"Molly, are you there?" A voice said from the Burrow's floo.
Molly cleaned her hands and entered the sitting room to find a face staring at her from the heath of the fireplace. "Hello, Andi, what can I do for you?"
"I'm picking up some work from one of my over-extended subordinates and following up with patients who've skipped their regular check-up."
Molly shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, Andi, I'm not really…"
"Molly, after seven children it's imperative you get regular check-ups. Those children rely on you to stay healthy. I can't get you out of this, but what I can do is organise to meet somewhere private. I've set up an office in a room at the Leaky Cauldron. Let me know when you're available and we can meet and get this over with."
Molly let out a frustrated breath. "Oh, very well. I'll owl you with a date and time later today."
"Thank you, Molly."
Voldemort sighed. "You are a constant source of disappointment, Severus."
"Please, master… I did my best…" Snape begged as he shivered on the ground, his body spasming from Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse.
"Your best? You threw away the lives of my death eaters against the war wards of the Greengrass Estate. Those soldiers were still useful, far more useful than you are right now. Tell me, Severus, why should I spare you?"
"I… I… can bring you Potter…" Snape grunted out.
"And why do you think I need your help to kill Potter?"
Snape crawled towards Voldemort, grabbing his boot. "Please, master, Dumbledore trusts me…"
"Does he? Are you sure? Dumbledore isn't stupid and neither am I. We're well aware your only true loyalty is to yourself. How can we possibly trust you when you do not trust us? You disappoint me, Severus, and you've run of excuses," Voldemort said as he cast the killing curse.
"Leave the carcass where people will find it," Voldemort ordered as he gently stroked Bellatrix's hair.
"You look like crap, Chiara," Tonks commented as she approached the silver haired woman in a park near Diagon Alley.
"Thanks, Tonks…" Chiara grumbled in lieu of a reply.
"Shall we go?" Tonks asked, offering her hand.
"Sure."
A short time later, Tonks and Chiara joined the Black household at breakfast. Chiara gratefully accepted the cup of coffee she was handed by Hermione. "Thank you."
"Are you ok, Medi-Witch Lobosca?"
"Yes, thank you, and it's Chiara. I haven't been a Medi-Witch for some time. It's not in my job title anymore," Chiara replied as she added sugar and stirred her coffee.
"I have good news and bad news," Chiara began unprompted. "The curse damage should be healing. But there is a block preventing the healing process."
"The substance that came out of Harry's head?" Andi guessed.
"I'll spare you all the details, but the cliff note version is that the dark magic in the scar splintered and spread with the dark magic of the curse. It destroyed what was inside the scar, but it didn't completely disperse it from Harry's body."
"Is there a way…?" Hermione began.
Chiara frowned. "That's the bad news, I have options to treat Harry, but you're not going to like it."
"Tell us first, then we'll decide whether we like it or not," Hermione said.
"After research and consultation, I've determined there are two possible ways to destroy the taint. One uses the killing curse; the other is extremely dangerous. We'd need to collapse Harry's magical core temporarily…"
"You're right, I hate it," Hermione confirmed as her face darkened.
"The only options are killing him or killing him?? Did you even try to find another solution?" Fleur demanded.
"Fleur, Hermione, Chiara wouldn't have brought us these options unless she'd exhausted all other options. Though I am curious about her reasoning as to why these are our only ways to save Harry," Andi said in defence of her former subordinate.
"The killing curse is the only way, outside Basilisk venom and Fiendfyre, to destroy the dark magic that came out of Harry's scar. Despite not being centrally located anymore, the magic is still the same or similar. I think the second choice is our best solution and the one with slightly less risk. Collapsing Harry's magical core is incredibly dangerous, but I think it has a higher chance of success than using the killing curse. I also think it will starve the curse as well. If it goes well, he'll be cured of both."
"And if it goes badly, we'll all end up dead when Harry's core breaches and it destroys this building and most of the housing block," Hermione replied morosely.
"That is a possibility," Chiara confirmed.
Hermione turned to Fleur. "What do you think?"
"We have no choice, but I refuse to let anyone shoot killing curses at our boyfriend," Fleur replied.
Chiara glanced quizzically at Tonks, mouthing boyfriend with a raised eyebrow. Tonks shrugged and didn't respond further as Hermione and Fleur returned their attention to the table. "Do you have a structured way to collapse Harry's core that won't kill him immediately?" Hermione asked.
"Yes. I will magically isolate Harry's core and essentially tie it off. The magic will drain from Harry's body and starve the dark magic." Chiara turned to Sirius. "We'll need a magically clean room so Harry's body can't feed off the ambient magic in the air."
"There is a ritual chamber in the basement. We can move Harry there."
"Once I'm confident Harry's body has started healing, we can slowly reintroduce his magic."
"We need to start today," Chiara said as everyone rose from the table and walked upstairs.
Hermione watched Sirius take Harry from his room, downstairs to the ritual chamber. He looked so small and vulnerable in the arms of his godfather, despite a recent growth spurt. Hermione wanted to wrap him in her arms and protect him. She was certain Fleur felt the same way. Harry was the light of their lives. As her memories came flooding back, so did all the emotions she associated with Harry. Love, lust, affection, and occasional frustration. They were all bundled up together and attached to a single person.
As the group entered the ritual chamber, Hermione rushed forward and laid blankets on the floor. Sirius laid Harry down on the blankets and stepped back, moving to the door. "All we can do is wait, and hope."
A few days later…
Chiara gratefully accepted a bottle of water from Andi as she knelt beside Harry applying a wet towel to his sweaty forehead. "You need to rest."
"I'll rest once I'm sure Harry is out of the woods," Chiara replied.
"How is he?"
Chiara pulled back Harry's shirt to reveal the subsiding curse damage. Andi nodded and graced Chiara with a relieved smile. "It's healing nicely."
"Yes, thankfully. I think we can start reintegrating his magical core in another day or two. The curse should be diminished enough by then."
Andi rested a hand on Chiara's shoulder. "You've done good."
Chiara gave Andi a weary smile. "Thank you."
Harry felt heavy as he slowly regained consciousness, he groaned and shifted around trying to get comfortable as a dull ache weighed on his body. His eyes fluttered open to find a head of bushy hair filling his vision. Harry smiled as he lifted his head to take a long breath of Hermione's scent. A mixture of cinnamon and parchment, a scent Harry loved.
Carefully sliding out from under Hermione, Harry realised there was another person in the bedroom with them. He walked over and stroked Fleur's hair gently, admiring the blonde beauty for several long seconds before his body protested. After a long visit to the bathroom, Harry wrote a note for Fleur and Hermione and descended into the kitchen.
"Harry?" A weary Sirius asked as he entered the kitchen a short time later.
"Hi, Sirius, want a plate?"
"Pup, you shouldn't be up," Sirius said worriedly.
"I'm fine, Sirius, I promise," Harry assured him.
"Do you think your girls are going to buy that? I'm just trying to save you a headache," Sirius warned him.
Harry grinned. "I'll be ok, Sirius. I have my winning charm to fall back on."
Sirius held up his hands and laughed. "I tried to warn you…" Sirius said as he rounded the table and wrapped Harry in a hug. "You had me scared, Pup."
"Sorry, Padfoot, but it was the right thing to do."
"I know Pup, but next time maybe let your old man take on the burden for you?"
"I'll think about it," Harry replied.
"Uh huh…" Sirius said disbelievingly.
"Harry! You need to rest!" Hermione protested as she marched into the room.
"Hi, honey, want some breakfast?"
"Sit down," Hermione ordered.
"Yes dear," Harry replied. He ignored Sirius making whipping noises as he passed the older man.
"And you, Harry is supposed to be resting. Why haven't you stopped him?" Hermione asked accusingly of Sirius.
"I warned him…" Sirius protested. Hermione crossed her arms and glared at him as Sirius lowered his head sheepishly.
"Hmmmm," Hermione said as she walked over and hugged Harry. "I'm so glad you're ok."
Harry smiled. "I feel the same about you."
"'Arry?" Fleur said from the entrance of the kitchen. Hermione let Harry up so he could face her.
"Hey."
Fleur's eyes filled with tears as she rushed over and embraced her boyfriend, peppering his face with kisses as her legs rose to wrap around Harry's waist. "'Arry, you're ok…"
"Yeah, I missed you," Harry said as he buried his face in her neck.
"I love you, 'Arry," Fleur mumbled.
Harry kissed his way up Fleur's neck as Sirius stepped out of the room. "I love you too."
The two separated and turned their attention to Hermione, reaching out for her and pulling her towards them. Harry pressed his lips to Hermione's before passing her to Fleur. Hermione rested her head against Fleur's as tears ran down her cheeks. "I love you, Fleur."
"I love you too, Hermione."
Harry leaned in, stealing a kiss from Fleur and Hermione. "We're going to make those assholes pay."
"Good," The two replied.
Pouring herself a glass of fire whiskey and lighting a cigarette, Andi glanced across the table at a blank faced Molly Weasley. The older woman sat as if waiting for an order, except none was forthcoming. Moving to take a sip, Andi had the glass snatched out of her hand.
"Isn't there a rule that doctors shouldn't smoke?" Nick asked as he drank Andi's whiskey.
"My title is medi-witch, as you well know. And no, there isn't. Also, you're late," Andi grouched as she got up from her seat and put out the cigarette in the ashtray.
"Sorry, I was busy," Nick replied.
"With… actually, never mind, I don't want to know."
"I can't tell you anyway. So why is Molly Weasley sitting here, staring into space?"
"My daughter didn't tell you?"
"She said you needed help with something, she didn't give me the details," Nick replied as he waved his hand in front of Molly's face.
Andi sighed. "My daughter snaps her fingers and you come running?"
Nick stood up again, sticking his hand into the pockets of his jacket. "Yeah, is that a problem?"
"Not at all. I simply found it interesting. Molly Weasley has information we need, Nymphadora says you're a natural legilimens…" Andi replied before going over the sorts of memories they were interested in.
"Ah, very well then. Give me a couple of hours and I'll have those memories for you," Nick said as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
"I think I'll wait," Andi replied.
"Then you can make yourself useful," Nick said, pulling the tray of vials towards him. "Pull the memories out of my head as I go. I don't like the idea of Molly Weasley's memories bouncing around in here for longer than they need to."
Nick took his glasses off and stared into Molly's eyes. "Let's see what you're hiding."
Harry held up a memory vial up to the light and frowned. "Is it that easy to get someone's memories?"
"When you don't care about morals," Tonks confirmed.
Harry put the vial back into the rack and sat down. "They didn't care about the morality of altering our memories and making us marry people we didn't love. So, I don't care about ripping their memories out of their heads."
"Ok…" Tonks replied.
Harry considered Tonks for a moment. "Tonks, if you're uncomfortable with what's happening, you can leave. We're not going to force you to stay."
Tonks paused before shaking her head. "I'm not going anywhere Harry. I'm committed to protecting you, no matter what."
"Ok."
The two sat quietly for a few minutes until Sirius and Andi entered, followed shortly afterwards by Hermione and Fleur who were holding hands. Harry smirked to himself when he noticed Hermione's messy appearance and chapped lips. As she sat down, Hermione smacked Harry on the arm. "What are you smirking about?"
"Nothing," Harry replied as he leaned into Hermione's ear. "You look very sexy when Fleur makes you messy."
Hermione shivered and blushed. "Shut up…"
"Are we ready?" Sirius asked, ignoring Hermione and Harry flirting.
"Yeah," Harry said.
Andi removed a vial from the rack and poured the memory into the pensive. "Nick indicated this memory would interest us."
Andi activated the projector function on the pensive and sat down between Fleur and Sirius. The projector flickered to life showing the inside of the Burrow.
Molly and Arthur were eating dinner alone without the kids. The meal was eaten in tense silence, Molly glanced up occasionally at Arthur before returning her gaze to her food. Eventually Molly sighed and dropped her cutlery to her plate and wiped her mouth with a serviette.
"Arthur, what's wrong?"
"You've been talking to Albus again," Arthur observed.
"He is the headmaster of our children's school…" Molly deflected.
"You know that's not what I mean. You've been conspiring with Albus, telling him about our plans for Harry."
"I was ensuring Albus doesn't get in the way of our plans. He is capable of making life very difficult for us. He could cut off our access to Harry. If that happens, we all lose."
"What does Albus want?" Arthur asked.
"A portion of the Potter vault and all of the rare books collecting dust in Pottermore," Molly explained referring to the ancestral seat of House Potter.
"That seems surprisingly reasonable," Arthur commented.
"That is why I agreed. Albus mentioned that Sirius has made Harry his heir," Molly added.
"I see," Arthur said before frowning. "Do you still want to involve the children?"
"They're already involved, I promised them a share of the Potter vault if they helped. Bill has procured the potion recipes to keep Harry and Granger in line. He's given Charlie the list of ingredients we need. I will supervise the twins as they brew the potion to send to Ron and Ginny. Who will add it to Harry and Granger's food and drink while they're at school together. Our children will never want for anything again, and your only daughter will marry the boy of her dreams."
"Yes," Arthur replied quietly.
"All of this… all this boils down to money…?" Harry spat bitterly.
Fleur reached out and grabbed Harry by the back of the neck and pulled him into a kiss. She rested her forehead against his, her fingers intertwined with Harry's. "It's ok, 'Arry, we're going to get them. I promise we won't let them get away with this."
"No, we won't," Sirius growled, his eyes growing dark. "Dumbledore, the Weasley's, they all need to pay. But we'll do it quietly, they need to suffer."
"I don't want Dumbledore dead…" Harry stated firmly.
"Harry?" Hermione said quizzically.
"If he dies as he is he'll still be lauded as a hero, I want the world to know that he's as much of a dark lord as Grindelwald or Voldemort. His reputation is all he has, I want it destroyed, shredded so when he goes away for what he's done, everyone knows he was a monster."
"So, if Dumbledore isn't our first target, who is?" Tonks asked.
"Bill, he's the oldest aside from his parents, and I don't want to target them yet. I want them to suffer through burying their children. I want them to understand what it's like to have everything you love ripped away from you."
Hermione shuddered as she rested her head on Harry's chest. She didn't like what Harry was turning into, but they'd pushed them into this. She loved Harry and nothing was going to make her walk away. Her loyalty to Harry was unquestionable, no matter how uncomfortable the revenge plan made her. Not that the Weasley's didn't deserve it.
Sirius considered Harry's suggestion for a few moments before speaking. "As much as we want to punish Bill Weasley, I think the Goblins have first dibs for stealing their potion recipe."
Harry frowned but nodded. "Yeah… let them have him. We have enough enemies."
"Ok," Sirius agreed.
"So, if we're handing Bill over to Gringotts, the next logical target is Charlie. Are we going to make it obvious it's us, or be Slytherin about it?" Tonks asked.
Harry smirked. "Let them think it's the death eaters. While Dumbledore and Voldemort blame each other we can lurk in the background and slowly destroy them."
"Let me handle it. I can follow Charlie around without tipping anyone off and find out his routine. Then we can figure out how to take him out," Tonks offered.
Sirius glanced at Harry who nodded. "Ok."
"Greetings Ragtooth," Bill said as he entered the office of Gringotts supervising curse breaker.
"Greetings Curse Breaker Weasley," Ragtooth replied, his fingers resting on the hilt of his blade under the desk.
"Have you heard from Curse Breaker Delacour recently? I visited her apartment and she's not returned home for some time."
"Curse Breaker Delacour has been granted a leave of absence for personal reasons."
"Oh, is she ok?" Bill asked, frowning.
"I am assured she's fine."
"Do you know where she's staying? I'd like to visit and make sure she's ok."
A cruel grin spread over Ragtooth's face. "I do, but I think you should be more worried about yourself."
"Sir?"
Ragtooth pulled open a drawer on his desk and dropped a bundle of parchment between them. "A trusted source told us we should audit the Gringotts archives. To our dismay we discovered items missing. Someone had taken documents out of the archive without seeking permission or registering it. Thankfully, we found our documents, in your apartment."
Bill's pale skin somehow became even paler as the nature of the situation dawned on him. "Sir, I can explain…"
"I very much doubt that, Curse Breaker. You're aware rebellions have been started for less. Are you really that stupid? Did you learn nothing in that edifice to wizarding arrogance?"
"Sir, I did it for my family… please…" Bill begged as he dropped to his knees. Behind him a squadron of guards entered the room in full armour.
Ragtooth spat on the floor in front of Bill and shook his head. "I'm terribly disappointed. You could have been a great curse breaker, now all you be is dragon shit. Take him away."
"Ah, damn it, what the hell…"
Chiara glanced up from her book as she waited for her partner to arrive. She was standing in an overgrown thicket on the edge of Little Hangleton in the north of England. Chiara's research into horcruxes had led her here in pursuit of a way to destroy Voldemort. The entire department was in agreement that the horcrux inside Harry Potter's scar was an aborted attempt by Voldemort to create one and extend his life.
Chiara had been tasked with researching the former Tom Riddle's past and establishing if he'd created more. But she wasn't doing it alone, she'd been assigned a partner. "Nick, do you need a hand?"
"No, I'm fine, thank you…" He replied. "My jacket got caught in the overgrowth."
"Why are you wearing a jacket anyway, it's summer," Chiara inquired.
"English summer. It's nothing compared to the scorchers we experienced when I was living in Australia. I'm bloody freezing." Nick sighed and brushed himself off. "So, what are we up to today, boss?"
"We're horcrux hunting, R&D have determined this is the way Voldemort escaped death in eighty-one. If we can find all the ones he created, we might finally have a chance to kill him for good. So, you know, if he finds out what we're doing he's going to hunt us down. Is that a problem?"
"Nope. I'm looking forward to it. Let's go."
Charlie gurgled and groaned, as he stirred from unconsciousness. Lifting his head, he realised he'd been moved while unconscious. He was bound to a chair in a room constructed entirely of granite. There were marks and stains on the wall that Charlie refused to speculate the origin of. Instead, he tried to find out whether he was alone. "Hello?"
"Hello, Charlie," Sirius said as he emerged from the shadows holding his wand.
"Sirius, I thought… Mum said you're dead."
"Yes, so I've heard. Tell me, Charlie, did your mother ever tell you what the herbs you procured for her were for?" Sirius asked, sitting in front of the younger man.
"I… don't know what you're talking about," Charlie said, averting his eyes.
Sirius sighed as he leaned back and pressed the play button on the pensive projector. The conversation between Charlie's parents played again. Sirius let the scene play out, before pausing the pensive again. "How much of my godson's money were you promised?"
"One hundred thousand galleons…" Charlie spat bitterly. "It's a drop in the bucket compared to what my mother was keeping for herself. It was always understood that Ginny would get the most, she's the one earning it… but I deserved more. Those potion ingredients were rare, and deep inside Hungarian Horntail country. If one of them catches you they don't bother looking for a body, they just check the dragon shit around where you went missing."
"Did you ever consider what you were doing to Harry or Hermione? Or what is all about the money?"
"Mum told me I had to do it, I had to support the family. She gave me no choice…"
"Really? You could have stayed in Romania, far away from what your mother was planning."
"What do you expect me to do? It's my family, you might have been able to run out on your family. But some of us have loyalty," Charlie spat angrily.
Sirius let out a long breath as he leaned back in his chair. "I am loyal to my family. The Potter's are my family, and I will defend them to my dying breath. The worst mistake your family ever made was crossing Harry. Now you're dealing with me, you should have asked your parents what happens when you upset the Black family."
Sirius stood up and threw the chair away. "Did your parents ever tell you what I did for a job, before my Azkaban vacation?"
Charlie shook his head and Sirius sneered at him. "I was a hit wizard, you know what hit wizards are, don't you?"
"They hunt and kill dark wizards…" Charlie said carefully.
"Yes, goodbye, Charlie," Sirius said as he cast a cutting curse at Charlie's neck. The blood spurted from his neck coating the walls as the life drained from his eyes. Eventually he slumped back dead, and Sirius replaced his wand in its wrist holster. Sirius walked forward and grabbed Charlie by the head, pulling it forward. When he lets go, Charlie slumped forward, hiding the gash in his neck.
Sirius walked out of the ritual room to find Harry waiting for him. "It's over, Pup, I'll dispose of the body in the morning."
Harry frowned and nodded. "I should have done it, Sirius…"
"No Pup, you shouldn't, you should be cuddling with your girls. Let your old man do the bloody stuff."