I forgot to thank everyone in the last chapter for the reviews so... thank you

I agree with a reviewer on something they wrote. Given that I myself am not gay I have no right to write what it's like to be gay. It's the very reason that apart from the basics I have refused to pair Harry with anyone. I would never be able to do it justice, therefore I won't try

Also the reason my chapters aren't massively long is because I like to read fanfiction on my phone, and it constantly refreshes if I don't read for a while. It's very irritating to try and find your place again in a chapter that is 30k+ words

I own nothing

Malfoy Manor

Narcissa read Harrys reply a few times before calming down. She knew she had cut it fine trying to get rid of the Malfoy name before Tuesday. She was aware of everything he said already, the issue was that Lucius had changed his will before he died. He had left his Lord as the one in control of the Malfoy finances rather than her. Apparently, it was reparations for getting the Slytherin Grimoire that was left in his hands for safety destroyed. She had read the will in utter disbelief. How could he have done that to her? Not only that but she read that Bellatrix had been a witness for it. She felt so betrayed. The Goblins were waiting until tomorrow to execute his will as per Magics will regarding Blood Feud. With Draco scheduled to die too Voldemort would get everything. Including the manor. So, she had to gather what she could before tomorrow. Calling the house elves, she ordered them to pack everything they could into several trunks and to take them to the Black vault. She was sure Harry would accommodate her. His letter had seemed receptive after all so hopefully he would help her.

Many hours later the manor was virtually empty. She had left the bare minimum for Voldemort. He could have the manor as far as she was concerned, it was only a house after all. If he wanted it furnished, he would pay for it out of the Malfoy money. The only thing she couldn't take were the portraits in the Hall of Ancestors. Telling them what Lucius had done had left most outraged. Lucius had virtually given up the family name to a half-blood. Some were quite happy that the Slytherin family would take charge but she wasn't too bothered by that. It was just a name to her now. And she was sure that Harry could beat Voldemort anyway so the Malfoy name wouldn't last long.

Getting ready to leave she called the house elf to her and told it to get ready to leave. She never expected the reply

"What about the prisoners Mistress Cissy? What are we to do with them?"

"What prisoners? Where? And how long have we had prisoners?" Narcissa asked in shock "do we have a dungeon I don't know about? If so, why do I not know about them?"

"Master placed a fiddley charm on them missus before he died" the elf said "it broke when he died. The Dark Lord ordered him to take care of his prisoners. Only one is alive though missus"

Making a decision she ordered the elf to take her there. As she made her way down a passageway the memory of having this part of the manor came back to her. As she got closer to the cells and walked through a door the smell of decay hit her instantly. Throwing up was inevitable. There were six cells in the dungeons, four were open. Coming to a cell door that was locked she saw where the smell came from

"Who was this?" she asked gagging "who was this?"

"It is the icy creamy man mistress" the elf said "he be's dead for a few months now"

"Who is in the other locked cell? Open it up!" Narcissa shrieked as she went to the other cell. Immediately she knew who it was. "Ollivander!" she said as she immediately went to see if she could help him. Turning to the elf she ordered "Go to my Lord Potter-Black, tell him its urgent he comes here immediately. I don't care who he's with. Tell him what has happened" with that the elf popped away and she turned to do what she could to aid him. Hopefully Harry arrives soon.

"Narcissa Malfoy" came a small voice "Dogwood and Dragon Heartstring, 11 inches, very unyielding"

The absurdity of the situation made her laugh. Here he was, a prisoner in her home and his first sentence to her was her wand measurements. She always knew he was eccentric but this was outrageous. "Stay calm Ollivander. Help is on its way" at that moment a flash of fire accompanied the arrival of two wizards who were instantly recognisable. Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter had come to Malfoy Manor. Maybe Hell had frozen over after all

Headmasters Office

Entering the familiar room Harry immediately stopped in his tracks. Albus wasn't alone. Sat in the chairs opposite him was Lady Zabini with Blaise and Lady Nott with Theodore. How very curious. Taking a seat, he threw them a questioning look before ignoring them and opening up the conversation "Afternoon Albus, how are you feeling today? Are you recovered more?"

"Afternoon Harry" Albus replied "yes, I find myself in excellent health. As I told Miss Granger last night, I may not have awoken whole and hearty Sunday morning but I still awoke nether-the-less. I have a meeting with the medi-witch from St Mungos tomorrow evening to hopefully become whole once again."

"Good, I'm glad" Harry said "given that it was my doing you are currently armless I shall send St Mungos a letter telling them to charge it to my account. It's the least I can do"

"That is most kind of you Harry" Albus said cheerfully "most kind indeed. I believe I owe you many thanks for the information that Miss Granger passed me last night. Hopefully the issue can be resolved very soon. I have our mutual friend looking for viable replacements in the potion as many of the ingredients are now extinct. Hopefully descendants will suffice"

"Oh good" Harry said "with all the excitement Saturday evening and then the meeting we had the day after I completely forgot about that. I'm glad Hermione has a better memory than I have. But yeah, it's fine. As I told her the amount of crying and wailing afterwards would be intolerable, so anything to maybe put a stop to that can only be beneficial"

Chuckling Albus just nodded "indeed it would Harry. Indeed, it would"

Constance Zabini was very puzzled. She had watched the byplay between the two wizards with great interest. Apparently, Harry had done something that had resulted in Albus losing an arm and Albus seemed fine with it. They were two of the strangest wizards she had ever come across. Being part Veela she could usually read people's emotions very well. But these two gave off nothing. Albus she could put down to being experienced interacting with part-creatures but Harry? He was very puzzling. Teenage boys were usually full of hormones, magic usually discharged off them all the time and their emotions were usually bubbling just under the surface. It made them so much easier to manipulate. It was quite irritating that Potter gave off nothing. Remembering Narcissa's words to her last week she knew she was right. Her allure was useless here.

Looking around she also noticed that the feeling of Death had disappeared for which she was extremely grateful. She shivered remembering the feeling. She had had many sleepless nights since that day. Why was Death here a few days ago but wasn't here now. Should she ask? It may help her sleep easier. Being ignored was also something that she wasn't used to either. That was just as irritating as getting nothing from Potter

"Mr Potter" she said with obvious irritation in her voice "please do not ignore us. It is most rude"

"Oh, I'm sorry" Harry said with obvious insincerity "but why should I care?"

"It was not easy coming here today, Mr Potter" Constance said "we are not here to cause trouble, but you are being very rude"

"Not here to cause trouble?" Harry asked "exactly a week ago your son helped try to murder me in my sleep like an utter coward. This resulted in him being in the most trouble he has ever been in. He tried to kill me. Explain to me why I should care about being polite to you"

"We have come to take you up on your offer Mr Potter" Florence Nott interrupted before Constance could reply

"And what offer is that?" Harry asked looking puzzled "I have slept since the last time I saw you"

"The offer you gave us at Black Manor to denounce Voldemort" Constance said "after days of thinking about their actions, our sons wish to take you up on that offer"

"Oh, ok" Harry said "yeah, I've decided to cancel that offer" he finished shocking them all

Gaping like fish they turned to each other and then to Dumbledore "you said he would do it. You promised us Dumbledore" Constance shouted standing up

"Sit down! I promised you no such thing Lady Zabini! Do not try to put words that I did not utter into my mouth!" Albus said sternly "given that I wasn't there for the meeting at Black Manor I do not know what was said, I have to take your word on what your conversation entailed. What I said was that if Harry had offered you terms, then I suggest you take them as while he was furious with you all he is still a man of his word" turning to Harry he asked "can you please tell us when and why did you change your mind, Harry?"

"I don't really owe you an explanation Albus but while you asked nicely, I shall give you one" Harry replied turning to the ladies "it has taken you four days to decide on taking me up on my offer, four days. If your sons had any sense of self-preservation, and you cared about them at all, they would have taken the offer there and then in spite of what you said. They didn't. I offered them redemption and instead you left. You could have taken the oath and then left the country. I never asked for you to swear any form of loyalty to me, to Dumbledore or even what you class as 'The Light side'. These were my only terms. Publicly denounce Voldemort. But instead, you left. And it's taken you to less than twenty-four hours until they're about to die for you to make a decision. The biggest issue I have though is that you asked for a meeting with Albus in some false hope that he would be able to talk me into forgiving you. Albus has nothing to do with this. This is Potter and Black family business!

And they are still strangely silent while sat at the side of you, both with arrogant sneers on their faces which tells me they are either being bribed or coerced by you two and have no intention to leave me be in the future. I have slept in the same room as them for six years. I know them very well to know they have no intention of staying out of this war as there are ways around vows. So no, I have no obligation to keep my word to people who I know will happily pay for someone to kill me should I let them live. Narcissa has been in constant contact over the last few days trying to find a way to save her son. Last night she gave up because he left the manor to be by Voldemort's side, in spite of everything she did for him. I made her a promise to end his life quickly tomorrow so I shall make the same promise to you two." turning to Blaise and Theo he continued "I'm guessing it's taken this long to arrange a meeting because of your own stubbornness and defiance. Your mothers have done what they can for you and you have thrown it back in their face in your arrogance. Your lord will not come to save you tomorrow if that's what you were banking on. Voldemort has no idea what we've planned should he show his nose-less face so go ahead and warn him if you so desire. Enjoy your last night"

Sitting back Harry watched as the myriad of emotions passed over their mothers' faces. While Harry would normally be compassionate, he found he was strangely ok with the thought of ending the threat tomorrow. He knew that Albus would be disappointed in him but again, he was strangely detached from any form of remorse. He had given them a chance days ago. If Narcissa could write letters to him then so could they. They chose not to. He couldn't really blame Constance and Florence. They were obviously desperate to save their children like any good parent would do. Seeing the faces on Blaise and Theo made Harry very irritated.

"You guys disgust me." Harry said angrily "your mothers have done everything they can to save your pathetic lives and you sit there in petulant silence. For their sakes I will end things quickly tomorrow"

Harry shook his head in disbelief. His own mother had given up her very life so that he might live. Lily had no idea if he would follow her into the afterlife seconds after her or not but she still made the decision to try. For that he was incredibly thankful. Watching them stand up and begin to leave he waited until it was just Constance left, holding her back he said "I truly am sorry it came to this, but they brought it upon themselves. They should have listened to you. Instead, they have put their faith into someone who cares for no one but himself who will not be able to turn up tomorrow. Tell Lady Nott that there's a chance you mothers may be able to survive tomorrow. Our research has led us to believe that because you married into the family Magic might deem your son's death acceptable"

"Stop talking! You have no idea what you are saying do you Mr Potter?" Constance asked bewildered "are you that obtuse? You are telling us that we need to accept our children's death before they have happened. Like we should be grateful. You really are an idiot if you think we will just accept that. Given that your own mother gave her life for you do you really think I wouldn't do the same for mine? I will never accept it. I will fight for my very life tomorrow as well as my sons, Mr Potter. And should your death be required so that my sons might be saved? That is a price I will happily pay"

With that Constance left through the floo. Shaking his head Harry sank into the chair opposite Albus. The silence stretched on for several minutes until Albus said "at times Harry you can be the most remarkable person I have ever met. The insights you have are at times amazing. But at others you can be just as selfish a person as Tom. How could you think that was comforting to someone? How could you possibly believe that they would accept their childrens death? You had the chance here today to show mercy, if not for their children's sake, then for their mothers' sake. And you chose not to. Your parents would be very ashamed of your decision today"

"You do not get to talk about my parents Albus!" Harry said fiercely "you are partially responsible for their deaths given it was your idea for them to move out of a warded manor into the cottage at Godric's Hollow. Not only that but you have put my life on the line every single year I have been here in some sick kind of training regime. And on top of that you employed the very man who sent Voldemort after them and let him abuse me as a way of trying to keep me humble. YOU are not so different from Tom yourself so take your self-righteousness and shove it Albus!"

After several minutes of silence Albus said "you are correct Harry. My apologies for bringing your parents into this. The rest of my statement stands though"

"I gave them the option four days ago Albus, four days!" Harry said still looking angry "Narcissa made an effort, they could have written me a letter at any point to ask for a meeting and chose not to. I will say no more on this. Tomorrow will be the end of the matter"

"Very well Harry" Albus said "there are a few things I wished to talk to you about. The first one is the lawsuit. We both know that it will go nowhere, we will both suffer damage to our reputation and pay a fine but that is all that will happen. We need to be united against Tom if we are to survive. The lawsuit gets us nowhere except at each other's throats"

"I agree" Harry said surprising Albus "as I told Professor McGonagall while walking here it was simply a deterrent should you, yet again try to impose your will on me. Nym owes me five galleons because she didn't believe you'd do it. She isn't happy with you right now"

"Then we both agree to leave things be?" Albus asked ignoring the last part. Receiving a nod Albus carried on "the next topic concerns the Elder wand" taking it out "it is yours Harry, why have you not claimed it? It is very angry that it cannot be in your hands. I am actively practicing occlumency to keep it from getting into my head"

"I do not want it Albus" Harry said "but I can help you out with that. Pass it here" Albus reluctantly passed it over to Harry. Grabbing it Harry immediately heard the voices "you will be quiet!" Harry said fiercely as the voices immediately were silenced. Looking at Albus he said "you mentioned your old wand is still here?"

Albus retrieved it from a drawer in his desk and said "yes, it is. I rarely use it though" looking in his desk he found the Resurrection stone had been next to it. Pulling it out he looked at it, he was sure he'd sent it to Gellert he mused before Harry's voice brought him out of his trance

"Disarm me" Harry said looking at Albus who looked up sharply "yes you heard what I said. I have no intention of keeping this wand Albus. I have no need for a wand that has a mind of its own. And a wand that is coveted for the bloodshed it causes is even less of good thing to have. Our plan for its power to die along with you is still the best plan we have. The Deathly Hallows need to be given back to Death"

"Are you certain Harry?" Albus asked seriously "you could unite the Hallows, you could master death itself!"

"No one should master death Albus" Harry said looking resolute "and I have no desire to even try"

With that Albus cast a disarming charm at Harry. What amazed them both was that it didn't work. Trying again the same thing happened. Looking at the wand Harry wondered what was going on. Why didn't it work? Looking up at Albus he saw his resigned face "you know why you can't disarm me don't you?"

"Yes, Harry" Albus said "It seems my theory about the wielders power is in fact the truth. You have surpassed me in terms of power. I cannot successfully wield the Elder wand anymore"

"Well shit. Do you have somewhere you can store it? I will not wield it Albus." Harry said handing it over

"I do" Albus said looking over the wand "I have kept it safe and hidden for the last fifty years. I will endeavour to do so for my final few months. You mentioned in your last letter to ask about your wand?"

"Yes" Harry said "I'm glad you reminded me. Walking down Diagon Alley before I had an epiphany. I believe Ollivander was kidnapped for information about that wand. I think he'll be after it to combat Priori Icantatem, that and he'll believe only he deserves to wield the power the wand promises to have"

"You could very well be right Harry" Albus said leaning back "he certainly is arrogant enough to believe that. It makes keeping this wand safe a top priority"

"He is intelligent enough to find information about its history" Harry said "and given he's had Ollivander for three months we can be sure he has had three months of research under his belt. You may want to warn Gellert given how Gregrovich bragged about owning it"

"I shall Harry, the moment you leave" Albus replied. At that moment a very distressed house elf popped into his office ranting about how her mistress needed Harry at Malfoy Manor. Turning to Albus Harry asked "will you come with me, I don't fully trust going to that place on my own given who it belonged to" receiving a nod Albus looked over at Fawkes and asked if he'd transport them both. Receiving a trill of affirmation Fawkes flew over, both wizards stood up, Harry reflexively grabbed the Stone from the desk as they grabbed hold of a tail feather each, Harry held the house-elf's hand and with a flash of fire both disappeared and arrived to see Narcissa tending to a very weak Ollivander.

For whom the bell tolls

Albus arrived to a grisly scene. Immediately the smell hit him and reactively he cast a bubblehead charm. Harry, it seemed wasn't as used to it and threw up off to the side. Ignoring him he strode towards the cell and saw Narcissa kneeling next to what looked like a pile of bones. Hearing the pile bones speak launched him into action "Fawkes, go and get Poppy, tell her to bring her medical bag. It's very urgent" with that Fawkes flashed away. Gently moving Narcissa out of the way he asked her who it was. The reply both surprised him and made him happy. Given the conversation that happened not ten minutes ago, the very man they'd been talking about had been found.

A flash off to the side of him revealed Madame Pomphrey who arrived with her medical bag. Moving out of the way he told her it was Garrick Ollivander and that he'd likely been in this condition for just over three months

"He needs immediate medical attention Albus. I cannot do a lot here in a dungeon" Poppy said as she worked on him plying him with several potions

"Of course, Poppy" Albus said. Looking around he picked up a spare pebble he found lying on the floor he cast 'portus' "this will take you both directly to the Hospital wing. Just do what you can, if you need additional healers then you have my permission to floo St Mungos" Poppy grabbed a hold of her gear and Garrick and was transported away

Looking around he saw that Harry was kneeling at where the smell originally was emanating from. Walking over he saw Harry moving hair out of the dead bodies face, it could only be a dead body given the amount of decay that had taken place

"I think this was Mr Fortescue Albus" Harry said quietly "he's clearly been dead for a while. Why would Voldemort want an ice cream vendor? It makes no sense"

"If you knew Florean, Harry" Albus replied "you would know why Voldemort took him. He was a historian in his youth. He specialised in accounts left by the founders, accounts from people around the founders and lore of ancient artifacts of Britain. He was an absolute fountain of knowledge on medieval Britain, I had frequently asked him to come and teach History of Magic at Hogwarts but was turned down every time. He enjoyed the freedom an Ice Cream shop gave him after he had shut up shop. It wasn't just Florean himself that was taken that day, his entire library, which was quite substantial was also ransacked by Death Eaters. He was an incredible man Harry"

"I know" Harry said nodding "during my third year, when I was staying at the Cauldron, he helped me re-write many of my History of Magic essays. I came every day to listen to many of his stories. He was a good man. Does he have any family Albus?"

"Sadly no" Albus said "he lost his wife many years ago, she picked up a strange virus while they were travelling and passed away not long after. They never had any children"

Standing up Harry looked around. Casting various spells, he cleaned him up as best he could. "Would you mind if I buried him Albus? He deserves a better resting place than here"

"Where did you have in mind Harry?" Albus asked

"Godrics Hollow" Harry said "it seems fitting somehow that he be laid to rest in a place of historical significance given what you've just told me"

"That would be a nice thing to do for him" Albus said. Turning to Florean he raised his wand and muttered a few words. As he finished Florean burst into flames. Gathering the ashes, he conjured an urn and placed the remains in them

"I shall tell you where he's buried Albus" Harry said taking the urn and placing into an inside pocket in his robes. Nodding Albus apparated away through the wards. Shaking his head Harry muttered "show off", turning around he noticed that Narcissa was standing there looking lost "I do apologise Narcissa, it seems in all the excitement I forgot about you. Do you need me for anything?"

"Yes, My Lord Black" Narcissa replied "I request sanctuary" seeing his puzzled look Narcissa told him about the contents of the Malfoy will, how she had emptied the manor in spite and what would happen tomorrow after the Duel, how Voldemort would inherit the Malfoy money and the manor itself because of Lucius actions. Nodding Harry granted her sanctuary and gave her a portkey to Grimmauld Place, warning her that it was Remus's house now and if she was a pain in the arse to him, he was well within his rights to evict her. Seeing her nod, he followed her to the entrance hall.

Watching her disappear a smirk appeared on his face. Raising both wands he cast a spell that was forbidden by the Ministry of Magic "Fiendfyre". It caused an immense strain on his magic to be able to control the spell. Thankfully he only needed to be able to control it for a few seconds, just long enough to give it directions to burn the manor to the ground before he relinquished control the spell and apparated away. The heat was felt for just a brief second but it was enough for Harry to be made aware of just how destructive fire of that magnitude could be. Appearing at Godric's Hollow Harry pulled on his invisibility cloak and made his way to the local cemetery, passing through the kissing gates he wended his way through the various graves, taking note of several names he had ignored the last time he was here. Ignotus Peverell immediately stood out to him, along with his brothers Cadmus and Antioch, the symbol of the Deathly Hallows on all three of their graves.

Carrying on past the graves of Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore he stopped to nod his head and found a spot that was empty. Taking out his wand he dug the grave, it was only an urn after all so it didn't need to be big. Burying the urn, he conjured a simple gravestone and wrote

Here lies Florean Fortescue

the greatest Ice cream maker the world has ever seen

and a true Historian

1926-1996

Reaching into his pocket he discovered the resurrection stone. When had he picked this up? Putting it into his pocket he felt something else in there, wondering what it was he pulled out the Elder Wand. With an "Oh, Shit" The world went black. Around the world three wizards heard the Death Tolls ring out again. Voldemort still had no idea what they meant; he had researched all week after hearing them for the first time. He had come up frustratingly empty. Albus frantically raced from the hospital wing to check his drawers in his office, the ring and the wand had disappeared. Gellert looked up and smiled, the Hallows had been united