If you want to support me check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
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21 June 1995, Athens, Greece
Daphne Greengrass couldn't help but feel nervous. No one could blame her. Her boyfriend was probably fighting the two Champions of Light and Dark by himself, and a part of her wanted to wait for him to come back to her, if only so that she could hex him for making her feel like a mess.
She had done her part and done it well. She survived the battle against Grindelwald's forces, enough for her to activate her ritual. When she'd asked Harry to take a bigger role in the battle, she didn't expect him to give her something of this magnitude. She wanted to be more than bait, more than someone to be kidnapped, to be saved. Harry had achieved wonders with his magic and fought against gods and monsters with just his ingenuity and cleverness. He would be remembered one day; she knew that for a fact, and she wanted to be remembered too, not just as someone he loved or saved, but to have achievements of her own.
What she had done could do that. She had literally killed every single vampire in Nurmengard with her ritual. Harry had helped design it, of course, but it had been mainly her work. She had to admit that her boyfriend did give her the idea to make the ritual and equivalent exchange, enhancing the vampires' strength, but in turn give them a crippling weakness that made it useless. It balanced everything and minimised the frankly insane magical cost for just killing them. It was just like Harry suggesting that a ritual was tricked into thinking that an attack was actually an equivalent exchange, and Daphne was surprised that it was even more feasible or that Lily hadn't found that little loophole before. Or maybe she did and chose to keep it a secret. That sounded more like her.
Nevertheless, the vampires were gone now, probably extinct, given that Grindelwald had essentially summoned them all to fight for him, something about him having an authority over them as creatures of Darkness. It didn't matter. As she stood on the battlefield, she had watched an entire race die with a whimper, unable to even put up a fight. She hadn't known what to feel. She had watched as Nurmengard fell thanks to Pettigrew, the Trojan horse who had taken her place. It was funny that the most cowardly Marauder, the weakest, would be the one to survive the longest, even if it wasn't by much.
Remus had died just minutes before him, having protected her against the Elder Vampires, allowing her to perform her ritual. She supposed that this made up for all the screwed-up shit he had done, but it didn't matter, in the end. He was dead, joining his precious Lily in the afterlife. She would make sure that the Lycans would be taken care of. She'd ask Harry to take care of it. He'd know what to do.
But none of that came into her mind back in Nurmengard. It was just the realisation that she had participated in achieving something legendary, something that would be remembered, yet it had all tasted so bitter. She had destroyed an entire people, an entire species, and she just felt sick. No one knew it was her, but she imagined Astoria's disappointment and fear at the action, her father sucking up to her, leveraging her reputation to increase his fortune and influence, her mother not looking at her the same way.
Her family didn't know about the battle or her involvement in it. They didn't know that she had seen more deaths in a day than most Aurors in a lifetime. And now, she realised that she didn't want anyone to know. She now understood why Harry had asked her to use an illusion to hide herself, even after the trap was over and the pretence of her dying wouldn't work. He'd justified it in many ways, including saying that the pretence of her death in Nurmengard could help them prevent their supposed deaths from the future. She had agreed, seeing the pleading look on his face, but it was only now that she truly understood. Harry knew her. He knew that she wouldn't want to be remembered like this, like the girl who had wiped out an entire species before her majority, that she wouldn't want people to treat her like they treated him, like a monster, which they either feared or sought to control.
She hadn't even been angry when she felt a portal swallow her up right after her role ended, sending her to Marinakis' safehouse in Greece. Now that she had left the battlefield and had time to think, everything had become clearer. The haze of survival and death was gone, and in its place was the emptiness and horror of her actions, which she distracted herself from by worrying over Harry. She had remained frozen for what felt like an eternity, her thoughts in complete mayhem.
She hadn't wanted to speak to her family, not like this, and thankfully, they weren't the ones to find her. It had been Arcturus Black who had. He gave her an understanding smile, "It's all catching up to you now, isn't it?"
Daphne's eyes widened, and she nodded, "I did it."
"Battle often rarely is what we expect, especially in magical combat. Harry told me to come talk to you after you were done."
The blonde let out a snort at that, "That's Harry, alright," before turning solemn, "I can't believe that I was looking forward to this, to be part of his plan, to achieve something."
Arcturus sat down beside her, ignoring the dust and bloodstains still marring the floor. "That's the tragedy of it, my dear. You think it'll make you feel proud. Victorious. You imagine the songs, the accolades. And then it happens, and all you can feel is how heavy your hands are. How stained."
Daphne hugged her knees to her chest, letting the silence stretch between them.
"He told me you wouldn't want to be remembered," Arcturus said quietly, "Not for something like this."
She let out a shaky breath. "He was right."
"Of course he was," Arcturus smiled sadly. "He knows better than anyone that something like this always has a cost. Don't worry. As far as anyone is concerned so far, you were taken in Nurmengard. The witch who had used blood magic to wipe out the vampire was just some mercenary I hired from Bulgaria, nothing more. The general public will think that you have died, and the few who know of your survival would simply assume that Harry arranged for your escape before Nurmengard fell. Your name will never be connected to what happened unless you want it to. You would have the time to process your actions without caring about other people's opinions."
Despite herself, Daphne smiled. It was a weak smile, tainted by the fresh memories of her actions, but it was a smile, nonetheless. This was just like Harry, to give her options, to allow her to deal with things in her own time. And now he fought the two strongest men in the world with only two other men at his side, and she couldn't help but worry.
Arcturus made his way to move, and yet Daphne stopped him, "Can you stay for a bit? I don't want to be alone."
The Black Patriarch nodded, "I suppose that I don't want to be alone either. But let's get you cleaned up a bit."
Daphne nodded and waved her wand. The blood and grime vanished from her person. Her mercenary gear turned into normal clothes, and she even cleaned up whatever mess she had made around her. And yet, she still felt the need to shower after all of this. For now, it was enough until she waited for word from Harry.
They sat in silence, two mages who had seen war in their own way, until suddenly she felt the sky darken, obviously a duel, this time with Dumbledore being involved. She heard explosions in the distance and couldn't help but wonder how Harry was dealing with all of this.
Funnily enough, right as she finished this thought, something in Arcturus' robes glowed. The man took something out of his pocket, a small pocket watch, which was glowing golden. She gave him a questioning look, and he responded sheepishly, "It's a gift from Harry. He gave it to me before the battle. I thought it was only a nice gesture."
He opened the watch, only for a ball of light to appear before them, morphing into an illusion of the battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, with no Harry in sight, and yet this was proof. In his own way, Harry was showing them that he was alive and what was happening. He must have successfully turned them against one another and was arranging for everything to be divined easily, like he planned. She thought that it was a stretch, that the two Champions would focus on their common enemy, but obviously she had been wrong.
The sky rumbled as the two Champions fought with power and feats of magic that would have been mistaken for divine. There was no other way she could describe it. This was, by far, the riskiest part of Harry's plans, and it was obvious that he hadn't predicted everything. Grindelwald becoming some shadow creatures, regenerating from nothing, was definitely unexpected, and so was Dumbledore's weapon, whose presence she could feel from the illusion itself.
The illusion itself and the fact that the amount of magic wasn't destabilising the application of divination showed that Harry was still alive. She didn't know about Marinakis and Drakul, but to be perfectly honest, she didn't really care. The first vampire had lived too long, committed atrocities over the course of history. Alexander Marinakis had almost willingly sacrificed his son, and his decision got dozens of students killed in Olympus. And yet, the man had knocked out Perseus and arranged for him to appear in the safehouse, since the boy wanted to fight Grindelwald.
She still didn't like either of them and wouldn't really bat an eyelash if they died. They were allies of convenience, to fight for a common cause against a common enemy.
As if they were summoned by her thoughts, both Vlad and Marinakis appeared from the shadows, falling unceremoniously on the ground. Marinakis was unconscious and missing an arm, but the most concerning thing was the black curse slowly withering towards his chest. The blonde immediately ran towards him, doing her best to stabilise him. It took an application of blood magic to slow down the curse. It was unlike anything she had ever seen, and it was only her experience with her sister that allowed her to buy him enough time to make that possible.
Vlad, though, looked relatively unharmed, but distinctly lesser. She had no other way to explain it, but he felt less present, less anchored to the world. Daphne recognised the use of ritualistic magic and knew, instinctively, that the vampire gave up something significant during the battle.
Still, the vampire didn't even care about his cursed ally and instead stared unblinkingly at the illusion, as if he didn't believe it. "He really did it. He was able to turn them against each other. I had almost lost hope."
Arcturus turned towards him, his eyes severe, "Explain."
"Grindelwald was far stronger than we expected. We managed to trap him as we originally planned, but the Dark itself intervened, freeing him. I have seen today displays of magic that I never thought possible in all my years, and I have seen a lot. We tried to renew the attack, but Marinakis was too wounded, and I sacrificed much in my last attack. I decided that it was better to retreat than become liabilities."
"And Harry?" the blonde asked.
"Last I saw him, he was holding his own, but I feared how long he would be able to do it. Obviously, Dumbledore's arrival gave him an opportunity to buy himself more time for his plan to work."
Daphne didn't even have time to reply as Dumbledore finally revealed Grindelwald. The conversation that followed was damning, and obviously what Harry was going for. That was Harry's plan, not to broadcast the whole thing to the world, but he knew that people would be watching and that anyone digging around would find it. He supposed that the sense of discovery would make more people believe it.
It was only when Grindelwald blew on Gjallarhorn that Vlad gasped, and nothing happened. The first vampire smiled, his skin becoming far less pale, his features becoming older. The man burst into laughter, "I can't feel it anymore. He really did it. I can feel it. I'm finally free. I've been waiting for centuries, but now it finally happened."
That statement made a gigantic smile appear on Daphne's face. This was it; Harry had won. The Light and the Dark were gone, finally. The main challenge had been to buy time for Nidhogg to be summoned to their realms, and he really managed to do it.
The rest should be easy enough, and as if to prove it, Harry appeared behind Grindelwald and stabbed him. A man who had been essentially immortal just moments prior, who was likely one of the most powerful mages in history, fell to his knees. Harry then talked Grindelwald and Dumbledore into admitting a few more things, before casually killing Grindelwald after destroying Dumbledore's Light Spear. He then activated his contingency to dealing with the ritual's backlash, faking his death by ending the divination, making everyone assume that he was caught up in the blast, just as he planned.
Arcturus laughed in joy. Vlad stared at the window with a soft smile on her face. Marinakis was still unconscious, still cursed. It was a shame, but the attack wasn't exactly tied to the Dark itself. The effect still lingered, and there was very little she could do without some time in the lab and maybe Harry's help.
Nevertheless, that small inconvenience aside, this was it, a complete victory, and all that remained was for him to kill Dumbledore and arrange for the World Tree to grow.
The world was saved, and everyone was celebrating in their own way, but not her. She simply waited for Harry.
Silence stretched, and with every second, she barely breathed. Her heart was pounding so loudly she thought it would deafen her.
And then, feeling like an eternity had passed, the air shimmered, fracturing like glass, and a portal bloomed open in the centre of the room.
She stumbled to her feet with a strangled sob, her hands flying to her mouth.
Harry stepped out.
He looked… exhausted. His clothes were torn and scorched, his face pale and drawn, but he was whole. He was alive. He didn't look at anyone else. Didn't acknowledge the others. His gaze found hers instantly, and without hesitation, he walked toward her.
She met him halfway, colliding into him with a choked breath as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, fierce and desperate. She clung to him, to the warmth, to the certainty that he was really back, that he had battled gods and demons in everything but name, and came out, not only victorious, but unharmed.
When they finally pulled apart, her forehead rested against his. She smiled, tears prickling at the corner of her eyes, and whispered, "Is it done?"
He nodded, voice rough with exhaustion but steady. "It's done."
She exhaled shakily, brushing a hand through his hair, "What now?"
Harry gave her the smallest, tired smile, one that still somehow managed to light up his battered face.
"Now," he said, voice barely above a whisper, "we live."
Before either of them could say anything else, Arcturus strode forward, abandoning any pretence of stoicism, and pulled Harry into a fierce, wordless hug. The boy stiffened in surprise for a moment before relaxing into it, and Daphne, watching them, felt something inside her finally settle.
It was over.
The death sentence hovering over their heads was gone with the time loop resolved. Harry's greatest enemies, the greatest threats to them, were dead, with the main disadvantage being the fact that the world probably thought that they were dead now.
Now, that would be an extremely awkward conversation with her family, one that she was definitely not looking forward to having.
No, she would worry about that later. Today, she would celebrate.
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AN: I wasn't really planning anything for this chapter. I just started writing, and it all came out like this. I felt like I needed a Daphne chapter to deal with what happened (she did essentially commit genocide), and reuniting with Harry after the whole thing ended. We're going back to Harry in the next few chapters, with me tying a few ends. As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
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If you want to support me check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.