CHAPTER {240-242}
****ENEMY-NO-MORE (II)****
Tonks walked up to the entrance and tripped, but by some miracle, she somehow managed to regain her balance… Internally cursing like a sailor, she walked up the stairs and entered the well-maintained establishment. Thanks to her choice of clothes, everyone moved aside to give her some space and Tonks was really grateful for that. She internally sighed in relief when she realized that the bank was almost empty.
So, without wasting any time, she walked up to one of the counters and took off her hood, revealing her face to the goblin… The goblin didn't show any outward reaction, but he clenched the table tightly. While Tonks really hated her current look, it was for a good cause, so she decided to simply get over with it and she was also helping Harry, so it was good.
"Goblin, I want to visit my vault" Tonks said, trying to sound as snobbish as she could, and even though she failed to act anything like the real Bellatrix, the goblin accepted her demand.
"Your key" The goblin asked, his voice sounding extremely tight. Tonks didn't like the goblins, so scaring them shitless was always good in her books.
"I have lost my key during my stay at Azkaban, my blood will do" Tonks explained and the goblin simply jumped off the counter before he walked out. Tonks turned around and a couple of people on the other counters noticed her. They immediately paled before running away. 'The Aurors are going to be here pretty soon, I suppose' Tonks thought sullenly before deciding to inform Harry about the development.
'I was noticed' Tonks conveyed through her mark.
'No matter' After a couple of moments, she received a reply. 'We would be gone by the time they are here and if not, then use the mark to escape' Another message arrived and Tonks internally frowned.
She knew that the Sigil of the Lost could be used as a Portkey, but wasn't Gringotts charmed against Portkey travel? Starting to feel somewhat worried, she stepped into the carriage… Moments later, all of her worries disappeared when the carriage shot off, making her grin like a loon. Tonks realized that the carriage was going much faster than usual…
'Maybe, he is trying to get back at me…' Tonks mused internally as she stared at the stoic-looking goblin with a hint of amusement in her eyes. 'Sucks to be him. I love speed!!' Tonks internally cackled as she continued to enjoy the ride…
Tonks saw the incoming Thief's Downfall and subtly pulled out the capsule from her pocket and held it between her fingers. As soon as she passed through the Thief's Downfall, she went to crush the capsule, but she paused when she saw the goblin give her a look before he paled… Tonks started to wonder if he noticed the capsule, but she quickly shoved off her concerns.
Deciding to trust Harry, she finally crushed the capsule while hoping not to get skewered by the goblins, but much to her shock, nothing seemed to happen…
'I am here' She received a message through the mark and relaxed. She wasn't sure how Harry managed to do that, but apparently, he was here. She started to wonder if he was in the carriage with her.
'Are you in the carriage?' Tonks asked curiously, trying really hard not to look around.
'Yes' She received a brief answer, but it managed to calm her down. The ride continued for a couple of minutes more before the carriage finally came to a halt.
"We are here, Lady Lestrange" The goblin announced before he climbed off the carriage with Tonks following him. "Now, if you please" The goblin gestured toward the vault door and Tonks gulped internally, starting to feel nervous again. If she got caught then she was going to become dragon chow if she was lucky, or she was going to be sent off to the goblin mines as a slave.
While she thought being Harry's slave might be kinky, she didn't want to become a slave in general…
'Don't worry, trust me' She heard Harry's soothing voice through the mark and it seemed to relax her hackles. 'I will take care of everything. You just place your hand on the vault door' Harry added and after taking a deep breath, Tonks walked up to the vault door and placed her hand on it. The vault was obviously protected by some nasty enchantments, but when nothing happened, Tonks almost breathed out in relief.
A couple of seconds passed away but when nothing happened, she finally started to get worried again, but the next moment, the vault door unlocked with a loud clang and Tonks barely stopped herself from doing a victory jig…
'Tell him to leave' Harry's voice came through the Mark and Tonks turned toward the goblin.
"You may leave, goblin" Tonks tried to imitate her aunt and even though she failed, the goblin gave her a reserved glare before walking away. Tonks entered the vault and her jaw almost fell on the floor… She had never seen so much gold in one place and this was supposed to be only her aunt's personal vault, not the Lestrange Family vault. She kneeled down and went to pick up a beautiful bangle…
'No don't!!' Harry screamed through the mark and she came to a screeching halt, wondering if she messed up. 'Don't touch anything… The vault is protected by Flagrante and Gemino Curse. Don't touch anything before I dispel them' Harry added and Tonks broke a cold sweat… Her whole body trembled as the realization finally dawned on her. If she had touched anything then she could have died.
'...There, done!' Harry exclaimed through the mark, and hesitantly Tonks picked up the bangle, but didn't dare to put it on her arm. 'That one can boost your magic by a small margin and it is safe to put on' Once again, his voice came through the mark and she put on the bangle on her hand, and a small smile bloomed on her face when she felt the Magic course through her body.
'So, what are we looking for?' Tonks asked through the mark.
'I want that cup in the middle' Harry revealed and Tonks found the cup he was referring to. 'You can take everything else. After all, I don't think your dear aunt is going to need anything after I send her to hell' Harry added, sounding amused and Tonks practically cheered before she dived into a pile of Galleons.
|On that note… Maybe, we should empty the Lestrange Family Vault too| Harry mused internally, deciding to let Tonks have her fun. After all, the goblins won't allow the Aurors to enter the bank to arrest a customer…
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****ANOTHER-TALK-THEY-HAD (I)****
After emptying the Lestrange Family Vault too, Harry and Tonks returned to the Malfoy Manor much richer than they used to be. The Aurors were waiting at the entrance of the Gringotts to capture Tonks, who was dressed like her crazy aunt, so instead of taking the scenic route, Harry simply opened a Portal straight from the Lestrange Family Vault leading to the Malfoy Manor.
"It was amazing!! I wonder what my dear aunt is going to say when she realizes that her own vault and her Family vault are completely empty!" Tonks wheezed out in between her hysterical laugh as she slumped down on one of the chairs while shifting back to her own form.
"As they say, they are going to lose their shit when they finally realize what happened" Harry agreed with a grin on his face. He managed to acquire another one of Voldemort's Horcrux and he even managed to stea- No, that sounded wrong. He managed to liberate so much gold for a good cause. His cause. He was sure the Lestranges were going to complain, but they were dead men walking, so who cared?
Then before they could celebrate anymore, Harry received a message through his mark…
'Harry, there is an emergency' Harry received a message from Amelia, wondering what happened. Voldemort was still licking his wounds and Dumbledore was enjoying his hospitality, so who was causing the trouble? Was it the Order?
'What happened?' Harry asked through his mark.
'Bellatrix was noticed' Amelia answered and that was all she needed to say for Harry to understand what was the problem. He felt kind of silly for not thinking that himself.
'Don't worry, it was Tonks, I needed to grab something from Bellatrix's vault' Harry deadpanned through the mark and there was silence for the next few seconds.
'You know… You could have warned me' He received another message from Amelia and that was it. Harry simply sighed and leaned back in his comfortable chair, looking satisfied.
"What was the cup?" All of a sudden Tonks asked, breaking him out of his musings.
"It is a Horcrux" Harry answered and Tonks made a face at that. Now that the threat of Voldemort was almost over, he didn't mind revealing more details to the people around him. While Tonks was silly, she was extremely loyal. Hufflepuff indeed. "Voldemort tore apart his Soul from his body with a Ritual and stored it inside an object, and such objects are called Horcrux" Harry explained and Tonks looked sick.
"We can do that?" Tonks asked in a bewildered, but still horrified tone.
"Yes… Magic can create miracles, but at the same time, it can also create unimaginable horrors" Harry explained and Tonks was starting to look quite green.
"So… How many of those did he make?" Tonks asked after she managed to regain her bearings. After all, she didn't want to puke and embarrass herself in front of Harry and at the same time, she was also curious.
"He split his Soul 7 ways and made 6 of them" Harry answered. In reality, he split his Soul 8 ways, making 7 of them, but one of them was unintentional and from what he had discovered, only Dumbledore knew about it and Harry wanted to keep it like that. Tonks paled at the answer and didn't know what to say, Harry could understand why she was worried, so he decided to assuage her concerns.
"Don't worry, I know where all of them are…" Harry explained dismissively. "With the cup, I have found four of them" Harry added after a moment of silence, waiting for Tonks to digest everything.
"Ohh… That's good" Tonks nodded her head in understanding, deciding to finally drop the topic. Since Harry wasn't bothered by the Horcruxes in the slightest, she realized that he had the matter handled.
"By the way, you can keep everything we grabbed from Bellatrix's personal vault, but don't wear anything until you get them verified by an enchanter or something" Harry explained and Tonks exclaimed in joy before smashing her lips on Harry's catching him off-guard… Harry was so surprised that he didn't even know what to do, and surprisingly, even his mom, who was extremely violent and territorial, didn't say anything at all.
Tonks finally realized what she had done and separated from Harry, looking sheepish, while Harry was simply staring at her completely dumbstruck… Tonks could feel butterflies flying inside her stomach, but the sensible part of her felt kind of awkward… "Uhh… Look, I am sorry…" Tonks tried to apologize, realizing that she might have jumped the gun, but before she could say anything else, Harry disappeared with a loud crack, leaving Tonks on her own…
Meanwhile, Harry appeared somewhere in the Sahara Desert and screamed in anger, obliterating everything around him… After a few seconds, he finally started to calm down, but when he realized that Lily was yet to say anything, he started to become even more afraid. He knew that he needed to fix this… He would do anything to fix his relationship with his mom.
|Mom…| Harry called out in a hesitant tone. |Look, Mom, I was surprised…| Harry tried to speak, but his words came to a screeching halt when his mother shushed him, but he was surprised to realize that his mom wasn't angry at him, in fact, she was trying to console him.
|Don't worry, Hadrian… I knew with Hela showing interest in you, this was going to happen, eventually| Lily spoke softly. He could feel that his Mom was being genuine even though there was some bitterness in her voice. |I wanted to keep you for myself, but with the amount of power you possess, it is going to be simply impossible. Since ancient times, women have always been attracted to powerful men even if they had to share the same man with others…| Lily added.
|You are already surrounded by so many women and in the future, there are going to be more| Lily finished with a soft smile marring on her face.
"But I don't want them! I want just you, only you!!" Harry snapped and instead of speaking inside his mind, he ended up speaking out loud, but thankfully, he was alone.
|I know, son… I know, but didn't you admit yourself that you find Hela attractive… I want you to have them. Have all of them if that is what you want… As long as I can be beside you, I don't mind sharing you with others…| Lily finished, leaving a gobsmacked Harry, who was trying to say something, but only managing to sputter incoherently…
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****ANOTHER-TALK-THEY-HAD (II)****
|Are you sure?| Harry asked hesitantly, not knowing what to say. To be honest, he never expected anything like this from his mother. He knew she was a possessive woman and she always wanted to have him all to herself, but now she was saying that she was alright with sharing him with other women… What the fuck?
|Yes, Hadrian, I am sure… I have given it a lot of thought and I have decided that yes, I am willing to share with others| Lily assured him in a firm tone.
|But why?| Harry asked in a frustrated tone. All this time, he only wanted to be with his mom. There was only one woman for him, but now that woman was telling him to get more. How was he supposed to react to that, or process that? For all of his intelligence, he didn't know how to understand women. Unfortunately for him, even greater minds have failed to accomplish such a task.
|Hadrian, I have already answered that| Lily said with a sigh… |Fine! Let's try something else. Don't you find Tonks attractive? She can become whatever you want her to become| Lily pointed out, trying to entice him. What boy wouldn't want a sexy shape-shifter as their lover?
|I find her attractive, but I am not going to ask her to turn into anyone. That would be wrong… If she turns into someone for me on her own accord then I wouldn't mind| Harry answered firmly and Lily simply smiled smugly at his words.
|See… You already care about her. I don't think there will be a problem if you accept her as your lover| Lily said and Harry could feel the smugness coming off her. His mom had tricked him into admitting that he wanted to sleep with her and he also cared about her. |And I want you to make me scream when I have a body. So, having more lovers is a definite bonus| Lily added with a toothy grin and Harry froze.
He didn't know what to think, but the idea was really enticing… Just the thought of making his mother scream in pleasure was enough to make him hard. He liked the idea and he was liking the idea even more with each passing moment… Eventually, he decided to give it a try, but he decided not to use anyone just to gain experience.
He was better than that… If he is going to accept women other than his mother in his life then he was going to make it work. He wasn't going to half-ass anything…
|Alright… I will give it a try, but not just because I want to gain experience. If I am doing this then I am going full-in. If I accept them then they are going to be my full-time lovers| Harry explained firmly, leaving no room for arguments and instead of becoming angry, Lily simply smiled proudly.
|I have raised you well, my son| Lily sighed in contentment, but if anyone else would have heard her words then they would have smacked her on the face. Lily might have been a good parent once upon a time, but after watching her son getting abused for six long years and after absorbing Voldemort's Soul Shard, it became simply impossible for her.
Lily loved Hadrian more than anything… She happily laid down her life, so that he could live. Only that was enough to show how much she truly loved him, but the mental strain of watching the same son get tortured for years twisted her mind and Voldemort's Soul Shard twisted it further, turning her maternal love into something else, something unhealthy, and then she twisted her son's mind.
|So, what now?| Harry asked, not knowing what to do. Yes, he agreed to accept Tonks as his lover, but he wasn't sure how to do that… He couldn't simply walk up to her and say that he was accepting her as his lover or could he?
|You need to talk to Tonks as soon as you can. She kissed you and then you left without saying anything… She is probably devastated right now| Lily answered grimly, making Harry scratch his head.
|Why?| Harry asked, sounding really confused.
|Ugh…| Lily groaned in frustration. Maybe, she should have taught him how to understand women along with everything else. |She kissed you, which means, she had feelings for you, but instead of saying anything, you simply left… What is she supposed to think?| Lily asked with a scowl and Harry finally started to understand his mistake.
|I see… I fucked up| Harry admitted with a nod of his head. He was yet to understand his mistake completely, but he was able to understand the basic gist of it… So, with a determined look on his face, he disappeared with a soft pop…
<Line Break>
~~Malfoy Manor~~ (A few minutes ago)
Tonks stared at the empty spot with a blank look on her face before everything finally clicked into place. Her whole body started to tremble before she slumped down to her knees. Her breathing became erratic and messy. She started to heave badly… Harry simply left, without saying anything to her. She didn't need to be a genius to know that she messed up.
Her heart started to pound inside her head… Harry was gone. She didn't know what to do if never returned. Just the thought of never seeing Harry again was making her heart clench in anguish… She had been in proper relationships before and she would admit that her relationship with Charlie ended on a bad note, but she had never felt like this.
Black Madness… That was the only thing she could think of. She became smitten with Harry in the first place because of the Black Madness and right now, the Black Madness was chipping away at her sanity… Instead of wasting any time, she immediately clamped down her Occlumency barriers and she immediately felt herself getting better.
Her mind was no longer filled with pain and anguish, but all of it wasn't gone… Her Occlumency shields weren't anything to write about, but they were holding for the time being. If her mother was right, then the Black Madness would become a part of her… She would no longer be able to differentiate between her own thoughts and the Madness-influenced thoughts.
Just the idea of turning into someone like her crazy aunt was revolting… It was making her sick. Tonks felt she was going to hurl, but she managed to direct her thoughts in another direction. Her thoughts went back to Harry, but this time, her mind wasn't on the brink of collapse…
She knew that she had jumped the gun, even though it was a complete accident on her part. When Harry told her to keep everything she found in her aunt's vault, she ended up kissing him without thinking… She shouldn't have done that. Harry was probably disgusted at her and the very thought of him being disgusted at her was heart-wrenching.
'Positive thoughts! Positive thoughts!' Tonks screamed inside her mind before she slapped her own cheeks to focus, but soon her mind started to drift away. 'I need a fucking drink and then I can probably cry myself to sleep' Tonks decided, giving up on trying to feel better. Her Occlumency was holding her mind together, but she could still feel the pain and anguish at the back of her mind.
She needed to get sloshed and maybe with some luck, forget everything? So, after grabbing a bottle of gin from her aunt's stash, she decided to head toward her room, but only after taking a couple of steps, she stopped and turned around. Grabbing two more bottles of gin from the cupboard, she nodded her head in satisfaction and returned to her room…
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