've killed our family', only no words would come out his lips.
Lilliana walked up to the struggling assassin and grasped his forearm tenderly. Disregarding the caked blood and small pieces of flesh, she asked, "what happened Harry. You can tell us."
Harry looked into her crystal blue eyes and was once again mesmerized. He felt acceptance and caring as he stared at the pretty young woman. Finally, after what might seem like an inappropriate amount of 'googling' time, Harry cleared his throat.
"They've attacked us", Harry said quietly. Looking at Dumbledore, he forced his voice into a more neutral tone, "we are all that's left of our guild. The Emperor...he killed them all. They killed our friends...our family...everything we have ever known. He burnt it all. Alive." Harry took a much needed deep breath, 'I'm a bloody assassin for Merlin's sake, quit the bloody crying', Harry thought.
"It would appear as if we", Harry motioned to Davin, "are traitors as well. Can we seek solace with you. Until we can figure out what to do, we promise not to be in your way."
Shocked, Dumbledore answered, "why don't we adjourn to the dining room. After you gentlemen wash up of course", the old man said as an afterthought.
********oooo********
An hour later, the two assassins were gathered around Dumbledore's crew at the dining table; all cleaned up and smelling fresh. The shower had improved their mood a little and the food being passed around definitely helped.
As they ate, the silence became too overbearing for Harry. He looked to Lilliana, who was seated next to him, and whispered, "so...did you like the ice cage enough to use it on a personal level...or are you plagiarizing me?"
Lilliana dropped her fork. It hit her plate with a resounding 'clink' that demanded the room's attention. After a quick apology, she turned to Harry ready to smack him. The sly smile on his face gave her pause, 'he is toying with me', she thought.
Against her normal nature, she rethought her initial response. "No", she said in a sultry voice. "I enjoy dancing and I was planning on dancing naked inside of one."
It was Harry's turn to drop his fork...with the added choking on his food. Davin ducked his head and started giggling silently. 'I know where this is going to go', he thought.
After everyone was finished with their meal, Dumbledore started the conversation, "so tell us Harry, what happened last night?"
Harry's mood switched to somber instantly. "I left here with the intention to kill our leader and father figure, Father Jacobs. When we apparated to our home, it was leveled in a smokey ruins. Aurors and elite military types were crawling all over the place. We found out what happened...and who was responsible." Harry balled his fists involuntarily with rage. "From the look of it, and most noticeably from the smell, they burnt most of our family alive..."
Harry was interrupted by a sickened looking Sirius Black who had just barged into the dining area. "Dumbledore, you wouldn't believe...", he started. He caught sight of Harry and maintained eye contact. Disgust and disbelief was written all over his face, "how could you Harry?"
The room remained silent. "Those men had families."
"...and we didn't? How many did they burn under the church, Investigator? How many were cut down trying to run from the flames?"
"That doesn't justify what you have done!"
"What are you talking about Sirius", Dumbledore asked in an attempt to get all the information out in the open.
"HE CRUCIFIED SIXTEEN AURORS!" Sirius hollered and pointed in Harry's direction.
Not in the mood to back down, Harry responded, "AND HE KILLED OUR ENTIRE FAMILY WITH FIENDFYRE!" Silence reigned around the table giving Harry a moment to take a breath, "there were a lot of small children under that church. We took what was left of their bodies and buried them. Over half were too badly burned to identify!"
Harry's voice started to crack as Davin laid a hand on his friend's shoulder for support. "We just buried everything we had ever known last night." Looking square in Sirius' eyes, Harry continued, "the Emperor has no idea what he just started. The retribution that is coming his way...", Harry stopped in fear of choking up again. After a deep breath and another one to compose his voice, Harry continued with an absolute look of conviction, "and we'll give him a helluva good fight."
Harry stood and left the room too upset to continue the conversation. Lilliana looked around at the flabbergasted audience. Even Sirius seemed to be in a state of shock. Making up her mind, Lilliana got up and followed Harry out into the cool night air.
"Harry wait up", she hollered to him. The young assassin slowed his pace to allow her to catch up.
"I'm sorry about what happened", she said quietly. She wanted to apologize for Harry's loss as well but felt it wouldn't be right. She didn't know any of them and for the most part it would only be empty words. Instead, she followed with a, "my condolences for you losses."
Harry used occlumency to get his emotions under control. His breathing had just leveled out when Lilliana started talking to him. He was still too upset to speak full sentences and maintain his control, so he nodded his head and spoke a quiet "thank you" in return.
The silence between them stretched for an uncomfortable minute. They were both unsure where the conversation would go from this point. 'Is she going to berate me for hollering at Sirius', Harry thought. 'Maybe she's disgusted with what I have done?'
Harry was surprised when she asked where he was going and asked if she could join him. Harry agreed to the company and walked her to the tree line. The same place Dumbledore had thrown him when they initially "met". She kept the conversation light by asking him about his experiences at the church. In return, she would tell him funny stories to get him to open up. Not once did she ask about what he did to the Aurors. Harry didn't say it aloud but he appreciated it. Before long, they were both laughing about their childhood memories.
After what seemed like hours, they eventually walked back into the house to go to bed. Harry, being the chivalrous young man he is, walked the young woman to her bedroom door. Lilliana walked up to her door and turned around to Harry, "it was nice talking with you Harry."
Harry smiled, "yeah, it was fun." Harry didn't want it to end, she was great to talk too. Nervously, he asked, "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Of course, I'm sure I'll see you at breakfast." Lilliana smiled brightly, she loved the way Harry became a little nervous around her. She watched him smile in return and briefly rub the back of his neck anxiously. "Good night Harry", she said and turned the handle of her door. By the time she got inside, Harry mustered a bit of courage. He knew that she was trying to make him feel better. Scratch that, she did make him feel better. Their conversations had put him well on to the road of healing his mental wounds.
"Lilliana", Harry said abruptly. She paused at looked at him questioningly. "Ummm, thank you for this evening. You've helped me tremendously and you never judged me, or berated me, or even look disgusted with what we did the other night." Harry started to stutter, he was unsure if he was properly getting his gratitude across to her. His eyes moved from side to side as if he was actually looking for something better to say. He was so caught up in finding the right words that he didn't notice her come back out of the room.
She reached up with her right hand and cupped his handsome face. Harry stilled and looked deep into her bright blue eyes. "I understand what happened Harry and I'm not going to judge you. We've been living off the grid for as long as I can remember all thanks to that bastard!"
Harry smiled at her brash language, it was such an oxymoron for a beautiful woman to speak as crudely as she does at random times. Harry was going to thank her again when he felt her lips on his cheek. 'Holy shit, she is kissing me!' Harry froze.
Lilliana backed into her room again with a smirk on her face, "sweat dreams Harry."
********oooo********
Every day for two weeks straight, Harry and Lilliana were inseparable. Davin would have taken offense to it but found that he liked shooting the shit with Sirius and Remus. He talked to them about that night and came to terms with the deaths of his friends. He also told them about his infatuation for the black haired witch Harry had strung up in Sirius' office. Laughing, Sirius told Davin that Bellatrix was his cousin.
Davin did become envious of Harry when he seen him and Lilliana snogging. 'Good for him', Davin thought. He also wondered if Dumbledore would still be hospitable if he knew Harry was swapping spit with his daughter.
Davin was sitting on his bed reading when Harry returned to the room smiling. "Have a good night", Davin asked. "Or should I ask, have you rounded any bases yet?"
Harry was snapped out of his daze by his friend's question. But being the smart ass he was, he replied wittily, "I've got all my bases covered."
Davin laughed, "Yeah until Dumbledore realizes your trying to steal home and pegs your sorry ass!"
Harry turned pale. While he didn't fear a fight with the old man, and he was sure he could best him, he just didn't want to fight him. It would end up hurting the relationship he had with Lilliana. "He hasn't caught us or anything has he? Does he suspect us?"
Davin started to laugh at Harry's panicked ranting. After letting it go for a moment, he decided to put his friend's mind at ease...at least a little bit. "I don't think he has caught you, at least, he never mentioned anything to me. But I'm sure he suspects it."
"Damn, I hope it doesn't affect anything. I really like her."
Davin smiled happily for his friend. They never had time for stuff like love and crushes and snogging. Only combat, killing, and sneaking in the shadows. Speaking of which, Davin had to get Harry on track. He liked staying with Dumbledore and all, but they needed to start fighting back against Riddle. They had put it off for too long.
Sobering up, Davin mentally asked his companion, "Harry...when are we going to go after Riddle? It's been two long weeks and we haven't done any type of information gathering or planning. I'm worried we're enjoying our new found freedom too much to seek retaliation."
Harry instantly stopped worrying about Dumbledore and thought back to when they came back to the old man's hideout. Ever since Lilliana followed him out that first night, thoughts of her consumed his mind...and more recently his body. He was only joking with Davin about 'having his bases covered'. He was more respectable than that. It certainly wasn't the lack of trying though, it seemed like they both wanted to further their relationship.
But now, after Davin's verbal smack in the face. The rage he pushed deep down in favor of love started to return. Davin was right! He was too caught up in Lilliana to avenge his family and mentor. "Your right brother, I'm sorry", Harry said ashamed. Harry was amazed at how quickly a good woman could side track your goals, even if he felt loads better from her doing it.
"Don't be sorry mate, I'm happy for you...I really am! But we need to get to work." Davin sat up and clasped Harry on his shoulder, "besides, I want to find Sirius' cousin and round some bases with her." Davin laughed and exited their room to get a drink. Harry watched him go and immediately started planning. He needed more background information on Riddle and the best person to ask was his girlfriend's father.
********oooo********
Harry awoke early and rushed through his morning hygiene routine. He needed to get Dumbledore to tell him everything he knew about Riddle. He ran to the dining room and as expected seen the old wizard drinking his morning tea with his wife.
"Excuse me Mr. Dumbledore, I was wondering if I could ask you about Riddle's history?"
Dumbledore smiled at Harry, "please call me Albus. What did you want to know about him exactly?"
"Well...Albus, I would first like to know anything that I could use or any weaknesses I can exploit. Does he have any accomplices, business associates, or anything else I can use to take him down."
Dumbledore had been expecting this conversation. Secretly, he has been expecting one concerning Lilliana as well. "What are you planning Harry? You know what they say about revenge."
"Revenge has nothing to do with it. I want justice for what he has done!"
Dumbledore thought for a moment, if he told Harry everything he knew about the Emperor and unleashed him...what would it accomplish? Britain is far from the shambles he thought it would be in after Riddle's ascension to Emperor. In fact, they are doing quite well.
On the other hand, he was saddened each time he looked at his friends. They had all been in hiding for years because they believed in him. They believed that Tom was evil and out to take over the world. For the most part, they are correct and in some aspects Tom is evil in how he deals with his enemies. Harry is a testament to the Emperor's ruthlessness.
With that in mind, Dumbledore told Harry everything. From the time Riddle was a student at Hogwarts to the moment he claimed himself Emperor. It was during his tale that they became suspicious of Riddle's involvement in the murder of Harry's parents. Dumbledore was told by Joseph Evans, Harry's grandfather, that he was blackmailed by Riddle to give his support during the muggle election.
The old wizard told Harry about the conversation with his mother before her death and her suspicions. He quickly put two and two together. 'Well...justice took a backseat', Harry thought. He paced back and forth as Dumbledore told Harry of the people who had close ties with the Emperor. He mentioned Karkoroff running the Mafia in Russia, Bellatrix as his second in command, and whispers of an army lead by the Lestrange brothers.
Dumbledore also mentioned his fear of having Harry reside with him while he enacted his vengeance...or justice, whichever. Dumbledore knew his sanctuary was secure, but nothing is foolproof. "Harry, I have one favor to ask. If you pursue this desire for...justice, I ask that you not bring attention to us. We are nowhere near ready to fight again. We are done with it, we just want to live our lives at this point."
Harry nodded, he understood where Dumbledore was coming from. Harry didn't want to put Lilliana in danger either. "I can respect that. But we would like to visit if it's ok with you? We will make sure to cover our tracks beforehand, I swear."
Dumbledore chuckled, "And I'm sure a certain young lady would be pleased to see you when you visit."
Harry turned beet red in embarrassment, "yes sir. Ummm thanks."
********oooo********
Early that morning, Harry and Davin prepared to leave the safety of Dumbledore's hideout. They somberly packed all their gear and prepared to leave quietly. Davin had written a note and planned on putting it on the dinning room table telling everybody that they would keep in touch. Harry left an extra note to Lilliana telling her basically the same...and then some.
When the two assassins silently walked down the stairs and into the dinning room, they were met by Dumbledore himself. "Good morning gentlemen...", he started. He took note of their backpacks and seen the note in Davin's hand, "taking your leave I see."
"Yes sir, we'll be gone for about a week or two. Just some scouting, nothing dangerous, and then we'll come back." Harry stuttered for a moment and added, "if that's alright with you of course."
Dumbledore took a deep breath and thought for a moment. He didn't want the young men to leave at all truth be told. But who was he to stop them? Riddle caused him just as much pain. "I understand why you are leaving and what you intend to do. I'm not going to stop or dissuade you. Please be careful and don't take any unnecessary risks. Harry, I know I told you that I didn't want attention brought here, but if you have need of us...please don't hesitate to come back."
"Thank you Albus, we should...".
"They won't be going alone father", Lilliana said coming into the dinning room. "I'm going with them."
Harry replied with a "what" while Dumbledore looked sad and asked "why?"
"I'm tired of living in secret father! Other than going to Diagon Alley for a few short minutes, I've never done anything with my life. I'm tired of being stuck in the shadows and if taking down the Emperor with Harry will help, well then, that's what I'm going to do!" Lilliana puffed out her chest and dared her father to refuse her. She was eighteen and legally considered an adult in both muggle and magical worlds, so he couldn't legally deny her.
"Lilliana", Harry said looking at her, "what we are going to do is very dangerous. Davin and I have been training all our lives. If you come with us...you will be on the run, fighting for your life, and you will have to kill. Are you sure you can live with that?"
Before she could answer, Harry interrupted her, "please! Take a moment and think about it. Having blood on your hands will change you. Do you want that for yourself? Davin and I can not change who we are, we have been raised this way. But you...you have a choice."
Davin nodded his head in agreement. Dumbledore worriedly spoke in a false calm voice, "sweat heart, the decision is yours to make. While I do not want you to go...I can not stop you either. Like Harry said, do you want to fight badly enough to change who you are?"
Lilliana, at first mad that they were trying to stop her, thought inwards and asked herself if she could deal with killing. It was a bit of an internal struggle for her. She felt naive to the outside world because of how she had to grow up. She wanted to be out in public without fear of being noticed or captured in an attempt to get to her father. But she would be lying if she said that killing wouldn't affect her.
She looked at Harry and seen the worry behind his eyes. It had only been two weeks, but she felt that they had a strong relationship already. They had confided all of their fear and joys with each other. Logically, she couldn't understand how she became so infatuated with him. She was basically a recluse and he was a murdering assassin! But love is blind, or so they say...whoever the hell 'they' are.
With the hope that Harry would help her through such an event as killing, she straightened her back and looked at the three of them resolutely. "I'm sure I will meet many challenges, but I'm positive that my family and friends will help me through whatever I have to do! I'm going."
For Harry, he had never felt so conflicted in his life! His instincts to protect this woman was screaming at him. But at the same time, he wanted her to go because he couldn't bare the thought of leaving her behind, even for a few weeks! Writing the note left him winded and feeling as if he had been physically punched in the chest. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Harry agreed to let her come along.
Dumbledore nodded his head in acceptance. "Will you at least stay for breakfast and say goodbye to your mother?"
"She will not let me go without a fight, you know that father. Tell her I love her, but I have to do something. We can't live like this forever!"
Again, Dumbledore nodded in acceptance. "While you three fight out there, I'm afraid I will have my own battle with Minerva. I'm probably going to be spending every night you are gone on the couch so...please, for the sake of an old man's back...return soon." Dumbledore smiled sadly and moved to hug his only child. They each held each other tight for a moment transferring all their feelings in one single hug.
Afterwards, Dumbledore shook Davin's hand and wished him well. Harry gripped his hand and mentally projected, "I will keep her safe!" Dumbledore responded with a pat on Harry's shoulder and a quiet "thank you."
When all was said and done, the trio walked out of the house and onto the street just outside the wards. Lilliana looked back one last time at her home before steeling her nerves. "So where to boys," she asked.
"The Emperor is having a memorial service for the bastards that killed our friends. He is also awarding Peter Petegrew a posthumous award for valor..or some such shit. The plan is to get intelligence on who the key players are", Harry said grabbing her hand.
"When is that supposed to happen", she asked.
"In about two hours", Harry said smiling.