"Lumos," Michael Wilson whispered after arriving into the pitch black room.

The pale light of his wand revealed the sealed up and abandoned part of the Malfoy manor dungeons. Walls were covered with mold and droplets of water, the magic meant to keep the elements away having been removed or utterly spent a long time ago. Mike automatically casted a bubble-head charm on himself before taking the first breath as he feared the air to be stale, perhaps even unbreathable.

He turned around few more times, scanning the dark room for any signs of danger. When he found none, he finally lowered his wand to cast the light on his companion who was looking up at him curiously with his big green eyes.

"The old exit be here," the house elf said as he pointed at one of the walls on the far side of the room where the floor inclined upwards. The elf did not bother with any breathing apparatus as his kind was able to handle almost any air quality. "Very well," Mike responded even as he examined the wall in question. "Get back to the manor, Dobby. I'll take it from here."

"Dobby can still help!" the elf protested, unwilling to just leave. It made Mike smile as the elf's reluctance was exactly as lady Greengrass anticipated. "You did help, Dobby. I couldn't have got here without you," he assured him. "But the right thing to do now is to obey our mistress… she did order you to come back right away, didn't she?" he asked, guilting him into leaving. It was working as Dobby looked down on his feet with an expression of shame. "Yes… Dobby wishes young servant a good luck," he said before popping away.

As soon as he was gone, Mike closed his eyes and reached out with his powers. He could sense a number of minds but they were all relatively far away and calm, indicating that his presence was so far unnoticed. To make sure that it remained so, he sent out the mildest of suggestions to ignore any suspicious sounds they might hear. He did not dare to do more than that. Not at this point and not unless he absolutely had to.

Apparently, making people ignore something was a much easier illusion than convincing them to see something that wasn't actually there. The master illusionist hired by lord Greengrass to teach him his craft explained that to him in great and complicated detail. But as Mike understood, it essentially boiled down to the fact that most people were selfish jerks in their hearts and brains, supremely unconcerned by the world around them, unless it related to the gratification of their personal desires.

After doing the best to make sure he wouldn't be overheard, he started to dismantle the wall in front of him. It was less than a meter thick but he could not afford to just blast the damn thing apart, making it a slow process. He also had to make sure it would appear as though the wall was taken apart from the other side, slowing him down even more. It was a shame the elf couldn't have remained and help him as then the work would have proceeded much quicker. Unfortunately, plausible deniability of all the parties involved required that Dobby is not seen by anyone. Given the elf's connection to Harry Potter, Mike also suspected that Dobby was far too valuable for lady Greengrass to risk his life like that. Besides, if everything went according to the plan, there should be more than enough time.


"Would you stop with that already?" Daphne Greengrass finally snapped as Harry kept pacing nervously across the office. "You're going to wear a hole in the floor… and if you do, I am making you pay for the repairs!" Daphne informed him with a pout before turning more serious and adding in kind voice, "I am sure everything will be fine."

Harry stopped and looked at his girlfriend who was calmly sitting on the couch with her hands folded in her lap – a perfect picture of a pureblood lady. Few months ago, he would think her heartless for the way she remained completely calm even as Harry was absolutely beside himself with worry. But he knew Daphne well enough now to know that she was just as nervous as he was. She was merely hiding it by falling back on her father's training.

And of course, she was right. Harry knew he was accomplishing nothing by being nervous. All they could do was wait and hope for the best. But the success of the rescue operation was not the only thing weighting heavily on Harry's mind…

"This isn't right, Daphne," he finally told her. "It should be me out there."

It took the girl a moment to understand what he meant. But when she did, she looked at him with exasperation. "You're serious?" she asked and when she saw that Harry really was, she sighed and mumbled, "Bloody Gryffindors…"

Harry smirked at her remark but he stood his ground. "This is my war… my fight. It just feels wrong to send someone else fight it for me."

"Brave but foolish people fight wars, Harry," Daphne retorted even as she patted the couch next to her, inviting him to join her which he did a moment later. As soon as he sat down, Daphne sneaked a hand across his chest and towards his cheek. "Smart people, on the other hand, wage wars," the pureblood girl told him as she touched his chin and turned his head so that he was looking into her eyes. "That's what we are doing, Harry. We're waging a war."

"I know," Harry accepted her point. "I guess I am just worried. That's all."

"It's that Lovegood girl," Daphne guessed as her icy blue eyes gazed into his. "She means a lot to you, doesn't she?" she asked gently.

"She's a good friend," Harry agreed. "One of the most honest and good people you'll ever meet," he told her while smiling fondly at the many memories he had of the younger girl. The though of her being imprisoned by death eaters was breaking his heart and more than anything he wished to save her. But there was also another, more selfish, reason why he looked forward to seeing Luna – and that was that out of all his friends, she was the most open-minded and therefore the most likely to truly approve of his relationship with Daphne. And he hoped that when she would see how his magic reacted to Daphne's, she would understand his reasons.

After everything he learned, Harry strongly suspected that Luna possessed some form of natural albeit very much untrained magic sight ability. He gave it a lot of thought and concluded that it was the most likely explanation for all the strange magical creatures which Luna could observe around people's bodies. Although he did not think them to be creatures, Harry could now see the same thing and he could not wait to discuss it with Luna. Perhaps they could even learn from each other.

"Hmm… I can't wait to meet her then," Daphne said in response. She then smiled at him cheekily and said, "But should I be worried? I mean is it some sort of grand plan of yours to seduce every blonde in Hogwarts, Harry Potter?" she asked teasingly.

Harry burst out laughing at the idea. It was true that the two girls had a similar hair color but that's where the similarities between them ended. Come to think of it, even their hair color was not all that similar as Luna had dirty-blonde hair compared to Daphne's gold-ash platinum. More importantly, they both meant something completely different to Harry. Luna was like his little sister – warm, cheerful and full of child-like innocence. One just could not resist giving her a hug… but that's all he ever wanted to do.

Daphne, on the other hand, was cold and glorious. She was one of the most complicated girls Harry ever met, harsh in both her actions and opinions. Harry knew that most people would never be able to see past that and condemn her as irreparably evil. And yet Harry felt drawn to her like a moth to the flame. He relished burning in her flames. "No chance of that. There is only one blonde in the school that I am – or ever will be – interested in," he told her with certainty.

"You better hope so," Daphne said and smirked before she leaned her head against his shoulder. Harry responded by kissing the top of her head even as he idly played with her hair.

"I am sure you'll like her," Harry continued enthusiastically. "She – she's…" he was about to tell Daphne of Luna's magic sight when he suddenly faltered as he realized there was one potential issue he did not consider before.

"What is it, Harry?" Daphne asked in concern as she felt him tense under her touch and looked up to his eyes quizzically.

"I – I'm actually not sure what her blood status is," he told her uncertainly. Harry could not recall Luna ever mentioning it and he never bothered to ask as it was something that he did not care about at all. But he knew that it mattered to Daphne a lot. Harry was aware that Luna had magical parents so he reasoned that she would at least be a halfblood, like him.

"You're worried I'll reject her for not being a pureblood?" Daphne asked him with a raised eyebrow and a hint of reproach. "Well, you don't have to. Both her parents were halfbloods with two muggleborn grandparents. So she's a first-generational pureblood."

Harry shook his head at that statement, his worries now turned into relief and amusement. "And you just happen to know that?" he asked disbelievingly before chuckling. "Daphne Greengrass, did you memorize the blood status of all our classmates?"

"I am a Slytherin, Harry Potter," the blonde answered simply, as if that statement explained everything and as far as Harry knew, perhaps it did. Or at least it would not surprise him to learn that people's blood status was something that the Slytherins kept track of, given that purity of one's blood was their founder's chief concern.

"In any case, you don't have to worry," Daphne then continued. "Believe it or not, but I can control myself. There wouldn't be a problem even if she was a muggleborn."

"But-"

"That's different!" Daphne protested in advance, knowing well what Harry was going to say. "Granger's an extreme case! She insulted my family and was planning to destroy my world! Had she done none of those things, I would have been kinder to her."

Harry reluctantly nodded, not wanting to get into an argument right now. After a moment of uncomfortable silence between them that occurred any time Hermione's name was mentioned, Harry decided to change the topic entirely and asked, "Do you think it's going to work?" and then added, "The rescue operation, I mean."

"The plan we made is solid," Daphne said after a moment of thinking. "There's still a lot of things that could go wrong but I think we did the maximum that we could."


Earlier

"This is it, as far as I can remember," Narcissa Malfoy said after having finished drawing a map of the Malfoy manor dungeons for Harry and Daphne. The three of them were hunched over the table on which the map lied as they devised their plan.

"All the prisoners are being held in this section," Narcissa pointed at one specific portion of the scheme. She then looked up at her hosts and said, "But I still must protest. Surely this is not the right time for this!" she tried one more time.

"On the contrary," Daphne responded after she and Harry lifted their heads away from the map. "This is the perfect time… by your own admission the dark lord is currently not present at your home. Your husband is also away, raising money for the dark lord's campaign. And with you being here and Draco at Hogwarts, that gives your immediate family a perfect alibi," Daphne summarized before adding, "The dark lord can hardly blame you for negligence as long as all of you are away on his explicit orders or on respectable pureblood business," Daphne finished and Harry nodded in agreement.

Narcissa sighed in defeat before saying, "You will still need to get through the wards," she pointed out. "I could possibly get you into the manor but the dungeons have separate protections that I do not control."

"Not to worry, Narcissa," Daphne said and smirked. "I anticipated we would need to enter your home at some point… and I already thought about how to get around the wards," she announced to them before calling out, "Dobby!"

The house elf popped into the room at once. "What can Dobby do for m-?" he was about to ask for his orders when he finally noticed Narcissa standing on the other side of the table. "Bad mistress is here!" Dobby shrieked in fright even as he clang to Daphne's leg and hid behind her.

"It's alright, Dobby. She's not here to hurt you," Daphne quickly assured him as she gently stroked his head. Dobby still looked uncertain. He glanced at Harry for confirmation and only marginally relaxed after receiving a nod from the boy-who-lived. Meanwhile Narcissa looked at her old elf with absolute shock. "D-dobby! But how –" she stammered.

"Dobby works for Harry and me, now," Daphne explained succinctly as she shared a look with Harry before turning her eyes on Narcissa. "During my earlier inquires, Dobby revealed that he still has full access through your wards."

"I suppose so… yes… I imagine that he does," Narcissa reluctantly conceded while scowling at the elf. Now that his owners expressed their unequivocal support of him, Dobby puffed up and was returning her scowls with looks of defiance.

"I am curious… why wouldn't you remove Dobby's access?" Harry asked in confusion. Given the way Dobby exited their service, Harry would expect Lucius Malfoy to remove him from the wards as soon as he could.

"It's very difficult to remove an elf's access, Mr. Potter. Their magic is too different," Narcissa briefly explained, her otherwise beautiful aristocratic face still marred by her scowling. "And with an elf who had lived in the Malfoy manor as long as Dobby, it is all but impossible. The only way would be to tear the wards down entirely and re-create them from scratch."

"Which would be expensive," Harry guessed. "Not to mention tedious and risky," Daphne added.

Narcissa nodded to both their comments.

"In any case, now that we know exactly where in the dungeons are the prisoners located, my suggestion is very simple," Daphne said before helping Dobby climb up a chair so that he could see the map. "Dobby, is this map accurate?" she asked after which the elf looked at it for a long time.

"It be almost accurate, mistress," Dobby finally said, "Should Dobby make it better?" he asked excitedly, practically bouncing at the idea of helping. Daphne smiled at his enthusiasm and said, "Please do."

Dobby snapped his fingers and the map of the dungeons that Narcissa drew rearranged itself on the parchment. Some rooms shifted or their dimensions changed and few more details appeared. Harry noticed that Narcissa's scowl deepened as her hard work was being corrected by a house elf and it made him smile inside.

"There, that's better," Daphne said as she examined the updated map before pointing at the prison cells. "Dobby can apparate into the cells and take all the prisoners away to safety," she told them with a triumphant expression.

"I am afraid that there is a big problem with what you are suggesting, Daphne," Narcissa said, grabbing their attention and wiping away Daphne's smirk she had after presenting her seemingly bullet proof and simple plan. "Although Dobby might still have access, all comings and goings to the dungeons are being recorded. So the dark lord will know that it was our former house elf who did this. My family will surely be punished if you do this!"

Harry frowned as he realized she was correct. "She's right, Daphne. Not to mention that Voldemort will know that I am involved. I am sure that at least one of his people knows about my association with Dobby," Harry told his girlfriend.

It was Daphne's turn to frown in return. "How exactly are the comings and goings recorded?" she asked in annoyance and Narcissa explained, "The dark lord created a second layer of wards around the outer perimeter of the dungeons. They are triggered anytime someone crosses it. Also, the entire dungeons are warded against all forms of human magical transportation."

"It's not a fortress," Daphne said unhappily as she realized the simple plan of having Dobby pop in, grab the prisoners, and pop out was never going to work. "There must be something!"

The three of them looked at the map in deep thought while Dobby kept flicking his big eyes between them, unsure whether he was supposed to leave or do something more. Right as he was about to ask Daphne if he should leave, Harry noticed one detail on the map. "Dobby, what's this area?" he asked, pointing at one specific section. "Unless I am mistaken, this wasn't here before?"

Narcissa followed his finger and frowned, "Mr. Potter is correct. There is nothing at that location," she said before sneering at Dobby. "Perhaps the elf's memory is failing," she suggested.

Dobby put his hands on his hips and looked at her indignantly. "It be old dungeons!" he protested loudly. "They be sealed when master Abraxas was young but Dobby knows!"

"Dobby… how do you know this?" Harry asked in confusion, wondering how Dobby could know about something that happened when Draco's grandfather was apparently still a young man.

The elf looked at him sheepishly. "Dobby used to hide there from the bad master. The bad master doesn't know this part of the house!" he explained in his squeaky voice, obviously pleased by his own ingenuity. "Dobby could hide there even when ordered to remain in the house! Bad master had no idea!"

"Interesting… but I fail to see how this is relevant to our problem," Narcissa snapped impatiently, obviously not liking how her husband was being portrayed like a fool in that story.

"Isn't it obvious?" Daphne asked, finally brightening up after her earlier disappointment. "If Lucius has no idea about this part of the dungeons, then neither does the dark lord," she told them before grinning and saying, "Which means it won't be covered by his new wards and it's not counted as the perimeter since it's already inside!"

Harry nodded, seeing where his girlfriend was going with this. "Dobby could apparate to the sealed section, then walk over to the part where the prisoners are held… and bring them back to the sealed part to apparate them away," he said with growing excitement. "The only problem is…"

"… that it's no longer a job for Dobby. It's too far away," Daphne finished for him and added when she saw the elf's disheartened expression. "The chance of someone seeing him would be too large and we can't risk his safety."

"Exactly," Harry said and nodded at the elf encouragingly.

"Well, I might have a solution for that," Daphne said and leaned over to the elf. "Dobby… could you please go to Michael Wilson and tell him to come to my office immediately?" she asked and the elf nodded before popping away.

"What's going on? Who's Michael Wilson?" Narcissa asked in confusion.

"He's one of my people who possesses a talent ideal for this operation," Daphne answered before frowning in Narcissa's direction. "But we'll get to that in a minute. First I would really like you to explain Dobby's reaction when he first saw you standing here," she told the woman coldly before adding with a raised voice. "Because honestly, I can't fathom a single reason why someone would treat their elf in the manner that Dobby had been treated by your family!"

Harry nodded resolutely, wondering about the same thing himself. He was always befuddled by the fact the Malfoys hated Dobby so much. For many years, he wrote it of as them being irredeemably evil. But he now knew that the world was not as black and white as that. So what was the reason?

Awkward silence settled in the room as both Harry and Daphne looked at Narcissa intently, waiting for an explanation. The woman actually shrunk back as they ganged up on her before she said in shaky voice. "It's Lucius, he- he blames Dobby for his father's death," she told them, much to their shock.

Narcissa then explained that Dobby was the one who cared for Lucius' father when the latter went into self-imposed isolation to protect himself from the epidemic of dragon pox which was sweeping through magical Britain at that time. Yet despite all their precautions, Abraxas Malfoy contracted the virus anyway, which later proved fatal to him. "Since Dobby was the only one who came into contact with his father, Lucius always believed he was the one who infected him," Narcissa finished with a downcast expression.

Harry was not sure to think of that story. It most definitely did not excuse their actions against Dobby, even if it was true. But at the same time, it might explain it a little. After all Harry knew first-hand how grief could make people do things they otherwise wouldn't.

Meanwhile Daphne raised an eyebrow. "That's a very moving tale, Narcissa," she told her and Harry was surprised to hear irony in her voice. "And I suppose the fact I recently lost my father has nothing to do with you telling me this story, right?" she tittered sarcastically and Harry watched as Narcissa paled as her deception was unmasked.

'I didn't notice that at all,' Harry thought with desperation. He was only slowly getting used to the fact that in the company he ended up in, every sentence could have a hidden meaning. 'Bloody Slytherins…'

"I told you the truth," Narcissa tried but it was unconvincing and Daphne could immediately tell. "But not the entire truth," she retorted. "Tell me the real reason… all of it!" she demanded.

Narcissa sighed before saying, "There are different reasons, including the incident with Abraxas," she told them before reluctantly adding, "But in my opinion, the main reason is that Dobby functioned as Lucius' unofficial caretaker when he was a young boy. According to my husband, he would often not allow him to do what he wanted," she explained before finishing with, "Lucius hated having to obey an elf and he resented him for it ever since."

"That's it?" Daphne spat. "That's why he treated him like shit? Because Dobby set his bed time too early when he was a kid?!"

Harry fully shared his girlfriend's outrage. How more pathetic could that man get?! On another note, Harry now also wondered how old Dobby was. Like with so many other things, he never bothered to ask about it or find out. He always assumed Dobby was a young elf given how much older Kreatcher looked but according to Narcissa, Dobby was actually older than Lucius. Earlier, the elf also referenced times when Abraxas Malfoy was young, suggesting he might have actually lived through those times.

"What do you want me to say?!" Narcissa snapped angrily. "By the time I married Lucius, he and the elf already loathed each other with passion. What was I supposed to do? Try to mend fences between them?! I was too busy just getting to know my husband!"

Daphne shook her head. "What I want you to say is that Draco did not pick up this attitude from his father," she stressed to the older woman. "I plan to gift my sister with an elf for her new household. Should your son habitually mistreat his future servants, be they elves or mudbloods, in any way… well, let's say I shall be extremely displeased," Daphne declared and Harry could actually sense her magic flare angrily at that declaration and the temperature going down in the room.

"Draco never cared for Dobby but he never mistreated him or any of our servants… I made sure of that!" Narcissa quickly assured her, no doubt also sensing the pressure of magical energy rolling off Daphne.

The young blonde stared at her for a moment before she nodded and said, "That's a promise, Narcissa. I'm going to hold you to it no matter what."

A very uncomfortable silence settled in the room after that. But fortunately, it wasn't long before the guard Daphne summoned knocked on the door and entered the room. He bowed deeply to everyone inside before asking Daphne how he might serve her.


Present

It took Mike about twenty minutes to take apart the wall which separated his arrival point from the rest of the dungeons. He hid the newly-made entrance as best as he could before proceeding on foot in the direction of the prison cells. Fortunately, everything went well so far as Voldemort seemed to be relying entirely on wards instead of having the dungeons patrolled by guards.

Mike's only encounter was with a drunken death eater who apparently came only to get more wine from the cellar. There was no place for him to hide so Mike quickly pressed his body against the wall of the narrow corridor and hid his face with the palm of his hand as the death eater passed him by. Luckily the man was so drunk that he easily fell for Mike's illusion that there was nobody else in the corridor with him.

After the danger passed, Mike took a deep breath and resumed his walk. After few more minutes, he finally reached the corridor where the prison cells were located. Or at least that's what Potter and lady Greengrass called them. Luckily for him, they were not true prison cells but merely repurposed storage rooms.

Unlike in the Greengrass manor, these dungeons were not built with a dedicated prison wing. As such, there were no checkpoints along the corridors and no obvious ways to quickly seal the passageways in case of a break out. The 'cells' were separated from the corridor with a simple iron bar doors with a makeshift feeding slot at the bottom. The doors were physically mighty but easily overcome by someone with a wand. There weren't even any traps that Mike could detect which was little strange but he figured that the dark lord never believed anyone would make it this far and that the real defenses were concentrated on the perimeter and above the ground, in the main house.

Mike slowly crept along the corridor, examining the state of the prisoners by looking through the bars in the pale light of his wand. There were fourteen people separated in four different cells. All of the prisoners looked dirty and malnourished but he reckoned they should still be capable of moving. A few of them were injured but nothing that should prevent mobility, especially with the stuff he brought with him. He patted the flask attached to his belt which contained a strong pepper-up potion mixed with various other concoctions that should allow even a half-dead person to temporarily move with vigor of a youngster. Mike was going to let each prisoner take a sip before escorting them back to the exit point.

As he continued to examine the prisoners, Mike projected an illusion into their minds to make himself invisible as he didn't want them crying out to him, or something like that, which would give him away. Given how weakened they were, none of them seemed to have sensed his actions. Not even Garrick Ollivander who was otherwise famous for his magic senses, always being to tell who a person was just by looking at them. Now the same powerful wizard sat huddled in a corner of one of the cells, looking broken and staring into nothing. Out of all the prisoners, he looked to be in the worst shape, no doubt owing to his advanced age and repeated torture.

Mike stared sadly at the brilliant man who sold him his wand all those years ago for a moment longer before moving on to examine the rest of his cellmates. A few meters away from him sat a young blonde girl. Their eyes met as she seemed to be looking right at him. At first, Mike assumed it was a coincidence and that she just randomly happened to be looking in that direction. But when he tried stepping to the side, she followed him with her eyes! Her mouth actually fell open as she studied him with interest, looking Mike up and down. She had a rather dreamy expression but Mike was absolutely certain that she somehow managed to see through his illusion.

According to his instructors, once that happened, it was impossible to restore the illusion as the human brain instinctively rebelled against such manipulation. Mike wondered what he should do now. In the end, he slowly put the index finger of his left hand to his lips, indicating the girl to be silent and hoping beyond hope that she would listen to him. He was afraid she was going to give him away but was pleasantly surprised when she actually gave him a firm nod and even a small smile. He silently mouthed a thank you in her direction before turning around examining the rest of his surroundings.

A rough plan was already formulated back at the Greengrass manor. Based on his surroundings, Mike continued to refine its details even as he watched the entrance and waited…


"Wilson is ideal for the job," Daphne told him. The two of them continued to cuddle on the couch while waiting for any news. "Given his talent, my father anticipated that we would use him for infiltrations and so he even created a false identity for him with the Ministry," she explained. "There is no way to trace him back to my family."

"He's putting himself in danger for us," Harry pointed out, still feeling like he should be the one at Malfoy manor right now instead of the muggleborn guard.

"Yes, Harry. That's his job as my guard," Daphne answered. "Besides, he's a mud- muggleborn," she quickly corrected herself before snuggling closer to Harry. "As a muggleborn, he's very eager to prove himself to us… to his superiors."

Harry groaned at that comment but still continued to gently stroke Daphne's back with his hand. "I don't consider myself superior to anyone, you know," he told her.

Daphne glanced up at him and said, "You only hurt him and the other muggleborns with that attitude."

There wasn't a hint of reproach in her voice or accusation in her blue eyes as she spoke those words, only the statement of facts. And on an intellectual level, Harry knew she was correct. The books he read clearly stated that the magical transfer was strongest when both the muggleborn recipient and the (usually pureblood) donor viewed muggleborns as inferior. "I know, Daphne," he said and sighed. "I am not sure I will ever change my mind on that... but I am doing the best I can," Harry told her.

"I'll take it," the blonde declared as she craned her neck up to him and silently demanded a kiss which he gladly gave her. After they separated, she said, "Wish Narcissa could hear you say it… I think it would assuage a lot of her fears. She still thinks you're going to corrupt me with your scandalous muggle ways," Daphne said and they both chuckled.

Harry was quite surprised when he learned that Narcissa actually feared he would be a bad influence on Daphne. But he supposed that it made sense. "I think after today she's not very happy with either of us," he told her and Daphne shrugged at that.

"She still knows the alliance with us is her best hope," Daphne assured him. "But you're right. I think she did not imagine all that would be involve," she said and Harry only nodded. There was a silence for a while before he spoke next, "What she told us about Voldemort and Bellatrix…"

"I know," Daphne agreed with a sigh. "I definitely did not see that coming."

"Me neither. I still can't believe that bastard actually fathered a child!" Harry declared before looking at her sharply. "Earlier, you seemed to have some idea on that already. What are we going to do?" he demanded to know.

"That's simple," Daphne answered at once. "I'll ask Alfred, the heir of the House Rowle, to turn the child over to me. He's a very good friend of mine and there is no reason for him to deny me."

"Alfred Rowle," Harry repeated slowly as he remembered who that man was to Daphne. "You mean your ex-boyfriend… that Albert Rowle," he said rather unhappily.

Daphne looked at him with mixture of exasperation and amusement upon hearing the jealousy in his voice. "Yes, Harry… my former and very much gay boyfriend," she droned on before shaking her head in amusement. "Honestly, you ought to be more concerned about Millicent than Alfred," she said and laughed.

"I can't help it," Harry defended himself even as he pulled her against him, hugging her from behind and kissing the back of her neck. "The thought of you with any man, even a gay one, just feels utterly wrong."

"O-ho," Daphne laughed before twisting around in his arms and playfully punching his shoulder. "And how do you think I feel about those two sluts you dated before me, hmm?" she retorted while laying her hands against Harry's chest.

Even though on some level he enjoyed Daphne reciprocating his jealousy, Harry did not want her speaking of his former girlfriends this way. Especially about Ginny whom he still considered a friend. "They are not sluts, Daphne" he protested. "They-"

"They are sluts!" Daphne interrupted him sharply as she roamed his body possessively with her hands before proceeding to straddle him on the couch. "They are sluts and thieves! How dare they touch my property like that!" she said angrily but with a knowing smirk that told him she wasn't really serious.

"We didn't even know each other back then!" he reminded her but Daphne immediately dismissed that. "Doesn't matter," pureblood girl declared while waving her hand dismissively. "You were always mine, Harry Potter… from the day you were born. I simply hadn't taken possession of you until now. That's all," she said with mock seriousness and even though her idea was outrageous, he felt excited by hearing her say it.

"Very true, I suppose," he said and Daphne responded with, "You better believe it!" before the two of them shared another kiss. Harry's eyes almost rolled back in pleasure as the beautiful blonde planted a series of kisses on his neck and towards his collarbone. Before losing himself completely, Harry forced himself to remember that she had distracted him away from the important question he originally meant to ask her. With supreme effort, he managed to separate himself from her, much to their mutual disappointment.

"But- but what are you going to do with the baby after we have her?" Harry asked after they reluctantly stopped their make out session. Daphne's hands fell away from his chest and she looked up into his eyes. "There is no choice there. I'll have to get rid of it," she said in a very serious tone.

At first Harry thought she was making another one of her bad jokes but then he noticed the solemn tone of her voice and realized to his horror that Daphne wasn't japing. "You- you're serious? You're going to kill her?" he stammered and when Daphne slowly nodded and said 'yes', Harry thought he was going to faint.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?!" he snapped angrily. Seeing as the girl was still straddling him, he told her something he never thought he would ever say to her. "Get off of me!"

"Harry, what's wrong?!" Daphne asked in fear as she quickly moved away and allowed him to stand up from the couch. Harry took a step away before turning around to round on her angrily. "What's wrong?! Are you kidding me? You can't kill a baby, for heaven's sake!" he yelled on her for the first time since their big fight over Hermione's imprisonment. Harry allowed her to win that fight. He let Daphne convince him that all the awful things happening to his best friend would ultimately be for Hermione's benefit.

But he was not going to let her win this one. He could not let her kill a baby!

He expected that she would at least look guilty at the horrible thing she was proposing but all she said was, "And what else do you expect me to do?" Daphne asked as she folded her hands across her chest defensively. "Do you seriously suggest we leave Voldemort's child alive?! Do you have any idea how dangerous she could become if we allow her to live?!"

"You don't know that!" Harry protested as he started to pace. "She's just a baby. She might not turn out evil. She –"

"Stop right there, Harry! Just stop!" Daphne ordered as she pointed a finger at him and Harry froze on the spot, his attention completely captivated by the pureblood witch. "What you seriously need to realize is that this is not some pure and innocent babe we are talking about… it's the daughter of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange!"

"That doesn't mean she will be anything like her parents!" Harry shot back.

Daphne suddenly looked at him with sympathy that somehow unnerved Harry more than the annoyance she showed before. "Doesn't it? You remember how child's soul is formed, don't you?" she asked.

"Yes… from soul fragments separated from its parents," Harry quickly recited. "What does that have to do with anything?" he quickly asked before his eyes went wide. "You can't mean that-"

"That no good soul could possibly form between those two? Yes, Harry! Yes!" Daphne loudly finished the thought for him before adding more calmly. "Just think about it for a moment! Voldemort has barely any soul left and as for Bellatrix, she spent more than thirteen years having dementors feeding on hers," she said before pausing in thought and for Harry to digest that information.

Eventually Daphne continued, "In fact between the two of them, there is zero chance the conception was natural. I bet they used some seriously twisted magic to make it happen as making horcruxes and dementor exposure is not exactly increasing fertility. It's almost certain that the child's soul is broken by it. She would grow up to be insane or a completely immoral monster!"

"But you don't know that," Harry told her. "Even if her soul is somehow damaged, you can't know what she will become in life. You simply can't know for certain!"

"You're right," Daphne agreed. "I can't be absolutely, one hundred percent certain what she will become as an adult," she said before adding quietly. "But are you willing to risk finding out? Are you willing to risk a deranged and potentially very powerful witch with a huge grudge against us just running around unchecked? What's stopping her from coming after us for revenge?"

"If she does that, then we will face her," Harry replied confidently. "And stop her just like we will stop her parents!"

"Maybe you are right," Daphne briefly conceded before adding, "But she'll be younger than us… she could come after our children," Daphne told him as she slowly stood up from the couch.

"W-what do you mean? What could she do?" Harry asked in trembling voice, not liking that scenario at all.

"How shall I now?" Daphne said, throwing her hands in the air. "Trick them into helping her use a super powerful time-turner to go back in time and stop Voldemort from dying the first time?"

The look Harry gave her spoke volumes and she quickly apologized. "I am sorry… that was probably the dumbest idea I ever had. I don't know what I was thinking," she said in embarassment before fixing Harry with a hard stare. "But you do understand where I am coming from with this, right?"

Harry sighed. "I do," he admitted. "But this still feels very wrong, Daphne!"

Instead of a response, Daphne walked over to him and when he did not stop her or step back, she took his hand in hers before saying. "That's because it is wrong, Harry. Completely and utterly wrong… but the fault is with Bellatrix and the dark lord, not us!"

Harry looked at her for a long time before he slowly removed his hand from hers and turned to walk over to the perpetually lit fireplace, leaning against the mantel. "Damn it! Just damn it all!" he cried out in pure act of despair.

"Harry?" Daphne asked in concern and Harry turned around to face her, seeing the fire reflected in her icy blue eyes and the tenderness with which she looked at him. Meanwhile, Harry felt exhausted and utterly broken by the weight of the world.

"I am so sorry for yelling at you, Daphne," he began but the girl immediately waved it away.

"It's alright."

"No, it's certainly not alright! I- I-" Harry stuttered and Daphne stepped closer until she was standing next to him in front of the fire. The comfort of her presence finally allowed Harry to settle his disturbed thoughts.

"I would have shown her mercy," Harry began in a broken voice, "And you are absolutely right," he continued, "Good chances are she would just use my mercy to come after us or our children," he said as he looked into Daphne's eyes which were watching him with growing concern. "Daphne… am I like the biggest naïve idiot on the face of this planet?"

She stared at him in shock for a second before her hand went up and slapped him lightly on the face. "Don't talk this way of yourself, Harry," she chastised him before adding more gently, "And we've been through this already. You are not naïve or an idiot… you are a good man," she insisted. "Sometimes the two can have similar consequences but never think you are an idiot, Harry Potter!" she told him before her lips curled into a smirk. "Or do you think that lady of House Greengrass would lower herself to having an idiot for a boyfriend?"

Harry gave her a weak smile. "Sometimes it feels like being a good man is only a curse in this horrible world," he told her quietly.

"It's not that bad," Daphne said as she cupped his cheek. "I think you just need an appropriate partner to balance you out," she told him with a wink and Harry's smile grew wider. "You mean I need an evil woman in my life," he said and laughed. Daphne laughed too. "The evilest," she agreed before whistling innocently. "Where will you only find such a woman?"

Harry responded by pulling her tightly into his arms and into a hug. She let him. "I don't think I will ever find a woman more evil than you, love," he whispered into her ear before leaning back and looking into her eyes. "Daphne… the ritual… I want to do it. As soon as possible," he told her.

"Really?" Daphne asked with surprise.

"Yes… I never want to yell at you like that again. I want to be able to understand you… always," he said and Daphne pulled him into another hug. "I want that too, Harry," she said before looking down at her feet. "I think I need this just as much as you do," she admitted quietly. "I think I need a good man in my life."

"What do you mean?"

Daphne looked up and her eyes were tearful. "The way you looked at me before when I told you what I wanted to do with that child… like I was the biggest monster in the world. That will haunt me for a long time, Harry. I never wish for you to have to look at me that way again."

"I'm sorry," Harry said but Daphne pressed a finger to his lips. "Don't be," she told him resolutely. "I mean it when I say I need this too. The thing is… I look at the child of Voldemort and there is no doubt in my mind about what I have to do," Daphne paused for a moment before continuing.

"Please believe me when I say that I am not relishing the idea. I would even make it humane and painless, given that she's a baby. But there is no doubt in my mind that the child needs to die," Daphne tried to explain herself. "I never considered how horrible that is… not until you looked at me with that look. You are a good man, Harry, and I need your perspective too if I hope to balance myself. Because you see a potentially innocent baby where I only see an intolerable threat that must be destroyed," she told him in shaky voice before smiling weakly. "Am I making any sense right now?" she asked uncertainly.

"I think I understand, yeah," Harry assured her and held her even more tightly in his arms.

Daphne's whole body seemed to have sagged with relief and she laid her head against his shoulder as they hugged. "Look… even without the ritual, I can tell this bothers you a lot. So seeing as this is not something we need to decide on immediately, let's make a compromise," she suggested. "After the war is over, I will have the infant examined by world-leading experts on soul magic. And if they conclude her soul is normal and healthy, that there is a reasonable chance she won't become a raging psychopath, then I give you my word I will let her live."

She then paused for a moment before revealing the other side of the coin. "If, on the other hand, they conclude her soul is unnatural and broken… then I think it is kinder to let her move on to the next world where she could hopefully be healed instead of letting her linger in this one where she will only suffer and bring suffering to others."

"Yes, you are right… I hate it but I suppose that's really the best we can do for her. Thank you," Harry told her earnestly, now convinced more than ever that he was making the right choice with the ritual.


Peter Pettigrew entered the dungeons, carrying a bucket of the disgusting gruel that the prisoners were being fed. It was just enough to keep them alive but not enough to ever allow them to regain their former strength. Just as the dark lord intended. He liked his prisoners weak and pliable.

As for Peter himself, he had to grudgingly acknowledge that being the dark lord's jailor was not the worst assignment he received in his services. Granted, having to constantly see the miserable wretches that languished in the dungeons was not exactly pleasant. But it was certainly far better than having to assist Severus Snape last year!

For some reason, the new headmaster of Hogwarts took a perverse pleasure in always giving Peter the most horrible and humiliating tasks he could think of. Oh, to think how many times he had to clean the toilet after that man took a shit! At times, Peter wondered what exactly was Severus' problem with him. Was it a revenge for Peter's actions against him back when he was one of the Marauders? Or was it possible that Severus was still pissed off about Lily? Peter was not sure. For all he knew, Snape was the same miserable bastard with everyone and he was reading into nothing.

In any case, Peter was very glad that assignment was over as his current post was much more pleasant. It kept him out of harms way and allowed him to remain in the relative luxury of the Malfoy manor. An undeniable perk was also the free access to kitchens anytime he wanted. In return, his only responsibilities were feeding and watering the prisoners and reporting any deaths or illnesses they suffered. He was also responsible for making sure they do not escape but that was just a formality – the prisoners were in no condition to overpower him and even if they did, there was no way for them to get away from Malfoy manor and they knew it.

All in all, Peter figured his life could have been much worse.

He finally entered the corridor where the cells were located. A swish of his wand later, numerous wooden bowls along with spoons floated out of the cells through the feeding slots, ready to be filled again. Peter did not bother to clean them. He only did that about three times a week. And it's not like the prisoners were going to complain about his services, he thought with a sneer.

Peter filled the first bowl with the gruel and then went to the first door. Unfortunately, he wasn't such a good wizard as to do that with magic. Summoning the empty bowls to him was easy as it did not matter if they rotated during their flight, something he never managed to prevent while using that spell. But to do it with filled bowls would send the food flying everywhere and leave Peter with the unpleasant duty of having to clean it up.

After making sure that no prisoner was standing too close to the bars, Peter crouched to carefully slide the bowl through the feeding slot. He straightened up and was about to go for another bowl. He froze when he saw a rat crawling on the floor in front of him, so close it was practically touching his boot. Unfortunately, rat infestation was a recurrent problem in the dungeons of the Malfoy manor. He tried to get rid of them several times but they always seemed to come back.

"Ewww!" Peter squealed in disgust. Despite being a rat himself in his animagus form, he never liked the creatures, mainly because he himself transformed into a rather small rat and all the bigger rats have always been mean to him! He became even more disgusted when the big rat took advantage of his freezing and actually jumped on his boot and was probably about to climb up his leg. "Get away!" he cried as he kicked off with his leg to shake it lose.

The rat flew away immediately but unfortunately, as he kicked out with his right leg, his left foot slipped on the floor. Peter Petigrew felt himself fall backwards where his head hit very hard on one of the bars of the prison cell door. The world swirled and became blurry around him and then he knew no more.


Alarm sounded in the Greengrass manor. Harry and Daphne briefly glanced at each other before they went running out of the office and towards the entrance room. By the time they got there, they were both out of breaths.

"What happened?" Daphne demanded when she saw the group of guards standing at the doors. "Is it them? Are they alright?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Yes, it's the prisoners. According to Mr. Wilson, the operation was a success," the guard confirmed. "We are currently assessing their condition and making sure they are not a threat, we-"

He did not get to finish whatever he was going to say as Harry slipped by him and barged into the entrance room. Daphne shrugged and followed her boyfriend a moment later, much to the guard's consternation.

As soon as Harry entered the room, he saw a large group of people. Most of them were in the process of being searched and given medical assistance by Daphne's personnel. He took note of an old man, whom he identified as Mr. Ollivander a second later, being laid on a stretcher by two guards. A third one was pouring some sort of potion down his throat. Harry made a mental note to check on the man later but right now, he desperately searched the rest of the room, looking for his golden haired friend in this veritable sea of people.

He did not have to search for long as she called out to him herself. "Harry!" he heard a weak but familiar voice coming from the other side of the room. He looked in that direction and saw Luna sitting on the ground and staring in his direction.

"Luna!" he yelled and crossed the room in just a few seconds. He fell down to his knees and pulled the girl into a hug which she immediately returned albeit rather weakly. Harry let go of her to look her over. He felt a surge of anger at her state, seeing as she was malnourished, her face had some scrapes and bruises, and she was visibly struggling to remain conscious. But she was alive!

"Somebody help her!" he yelled out to the room and a moment later some woman came over to check Luna over. "She will be fine Mr. Potter. She's just exhausted," she told him after having waved her wand over Luna several time. She then called over some people with a stretcher. "We'll take her to the infirmary just to be on the safe side. But a good sustenance and sleep is all she needs."

Harry felt a great relief at hearing her say that. He was watching the guards help Luna onto the stretcher when he felt a soft hand slipping into his and realized that Daphne was now standing next to him. "What happened? Is she alright?" his girlfriend asked him and Harry nodded happily. "She'll be fine," he said and felt Daphne squeezing his hand.

Meanwhile Luna Lovegood stared at Harry and Daphne with a dreamy expression even as she was being placed onto the stretcher. Just as they finished securing her and were about to carry her away, she suddenly became restless. "Harry, WAIT!" she cried out. "I need to tell you something. Both of you… please! Before it's too late!" she said in desperate voice.

Both Harry and Daphne leaned closer. "What is it, Luna?" Harry asked in concern.

Luna took a deep breath, her eyes flicking between Harry and Daphne before settling on the latter and asking, "Can I please be your bridesmaid?"

Harry and Daphne looked at each other helplessly. Luna gave them a bright smile and then she passed out.