Garo Dark Hollow

ESKK: Well Chapter 6 I hope you all will enjoy it now let's get started. Also, a warning if anyone of you feel Delphini should not exist for varying reasons and fell any use of her should not be approved then please turn back here and now. For this fic she plays a role in this era and a possible sequel if I ever get to that stage of the fic. Anyways let us begin folks.

(Start Death Eater Malfoy Manor)

The room was sweltering, but the windows would not open. No matter how many times the midwife flicked her wand at the shutters, they stayed stubbornly put, shielding the room's denizens from prying eyes. A bed dominated the room they occupied, but it was empty. The woman it was meant for was sitting instead on a low stool in the corner of the room, her eyes downcast and her face twisted in pain as she groaned aloud.

"That's the way," the midwife encouraged, keeping her place on the edge of the bed, a safe distance from the laboring woman and her companion. The two were clearly identified as none other than Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissia Malfoy.

"Merlin, Morgana, and Circe," the woman, Bellatrix, swore once the clenching, all-consuming pain of the contraction had relented.

"Hush now, you don't want him to hear you like this." The blonde at her side, Narcissia, spoke in hushed tones, barely raising her voice above the level of a whisper. Her role, it seemed, was to remind them all what propriety demanded.

"To hell with him." Bellatrix hissed through labor, her dark hair swinging forward and clinging to her sweat soaked face.

"Don't say that!" Narcissia cried out reaching out to touch her sister's bare shoulder, only to be shrugged away again. "He'll hear you!" She urged knowing full well any bad talk against the man would lead to her sisters endless suffering.

"I don't give two damns!" Bellatrix's voice spiked on the last word as another surge overtook her, her belly clenching, her body bearing down involuntarily as she arched forward over her midsection. Her chin touched her chest as she fell from the stool onto her hands and knees.

"Good girl," The midwife cut in as she stood, circling around to get a better look at the woman's progress. Luckily, she had shed her robes hours ago and was left bare to the midwife's gaze. "Not long now. I can see the head when you're pushing." She said as she knew if what was said was true, she may not be long for this world.

A soft knock sounded at the door, and the Bellatrix looked up only briefly at the sound as her contraction ended. Immediately, her sister rose, crossing to the door and opening it a sliver so that she could see the person on the other side. The conversation between them was too quiet for the midwife to hear, and it ended just before the next labor pain came.

"A message for you." Bellatrix whispered when she returned, stroking the dark-haired woman's head as she stilled. "He says you're his for a reason, and that he has every confidence in you." Narcissia said hoping it may ease her mad sister.

"He doesn't love me; he doesn't love me…" Bellatrix murmured as she was clearly having some sort of episode. Her sister leaned down to her, pressing their foreheads together and meeting her gaze.

"He does. In his own way he does. Now push." Narcissia said but even she knew the words were lied as they left her mouth.

The woman cried out louder than ever as her body swept her up in its intensity once more. Sensing the end, the midwife dropped to her knees behind her, using a hand to touch the crown of the head visible between the birthing woman's thighs. As the contraction ended, the patch of scalp and dark hair did not recede, and the mother whimpered.

"One more big push with the next one, and it will be all over," the midwife promised as she knew this pain would end but not the long-term pain this little one may endure for years to come.

"Did you hear that?" Narcissia asked, and her sister nodded in response to this.

True to the midwife's word, the child was born with the next contraction, its head emerging as the mother screamed aloud and its shoulders following with little trouble. Quick with her wand, the midwife cleansed the child as the new mother turned over with her sister's help, before reaching for the babe.

"It's a girl," The midwife said, as she handed the infant over, settling it on the mother's belly. The babe was still attached to her mother by the umbilical cord which continued to pulse visibly.

"A girl," Bellatrix echoed as the new mother, clutching the child to herself, a panicked look on her face.

"I'll tell him now," Narcissia said, rising to her feet giving the midwife a look of guilt knowing what may lay in wait for her. "Help her into bed," she ordered as she crossed to the door hoping the midwife somehow managed to escape this.

"Merlin, bless this child." The midwife thought, beginning to hoist Bellatrix up towards the bed. "The poor thing will need it." She added knowing that this innocent child was in store for a great deal of suffering due to who she was related to.

(Scene Break the Ministry of Magic)

A lone Ministry Employee was seen walking about late in the evening. The job that they performed as an unneeded one that was given to those the Ministry wanted out of the way. He was muggleborn and thus had very little in terms of career paths. But with recent events it was evident that his time was coming and thus he had to get out of Dodge fast. Thankfully he was one of the few who were smart enough to continue his muggle studies while at Hogwarts. Thus, with this in mind he had been carefully moving his finances to where they needed to go and keeping one step ahead of those who wish him harm or worse fates.

In fact, this was his last evening working for this government of bigots before he high tailed it to greener pastors. He simply had one last set of parchments to drop off and he was home free. He simply had to do that, get home, and get deep into the muggle world where no magical will ever find him again.

But unknown to this Wizard something dark and vile was moving in the shadows. This wizard had unknowingly become the target of the darkest creature known to man even if its existence was kept hidden. Thus, as it hunted for its quarry the wizard in question was left unaware of the danger, he was in. Movement was heard which got the wizards attention and while within the dark near empty halls of the Ministry the movement sounded ominous in nature.

The Ministry employed gulped for a moment before he continued down his path to finish his final task this night. As the ministry employed moved the unnamed man instinctively picked up his paste so he can finish up and go home for the final time. This job was absolutely, dreadful and he knew the only reason he got it was because none of the purebloods wanted it. In this world of magic purebloods with money were all that mattered. Skills and character meant nothing unless your blood was pure. Otherwise for a muggleborn you were the last to be considered and the first to be fired in favor of a pureblooded wizard in this society.

But this may prove to be his final night not only within the ministry but in life as well. Within the shadows a demonic eye looked about at the man seeing prey before it as it focused in on the man. This creature hungered for human flesh as the man was its ideal quarry here. As it moved about the creature stopped when it had made another sound which caused the man to stop in his tracks to investigate it.

The man when he heard the sound began to grow worried and fearful that Death Eaters may have entered the Ministry. He knew if he died here the Ministry would no doubt cover it up and thus as panic began to set in the Wizard began to make his way through the Ministry to drop off the papers, clock out, and get the hell out. As he moved the sound began to start up in closer intervals which caused the man to grow quite fearful. Taking another turn the man had arrived at his intended destination and put the parchments onto the input box and thus nearly booked it to his departments designated timecard slot.

Thankfully for this Wizard it was not too far away from his prior location and thus when he got there the ominous sounds had stopped. Punching himself out he looked around and saw no sign of his possible pursuer and in turn let out a small sigh of relief. That would become his downfall as when he took a turn, he was met with a horrifying sight which roared out in front of the man causing the man to scream in panic. The creature then bit down and began to consume as the man's screams turned into gurgled sounds of death. Eventually the darkened halls of the ministry returned to silence as the last thing seen was the man's blood smears staining the ministry floors and walls. The creatures began to revert to a human form and with a wave of their wand cleaned up the mess they had made. With the Horrors hunger sedated they began to take their leave knowing full well they had to keep up appearances less the public learned the truth of what was happening. But what was seen around this being's necklace was an odd locket that carried with it the crest of a snake particularly it was the crest of the founder Slytherin.

(Scene Break the next day)

In a small outdoor café, a young man in a black trench coat was seen enjoying a parfait clearly relaxed. As he enjoyed the meal an amulet of a wolfs head was seen hanging from a string around his neck. But as he relaxed there was still work to be done as suddenly the amulet began to speak to him. "Zero." Came the amulet as the young man stopped his meal to look to his amulet hearing her speak up. "Look." She said and thus the young man looked and saw a red letter on a small plate for him.

"Well duty calls." He said while he got up and took the letter. Once he did that, he proceeded to take out some cash and put in on the table and if his math was right, it was the amount his bill was for the meal he had just enjoyed.

The young man was seen joining the crowd as he knew that there was work to be done. And judging by the letter he figured it had to have been important, but he won't know for sure until he has a chance to read it.

(Later over at Grimmauld Place)

Hermione had a small workbench set up as she went over the sample from Ginny. As she looked it over, she performed a spell to help as she worked on the needed tools to track the Horcrux. But when the spell fizzled out Hermione cursed as she realized what this meant.

"Well?" Sirius asked as he looked at whatever it was Hermione was doing.

"It failed the sent was too old for us to use and whatever we could was corrupted by the Horror." Hermione said and thus this meant they were back to square one.

"So back were we started a damn needle in a haystack." Harry cursed as he crossed his arms a bit clearly frustrated over what was going on. "The Ministry has fallen, no surprise there, and our only advantage is that Voldemort doesn't want word to get out that I'm back because why else hasn't the prophet reported it as such?" Harry asked as he knew full well if Harry returned the people will rally and if Harry dies, he'll become a Martyr for them.

"So, we still have the element of surprise." Hermione said as she crossed her arms deep in thought on what they could do to fight. "Which reminds me Sirius what about Amelia?" Hermione asked looking over to Sirius with concern.

"She's keeping her eyes peeled and also making sure the Aurors are kept strong." Sirius began but he in turn grew worried. "Susan is currently on her way to Hogwarts but with how things are I fear we may be in for many more problems." Sirius said as he knew if they did not act with caution, they were in for some trouble to come.

Just then the sound of an owl was heard and thus Harry knew who it was that had just arrived. "Hedwig." Harry said and thus went to the nearest window where he found the beautiful snowy white owl Hedwig tapping on the glass with her beak.

"How did she know you were here?" Sirius asked shocked to see that Hedwig was here at all.

"Well, she always was a smart bird." Harry began until Hermione cut in on this.

"I also made a Madou Tool for her to use." Hermione said gesturing to the mentioned tool wrapped around Hedwigs torso. "It allows her to enter any place so long as Harry is inside it." Hermione explained which Sirius saw that this mentioned Madou Tool was a useful item to have.

Hedwig in turn began to open her claws and released her parcels to the group. It was not much as the only things there were was a red letter and the Daily Prophet. "Why did the bird bring the newspaper this time?" Zaruba asked as he found that most curious while Harry took the letter.

Hermione of course took the newspaper and began to open it to the headline news. "Um perhaps this is why." Hermione said and thus showed an image which shocked the group to no end here.

"Albus Dumbledore Dead!"

"In is the Daily Prophets great regret to announce the untimely death of Albus Dumbledore found dead in his office this morning by House Elves at Hogwarts. While the Mediwizards are studying to determine the cause of death we at the Prophet mourn for a great man who had changed the world through teaching and wish him the best on his next great adventure.

-For More on Albus Dumbledore go to Page 7."

"Fuck can't say I'm not happy about it but not in this current stage." Harry said as he realized that without Dumbledore the Light had taken a major blow.

"Harry this is bad with Dumbledore dead Hogwarts is now undefended and with the Death Eaters at large." Hermione trailed off and thus Harry knew what this meant for them.

"Voldemort is not my problem anymore it should have been done long ago." Harry said as he refused to fight Voldemort.

"Pup I don't think you will have an option anymore. With Dumbledore gone you're the next major threat to him." Sirius said as Harry growled to this.

"He mentioned a prophesy at the wedding." Harry said as he realized what this meant. "If a prophesy exists then it may be what caused Voldemort to come after me all those years ago." Harry said as he knew Voldemort found his parents safehouse over 16 years ago thanks to Peter's betrayal of them.

Just then Harry took out the Madou Lighter and lit it before he lit the red letter aflame. Once it burned the ashes formed into the true message written in Makai script. "The Dark One of broken souls has become the source of the Horror surge. Anchors keep him bound and make the surge greater. Eliminate him and the anchors at all costs. Knights have been deployed to provide aid." Harry read and thus knew what this meant for him as did Hermione.

"Well, I guess we don't have a choice now." Hermione said and thus Zaruba had to agree with the Priestess.

"This means we're expecting guests." Harry said as he saw a small package with Hedwig. Harry then went on to open the packaged and in turn revealed it to be one half of a key. "By the looks of it the friendly sort." Harry said and thus knew they had to wait on their new arrival to come find them.

"That's all well and good but we still have one problem." Hermione began and thus gestured to Harry's scar. "If we don't have a way to resist the Horcrux temptations and corruption we won't be able to accomplish much." Hermione said and thus Zaruba detected something.

"Not to be the 'wet blanket,' as you call it, but I fear we have someone eavesdropping." Zaruba spoke and in turn the three humans went wide eyed at the Madou Rings given warning.

Harry then looked around for a moment before his eyes laid upon the closet as the only plausible spot someone could listen in on them. Harry then headed over to it before he opened the closet and then yanked out Kreacher from it. Sirius and Hermione were all wide eyed at this as Harry held Kreacher up before Harry and Sirius began to glare at the old nasty House Elf.

With a growl Harry threw Kreacher to the nearby area as they all gathered around him. "Why are you spying on us?!" Harry demanded as he glared at Kreacher here.

"Kreacher has seen many things here." Kreacher began as he looked to the group. "And have heard many things as well." Kreacher went on as Harry wanted answers. "Kreacher knows what you want, nasty dark artifact one was here and Kreacher spent many years around it." Kreacher said as Harry and Hermione went wide eyed to this.

"Kreacher where is this dark artifact?" Hermione asked and thus Kreacher went silent for it. She then walked over to Kreacher and decided to try and speak to him. "Kreacher… we need to destroy it and if you know anything." Hermione began but Kreacher then cut her off.

"You want to destroy it the same item Kind Master Regulus tried to destroy?" Kreacher asked surprising the group especially Sirius.

"Regulus? What does my brother have to do with this?" Sirius asked as he was left in shock when Kreacher mentioned his bothers name.

"Kind Regulus tried to destroy nasty snake man's artifact. Kind master Regulus died asking Kreacher to destroy it, but Kreacher never could." Kreacher said as they all heard his words. "Regulus betrayed bad man and died for it." Kreacher said and in turn everyone put the pieces together.

"Kreacher, do you have the artifact with you?" Harry asked with a much calmer tone now.

"No someone took it." Kreacher said to which this made their job a lot harder now.

"Who?" Sirius asked as he had a lot to process over what he had learned.

"Mudungus Fletcher." Kreacher snarled and thus they had a plan.

"Kreacher, I need to take a small part of you, it will help us find other objects like the stolen object." Hermione said and in turn Kreacher nodded and held out his arm.

"Take what is needed, Kreacher will complete Kind Master Regulus request." Kreacher said and thus Hermione smiled and had a small knife to do the deed.

"This may sting a bit." Hermione said and thus made a small cut and thus Kreacher hissed in pain. Thankfully it was over quick as Hermione let the blood drip into a vial where a preserving liquid was. Once it was inside Hermione used her magic to heal the wound.

"If noble mudblood needs more to complete Master Regulus request she need only call to ask Kreacher." Kreacher said and thus Hermione nodded to this. She began to perform the same spell she had done prior and then smiled as it showed to be ideal for their goals.

"It's viable." Hermione said and thus it was time to get to work.

"Alright Hermione get working and Kreacher." Harry began before he glared over to Kreacher. "Bring us Mudungus Fletcher." Harry ordered and in turn Kreacher nodded in response before he vanished from sight.

When Kreacher was gone Sirius was left in shock as he stumbled and almost fell. "Sirius…" Harry said as he saw the state Sirius was in. "Are you ok?" Harry asked and thus Sirius absentmindedly nodded to Harry.

"Yes… I… I need to go lay down." Sirius said and thus began to head upstairs to clear his thoughts over what he had learned. As Sirius went upstairs Harry began to grow worried for his Godfather but had opted to give him space. Heaven knew he needed it after what he just found out.

(Scene Break unknown location)

The mysterious man who had killed Dumbledore was looking over the Elder Wand and the single black stone from the Gaunt Ring. "A two for one deal how fortunate of us." The young man said with a sinister smirk staining his features.

"That it is my lord." The woman said as she saw their acquisitions. "Now we only need to cloak." She added and thus the man smirked to this.

"Yes, and with the cloak in our possession we will have everything we need for phase 2." He said as he stood up and walked over to a tinted window of this viewing room of sorts. The tinted window cleared up before the duo were met with the sight of a massive, mummified form below. Inside a glowing underground lake was a massive creature in a fetal position as above it something was being built by an unseen force. As the construction continued the unknown man smirked as he looked down upon the creature below. "Soon my friend you will be revived and when you do… I will have all the power I need." The young man said as he placed his hand on the glass with a touch of longing for the creature.

(Scene Break back at Grimmauld)

Back at Grimmauld Hermione had finished the needed seals to repel the taints and corruption of the Horcrux's they intended to gather. She made several extras in case they needed to reapply it or had to use it for multiple people. Currently the Knight and Priestess duo were waiting for their backup to arrive as Hermione set charms up to let her know if he was outside. So, while they were waiting on their backup and Kreacher Hermione was on the Piano as she played a few tunes to pass the time.

Harry was nearby smiling at Hermione as he could not believe he didn't see how beautiful she was. More so than that Harry was kicking himself for not seeing Hermione for what she was even during the Yule Ball. Harry had come to regret not asking Hermione to the ball all those years ago and wished he could turn back time to give his past self a right kick in the rear to ask Hermione to the ball even if it's as a friend.

Because knowing what Harry knows now Hermione was more than his best friend… she was the love of his life. After Harry had left the Wizarding World and they reunited she didn't even try to convince Harry to return and even joined him as they became part of the Makai Order together over two years ago. Harry would never forget that and vowed to spend the rest of his life making up for the years together he had missed.

Hermione then took note of Harry looking to her and thus smiled to him. "Harry you're staring." Hermione said with a smile and a small blush on her face.

"Oh, I was?" Harry asked feigning ignorance. "Sorry it's that I sometimes forget how beautiful you are." Harry said trying to be romantic with his girlfriend.

Hermione chuckled a bit while Harry began to make his way over to the piano. "Oh you." Hermione gushed a bit as Harry then sat down next to the witch turned Priestess on the piano. "Keep talking like that and I'll get a swollen head." Hermione said but by her tone she did not seem to mind it.

"So, were you playing something like this, Hermione?" Harry asked as he began to play the Piano with Hermione.

"Yes, it was." Hermione said and thus the two began to play the piano together. But clearly the piano lessons Hermione took in her youth played a role as she was able to play better then Harry. But Harry's training as a Makai Knight played a role as he began to adapt and catch up to Hermione's tune.

Eventually Hermione saw what Harry was doing and smiled seeing how well he was doing here. "You're doing great Harry." Hermione said as this caused Harry to smile in response all before, he hit the wrong key by mistake and cringed a bit.

"Sorry guess I'm not good enough." Harry said as he looked to Hermione in embarrassment.

"It takes practice Harry." Hermione said as she scooted closer to Harry. "But honestly I knew you'd do well to begin with after all hand eye coordination can be translated to any instrument if done right." Hermione said referencing Harry's time as the Gryffindor Seeker at Hogwarts.

"Yeah." Harry admitted before looking to the stairs the same ones Sirius had climbed up and had yet to return. "He's been up there for a tad." Harry admitted as he looked to the stairs.

"Yes, he has." Hermione said and knew what Harry wanted to do. "Go." Hermione urged as Harry looked over to her in shock. "I'm ok with it." Hermione said and thus Harry nodded and in turn stood up and began to make his way to the stairs.

(Later Fourth Floor)

He made his way up to the fourth floor where there were only two doors. One he knew was Sirius' room while the other had a small sign that read,

Do Not Enter

Without the Express Permission of

Regulus Arcturus Black

Harry first tried the knob, but finding it locked, he knocked on the door. But alas Harry was only met with silence and in turn the Knight began to grow worried. "What's going on Sirius?" He asked through the door. When he still didn't hear anything, he continued. "Do I really need to get Hermione up here to unlock this door, or if that fails, do I need to cut the door down?" This time he heard a sigh, footsteps and then finally the clicking of a lock being turned. When the door opened, Harry first impression what that Sirius was hung over, but then he saw the depth of sadness in his Godfather's bloodshot eyes.

"What's going on Sirius?" Harry repeated as he followed his godfather back into the room. As he waited for Sirius to reply he looked around the bedroom. Though slightly smaller than Sirius' room, it had the same former grandeur of someone who was a Slytherin. Emerald and silver were everywhere the walls, curtains, and bed. Above the bed the Black family motto was painted over the family crest; TOUJOURS PUR. Underneath the crest were many yellowed newspaper articles fixed to the wall. Still waiting for Sirius to say something, Harry smirked. "I believe your brother just might have been a Slytherin." Harry said as he saw how the room was made for the ideal snake.

"And yet he died far, far braver than most Gryffindors," Sirius replied in barely a whisper as he picked up a photo that sat on the bed. "All this time I had thought that he was killed by Voldemort when he didn't want to do something." Sirius said as he realized he and his brother never made amends before he died.

"But it seems I was wrong because Regulus had met a far nobler ending. My stupid brother died stealing that locket from the place where Voldemort had hidden it." Sirius admitted as he was still reeling from such a revelation. "I just wished Regulus had come to me for help…maybe…." Sirius being unable to say anything else finished the sentence with a long sigh that turned into silence. Finally, Sirius handed the photo he had in his hand to Harry who looked it over. "That's Regulus in the front center. He was a seeker too." Sirius said as Harry looked the picture over and realized Sirius would not have had to point his brother out. Regulus had the same dark hair and facial features as Sirius that the two could almost pass for twins.

"It's strange." Sirius said after a few more moments of silence. "After hating my family for so long, I find that my brother died doing something I am proud of. Even Kreacher…I loathed him, but now…now…" Sirius trailed off and in turn Zaruba opted to cut in.

"Many times, we fail to see people for who they truly are and only see them through tinted lenses." Zaruba spoke offering to Sirius pearls of wisdom. "If what I had both heard and know of your family is correct then your brother had found the courage, he needed to rebel like you did though it took him longer to find then you." Zaruba said and thus Sirius was thankful for the Madou Rings comforting words of wisdom.

"Thank you, Zaruba." Sirius said as he smiled to the Madou Ring who nodded in response to this.

"Well, Sirius are you ready to join us back downstairs?" Harry asked as he looked to Sirius curious as to what he would do now.

"I'll be down in a few minutes. I want to clean up this room first…getting rid of these to start with," Sirius motioned to the newspaper clippings that hung on the wall below the Black crest. Harry glanced at the yellowed paper and noticed all of them were about Voldemort. Sirius had also long since noticed this and in turn he snatched one off the wall. "This will not be Regulus' legacy. When this is all over and we've figured out how you're supposed to kick that bloody wanker's arse, Regulus will be remembered as someone who helped fight the bastard." Sirius announced in a more determined voice as he shook the paper clipping in his hand.

"Well seeing as your cheered up it seems our backup has arrived." Zaruba said as he detected the scent of Soul Metal outside the house.

"Right." Harry said and in turn proceeded to go greet their aid for this mission. Hopefully the Order had sent someone they would be able to work well with because if not then they were in deep trouble.

(Later outside)

Harry and Hermione arrived outside to find a young man in black Madou Robes standing outside on the street seemingly waiting for someone. Leaning on the light post the young man was calm if not a bit bored when Harry approached him. "Hey four eyes you the bloke I'm supposed to meet with?" He asked as Harry then held out the key he was given. In response the young man smirked and took out its twin and attached it to Harry's piece. The two halves fitted perfectly together as the spot where they met glowed confirming the others' identity here. "I reckon you are." He said as he put his half of the key away.

"So, mind giving me a name mate?" The young man asked as Harry raised a brow to the young man.

"You, first its only proper." Harry said and thus the Madou Amulet chuckled to this.

"That's what I keep trying to tell him." She quipped causing the young man to moan in annoyance of her.

"Well since you asked call me, Lucas Morgan." Lucas began as he then showed the Amulet around his neck. "And this is my Madou partner Silva." Lucas went on as he introduced Silva to both Harry and Hermione.

"A pleasure." Silva said as the group now had introductions of names but not of titles.

"Anyway, yes I'm the Knight assigned to help you blokes the Silver Fanged Knight Zero." Lucas introduced and thus Harry and Hermione got to their part of the introduction.

"Well, I'm Harry, Harry Potter the." Harry began but Lucas cut him off on that one.

"Harry Potter the Golden Knight Garo I know." Lucas began surprising Harry with that. "An outsider who joins the order does not become the Golden Knight without making waves among us." Lucas said showing Harry had become someone of note when he became the new inheritor of the title of Garo. "And you must be his partner Hermione Granger, right?" Lucas asked to which Hermione nodded to the brunette Makai Knight.

"Yes." Hermione confirmed as Harry then gestured for Lucas to follow.

"Come inside we'll explain more then." Harry said and thus they began to enter Sirius home to talk further about their mission.

(Later Inside)

"So, to summarize the Wizards Dark Lord chopped up his soul to make anchors and now those same anchors are causing a surge of Horror activity." The young man said as he sat on a couch with his arms behind his back and feet plopped on the table before him.

"That just about sums it up yes." Harry responded as he looked to the Knight.

"We've already made items to help us on this mission, but we need to find them to stop this surge and cut down the Horror activity by a significant margin." Hermione said and thus Lucas understood what they needed to get done in this regard.

"Right now, we have someone out retrieving a man who has information for us so now it's just a waiting game." Harry said and thus the young man shrugged showing he was ok with waiting. But just as Harry sat down on the sofa a crashing sound and movement in the house was heard causing the trio to jump up. "Speak of the devil." Harry said and thus they went to see who it was.

The trio arrived at the dining room area and found Kreacher and surprisingly Dobby forcing the thief into the household. "Harry Potter so good to see you sir." Dobby greeted as he looked to the group in question.

"Get off me!" Mudungus cried out as he was being restrained by the two House Elves as Dobby was seen wearing shoes before he ended up falling to the ground.

"I'm guessing he's, our informant?" Lucas asked as he saw Mudungus here and knew a thief when he saw one.

"As requested Kreacher has returned with the thief, Mudungus Fletcher." Kreacher said as he closed the door behind him as Mudungus tried to go for his wand only for a spell to shoot off and disarm him of his wand. They group looked and saw it was Sirius who threw the hex.

"Sorry Auror instincts." Sirius feigned an apology as he then holstered his wand.

"What was your plan then to send the pair to go an abduct me?" Mudungus asked as he glared at the two House Elves.

"Dobby was only trying to help!" Dobby defended as it seemed they may have caused a scene. "When Dobby saw Kreacher in Diagon Alley as Dobby was retrieving some items Dobby found it curious. And then Dobby heard Kreacher mention Harry Potter's name." Dobby explained as they walked down the table to which Kreacher tried to cut in as the Knights kept a close eye and Mudungus. "And then Dobby saw Kreacher talking to the thief." Dobby began as Mudungus heard this as well.

"I'm not a thief you fowl little." Mudungus began only to have Sirius pointing his wand at him which shut him up real, quick. "Look I panicked that night alright!" Mudungus began only for Sirius to snap at him.

"You were trying to rob my house!" Sirius yelled as he glared at the thief who was banned for the reason he had just mentioned.

"Sirius!" Hermione scolded and thus Sirius quieted down a bit.

"Ok I'll be blunt you stole something the night you were banned, a locket if I'm not mistaken." Harry began looking to Kreacher who nodded confirming it as the item that was stolen from here. "Where is it?" Harry asked and thus the thief looked around.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He tried only for Lucas to appear behind him and hold one of his short swords to his neck surprising him.

"Wanna try that again, mate?" Lucas offered as Mudungus gulped in response to the clear threat.

"Oh, you mean THAT locket." He said as he then went on to tell them. "I don't have the blasted thing anymore." He said which surprised the group on this.

"You what?!" Harry nearly snapped realizing his job had gotten harder because the man lost the locket they were seeking.

"Wait I can explain!" Mudungus spoke up as he did not want to have his neck slit by Lucas's weapon.

"Start doing that." Lucas urged as Harry and Hermione had to admit despite his oddly laid-back arrival, he can be brutal whenever he needs to.

"So, there I was dodging me way through Diagon Alley when some Ministry aid comes up and asks to see me license." Mundungus said as Lucas then pushed the man to a seat as clearly that was a sign for him to keep talking and they won't make his time here uncomfortable. "Said she was gonna lock me up and would have too if she didn't catch sight of that locket." Mundungus said and thus Harry had to ask the man.

"The Witch do you know who she was?" Harry asked as he glared at the man clearly wanting answers.

"No, I… wait a moment." Mundungus said as he then looked down and saw a newspaper. "There she is right here." He said taking the newspaper and showing it to the group causing Harry and Hermione to get worried. "Pink bow and all." He added and thus Harry and Hermione looked to each other.

"Oh, not her again." Harry said as on the newspaper was none other than Delores Umbridge.

"Not that vile woman I had though her arrested." Hermione said realizing they had to get the Locket from her of all people. "The only way we can get to her is if we get inside the Ministry." Hermione said and thus Lucas left Mundungus to look.

"So, what's the plan?" Lucas asked knowing they needed some way to get inside the Ministry of Magic without the group being detected.

"I may have an idea…" Hermione said as she remembered back in their second year when she had her little furry problem with cat hair. Knew what Hermione was thinking and knew they all needed to get hairs or physical bits of those who work in the Ministry of magic.

"Polyjuice?" Harry asked as he saw where Hermione was going with this.

"Polyjuice." Hermione confirmed and thus they had their plan on how to get inside the near, Death Eater Controlled Ministry of Magic undetected.

Harry was about to go make contact with Sirius about getting a map for the Ministry of Magic when something across the room caught his attention. A subtle shift, a shimmer in the air, and a sense that something had changed.

"What was that?" Harry asked abruptly causing Zaruba to detect, it as well. Beside him, Lucas and Hermione quieted, pausing their excited conversation to look, concerned, at Harry.

"What was what?" Lucas asked, looking over to the direction Harry was facing. His eyes narrowed in concentration. "You hear something?" Lucas asked to which Harry turned his head to this.

"No." Harry said with a shake of his head before continuing. "I thought I saw… just there. Something moved." Harry said as he pointed in the direction, he'd noticed the change. In response Hermione came to stand beside him, her Madou Brush and Wire Gun held loosely in her hands ready for use.

"The tapestry?" Hermione asked, glancing at the large family tree on the opposite wall. "Harry, the faces move about. You know that." Hermione said but Zaruba knew what happened and felt this may become a problem soon.

"It wasn't a face," Harry insisted and thus gave Hermione a look to remember her training. "Something shimmered." Harry said and thus Lucas raised a brow to this.

"Shimmered?" Lucas asked as he approached the tapestry warily, lifting his wand and lighting the tip to illuminate the ancient cloth. The gold threads woven into the thing glinted in response. Harry moved to join Alex, studying the Black family tree depicted there. He read the words inscribed at the top—Toujours Pur—remembering as he did the first time Sirius had shown him this piece of his history. He let his eyes skate down the rows of names and the little faces which seemed to watch him in return. He noted a scorch mark where Sirius Black III should have been and studied the area around it carefully. This had been the general area where he thought he had seen the movement, and somehow, the names seemed smaller than they had been the last time he had studied them.

"Oh my God," Hermione's voice beside him startled Harry, and he looked up at her. Her eyes were wide with surprise, and her hand had flown up to cover her mouth.

"What? What is it?" Lucas asked as he looked back at the tapestry, his expression was of confusion. Harry followed Hermione's gaze back to the family tree over to the spot she was looking at. The spot in question was near the very bottom, just to the left and below Sirius's name. Harry squinted, leaning slightly closer to read the name embroidered there.

Delphini Riddle, it read in flowing black script. Harry's brow furrowed as he followed the line above it up to the names from which it descended. "I don't believe it." Harry said as he saw what was read on it. "That's his isn't it…" Harry said as he saw the new name show.

"And Bellatrix Lestrange," Hermione confirmed, finally having overcome her shock. Harry looked to the image in pure shock as he saw the name etched under the newborn babe's name. Seeing his expression Hermione saw Harry's resolve took a hard blow from this revelation and she knew why it shook him. "Harry," Hermione said his name softly, reaching out as she did to grab his arm. Her touch was comforting and gave him the strength he needed to swallow and look up at her.

"They have a kid," he forced himself to say, his voice coming out hoarse in the silence. "They've got a kid, and I'm trying to kill its parents. What does that say about me?" Harry said as he was shell shocked from this information.

"Oh Harry." Hermione wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "It doesn't say a thing about you. We're doing the right thing. He's got to be destroyed. This doesn't change that." Hermione said knowing full well that Harry's resolve may not stand firm when the two longtime foes ever met again.

"Perhaps." Zaruba spoke as he got the groups attention on him. "The cycle of hatred and revenge is a long standing one so long as one person can inherit that rage be it a lover, friend, or child." Zaruba paused when he got to child. "Then the cycle will continue without any hope of an end or a resolution." Zaruba said to which Harry saw what Zaruba was trying to say.

"Are you saying that I shouldn't end Voldemort?" Harry asked glaring at Zaruba for that.

"That is NOT what he's saying." Lucas said as he looked to Harry as he saw what Zaruba meant.

"It's true the only way to truly break this cycle is forgiveness and redemption." Zaruba said as he offered pearls of wisdom to the group. "The child is young innocent and naïve to the cruel world and the horrid situation she was born to, though the offspring of your mortal enemy she is not guilty of her forefathers' crimes." Zaruba said as Harry and Hermione saw what the Madou Ring meant when he said this. "She may not be your responsibility to deal with… but saving her would be a way to break the cycle." Zaruba said as Harry then took a moment let the Madou Rings words sink in.

"Look I'll wait for Sirius you guys can take a rest looks like you need it." Lucas said and thus Harry and Hermione agreed. The couple then headed to their rooms for the night after that.

But try as Harry might, he could not find a good night's rest for himself. Reason being was that he could not get image of the flowing black script out of his mind long enough to fall asleep. Adding in what Zaruba had said Harry knew the Madou Ring was trying to offer Harry wisdom but the thing about learning is that Harry needs to be proactive with it.

Harry began to think on Zaruba's words on the cycle of hatred and revenge. Would it fall to Harry to break that cycle or at the very least cause it to hitch? Harry did not have the answer, but he knew one thing when all was said and done that child was slanted for his life of misery and for some reason Harry felt connected to her. Maybe this was Harry painting himself onto her or maybe it was just his saving people thing but even if she was his daughter… she deserved a chance to rise. Maybe there was a thing such as fate and if that was true then Fate must have put Harry there to see the child's birth. One thing was certain if he found her Harry hoped he would have strength to look beyond who she came from because after everything Tom took from him Harry was scared for this newborn girl.

(TBC)

ESKK: Hey folks another chapter is done and published. I'm happy to say it's been all well and good and already Chapter 7 is on the way. Anyway, for those of you who did not want to see Delphini in this then sorry, but I had my reasons for including her in this fic. Anyway, be sure to leave a review for me before you leave and as I always say on these things ja-ne.