Chapter 40: Defenses and Countermoves

"Wotcher, hon. Wotcher, Remus," Tonks said as she dropped into the only cushion not covered with papers. Remus lifted his hand in acknowledgement while Fleur briefly looked up and smiled before turning back to her papers.

"Bonjour, mon amour," Fleur said before scribbling a notation on a photograph and nodding happily. "Did you have success?"

Tonks shook her head and let out a sigh of frustration. "Nada, zip, zilch. The elf dropped off the map completely. I couldn't even find out which family Hokey went to after the Ministry trial. Dumbledore found her, this shouldn't be that hard."

"It's likely a dead end anyway," Remus said flipping a page one of the old newspapers in front of him. "We already know that Riddle framed her for the poisoning. It is very unlikely that the poor creature knew of any further details."

Tonks grimaced. "It probably doesn't even matter since she's almost definitely dead by now unfortunately. If Dobby was remotely capable of stealth I might ask him to pop around and check but…yeah you're probably right. How about you guys? You fare any better?"

Fleur picked up a photograph with a large red circle on the bottom corner and held it out grinning largely. "I believe so. We zink zat zis could be one of the cave systems zat Riddle may have used to hide a Horcrux in near ze orphanage. We cross-checked several maps of ze shoreline as well as any potential magically significant sections of ze coast."

"There are about four or five caves that we think he might have used," Remus said frowning. "I think we're going to have to check each one individually as it seems unlikely we can narrow the list down any further."

Tonks perked up and looked over the few photos smiling. "Excellent. Hopefully we'll get lucky this time. Fleur, you want to go check if Sirius can get free on Saturday to go spelunking with us?"

Fleur nodded emphatically. "I zink zat is for ze best. You never know how many of ze locations will be trapped as ze Shack was. Sirius would be useful in a fight."

Remus smiled at the two girls. "And getting to see Harry and Hermione has absolutely nothing to do with going to see Padfoot in person of course."

"Of course," both girls responded with matching grins. Remus just rolled his eyes.

"One moment," Fleur said raising her hand and pointing to her ear. "Hello, Hermione. No, 'arry has not spoken with me yet. Nym, has 'arry spoken with you recently?"

Tonks shook her head. "Nothing since telling us yesterday about Daphne. He hasn't already gotten into trouble has he?"

Fleur shrugged and turned her attention back to Hermione. "He hasn't reached her yet eizer. Okay. Okay." Fleur's eyes darkened and she scowled. "Daphne is alright? How bad? Zat…zat does not sound promising. What did zey try to do? Please tell me it was not what I am zinking…Ces fils de chiens galeux! Ils devraient être castrés et jetés dans le plus sombre et plus profond des cachots sur le continent!" Tonks' hands clenched at Fleur's tone and she felt her throat close up as feathers rippled down her partner's arms before disappearing again. "Apologies. I said they should be castrated and imprisoned in the worst place imaginable."

Tonks could keep quiet any longer. "Did they kill her?" she asked softly.

Fleur gasped and looked up hurriedly shaking her head. "Non, no, she was assaulted, but help arrived in time. She is recovering. Hermione, what is being done to ze animals? Zat is good but I still say…oh, well at least zat is something. We will be over shortly anyway so we will stop in and see how she is in person. Zank you letting us know Hermione." Fleur frowned again and Tonks felt her hair shift several colors at the concern that flashed across the Veela's face. "Zat is…not good. We are closing in on a potential hiding place so hopefully he will have one to experiment on shortly. We should begin exploring other options beyond ze rune. If he cannot get it working we will have to be prepared for drastic action. I agree. Take care, Hermione. We shall see you soon."

As soon as she tapped her Comm Stone Tonks was sitting up and staring at Fleur. "Short version?"

"Draco Malfoy and several ozers molested and assaulted Daphne. Harry dealt with zem, but not before zey had several minutes alone with her. Daphne is putting forth a good show, but she is not unaffected and eizer Harry or Tracey are staying wiz her at all times." Fleur's mouth spread into a predatory grin. "Ze attackers are being expelled and zere wands will be snapped wizin ze hour. Draco can no longer father any children zanks to a family spell delivered by Daphne at ze end. Aurors are involved."

"Thank Merlin," Tonks breathed out relieved and sank back into the cushions as she forced her hair back into a deep blue. "Okay, we definitely will be stopping by the Hospital Wing then. What was Hermione saying about our boyfriend?"

Fleur grimaced and turned to look at Remus who took the hint and excused himself to grab a drink. "He is…not well. During his rush to get to Daphne 'arry apparently allowed many of his bonds around ze Horcrux to slacken. They have been strengthened again, but Hermione is…worried. He nearly attacked Flitwick after ze assault was stopped. She is convinced zat he is downplaying his continuing difficulties again."

Tonks' hair shifted to black and she grimaced. "Shite. We can't wait til Saturday to search for this thing. Let's ask Sirius if he can leave tomorrow."

"Agreed," Fleur said nodding. "Is it bad zat I almost hope we get attacked? It would be nice to take out some anger and frustration on acceptable targets."

Tonks laughed mirthlessly. "I find myself with similar feelings, hon. Hey, Moony, you get your drink yet!"

Remus walked back in sipping some tea. "It takes some time to get these things perfect, you know. So are we moving up the timetable?"

"We'll try for tomorrow if Sirius can get away," Tonks said nodding. She paused before continuing and frowned grabbing a lock of hair. Scowling she shook it and changed the black into a bright yellow. "Stupid hair," she muttered. "Tomorrow work for you, wolfie?"

"There isn't a Wizengamot meeting so yes. I'll just have to Floo Narcissa and move our tea date until Thursday, but that shouldn't be a problem."

Fleur's eyes widened. "Tea date wiz Narcissa Malfoy?"

"Narcissa Black," Remus corrected gently. "She actually isn't all that bad. Her views aren't quite modern, but she's far more flexible than you'd think."

Tonks snorted. "Flexible huh? Personal experience there, wolfie?"

Remus flushed. "That would hardly be appropriate considering she just divorced a few months ago."

"And how long before that was the last time she had sex with dear old ex-Uncle Lucy?"

His silence was all the answer the girls needed.

Daphne's eyebrows rose as her mother, Cassandra Greengrass, walked into the Hospital Wing. Walked was a bit of an understatement as the woman was moving quickly enough that she was just a hair below inappropriate running. Daphne wasn't about to complain. It was also a good indication that her father wasn't coming at this time. Not that that really surprised her at all.

"Would you like me to leave so you two have some privacy?" Hermione asked softly leaning over the bed. "I can always go back to the library and make double-check my latest project…"

Harry sitting nearby started mumbling in his sleep. "Don't eat the pie, the pie is for Dobby. He wants to hit Dumbles with it…" Both girls ignored him.

Daphne shook her head. "It's fine. You can stay, Hermione."

Cassandra quickly brushed past Madame Pomfrey and sat down next to her daughter. "Daphne, my sweet, sweet little girl…" Cassandra reached out and grabbed Daphne's hand prompting an embarrassed blush to spread over her cheeks.

"Mother. You really didn't have to – "

"Of course I did!" Cassandra scowled. "Though your father seems far more interested in your continued marriageability. He's been locked behind closed doors for most of the past day making Floo calls and ensuring your options remain open."

Hermione frowned and wrote a short note on a nearby notebook. Daphne shrugged. "Would you have expected anything different? I certainly did not."

"He was a good man once…But enough about that, is there anything you need my dear? Is there anything that I could do to assist?"

"You could get them tossed into Azkaban," Hermione muttered.

Daphne chuckled. "I don't suppose there is any chance of that happening, Mother? It would be nice, but seeing who they back I doubt they'd be in there very long anyway."

Cassandra shook her head with a pained expression. "Draco Malfoy was a bit smarter than I would have given him credit for. He and the others are all blaming the entire incident on Nott. It's ingenious really. His mother passed years ago and with his father having died at the end of last term there is no one to protect him or advocate on his behalf. I imagine Theodore will likely meet an unfortunate accident along the way to his Azkaban cell in order to ensure that he can't implicate or accuse the Malfoy boy any further."

"So Draco gets off with no repercussions?" Daphne asked narrowing her eyes and lowering her tone to dangerous levels.

"I wouldn't say that," Cassandra said smiling and chuckling. "McGonagall is planning to snap all five of their wands in a few hours at the gates to the castle so you can go witness that first hand. In addition, I have spoken with Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Black. Lucius has claimed that with Draco's expulsion and snapped wand the boy should be considered a Squib and as such cannot be held accountable in a Wizarding court for his participation in the assault."

Hermione snarled and got out a notepad hurriedly scribbling. "Yet another law that we will have to change. Loophole after loophole for these privileged cretins. They think they are so smart…wait until I get a chance to write the new versions…"

Cassandra lifted her eyebrows at Hermione's mutterings. Daphne patted her friend's hand nodding along before she turned back to her mother. "How are they punishing Nott then? Shouldn't he fall under the same twisted loophole? And I assume that you three are using Lucius' attempt against him concerning Draco?"

"With Nott they are claiming that his punishment was already decided prior to his wand being snapped and if that is not grey enough, they are claiming that as he attacked a Pureblood Heiress he should still fall under our laws. Their arguments are circular and would never pass through an uncorrupted system. Lucius on the other hand…Yes, we are using his own reasoning to attack," Cassandra confirmed. "Draco will be stripped of his Heir status and forced to live in the Muggle world. I give him a few months perhaps before he annoys the wrong person and gets himself killed in a back alley somewhere."

"That's assuming he manages to feed himself and make enough money to survive that long," Daphne said smirking. "He would have been stripped of his Heir status anyway."

Cassandra blinked, momentarily confused before laughing. "Oh, you got him with the Ice Crusher then?"

"Yes. Little Draco will never be able to sire offspring and he should be singing soprano forevermore."

Hermione cocked her head to the side as she looked curiously at Daphne. "So that's what you meant…did you freeze them off or simply crush them as the spell implies?"

"Freeze," Cassandra said. "It's a family spell my grandmother invented to deal with unruly men. There are different levels it can be used at from simple deterrent to, well, that."

"Actually, Mother, I would like to teach it to several classmates and friends. Considering the times…" Daphne trailed off.

"Of course dear. Just ensure that you trust those you teach."

Daphne nodded. "What of the others?"

Cassandra shrugged. "About the same as Draco unfortunately. There is some good news though. Fudge has spent too much capital with allowing this oversight in justice to occur. The Black sisters and I are gathering our votes and leaning on the Prophet. By this time next week, Fudge will have been sacked, resigned or facing a lynch mob."

"Well that's something at least. It's not ideal, but I suppose I can take comfort in Malfoy living his worst fears for now," Daphne said sighing. "I admit, I'm surprised that Narcissa Black is accepting this."

"She was unhappy about it, but agreed that it was better than many of the initial options presented. Narcissa was also…very unhappy about the depths to which Draco had sunk. I don't think she had quite realized just how like his father he truly was. I feel bad for the poor woman and thank Merlin that you and Astoria have never had those issues." Cassandra gently squeezed her daughter's hand. "I'm sorry I can't do more at the moment. Perhaps you and your friends will be able to prevent these types of things in the future. I am becoming more and more confronted with the flaws in our current system. Perhaps it truly is time for a change." She leaned back and smiled over towards Harry's sleeping form. "Now, tell me a bit about your savior. Is the young man still simply a friend or has more developed?"

Daphne blushed again. "You used to have more tact, Mother. We are officially dating. I was going to tell Father whenever he bothered to show up here."

Hermione chewed the end of her quill frowning. "Daphne, perhaps you should write a letter and ask your mother to let him know as well…"

Cassandra waved it off. "I'll inform him. If he's up to something though it won't make much difference. Marcus no longer believes that Daphne is legitimate concerning Harry Potter and without a ring on her finger nothing is likely to convince him otherwise." Hermione's frown deepened though Daphne just sighed.

"I did play that card far too often so it's my own fault. I won't make such a mistake in the future," Daphne commented wearily.

"And what of Tracey? I expected to see her here," Cassandra asked.

Hermione answered before Daphne could. "Tracey and Harry have been switching off. She's showering at the moment and will be bringing up food with Luna when she comes back."

Daphne rolled her eyes but couldn't fully suppress the heat spreading over her cheeks and the warmth in her chest at her partners' attentions. "I told them it was unnecessary – especially seeing as I leave here this afternoon – but they insisted."

"They would not be very good companions if they hadn't." Cassandra smiled and chuckled lowly. "You are very lucky my dear. Now, about this study schedule for the O.W.L.s I've heard about…"

Blaise scowled as he crumpled the letter from his mother. "Good match my arse. 'You'll have a decent name, Blaise. You'll have a business empire, Blaise. You'll have a pretty wife your age, Blaise.' Go screw your next husband, mum!" Blaise contemplated setting the letter on fire out of spite but decided to hold off – for a few minutes at least.

Daphne would probably want to read it herself before he incinerated it.

Still scowling Blaise started stalking down the halls of castle. "Now where would she be? Hospital Wing maybe? No, she should have been released a little while ago. Slytherin Common Room? No, she'd probably avoid that until Malfoy's gang is officially destroyed. Maybe the Gryffindor Common Room…hopefully not, I don't know where that one is. Maybe…" Blaise glanced out a window he passed and stopped midstride. Chuckling he turned on his heel and headed for the doors out of the castle. "Of course, she'd want to watch."

Blaise joined a few other students streaming out of the doors of the castle and filing down to the Main Gate. The assembly wasn't supposed to start for another few minutes, but it seemed like quite a lot of his schoolmates wanted to be early. Wanted to get a good view was more likely. Malfoy's squad hadn't just restricted itself to Harry Potter after all and there quite a few who would be cheering as the idiots' wands were snapped.

He tried to slot into a section of the crowd near Daphne, but didn't even make it within five feet of the girl. She was surrounded by Potter's group. They weren't visibly acting as bodyguards despite it being clear to an observant eye that they considered themselves as such. Longbottom was covering the rear with Bones and Abbott on either side of him. The Patils with Brown and Li were stationed on the left edge while the right side was covered by the Weasley twins, Weaslette and the Quidditch Trio. Potter, Granger, Tracey and Lovegood were in the center with Daphne. Blaise decided discretion was the better part of valor. He could wait until afterwards.

McGonagall stepped up to the gates after several more minutes and raised her wand to her throat casting a sonorus spell. "Good afternoon students. Thank you for all arriving promptly. I realize this is highly unorthodox however things at Hogwarts will be changing drastically this year. There has been a disturbing lack of action on the staff's part to curb bullying and inappropriate practices in the past. That trend ends now. Every one of you carries a deadly weapon at nearly all times and your actions have consequences. Personal responsibility and morals are essential. The five students you see before you recently assaulted a fellow classmate with intent to perform heinous acts. This behavior is unacceptable!" McGonagall turned to glare at Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson and Nott. All five were magically frozen just in front of the gates with two Aurors behind Nott.

She quickly turned back to the main crowd and continued her speech. "Expulsions are typically handled in private however due to the current political state of the country as well as the lack of visible punishment in prior years an exception has been made. Watch well students. I expect each of you to behave as gentlemen and gentlewomen. I expect a level of respect for each other as well as common decency. Attacks on others will no longer receive a slap on the wrist. You will be held accountable."

Turning back to Malfoy's gang McGonagall strode forward to Draco first. "Draco Malfoy, you are in violation of the code of conduct at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are forevermore expelled from this institution. May God have mercy on your soul and Merlin have mercy upon your magic." Without any further preamble the Headmistress took out his wand and snapped it, incinerating the pieces afterwards. Blaise smirked at the look of shock and loss on Malfoy's face. Served the pompous arse right.

The same scene repeated down the line. The only difference was in Parkinson who burst into tears as her wand's pieces went up in flames. For a moment Blaise felt sorry for the pug. Then he remembered that she was standing by while four guys were about to rape his friend and all commiseration fled. As the last wand was snapped, the five were sent out of the gates. Nott was immediately apparated away by the attending Aurors while the other four followed a robed individual down towards the path to Hogsmeade. If Blaise hadn't have known better he'd have said they were just being taken back to Voldemort's camp and given new wands. Thankfully he had his own sources and he knew that Cassandra Greengrass had made some calls. They would disappear into the Muggle world before the Death Eaters even thought to retrieve them.

Good riddance.

The assembly broke up and Blaise started searching for his target again. Most of the formation around Daphne stayed intact which was annoying. Blaise heaved a sigh and squared his shoulders. Oh well, he'd never had a problem with Potter before so he shouldn't be worried about approaching them. There was just something in the Golden Boy's eyes that promised pain that sent shivers down his spine. Blaise had seen it reflected in his mother's eyes enough that he'd always recognize it.

"Excuse me," he said as he walked closer. The ranks subtly moved inward, Daphne and Tracey both placed a hand on those close to them waving him in. "Thanks, Daphne, I need to speak with you for a few moments. Alone would be preferable."

Daphne frowned and nodded. She headed off towards the large tree near the lake with most of her friends hanging behind out of listening range. Blaise followed quickly after her. "What's this about?" she asked forgoing most of her usual subtlety and tact.

Blaise leaned down and picked up a few nice flat rocks to try skipping stones. He tossed the first one and held out the letter from his mother in his other hand. "You should read this."

Daphne frowned and took the parchment. She scanned the contents and scowled. He skipped a few more rocks as she reread it and proceeded to crumple the paper. Blaise chuckled. "I did the same thing about an hour ago. You want the honor of incinerating that thing?" Daphne didn't even bother nodding, she just took out her wand and the letter ignited. "So, no offense, Daph, you're pretty and all, but I'm not particularly interested in marrying a lesbian."

"I'm bisexual actually," Daphne said still glaring at the ashes. "And I'm already dating Tracey and Harry. Well, I was until this. Dammit! He just couldn't leave well enough alone! I'll find a way out of this."

"I'll try researching some options too," Blaise said nodding. "I have a girlfriend myself. She's going to be pissed if I break things off because my mum's a bitch who can't keep her greedy little paws out of my business."

Daphne turned to look at him with a calculating gaze. "Make certain your mother doesn't find out that you're searching for ways out because of the girl or she may disappear."

"Nah, mum likes poisons not disappearances. I already taught Sally-Anne detection spells and the like. But thanks for the sentiment."

"Let me know if you find anything before I do," Daphne said turning to go. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

Blaise tossed out his final rock and nodded. "Sure thing. Good luck to us both." Blaise leaned against the tree behind him and watched her walk back to the group. "Damn, Wizarding politics."

Harry walked around the cupboard under the stairs poking at rotting sections of the boards up against the wall and frowning. "This wasn't here last time. I should ask Shiva to come back in and take a look." He scowled and punched the wall flinching back afterward at the pain in his hand. "Stupid Horcrux. Stupid Voldemort. Stupid Dursleys. Stupid runes. Stupid impulsiveness. Stupid, stupid, stupid!" He punched the wall again and turned around. He'd already shifted his memories to a different section of his mindscape and he proceeded to wall off the entire segment of his mind again.

He'd been an idiot to think that positive thoughts had worked to hold back the thing earlier. Whatever damage he'd done with the Soul Cage had been healed and the soul shard was pushing back out again. Harry had shattered quite a lot of the restraints when he'd dropped all his inhibitions in the rush to get to Daphne the other day. He still didn't know if the urge to kill Malfoy and his goons had come from him or the soul shard – or which option was more disturbing for that matter.

Many of the protections Harry had initially placed were rebuilt and he'd added even more. It didn't matter. This was a losing battle in the long run and all he was doing was stalling. He hadn't wanted to admit it – not even to himself. Unfortunately, this was becoming a huge problem. If the Soul Cage didn't work soon, he'd ask Su to get that potions recipe. If this stupid thing kept fighting, it was going to start affecting every aspect of his life soon enough.

Dropping out of his mindscape Harry sighed and rubbed his forehead. The Common Room was mostly empty. Hermione was reading a book on the couch while Luna was playing with Coco in the corner. The twins were looking over business expenses and comparing locations for their shop while Ginny offered her opinions. Angelina and Alicia had already ranked their choices for the two which brought a slight smile to Harry's face. Life went on despite the turmoil roiling around him.

Harry took out his sketches for the Soul Cage and the base design shifting to the couch next to Hermione. Holding the pages in front of himself he tried to layer them to be able to see both sheets at once and started slightly turning them.

"Trying for a different way of seeing things like Luna?" Hermione asked marking her page.

"Yeah. I'm missing something. I think maybe I broke the targeting section when I started modifying the power rune."

Hermione quirked her mouth and reached out to tap a segment of the scheme that had just overlapped. "Was this in the original? A containment cluster here might wall off the two different souls wouldn't it?"

Harry blinked and moved the papers apart then layered them again. "Hermione you're a genius!" Harry exclaimed. He dropped the papers and pulled his partner into a deep kiss.

As they broke apart Hermione murmured, breathless, "Thanks. It's not a guarantee though, Harry."

"Guarantee, no," Harry agreed pulling out a new piece of paper and starting to modify his design. "But, I think it'll work. If I connect this cluster with that and shift this one over a bit to this link then the containment cluster will work synergistically with the targeting cluster!"

Hermione laid a hand on his wrist and gently turned his eyes to meet hers with the other. "Harry…you're not about to test this immediately are you?"

"I won't," he said quietly. "I promise. I'll wait until Tonks and Fleur come back with a test subject so that we can conduct a safe test. And if they take too long then I'll make sure that everyone else is nearby when I try it out."

Hermione smiled and leaned in to kiss him again. "Thank you, Harry. We'll get that thing out of you soon enough."

Hermione waved Harry into the Room of Requirement rolling her eyes at her boyfriend. It was incredibly cute and oddly sexy to see him walking down the corridors with parchment in front of his face, making notes and corrections. He'd been at it for over an hour and she'd barely been able to get him to stand and start walking when Daphne had called to meet up. Hermione was acting as his eyes as they walked along making sure he didn't run into the walls or trip over the stairs. As they finally reached the Room she gently took the papers from him and pushed him towards the couch. "You can finish afterwards, love."

"I'm basically done…" Harry muttered exasperated. He sat down on the couch and Hermione joined him with a chuckle. It was so nice to see him in a good mood again. Things had been so chaotic for so long that such an event was far too rare an occurrence these days.

The door to the Room opened again and Daphne walked in with Tracey right behind. The blonde gently pushed Tracey to sit down next to Hermione who gave the other Slytherin a querying look. Tracey just shrugged in response.

"Thanks for coming," Daphne said. "I apologize in advance for this. Earlier Blaise gave me some information about plans that my father has made." Daphne scowled and Hermione frowned, fingering her bag. Damn; sometimes she hated being right. It was a good thing she'd finished the corrections Snapfist had recommended earlier. "He's initiated contract negotiations with Victoria Zabini, Blaise's mother. I'm to be his bride before the month is out. As such I think it is only fair that we end…this," she said softly gesturing to the three sitting students with a pained expression, "before things get too far along."

Harry frowned and leaned forward. "Wait, are you saying you're breaking up with us two days after starting to date us? Because your dad is being a bastard?"

"That's…not really how I would have put it…" Daphne said fumbling.

Tracey glared. "I'm with Harry on this one, Daph. That's what it's coming across like. I think we all deserve a bit more credit than that."

Daphne frowned and started pacing. "You don't understand. This is my problem. This is my family. I have to handle this before I can justify bringing any of you in the firing line. My father is difficult enough when he feels threatened, but with the addition of Victoria Zabini? It's madness! I can't keep dating any of you while betrothed to Blaise! She'll kill you to secure his inheritance! She's killed seven husbands!"

"And the Slytherin Slayers have killed a basilisk, several Dementors, survived a chimera, fought off trained Aurors without a scratch and went toe-to-toe with Voldemort – multiple times," Harry said ticking off items on his fingers. "We've stood up to an entire school House, faced off with Dumbledore and killed Death Eaters. Hell, Daph, I have a piece of a freaking Dark Lord in my skull and Tracey was possessed by the bastard for almost a year! I think we can deal with a pissed off Black Widow!"

"But…it's not fair to you," Daphne said frozen in place and looking between them in complete confusion. "If I can't find which contract he is using and search for the loopholes none of it matters. I'd be locked into it and we could never have anything real. I won't kill Blaise, he's a good guy – in spite of his mother. It's not fair to you…I have to deal with this before I can commit…"

Harry rubbed his scar and groaned in frustration. Tracey just glared at Daphne. "When has anything been remotely 'fair' for the past few years for any of us, Daphne?"

"I…I just…but…" Daphne collapsed into the couch facing them and covered her face with her hands. "I just want to do what's best for you all!"

"What's best for us is staying with you and helping you through the mire of Pureblood politics," Hermione said gently. "Daphne, would I be correct in saying that whatever contract your father and Ms. Zabini try to use would be precluded by an earlier one and rendered null and void?"

"Of course, but I don't have any previous contracts to fall back on! Father was always one for keeping his options open and he was willing to let me have my own say until recently," Daphne exclaimed. Hermione could hear the strain in her voice recognizing the other girl was close to breaking down completely. Harry moved to say something and Hermione quickly shook her head to keep him quiet. Tracey almost jumped in before Hermione also quieted her.

"Daphne," Hermione said reaching into her bag. "I started drafting this after the attack. It's why I spent so long in the library the last two days. Initially I was working based on a worst-case scenario in which your father acted something like this. After your mother's visit I grew more convinced it might be necessary. I've triple checked it to ensure that it is accurate, legal and follows all guidelines. I contacted Snapfist just before dinner to run the wording by him and he agreed that the contract is sound."

Hermione held out a document inked on official looking parchment towards Daphne who had dropped her hands from her face and simply stared at Hermione mouth hanging open. Harry and Tracey were locked into similar expressions of shock. "Mione," Harry said slowly and carefully. "Mione, did you draft a betrothal contract?"

"I did."

"How the bloody hell do you know how to draft a betrothal contract?" Harry asked completely incredulous.

"Well," Hermione said blushing, "I took notes from the contract you had with Ginny. There were some books in the library with examples of typical contracts as well as advice on how to adjust several terms. I consulted with some of my Muggle books to close a few loopholes that seem to be endemic to the Wizarding world as well as to add other clauses to allow either of you to break the contract at any point in time up to the time you say your vows." Hermione shrugged. "It wasn't really that difficult. All it involved was a lot of double-checking and attention to detail."

"Merlin be damned, the woman's a genius…" Tracey muttered.

Harry rubbed his forehead and groaned. "Mione, a little warning next time would be nice."

"Well I wasn't expecting to have to pull it out the same day I finished it," she replied slightly annoyed. "I was planning on bringing it up over the weekend so we all had time to get the week's homework out of the way before turning to potentially dramatic topics. The excitement of this year is starting rather early."

Daphne gently reached forward and plucked the contract from her friend's fingers. "Every time I think I've hit the limit on the amazing things surrounding Harry something else pops up. Give me a moment to read this."

Tracey whistled and leaned back into the cushions. "I think there's going to be a copy of your face next to 'crazy-prepared' in the dictionary, Hermione."

"Is that a real word?" Hermione asked.

"If not, it should be."

Harry raised a hand and waved it around a bit. "For those less skilled in legalese can I ask a question? This is basically a less restrictive version of the thing with Ginny that Daphne or I can cancel anytime for any reason right? And it keeps her from being forced to marry Blaise?"

"Correct," Hermione said nodding.

"And why doesn't her father have to sign it as her Magical Guardian?" Harry asked.

"Because it's written using a Young Lovers contract base…" Daphne said astonished. "I never thought of modifying that section like this. This is brilliant. The way this is worded all we'd need is McGonagall to sign off as 'a person in a position of authority acknowledging the mental state, health and comprehension of the undersigned'."

Hermione smiled and nodded. "Actually I checked. 'Position of authority' is not limited to the Headmistress but is also covered by any faculty member. You could just ask Shiva or Lily to sign it if you're uncomfortable with asking Professor McGonagall."

"This even specifies 'Consort to House Black' and states that at least one child should carry the Greengrass name…Merlin, Hermione you really do think of everything!" Daphne exclaimed.

"Not everything," Hermione protested weakly. "I messed up with Shiva's name origins and I certainly make my fair share of mistakes."

Harry snorted in amusement. "Not when it counts." He held up his revised Soul Cage design and pointed to the contract with his other hand. "Cases like 20 and 21. So what do you think, Daph? Still want to break up or do you want to commit?"

Daphne froze and slowly looked up to meet Harry's eyes. "You would be okay with this? As you said, we've been dating for barely two days, Harry…"

"And as Fleur kept telling me over the summer we've apparently been dancing around each other for years. I think she's biased, but I'll admit she has a bit of a point." Harry shrugged and leaned back into the couch. "If it can be cancelled at any point without a fuss then who cares about a piece of paper? The thing with Ginny was horrible because I had no control. Here I do. If things don't work out between us we tear it up and search for other partners. By then you'll probably be old enough that you wouldn't need its protection anyway."

Tracey nodded agreement. "I'm with him. It's a good idea, Daph. As long as it doesn't specify exclusivity…" She trailed off and looked to Hermione who merely started laughing lightly and shook her head at the absurdity of that question considering her current relationship configuration. Tracey chuckled and turned back to Daphne. "Yeah, I'm all for it."

Daphne took another look at the paper in front of her, shook her head and laughed. She reached over and pulled a quill from her pack, signing it with a flourish. "In for a knut, in for a galleon!"

Fleur and Tonks apparated into Hogsmeade and made their way up the path to Hogwarts. Fleur smiled at seeing the castle coming into view. "It really is magnifique isn't it?"

Tonks quirked an eyebrow at Fleur. "Unlike Mione I get like two out of every 100 words you say in French, hon. If you're saying the castle is beautiful then I agree completely."

Fleur rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue at Tonks. "It means 'magnificent'. Zis word is not complicated. It sounds nearly the same in English."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say," Tonks teased, pushing open the gate and holding it for her partner. "After you."

"Why zank you." Fleur waved hello to Hagrid who was tying up some bundles of herbs in his garden and moved forward to hold the Entrance Hall doors for Tonks. "Now, after you, Nym."

Tonks chuckled and moved in. "Don't mind if I do. Hmm, Daphne's probably out of the infirmary already…Easy way or hard?"

Fleur frowned in thought for a moment. "Easy. We still need to find Sirius before it gets too late."

"True. Comm on, contact Hermione. Hey, sweetie, you wouldn't happen to know where Daphne is would you? Fleur and I just – oh. Well that makes things easier. We're on our way up." Tonks disconnected and shrugged at Fleur. "Apparently both girls, Tracey and Harry are up in the Room of Requirement. Mentioned having to talk to us about something anyway."

Fleur raised her eyebrows. "Too bad 'arry is still shy otherwise I might've dared hope for something naughty."

Tonks laughed. "Just because we know it's not that doesn't mean we can't tease him with it!"

Fleur rolled her eyes and they continued to the Room in relative quiet only passing a few students out and about. Tonks opened the door for them and Fleur watched in amusement as she strolled in with a wide smile and arms thrust wide. "Alright, peeps, clothes back on! Delicate eyes on the premises!"

"Delicate eyes?" Harry asked amused. "You two are the most perverted people I know. Well…okay maybe Luna would take that title, but still, my point is solid."

Fleur laughed. "Poor, poor, 'arry surrounded by deviants. Hello, Hermione, Tracey. Daphne, we heard of ze assault. Is zere anyzing zat we might be able to do?"

Daphne's mouth hung open slightly before she shook her head and laughed. "I've been friends with you people for years. You'd think I'd stop expecting Slytherin behavior from you all. I'm better, Fleur, Tonks. Thank you for asking. Harry and Tracey have been wonders and Hermione has helped as well. I won't lie and say I'm fine, but there's nothing I would ask for at the moment." She paused and grimaced. "Actually, I take that back. I humbly request that neither of you throttle me in the next few minutes."

"Why would we throttle you? Were you guys actually doing the naughty? You know it's cool if you were." Tonks said falling into a chair.

Harry subtly placed Hermione between him and the newcomers. Fleur raised her eyebrows at that but held her tongue for him to speak. "Err, I kinda just got engaged to Daphne…"

Any response Fleur had fled from her mind at that. Tonks wasn't quite as lost for words. "Run that by me again, Wonder Boy?" she said her voice completely strained and her hair a blur.

"Honestly, one would think you try to explain things in the worst way possible," Hermione huffed lightly smacking the back of his head. "Girls, Daphne's father is being a right bastard and forcing a marriage between her and Blaise Zabini. No one wants this beyond her father and Blaise's mother. I had a betrothal contract drafted just in case this happened. Either of them can cancel it at any time they wish but this prevents Daphne from being forced into a marriage she can't escape. We deeply apologize for not informing either of you prior to signing, but we are very worried about timing as our copy needs to be legitimate prior to whatever Marcus and Victoria are drafting. There's no telling how long it will take them to finalize terms, but we expect it to be quite soon knowing both of their personalities." She paused and shrugged. "Also, it's written so that Daphne is a Consort and not a Wife."

Fleur let out a breath. "We really must teach 'arry a better way to summarize events."

Tonks nodded emphatically. "Definitely. Shiva and Lily okayed this?"

"Ugh, I was going to go and tell them, but then you two arrived," Harry mumbled.

Fleur shook her head and ruffled Harry's hair. "Make certain you do 'arry. While it may be easily voided, it is still somezing zey should know immediately."

"Well, yeah. This like just happened less than five minutes ago, love," Harry said with a sigh.

Hermione held up a hand. "Plus it was mostly my idea."

"Oh well in that case," Tonks said moving flicking her wand and sending a mild stinging hex at Hermione who yelped and jumped in surprise. "Daphne…" Tonks paused and, shifting her hair to pink, saluted the Slytherin, "welcome to the family."

About an hour later Harry was standing outside Shiva's quarters gathering up the courage to knock. He ignored the twinges of pain and worry seeping out from his scar and raised his hand to rap on the door. Going to Shiva first was smart. She'd known him a bit longer than Lily and probably wouldn't get as annoyed as his birth mother over him signing the betrothal contract without telling them first. Though on the other hand Shiva had been there for the first contract so maybe she'd end up being more annoyed…

The door opened and Harry's internal debate was cut short as he saw Lily sitting on the couch and laughing at something Shiva had just said. "Hey, kid, I was wondering how long it'd take you to come talk to me," Shiva smirked holding the door open and waving him in.

Harry suppressed his groan and walked over to the couch. Well at least he'd get to kill two birds with a single stone this time. "Err, you knew that I was going to want to talk?"

Lily smiled and patted his knee. "One of your best friends was just attacked, Harry. Of course we figured you'd want to talk. How is she?"

"Oh. Right. Daphne." He hadn't had a chance to see either of his mothers about Daphne's assault yet. He'd been too busy in the past two days to get down to them. "Um, she's okay. Not good, but okay. I think she's focusing more on her anger and such to avoid thinking about it, but Daphne does that a lot so I think she'll be alright. The assembly earlier helped a lot. You could really see her relax afterwards. Tracey is going to stay with her in the Room of Requirement tonight though since she didn't want to head back to the Slytherin rooms for another day or two just in case Draco arranged anything with some of the people left behind."

Lily grimaced. "I hate that things have gotten this bad. What about you, how are you, Harry?"

"Okay." Both women raised their eyebrows at him and simply waited. Harry groaned and flopped back against the cushions. "Fine, I'm not okay. The stupid Horcrux is acting up and it's keeping me on edge. Something made it a lot worse when I ran to help Daphne and it hasn't settled down. The corruption is spreading. Not a lot, but the walls of my cupboard are starting to rot which can't be good." Harry's eyes cracked open enough to see Lily's flash of fury at the mention of his old bedroom but she didn't mention it just yet.

Shiva moved over and ruffled his hair before sitting down. "And yet you have a plan otherwise you'd be completely freaking out instead of just frustrated." Lily turned to her friend in surprise as Harry chuckled.

"You know me too me, Shiva," Harry murmured. "Hermione gave me an idea on what might be missing from the Soul Cage. If the changes don't fix it then I really have no idea what else would. Tonks and Fleur stopped by and let us know they were going after another Horcrux in a day or two. I'll wait to see if they get lucky so we can test the rune stone. If it doesn't work then I think I'll just ask for Su Li's potion and roll the dice."

Lily frowned. She crossed her arms over her chest and studied him carefully. "If you truly think it's better than living with the soul shard I understand, Harry. Get the recipe from her and I'll see if I can change a few things to make it safer. I was always good with potions."

"Sure, mum." Harry rubbed his scar and sighed. "That's not why I'm here though. Daphne's father decided that her assault was too close of a call. He's trying to get her to marry Blaise by the end of the month."

"Some father he is," Shiva muttered scowling. "Let me guess where this is going, kid: you're giving her an out?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair giving her an awkward grin. "Actually, it was Hermione's idea but…yeah." He held out the contract to both women. "It's a betrothal contract for Daphne to become Consort to House Black. Mione wrote it herself and ran it by Snapfist. It's similar to Ginny's, but can be broken whenever either of us want. Her father doesn't need to sign it because of some weird base contract that Hermione used. Went way over my head. Long story short, any teacher here can sign it and it will be a legal document."

Lily silently read the contract while Shiva turned to Harry with a deep frown. "I'm not sure I like this, kid…we had a lot of trouble with the last contract you were in…"

"I know, mum. I just…this is something I'm choosing. Not something that was forced onto me. Marcus has Daphne scared enough that she tried to break up with me and Tracey both. Blaise isn't too happy about it either. Signing this thing only helps us all. And…" he shrugged and gave a sheepish grin, "I really do like her."

Shiva leaned back and took the offered contract from Lily. The redhead regarded Harry and asked carefully, "Harry, if Hermione missed something – not that it looks like she did but humor me – if she missed something…would you be okay with Daphne being your Consort?" Harry nodded. "This is your decision. If you want this, then I'll sign it," Lily said closing her eyes. "I agree that I'm not exactly ecstatic over the idea, but I can see why it appears to be the best choice."

Shiva laid the contract and the table and crossed her arms leaning back in thought. "Daphne was okay with this?" She asked slowly. Harry nodded again. "Obviously Hermione doesn't mind. Fleur and Tonks?"

"They were annoyed I didn't ask them first," Harry said blushing red. "I have no problems admitting I should have and no excuses for why I didn't beyond being worried about getting it finished before Marcus Greengrass. But yeah, they're accepting of it."

"What about Tracey?" Shiva asked.

Harry nodded. "She was there as we discussed it. She didn't have a problem."

Shiva shook her head and gave a small huff of laughter. "I swear you kids get into the craziest things at the drop of a hat. Alright, where do I sign this thing?"

Harry smiled and leaned over to tap the appropriate blocks for his mothers to write in.

Tonks led the way into Sirius' quarters forgoing her usual flare and simply opening the door and beckoning Fleur inside. Sirius sat behind his desk grading papers; he waved hello and gestured the girls to two chairs in front of him. "One sec, just gotta finish this last paper...and done!" He leaned back groaning loudly while stretching his arms wide. "Being a teacher is harder than I had expected!"

Fleur laughed and rolled her eyes. "You have been a teacher for all of two days. I would even say you are being rather strict giving zem homework already!"

"Have to keep them on their toes," he commented with a smile. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of your company ladies? Checking on your harem-mate or business?"

"Both," Tonks said rolling her eyes at him. "It's not really a harem you know. Besides, if it's anyone's harem it's basically Hermione's. That girl somehow managed to rope me into dating a teenager, got Harry to accept dating a French Veela and apparently managed to convince three people that getting the Slytherin Ice Queen betrothed to the Gryffindor Golden Boy was not only a good idea but a great idea. Thank Merlin she's not related to the Blacks because then she'd be unstoppable!"

Sirius gaped at her. "Wait, wait, wait! When did Harry get betrothed? How did I miss this happening?"

Fleur chuckled. "It was about two hours ago. I'm sure word will spread quickly."

Sirius wiped away an imaginary tear. "I'm so proud. So should I be looking for rings on your fingers anytime soon as well now?"

"Hold your hippogriffs there, Cousin," Tonks said her hair flipping through several colors before settling on a bright red. "It's mostly to screw Marcus Greengrass over and to help Daphne out. We have to add the git to our growing list of people to go after later."

"Once Daphne has control of the Greengrass companies we can leave him penniless mon amour," Fleur said patting Tonks' knee in agreement.

"Alright as fun as gossip is, you mentioned business? Find out anything worth pursuing?" Sirius asked glancing between the two girls.

Tonks nodded. "We think so, yeah. We narrowed down several of the caves near Riddle's orphanage. It should only take us a few hours to inspect them all. We were hoping that you'd be willing to beg off classes tomorrow to help us scout and raid. Remus is good for it and I checked with Shack already too."

Sirius frowned. "I'd hate to get a sub for my third day of classes. Are we absolutely sure that there's a Horcrux there or is this something that can wait until the weekend?"

"Zere are...extenuating circumstances," Fleur said grimacing. "We want to get one of the saloperies back to Harry as soon as possible. He needs to test the Soul Cage soon."

Sirius scowled. "I can't wait until we kill this bastard. I'll call Amy and make sure the sub is here. Meet you at the Manor first thing?"

"Sounds good. Thanks, Padfoot. Have fun with the grading tonight and make sure you get some sleep old man," Tonks say congenially as she and Fleur got up to hug him and head off back the way they came.

Harry tossed and turned in his bed. Ostensibly he was asleep yet sleep rarely let someone remain as aware as the Boy-Who-Lived was at the moment. Harry wasn't aware of his dorm surroundings however…no, Harry was currently watching a slaughter in the making.

Thousands of miles away, Tom Marvolo Riddle – aka Lord Voldemort – was sitting on a rooftop and observing his Death Eaters attacking a market. They had arrived a few moments ago and were currently busy torturing and killing people everywhere Voldemort turned his eyes. He had needed an outlet to show the new recruits what they were signing up for and this had been perfect. A gathering of Muggle lovers, Blood Traitors and half-bloods at a flea market.

The man could have laughed at how easy this was. The foolish puppets danced to his music. He was a conductor on the stage of life and death. He was maestro of the country. He was Mozart of the new age. He was –

The music changed abruptly. Two spells from the victims shot towards his Death Eaters. One struck the young man in the face and his mask exploded, the body falling limply to the ground. The second shot went wide soaring harmlessly through the throng of revelers. It's follow-up spell unfortunately was not so erratically aimed. It struck true and the unlucky Death Eater flew through the air striking a brick wall and not getting back up.

More spells were shot at the Death Eaters now as many of the cattle stopped hiding and started fighting back. The recruits desperately tried to shield themselves and started sending more and more destructive spells back into the fray. What had just moments earlier been drunken fun and highborn privilege descended into chaos and destruction.

Voldemort scowled. Some time ago one of his newest followers had returned from a raid claiming that the sheep had fought back. He'd made a ridiculous statement that the entire force had been killed by the masses. Voldemort had dismissed the fool as a lying coward who ran when the Aurors turned up earlier than expected. The Dark Lord had been so disgusted by the pathetic fool that he hadn't even bothered to read the man's mind before killing him. Now the proof of that report was laid bare.

The cattle were growing fangs.

A series of pops sounded and red robes suddenly flooded towards the embattled street. Voldemort roared in frustration, rage and hatred. He raised his wand for a parting gift –

And Harry rolled out of the bed falling to the ground panting, his clothes soaked in sweat and his scar burning. Harry's landing roused a loud snore from Ron but otherwise the dorm stayed resolutely quiet. Shaking, Harry curled into a ball for several minutes, waiting for the pain and terror to pass. When the shuddering stopped, Harry dived into his mindscape jumping straight to the Horcrux. The stone and metal surrounding the thing was bulging and corroding. Harry cursed and went to work hammering everything back into place, adding a few young dragons, xenomorphs and T-1000s to watch over it and act as an alarm system to hopefully give him some warning the next time he entered Voldemort's mind.

Next time…Harry slammed a fist into the wall of his mindscape. This wasn't working. His walls weren't going to hold forever. Maybe he could use it though…maybe he could root around inside the monster and find where the Horcruxes were and…

"NO!" With a roar Harry turned and launched an energy bolt into the Horcrux sending it mewling back down to whatever hole it hid in. The crazed, suicidal suggestions died down and Harry felt his mind clearing somewhat. Intentionally opening that connection would let the door swing both ways. Voldemort did not need direct access to his mind.

Harry surfaced from his mindscape still breathing hard. He grabbed his invisibility cloak from his trunk and stood up. For a moment he contemplated comming Hermione, but discarded that. She'd had almost as long a day as he had and it would be selfish to wake her up just so he could lay down on the couch with her for a few minutes. Tonks and Fleur were too far away to bother. He considered going down to the Room of Requirement and asking to sleep next to Daphne and Tracey for several moments before again decided it wouldn't be fair to the girls. Daphne had her own issues at the moment and didn't need him to add to them.

So instead going towards any of his partners, Harry found himself walking down the corridors towards Shiva's room again. This time it wasn't a matter of which mother to search for. It was practicality. He needed distraction. He needed to work. Shiva was a better helper with his work than Lily.

Standing outside the door, Harry paused. He knew the password so he could just walk in, but it was the middle of the night…Sighing, Harry knocked softly. Better to be safe than sorry. Walking in on Shiva in her nightclothes would be exceedingly embarrassing and he didn't need that right now.

The door opened and Harry pushed the hood of his Cloak back enough for Shiva to see him. Blinking in surprise the woman quickly pulled him inside. "Jeez, kid," she muttered looking him over. "You look like death warmed over. And you're using the Cloak instead of a Ninja…fuck. Give me a sec. Comm on, contact Lily. Lils, can you come to my room for a few minutes? Yeah. Thanks. Disconnect."

"Didn't want to waste time looking for where I put the rune belts," Harry murmured sitting down on the couch and rubbing his forehead. "Hermione's asleep and I didn't want to bother Daphne. Mind if I stay here for an hour or two? I just need to work on something for a bit."

"Sure, kid. Here, I have the designs we've been looking at for the Tech Assist. Let's try to finish those up, yeah?" Shiva said pulling some cluster schematics out of a drawer and walked over to set them in front of him. A deep frown was still etched across her features.

The door to the chamber opened and Lily rushed in. She pulled up short momentarily, gaping at Harry who was still half invisible. She recovered fast and quickly shifted targets to take the Cloak off his shoulders and drape it over a chair. "What happened?"

"Voldemort got annoyed at people actually fighting back," Harry said quietly. He shifted the papers in front of him and started to mark a few of the clusters and erase some of the individual runes that seemed to be problematic. "They did a good job too. Took down several Death Eater recruits and stalled long enough for the Aurors to arrive. He ran away about that point, but not before sending off one spell of his own towards the crowd. Don't know what; managed to kick myself out of his head before seeing it."

Shiva sent a pointed look at Lily and glanced down at the parchment covering the small table. "We're about to try to fix one of Harry's inventions if you're interested in helping. It's supposed to locally suppress magic to allow for Muggle electronics to function in high-magic areas." She pointed to a few spots that Harry was working on. "These sections of the cluster are giving us some problems. We've already determined why it can't be adapted to work on living tissue and unfortunately I doubt we'll be able to fix that in this lifetime. The idea still works for inanimate items, but we're having some issues with affixing it to tech without shorting the things out before it activates."

Lily took the hint and pulled up a chair. "Well, you both know while I enjoy this stuff, it's not my strong suit. I can't promise I'll be much help, but I'd love to assist."

Harry just nodded and crossed out another rune adding a different one to the changed weave in its place.

The next day at breakfast, the entire group sat with Daphne at the Slytherin table. It was a calculated move. It showed both that she wasn't afraid of the remaining House members and also that if one of them tried anything against her they tried it against nearly half of the Fifth Year students. Daphne kept a careful control of her expression. It wouldn't due to grin at these fools like a madwoman. Harry's group of friends had grown considerably and he hadn't even truly realized his influence. How Draco thought that he would have been able to simply walk away after assaulting her was something that only made sense to the ferret.

One thing dampening her good mood were the bags under Harry's eyes and the slight paleness to his expression this morning. She'd caught Hermione's eye and the brunette shook her head in confusion as well. While the boy was distracted Daphne leaned over to Neville. "Did Harry get any sleep last night?" she whispered.

Neville let out a low frustrated sound. "He went to bed at the same time as us, but he was gone when I woke up," Neville responded softly. "His bedding was mostly on the floor and his trunk was hanging open. I closed it up and tidied things up a bit before the others noticed."

"Thanks, Nev," Daphne said sighing. She glanced at Harry again. His smile was slightly strained, but his laughter at Luna's newest comments was genuine. "I'll let you know if we need to keep watch for anything. I'd hazard it was simply a horrible nightmare that hasn't quite let him go yet."

Neville raised his eyebrows and smiled at her. "We should all take lessons from you on how to have two conversations with one dialogue."

Take lessons from you…Daphne cocked her head to the side and a huge grin split her face stretching from ear to ear. "Actually…that's not such a bad idea, Nev." She cleared her throat and raised her voice enough to be heard by nearly everyone surrounding her. "Everyone, how would you all feel about taking some extra Defense lessons?"