Chapter 40: What Comes Next
Saturday, 24th June 1995.
Harry felt the solid timber of the platform beneath him and blinked at the intense light all around him, flooding in through the Cloak after so long in the darkness of the graveyard.
The nearby band began to play, some enchantment on the platform indicating to them that a Champion had arrived. But his immediate concern was the fact Hermione was not by his side.
He could still feel her, but she was hundreds of miles away. He gathered his magic and went to pop to her side when he felt her move, suddenly she was much closer, but on the other side of him. He smiled and focused his magic, leaving the Cup on the platform and popping away from all the noise.
He welcomed the near silence of the office.
Hermione stood before him, looking around in wonder at the paintings and trinkets lining every surface. Harry snapped his fingers loudly and every painting froze in place, several looking at Hermione with surprise and two on their way to running from their frames.
"Nosy bastards." He said, stepping out from under the Cloak and opening his arms knowingly.
Hermione had obviously heard him snap his fingers and had lined up her hug before he'd even become remotely visible, slamming into him with force. Harry welcomed the comfort of her embrace, his body still sore from the exertion they'd just put themselves through, but mostly he felt relief.
His elf magic was working again, meaning the Tournament was officially done.
"Figures the Cup would leave you behind when I actually wanted it to bring you along." He said softly into her bushy hair.
"We weren't as tightly wound this time. I was on tenterhooks from the moment you stepped inside that damn maze. My magic was reaching out for you the entire time. Makes sense it would hold tight when you moved away from it. Not to mention you grabbed me back just beforehand."
"Yeah, some arse brought a Dementor into the maze. Sirius is right, they're awful."
"Oh, so that's the fun Kitty had?"
Harry nodded, a smile forming as he recalled his enormous patronus savaging the horrible creature. "Sure did. Ripped the monster to pieces."
"Good. But as much as I want to just sit here with you for now, I'm sure everyone is worried. As I said, I didn't announce I was going. I didn't even have a chance to gasp. One moment, I would have been sitting between them, the next… gone."
Harry nodded again and he pulled away from his girlfriend reluctantly. He gave a soft sigh before he leaned in and kissed her gently before pulling back and speaking. "Elves to me."
The sound was almost deafening in the confined space of the office as so many bodies pushed the air out of the way, none of the elves focusing a drop of their magic on keeping the noise down.
The voices started immediately, but with everyone instantly talking over one another and bodies piling into the hug, it was impossible to hear any one person over the others.
"Quiet. Please." Harry yelled and the others fell silent, though the pile of people and elves that he was still calling a Family hug did not change. "We're both ok. And I'm so glad to see you all."
Harry felt Sirius ruffle his hair and he smiled in the direction of his godfather.
"We have to talk, fast. We may not have privacy here for long." Hermione said.
The others took the statement as an invitation to look around and several of them let out sounds of concern upon realising where they were.
"Don't worry. They're all frozen. And that one doesn't look to be in any kind of a hurry to dob on us." Harry said, indicating the fiery bird sitting nearby watching them calmly.
"Fawkes," Remus said. "That's Dumbledore's phoenix."
"Why are we in his office? What is going on?" Sirius asked.
"We ran into a little trouble after Harry took the Cup and we asked Amelia Bones over to help sort it out. She obviously has questions and wants Dumbledore to be a part of them, given his role in the last war. And there is no way Harry's subconscious is letting him through the wards into the Manor right now."
"So, meeting in enemy territory?" Remus mused.
Harry gave a sigh and looked at his gathered family. "Not anymore. It's going to be tough, but unfortunately, he was right. Riddle is back. Though he's missing a good chunk of his followers already, and an arm." He finished with a smirk.
Hermione gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and the Family looked at the two properly for the first time since they had arrived. Harry looked at himself and noticed the dried blood all over his shirt from where the barbed wire had torn into his skin as he struggled against it.
There were two particularly bad marks from where he had managed to snap the wire and get free.
He snapped his fingers and the dried blood and dirt vanished, just leaving the ragged torn holes in the fabric and the quickly healing wounds beneath.
"Don't think you can just snap away the evidence and avoid talking about that," Natalie said, watching him closely.
"I'll give you all the whole story in a minute. But I really don't want to have to tell it a dozen times, so can it wait until everyone is here?"
The adults seemed to want to push matters, but they must have thought better of it. Both their children were standing before them under their own power, alive and intact. And pushing had never been a good way to get information out of Harry in the past, so they all nodded their agreement.
That was when Harry noticed the absence in the crowd around him. "Where's Nym?" He asked, also noting her parents were nowhere to be seen either.
"Nym was still in the maze," Natalie said, holding her daughter tightly. "And I heard Andi say no as we all popped away."
Harry turned to face Romulus and noted that he was uneasy. "Rom?"
"Miss is in the maze. Lady Andi asked not to come, but Rom had to obey." The tiny elf said.
"I'm sorry. You can go back to them. Bring them as soon as they're ready." Harry said.
The elf was gone almost before the command was given and Harry turned back to face the Family. "We were gone for a while. Is she ok? Surely she should be back by now."
"She was doing great when I left," Hermione noted.
"We were somewhat thrown once Hermione vanished without any explanation," Remus said softly. "The Grangers were a little frantic for a bit, but I kept an eye on proceedings on the screens. Nym made it to the centre about five minutes after you left, at the same time as Krum only to find a disappointed Fleur already standing there. I figure the three of them will be most of the way out by now."
"She was uninjured from what we could tell in the stands," Sirius added. "Ran into a few weird enchantments by the look of things, but nothing too taxing for her."
Harry felt relief at knowing his fellow Champions were ok and he went to sit when he realised there was no furniture behind him in this place. With three quick claps, several long couches formed along the wall and he sat in the centre of the middle one, the Grangers soon joining him tightly despite the size of the couch. Hermione and Natalie held him tightly from either side and Richard had an arm about his daughter on her other side.
The Marauders and the elves took the couch to the left and once they were all seated, Harry closed his eyes and allowed the moment to catch up to him once again.
He let his senses drift and he soon felt Nym's magic way over at the Pitch. He wasn't familiar enough with Krum or Fleur to truly know their magic, but Nym was not alone. And she was quickly approaching Andi, Ted and Rom. She felt drained, but so did Harry after his experiences tonight.
He wondered just how long Bones might take in her efforts as he stretched the scope of his senses and he was surprised by the sudden arrival of a presence in the room with them. He opened his eyes at the startled shouts of his family and noted the stern-looking Auror standing before them, dusting herself down.
She turned to face them all and rolled her eyes when Sirius and Remus waved to her with their usual smirking faces.
"That was quite a mess you two left behind." She said, her eyes flicking to Remus once again. "The Healers have managed to stabilise four of them. Reversal are tracking another three. But the rest are dead, or soon will be." She said, tucking her wand into her coat and grabbing one of the hardback wooden chairs from in front of the desk in the middle of the office. "Though, apart from the pieces, I've been unable to confirm He was there so far." She added, with a firm look at the teens.
Before any of them could reply, they all heard another loud crack and an old man appeared between them all. He glanced at Amelia before he stormed over to the desk. "Amelia. Surprised to see you here. Whatever it is will need to wait. They've gone too far now. Bringing those monsters here."
"You'll get no argument from me on that, Albus," Amelia replied, looking at the man as he dug in his desk for some paperwork, slamming it onto his desk and beginning to fill in the sections. "I'm covering security and the idiots never even told me that Dementors would be something we'd need to deal with. A good thing we had a patronus refresher during Azkaban training last month. Most of the force can at least manage a shield."
"Well, the children most certainly cannot. While the stands held the effects at bay while they were in the maze, they all rushed out once the Champions emerged." Albus growled, still seemingly unaware of the crowd to his anger. "The teachers are holding the effects at bay for the moment, but Cornelius is being stubborn."
It wasn't until a soft pop sounded to Harry's right that Albus looked up, but by then, Harry's attention was taken up by the four figures standing there. Nym looked well. Tired and grimy, but ok. He was too tightly held on both sides by Granger women to stand, so he just waved at his cousin.
"Wotcher, Shorty. Or should I say speedy?" Nym said as she and the Tonkses noted the rest of the family were sitting and made use of the remaining empty couch.
"Ah," Albus said softly, now aware of the company in his office. He held the tip of his wand near his mouth and summoned a wispy cloud of silvery energy. "My office."
The wisp shot out the door and vanished from view as Harry's eyes settled on the man for the first time in what felt like forever.
It had been some time since Harry had been so close to the man, the several months of proximity had worn away his magic's habit of physically flinching every time he was near.
In fact, the second to last time they had been this close was when he had intruded upon the meeting that had resulted in Harry coming here at all back in November. Harry had frozen upon feeling the man's magic in the room with them and Hermione had reacted instinctually, ejecting him from the wards around her home.
Twice.
The only other time they had been this close had been in the tent before the First Task, where the man had redirected Rita Skeeter from the obvious desire to interrupt their preparations for what would be a perilous activity in and of itself. It had been a close thing that time, but he was far too focused on Nym and her panic to worry about Dumbledore.
Harry felt the energy in the room focusing on him, the others were all watching him out of the corner of their eye to see if he could endure the experience. He swallowed hard before he gently squeezed the two Granger hands holding his own and nodded slightly.
"Who did you just summon?" Remus asked, turning away from Harry and looking directly at Dumbledore.
"An ally. The one who allows me to ascertain why all of you are currently sitting in my office, which I believe I left locked." He said, flicking his wand at the door and the mechanism shifted, indicating it had just opened.
The ancient blue eyes drifted from one face to the next, but Harry knew that none of them would give anything away.
Even the muggle Grangers had practised occlumency with Andi to her satisfaction, given the aid of their black stone bracelets at twisting a magicals vision away from their eyes. It would not prevent a determined legilimency attack with a wand, but was powerful enough to prevent passive attempts at getting into their minds.
And nothing could save Dumbledore from Hermione if he raised his wand against her parents.
Silence filled the room as Harry stared down the man he had once considered the greatest threat to him. The ancient face was not as closed off as their first meeting, he could feel emotion coming from the man and he truly was angry. Though the surprise was coming through clearly at present as well.
Another whirl of a portkey finally broke the stalemate as Moody landed and shook his head to clear the awful feeling a portkey left a person with. Bones went to speak, but the gruff man held up his left hand and fished something out of his coat with his right. Flicking open a flask, he took a long draw of whatever was inside and gave a grunt of relief as he lowered it once more, his body shaking off a feeling of disgust.
"Better. Bloody dementors." He growled, tucking the flask back into his jacket and grabbing the back of the chair nearest Bones, though he did not sit in it, instead dragging it loudly over the stone floor until it was resting against the wall. Only then did he turn and sit, now placed so that he could see every figure in the room and the door as well. "So…" He asked, head flicking between the two groups.
Harry looked around as well, everyone that Bones had suggested and that he cared about was present. He supposed that it was time to tell the story.
"Alright..." He said softly, his voice still carrying in the room over the sound of whirring devices in every corner.
"If you'll wait just a moment longer. He should almost be here by now." Dumbledore said, giving Harry a smile that actually had a warmth to it this time.
Harry was still wary of Dumbledore, but something had definitely changed since their first meeting in the bank so long ago. He gave a curt nod and turned to Hermione instead, leaning against her until their foreheads touched. She gave him a tight smile, her eyes looking into his own and Harry found some more relief from the aches still running through his body.
He was draped in her magic and had been since the moment he had arrived in the office.
She was subconsciously massaging his body, trying to push away the remnants of the pain he had been in and he was immensely grateful. While he could handle the pain, no one sane truly enjoyed suffering when it could be avoided.
He was startled from their little moment as the door banged loudly open and a dark figure entered. Sirius immediately shot up from his couch and pulled his wand, earning Harry's attention. He spun to face the new person and recognized the figure as the school's potions professor. The man scowled and moved for his own wand as his eyes locked on the movement across the room.
"Severus. Stop." Dumbledore commanded, gesturing the professor over to the desk. "We have much to discuss."
"Not with Snivellus we don't," Sirius growled, and Snape twitched at the name.
"Sirius, we have bigger issues than your schoolyard grudge."
"Curse each other later. I have waited long enough." Bones said, turning to face Harry. "It's time I got the full story."
Snape finally turned away from Sirius and walked around the desk, coming to stand behind Dumbledore where he could easily keep an eye on the people on the left couch. Sirius did not look away as the professor moved and it wasn't until Remus yanked him back down that he sat once more, wand still in hand.
"Fine, but I'm watching him," Sirius mumbled, and Harry gave a smirk at his godfather.
"My turn?" Harry asked and noted several nods from the adults, all of whom were now fixated on him, all except Moody, whose eyes were travelling over the still portraits, smiling oddly.
"Ok. From what you were saying, I'll assume you could all see into the maze, so I don't need to retell all of that. It was surprisingly easy. The path I took was winding, but it was easy enough to keep track of my direction. So I made good time."
"Wait, what?" Nym asked from his right. "I couldn't remember which way I was facing for the life of me. I kept getting turned around, even while using Hermione's maze trick."
Harry turned to look at his girlfriend and she shrugged. "The easiest way to navigate an unknown maze is to lock your hand to one face. If you keep that hand on the same continuous face you will almost always find your way through, even if it's not the most efficient route."
Harry nodded as he considered the ploy, not bothered that his girlfriend had been giving his cousin tips on how to beat him. "That's a good idea. But I didn't need it. The direction was pretty straightforward. Ran into very little that caused any trouble until right near the centre. But Kitty made short work of that beast." Harry turned to face his godfather. "One less to worry about."
Sirius looked at him and smiled as he realised what Harry meant. "Good."
"It sounds like either one of the paths was significantly easier, or Miss Tonks's path was made intentionally harder," Dumbledore said, musing to himself more than the room. "How did you choose who would take which path?"
Harry turned to the woman holding him and he gave her a soft smile. She returned it, but there was something wrong with her gaze. He turned back to Hermione and she nodded, she had noticed it too now that they were thinking to look for something.
The pair raised opposing hands and clapped them together, causing Natalie to blink suddenly.
"What," Natalie said, confused, looking about. "What was that?"
"That was probably the imperius curse," Moody said confidently. "Seems whoever is running this nundu show figured Potter would listen to your advice."
"I thought the bracelet would protect against that," Hermione said, looking at her father concerned, seeking the same odd look in his eyes, but clearly not finding it.
"We've never tested it," Harry replied and he gave Natalie a side hug, one the woman returned eagerly.
"It was the oddest feeling. This voice in my head just kept repeating 'Take the second path'. I can't even remember when it started, but it stopped once you made your choice." Natalie explained.
"Another crime to add to tonight's list." Bones said, a hovering dictaquill beside her noting it down. "Wish we had a way of tracing who cast it. But for now, we don't. Best to continue."
Harry gave her a stern look, not very happy at the way the woman was brushing past the mental subjugation of a woman who was as good as his own mother. But he could see the non-Family members were all eagerly awaiting the rest of his tale. So he gave Natalie one more tight squeeze and looked back at the floor, allowing his mind to drift back to the maze.
"Once I made it to the Cup, I waited. I was hoping the others might be nearby and we could figure out a way to tie. It would be a nice upset for the Ministry for all the trouble, and the best way to celebrate the cooperative spirit the Tournament is meant to inspire. But after several minutes, it seemed they weren't close. I wasn't feeling eager about having to walk back out, given…" he trailed off and Nym smirked at him. "Doesn't matter.
"I could feel that Hermione was worried too. She wanted me out of the maze. So I took the Cup and the portkey activated. But I didn't end up in front of the maze. I was in a graveyard and there was no source of light anywhere nearby. I was about to try and leave when I was knocked to the ground as my whole body was filled with pain."
Hermione tightened her grip on him and he knew she was remembering the feeling. He had felt her magic still holding to his own throughout, but he could not stop the agony from leaching out. "I'm sorry." He whispered as she turned his face to her own and gave him a light kiss.
"Not your fault. And it was nothing I couldn't handle. Not when you needed me."
"It was more than I could handle. I couldn't move. I couldn't use my magic. I was trapped in my own body."
"That'll be the cruciatus curse. Evil spell." Moody said, his magical eye flicking to the left and Harry had a feeling it was looking at Snape.
"No. They used that later. That one hurt, but it was nothing like this." The adults all looked at him surprised, having clearly all made the same assumption that Moody had. "This was so much worse. Every cell was on fire and frozen at the same time. The next thing I knew, I was tied to a statue and someone was chanting nearby. I could barely focus on anything, some of the words came through but none of it made any sense. I was lost in a sea of agony."
Hermione and Natalie tightened their grip on him and Harry drew strength from his family as the feeling echoed in his magic. The pinch of Dumbledore searching for him had nothing on the memory of the pain of tonight.
"Eventually, the pain got worse."
"Worse than that?" Sirius said, pain audible in his voice at hearing that his godson was in agony and he could do nothing to help was clear to all that listened.
Harry nodded. "Yes. That was when I saw the eyes. Thirteen years it had been since I'd last seen them. Looking at me with the same demented glee. Heartless, evil red eyes, more like a snake's than a human's. I was still unable to move, but I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to punish him for taking my parents from me. I wanted to kill him."
Someone over by the desk gasped, but Harry ignored them and continued. "They left me tied in place, and I felt several different magics try and torture me. That was the cruciatus curse, but I barely felt it. The other pain was already so overwhelming. That's when I heard his voice. His threat. And I lost control."
"What threat?" Hermione asked softly.
Harry turned to face her again, tears in his eyes as he recalled the words. "He threatened to find you, and bring your broken body before me."
Remus gave a chuckle that broke the tense atmosphere. "Idiot."
The others glanced at him, but he simply waved at Harry with a big grin.
Harry took a deep breath and tried to continue.
"Remus is right. I became so furious that I snapped whatever bindings had me in place. I was still in immense pain, but I had a focus now. Riddle needed to die so that you would be safe. My wand was there in my hand and I just started casting. I could barely feel my magic, but it was enough to fight. Firing off anything and everything that came to mind. I was good. But Riddle was too much with the pain as well." Harry glanced at Hermione as she braced herself for his next words. "That was when the killing curse hit me."
The entire room somehow managed to get even quieter. They all knew that spell and what it could do. What it should do.
"It wasn't like the first time." Harry continued. "Back then, it hurt. Even though I could still feel Mum and Dad there keeping me safe. When it hit, it was bad, but nothing like the pain from tonight. And it was over so fast. Just a soft throbbing in my head and not feeling my parents anymore.
"This time, it was like falling asleep. All the pain instantly vanished."
Everyone was utterly silent, listening on tenterhooks as Harry described the impossible from a first-hand perspective, twice.
"And suddenly, I felt them again. Mum and Dad." Harry said, looking up at Sirius, who was crying as he watched Harry in return. "I looked up, and there they both were, looking down at me with smiles on their faces."
ϟ
Hermione felt her mind shift and suddenly she wasn't in the office anymore.
She was surrounded by a white expanse extending out in all directions. She spun in place and noticed that something was shimmering in the brightness. Something even brighter than the white space in which she stood. It observed her without any obvious sign of eyes, or even of form, but it did not speak or move in any way.
"Mum. Dad?" A familiar voice came from behind her, and Hermione spun on her heel. Harry was there, lying on the ground in pale robes, two figures standing over him in similar attire.
"Hello, Harry," James said, his voice breaking as the boy leapt up and wrapped his arms around the man. "It is so good to see you son."
Lily wrapped the pair up and for several long moments, silence reigned as the Potter family was reunited in this odd place. "We're so incredibly proud of you, Harry."
"I miss you so much," Harry said, sobbing.
"We miss you too," Lily said, finally pulling away and leading her two boys over to a couch that appeared from nowhere. "Unfortunately, we don't have terribly long here."
Hermione walked closer and was startled as she realised the bright shape had shifted and was now beside her, watching over the meeting in silence. Whatever it was felt somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place why. She focused back on the Potter family and she saw the moment that Harry noticed the entity.
"What is that?" He asked, his parents both looking up as well.
"We don't rightly know," James said, "but I'm pretty sure it's how we're all here. It wants us to tell you a few things. Though it is even worse than Albus at explaining anything. At least he uses language."
"Can I stay here?" Harry asked, and his parents smiled down at him, wedged tightly between them.
"Of course you can, Harry," Lily explained, "if you truly want to. But I think that you might reconsider once we tell you this bit. See, you and Hermione, and your habit of constantly consciously and unconsciously intertwining and sharing your magic since you were six years old, has bound the pair of you together."
"I doubt it's possible anymore to tell where one of you ends and the other one begins. You have woven your souls and magic together so completely that you've become soul-bonded." James added.
"Which means that if one of you truly dies, the other will probably follow along almost immediately." Lily finished, and Hermione was stunned at the fact that Harry had chosen in that moment whether the both of them would live or die. "Perhaps the bond isn't quite that advanced yet, but even if it isn't she is alone back there right now."
"Alone in a cold, dark graveyard surrounded by Death Eaters."
Harry straightened at that, and Hermione felt a swell of love for the boy. She could see the change in him. One second he had been wondering whether he should stay here with his parents, but the moment they had reminded him she was in danger, there was no choice anymore.
He even lost some of his solidity, as though he was already partway to going back.
"That's our boy. But there is still more we need to tell you." Lily said, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.
"Sorry," Harry mumbled, bowing his head.
"Don't be sorry for that, Harry," James said. "We didn't die for you so you could join us at fourteen. We want you to live a long and happy life. You and that wonderful family you've built. Thanks for getting Remus and Sirius out of their respective prisons too." Harry just nodded in reply.
"Listen closely, Harry." His mother said, and he turned to face her. "You survived tonight because all those years ago, Voldemort had a small piece of his soul shear off and lodge in the scar he gave you. It's gone now." She pointed to a misshapen red smear streaking its way away from the family looking like a large scarlet slug of rotting meat. Harry scowled at the disgusting sight.
"That was inside me?"
"The soul is not so physical, sweetie. It both did and didn't look anything like that when it was inside of you. The important part is that it is out now." She ran her fingers softly over the space where he knew his scar lay. "That is what was causing you so much pain. It was leeching off of you, trying to get back to the rest. And it was trying to take your magic with it."
"It is also why you can choose to go on living," James said. "A one-time killing curse protection. Though your tie to Hermione certainly helps as long as she is alive as well. The loose soul took the damage, so you are still alive down there and can wake up. You can go back to that wonderful girlfriend of yours. We can feel her, you know, even here and now, wrapped around you tightly. That's how much she loves you, Harry."
"Treat her well, and make sure you tell her how much she means to you every day. She is quite the catch, sweetheart." Lily added and Hermione felt her face flush deeply at the praise from Harry's family.
"There are more of those pieces. They need to be destroyed before Voldemort can truly die. We think that's what this thing," James indicated the presence, "wants doing. I guess it's not happy Voldemort is messing with the natural order."
"Ideally, find someone else to do it. Help if you must, but stay safe, Harry. We love you dearly, and for that reason, we do not want to see you here again for a very long time. Is that understood?" Lily asked, squeezing him tightly.
Harry nodded. "I promise."
His mother pulled back and turned his tear-streaked face to hers. "We love you, Harry James Potter. More than words could ever convey. And we are so proud of the man you are becoming."
"Give them hell, son. Take no prisoners, and live a better life than we did. We will always be watching, and we'll be here when you're done. Many many years from now." James said happily holding his boy in his arms.
"And one last thing, if you would be so kind as to pass along a little message for us, we'd be ever so grateful," Lily said as the memory faded and Hermione felt herself back on the couch in the arms of her own family.
Released from sharing the memory Harry had immersed himself in.
ϟ
Harry glanced back up as Nym spoke.
"Only you, Shorty, could accidentally manage to form a bond of the most ancient and pure magic we know of. I always wondered how the two of you were so close."
"Huh?" Harry replied, looking at his cousin in confusion.
"You weren't listening quite closely enough there, Nymphadora," Andi said, an almost proud look on her face as she looked over at the centre couch. "Harry and Hermione, that's what Lily was saying. Always sharing their magic, consciously and unconsciously. Always reaching for one another at every moment. Bathing in each other's magic all day and night. You two have wound your very essences together."
Harry glanced at Hermione and she smiled at him in return. He could see she didn't think this was in any way a bad thing, and he could feel her magic winding tighter around him even now. She was happy, more than happy at the explanation.
"I can't think of anyone I'd rather be bonded to."
"I thought soul bonds were supposed to be ordained from on high?" Ted asked.
"Superstition," Andi told her husband. "That presence Harry described. He's described it before during our lessons. When he described the ritual they underwent." She finished, reminding the children.
Harry nodded, now sure of it after reliving the memory over again. He could see that Hermione had also made the same connection. now, too The hovering presence had been the same one that had judged him to be of age. The same one that had been so heavy that Hermione had passed out under the weight of it.
"The how of it has been lost to time," Andi continued, "but there was a period where a soul bond was considered the highest form of love. Though it was incredibly difficult to prove one had occurred until death. There is no greater commitment to another person than to tie your soul and life to theirs. For when one of you dies, the other will follow. Every single recorded bond has been that way."
"So be careful." Harry echoed his parents' words. "I promise." He said, looking into Hermione's glowing brown eyes.
"A marvellous mystery of magic, but if we can continue? There are a dozen dead and wounded Death Eaters needing explaining, if you don't mind." Bones said, returning them all to the topic at hand.
"Sorry," Harry said, wiping his eyes before he settled back into his memory of the night just passed. "I opened my eyes, and there she was. Crouched behind a headstone, crying. She stopped and I could feel her there, all in and around me like never before. It was even better than being in the arms of my parents. And that's when I remembered where we were.
"What that lot were planning to do. I stretched my arm in their direction, and I cast. It wasn't even a spell. Just anger and a need to hurt them. Whatever it was exploded." Harry said with a smirk, recalling the feeling of bodies being flung apart.
"We need to pay for Sandra's headstone to be put back. It was ever so handy, though." Hermione said. "I banished it into their midst as hard as I could and I saw several of them fall."
"That's what made that cracking sound? I'll bet that hurt. I jumped up and Riddle spun to face me. He tried to force me back down, but without that piece of him inside me, I had full access to my magic now."
"Bet that put the fear of death into the fool," Moody smirked.
"He certainly seemed to be on the back foot now. I suppose failing to murder someone twice would leave a person a little put out. I could feel that Hermione had the Death Eaters covered, so I focused on Riddle. I batted aside anything else that came my way, but my eyes never left his. He wasn't going to get a chance to fulfil his threat." Harry growled.
"Sure sounds like you've proven our estimate wrong," Ted said quietly.
"How so?"
"When you beat Hermione's couple of year-old record, we figured that she could have probably set an even higher one now. But I don't think anyone can outdo what you did there. You were in so much pain that you couldn't even feel your magic, even unconsciously until Riddle threatened her. You broke your bindings and started duelling him."
"He's right, Harry. What I felt through your magic, I could barely crawl it was so painful. I cast one spell and it nearly made me pass out. You overcame that. Your resolve is incredible." She said, pressing a kiss to his lips once more.
"No one is taking you from me. Any of you." Harry whispered. "Riddle struggled to match my spells now. And I saw more and more of his followers fall as limbs came free. Even redirected a few of Riddle's spells into his peons."
"Incredible that you can stand against him. I have fought Tom in the past, and he is a formidable duellist." Dumbledore said. "I'm not thrilled to hear you dealt with his followers so brutally though."
Harry turned to stare at the man and moved to speak when several other voices beat him to it.
"Never start a fight," Ted started.
"If you find yourself in a fight," Remus continued, "be firm, and fair, but do not toy with your opponent."
"Should you find yourself in a fight to the death," Nym added, "do not hold back."
"And make sure that the other side is the one doing the dying. The Family Rules of Engagement." Andi finished.
"As we've been taught since we first purchased our wands," Hermione said finally.
"You do not think that a tad excessive?" Dumbledore asked, his question directed at the adults.
"We fought a war as young adults, Dumbledore. And we lost." Sirius growled. "Lost because we didn't take the fight truly seriously. We will not allow our charges to make our mistakes."
"Damn straight," Moody said, toasting the Rules and taking another strong swig from his flask. "The only safe enemy is a dead one."
"I don't like the idea of killing anyone," Harry said, drawing attention back to himself, "but I am not going to die for fair. We came close tonight. A foolish promise could have been the death of me. Sorry, Nym."
"Don't apologise to me," she replied, blushing in embarrassment. "I should be apologising to you. I nearly got you killed because I felt we cheated."
"I agreed in principle. And it worked out in the end, but going forward, I am not pulling my punches with those people. A pair of teenagers showed up in that graveyard tonight, and full-grown adults who bought their way out of trouble last time wasted no time in trying to murder them both and bring back a violent psychopath. People like that will get no quarter from me."
Harry finished firmly, staring down the old man behind the desk across the room.
"As the law enforcement officer in the room, I will remind everyone that there is no limit on the level of magic allowed in self-defence." Bones said, looking between the two and getting a nod from Dumbledore. "Having said that, some of what I saw on your wands… What you two seemed to have done tonight... Immensely powerful explosive charms. Advanced cutting curses. Macnair has no ribcage, for pity's sake. It's just gone. He was crushed to death in minutes under the weight of his own body, but it would have been a slow and painful death."
"You made it work?" Sirius said excitedly.
"Yes," Hermione replied, smiling at the eager man. "In the heat of the moment, the method became clear. And not one person I cast that spell on sent another one in our direction after it hit." She finished, facing Bones straight on.
"I'm not judging here, yet. Just stating the facts as I saw them. Please, continue."
Harry shrugged and started again. "Once Hermione was at my shoulder, things were just like our practice fights. We covered each other as we cast our spells at the enemy, though this time we didn't stick to prank spells. Riddle did manage to get one spell through, a cruciatus curse, but after the pain of earlier, it wasn't even a slight tickle and didn't slow me down at all."
"I still wish you wouldn't take spells like that. It always makes me panic for a moment."
"In this case, it inspired you. Why don't you tell them?"
Hermione gave him a look before she turned to face Andi. "I finally pulled it off in a fight. A flame whip spell."
"Really? Congratulations dear. That's quite the achievement." Andi said, a broad smile on her face.
"The whip nearly hit Riddle, but he was fast enough to avoid it," Harry explained. "But it caught the Death Eater behind him in the shoulder. Ripped him open. Thinking back on it now, I think he was one of the two who tied me up."
"Lucius Malfoy." Bones said simply. "A very rich man who certainly won't be buying his way out of this."
"Why not?" Snape asked from the corner, speaking for the first time during the discussion.
"Because that whip opened him up from neck to navel. He is dead. Or soon will be if he's still somehow hanging on." Bones replied, staring at the professor.
"A quick flick of her wrist and Hermione caught the three that foolishly charged at us too," Harry said. "But I saw Riddle's shock and took advantage. Another blasting curse, aimed for where I thought he would stop in his evasion. I misjudged. Only managed to catch him in the hand instead."
Bones pulled a bag from her jacket. "Remember when you handed that over to me, Lupin?" She asked, shaking the pieces before placing the bag on the desk.
"Seems like forever ago now. Pettigrew had it on him when we found him." Remus noted. "I guess he must have been nearby that night."
"Not that it will be causing any more harm now. Damn fine work there, Potter." Moody said with a twisted smile.
"Interesting," Dumbledore said, staring at the pieces. Harry wondered what the man found so fascinating, but he did not elaborate. "Please, do continue."
Harry scowled at the mysterious man, but did so regardless. "After that, Riddle ran away, now missing about two-thirds of his right arm. We stunned the Death Eaters to stop the noise and were about ready to rest. That's when the snake came calling. We managed to subdue it, but it was oddly resistant to magic," Harry said, turning to Hermione who squeezed his hand.
He could feel Dumbledore shift forward in his chair at that statement, and Harry wondered what the old man was thinking now.
"We tried several spells that should have killed her quickly and easily. But none of them worked. I had to go for absolute overkill." Harry explained. "Conjured a ball of rock and filled it with energy. Turned it into a ball of molten rock which crushed and burned away the head."
"And what happened next?" Dumbledore asked, seemingly very interested in this part of events.
"What did you think would happen to a creature with its head buried in white hot molten rock?" Harry growled. "She died."
Dumbledore leaned back, looking pensive for a moment before he reached down and used his wand to open a drawer in his desk. The moment the spell connected with whatever wards had been protecting its contents, Harry shot to his feet, a deep growl leaving his chest as he snapped his fingers.
Hermione was beside him in an instant and with a snap of her own fingers, Dumbledore was suddenly forced back into his chair at the odd angle, unable to move.
Harry's spell had shifted an item from the drawer, and it now hovered in the air in the centre of the room. He was almost sick as he felt the now familiar darkness inside the pages of the slowly spinning book. It was evil and he wanted to burn it to ash, but he could feel filaments of magic branching off of it.
He turned his eyes from the book to the frozen Headmaster, looking at him out of the corner of his eyes. "How do you have one?" Harry demanded icily.
The Headmaster twitched, and Hermione snapped her fingers again, the man's long thin wand suddenly appearing in her hands as the other adults in the room finally seemed to realise what the pair were doing and began drawing wands of their own.
"SIT!" Harry shouted, his flaring magic forcing them all back into place before he stared at Dumbledore again. "Why do you have a piece of Riddle's soul!"
Snape managed to draw his wand and stepped forward, but Harry ignored him, noting as Sirius stepped between him and the professor.
"Try it Snivellus. I will end you."
"Everyone calm down." Bones demanded, still trying to get out of her seat. But she was unable to stand under the pressure from Harry's surging magic.
Harry stepped closer to the frozen Headmaster. "I said, how do you have a chunk of Riddle's soul? Hermione, let him speak."
Holding the slender wand tightly, Hermione snapped her fingers again and Dumbledore nearly fell out of his chair. "Stand down, Severus."
"What?" Snape growled, clearly wanting to curse the man before him.
"Stand down. This is not why we are here. Tom is the enemy, not Potter or Black. Put your wand away."
Sirius gave a gleeful smirk as he waved his wand in a downward motion in Snape's direction.
"You as well, Sirius. I mean none of you any harm. Not that it seems I could even if I wanted to." He said, looking forlornly at the wand now held tight in Hermione's grip. "It was confiscated. Almost four years ago now. A student tried to bring it into the school. The dark magic was detected and it was taken from them." Dumbledore explained as the former school rivals stepped back and Harry moved closer.
"Why have you not destroyed it? You clearly seem to know what it is." Andi asked.
"Indeed I have my suspicions. And I have tried. Multiple times. It seems such creations are not easily damaged."
"I can feel others," Harry said, staring at the book in disgust. "One of them is close."
"Albus." A new voice called as the door opened once more. In stepped Minerva McGonagall, who immediately froze upon noticing the odd gathering of people. She noted the wand in Hermione's hand and shook her head before focusing back on the Headmaster. "Fudge is coming. He would not take no for an answer, and he…"
She trailed off as everyone in the room felt the change. Harry's eyes shifted to his godfather who had almost returned to his seat when the feeling struck and he immediately dropped in place, shifting into Padfoot and quivering on the floor.
Harry raised his right hand, his fingers closing around his wand as he spun to face the open doorway, heavy footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs and a cold dread followed in their wake. "Dumbledore. Dumbledore!"
"YOU BROUGHT THEM INSIDE!" Harry shouted, utterly pissed at the mounting stupidity on display. "THIS IS A SCHOOL!"
Hermione took a step forward standing beside him as the two raised their wands and cast in unison. Two bright blurs shot from their wand and the pair uttered a single word together. "Kill."
The two bright spectral cats shot forwards, the large Kitty quickly outpacing the smaller Dawn as they shot through the doorway as the figure reached the top.
It gave a cowardly squeak of fear as the solid patronus rammed into it, knocking it to the floor and sending the lime green hat in its hands flying. Using the prone figure as a launchpad, Kitty leapt forward and took the cloaked figure at the top of the steps in its jaws, crushing it as momentum carried both tumbling down the stairs, crashing into the pink-clad fool following along behind the first person.
Dawn savaged the next dementor with her razor-sharp claws, hissing at the beast as she disembowelled it without mercy.
Kitty finished savaging the one in her mouth before she rose and targeted the next in line. With another fearsome leap, Kitty took two more figures to the ground and ripped them apart, Dawn once more leaping over her and joining the fray.
High-pitched screams of terror left the hollow mouths of the monsters as they were utterly destroyed, and everyone in earshot quivered in fear at the sound.
A few moments passed once the stairwell fell silent before a heavy padding sound could be heard heading back up the stairs. Kitty crested the top of the stairs once more, several scraps of dark cloth hanging from her teeth as she came to stand over the still-quivering figure on the landing.
Harry could smell something awful coming from the man as he stared into the spectral jaws now spreading wide and stretching towards him.
The pink-clad flaky behind was lying unconscious on the stairs, judging from her angle, and the fact she wasn't reacting to Kitty's back paw standing heavily on her twisted leg.
Kitty leered at the pitiful man who had brought monsters into the school building, her actions showing Harry's immense displeasure at him. Dawn appeared over Kitty's shoulders, having obviously climbed atop the larger cat and now she lay flat on Kitty's back, settling along her neck, peering over her head and occasionally swiping her dangling paws at the terrified figure.
Harry turned to face his godfather, who was looking at him curiously as Andi, Remus and Ted conjured patronus shields around the dog. Harry stepped closer, looking into the dog's big brown eyes and he knelt beside it, pulling the dog into a tight hug.
He didn't know how long he stayed there, but when he felt human arms replace the animal figure, he pulled back.
"Thanks, kiddo," Sirius said, smiling at him. "Oddly enough, feeling those beasts again has done more to convince me that this is all real than anything else. I understand now that something so dark and evil could never have come up with all the great moments we've shared since I got you back."
Harry smiled at Sirius and pulled him into another hug, not caring that his patronus was still tormenting the man who had brought those monsters close enough to Sirius to begin with. But before long, his mind returned to the issue at hand.
Those creatures had solidified the reality of what was coming in his mind.
"Back to the matter at hand, we all know what we have to do next." He said plainly.
"We do?" Bones asked in confusion, still obviously stunned by what she had just seen. Her wand held loosely in her hand as she stared out the doorway.
"After that, it's not obvious?" Hermione asked the adults curiously.
Most of their audience seemed baffled by the statement, and Harry sighed. "Riddle's next move will be against Azkaban."
"Agreed," Dumbledore said softly and the others still looked confused.
"He lost how many Death Eaters tonight?" Hermione asked Bones.
"At my count, six dead. Another seven were seriously injured or splinched so badly they needed Reversal to correct it, but are likely to live. Though they'll be going directly into custody the moment Reversal are done. Two that could go either way."
"Huh," Harry mused. "So only Riddle and two others actually managed to get away by my rough count."
He turned to Hermione who nodded in agreement. "Given that means he's lost almost his entire force of free agents, he needs to rebuild his forces fast. The single greatest concentration of Riddle's natural allies is the prison."
"Eleven of his Death Eaters currently reside there," Dumbledore said, "along with almost three dozen former associates and a slew of other malcontents with a grudge against society. And the Dementors will gleefully join him the moment he offers." Dumbledore finished, drawing a curt nod from Harry before he turned to Hermione.
"I don't want to leave Sirius right now. Can you please go and get him?" Harry asked softly.
She nodded again, snapping her fingers and summoning the Orb to her hands before she vanished into thin air.
"How does she do that?" McGonagall asked no one in particular.
"The portkey wards had to be adjusted for tonight's event. I have not had the chance to adjust them back yet." Dumbledore explained incorrectly, though Harry felt no need to correct him.
Hermione returned a moment later with a stuffed animal in her hands, the Orb once more safely tucked away. She smiled at him as she handed over the tiny figure and Harry then held it out to Sirius.
"Keep this safe. He's going back the moment Riddle is dealt with. But I am not risking him going free again." Harry explained, and Sirius looked at him confused before he inspected the stuffed animal closer.
A wide grin spread over Sirius's face. "Is he conscious?"
"Not right now. I stunned him so he wouldn't hear what we discussed, but he'll wake in a few hours. Though he won't be able to move. Play nice Sirius." Hermione said with a smirk at the man.
"Oh, I have just the perfect spot for him. I'll make sure he doesn't get away again." Sirius growled gleefully.
"What is that?" Bones asked, trying to see the figure in Sirius's grip from her poor angle.
Hermione turned to face her, wand still in hand and Bones looked surprised to see the second wand she had taken from them was liberated from its secure bag. "We couldn't take the risk that Riddle would set him free. Not after what Remus went through to catch him the first time."
"Wait, that's…" Bones looked at the pair in disbelief. "No portkey could have gotten you in there so fast."
"I didn't use a portkey," Hermione said plainly.
"How?"
"You do not need to know right now," Remus said, covering for the two children. "Suffice to say that the moment it is safe to do so, Pettigrew will be put back in the same cell. Though you may want to inform the guards of his absence so they don't sound the alarm."
"Is there any way to prevent the Dementors from joining Riddle?" Harry asked, directing the question to Dumbledore, as the only one who seemed to understand the gravity of their current position. Even if he had failed to destroy the filthy book still hovering in the air nearby.
"Not that I am personally aware of. He will offer them free reign to feed as they like, something the Ministry cannot counter. Though, before tonight, I was of the belief that they could not be killed either. Something you have achieved twice now."
"Who taught you to cast the patronus?" Moody asked gruffly, more curious than anything.
"Remus," Hermione explained. "After Sirius told us what they were like, we had nightmares about the Dementors. It was tricky, but we got it in the end."
"Got it in the end." Moody laughed. "Half the Ministry can't manage that spell. Much less do what you two just did."
"Given the state of their education for the past twenty years, I'm not surprised." Hermione retorted, gaining another chuckle from the gruff man.
"Yes, well, the curse has proven rather difficult to shift." Dumbledore countered.
"That's because it is tethered to something. Something I never actually managed to find." Moody growled, finally seeming upset at something during the discussion. "Tracked it as far as the seventh floor, but could never actually locate the damned thing. Just erected a massive ward to keep its effect to a minimum."
"You mean it's still there?" Hermione asked, turning to Harry with a knowing look.
Harry glanced at the book, still hovering in midair slowly spinning on its axis. "It could be. There is definitely one here. I can feel it. But I'm not quite sure where yet."
Dumbledore sat forward once more. "One here?"
Harry glanced at the man and was reminded that the floating one was found in his possession. "Yes, another one."
A thought occurred to him based on the timing Dumbledore had explained and Harry called out. "Dobby."
A crack sounded and the tiny elf appeared in front of Harry. "Hello, Harry Potter." It smiled at him.
"Hello, friend. Remember the message you wanted to give me all those years ago?" Harry asked, and Dobby nodded. "Did it have anything to do with that?"
Harry pointed at the book and Dobby turned, jumping in surprise when he saw the obviously familiar artefact.
"Yes, that is it. Master's nasty book." Dobby spun back to look at Harry. "How did you find it?"
"It was confiscated," McGonagall said. "But how is it you know about it?"
"Dobby," Harry said, considering the events of the night and what Bones had told him, drawing the elf's eye back to himself. "What happens to an elf when its master dies?"
Dobby's eyes widened for a moment before they shut tightly and he appeared to concentrate on something hard. The elf gave a loud gasp and shot at Harry, wrapping him in a firm hug. Before Harry could react, the elf let go and shot at Hermione, who caught him deftly.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." The elf kept repeating.
"It's at its weakest. He must be close. Come here Dobby." Harry instructed.
The elf let go of Hermione and scuttled quickly back to stand before Harry. He raised his hand and waved it slowly over Dobby, inspecting the thread that kept him tied to his family.
A family Harry now realised to be the Malfoys.
As Lucius lay dead or dying, the already weak connection was even weaker. If left in place, it would shift to the cruel man's heir within the next few hours. Harry wrapped one hand around the thread and with the other, he chopped through the air, all his magic concentrated on his hand as it cut through the wavering connection.
The thread severed, but it immediately wrapped around Harry's hand and followed it as it continued downward. The tiny elf shuddered several times, seeming to be having a fit before he fell forward into Harry's surprised arms.
"Dobby? Are you alright" He asked frantically.
"Dobby is ok." The elf said softly, shaking in his arms. "Dobby has never been so happy. Thank you, Master."
Harry pulled back and looked at the elf and he could see that the severed thread had latched onto him, meaning Dobby had joined his family as well.
"Oh, I hadn't meant for that to happen. But, welcome to the family, Dobby. We're happy to have you."
"You can't do that." McGonagall gasped, watching in disbelief. "An elf can only be freed by their master."
"Well, Dobby's former master was a bastard. And now he's almost dead, the connection was weak enough to break. He deserved so much worse than what you did, Hermione."
She nodded her agreement, watching Dobby and Harry closely. "Please tell me he went slow," Hermione asked Bones, who looked completely gobsmacked by what was occurring in front of her.
The woman simply nodded, unable to speak right now.
"Look, this is all taking too long," Harry said, gesturing for Dobby to sit with the other elves. "Riddle is back, and you lot need to move to stop him now. Before he frees his strongest supporters."
"We?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Harry once more.
"Yes, you. The adults. People in positions of power and responsibility. The head of law enforcement, the head of Hogwarts and the head of the Ministry itself. You should have dealt with all of this last time around. My parents died to give you all a reprieve, and what have you done with it?
"At least thirteen Death Eaters showed up tonight, the moment he called them. We have given you what you need. Advance warning that Riddle is back, heck we even took a significant chunk of his allies away from him for you. Make the most of it."
"I am afraid it is not so simple as that, Mr Potter," Dumbledore said, looking pained as if he truly did not want to part with the information he was about to reveal. "There is a proph…"
"We know all about the stupid prophecy." Hermione interrupted, drawing a shocked look from the ancient man.
"How?"
"Does that really matter? The point is we know." Harry stated. "We liberated the orb from the Ministry years ago." Dumbledore blanched and Harry scowled. "Yeah, I'd be worried if I were you too. Not many people with the initials APWBD. Tell me this, did you know he gave it to Riddle when you employed him here?"
Harry's eyes flicked to the dark figure curled in the corner who had not moved in some time. Minerva spun to see where Harry's eye led and her face fell. "Albus. Tell me you didn't."
"Severus has been, and yet will be, invaluable in our efforts against Tom," Dumbledore replied, not looking at the woman.
Harry's scowl deepened and suddenly he was across the room, both of Snape's wrists in hand as he twisted them forcefully, using his magic to augment his strength as he dug his fingers into the flesh hard.
The sallow man yelped in pain and fell to his knees under the augmented assault, Harry tightening his grip around the man's right wrist until the wand he was clutching fell loose.
Harry could feel Hermione at his back, holding the adults back if one should seek to interfere right now, as Harry looked down at the man in disgust.
"Somehow, despite what they know you did, both of my parents want me to pass you a message." Harry leant in close, making sure his face was all that Snape could see. James Potter's face and Lily Potter's eyes staring into the man's broken soul. "Grow up."
Snape looked immediately taken aback. "What?"
"You heard me. Grow up. Stop taking your own self-loathing out on the world, on your students." Harry scowled at the man in disgust, but he had promised to pass the message along. "If it were solely up to me, I'd end you right now for what you have done. For what you have taken from me. The only reasons you're still alive are the fact you weren't at that graveyard, and that my parents want to give you a chance. Both of them.
"Waste it this time, and nothing will protect you from them when you finally pass from this world. My mum in particular has some fun ideas ready to repay you for what you've done. And I will be more than happy to be the one who sends you to them."
Harry kicked the man's wand away before he vanished back to the other side of the room where Natalie quickly wrapped him up in her arms and Harry allowed some of the night's tension to flow out into the motherly embrace. He was becoming very tired of people looking to him as their saviour when all he wanted was to be a normal teenage boy. Something he could at least pretend to be in the woman's loving embrace. He just knew that Natalie would be glaring at those who had driven him into her arms.
It also showed how loathed the man was by most people in the room now that neither Moody nor Bones reacted to Harry's blatant threat in the slightest.
"Be that as it may, we still have to deal with the matter of tonight. And what exactly you seem to expect of us going forward." Bones said, trying to direct the topic back onto the right course.
"We expect you to do your jobs," Hermione stated, her hand gently rubbing Harry's back as she addressed the adults. "Prophecy or not, we are children. If Riddle is foolish enough to challenge us, we will end him. But you are the ones who have the power to act to reduce his threat now. Remove the Dementors…"
"We can't do that." Fudge squeaked from the doorway, where he had crawled slowly under the growling watch of Kitty. "The voters would have me strung up."
Harry turned out of the embrace and stared at the fool who was still staring up into the spectral jaws above him.
"You have two choices. You can continue to be a witless coward, and become known as the man who stood aside and let Voldemort," Harry used the made-up name intentionally, watching the Minister squirm and squeal at the term as Kitty growled, "run rampant across the country once again. Or, you can grow a backbone and stand firm.
"Be the man who stood strong against the tyrant. Go down in history as the Minister who prevented the war before it could even truly start. Without an army of Death Eaters and Dementors, Riddle is just a man. Destroy all of those," Harry pointed at the black book once more, "and anyone can kill him. Even you."
"But… but…" Fudge mumbled.
"This is not my fight. I will protect me and mine. But children should not fight wars. Fix your mistakes." Harry finished, glaring at Dumbledore once again. "Now if you lot don't mind, I'm exhausted. Between the maze and the graveyard, and all of this… I need a nice long lie down."
Ignoring the protests, with a thought Harry popped himself and the woman still holding him to the safety of the Manor, knowing Hermione, Nym and the elves would handle the others. Perhaps they could discuss more tomorrow, but for now, he needed sleep.
And the company of the one person who would always stand beside him, no matter what.