I'm still alive, all you wonderful eager readers. God this took forever both to write and get around to writing. Forgive me for taking so long but I couldn't help it. In exchange I give you Chapter 17 of Book 2 as a reminder I'm still writing and to wish you all a Merry Happy Christmas. And a silent good wishes for a Happy New Year. Here's to me having more free time and less problems to hinder my next release. P.S. In the rush to publish it today, it did not get the chance to be beta'd so please be gentle in the reviews.

New update: Happy new year to all and thank you to my wonderful beta's.

Chapter is now Beta'd by: ScottKen & MarktheBob

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Book II :: Chapter 17 :: A Good Day

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Thirty minutes earlier:

Stepping out of Witch's & Wands, Harry felt surprisingly happy and not because he just left a magical brothel. Then again he really shouldn't have been all that surprised that he'd feel better coming out of a brothel than entering one. However, in contrast, the first six businesses he had interacted with, this one made him feel right. Back Alley Brothels were neither safe nor very profitable for their workers and knowing he had just improved the lives of those inside put a little pep in his step.

A nice change of pace from strong arm tactics he had been implementing.

The sudden joy was quickly replaced, as he stood stock still while a spark of magic ran up his spine. Looking around frantically, Harry rushed into the shadows of the brothel and kept his robe up and over his face.

Something was coming, and it was responding to his magic. In silence, Harry waited until he spotted the source. A tall hooded figure with a cane. For a second Harry was perplexed until it dawned on him why he felt a twitch tickling the recesses of his mind.

"Ah, that's right. I did put a tracer on Malfoy's cane." Pondering as to why he was this deep in Knockturn Alley Harry remained still so as to remain undetected. However, a thought crossed his mind. This was a perfect opportunity. A chance to get information out of a senior wizard. And a chance to set up the pieces for Tom's return. With a sinister grin you would find on someone who knew he was set to win, Harry made off to follow Lucius Malfoy.

Picking up a thrown-away newspaper Harry ripped it off and using his blood as makeshift ink rewrote the rune he had applied to the wizard's cane. The effect was instantaneous as the paper grew taught in his hand, desperate to reunite with its sibling rune.

In a cold pursuit, Harry made his way through Knockturn Alley and towards an unpleasant-looking pub. He kept his posture low, slightly slouched, but not overly exaggerated. Just enough to hide his actual height but not his presence.

Stepping into the rowdy and dank bar, Harry ignored the inhabitants as he made his way over to the primary objective, the hooded figure in the corner. The man's thoughts rang loud in his mind as all his focus channeled into the man's mind without alerting him to his presence.

In the corner of the bar, Lucius Malfoy sat grumpily under his inconspicuous cloak. His attention split between his irritation and his surroundings. He scoffed as another low life stepped into the bar. It was all beneath him. The rat infestation, smelling of piss and water-downed firewisky that tasted like re-hydrated troll fungus powder. The rotting and creaking cheap floor boards. The inhabitants are not even worth mentioning or even permitted to live. He hated the pathetic and weak inhabitants of this place the most, but he endured.

His mind was more focused on the humiliation he was currently enduring. Something needed to happen soon, or else his pride would get the better of him. For the life of him, he couldn't fathom how that fool Greengrass could still rationalize resisting him. He was backed into a corner, losing his wealth, and soon his political power. Salvageable if only he gave up his daughter to his foolish son. A simple transaction that would give Malfoy full access to the whole of their family's magical knowledge and empower the Malfoy name with the history of the Greengrass family while removing power from the neutral party.

If nothing else, the artifact his former dark lord gave him would serve well at Hogwarts, far away from his hands and the foolish raids being performed by the ministry. Curse that Bones woman for making his life more difficult. If he was lucky the artifact would surely cause trouble at Hogwarts and kill that foolish girl. And to top it off, if he was lucky he could possibly even push for the removal of Albus Dumbledore.

While lost in his mind, Lucius failed to notice Harry's approach.

With purpose and with haste, Harry jumped on the opportunity while concealing his shit-eating grin within the recesses of his mind as all of the man's thoughts flooded in.

Lucius was left perplexed and peeved beyond measure as the stranger without so much as a word sat down before him. However, before he could say anything he was halted as he recognized the man.

"You seemed troubled today, Mr. Malfoy." Harry said with a whimsical smile. It took Malfoy a second to overcome his confusion before realization hit him.

"Mr. Returner. I wasn't expecting to see you here." Malfoy retorted with a hostile gaze.

"That makes two of us." Harry replied. "A facility of this-" Harry waved his hand lazily around "-nature isn't really up to my standards. But it has its uses. In this particular case, it offered me the opportunity to meet up with you."

"Yes, well. If you don't mind I am quite busy waiting for an associate at the moment so if you would kindly leave as it were." Lucius scathingly requested.

Harry couldn't help but grin slightly. "Is my presence here a hindrance to you Lord Malfoy?"

"If you were of... significant birth Mr. Returner I would not need to repeat myself. I am busy."

Harry shrugged. "Well, I suppose my significant birth would be inconsequential to you, considering your limited knowledge."

Harry hummed in understanding. "I see. Then I don't suppose you wouldn't wish to know of a possible opportunity to reduce Albus Dumbledore into a footnote of history then." The response was instantaneous. Lucius's focus was directed on Harry, the man before him, with curious interest.

"And what could you possibly know that would ruin Albus Dumbledore?"

Harry leaned in and in a hushed whisper stated. "What do you know about Harry Potter?"

With a raised eyebrow Lucius scoffed in annoyance. "The Boy-who-Lived is no one of importance."

Harry himself laughed as he agreed. The title was pointless indeed. "To people like us maybe, but the name holds weight in many other circles, including the Light Party. Tell me, do you know what became of Harry Potter after his parent's deaths? Albus does."

"Why should I care about a foolish boy and what he does as a child?" Lucius asked with fading interest.

"Well, I happen to know that the boy who lived was abused as a child while under Albus's rule, and I just so happen to know that the boy is gathering evidence to prove Dumbledore guilty of his crimes against him."

Oh, that was perfect, Lucius thought to himself. This tidbit of info was very useful if true. Leaning in with renewed interest, "And how accurate would you say this info is?"

"Very" Harry replied bluntly. "While it may require you to delve into the putrid world of muggles, there was a recent arrest of a certain couple. The Dursley family. The muggles found evidence of wizard abuse that would make the Salem witch trials appear tame in comparison." Leaning in close Harry added, "And if someone did a little more, magically in-depth look into the investigation, and supposedly gathered evidence that shined Dumbledore in a poor light, then when a certain unimportant foolish boy makes his move against Albus for crimes against him... well..." Harry ended his sentence on an open end but not one Lucius couldn't see the advantage of.

"And how do you come about this info? Mr. Returner?"

"Let's just say through darker means that a certain old fool wouldn't approve of." Harry lied. "Means that informed me about the return of your old master."

Lucius instantly lost all his cold joy and felt a shiver run down his back. "What?"

Faking the intentional slip-up Harry chuckled, "Never mind. I suppose I shouldn't be spreading such rumors without irrefutable evidence."

"What do you mean old master?" Lucius scoffed. "The Malfoy's only rule themselves."

Harry shrugged. "They all say that. But we both know the truth of what he represented, what he is going to achieve."

Lucius raised an eyebrow at this. Picking up on the use of 'is' and 'going'. Active and future tense.

"What rumors have you heard exactly? As a member of the esteemed body of noble wizards, I can't ignore what you're suggesting Mr. Returner." Lucius stated. Harry looked around cautiously but nodded.

"I don't know if it's true or not but there are two rumors I've heard. First, rumor has it that a dark spirit of some sort is hunting and killing in Albania now this in and of itself wasn't all that important at first until I heard wind that it disappeared during June of last year and get this, the rumors first started up at about new years of 1982 a few months after the departure of a certain individual. After that, a professor who went there during June of last year returns to Hogwarts exactly when Potter joins and then disappears at the end of the year, right when the dark spirit rumors start up again in Albania." Harry insinuates, very glad that in his past life he told Ginny everything he was able to learn about the blasted man in his first go around in life.

Lucius was both intrigued but also skeptical and wouldn't quite say he believed what he was just told. "That sounds suspicious but I wouldn't say it was anything of note. Dark spirits come and go all across the world and are beneath the Ministry's care."

Harry shrugged. "As I said, it was only a rumor. But when paired with this one, it becomes slightly more unsettling." Doing his best to fake fear and a shiver Harry added, "Supposedly, He-who-must-not-be-named created himself a Horcrux."

Lucius froze in shock. A Horcrux... that was... it couldn't be. His mind instantly flashed to the diary.

"I don't know if it's true but if he did indeed make one, it means his return is still possible if not imminent. Although one has to wonder, if he didn't make an object into a Horcrux, where did he leave such an important object? Surely such a dark and important object would be protected by a trusted and safe location that he could have faith in."

The words hit Lucius hard as beads of sweat began to form on the back of his neck. The Diary... it couldn't have been.

Seeing the man's mind go exactly where he wanted it to, Harry silently cast a sensory temporal spell on the man before he said his goodbye.

"Good luck, Lord Malfoy."

With that Harry left. Lucius quickly regained his bearings and forced himself to move even as his mind weighed him down. With his staff in hand, like lightning he flew out of the bar, his head jerking wildly to hunt down the mysterious man named Returner. He needed more info. He needed to confirm the truth. Slowly it dawned on him that knowing didn't matter. If it was true, then he had... the diary, he needed to retrieve the diary. He couldn't let anything happen to it. No, he needed to confirm if it was true. He needed the diary.

As he ran with anxious steps Harry kept to the shadows out of sight and mind, completely forgotten by the world and even the lone man.

"Come now Mr. Malfoy." Harry mirthfully chuckled to himself as muttered the words tauntingly. "That's not the look of a man of high birth, nor the look of a calm and collected killer."

He watched as Lucius Malfoy came to a stop in the middle of the alley, slowly realizing that his plans had come back to bite him. His anxiety slowly transformed into fearful realization as Riddle's Diary passed through his mind with a sickening weight.

A pale shivering expression of fear, eyes wide with the dawning realization of where he stood.

Harry smirked as he watched the man disapparated on the spot, "It's a good look for you." With that, Harry continued on with his plans. His target was now completely distracted. Now he just needed to send a tip to the ministry of the location and means of access to the Malfoy's stock of dark artifacts. And once his wealth was gone, the only sliver of hope in regaining his fame and wealth would lay in the charges he would place against Albus should the worst happen at Hogwarts.

As Harry walked chalantly through the alley he couldn't help but palm his wand under his cloak. Tightening his grip on his wand Harry couldn't help the rising sense of disappointment in himself. Before he left he had cast a simple sensory stagnation spell. Back when he was considered a Dark Lord that spell could be cast on mass and freeze the perception of hundreds for hours on end giving him the appearance of spontaneous teleportation.

But back in the pub – he gripped his fist tightly on his wand – he could only hold the spell for a few seconds on a single target he was focused on. Pathetic.

"Thirty-four seconds... it held for only thirty-four seconds." He cursed. Without a doubt, he was definitely weaker now. Sure, thirty seconds was all he needed, but the truth was still damning when compared to what he was capable of.

Making this fact worse, he all but confirmed that the Dairy was at Hogwarts. And as if to mock him, it was in the possession of one of the two Greengrass sisters. If events played out as Ginny had told him they would, then events would be set in motion on Halloween.

With eyes focused well past the dark alley and towards the darker future, Harry just sighed as he knew that if the Chamber of Secrets did open then a thousand-year-old basilisk would be unleashed. The school would become a tomb for hundreds and with his current strength, he wasn't ready.

Shaking his head to clear himself of those depressing thoughts he focused on the successes he had achieved today in his plans to return the favor he owed Draco. He successfully secured his wealth and an alliance of sorts with the Goblins, convinced several Knockturn Alley shops to sell out to him, and managed to confirm the location of where Lucius Malfoy kept the skeletons in his closet on top of directing his attention away from his activities. And as a bonus, confirmed that Lucius didn't pass off the Horcrux to a Hogwarts student.

Today was a good day for Harry. A very good day. What could possibly make it better?

oOoOo

Today was not a good day for Amelia Bones. In fact, the last couple of months had become a story of hard work amounting to nothing.

She wasn't blind when she took up the position of Head of Law Enforcement in the Ministry. She knew that the Ministry had many corrupt officials. She grew up as the Lady Bones after her parents died in the war against Gellert Grindelwald. Like them, she stood up against injustice and was raised on doing the right thing. She also knew that in order to do good one needed the power to act.

That was why she devoted her life to her job. As an Auror she could help and act. She could do good and see the outcome for herself.

It's because of this she accepted the position as Head of the Department of Law Enforcement even though she knew it would strip her from the field.

Smuggling, Slavery, Murder, Bribes, Corruption. Amelia saw all of it in the field and knew she would one day do something about it. But unlike her friend and coworker Alastor she knew that in order to change things she needed to both play the political game and acquire evidence that left no doubt of the crimes that were being committed.

This was her life's work. Years she committed to silently building up her evidence, tracking clues, and secretly confirming the crimes and transactions going on behind the scenes in magical Britain.

Several years of effort confirmed the most notable and suspicious individuals of being corrupt and gathering enough snippets of evidence to justify the raids necessary to acquire the evidence she needed to hold those wizards accountable for every crime they committed.

Several years amounting to the largest number of subsequent raids that late summer in August. At first, it appeared to be successful. Raid after raid brought down a group of witches and wizards guilty of everything from smuggling, to extortion, to the far extreme - breach of the stature of secrecy. The most damning was a human trafficking ring that they caught selling both live and dissected muggles.

That was both the best and worst day of her life. Coming to terms with the scene before her and that she managed to save twenty-three lives before they became potion ingredients for some far-off dark witch or wizard.

Yet even she knew that that success was just the tip of the demiguise. The mere existence of such a criminal operation was clear evidence pertaining to a much bigger racket that still remained unseen. But in following that trail she managed to find connections to many top managing corrupt officials.

Connections that hinted at the involvement of Macnair, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery, Copernicus, the Trow, Belgrin, Corxxs, and most notably Lucius Malfoy. The Trow twins, Belgrin, and Corxxs were easy enough to bridge a connection as the latter was a director of Magical Transportation, while the former two were involved in managing the records office. Positions that would explain how the racket remained unknown until now.

But the big catch would be Malfoy. If she could just get something concrete on the bastard then she could in theory take down a third of those who had been let free under the Imperius defense.

Like Alastor, Amelia knew what was required to gain the dark mark that Death Eaters wore. She knew they killed willingly, but without proof, it wouldn't hold up in court. She needed something and now she had an opportunity to take down the biggest fish in the net of corruption she believed existed.

Or at least she wanted to. She still had the authority to perform a raid on Malfoy manor, but not for much longer. After the raids on the Trow Mansion and Belgrin and Corxxs Estates, Malfoy had been pressuring Fudge to clamp down on her authority to hunt down and perform raids without evidence.

While it didn't work, Fudge, not wanting to rock the boat too much, compromised and stated he'd forbid further raids if she turned up no evidence.

Amelia knew that she now had a time limit. She had to act fast or else Fudge would cave to Malfoy's insistence and he'd get all his criminal activities hidden away or erased.

Alastor insisted she still had time, stating that Malfoy wouldn't destroy the evidence since booking was necessary for large-scale operations. But that didn't mean he couldn't hide it away where she wouldn't find it. The raids on the Goyle's proved that noble families indeed had plenty of secret rooms that she'd never spot without the freedom to investigate.

Hell, her own Bone's Manor had several such rooms within its confines.

Making matters worse for this particular day, not only was there a break-in at the Ministry's Department of Mysteries, the Goblins of Gringotts had apparently started a civil war within the halls of their own bank.

Either of these events happening would have been enough to demand her department's complete attention and give Malfoy the time he needed to prepare for an incoming raid. But both at the same time had all but stalled her ability to act and stretched her already thin department to its breaking point. Worse, Fudge all but pulled her away from both that morning due to a diplomatic meeting with a foreign emissary from the east.

This was odd in its own right since neither she nor her department had anything to really do with foreign diplomats other than security. However, since the two visitors showed up unannounced her involvement was non-existent.

No, her involvement came about because the Department of Mysteries was invaded and the silver-haired girl and her Leo print tuxedoed bodyguard wished to gain access to the Department of Mystery's Hall of Prophecy. This alone was suspicious enough considering the timing, but they also wish to meet with Harry Potter for an undisclosed reason.

In short, her day was like an easy bake tour of hell and it wasn't getting better anytime soon.

Or so it felt. Thus here she was, making her way to take a much-needed break from negotiating with the Goblins of Gringotts – who were not cooperating – at the leaky cauldron.

As she approached the pub, she was joined by Mad-Eye Moody and his apprentice Nymphadora Tonks.

Seeing them Amelia knew that their tasks were about as successful as her own attempts. Unbeknownst to Harry, his cutthroat backroom dealings in the goblin's obsidian chamber played a part in their failure to produce results.

While none of them knew it, the goblin they were dealing with wasn't pro-change and was against the rising coup, aka the Potter-supporting faction. Thus the goblins that Amelia and Mad-Eye were interacting with weren't interested in working with wizards.

He was however an observant goblin who knew which side was winning and hid his personal agenda to avoid the fallout of blood like so many of his like-minded kin.

A good thing for Harry, as it kept his involvement a secret during the attempted negotiations.

"So? Were you able to figure anything out?" Amelia asked tiredly as she regrouped with the two.

"Nothing." Alastor grunted. "Goblins have their mouths clamped down harder than Lucius' mouth is over Fudge's-"

"ALASTOR! Please." Amelia interjects not wanting to deal with Alastor's comments or the image she was now forced to deal with in her head. "Facts Alastor. Facts."

Grumbling Alastor perpetuated. "Of course. Talked with the snot-nosed cretins. Goblins wouldn't spill a word. Just stood there in the bloody room and said the same old thing. Goblin business, keep out of it." Alastor reported bluntly. Tonks, seeing an opportunity to participate a little in the discussion added in a bit too cheerful tone, "The room was literally covered in blood by the way. Right red it was."

Amelia shook her head at this and Alastor grumbled to himself before continuing.

"Kept lying over and over again even as two goblins burst in and tried to kill him. Murdered them in front of us and told us again that it was Goblin business."

Amelia could only sigh, "I see."

So long as they stuck to that claim and no wizard casualties came about inside Gringotts the ministry was pretty much unable to do anything to resolve the situation. All they could do was what they had already done; reopen the bank, avoid casualties, and prepare for a possible Goblin uprising at worst.

"Bad enough those buggers keep complaining about all the damn portkeys." Alastor bemoaned under his breath.

"Portkeys, Alastor?"

"Didn't hear that?" Alastor asked, looking towards his boss. "The Ministry's been complaining to us about sending out some Aurors to track down a score of illegal portkeys.

Amelia sighed exasperatedly. "Isn't that under the preview of the Department of Transportation? Tell them to take care of it."

"Already did." Alastor snorted out. "Told the lazy squibs to do their damn jobs. They whined that there were too many."

"How many?"

"Somewhere along two hundred."

Amelia did a double-take at that number. Two hundred at once was unheard of. Who in the world would make two-hundred portkeys and use them all at once? The better question is, why? Amelia thought for a moment but was surprised her gut wasn't trying to sniff out a deeper connection. Normally her instincts for crime were spot on but this felt more like a prank than a crime. A distraction at worst but from what? Something local? Or perhaps it was an attempt to throw someone off their trail, whoever the culprits were.

Alastor, unaware of her inner dialogue, simply finished speaking. "So I sent out two of our new recruits to join their investigators and told them to piss off."

Amelia bit back her response. Alastor's attitude meant she was going to have more work smoothing out relations and dealing with complaints but she kept him for a reason. If nothing else, he did good work and kept shit far from her while she worked. Of course, it did pile up later but that was for later Amelia to worry about.

"I guess we'll have our work cut out for us then. Merlin, all of this is gonna keep us all in the office until Christmas at the earliest." Amelia complained. She was also lamenting the fact she'd have to give up years of investigative work and the chance to prove the guilt and crimes of Lucius Malfoy.

Moody, realizing she was right, slammed his staff into the floor in frustration, eliciting a loud bang through the pub and no shortage of grunts and yelps.

"Damn bloody pests. Can't do a damn thing without pissing on someone's truffles. Give me a Death Eater to take down over this shit show any day. Lest we can hex the bastards into the rut. Instead, the bastards have us running with our trousers down tripping over bureaucratic sludge that ain't even our jurisdiction. We shouldn't have to give two shits over portkeys or the Goblin's backstabbing and slaughtering each other yet the ministry sends us off at the first sign of trouble just to make a statement. To hell with them. Those robe wearing sacks of dung can go plaster their faces on their own billboards if they wanted that! Not come running to us for help after cutting our budget."

Moody paused his rant to take a swig out of his flask, the contents slipping down his chin in his frustration. "The worst thing about all this is those bastards know we were on their bloody tail. Knew we were close to finding a mark. I swear somewhere in this shit show of a bloody mess of a day, one of them bastards had their slippery fingers involved in this just to get us off their backs."

Alastor ignored the looks he garnered from the inhabitants of the bar and Amelia and instead just sat down at the first empty table he saw. Pulling out his flask he took another swig and heaved a heavy grunt as he flexed his good leg. The day's events were starting to make him sore which did nothing to help his mood.

As his mood was at its worst, his eyes swiveled about and he regained some of his composure with professional practice. Even as he got even moodier.

Moody grunted and looked at Amelia. "Looks like we have more trouble." He muttered while reapplying a firmer grip on his staff. Amelia looked at his eye and saw it looking toward his shoulder with a glare looking behind him saw the tall black-haired man that was approaching them with confidence in his step.

"Miss Tonks, what a pleasant surprise."

The words and approach of the mysterious black-haired man caught both Amelia and Moody slightly off foot as they hadn't expected their youngest to know this stranger. What's more, the man had an eerily familiar appearance to a skilled Auror who was currently dead.

Amelia raises an eyebrow in curiosity, while Tonks spewed out her coffee, which she had just picked up upon seeing him. Harry chuckles at the poor woman's shock. Her surprise wasn't without reason, after all, he was supposed to be at Hogwarts.

"Nice to see you are doing well. How is your father? I've been so busy as of late, I haven't been able to ask him how far along in his search he is." Harry stated while sitting down on a stool he pulled with him from the table next to them.

"I'm sorry, but this is quite rude of you to just join us without so much as an invitation. I don't know who you are, but I ask that you leave us." Amelia states, too tired to deal with this brazen youth. That and this man was suspicious and a half. He looked just like James Potter but carried a very different atmosphere around him. Not the confidence or youth or boldness of James. It was a cold, calculated, cunning that was born of experience and confidence. The smile was chilling but not unwelcoming.

It was unsettling, all of it.

Harry's grin turned to a thin line, an expression of seriousness that reminded Amelia of her old Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts and sent a wave of worry down her spine.

From his coat, Harry pulled out a vial from his jacket and with his finger he touched his temple and pulled out a thick long string of silvery mist. Plopping it into the vial and corking it Harry placed it in front of Amelia Bones. Amelia was shocked, not just because of what he did but in that not only did he ignore Alastor's loud warning but continued his actions under wand point without a care in the world.

"In that vial is where you will find evidence to convict Lucius Malfoy of several crimes. Enough to destroy his reputation and render it irreparable."

And that was all she could take. Amelia was left flabbergasted to the point of disbelief.

At first, she was just turned off by the man's brazen and rude behavior, but then she watched him extract memories without a wand, using only his finger to do so. Doubling the shock, he was now telling her that this vial now contained evidence of Lucius Malfoy's crimes.

Alastor raised his staff and shoved it across the table, drawing their attention towards him. "Why should we trust some schmuck who doesn't have half the manners of a house elf? Pretty sure you should make yourself scarce laddie. Smells like a trap Bones. I say we take 'im in."

Harry saw the hostility in the man's eyes but had to smile in appreciation. His poise and aggression were real, threatening to trigger his own hostility in self-defense but having left his legitimacy unhinged from his encounter in the back alleys, he could call the professional hunter on his bluff.

"I don't think I will." Harry replied firmly. "I think I'll stay because I still have some business and as for why you should trust me..." Harry leaned in to stare down the old hunter, "You shouldn't."

Raising his finger Harry pointed it at Moody's staff. "Put that toy away Mad-Eye, before you ruin the nice bar room."

"Put it down Alastor." Amelia commanded, having seen what magic this young man could achieve even without a wand. That finger might as well be loaded. Alastor looked at her but seeing the glare he did as she told him, though with a disgruntled grumble. "I don't know who you think you are, but memories aren't viable in any trial let alone of any use to us." Amelia informed the man before her, not too trusting of the unknown individual.

"That's where you're wrong." Harry countered pointing at the vial. "Those memories aren't so you have evidence, it's so you can get to the evidence." Harry corrected, picking up the vial.

"A certain individual you have been chasing the coattails of for about a month now, has all his incriminating evidence hidden away. Without knowing where it's located, you'll never find it even if you raided this person. This vial tells you how to gain access to his more dubious activities. Any evidence you find during the raid, is completely viable in court or am I wrong in the assumption?"

Amelia paused as she took in his words. "How do I know what is in here is legitimate?"

"You don't." Harry replied.

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" Amelia asked.

"You don't." Harry replied again lazily.

"Why should I trust anything within this vial."

"Because I know it to be true." Harry replied. "And should you believe, you will have everything you need to take down the bastard before he could slip away?"

"How do you know this evidence will still be there by the time we can perform a raid." Amelia asked.

"Because there is too much to be moved. Most of it can be kept hidden and only one or two items would have left traces that could be hunted down. Those items are no longer there, but other such things like the skulls and leftovers of magical rituals... those aren't easily moved." Harry's grin turned vicious. "Nor can ongoing rituals too."

"What do you gain from this?" Amelia asked. She knew she was dealing with a snake. The man before her was just like Malfoy in many regards, illusive, evasive, and curt in his words. Yet her experience was telling her they weren't cut from the same cloth.

Harry smiled for the first time since they began talking business. Holding up three fingers Harry spoke, "Three things." Counting down as he went, he held his hand as each finger counted down his demands. "One, I want you to perform the raid in exactly three days. In exchange for this lead towards the desired evidence I want you to raid his mansion in three days. Secondly, I want you to keep away from the investigation currently underway by one Ted Tonks. And lastly, I want you to arrange a meeting between Sirius Black and Harry James Potter."

Amelia's eyes shot wide and narrowed in on the man. "Why would you want that?" For the first two, she could conjure some ideas of why he'd want her to agree to. The first was control, the man clearly had plans and he didn't want her raid to interfere. That or he wanted a distraction so he could act with impunity while the raid happened. The second she could assume was again him wanting some control over a case but she didn't know what case Ted Tonks was investigating at the moment. A glance at her youngest Auror told her whatever it was, was big and that she needed work on keeping a poker face. The third request however made no sense, except for one clear idea.

"You want to give Black a chance to finish the job he started!?" she accused her own emotions getting ahead of her.

"Black is innocent." Harry rebuffed.

"He was tried and convicted for the murder of Lily and James Potter!"

"He didn't kill them."

He betrayed them. He was their secret keeper."

"Says who?" Harry countered.

Growing annoyed Amelia retorted, "He was witnessed murdering twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew!"

Harry paused for a moment and sighed sadly. In a voice that almost sounded defeated Harry sighed, "All that was left was a finger, right?"

Amelia, seeing the calm man almost shrivel up, nodded. It wasn't defeated, he just looked sad... disappointed. Slowly the man backed away a bit. Watching the man's odd behavior she saw no reason to trust him. There was no way she could allow Harry Potter to meet with Sirius Black.

"May I borrow your fork?" Harry asked.

"um, excuse you?" Amelia asked flatfooted. Did he just ask for a fork?

"May I borrow your fork?" Harry asked this time wandlessly lifting her fork before she could reply.

Amelia watched as her fork wandlessly floated into his hand without waiting for her to respond. She watched as he took the fork and in his hand melted it into a goop of metal which pooled onto the wood table. She watched the metal reform as he stabbed it with his own fork and it reshaped around it into a sharp razor edge akin to a guillotine blade.

Before she or Moody, or anyone knew it, they all watched as Harry raised the knife and slammed it down on his finger. Blood splattered everywhere and took both experienced Aurors by surprise. Tonks shrieked out at the sight but bit her lip when Harry sent a cold glare at her. Yet this wasn't what surprised Amelia the most. It was that the man ignored the injury and let go of the newly made blade, picking up the finger and handing it to her as if he felt nothing at all.

"Just, a finger." Harry replied knowingly.

Amelia could only stare in shock as suddenly pieces were clicking, leaving her mind racing to find a counterargument.

"Are you bloody insane laddie!?" Alastor asked, rising up to either mend or attack the individual before him. So dismayed that he completely failed to take account of his apprentice's response.

Shocked at the lad's commitment to proving Amelia and himself wrong. Shocked at the lack of hesitation in his actions. The calm disregard for his own life. The lack of evidence of any pain or suffering in his demeanor. The whole bar was in shock and uproar at what he had done in front of them.

His outburst pulled Amelia out of her own stupor. "You need to get that hand treated! Stop the bleeding." Pulling out her wand she was met with his hand.

"No need." Harry said as he summoned his own finger from her hand wandlessly and put it back on his stub of a knuckle. A simple severed finger was child's-play for him. With a soft chant that sounded almost Buddhist to her ear, Harry molded his magic into thin threads within his body. Piece by piece, Harry stitched his severed nerves and blood vessels together. Stitching the bone and muscles next he slowly sewed his flesh together and after five minutes of dumb silence, his finger was firmly reattached.

It was the most shocking display of medical magic anyone present had ever seen, performed wandless and painlessly.

Looking up at the stunned onlookers Harry replied, "I'm no good at healing magic, but stitching a limb back on is as easy for me as breathing for no one knows the relation of the human form to magic as well as I." Turning to glare at Amelia he repeated himself. "Arrange a meeting."

Amelia wasn't sure what to do. This was the last straw. Her day was stressful enough as it was but she had just watched a man cut his finger and stick it back together right in front of her, just to prove a point. A point she had to admit was viable.

Standing up, Harry put his stool away. "Feel free to keep the vial. All I ask is that you comply with my first two requests for now. An arranged meeting can be done later but make sure you raid you-know-who in three days from today, and you stay away and don't interfere with Ted Tonks's investigation."

"Wait!" Amelia shouted standing up. She couldn't let this man leave just yet. Before she could get a word in, the barkeep interjected with the group.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to either leave or get a private room. You lot chopping off fingers and shouting is scaring the other customers."

Harry nodded and smiled shyly. "I can see that." He spared a glance at Amelia and reading her mind knew what she wanted to say. At this moment he had her attention and interest. "I think we'll take you up on that private room offer. What do you say, Madam Bones?"

Seeing his willingness to keep talking Amelia agreed with an affirmation of desiring a private room.

With a quick exchange of gold and an apology for the abuse of his utensils, Harry followed the two Aurors and Nymphadora – trainee - to the private room provided by Tom.

In the small isolated room, Amelia set up a wave of privacy charms along with Alastor as Harry entered. Harry watched with interest as they waved their wands and silently cast the charms that would ensure their discussions remain unheard. With each passing Harry mentally heard and recited each spell they said within their own mines. Silent spells, after all, were only silent to one's ears.

"That should do." Amelia stated, ignoring Moody's grunt behind her.

"Could do with a good ten more..." he grumbled to which Harry chuckled aloud. "I agree, however, time is not on your side." Harry said aloud to Alastor as he slowly turned to face Amelia with a more serious expression. "I happen to be busy today and do not have the freedom of ten more spells."

"Then I'll cut to the chase." Amelia spoke forth. "What were you thinking, cutting your finger off like that?"

"It conveyed my point pretty clearly." Harry stated. "Sirius Black is, in all likelihood, innocent."

"Do you have any proof?" Amelia asked.

"A Witness testimony who has seen Pettigrew alive and well." Harry replied.

"Who?" Amelia demanded. "Pettigrew is dead and there were no witnesses that night."

"I wasn't there that night, no. I have however seen Peter with my own two eyes, alive and well. Who better to attest to his well-being than the man himself?"

"That isn't proof, anyone could claim-" Amelia started but Harry cut her off, "And I can bring Pettigrew in for you, alive and contained."

This sparked Amelia's interest. "If Pettigrew is alive, there is no evidence of him having done any criminal act. Even if he is alive, being alive isn't a crime. While it is suspicious and deserving of questioning, we can't arrest a man who isn't guilty of a crime."

"What about if he's an unregistered animagus?" Harry countered. Amelia did not expect this statement. "The rat is unregistered. Arrest him and charge him. Sirius Black was never tried. Arrest Pettigrew and announce to the world he's alive and that Sirius was never given a trial for the crime. The world will want answers. Potter will make sure they demand answers"

Harry presented them with a piece of paper. "This is a Geass Scroll, a non-lethal absolute binding contract. Whatever is written on this paper, signed by two parties will, not must, will be upheld. There is no law against its use and it isn't bound by blood. This can't incriminate Peter but if you can get him to willingly sign it, you can get him to tell the truth about that night."

"Something like this won't even be applicable in court." Amelia countered, still suspicious of the document. "Does this even work as you say it does?"

Harry smirked. Taking the paper back, Harry pulled out an auto-quill from the shadows of his cloak and let it write a short line.

"You want proof, here you go."

Sliding the paper back to Amelia the parchment had a single line on it.

In exchange for ten sheets of Geass Scrolls, Amelia Susan Bones will strip completely.

xReturn Returner x_

"Are you trying to insult me!" she shouted out enraged at the impotence.

Judging from your reaction, that would prove my point. Harry spun the quill in his hand while ignoring the two wands pointing at his face. "This is an act you will never do, and is practically harmless. I don't care if you sign it, this is for your benefit. Experience trumps all."

The passivity of his words calmed Amelia down somewhat as she glared at the parchment. He wasn't wrong. She would never strip in public like this and not before such a suspicious individual. It would prove the validity of his claims. Still, she had never heard of a Geass Scroll before and wasn't even sure if the parchment was charmed to fulfill such lofty claims. Worse it almost sounded like the Imperious Curse.

"Wouldn't touch it if I were you." Moody stepped in, his eye fixed on the parchment with an angry glare. "Parchment is spelled up all right. Not even Gringotts contracts have this much magic inscribed into it." His eyes rose to focus on Harry, his staff-like wand pointed firmly at him.

"There you go." Harry replied. "Semi-proof of my claim. If you don't trust my word, ask the young trainee." Harry gestured to Nymphadora. "As I said, we are acquainted through her father's work. Both he and I are working on a problem for the Young Heir Potter, a fact that Miss Tonks can attest to."

"Is this true?" Amelia asked. Tonks seized up a bit, uncomfortable by the whole situation. She was still unsure why Harry was here, outside of Hogwarts. She knew he could sneak out but she hadn't expected him to be out today of all days. What's more, he was boldly sitting in front of her boss and just by being here was already making her out to be suspicious just by knowing him.

"I mean, yeah. I know my father was working on a task for him to investigate the possible crimes of-"

Harry slammed his hand on the table drawing three wands towards him. Unconcerned by the wands pointed at him Harry calmly spoke. "No offense to the company you keep, but I don't trust Alastor Moody with that Information, Miss Tonks."

"Oh? Afraid I might not like what you say, boy?" Alastor said with a smirk.

"No." Harry rebutted. "I'm afraid you'll let a criminal get away."

Moody hardened the grip on his staff as his hair stood on end as Harry's magic flowed off him and caused his side of the room to darken slightly in his presence.

"Who are you to think I'd let some criminal get away. Half of Azkaban is full because of me. Let me stun the bastard Bones, he's clearly suspicious."

"Try it and you'll lose everything I'm offering." Harry sniped back, a wild hungry look in his eye and grin.

"Stand down Alastor." Amelia said firmly.

"Come on, I'll blast 'im out before he can so much as mutter a statement." Alastor growled out.

Shooting up, knocking back her chair, Amelia turned to the aged Auror and glared down harshly at him. "I said, to stand. Down."

Alastor looked between her and Harry and, gnashing his teeth in frustration, did as he was told.

Sitting back down she calmed herself and noticed the man too calmed himself and pulled his magic back under control. The room creaked in relief. "I apologize for my silence, Amelia Bones. But the case we are building will be all for nothing if the criminal in question becomes aware of it.

Amelia however surprised Harry by asking for a blank Geass Scroll instead of an explanation. That she could get from her young Auror or from Ted himself.

Harry blinked silently for a good minute, but pulled a spare out of his cloak. Taking the scroll Amelia began to write down on the parchment in an auto ink quill she carried for on-the-field notes. When she was done, she handed the parchment back to Alastor who raised an eye at what was written and smirked a knowing grin at the girl.

"Clever girl, using me as a guinea pig."

When Amelia was done she signed the parchment and shoved it back over to Harry. Taking it and repositioning it so he could read it Harry had to admit this was a creative way of proving his point.

Upon signing, Return Returner will inform those present during the signing of the nature of his work and secure the silence of all present in the meeting.

"You appear sure of this will work so surely you won't have any problem signing it yourself." Amelia stated with a grin.

Harry nodded in agreement. "A few loopholes exist, but I approve of the idea." Putting his pen down and clearing the script with his finger Harry reworded the contract so that it was more clear of what was to be revealed and for how long the silence would be kept. It took a few minutes and after reading it herself with Alastor the two agreed that the scroll was harmless to them and could sign it without concern. All four present signed the contract which amounted to three things. Harry signing with his alter-ego's name could not lie to her about the contents of what he wishes to reveal and similarly the three Aurors would be unable to tell anyone of what they hear unless he himself, Mr. Tonks, or Harry Potter, permit the knowledge to be spoken freely.

Upon its signature, the three turned to Harry and he quickly spoke.

"I am investigating the criminal actions of Albus Dumbledore on the behest of Harry James Potter alongside Edward Tonks. Peter Pettigrew is alive."

Moody was the first to speak abruptly. "You've already said that laddie! Where's the proof? We've had you sign your flimsy paper but that doesn't prove anything.

Harry smirked and pointed to the original parchment before Amelia. "Thus why I wrote something so absurd on the first document." Harry said while picking up the currently signed parchment and stashing it away in his cloak. "I'm well aware of the effects of a Geass Scroll. It is why I'm certain you won't be able to inform that bastard that we are conducting a private investigation into your friend, Mad-eye."

It wasn't missed by anyone that Moody ignored the declaration that Albus was involved in a criminal act. That was a shocking statement and a half but the fact still couldn't quite stick. It was hard to imagine Albus Dumbledore as a criminal. Sure he skirted the law, she knew it was frustrating to work with the man as he ran to the beat of his own drum but it didn't feel real.

Amelia sat there contemplating the parchment before her. There was no way this could work. First, she had never heard of such a contract before. Yet the man before her appeared completely confident in the magic at work. While Moody was spawning words of discontent in defense of Albus, Amelia took up the pen.

"Girl what are you!?"

Mad-eye cut his rants short as he stared in disbelief as Amelia signed her name to the initial parchment. The one he showed them first and had been left unsigned.

Harry and Moody just stared at her with looks of surprise.

When nothing seemed to happen, with a triumphant grunt Mad-eye snorted out, "Well, think it's funny wasting our time laddie?"

However, Harry didn't miss the reason why nothing was happening. Pulling out ten sheets of blank parchment Harry handed it over to Amelia Bones. "Ten sheets." he said simply.

To the room's surprise. Suddenly Amelia stood up and started stripping, both to her shock and her associates. Her robe was the first to go and fall to the floor, pooling around her feet.

"What do you think you're doing girl!?" Mad-eye exclaimed his eye whirling between her and the Man he was starting to suspect was an actual threat.

"She's stripping herself of her clothes." Harry answered keeping his eye on Moody while Nym stared at the absurdity of her boss stripping in front of them. Amelia was surprised at the ease at which she removed her clothes. She understood that she shouldn't but a sense of pride she recognized was telling her to uphold her end of the deal. Her conscience was telling her this was the right thing to do, that not doing so would make her a liar, and betray her ideals. It was a feeling that was natural and what's more was very different from the Imperious Curse. Under the curse, everything would feel good, right, and perfect. Yet this magic didn't strip her of her thoughts or awareness. It simply gave reason as to why she was stripping and dulled the insecurities that argued against her. They were still there, but she couldn't force herself against them. Rather, every inch of her soul was telling her this was right.

Little did she know, she wasn't wrong. Harry did though. The contract was soul-binding. It was a pact of action and rejecting or resisting while possible, would do harm to one's soul as it struggled against the bindings. He didn't lie as there was no blood involved.

With the last belt and button on her uniform removed the constricting leather opened up to reveal equally professional evening wear. A black evening dress lined with silver buttons matching her exterior uniform. As the last silver button popped from her dress her undergarments composed of a matching set of purple muggle-ware became apparent. Even with a strip of red across her brow, Amelia also stripped from these to reveal the skin and form of someone ten years younger than her age would imply. In fact, Harry could tell she was reaping the benefits of his alchemical elixir. If Harry had to guess, judging from the effects he could see, she was reacting quite well to the potion. For someone nearing forty or fifty years in age, she appeared to have the body of a late twenty or early thirty-year-old.

Her skin was flush, a peachy white with small hints of scarring from years in the field. What scarring existed was faded and not naturally, rather Harry wagered they were quite prominent before taking his potion, and were fading like a transition scene as the potion healed over the wounds consuming them.

"Do you believe me now?" Harry asked much to her embarrassment and amazement. Amelia hadn't believed him but now she did. Having stripped herself out of her clothing, even in hindsight she couldn't believe how effective the document was in ensuring the deal was made. Even now after the fact she couldn't argue against stripping before them even as a small part of her argued she should have. What's more, had the wording been different, say only tell the truth before the court, Amelia was sure she would never make the connection that she told the truth due to this slip of paper.

"It.. is clearly different from the Imperious Curse. I couldn't fight it. No, I didn't fight it. I just did." Amelia stated, picking up her clothes from the ground without much haste or concern. She was more concerned with dissecting the magic that affected her.

"That is because you agreed to it. The Geass scroll only works when compliance is written. The signer must choose to agree. The Imperious Curse doesn't care if the recipient complies thus there is discord between action and choice. Thus why it can be resisted. The scroll doesn't force you to strip, only ensure you strip as your signing shows you agreed to do so. And unlike a curse or vow, the contract is sustained by both parties and as such ensures those in the pact can't betray it. It didn't compel you to strip, rather, it helped you ignore the reasons why you shouldn't so that you would commit."

Amelia frowned at that. "So like the curse you could force me to kill with this."

"Possible but not in the way you're thinking." Harry replied. "It can only compel someone to murder if they agree to murder. Unlike the imperious curse, signing this would result in someone killing only if they themselves were okay with killing. You felt the reasons for not stripping in your mind but ignored them. The scroll only increased the will to strip, in no part did it force you to. Murder is the same. If one is staunchly against murder then the scroll will dull the reason to not murder. So long as there is the slightest reason why one would murder the contract will uphold. The drive to murder, or strip in this case, was entirely yours." Harry explained. "This isn't mind control, rather it's closer to mind temperance. A slight numbing of thoughts that would betray the contract, a reshaping of pride and honor one could say."

"So this could compel someone to speak the truth in a court session." Amelia said aloud, putting on her dress and buttoning it up.

"Play to Pettigrew's fears. Tell him Sirius never got a trial, that he broke free. Ask him to speak to the court, to speak the truth and sign an agreement of lawful protection in exchange for the truth. Lawful protection after all doesn't apply to criminals. It doesn't need to be the truth, he just needs to be uninformed enough to think it is."

"He'll believe he's condemning Sirius Black, but by signing the contract he'd be forced to tell the truth of the events of that night. Even if it condemns him. He'll sign it thinking he can lie, when in reality he will speak to his own detriment." Harry continued on.

"And this is your desire." Amelia asked.

"Yes and no. Yes, I desire this, but I'm not the only one." Harry answered.

"Mr. Potter as well." Amelia conjectured.

"I act in his will after all." Harry said with a grin. The sneaky loophole of truth that even the scroll couldn't prevent was utilized perfectly to conceal his identity.

With her answer, Amelia sighed in response.

"This is what you want. Pettigrew's capture and trial along with one for Sirius Black." Amelia asked.

"No." Harry answered, surprising everyone. "I said I wanted three things in return for giving you the assistance you sorely lack. Those memories that tell you how to find Lucius Malfoy's darkest secrets. Three things."

" You wanted us to perform the raid on Lucius in three days, to not give away your investigation on Albus Dumbledore, and to arrange a meeting between Sirius Black and Harry Potter." Amelia listed off.

"Very impressive Madam Bones. You even included specifically who I was investigating." Harry said with approval.

"I can arrange the aforementioned, but why three days and why Dumbledore?"

"The short answer, I plan on legally and systematically breaking down Lucius's economic empire." Harry replied. "A job I was tasked to do by Harry Potter."

Harry Potter? This reveal was almost as shocking as everything else tonight. The finger, the scroll, Pettigrew, and now Harry Potter. "What exactly does Mr. Potter plan on doing?"

"Ask him." Harry said with a chuckle. "I am simply buying out shops associated with good ol' Lucius and helping legitimate businesses out of their contracts with him. A process that will become noticed in a few days. Thus why I asked you to give our good pal a well-needed distraction."

"A raid." Amelia answered.

"With a side of criminal arrests." Harry added. "If left unattended, Lucius could notice and start a counterplay that would prolong our goals. So long as you raid him in three days, he'll be too focused on his defense to see what I'm doing to his empire."

"His empire?" Amelia asked with a mockingly raised eyebrow.

"Yes, Lucius's wealth is built on a massive empire of one-sided contracts, businesses, and criminal activities. In the next three days as I was requested to, I intend to buy, trade, and free the business under Lucius's control and stamp out those that are criminals through legal purchases. That will leave him with only the criminal element and his pocket money to sustain him. By making his crimes as publicly known and who he associates with you can remove his ability to recover from his more illegitimate businesses, shut them down, and at best imprison him for life. At worst, strip him of his personal wealth buying himself out of trouble." Harry explained happily.

"Smart."

Everyone turned to Moody who was snickering to himself. "You don't expect us to actually catch the bastard. You want us to distract him and force him into a trial to remove the criminal scum's faith in him. In the process, you'd strip him of his fame and his coin in one fell swoop."

"Business is constructed on trust. Criminals conduct business via trust and weighted risk. With a public reveal and massive investigation, Lucius Malfoy will lose his influence in the criminal underground."

"All the while you buy out his more legitimate claims, and take away his ability to sustain his own wealth." Alastor comments.

Harry grinned smugly. "With the amount of evidence you can find via those memories, Lucius will have to spend a generation's worth of gold just to stay free. The fines alone would bankrupt him, and that's assuming the court doesn't save face and betray him.

"And all this is legal you say?" Amelia asked with no shortage of doubt.

"Investigate at your leisure if you wish." Harry countered. A knock at the door drew their attention away from him, and Harry could hear Ginny saying it was time within her mind. Standing up Harry apologized, "Forgive me but my time is up. I have a prior meeting scheduled so do excuse me."

As he went to leave, Amelia stretched out her hand before him. "One thing. Why do you think Albus is a criminal?" Mad-eye and Tonks looked at him, one with interest the other knowingly.

"Meet with Harry Potter." Harry said, turning to face her with sad eyes. "Ask him what he is, and ask yourself who in the magical world is responsible for placing him in the muggle world."

With that cryptic message Harry opened the door and smiled at the adult Ginny. "Oh, one more thing." Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak. "Fun fact, I am in possession of a special invisibility cloak."

Wrapping himself and Ginny in the cloak they vanished before their eyes, including Moody's.

"That ruddy bastard." Alastor said slowly in dismay.

"Alastor?" Amelia asked, confused by the disbelief in the man's voice.

"You know my eye can see through Invisibility Cloaks... I can't see him." Moody admitted.

The three stared at each other and Amelia was the first to speak up. Picking up the Geass scrolls and the one she signed she gave her orders. "Alastor, when we're done with our current work, find out what you can about this Return Returner. Cadet Tonks, I want you to inform your father I wish to speak with him and also to meet me in my office. You have some things to explain to me."

Nymphadora swallowed and nodded. "Y-yes ma'am."

"When we get back to the office you're going to spill everything you can about that man." Amelia chillingly stated. Tonks gulped as her long day was about to become longer.

Outside and well on their way back to Hogwarts, Ginny was informed of what had happened inside the room.

"Bloody hell Harry. You stripped the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement!"

"No, I signed a Geass scroll that compelled her to strip."

Ginny gave a sneaky grin. "Did you enjoy it?" she asked while elbowing his ribs. Harry laughed. "Down girl. I'll admit she looked good for her age. Seriously Ginny, why are you so thirsty?"

Ginny just frowned and scowled at him. "Harry, we both know the reason why."

Harry didn't expect to hear that, as her meaning started to click in his head. "Wait, as in that? Aren't you a bit young?"

"Didn't you also lose it near Halloween?" Ginny rebutted. "I've heard about how the troll was found as a mound of paste."

Pausing Harry recalled how his magic went wild that night both in charms and during the fight with the troll. Nodding, he agreed. "Fair point."

Smiling again Ginny nodded, "I'm hoping you'll help me out some time Harry. God knows I don't have a troll nearby to let loose on."

"Or a chaser." Harry muttered under his breath as he remembered Katie.

Ginny pulled at his ear causing him to wince. "Who is she and what did you do?" Ginny had heard him and knew he did something. Having learned the shocking details of MUK herself, she knew Harry, who was incredibly powerful, must have done something with someone when she wasn't in Hogwarts.

"Katie in the locker room." Harry answered, pulling her hand off his ear. "I wasn't hiding it and I'll tell you about it if you want."

"What, so you weren't keeping secrets from me about cheating with the hot older sexy chaser?" Ginny said without a hint of bite.

"No, and you know I will never cheat on you. Katie Bell, oral sex, no penetration, last year." Harry stated a matter of factly. "And what do you mean by hot and sexy?"

"Are you saying she's not attractive?" Ginny deflected.

"I'm a passive legilimens Gin. At this distance, I know what you were thinking and feeling."

Blushing Ginny pouted. "Okay, I find her hot and sexy. There." Harry chuckled.

"I won't ever lie to you Ginny. We've been through too much to lie to each other." Harry replied, seeing through her concerns. "Withhold info if I think it's necessary, yes, but lie..." He paused before adding sadly. "never intentionally."

Ginny smirked warmly at him. "I know, but I don't like lying to Hermione. She should know too."

"No, she shouldn't." Harry countered quickly. "She doesn't have the memories of the future, our past. I won't influence her fate by telling her. She should live how she wants to. I'll express my love as best I can, if she loves me I will love her as I do you. But if she wants to be with someone else that's fine too. So long as you both are alive and happy I will carry on as I do what I have to do."

Harry stopped in mid-step as he looked at Ginny. "Speaking of which, you should head on back to school. I still have something I need to do."

"Really? Where?" Ginny asked.

"Nymph's place." Harry said with a mirthful chuckle. "You wouldn't believe how hot and bothered she was in there. I let my temper get the better of me in the pub and she flat-out turned as red as your hair. I should apologize for that but I also have to inform Ted about what Bones is likely going to do and what we'll be doing too."

"Oooh?" Ginny hummed with a grin of her own. "You're telling me she got all hot and bothered by you letting go." Harry could almost laugh at how that was the first thing Ginny cared about. Forget the plots and plans, clearly, sex was more important. Not that he could blame her. Even though they both thought it, Harry knew she was just as hungry as Tonks was.

Harry shrugged. "That, and to be fair, she's under a lot of stress which after listening to their thoughts, both of us are technically responsible for. Poor girl has been overstressed for two months now and we just made three big commotions that have pushed her over the edge."

"And so Harry Potter's going to swoop in and save the damsel in distress." Ginny heckled with a rising grin. "That sounds so like you. Fine. You can do that, except I want one thing."

"And what's that?" Harry asked.

Abruptly Ginny grabbed Harry by the collar and pushed him against the wall of the alley they were passing through. Caught off guard but unconcerned Harry looked at Ginny's gaze as she smiled at him slyly.

"Red, what are you-" Harry asked but stopped as Ginny put a finger over his lips.

"I'm sure you can tell what I'm thinking. There aren't that many people around." she said while sneaking her hand around his waist slipping her nimble fingers around his back. Harry caught on and smiled too, "Well then, what are you waiting for?"

A flash of red sparked behind Harry flying down the alley and fading into the shadows as the silent spell hit its mark. Ginny pulled away from Harry with a grin that reached ear to ear. She looked at him with pride in her work expecting words of praise. Praise, Harry was ready to give. For the first time, Ginny spotted a threat before he did.

Even with the raging headache, he was trying his best to ignore, he shouldn't have kept his legilimency blocked off. Even if it pained him, London's alleys being no less populated then its streets legilimency wise he shouldn't have dropped his first line of defense. Had there been hostility his combat gained sixth sense would have warned him. However, there was no hostile intent in those shadows and so no warning for him to pick up on. But Ginny did notice and even more so she played a role that dropped their guard perfectly.

"You've been holding out on me Red. When did you learn to silently cast a stunner that dim?" Harry proudly asked with amusement.

"Two days ago. I was planning to show it off to you during our next sparring session. You know, finally catch you off guard." Ginny admitted.

Harry smiled at her before refocusing his attention toward the culprit that had been trailing them. Stepping into the shadows of the building the light of day faded away to reveal the cloaked persona collapsed in the alley.

"Wizard." Harry muttered. No one in modern London wore cloaks, period. This was a wizard, someone from the magical community.

"Harry!" Ginny whispered out with urgency. Harry looked toward where she was pointing and bit back a hiss of anger. On his arm was a death eater's mark. Harry's mind raced through all possibilities he could think of but each time he thought back to his encounter with Lucius Malfoy.

No. Harry shook his head rejecting the idea. Yes, he tried to follow him but Lucius had lost sight of him and had more important things to do. This was someone else.

"What should we do?" Ginny asked, looking at him seeking confirmation. Harry didn't answer. He was in muggle London, outside of the boundaries of wizarding England. He couldn't afford to use magic here to get rid of the body. Ginny's stunner was wandless and well-controlled. Small enough and momentary enough that the ministry wouldn't notice it with them this close to Diagon Alley. The ambient magic would evade their detection. Him erasing the corpse from existence without causing a scene would be much more noticeable visibly and magically.

In his silence, Ginny spoke up. "We should take him with us." she said aloud. To which Harry could only look at her aghast. He could understand her acceptance of taking a life, both of them endured the war and she knew what he had endured. She wasn't one hundred percent okay with it, she was still unsettled with killing but her suggesting they take a prisoner and kidnap their tail had caught him completely off guard.

"He's a marked Death Eater, Harry. I know you were thinking of whether or not you should kill him or leave him here, but that's a waste right?"

Harry nodded his head in confirmation. He couldn't argue with the logic and taking it with them would solve both problems of keeping themselves secret and removing the evidence of them being tailed.

"Just so I know I heard you right. You're suggesting we bring him with us?" Harry asks, still a little surprised. "And afterwards then what?"

Ginny paused at this but quickly retorted, "It isn't like you can't keep him knocked out right? Between your magic and potions I'm sure you can do it, and it's not like you'll get a better subject." Ginny argued, pushing her position. "They have the mark Harry. If you are hesitant, you can just read their mind and make up yours, right?"

Harry shrugged as he couldn't argue that. Reading a person's memories was easier to achieve when they were asleep or unconscious. Less noise interference. Stepping toward the body Harry placed his hand on their head and did what he did best. It took only a second.

A flash of leather zipping past his vision. Flecks of red dot his vision. A joyous laughter sounds loudly over the cry of mercy. Belt buckles digging into wrists. Hard wood cracks under the strain of resistance. A mother cries out, begging reverberates in the bedroom only to meet deaf ears. A smoothie of white and red trails down her immobile legs. A whimper then silence follows as the child becomes unresponsive. An Echo of glee penetrates his mind.

Harry's eyes hardened as he opened them up. Ginny could see the anger in them and the promise within them. Harry wasn't going to let this one die, not painlessly in any case.

"I swear every one of these marked bastards." Harry cursed under his breath. Stepping back to take a breath. He was mistaken, this bitch wasn't worth any kindness. Reading the minds of others was usually an outer body experience, one wouldn't normally experience what the person actually went through unless a strong emotion of feeling overtook everything else.

Not even Snape's darkest memories held such a strong emotion that overwrote everything else about the memory. This bastard, no... correction, this bitch however... it was glee, she took unspeakable joy and pleasure at the torture of another. So much so that Harry couldn't almost feel the emotions of her victims within the memory. Taking a step back Harry took a deep breath. Three deep breaths to distance himself from his own wrath. He knew what he was going to do. What would happen if he took her with them? He would have no hesitation in whatever use he had for her. She would likely not die, he wouldn't allow it.

Taking one more breath Harry asked, "I'm not arguing my ability to do that Red, and I'm not saying it wouldn't be productive or beneficial. It's just," Harry had to pause and take a deep breath, "Gin... are you really okay with that? You're all but telling me to kidnap this bitch and use her until there is nothing left but an empty shell. You know that right?"

Ginny stepped forward into his eyes without a hint of that fire in her eyes fading. She kissed him. A loving and caring kiss.

Slowly she pulled back from him. "I know... but, you told me what happened after I died. I remember what these monsters did to Harry, before you stopped Tom. I remember when you left Hogwarts to stop him. I remember the three of you coming back after that. Hurt, hunted, scared... Harry... I don't want that future to happen." Ginny said the pain from the memory was still fresh in her eyes as she teared up at Harry. "This guy is marked, that means he supports Tom and his ideals? I know it may be inhumane," she took her own deep breath, "but I won't let these monsters take another brother from me, not again. I'm not the young starry-eyed girl who dreamed of the best world. Do what you need to and if you go astray, I'll curse you and drag you back to me" She declared while thoughts of that morbid result drew forth a rush of tears to her eyes.

Ginny's sorrow was silenced as Harry kissed her deeply, passionately. Ginny melted into it, her fear and worries vanishing in the wake of his lips. When they separated Harry tightened his arms around her twenty-one-year-old self and sheltered her in his arms. "I understand Gin." Harry said simply.

Turning to the body of the unconscious death eater he knew what he would do with the monster before them. Ever since he started researching bloodlines and magic, Harry had been playing around with an idea in the back of his mind. A way to redefine the bloodlines of magic while simultaneously empowering the weakening magic of the wizarding community.

Stepping back from Ginny, Harry looked into her eyes asking for her assistance. "Can you use a cutting charm?" Ginny nodded. Stretching out his hand Harry spoke, "Tangere Vitam". Within his hand floated a transparent loop of string materialized. The white-ish strand coiled around Harry's wrist and a threat floated out and met a red strand that flowed up from the unconscious body. When the white and red threads met, they bled into each other and Harry looked at Ginny pointing to the red cord. "Can you cut it for me?"

Ginny nodded and performed a cutting curse on it, splitting the cord in two. Harry thanked her and removed his robe. He flung it out and shrouded the body before quickly pulling it off to reveal its relocation had been completed.

"I won't have you complicit in murder Gin. Not if I can help it." Harry muttered. "But your right. We need every advantage we can get. Gin... I won't kill them. Not all of them. Death is too kind of a fate for some of the bastards. I know you don't know what I'm capable of, but after this, I know our relationship will change forever."

"It won't!" Ginny spit out with conviction. Looking down at an incensed redhead Harry had to step back a bit in the face of her commitment. "Harry! I won't leave you again. I won't!" she almost shouted out in outrage but held back to a dull roar that was no less potent.

"I know." Harry said, turning around after putting his cloak on. "But I can't help but worry."

Ginny froze for a second. "Then I'll show you. With time you'll see. I won't lose you again Harry. I won't leave you ever again. I won't let you walk down this path without help again all alone."

Alone.

The word was so nostalgic. He had been alone for so long. Harry's warm smile returned as he nodded, reassured by Ginny's words. He couldn't help not feeling this way, but he knew Ginny wouldn't leave him again. If he went too far, she would stop and tell him. She also wouldn't let him stop either. She would keep pushing him forward so that he never hesitated again.

Looking at her again he smiled softly. "Let's go. We have classes to prepare for tomorrow." Harry stated.

Ginny nodded in agreement but a smirk fluttered over her knowing gaze. "But before that, you have someone you have to apologize to tonight."

Harry ignored her in favor of keeping his features firmly neutral. While Ginny laughed at him knowingly he could only hope he could make it up to Tonks for putting her in a tough position. He'd check in with her father first but then he'd have to make it up to her.

oOoOo

Tonks was having a bad day. A really bad day. Everything was going great until now. She had been accepted for an apprenticeship with The Alastor Moody. She, a nobody greenhorn graduate who should have been thrown into the Auror academy like the majority of applicants somehow impressed the most impressive Auror to ever live in England. Under his tutelage, she was on the fast track to a career as a true Auror.

As a trainee, she skipped the mandatory one year of Bootcamp and was already gaining live experience. She was about to make enough galleons to afford an apartment of her own and move out from her parents. Her skills in potions and stealth were becoming better and better with each passing day thanks to the advice of her pseudo-trainer who not only was the closest person to a best friend she ever had but who also made her feel accepted in her own skin and didn't suck up to her skills.

Everything was looking great and then everything went to hell.

The whole day was a nightmare. Sure it was long and tough, but she took it in stride treating the numerous disasters occurring well enough. Even Alastor wasn't bothering to hide how shitty the events transpiring were and was very vocal about it. The man who always shouted to be constantly vigilant at every available moment when someone dropped their guard for any reason.

But all of that didn't matter to her. Tonks knew the job would be stressful and have long hours. She could deal with that. Being interrogated by her boss was not something she could handle.

"Damn you Harry."

Showing up wasn't a problem. Throwing her name out there and informing her boss that she knew him was. Why did she have to suffer six hours from both of her bosses? Alastor practically grilled her with his wand halfway down her throat while Amelia's glare shaved off half of her weight in sweat.

Everything else she could handle. Dealing with the job and the stress of her bosses grilling her for info while already at the breaking point of stress from months of work, was not.

She needed to curse something. She really needed to curse Harry. Damn that brat.

"Nymphadora, welcome home dear."

Tonks gritted her teeth a little tighter. Her mother was the last thing she wanted to deal with. Biting her tongue she simply filled up a cup of juice and ignored her.

Andromeda didn't miss that her daughter was more uptight than usual. "Rough day."

Letting out a refreshing gasp of air after chucking the sweet beverage Tonks groaned in response. "If by rough you mean as smooth as a mountain troll's arse then yes. Rough day." Tonks complained.

"Language dear. I didn't raise you to be so crass. And in that regard you and your father are alike."

"What? What happened with dad?" Tonks asked surprised though she would have realized it had she thought about it.

"Your father was called into Gringotts today. Apparently they're undergoing some... changes with personnel." Andromeda contemplated seeing as she wasn't quite sure how to describe the coup d'etat that Ted had informed her about.

"Yeah well, I had to negotiate with those buggers while the negotiator was still wet with blood." Tonks complained.

Andromeda walked around the dining table into the kitchen to wrap her arms around her daughter. For the first time in a long while, Nymphadora didn't resist and melted into the embrace. The mother of one could only smile sadly at how exhausted and frustrated her daughter clearly was.

Andromeda calmly stroked her daughter's head. It was rare to see her daughter in such a state and while she welcomed it she still wished she never had to see it. As she calmed Nymphadora down she listened to her explain away her day.

After about an hour of talking, she finally reached the moment when they entered the bar. "And to make matters worse, Harry showed up in the pub while I was with the boss. He just showed up, dropped my name and made everything worse! He bleeding cut off his own finger to prove a point like a madman."

"He did what!?" Andromeda shrieked.

"He cut off his finger saying it was proof that Black was innocent."

Andromeda stopped stroking her daughter upon hearing this. Pulling her daughter's eyes up to her she seriously demanded, "Tell me exactly what happened."

"Harry was disguised as his twenty-year-old self and said he wanted the Bones to make an appointment for him and Sirius Black to meet. She said he was a criminal and would never let the two meet. Harry argued otherwise and then cut his finger saying that it was proof and to make the appointment."

"His finger. He cut off his finger..." Andromeda muttered in shock upon the rationale hitting her. Sirius, her cousin, could be completely innocent of the crime. It still left many questions unanswered like why he was deranged upon being arrested or why he was even there at all. But the possibility was there. A different explanation for the events of that fateful night.

Nymphadora continued on, oblivious to her mother's inner turmoil. "Yeah, then he just stuck it back on his hand and it healed like nothing happened. Even Alastor was wondering if he was a vampire or something... Mum?

Andromeda broke from her revelation as her daughter stopped talking, noticing the paled and hopeful look on her mother's face. "Is something wrong?" she asked to which Andromeda could only smile.

"No dear. I just need to discuss with your father and Harry about a bit of family history."

Tonks snorted. "Well the next time I see Harry I'm going to curse his arse so hard that he won't be able to walk straight for a year.

Right on time, Harry and Ted stepped out of the office, the two had just finished talking with each other. "Thanks again Mr. Tonks."

"Just Ted Harry, and I'm thankful you came to inform me."

"YOU!"

Both Ted and Harry turn to face the ravenous blood red haired girl charging at them. In a split instant, Nymphadora had jumped over the table separating them from her and drew her wand. Harry had a split second to spot the wand, draw his own, and run for his life.

The red stunner flashed brilliantly before scorching the wall leaving behind a black scar of burnt pastel wallpaper. Without a word Harry smiled and tore through the house with Nymphadora hot on his heels.

"Get back here Pot-AHH!"

Tripping over the chair Harry took the chance and kept running while an irritated and clearly embarrassed adult was behind him. With a sore face and an enraged embarrassment behind her, Nymphadore screamed after him, "I'm gonna kill you Potter!"

"Nymphadora Tonks! You will not be killing anyone in this house, young lady!" Andromeda shouted out at her before being stopped by her husband.

"We'll let this one slide dear." He said as he massaged her shoulders to keep her from giving chase after her daughter. "She's had a long day, and I believe ours is gonna be tomorrow." The loud bang of a door being blasted off its hinges drew the couple's eyes upwards. "Plus I think we should be more worried for the house than Harry."

Andromeda huffed. "I'm not worried about Harry dear. He has already shown he can handle our little girl. Though I am worried about whether our home will survive."

"Why dear, I thought you had more confidence in your own magical talents." He retorted with a mocking chuckle, alluding to her skill in performing the repairing charm. "The house will be fine. Anything broken can be repaired and you can properly punish our little firecracker when she's cooled off."

Taking a minute to think, while ignoring the sound of bookshelves and cutlery shattering Andromeda signed and nodded hesitantly. "So what was so important that Harry had to talk to you about so late in the year?"

Ted's eyes gained a heavy overshadow as he looked down and away from his wife. "He told me a great deal of things. Including your cousin."

"Sirius could be innocent." Andromeda said with a slight tremble in her voice. Ted nodded.

"Nymphadora told you that I guess."

"She did. What she implied means that-"

"Pettigrew is alive."

"Do you believe him? Harry I mean. Is it possible that Pettigrew is alive?"

"He's alive." Ted said with a weighty assurance.

Andromeda turned to see her husband's calculated expression deep in thought. "Harry showed me a map. A family heirloom he called it. It displayed the location of every person within Hogwarts. Peter's name was there. He told me his hypothesis. In hindsight, it makes sense."

"Peter cutting his finger off and hiding from Sirius?"

Ted shook his head. "That and that he is an unregistered animagus."

Ignoring her wife's surprise, Ted continued. "It's unbelievable to think, but it makes sense. I mean, the Pettigrew I knew wasn't skilled enough to become an animagus."

"He wasn't" Andromeda pitched in, "but those three boys he was always with definitely could."

Ted nodded in agreement. He thought the same. "James had a true talent for Transfiguration. Remus Lupin was extremely smart and could probably figure it out."

"And if Sirius put his back into it he too could learn it easily." Andromeda admitted, "If they helped him, even Pettigrew could do it. It makes far more sense than Sirius betraying James. Plus I know of no spell that could obliterate Peter yet leave behind only a finger. Nor can I imagine one. My cousin was good. A talented wizard, but I doubt he was skilled enough to perform magic that not even the Black family's library didn't possess. I mean I could be wrong... but this alternative..."

Andromeda trailed off depressingly as she held tight to the lingering hope that Harry was right. Ted didn't comfort her but continued on as like her he felt this new possibility was far more plausible than the truth they had been told.

"Meanwhile cutting his finger off and transforming into a rat sounds far more plausible than your cousin betraying the Potters." Ted stated, his mind still coming to grips with the possibility that an innocent man was in Azkaban for over ten years.

Andromeda watched her husband and felt a frown grow as she realized he was worried about something else. "There's more isn't there."

Ted stayed silent but then nodded. "He didn't have any proof but Harry asked me for advice about a potential problem."

"With what?"

"Dumbledore." Ted answered before correcting himself. "Actually, Hogwarts in general."

Andromeda waited for him to continue, remaining silent as Ted gathered his thoughts. "Harry told me he suspects that something big is going to happen this year. He didn't tell me how, but he learned that Lucius Malfoy planted a dark artifact in the school and that it will likely become a problem."

"What kind of problem?" Andromeda demanded, concern and curiosity clearly discernible in her tone.

"A repeat of fifty years ago. Harry thinks this artifact could open the Chamber of Secrets."

Andromeda grew pale as she heard this. She had heard the legend like so many others. She also knew that fifty years ago, a girl died in Hogwarts when the chamber was proclaimed to be opened. "Is there any proof of this claim?" Ted shook his head.

"None. At least nothing that would hold up in court or provoke preventative action. Still, Harry is worried enough that it will happen and seems convinced it will happen." Ted paused for a moment before shifting the topic. "Harry believes it will happen and wanted to know how we should move forward with his case against Dumbledore if the chamber does open."

Andromeda realized what the problem was immediately. "He's worried that we aren't ready to press charges against Dumbledore. He thinks Dumbledore will try to conceal that the problem exists to maintain a show of power."

"Or control." Ted added. "Harry thinks Dumbledore won't inform the ministry or the Aurors that Hogwarts is in danger. If something goes wrong, Harry thinks Albus will try to create a communications blackout with Hogwarts to maintain control of the situation."

"Would he though?" Andromeda asked. "Will he actually risk the students in the school? For what reason would he?"

"I don't know. Why did he leave Harry with those muggles of his?" Ted said with a paling complexion. "Harry thinks that Albus has some goal in mind, and I'm starting to agree with him." Ted's complexion continued to fail, descending into a pale lime shade of nausea. Andromeda became frantic as she saw his worsening condition.

"What happened?" Seeing the look of pale horror on her husband's face, she had to ask. "What did Harry tell you?"

A moment of silence passed and Ted shook his head before answering. "Harry showed me his memories... of what his relatives did... and proof that Albus put him there against the will of his parents." The memories were horrid, and the documented will was damning if true.

If their case was to work, it wouldn't be a question of if the evidence would hold in court, it was if it could overcome the fame Albus had built for himself. And worse, if Harry was right, then they may have to press charges if only to strip the man from Hogwarts and his hold over the lives of its students.

Suddenly a shriek came hurtling down from the floors above to where they stood and the two jerked to face it. As it reached them it dawned on them what the cry was and Andromeda began to laugh as Ted shook his head.

"Well, you were right. Seems Harry was able to handle Nymphadora on his own." She snickered out as Ted held back his own laugh.

Ten minutes prior Harry was fleeing for his life with a grin on his face. An odd sight considering but he couldn't help it. He was concerned as to why Nymphie was trying to kill him but overwriting that concern was a feeling of joy in her growth.

He slid under a coffee table as another spell ricocheted off the glass and another smashed it to pieces. The pieces were blown to the side with a swipe of her wand as Nymphadora Tonks crushed the battered wooden frame under her feet.

She had him on a razor's edge. Her wand movements flowed like water yet every spell hit like a grenade, leaving no room for error. In fact he hadn't felt this pressured since the time he had to outrun an artillery pursuit.

Worse or perhaps just as impressively, she was switching between eight spells with ease mixing and matching them in chained movements without reason or consequence. It was wild, forceful, mindless, and rabid, but most importantly, it was working. She was overwhelming him with her skill alone and keeping the initiative. In her weakened mindless state and fervent rage, she had him on the run.

His heart raced with both pride and excitement. How far she had grown in a few months. Sure it was a pitiful attempt to get him. With no rational mind to channel her skill, her abilities were dumbed down to a meager percentage of what she could do. But that made her attempt even more impressive.

Months ago she could just barely keep up with him. She was a worthy match, but easily overpowered by the scale of his magic.

Unlike Ginny, who had more raw firepower, Tonks had speed. Her talent in dueling was in how quickly she could transition from one spell to another. Her casting speed, power, and the ability for repetition were average at worst, meaning if she lost the initiative Harry could easily overpower her and overwhelm her.

Meanwhile, his talent lay in parallel casting and multi-casting. Parallel casting involved him casting spells with a wand and wandlessly simultaneously while multi-casting involved the trick of casting different spells using a wand and no wand respectively. This made him difficult to keep up with and resulted in opponents with tunnel vision being caught off guard. Even under-powered spells could create potent openings that Harry liked to exploit.

However, be it intentional or not, Tonks wasn't giving him that opportunity. And this left him overjoyed and proud of her progress. Sure she was in a blind rage but that didn't change the fact her speed, power, and skills were improving. And this left Harry beyond words in his mirth.

"Common Nymphie. Is that all you got?" Harry taunted with a smile. "At this rate, you'll exhaust yourself and lose again."

In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have been prodding the fire beneath her but he couldn't not taunt her. In tense situations, it was what he did to cope and create openings.

"Shut up Potter!" Tonks shouted, sending out another stream of overpowered hexes and charms his way.

His legs snapped together as a leg-lock hex hit him, but a quick roll and flip aided him in dodging her chained attack while letting him break the hex with a countercharm. "Not bad, but not good enough."

Perhaps it was the progress they had made together, or perhaps it was the blind rage numbing her senses. Or perhaps it was a twist of fate, but at that moment, Tonks went to charge after Harry.

As he dodged left Tonks followed her target, her foot snagging the rug beneath them. In her zeal she powered through the snag pulling it under her and forcing her down and forward. For Harry, the rug pulled him toward her as his body made contact with the fiber.

Harry was caught baffled as the floor moved beneath him as he didn't sense any sign of intentional magic or tactic to its movement. Flat Footed he was caught as Tonks fell and lunged in a single unchoreographed motion. The thud that sounded was thunderous as it sent Harry back and knocked over a lamp which shattered upon the floor behind him. Tonks meanwhile had followed on top of him crushing him beneath him.

With the wand still in hand, Tonks scrambled to take control and pointed her wand at him in gleeful mania. "Ha!" she declared with victorious glee. "How's that? I won. What do you say to that you smug bastard?" she cried with haggard breaths.

However, her mind froze for a second as she wondered when she had started treating this like a duel instead of trying to vent all her frustrations onto him for the problems he caused her. Further befuddling her was Harry's response. He wasn't mad, nor defiant, in fact he still had that smug-looking grin she couldn't get rid of.

"You first win against me. Well done Nymphie. You've gotten better."

The earnest and proud words of acceptance left Tonks befuddled. This wasn't what she expected. She wanted to make him pay. To vent her troubles by kicking his arse, but then at some point, her attempts morphed into the mindset of wanting to win.

She had dreamed of beating Harry several times. Only in her dreams could she win. He became her image of strength. An image of being unbeatable.

He had become her comfort, her confidence, her guide, her aid, and her goal. He became the most important person to her. And now he lay beneath her defeated and smiling.

When he won, even when he mocked her, teased her, or toyed with her, he always lifted her up and helped her, accepted her, and pushed her. Finally, she won and she didn't know what to expect. She thought he would become smaller, maybe more approachable, and appear as something more tangible. Something she could see as an equal.

Yet he was smiling and Merlin did it make her feel foolish. He was happy for her. He was always within reach. Always willing to accept her faults and her triumphs. Like Moody, he desired her growth, and saw the potential within her. However, unlike Moody, he was also younger than her and more relatable. He didn't yell or mock her as a way of challenging her but teasingly, friendly.

A fluttering of warmth overtook her and lit the fire of frustration ablaze only this time it took on the form of a different beast.

"Um... Nymphie?" Harry asked hesitantly, the storm of emotions whirling within her confusing him.

"Shut up Harry." She demanded with a hungry grin. "You lost. Which means I'm taking my victory."

Harry was silenced as she plunged down and kissed him heatedly. The weight of her feelings flooded into him along with her triumphant high. Despite the adrenaline high she was under, Harry could feel deep inside her that a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and that she wanted this. There was no hesitance this time. No second guessing. She only wanted one thing and she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

After a solid minute of planting a kiss that would make dementors envious of Tonks pulled back gasping for air. The two sucking in large gulps of oxygen. Harry started laughing in response which only triggered Tonks's irritation and confusion.

"What's so funn-mmngh!"

Harry cut her off with a kiss of his own and she quickly reciprocated it. This one is less aggressive than hers and more accepting... passionate. Pulling back Harry answered, "It's nothing. Just that Ginny's intuition was pretty scary."

Tonks raised a brow at this. "You know it's a turn-off to talk about other women when a perfectly good woman is in front of you." she bit out.

Smiling Harry agreed. "You're right." Pushing up and over, Harry threw Tonks onto her back before planting a kiss on her neck. The show of strength didn't stop there as Harry grabbed the hem of her robes and shirt and tore them open. Tonks felt her loins dampen with the force of a flood at the display. "Merlin..." she whimpered out. This was not what she was expecting.

"You won." Harry heatedly informed her, "So I'm gonna reward you."

Tonks swallowed thickly as she melted under the intense glow of his hungry eyes. Eyes that promised everything she wanted. She shuddered as he kissed down her exposed neck and shoulder bone. A slight bite that sent another shock through her flesh. Peppered kisses trailed down her exposed breasts and mid-drift as Tonks realized where he was going.

He knew she didn't want a slow ascent. And he promised it. Placing his hand over her lower abdomen he leaned forward and whispered. "Do you trust me?"

Tonks breathed heavily and could only nod her response. She felt hot, overwhelmed, and very excited. Suffering a dry spell for months, she wanted this, needed this. She didn't know what he was going to do, but his gaze promised it would be world-changing.

"Then... here we go." Harry said, trailing his fingers over her hot core before thrusting them in deep, a silent spell cast in the recesses of his mind. What should have been a very painful breach was met with a flash of pleasure that nearly made her eyes roll.

"Oh fuck Merlin Harry!" Tonks's shouts of ecstasy rang out as her core coiled and contracted around his fingers as he invaded deep into her core. Harry didn't stay though, pulling his fingers out he dragged them slowly through her wet canal. Pulling his fingers out with a slight flick he forced her body to jerk at the motion and left her moaning with want.

In that state, she was left confused. Why did it feel so good? Why did his touch alone feel like he had just spent an hour building her up? What was going on with her body? But most importantly was the question on her mind.

"Wha? Why did he pull out." She didn't want him to pull out. She didn't want him to tease her. Tracing his fingers over the skin of her abdomen and womb. Her slick juices marring her skin in with an intricate pattern and - "Ahhhh!"

Tonks screamed out as her body shot upward twitching in pleasure. It was like she was on fire and being electrocuted. Her insides were instantly flushed warm and squirting out her body convulsing madly. Her pussy was cumming like crazy and Harry made it so much worse and deliciously pleasurable when he pushed down on her womb with his hand.

"Oh fucking Morganna's tits Harry I can't stop!" Tonks cried out, screamed out as each orgasm rolled out over each other like a stampede. Each wave filled her with pleasure and drained her worries.

With his hand firmly pressing down generating glorious waves of pleasure through her Harry took his other hand and placed it around her throat. The light pressure around her neck left her raging for more, prolonging it to what felt like an eternity.

After five minutes had passed Tonks was left in a blubbering breathless heap. She felt her limbs trembling as she looked hazily over to the outline of Harry. Her body throbbed as blood pumped through her overly sensitized body.

She could feel his hand caressing her skin, lovingly and caringly, smoothing out the twitching muscles they passed over. He was touching her, everywhere it hurt and making it feel so good. Merlin, every nerve end lit up like a soothing bomb under his hand. It was too soon though. She wanted more. She didn't want it to end so quickly.

Whimpering in her exhausted state Harry whispered in her ear, "Say it."

As quickly as she lost it she felt her second wind come back with a vengeance at his words. "Tell me what you want." Harry teased.

"Fuck me." Nymphadora demanded with diminishing shakiness. The fervent heat returned along with her departed strength. "Fuck me. Give me everything you have."

She didn't want words. She didn't want dirty talk or a slow build-up. She wanted everything now. She couldn't last long. She knew subconsciously she was too tired. She couldn't wait, couldn't last. She wanted Harry and everything he could give and as he moved she knew she was about to get it.

She shuddered as she felt Harry's knee press and move her legs aside. She could barely focus, her world spinning from whatever Harry did to her. Her mind was still trying to wrap it head around what Harry did. How he turned her into a sloppy mess even as another part didn't care so long as it continued.

But as she felt him line up with her entrance, all thoughts flew to the wayside as he himself shoved her thoughts aside with a single thrust.

Nymphadora only had a second to rationalize his girth as it knocked on her deepest part before his buried prick pulled back and stroked her from within. Nymphadora hissed in pleasure as his slow retreat seemed to pull every nerve in her core taught as he pulled back. Every nerve inside seemingly triggered another wave of tension and pleasure as it passed by. When only the head was still in and he stopped, Tonks looked down pleadingly until she saw something mind-boggling and witnessed what was happening and why he stopped.

"Everything." Harry answered in response to her confused and shocked gaze. His fingers, their tips were pressing around her lower abdomen and his fingers were sinking, entering, diving into her flesh. They weren't piercing her, they were merging into her. Blending in like a warm ghost his touch felt by her whole body. She could feel his fingers passing through her, touching her, his hand wrapping around her tunnel. His hand was hot, almost searing but not at all burning.

"Harry?" she whimpered out as both fear and anticipation raged inside her. If he thrust into her at that moment... with his hand fondling her passage. No way, Tonks rationalized. Harry was going to fuck her to death while jerking her off. "Wait... don't-" She couldn't move, his hand in her body pinning her in place. She was powerless and that alone caused her to throb in excitement.

And Harry thrust into her. His dick pressed into her, stretching her wide while his hand was holding her around him. She moaned an octave louder, her mind gone and her hands blindly reaching out to grasp him. To hold on to something as she felt her body seemingly dissolve into the open air.

"Don't stop." she begged as the waves crashed into her.

Harry didn't stop.

He kept going.

It was agonizingly slow but intense. His hand stroking her as he pulled back and down when he thrust in. At no point was she given a reprieve and the coil of another orgasm was coming fast.

Tonks' mind was a hazy mess again. Again, her hand waved blindly as she looked for his. She sought it, wanted his in hers, to remind her she was with him, bound by him. That she wouldn't fade away in this pleasure.

There, in the vague mist of her mind, she found his hand, or perhaps he found hers. Either way, finding it she pulled his inactive hand to her throat. "Again." she whimpered. She wanted him to ground her. To anchor her.

Harry placed his hand around her throat. The soft pressure sent a spike of pleasure and a sense of foundation she so desperately needed. This was her reward. She didn't have to think, didn't have to worry. She just had to feel. In fact, she didn't even have to ask. Somewhere she realized that Harry would know. Harry would give her everything.

She brought her hand to her mouth and bit down as she held back another vocal orgasm. Her other curled behind her head leaving her body exposed and twisting under his. To her shock, her sudden orgasm abruptly stopped mid-way while still raging. The sensation looped while her body did nothing. Her mind crashed as the conflicting feeling of denial and pleasure confused her.

Then she felt it. Her orgasm and Harry's hand. She felt it freeze within Harry's hand.

Oh fuck. Tonks realized he was literally holding her orgasm. The feeling of being in his utter control set something off inside her. The feeling of being forcibly held at breaking point sent her into a mindless haze deeper than ever before and that was when he let go. The rush was so intense she felt like she whited out for a second. No, she definitely did, but the pleasure was still rippling through her even as she came down from it.

Even whiting out didn't stop the pleasure. She couldn't escape it. Harry wouldn't allow it. She was going to feel it, all of it. Everything. Just like he promised.

Breathless, she tried to get up. She wanted to ride him. This time she wanted to be the one in charge to move over him. She wanted too-

Harry pulled up carefully holding her shivering body and helping her take a comfortable position.

He knew.

She remembered he knew what she wanted. She didn't have to ask. He was going to give her everything she wanted.

Harry settled her into his lap, never once leaving her core empty. He pulled his hand out of her and wrapped both his arms around her to give her support.

Now on top of him with the knowledge that she was in charge she smiled gleefully. Tracing her lips over his, she dropped down over his cock and slipped around it. The delicious spreading sensation, the fullness tickled her and she hummed at the joyous feeling. Up and down, she repeatedly slid down his thick cock as it spread her wider than before. Was he getting bigger? She couldn't tell, it felt like it but she couldn't be sure, nor did she really care. Regardless it felt wonderful.

His hand rose and caressed her breasts. He pinched her nipples between his fingers as he palmed her modest-sized chest, his left hand holding her back up. The duel sensation of her breast and him filling her resonated and Tonks hummed in appreciation.

"Yes. Harry! Like that. Fondle my breasts." She commanded. In a moment of clarity, she focused on her chest and concentrated until her breasts grew two sizes so that they fit snugly in his hands.

The slight change did wonders. His hot fingers molding into her flesh made her melt into his hands and excite her even further. It felt right.

She relaxed and melted down in the experience. Reveled in it. She felt free, exposed, open, herself.

She didn't need to hide or fake anything. Nothing was expected of her and only bliss was the reward. He didn't desire her to change, and accepted any change she made without a word of want or need.

Riding him up and down as the slow build-up arose inside her, that was all that was required. That's all that was needed. And if she wanted something more.

Harry curled up to a sitting position and pulled her into a tight embrace. His arms wrapped around her warmingly, his lips embracing hers faithfully.

She needn't do a thing. Harry would be there waiting. There to embrace her, welcome her, accept her.

She didn't need to change for him or be something she wasn't. She didn't need to be polite, cordial, or domesticated. Nor did she need to be wild, exotic, or flamboyant.

Harry's hands traced her back, one rising up to the back of her neck and head, pressing their kiss even deeper until their tongues met in a shy dance. His other hand left her chest and pressed into her left shoulder blade and sank into her flesh. His fingers traced mystically around her heart, touching the source of her life. A sensation that was equally terrifying and stunning. Its meaning was clear to her.

"Take me!" Tonks hummed into his kiss, the intent transmitted to him through his magic. "Give it to me. Cum in me. Take everything. Give me everything. It's yours, I'm yours!"

His hand released her heart and traced down her body, never once leaving the confines of her flesh. Tracing teasingly over her sexy parts before slipping out of her and grasping her hips. With one hand he lifted her up and down, forcing her passage to meet his cock.

Again and again they met, his cock's head and her cervix. As the finale approached Tonks moaned and continued their deepening kiss.

Cum Harry. I'm gonna cum. Finish me. Give me everything I could want. Tell me you want me.

Harry pulled out of the kiss causing her to moan and him to gasp for a quick breath.

"I don't need to." he whispered lovingly, his forehead leaning into hers, "You already have me. If that is your wish, I will take you."

Feelings not her own flooded her mind. Images she couldn't quite understand logically but understood emotionally flooded into her. Loss, fear and love in equal measure sloshed in her mind fading into a blended color of memories not her own.

"Will you take me?" Tonks asked, almost whispering in a pleading voice. That wasn't the right question. She didn't want this to end, to go back to being alone. She wanted him to be with her. To always welcome her. She wanted to be free. She wanted to be his. She wanted to go to her future with him by her side.

"Wherever that may be." Harry finished softly completing the dancing thought within her.

Tonks hummed lovingly in response. Her arms bracing herself against him, squeezing tightly as the final orgasm hit her. The weakest by far and out of breath the feeling of affection and love made this one the most important climax in her life.

Tonks basked in the sensation as she reveled in it. And then Harry's also came. She felt him cum, the slight pulsation of his cock flooding her insides with his seed. The warmth of his seed filling her up as he too came a second after her never letting her go, almost clinging to her.

She felt it and for a moment dreamed of it. The image of their child, hers and his. Jumping up to greet her, a successful wild woman and him standing there to welcome her back.

Slowly her strength gave out. The events of the day had long since exhausted her, her adrenaline high vanishing without her consent.

Feeling her crash Harry slowly pulled out, carefully treating her to a princess carry. Safe in his arms and comfortable in the warmth within Tonks crashed as Harry placed her on her bed. The rest of the rooms are left in a trashed state of anarchy from before.

Brushing her hair aside and vanishing the outwardly mess between them, Harry placed a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, my Nymphadora."

That night, Nymphadora came to love her name for the first time. And Harry came to learn how much he cared about her too. He came to relieve her stress. To help her out. He hadn't expected to feel the same way she did. Nor did he regret it either.

Closing the door to her room, Harry regretted that he had to hurry and return to Hogwarts. Even so, he had to and as he left he realized it was a good thing too. Down the hallway was a shocked Ted and an overjoyed Andromeda.

Unsure as to what to say, Harry gave out an awkward chuckle. "Sorry about the mess."

"Don't worry about it dear. If anything, for what you did I should be thanking you." Looking around him so that she could see her sleeping daughter Andromeda's face lit up. "I was wondering how I was going to punish her for making this mess and attacking a guest but now I have the perfect material to tease her with."

Andromeda's shit-eating grin only grew larger at this open announcement and Harry silently apologized to Nymphie for leaving her to the fate of her mother's teasing. Still, he had to get back to Hogwarts and prepare for what was coming. As Harry left, behind him Ted found himself being pulled by his wife to the master bedroom. Harry could only smirk as he recognized where Tonks got her wild side from.

Despite the big day Ted had tomorrow, he wasn't going to be getting sleep anytime tonight. Harry could only silently apologize as he left their home under the cover of his silvery cloak, unseen by all.

---

Tangere Vitam: roughly translates to touch life. A curse spell that materializes a loop of string that represents a target's ability to act. When cut from the victim it severs the body's ability to move. Easy to resist when awake but while unconscious is very potent. The victim can regain control of their body if they somehow cut the string in the casters possession. Inversely, if the victim knows the spell as well, they can cast it themselves and cause a backfire, resulting in the curse to strip the caster's ability to move instead. Invented by Harry when he attempted to sever his fate of immortality.