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Once in the flat, I realised I could barely stand on my feet. Collapsing onto the bed, I trusted my condition completely to Dobby and Veselur. The goblin was all around me, both happy that I'd made it and worried about my condition, while the houseboy helped me get rid of my clothes and remove the dirt and blood covering my body.

I realised that I needed to do it myself, that I needed to go for a shower, but I couldn't even get my hand off the bed. My strength had finally left me, the tension of the last few hours had wrung me out like a rag, leaving only endless fatigue. Most likely, the Elder Wand was also involved. After all, such powerful waves of the killing spell must have had some effect on my physical state. But I decided to postpone that question until my next meeting with Death. Perhaps he could explain to me exactly what it was. If he's going to see me at all, of course.

As I watched my friends' movements, I noted Veselur's failure to fully heal the wound on my shoulder. He had tried all the spells that had saved me from injury during our sparring sessions, but Fenrir seemed to be using something much darker. Desperate, they decided to call for Mitty, who I'd given access to the flat.

The Malfoy elf had already learnt from somewhere that I had managed to defeat the evil wizard, and was unusually talkative, but I couldn't answer him properly, limiting myself to one-word phrases.

Together, the three of them managed to patch up my injuries, clean me up, and put me to bed. It was saved by the fact that the Malfoy houseboy was familiar with the curse, as he had encountered it many times before. And I rejoiced at this care, realising that I had made the right choice in picking my friends. Closing my eyes, I realised that tomorrow I could finally go to Fleur and tell her everything that was eating me. Hopefully, she wouldn't turn her back on me.

***

When I woke up, I listened to myself and realised I wasn't in any pain. I felt refreshed and rested, as if I hadn't been through all the misadventures of the night before. I looked outside the window and saw that it was still dark - it looked like I had slept all day.

I got out of bed and went for a shower before walking into the kitchen and saying hello to my lodgers.

- Harry, how are you feeling? - Veselur looked me over from head to toe and seemed satisfied with what he saw.

- Oddly enough, fine. - I answered, sitting down at the table and enjoying the coffee Dobby had served me. - Nothing hurts. Thank you for taking care of me. - The elf nodded happily, and the goblin just waved his hand without meaning to. - How are we doing? Anything new?

Veselur grinned and shook his head, pointing to a stack of papers I hadn't noticed.

- You have no idea. - He stretched, watching with interest as I pulled the stack toward me and started picking at it.

The stack consisted of two newspapers, obviously brought by Dobby, a few letters, and some invitations, which, unlike the letters, were not wrapped in envelopes.

Picking up the Prophet, I saw a screaming headline announcing the death of the Dark Lord. On the front page were two photographs-one of Riddle's body, nailed by me to a wooden beam, swaying slightly in the breeze. The other was of myself, as Amelia hugged me. I don't know how Skitter does it, but she managed to capture the moment. Now everyone could see exactly who was involved in the fall of the dark forces. Even though I didn't want to shine the spotlight, the collodograph wasn't bad, and I decided that Amelia could use this image of a caring woman right now.

Equally important to the public was the fact that I was alive. Now that my name had been cleared, and I had taken part for the second time in the murder of a maniac who had terrorised Britain for years, my resurrection was being presented as nothing less than a grace. Even though I didn't get a front page, it was still a pleasure to read about how I, at my young age, dealt with all the injustices of my life and triumphantly returned to save everyone. That said, how exactly I escaped death, the journalists did not elaborate. That's okay, if it was ever needed, I already had a suitable explanation prepared about the regenerating soul I'd received from Fleur.

Flicking through the newspaper, I noted that it was not just about these events. That said, so much had happened while I was asleep that I couldn't choose which article to tackle first. I decided that I should concentrate on the important things first, so I began the story of what had happened at the Bownes' house. Amelia had hidden almost nothing, telling it exactly as it happened. She mentioned that I had warned her of the attack and saved her.

She blamed the Death Eaters' deaths on the Aurors, who had killed far more enemies in the heat of battle than they had originally thought. She killed three, including the one who'd cast Cruciatus on her. I, in her version of the story, had limited myself to the spells from the school curriculum, binding and immobilising enemies. It's because of me that the Aurorate has the opportunity to interrogate the prisoners. Fortunately, none of the prisoners saw me kill their colleagues. Even the one I stabbed quickly blacked out and missed all the fun. The only kill on my account was the Lord himself. Bones didn't take credit for that one, though I wouldn't have minded. Fortunately, the Prophet filed it in such a way that an orphan's revenge for murdered parents was realised, and the spell used was not mentioned.

Looking through the rest of the articles, I wasn't the least bit surprised to see that an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot unanimously removed Fudge as Minister and he was immediately taken into custody. The article was accompanied by an amusing photograph of Cornelius holding his cauldron and looking as surprised as if he didn't realise what he was being accused of. Amelia was appointed acting officer. Everything was going according to plan. Hopefully, she would be officially confirmed soon.

There was no mention of Dumbledore and his supporters in the paper, and I tensed inwardly, knowing that the old man could be expected to say anything. But there was an article about how the law enforcement had managed to track down and arrest Parkinson. Well, by the looks of it, only Malfoy and Snape were still at large. The former will have to be made to understand that if he wants to continue to enjoy his freedom, he should support the new Minister in everything he does, but the latter I'd like to see in a cell next door to his friends.

Putting the Prophet aside, I picked up another paper, but it said much the same thing. Except that they hadn't got as exclusive a collodograph as Rita had done.

The letters and invitations were far less exciting: unknown to me, wizards were inviting me to some sort of celebrations and balls in honour of getting rid of the Dark Lord, but I certainly wasn't going to let the hosts of those events brag to the guests about Harry Potter being there. The letters were from Luna, Granger, and Malfoy. Folding them up and putting them in my pocket, I decided that I would familiarise myself with their contents a little later. I couldn't put off seeing Fleur any longer. I was dreading it, but at the same time I longed to feel her body in my arms as soon as possible.

Thanking Dobby, I asked him to bring a bouquet of some meadow flowers and put on my most decent suit, nervously smoothing out the small creases.

- A real groom. - Veselur looked at me appraisingly and smiled. - Don't worry, it'll be fine.

- You don't understand," I started to say, but he just waved his hand.

- That you're not the Harry you used to be? - He laughed when he saw the surprised look on my face. - I understand. I'm your family's solicitor after all, Harry. It's my job to note any changes that happen to the account holders I manage. If you don't, you'll be out of a job in no time. I realised your escape from Azkaban wasn't as easy as you wanted to make it seem when we first met. But it doesn't matter. Just because a person has some new character traits doesn't mean they should be called an impostor.

I just shook my head, realising that I had once again underestimated the goblin.

- How did you know? Whether you're an attorney or not, we've never met before so you might have noticed my changed character.

- Aura, Harry. Goblins don't just look at a wizard's blood, they look at their aura. That said, thanks to our long lives, we have very good memories. And you're wrong, we've met before. Though maybe you don't remember that, since you were only eight months old. - He grinned. - Every wizard has an aura from birth. It doesn't affect anything and doesn't change with age, only grows stronger. Humans don't see it and deny its existence. But for goblins, the aura is a way of identifying their client. If someone drinks that Polyjuice potion of yours and turns into you, I'll notice it right away. So it turns out I saw your aura when you were a baby, but it's a little different now. Not much, but enough to make it impossible to explain with simple reasons. And by the way, I've heard Veela have a similar ability. I don't know if your fiancée has it, but her mother does.

That last sentence left me stunned, trying to digest what I'd heard.

So Apolline knew there was something wrong with me? After all, she'd seen me at the second trial and could see that my aura had changed. She might not have noticed it at the time, or she might have forgotten. Maybe Fleur has that ability too. And then she already knows everything? Oh, too many assumptions and not enough information. Instead of guessing, it's better to go and find out.

- I didn't realise it was possible. Thank you for telling me, Veselur. And double thanks for not kicking me out of the bank the other day.

- You're welcome, Harry. Your aura may have changed a bit, but it's still yours, so I was cool with it. Now, go and make sure everything's all right. Dobby and I aren't going anywhere.

He pointed behind me, where a houseboy was already standing with fresh, freshly cut flowers. I don't know where he'd managed to get them in the middle of January, but I was grateful. I always was.

With a loud exhale, I put my hand on the houseboy's shoulder and immediately moved to the gates of the very house where I'd found my new family.

- Harry Potter sir! - Ricky was pleased to see me. - I'll let Mistress Fleur know you're here.

- No, no, wait. - I stopped him. - Let it be a surprise.

- As you wish.

With a bow, Ricky disappeared, as did Dobby, whom I'd sent back to London. After wrinkling my nose a little at the gate, I strode resolutely inside, approaching the front door and slipping into the house. As soon as I had taken a few steps down the corridor, Sebastian came out of the nearest room to meet me. He looked at the guest in surprise, but recognising him as his future son-in-law, he was about to say something when I put my finger to my lips, pointing upstairs towards Fleur's room. He understood, smiled and nodded, then squeezed me in a hug, which I immediately responded to. Patting me on the shoulders, he continued to smile brightly, clearly knowing all about the night's events, and stepped aside, letting me pass towards the stairs.

When I reached the room, I gathered my will into a fist and knocked gently, waiting for an invitation to enter. At that moment, I felt like a fifteen-year-old teenager for the first time. The short separation had brought back a lot of insecurity, and now I felt as if everything that had happened lately had happened to someone else, and I was still the same Harry from the Room of Requirement, worried only about liking the other champion and the possibility of running into a snot-tail in the maze.

But once I heard her voice, stepped inside, and saw her, all my worries were washed away by a wave of new sensations. Fleur was sitting in a chair, holding a letter that turned out to be my last note. She was rereading something and ignored the door, frowning her eyebrows and biting her lip. She was wearing only a light blue dressing gown that came to mid-thigh, and Veela was clearly fresh out of the shower, as I could tell from the slightly damp hair. She was so sweet, so homely, that one glance was enough to realise how much I missed her and how much I missed her. She was the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and no matter what happened to me in the future, no matter where I went, I would always want to go back to her.

- Fleur," I said in a suddenly hoarse voice, catching her attention.

Her head snapped up, and she looked at me and froze, as if she couldn't believe I was really here. Jumping up from her chair, she tossed the note aside and ran over to me, literally jumping into my arms.

- Harry! - She clung to me so tightly that I started to gasp. - Harry, you're back!

- Of course I'm back, love. - I stroked her back, savouring the scent of her. The one I'd been dreaming about. - I missed you so much. I'm sorry I left you alone.

When she pulled away, she swung round to slap me, and then, before I could react, she kissed my lips, trying to convey her feelings.

Enjoying the touch of her soft lips, I paid no attention to my cheek burning with fire, nor to the mercilessly crumpled flowers that had fallen from my hands, nor to all the doubts that had been swirling in my head a moment ago. If every time we meet like this, I'm ready to kill a few more Dark Lords.

- Why are you here, Harry? - She pulled away slightly, but made no attempt to break free of my embrace. - Have you finally realised that you're wrong, and that I can help you with this difficult task?

Frowning in surprise, I realised she didn't know anything. Either Sebastian hadn't had time to tell her the news from Britain, or he hadn't seen fit to do so, knowing that it would be a pleasure to please her personally.

- Fleur, you had a subscription to the Prophet. - I hinted that all the answers were in today's English paper. Or don't owls deliver to France?

- I'm afraid to look there," she whispered, lowering her gaze.

- You should read today's edition," I said with a smile, taking her chin gently and kissing her again, and she responded eagerly.

My hands slowly stroked her back, and I was almost completely lost in the sensation when Fleur managed to pull away and slip out of the embrace, running out of the room.

- Daddy, I need today's issue of the Daily Prophet right away! - Her loud voice echoed through the manor. I smiled, realising that she was so intrigued that she hadn't even thought to ask Ricky for help. Sebastian didn't seem to answer anything, but soon an even louder shriek of joy mixed with surprise rang through the house. Bursting back into the room, Fleur was clutching a newspaper in her hands, shaking it in the air.

- 'Harry, it's... Is he dead? How did this happen? Was it you? Did you kill him?! Tell me everything!

I smiled in response to this endless stream of questions, and pulled her to me, taking the paper from her hands.

- You've got the most important thing, darling. I'll tell you everything, don't worry. But now I'd like to talk about something else, if you don't mind. - I sat down on the sofa, and she immediately settled on my lap, not wanting to let me out of her embrace.

- I was just rereading your last message to Harry. - I smirked, and she immediately slapped my arm. - No, not the part where you speculate about who's going to shove what and who's going to shove who. It's the part where you're talking about some secret. How long have you had secrets from me, Harry Potter? Maybe they have something to do with that woman.

I didn't know who she was talking about at first, and then I saw her pointing her finger at the newspaper, where the front page had a collage of Amelia hugging me.

- No, they're not related to Madame Bones. - I smiled lightly and pulled away from her, moving aside. As much as I wanted our touching each other to never end, I knew that telling her about my lies while holding her in my lap would be wrong. Once again contemplating where to start, I looked up at her wary face, which had become that way since I'd pulled away.

- Fleur, I've been told recently that Veelas have the ability to see people's auras. Can you do that?

She frowned, not understanding what I was getting at, but then her eyes widened in realisation. She jumped to her feet and exclaimed:

- So I wasn't imagining it then! I saw that your aura was a little different, but I thought I didn't fully know how to use it, or that I didn't remember what it was like before! And Mum couldn't help me figure it out, because she didn't know what your aura used to look like. And I didn't pay any attention to it, because it's a gift that's essentially useless. So... it wasn't just me? - She froze in astonishment and sat back in her chair, keeping her gaze on me. I shook my head.

- No, darling, it wasn't my imagination.

I discarded all my prearranged phrases and just told her everything. Everything that had happened to me in the last month. The fact that part of me had once had a very different life that had ended in sudden death, the way I'd woken up in Azkaban and merged with Harry's mind, realising the situation I was in. How over time I had become a whole person, with Harry's knowledge combined with some knowledge of how events in the world might have unfolded. How I realised almost immediately that I missed her and tried to get back to her as soon as possible. How at first I didn't want to tell her, thinking it didn't matter, but then I realised I couldn't hide anything from her.

I told her how I had fallen for Dumbledore at Gringotts, how he had kept me in Flamel's house, how they had tried to break the block that Death had put in place and ended up killing me. How Death gave me an assignment I couldn't get out of, how he managed to bring me back to life a second time, after which I ended up in a junkyard. How I stayed in his debt. How events got further and further away from the line I knew, how I learned of the impending attack on House Bones, how I bought the goblin back from Gringotts for two hundred thousand Galleons. How I'd met Luna and killed Umbridge, how I'd killed the Eaters last night, how I'd used the Time Flywheel, and how I'd finally managed to finish off Riddle.

Realising that my story was getting darker and darker with each successive fact, I stopped talking, staring down at the floor and not daring to look up at Fleur, who hadn't made a sound since the beginning of my little confession.

- I'm sorry, flower, that I didn't tell you sooner. - I whispered, trying to fill the oppressive silence that had settled between us. - I shouldn't have hidden it.

- What...what did...what was your name...used to be? - I risked a glance at her and saw tears rolling down her cheeks. Opening my mouth, I realised I had no answer to her question.

- I don't remember. - I answered, realising that I didn't remember anything. - I don't have any memories of the past. Sometimes it feels like it was just a dream. But I know it wasn't.

Standing up from her seat, she walked quickly towards me. I stepped up to meet her, not knowing what to expect, and received another powerful slap.

- How could you?! - Fleur exclaimed, and I felt my heart sink into the void. - How could you put yourself in such danger? How could you let Dumbledore kill you? How could you hide it? How could you doubt me!

She screamed, and after each question, she beat me in the chest with her fist. Her sobs were getting worse, and I had no idea what was going on or how to react.

- Give me a hug, you idiot! - Fleur exclaimed, realising that I was frozen like a statue.

I realised that she wasn't going to turn away from me, even after all the things I'd kept from her. Reluctantly, I lifted my hands and gently pulled her against me, realising that I was holding the greatest treasure of my life.

- You're not angry? - I asked when she stopped crying and just snuggled against me. I could feel my suit getting wet around my shoulder, but I realised it was worth all the suits in the world.

- Angry," she replied. - Angry as hell, and yet I feel very happy at the same time. If you thought your revelations would make me dislike you, you're a bigger fool than I thought.

- You thought I was a dummy? - I asked in surprise as I continued to rest my nose against the top of her head. - I thought you thought I was the smartest and most resourceful.

Fleur jumped and laughed, letting out all the negative emotions that had built up. Pulling away, she looked at me. Her eyes were red and her nose was swollen, and I vowed to myself to make sure this was the last time she cried.

- You're right, I think you're resourceful. You're about as resourceful as a bludgeon. Nothing else can explain why you've been avoiding your own safe flat, hiding in the middle of nowhere. And why you thought I'd fall out of love with you because you had a new soul in your body. My connection allows me to feel the changes that are happening to you. And I know for a fact that you are still the same Harry Potter who once won me over with your courage, will, and ability to think beyond your years with maturity.

- Thank you. - I smiled, feeling like the happiest person in the world.

- And to you, Harry. For dealing with all the hardships and coming back to me. I'm going to find Dumbledore and torture him for a very long time for everything he did to you.

- There's no need for that. I've asked Amelia to help me in this matter, and I hope she can do it.

- Oh, Amelia, you mean. - She squinted. - Maybe there's a moon out there somewhere. Harry Potter's own all-female squad?

- Come on, Fleur. - I smiled, realising she was jealous of me for no reason. - I don't need anyone else, just you. You're the only one who's been filling my thoughts all this time, day and night.

- Well," she took her wand in her hand and made a wide sweep, casting some kind of spell toward the door, then pushed me onto the bed, causing me to sit down in front of her. - You're going to have to show me how much you missed me.

Reaching out, I slid my hands lightly over her hips, moving up and pulling up her already short dressing gown. Leaning forward, I kissed her belly and began to move downwards while my hands reached her buttocks and squeezed tightly. Hearing the moan that escaped her throat, I pulled her towards me, dropping her onto the bed.

- You have no idea how hard. - I whispered, rolling over and on top of her, pulling open her dressing gown and forgetting everything else.