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sorry the chapter is late. high winds were making me lose power for short bursts yesterday and I wasn't going to risk my PC.

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Chapter 33

Harry and the shadow of his mother were a formidable pair. If Harry had the time to stop and think about it for a few minutes instead of fighting for his body he would have come to the conclusion that because the shadow of his mother existed in his head it had become second nature for shadow Lily to work with Harry.

This was very different from the two Voldemorts who were fighting as individuals. Also despite what it looked like none of them were fighting with spells. Yes they were pointing their wands everywhere and magic was happening but this wasn't the outside world and the normal rules didn't apply here.

Lily was weaponizing the mindscape itself, exerting mental control over the environment that bent to her will. Vicious barbed spikes would suddenly shoot from any surface or living ropes would whip out and try and catch one of the Voldemort's. Harry's magic was similar but where his mother's shade was using the tarain this was Harry's mind and what he said goes so if Harry wanted them to be in a forest they were in a forest, if Harry wanted them in a meadow, they were in a meadow. If Harry wanted them on the rim of a volcano then it was petty Voldemort's reflexes were quick enough for him to fly over the pool of lava Harry just made.

The two Voldemort's however were fighting with blasts of sickly brownish yellow energy that was blasting from the hands of the smaller one and the wand of the recent invader.

Harry, seeing the two flying over the pit of lava he just created, switched them to a low ceiling cave giving his mother the opportunity to fire spikes at them from close range. Unfortunately the two Voldemorts flew fast enough to dodge just like Harry had done the week before dodging Voldemort's throwing stars while Harry was in his falcon form. Only they were able to blast away at the spikes as they moved and the spikes didn't follow them.

Harry tried to put up a cage to hold them tight but the smaller Voldemort, the one who also lived in Harry's head, was able to break the bars of stone apart. In his frustration Harry tried to use a spell on the younger looking Voldemort. "Ossio Dispersimus!" He shot the bone breaker at the vile parasite only to miss and then they all screamed in pain as the curse hit a wall and it felt like Harry's shoulder blade had just shattered.

"Foolish child. This battle is inside your head, we all share this body right now. Any spells that affect the body will affect us all." The older Voldemort spat out the words.

Harry however had noticed that while he and the two Voldemorts had reacted the same, his mother's shadow hadn't. It made some sense she wasn't alive, not really and she had no soul and if that was what was needed to form a real connection with a body then Harry knew just what to do.

Harry needed hatred for this one and as he looked at the things that had killed his parents, targeted his ladies and made his life a complete hell he had no trouble feeling it. "Mom, I am going to disable them. Do me a favour and deal with them."

The shadow looked shocked for a second, then like she was going to object but then said. "Just as brash as your father." And gave him a nod of agreement.

Harry pointed his wand at the floor and cast. "Crusio!"

Pain flooded through Harry. It wasn't as bad as Lestrange could do after she had gotten Neville's wand but it was worse than she Could do when she had a wand that didn't work for her. Harry screamed, but so did the two Voldemorts. The rest of the world became a blur and all it was all he could do to keep the spell going.

Harry didn't know how long he kept the spell going but he only stopped when a gentle hand pried his wand from his hand and his mother's voice said "we won you can stop now."

Harry quickly fell unconscious.

-ϟϟϟ-

"Miss Granger, Miss Delacour." The voice of the goblin had the two women waiting for news jumping to their feet.

"Harry?" Fleur asked the desperation evident in her voice.

"Mr Potter is injured but our healers are attending to him. I have been sent to bring you to him." The bank runner said and they all set off through the bank, the runner leading the way.

The girls were panicking, picturing the worst as they rushed through the bank. They were half convinced they were going to be saying their last goodbye to Harry by the time they got to the small ward the bank kept for their curse breakers. Harry was laid out on a bed and the healer, a wizard, leaning over him casting detection magic.

"Miss Granger and Miss Delacour for you." The runner said to the healer before disappearing to get on with his duties.

"Ah yes right." The healer stood up straight and turned around. "Miss Granger, Miss Delacour first of all, don't panic, Mr Potter will be fine. He is suffering from over exertion, and mild cruciatus exposure. He was also possessed for a short time but that seems to have had zero effect on him. However we aren't st mungos so I either need your consent as his appointed next of kin to treat him or we need to arrange his transfer to St Mungos.

"If you believe you can treat him you have my permission to proceed." Said Fleur formally.

"Grate. Before I rush ahead does Mr Potter have any known allergies? I don't exactly have access to his medical records here." The healer asked.

Hermione Answered this question. "He hasn't got any allergies that he knows of and he has had cruciatus exposure treated before. So I would assume if there was a problem with the standard treatment we would have found it then." Hermione told him.

Harry had suffered that spell again. That was the main focus of the two women as they found somewhere to sit and watch out of the way knowing that doing any more would just put them in the way.

"You were around last time Harry got hit with that curse. How did he handle it?" Fleur asked Obviously worrying about the potential for victims of the curse to lose their minds.

"Harry was more pissed off about Malfoy getting off scot free and Lestrange and Pettigrew managing to escape an entire horde of dementors. Compared to that I don't think whatever he felt about the cruciatus even registered."

"Zat is both hopeful and incredibly disturbing. Zat our Harry can shrug that off." Fleur said her accent slipping.

Hermione put an arm around Fleur and pulled her in close. The two sat there like that talking through their fears and anxieties for almost three-quarters of an hour. The healer had left about fifteen minutes ago and suddenly Harry spoke up telling them all he was awake. "Ow. That was a really stupid idea."

The words sped Hermione and Fleur to action and the only way they could have gotten to Harry's side faster would have been if they apparated, something that was impossible inside Gringotts.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione and Fleur demanded, in perfect stereo.

"Yeah no. I have a massive headache. I guess hitting myself with a crusio was a bad idea." Harry said not really thinking about what he was saying.

"What do you mean you hit yourself with a crusio?" Fleur demanded in an unnaturally calm and emotionless voice.

So Harry told them the story from his point of view of being possessed by Voldemort and the duel inside his head. "And when I felt my bone break we all felt it except mum. I guess because she is only magic without any soul she doesn't really feel pain. So I realised if I was in enough pain to disable me, it would be enough to disable them and mum's magic could do its thing with them unable to fight back. And it worked."

"You bloody idiot!" Fleur screamed at him before slipping into French that was so fast and emotional that Harry couldn't follow it. As she screamed at him she also grabbed the pillow off his bed and started to repeatedly whack him with it.

"Fleur I'm," whap pillow to the face, "I'm sorry but it," whap, "it was the only," whap, "only idea I had." Harry explained not even trying to defend himself against the pillow. It didn't hurt enough to bother him and the tears that ran down Fleur's face at the idea that Harry would crusio himself showed just how much he had fucked up and hurt her.

After a few more wacks with the pillow Fleur broke down just sobbing and Harry pulled her into his chest. "Shh. It's okay. I'm okay I promise, and another one of the Horcruxes has been destroyed." He kissed her on top of her head.

Harry glanced over to Hermione to see what he was due from that direction and saw that she looked hurt but not as upset as Fleur. Harry guessed that because Hermione had just been there for more of it than Fleur she had just gotten more used to coping with everything. Harry's mind went back to the thoughts he was having a few days ago about how war changes a person. The Hermione he met all those years ago would never have been able to hold herself back at the idea of Harry or any of their friends suffering that curse. He wasn't the only one being forged into something new. And if he wasn't careful they would be nothing but weapons when this was all over.

Harry held out an arm to her inviting her into the impromptu cuddle pile and Hermione climbed onto the bed next to him letting Harry cuddle her into him while she slipped an arm across Fleur's back. She would have done the same to Harry but the mattress was in the way.

"Harry?" Fleur asked.

"Mh?" Harry waited to see what Fleur wanted to say.

"I seriously think we need a break away from all of this."

"Yeah. We do. I'll send a letter to Augusta later today and ask her to watch over the house over the holidays, maybe ask if Tonks and Remus want to house sit." Harry agreed.

-ϟϟϟ-

The Gringotts healer wasn't as paranoid as the St Mungo's healer and let Harry go after a few hours with instructions that he shouldn't try apparating for a few days because sometimes crusio can have an after effect of random muscle spasms and that at the wrong moment while apparating can have the effect of breaking your concentration and leaving half of you behind.

This made Harry rather grumpy and the best option open to him if he didn't want to knock for twenty minutes on the night bus was the floo and that was never fun. At least not for him.

They floo'ed back to Hogsmeade to drop off Fleur. Harry and Hermione were tempted to stay with Fleur for a bit and open a bottle of wine, but after the day they had had it wouldn't stop at a bottle of wine. Worse, there were some old bottles of firewhisky in the house that had never been opened. They belonged to Harry's grandfather according to his portrait. It would be too tempting to try and drown their feelings. So Harry and Hermione had floo'ed back to the castle appearing in the headmistress's office.

They told McGonagall that they were back and that they had hoped that this would be the last time for quite a while that they would need to leave the school outside of normal times. The smile the headmistress gave the two was enough to tell them that she didn't have much faith in that happening.

The two of them went straight to their common room where they found Neville and Ron sitting together trying to work something out. I bet there is a way to do it, we just need to find it." Said Ron.

"But the wards are specifically designed to stop people doing that, Ron. It's Impossible." Said Neville.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Asked Harry to take one of the seats across from them. Hermione decided she would forgo a chair of her own and claimed Harry's lap. Apparently the events of earlier that day had left her wanting to not just see but feel that Harry was okay.

"We were reminiscing over some of our funniest mistakes in class. I bought up our first time repotting mandrakes and Ron had the idea of dropping a mandrake or two in the middle of a death eater house. Let the cry kill everyone. He wanted help trying to figure out a way to do it. But I said it was impossible. House wards are specifically designed to stop people breaking in like that." Neville explained.

Harry felt Hermione go stiff in his lap at the explanation. Harry knew her well enough to know she had just thought of something but didn't want to discuss it yet. Harry however had his own thoughts on the matter. Though he had no trouble voicing. "I wouldn't if I were you."

"How come mate?" Asked Ron.

"Because it's too indiscriminate. What if the death eaters had prisoners? Or even babies and young kids too small to have done anything wrong? It's one thing to target Malfoy Manor where we could be pretty sure they were using it as headquarters for their little try to take over the world club but random houses? Na too risky for hurting innocents."

Ron sighed. "Yeah I guess. Though I still think we should look into it as a weapon even if we don't use it, it's better to have a few we could use if the right circumstances came up."

Harry thought about it for a second and turned to Neville. "How difficult would it be to have a few potted mandrakes? Just in case."

Neville thought through everything he knew about mandrakes before saying. "Not difficult to do. They are second-year material after all. They can be difficult to source though. Most people don't like farming them because, one mistake and everyone is dead. I think that's why we had to wait so long in the second year to revive everyone. But I know Professor Sprout would give me a few seeds if I asked. Considering how useful the mandrake Draught is, she is a big advocate for more people to grow them. And if they don't end up being used we can always sell the mature mandrakes for potions."

"What do you need?" Hermione asked knowing that it would be more complicated than just having a plant pot by his bed.

"A small greenhouse. One with something to keep it warm and something to keep it absolutely silent inside. And of course somewhere to put the greenhouse because no way Professor McGonagall is going to let us grow weapons on school grounds." Neville said.

"How often do you need to tend to them?" Asked Harry the first bit of an idea in his head.

"Well at first I will need to tend to them every day but I can do that in the dorm because their cries are only powerful enough to give you a headache at that age. But after about a month, about an hour, once a week."

Okay here's what we will do. I will write to Hermione's parents and get them to buy a glass fish tank and a small greenhouse. I'm sure my elves can deliver the fishtank here and the greenhouse to my Hogsmeade house. I will do some rune work to keep them at the right temperature and keep the insides of them silent. I can take you down to my house once a week so you can do what needs doing." Harry told them.

The two boys just nodded accepting that it was Harry's decision. Which was something Harry wasn't exactly comfortable with but he understood it. He was the one they saw acting, he was the one they saw winning and he was the one teaching them how to survive if it came to it. He didn't like the weight of the responsibility but he couldn't miss the reason they put it on him. He would just have to be careful never to abuse that trust like others he knew of had done.

So Harry knowing he had more than one letter to write now excused himself to run up to his trunk and get some supplies to write the letters with. When he came back down Hermione was on her own and Ron and Neville had gone off elsewhere.

"Hey. So what was the idea you had earlier? The one about a way to break into death eaters homes " Harry asked.

Hermione looked surprised for a moment. "How did you know?"

Harry just gave her a look, raised an eyebrow. "Because I can read you as well as you can read me. You had an idea when they mentioned it being impossible to break into their houses and you didn't want to say anything to them for some reason."

Hermione sighed. "Yeah. Though I may as well have told them considering it seems like you plan to at least tell Neville anyway. At least I assume it the same way you plan to take him to the house every week, your Stepping. It can also be used to get you inside their wards. There is also a possibility that an owl could carry the mandrake through but I suspect that would be a one way trip for the owl and I don't think any of us would be willing to do that."

Harry made a sound of agreement on the part about using owls like that. "Yeah I could step in but it would be blind. I could go under the cloak but it still seemed dangerous. I may try it if we get reliable information about a big meeting where we could end the war but outside that I don't want to risk it."

After that they focused on writing the letters. There were actually three that needed to be written. The first was simple enough. It was a letter to Gringotts to withdraw a thousand pounds for the fish tank and greenhouse. Harry had no clue how much a greenhouse would cost and he trusted the Granger to not overspend. And if something happened to the money well it was coming out of the Malfoy money anyway so Harry didn't care.

The second letter was the one to Hermione's parents. Hermione volinerd to write that one as she wanted to send them a letter anyway. That left Harry to write the one to Madam Longbottom.

Dear madam Longbottom

It is my sincere hope that this letter finds you well. First I must tell you that the business from the bank last week has finally been concluded and the cursed item that caused the disturbance after the duel has been permanently dealt with. I know the level of Secrecy surrounding that item must be frustrating but you have my assurance that I and people who are far more knowledgeable on the subject are in full agreement on this topic.

I personally took care of the destruction of the artefact today. And I can tell you it was not an experience I would recommend. It is this that has led me to writing to you today. My ladies, Hermione and Fleur, feel the three of us need some time away where we can just relax and not worry about everything.

If I am honest I agree with them. There is a lot of blood on my hands now and I could really use some time to process that. The ladies want to go to France, spend some time with Fleur's family, and enjoy a Christmas away from everything. This however leaves my house without any real protection. Normally with me in the school I can respond quickly enough to any attack to keep the worst from happening. I however can't respond that quickly from France.

So I was wondering if any of the volunteers would be up to acting as guards for a couple of weeks. I would of course be willing to pay them for those two weeks.

I know this is short notice given how close the holiday is but I would appreciate a quick response so that I can try to find another option if you are unable to help.

Sincerely

Harry Potter

Warlock of the House of Potter

Harry debated on whether he should sign off Warlock of the House of Potter and the House of Malfoy, but as Harry was pretty much going to kill the house it seemed in poor taste.

Luckily they didn't need to gang up and go to the owlary because Hedwig as always seemed to have some type of sixth sense whenever Harry needed to send a letter and just as he and Hermione were finishing up sealing their letters there was a tapping from the window.

A few minutes later Harry was watching Hedwig fly away with the letters leaning against the frame of the large common room window, Hermione had tucked herself under his other arm. "Do you think we will get a break this time?" he asked.

"I don't know Harry. But I'll tell you what. I pity whoever tries something before the new year because Fleur and I, we have a lot of unresolved frustrations to work out." Hermione said as she cuddled into him.

-ϟϟϟ-

In a shadowy corner of a room in a house hidden from view the spirit of Voldemort flouted there recovering from having another part of his soul forcibly reintegrated. The process was harder on him this time than the last but it came with its compensations.

The horcrux in the cup of Hufflepuff had been feeding off the goblin for months. Getting stronger. Building itself up. The disembodied spirit had never felt so powerful without a body.

The other advantage was the knowledge and experiences of the horcrux were now added to his own. That not only included what the horcrux had done but all the knowledge it had ripped from the pathetic host's brain while using it as a meat puppet. Voldemort now knew everything about Gringotts that that goblin had known. But that information was old news, the horcrux would have shared anything relevant during their meetings.

No, the big piece of information that Voldemort was currently processing was the horcrux he was just learning existed. The one in the Potter boys head. The one held prisoner by the magic of that bloody mudblood who had cost him so much.

That may explain why Potter was so powerful. From an early age his magic would have been pushed to match the power sitting inside him. And perhaps enough of his personality had leaked through to push the boy to grateness. Because he couldn't deny it, the boy was powerful and had the presence of greatness about him.

Voldemort didn't even really want to deny it. The boy had bested him a number of times now. Yes there had been luck involved in a lot of it. Because despite everything the boy was still a teenager, a child. But the duel under the bank had proved it wasn't just luck. The boy had matched him well and fought with skill. An opponent that it was not humiliating to have lost battles to. One he could claim to be even greater than once he was able to kill the boy. A useful stepping stone.

Now he just needed to work out how to use that errant peace of soul to his advantage.

A/N

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