February 3, 1945
Wednesday Morning
Elaine was already moving far faster than Harry could have expected due to the death of the Minister and the slightly earlier felling of Dumbledore and Grindelwald. They had discussed in detail how long their plans would likely last and the most reasonable answer had tended to be in the three to five years mark, possibly longer. Here they found themselves not even a few months post the Battle of Hogwarts and it looked as if the couple would make a bid for power.
It was obvious to Harry that their odds of winning weren't one hundred per cent, he personally thought they were somewhere in the fifty per cent range, but Elaine was incredibly confident. Perhaps that was because she'd rig the election to ensure that she won… he wouldn't put such a thing past her and really, he hoped she would win for the peace it would bring about.
The Muggleborn didn't hate the Purebloods, the Half-Bloods weren't separated into two different camps and there had been no civil war beyond a few traitors supporting Grindelwald. All of that had been avoided through and through, and should everything continue as it currently went in this world, then it would still be avoided. That was what mattered to Harry, that was the goal that he gave himself and the one that he would hold himself to completely and utterly.
So long as he lived, there would be a pursuit of peace to the maximum extent that he could work himself.
Bang.
One loud thud from outside of his office brought him back to his reality, that being seated at his desk with numerous letters to read. There were dozens and dozens all meant for his eyes alone, all of them pertaining to the followers of Grindelwald that persisted in causing havoc so long as they lived. Most of them would prove false, and the few that didn't, Harry knew the majority would be one-off sightings with no real significance. What he wanted, what the entire Auror office wanted, were the reports that led them to the bases of Grindelwald's remnants.
If they could cut off the heads of the problem - that being the places all of their equipment and rest was had - they could destroy the monsters that remained behind to torment the average person. As soon as that happened, peace would be restored and a real sense of healing could finally take root. He looked back down at those letters sorted the way that they were and he opened the topmost one, skipping to the bottom of the parchment where the words of the witness were themselves.
' There were ten… yes, ten men and women, dressed up all in black with great big hats covering the majority of their heads. They drooped, you see, and the robes were excellent in concealing their figures - barely knew some of them were witches, I did. It took me getting closer and investigating what they were doing, but then I saw it. I saw what they did with me own two eyes. There was a poor Muggle girl, twenties, thirties, forties, she wasn't very old. No,, she was a right youngun, but they didn't let her be. I saw them cast a number of curses I've never heard in tongues that were off-putting to the ears, but she screamed for thirty minutes. I hear them in my sleep, they're screeching, horrible. Once they had their fun and she was gone, they took off to the woods. Could even show the path they took, I could. They deserve fates likened to the poor girl.'
Harry made a note of the geographical location the report came from and moved to the next letter. He read through the thing long enough to get the location out of it and no sooner than that was done, did he move to the third letter, again only after marking the location of the previous one. On and on Harry saw to the monotonous task until the stack of 'critical' letters as he'd call them, were dealt with.
Finally and only then, with the stacks sorted based on location, would he start to truly read through the lot of them just as he'd done with the first letter. When he grabbed ahold of the second one to truly read, he did so from the largest section of attacks; one circle was so small and filled with violence that it had to be a place of operation for them. All of the others were much harder to pin down, but one was a start.
' Yes, I saw four witches and two wizards the night that the Muggle's body was found in the river. No, I don't remember hearing any screams or pleas, none save for the whipping of the wind. Why was I awake in the evening, sir? Should you truly need to know, it was for my child of whom I grow exceedingly weary for as precious time continues to pass by with killers at the door. You need to do to them as they've done to us, there can be no mercy for any of them, Auror.'
Harry reached for a third when his door opened and in came the Chief of all the Aurors, Urban Maxis. He was the man who had passed up a promotion into Harry's position and as such, was one of the only two who deserves respect the likes of which Dumbledore was given, at least in his eyes. The other was the Director himself, McMacson.
"It would appear that we have an issue, Deputy Director," Urban said once he ascertained the door was closed and locked with the typical wards for privacy in place. "The Director has already read the report in which I'll be handing over presently, and without any forewarning. Fortunately for you, I'll give you one, as unfortunate as it is - Grindelwald was sighted."
"No," Harry said immediately, shaking his head and waving away the look Urban gave him. "That's not remotely possible, we have his body, his wand and nearly the entirety of his forces. The report had to have been falsified."
"Director McMacson isn't so certain that's the case even if I'd be likely to agree with you. We can say to the public that Grindelwald is well and truly dead until we're blue in the face, but if more sightings happen and they have a snowball effect, it could spell disaster," Urban pointed at Harry as he grabbed a seat and summoned an elf for coffee. "Especially for you and your Ministry-Official fiance."
He's right, Harry thought. Whoever's prancing around as Grindelwald, if they can do a passable enough job of things then the public will end up convinced he's back. If that happens, they'll go into a panic and Elaine as well as myself won't be able to accomplish anything. We're only known because of who we killed and we didn't kill him if the world's seeing him… he's not back. He can't be.
'I can't believe he's back. I saw him die, I had a direct role in it the same as McMacson did and his body, we have it, not anybody else. At the most it was polyjuice potion, how else could anybody return, yeah?" Harry asked as he finally looked over the small letter, his eyes quickly reading through the two sentences that were written.
' Grindelwald, he was right here in me front yard, tall and imposing as he is in his photos. Nearly collapsed in fright and me poor wife, she wouldn't speak for a day, but Merlin am I certain I saw him.'
"That's the first one, right?" Harry asked, finished with the letter and happy to let it fall back down to the top of his desk so that he no longer had to look at it.
Maxis nodded, then he looked inquisitive and shrugged instead. "I can tell you yes now and be wrong in five minutes. You know how behind we've been, how behind we still are even with the fast-track promotions and massive recruitment drive. It'll be months before we're back to where we should be and a year or two before we're where we were."
Harry sighed but fell back into his seat nonetheless. "If this is the only one and the three of us know about it, I think we should keep it a secret. It's dangerous if he's back, I know, everybody should have the right to know too… but do we want the world worrying? Do we want them to think we're liars after we claimed to kill him, especially after those mugs from the continent came over to check his body?"
Maxis looked thoughtful and after nearly a minute, he rose from his seat and turned to face the exit of the room. "You're not wrong, but I don't think you're entirely right either. If we get a few more, even if it's just a few, everybody needs to know. It's news worth sharing even if it causes a panic. The prick needs to stay dead."
On that, Harry agreed.
Harry had returned home earlier in the evening than he had planned to on account of his new secretary group putting together a schedule for him. He had three people in that position now and whilst it felt like a tremendous waste of manpower, it was exceedingly helpful to him personally. Sometimes, it allowed him the chance to accomplish far more in a day than he usually would and other times, he could leave for home at the time that he was supposed to. Those days were especially rare and precious to him, as extra time with Elaine meant - somehow - that his tension could be relieved.
"Laddy," Harry called aloud, summoning the small elf with a pop.
"What does the master Harry want, sir?" Laddy asked, his smile as big as it always was when the two were together.
"Please have the kitchens whip up a snack for me and if you could, bring a few pieces of parchment, ink and a quill. I'd like to write to a few of my friends and catch up with them before Elaine gets home," Harry finished with a smile and slight bow to the house-elf, earning a wide-eyed look in return as the elf hastily left to see to his orders.
Laddy was precious and a true friend, but he didn't quite have Dobby's personality, unfortunately. With that said the elf wasn't a poor one by any means, no sir, Laddy was incredibly gifted in the running of a household. Harry wouldn't have been surprised if the elf was trained in it.
His thoughts wouldn't finish on even that topic before the elf popped back, the requested supplies in his arms and like that, Harry dove into his writing. There was much he could discuss and more he could request information about, but certain people needed letters far more than others, and those remnants weren't going anywhere even if they destroyed three more buildings filled with them.
' Dear Sarah,'
Harry started his letter and paused briefly, debating what he would say before writing with his heart. Sarah was an honest, friendly person that never wished for violence and seldom if ever, lied. If anybody enjoyed, preferred and deserved the truth, it was her out of all of them; Marcus Potter, Veronica Weasley and the rest, they could get watered down elements of it, he trusted Sarah enough that she wouldn't tell them personal details.
' I hope you've been doing well! I haven't had the chance to meet and speak with you as I wanted to, and I definitely haven't written to you nearly as much as I should on account of all this craziness, but again, that's my fault. We're friends and I've been a bit of a poor one, so why don't I make it up to you, yeah?
You, your sisters, your immediate family, the Potters and the Weasleys, all of you will be invited over to Peverell Manor. I can't promise my family will be present, they're far more nervous now than ever before, but it won't be me alone. Should you or any of the others want, you could even stay the night.
Again, I hope everything's been great for you.
With respect,
Harry.'
Het set that one down and wrote two more similar letters, those being directed to the Potters - Marcus - and the Weasleys - Veronica - so that they knew he hadn't included them as some form of after-thought. Elaine had told him to avoid ever referring to anybody as such, even if it was unintentional, for there were always those people that wished to think the world revolved around them. Should you slight that person once, they wouldn't forget about the incident even if they publically forgave you.
"Writing letters, my love?" Elaine's voice, deep and husky-sounding asked.
He looked up and turned at the same time, his heart-rate spiking for all of a second before he saw her. "Merlin, Elaine," he exclaimed with a shake of his head and half-smile. "You snuck up on me… you're home early too today. Let me call Laddy back and have him prepare a snack for you too, I didn't think you'd get out so soon after me."
Elaine walked over, her hips swaying more than they usually did until she was right before him, at which point she leaned down to press a lingering kiss on his lips. He returned said kiss with just as much passion as she gave, but within ten seconds, it was over and she had pulled back to look at him with those dark, alluring eyes of hers.
"You returned home early, so I did," she said unblinkingly as one of her hands traced from his trapezoids down his biceps until they took ahold of a hand. "It'd be awful of me if I left you home alone and worse if I stayed at work whilst I knew you were here. The Ministry will need to be reworked in its entirety, as you know, but even still it's far worse than I had thought it'd be. Old wizards and quiet witches, they've festered in our society far too long."
Harry didn't completely disagree with her and as such, when he spoke, it was about something else. "Yaxley and his hiding, has anything changed on that front or is he still thinking you'd pardon him for joining Grindelwald?"
"You don't have to worry about that," Elaine said cryptically before she redirected the conversation to somewhere she preferred, her point made when she claimed a seat in his lap. "You're writing to other witches, I see. There's nothing too promising to them in those letters of yours, is there?"
"No," Harry said honestly as he pressed a kiss to the base of Elaine's neck.
She sighed and leaned in closer to him, a shiver running through her body and into his from his attention.
"I'm glad. I'd hate to have to inject myself into your private life," Elaine said as her wands wove themselves into his hair gently… only for her to then yank on the hair she had, thus whipping his head backwards as she struck; she nipped and licked at his neck, her teeth leaving behind half as many marks as her mouth did. It happened so fast, she turned so quickly, that by the time she was finished and Harry had gathered his wits, he still didn't understand what had happened.
"Elaine?" he asked curiously, his eyes once again peering into her far darker ones.
Her gaze turned sweet as she dismounted, one of her hands soothingly petting the top of his head. "You're too hard to resist in certain moods," she offered with a crooked smile and an uneven look as she motioned for him to rise with her free hand. "Get up and come with me to the restroom. We'll shower together and discuss an issue I'm sure's reached you by now."
"Grindelwald?" Harry asked, more than a little put-out that she'd heard about that before he had.
Elaine cocked her head at him in such a way that he had to think about Corene, the similarities were far too obvious now that he'd learned about their connected heritage.
"No," she said to him, her eyes piercing his with a deeply searching gaze. "Speak."
One word and it had come out as a demand. Harry nearly did as she bid him to… nearly. When it failed and he looked at her from his still seated position, an eyebrow raised just as she'd always do, her gaze softened. He felt it was sincere on account of her eyes still looking wild and when she spoke again, he figured it was the best he'd get from her; progress had been made as he knew when she was genuinely worried for him, but there was still much to work towards.
"If you'd please share your hearing about Grindelwald," she had said, and it worked.
He told her that there had been a sighting, that it was likely bogus and she had agreed. Her eyes had flickered around the room the entire time, especially down towards her ring in an act of comfort, but she had agreed.
Grindelwald wasn't alive again. It was an impostor, now they only needed to figure out who it was and why they were doing it, an act which could only be done if they managed to capture the man or woman behind it.
February 7, 1945
Sunday Afternoon
"Deputy Director," Came a knock at Harry's office door, the voice belonging to one of his secretaries.
He set down the roster he was currently attempting to bring back to full strength or a near enough state. "What is it, Gale?" he called back politely, but with the stress of his job inflicting his tone with a sharper edge than he meant.
It was horrible, he felt horrible, but there was still far too much to do and he was but one man with three staff for a magical population easily thrice the size that it was fifty years in the future.
"There's an Advisor to the acting Minister currently here to meet with you, sir. Advisor Gaunt, sir," Gale called back through the door to him.
Harry had barely answered to let Elaine enter before she burst through the door, two bags trailing behind her effortlessly as she strolled into his office. Gale tried to peek inside, likely to see what was happening and if he could learn anything about the most famous couple in the country, but with as much ease as the bags being carried behind her, Elaine flicked her wrist and the door slammed itself shut.
"Darling," Elaine greeted with a grin, uncaring that she'd stormed into his office in the middle of the day.
"Elaine," he returned to her. "What's up? Has something happened?"
She shook her head in the negative and floated one of the two bags over to him. "I wished to ensure that you were eating as you should be - I'd be a horrible wife if I failed to do something as simple as that. Corene, my little cousin, fed you at the end of the Battle and whilst that was but a bar she'd made on the field, this is an entire feast," Elaine gestured to the bag and smiled, her nose raised. "Eat, regain your strength and rest your mind."
"I feel fine, but I'll definitely be taking a few minute's worths of a break now that you're here," Harry said, happy that an excuse was provided as he moved to lean back into his seat, only for his eyes to go a bit blurry at the sudden movement; it was weird, especially since he didn't need his glasses and hadn't for a long time.
Elaine rolled her eyes and moved until she was beside him. Before he knew it, she was feeding him some sort of sandwich and washing it down with a drink that reminded him of a milkshake, but with a potion-like twist. It was very pleasant, but the taste was most assuredly… weird.
"Your mind showed me more than just important events," Elaine told him, making his eyes snap to hers only for the girl to grin at him. "Fret not, I haven't lied and seen more than I've told you about. Milkshakes are Muggle, true enough, but anything they can do we can do far better and that concoction is a simple proof of the truth."
Leave it to her, Harry thought as he down the rest of the ice-cold drink, that sense of blurriness already gone and a new vigour coursing through his body… before everything went very, very dark.
When Harry woke up and looked around, he recognised the familiar room that was his office. Above him, Elaine stood with an uncharacteristic look of worry on her face. Her lips were moving, no sound reached him and he worried that he had gone deaf during whatever that ordeal had been.
That was proven wrong when a look of relief washed over her face and she spoke, her left arm moving to her pocket. "You're back," she said to him, swallowing as her other hand pressed against his forehead; it was cool to the touch, which meant it felt brilliant.
"What happened?" Harry asked, only for Elaine to shoot him a surprisingly bashful look even while her nose was still aimed towards the ceiling.
"My potion may have caused a reaction the likes of which were unforeseen when I made the recipe," She said to him, her tone confident-sounding and measured now that he truly was alright - the worried look from her had made him feel far worse than the potion did.
With her face still slightly red, Harry took the time to rib her; he poked at her ribs and stood up, pulling her close to him so that she couldn't look away. "Did you say that you of all people made a mistake in potion-making, Elaine?"
She turned to face him with no expression on her face, fire in her eyes and a blush spreading down her neck. "It was the Muggle recipe that I attempted to follow that's at fault, not the brewing of the potion nor the bottling of it," she said, one hand finding the collar of his shirt to kiss him aggressively, her teeth pulling on his bottom lip with enough force that he thought he'd bleed until she let him go. "You're fine, that's all that matters - fine and mine, as you'll always be."
Those words were said in a tone he didn't quite understand or comprehend, but they almost felt nervous or anxiety-ridden. Neither such emotion fit Elaine anymore than that worry had earlier… the only two possibilities were that he truly had changed her, or she was faking it all; the latter would beg the question of why, but he didn't focus on that.
He was fine, she had messed up and whilst he would certainly make sure everything really was alright when he made it home tonight, he truly thought it was. Elaine would go on to spend the day with him until they went home together and even then, she barely separated herself from his side.
It felt natural if not slightly strange, but he wouldn't change it for the world.
February 8, 1945
Monday Morning
Nothing had changed.
Harry had done just as he had told himself to. He had checked his body for any new marks, his mind for any lost and important memories, and finally, Laddy had done a once over of his own to ensure nothing stuck out to his magic. There was nothing, Harry truly was fine so long as he knew and Elaine, she was still feeling as bad as she could about it.
He had nearly gotten an apology out of her, but instead of that, she'd just offered him whatever he'd like. Obviously, he chose nothing and simply asked her outright if she had done it purposefully. In response to his question, she looked him in the eyes and shook her head. She told him that there had been no plan to purposefully knock him unconscious and that the Muggle ingredients she had chosen to use were instead the culprits of what had happened. Now, obviously, he didn't completely buy that… but there was still nothing he could totally pin to her.
It would be let go of until something happened. Something that wasn't work-related, that is, for there was always something happening at the Auror portion of the Ministry and today was no exception. Today, the Aurors had finally achieved a strength beyond fifty per cent and soon, with still more youths flowing into the rejuvenating corps, it would be beyond seventy-five per cent.
But it wasn't just that which went well for the Aurors or the Ministry as a whole. Immediately, the violence that Grindelwald's supporters were inflicting was lessened due to the extermination of the nest they had come across. It had cost a fair few Aurors their lives, but with the largest known hideaway dealt with, there were far fewer terrorists around in the countryside. Regular attacks, thievery, break-ins and most other crimes went down as a direct result; the Aurors were once more able to truly control the largest and most important portions of the country's magical population.
Harry finished his coffee, his daydreaming and once the mug was set down on his bedside table, made his way back into his office. McMacson had been especially smart in making a small bedroom for himself and smarter still to include so many amenities. Harry took advantage of it as often as he could and it wasn't as if Elaine minded. She knew where he was and what he was doing, and it wasn't as if he was unreachable.
He huffed at the thought and looked over at his schedule, curious as to what his secretaries had put on it for him since he'd last checked.
' Deputy Director,
Here is the day's schedule with notes applied to the back of this parchment as requested. Please not the * I put beside one of the below-mentioned appointments, as it means the time is liable to be interrupted, as warned by Director McMacson. Enjoy your day sir.
At 10 in the morning, a meeting was scheduled with the Junior Officer Corps; files are ready for reading and on your desk alongside your morning coffee, as requested.
At 11:30 in the morning, an advisor to the temporary Minister is requesting a briefing; files are ready for reading and the script was already attached, please note that it's as is without modifications, it was requested to be this way by the Director.'
Harry huffed and read, the words going by as slowly and horribly as this job tended to. He had wanted to be an Auror for a long time, a true Auror that could make a difference and see action in the hopes of saving dozens upon dozens of people, but this was his life. Never would he find himself on the streets of Diagon Alley, solving petty crimes or catching criminals. No, for Harry, so long as he held his current position he would stay at the Ministry with nothing changing save for the hand-writing of those who wrote to him for review or other such dealings.
It had been this way since that first attack he had joined and whilst its victory was partially his to claim, the fact that he had risked life and limb was not lost on McMacson, the rest of the department or the Ministry as a whole. Many saw it as brave and many still, as a stupid action that wasn't worth the risk. They had only just gained him as a Deputy Director of a Department and whilst he wasn't horrible for the position, it wasn't remotely out of merit. He was a figure head for the masses, the man who killed Grindelwald and as such, a person of his status siding with the Ministry was vital to their continued existence.
He wouldn't see any of that changed save for one aspect, his status. How could he maintain his position as the Deputy Director of Magical Law Enforcement if he had served on one single mission? It didn't feel right nor fair and these people, the veterans of the department, needed to see him beyond his political appointment.
Harry repeated that final sentence internally as he stepped out of his bedroom door at the Ministry and he did so a second time after a long, stress-filled exhale outside of McMacson's office. Maxis wasn't here, which meant any argument would be one-on-one and Harry was immensely thankful for that, for it meant he had a chance.
"Harry," McMacson greeted with his arms spread out wide to his sides as he beamed at the younger man. "I'm glad you're here, I was just about to call for you… I hear you slept at the office for a few hours after you arrived early in the morning. It's very commendable, but please, be careful not to do it repeatedly or your wife-to-be will be coming down to speak with me. She's an awfully scary young woman if you don't mind my saying so."
In response to McMacson's words, Harry snorted and slid into the seat before the man's desk. "Elaine would probably thank you for the compliment if she heard you say that. You hear right too, but that's nothing new - yeah, I took a nap after I saw to the overtime issue with those of the Commonwealth. I don't know why it was an issue in the first place, but they've got their pay now," Harry paused for a breath and shook his head as he did so. "Elaine aside, the rest of the department aside, there's something I'd like to do and it's very important."
McMacson shrugged and gestured for him to continue with a look of interest as he leaned forward in his seat. "Please please, do go on. You've never had a bad idea so long as I've known you, which means you can't be half as crazy as most of the old department."
"I want to assign myself to the next team that opposes the remnants of Grindelwald. I'll take as many guards as you'd care to assign, I could even have a small protection detail of veterans of Grindelwald's attack on Hogwarts," Harry raised a hand before McMacson shot him down and with an amused, still curious look on his face, the older man remained silent as Harry continued. "A lot of the veterans here don't know me beyond what they've heard and the few that were on the raid, they're completely different in how they act around me. I want them to see that I can pull my own weight, that I'm not here as a politician. Allow me this chance, please."
"If you die, I'll be known as the man who let the greatest hero of our generation fall under his watch. It's a bad look for any aspiring career man, you know that, don't you?" McMacson asked, no longer curious but strict-sounding and serious.
Harry nodded. "If I don't die and the attack goes perfectly or even just well, you'll be known as the man who's allowed the saviour to continue saving people - I'll die one day anyhow, why not let the number of people I aid in saving climb? Our department as a whole will benefit, you've already seen it for yourself with how many people want to join us specifically."
"We've gotten a good deal more funding too, I suppose," McMacson remarked with a dry chuckle. "You said as many guards as I'd want to give you and that I could pick whoever I'd like… I've half the mind to pick Advisor Gaunt solely to keep her off of my arse. I can't do it, I wouldn't do it, but I agree. This will help and we've sat here too long, so ten it is. Onto the next manner of business now; Hogsmeade, they've requested a standing force of Aurors to stick around permanently… Harry?"
He said he agreed, that it would help, which means he saw my point, but I don't think I heard him correctly. I couldn't have.
"You said we've sat here too long and ten it is, right? I think I misheard you, sorry," Harry asked, hoping that verification would solve the confusing state his brain found itself stuck in.
McMacson shook his head with a long look on his face. "Nope," he replied cheerfully as he nodded towards the nearest plaque on his wall, one for valour in combat. "You heard me right. I've gotten just as sick of sitting in the office as you have. We're young, still in our twenties and we've been confined to desk jobs for the rest of our lives. It's very enjoyable but you're right, it doesn't quite feel right. Ten guards, us, the usual team and we'll join the next raid."
"When'll that be?" Harry asked.
"You have the leads, don't you?" McMacson shot back with a snort as he folded his arms. "You tell me wherever it is that we're going and I'll make sure we have the teams put together in under five minutes."
Harry nodded, appeased, and stood up from his seat as he extended a hand towards the other man. "We've got a deal. We'll deal with the next remnants raid together, show the others we're with them, that we're the same as them and hopefully we'll deal with the majority of the scum right then."
McMacson shook his hand and then ushered him to the door. "Not a word to Maxis or he'll talk me out of it, he's good at doing that. Now good luck, Peverell, that second meeting of yours is going to be absurdly awful. Take it from me, I've met with the man before."
With the warning said, the door to McMacson's office was slammed shut in Harry's face, leaving him to look at the ornate thing with a weird sense of victory and annoyance. McMacson loved giving him the more troublesome figures to deal with, but the man could also be very friendly, funny and, at times, smart.
He was a good boss, Harry decided, and a worse enemy for the future, should Elaine alienate him.
February 8, 1945
Monday Evening
By the time Harry returned home late in the evening, his high from the morning was nearly gone; he had ridden it all throughout the afternoon, that being his sense of victory and eagerness at the next fight he would find himself involved in. Harry hoped that it would be the final engagement of the conflict and should that not prove true, he hoped it would cause as steep a decline in crimes as the previous sizable raid had.
"Elaine," he called as soon as he was out of the floo and into his parlour room. "I'm home!"
There was silence, silence, and silence… but then he heard one of the boards above him squeak. It only did so when somebody walked on it, as did a few other boards throughout the home on account of its age, but it was enough of a sign that signified her presence that he moved to reach it.
He stopped by their bedroom first, slipping into more comfortable clothes as he always did before he returned to the task at hand. There he found a few of her clothes neatly folded on the floor, but beside them, a book found itself tossed without a care in the world and covering a portion of it was a shirt she'd worn in the morning. He was always incredibly fascinated at her degrees of indifference or care, and nothing summed up how random she could be beyond the visuals those two piles provided.
Her clothes that were folded were the typical ones she wore to bed, that being a set of underwear that were deliberately provocative and a sheer nightgown that would allow such a thing to continue. As for the book and top that covered it, the latter was something she wore throughout dozens of circumstances and the former… he didn't recognise. Harry went in for a closer look after he turned to peek down the hallway. When there was no sign of her, he shrugged and grabbed the object from the floor.
The title, well, if it could be called a title with how destroyed the front of the book was, couldn't be made out. As he moved through the various pages one after the other, he found that the book was in the same condition all throughout. It couldn't be read from, not one page until finally, he made it towards the very end of the book and found but half a paragraph legible. He had to lean in and in doing so, instinctively reached for a pair of glasses that no longer existed and even then, he could barely make out the small, messy words.
' -opic Jar. It is said that such objects would provide one with a means of denying the Gods and Goddesses their desires. Loyal followers and other contingencies would be required for these to work, hence their burial with the fallen in the event that they ever needed a recall to their former lands. The process of making them, however, is still thoroughly debated today. Some claim ritualistic cannibalism is required, others say that murder must manifest, the most heinous, cold-blooded type of it, but all can agree that an act to br-'
That was where it ceased being legible and as a result, Harry carefully set it back down to where it had been and made his way over to the bed, where he promptly sat down. He was tired from a long day of paperwork, annoyed on account of many meetings and fed up with the oldest members of the Ministry's government, but that one paragraph had completely changed the evening for him.
Elaine was studying or looking in one something that was pure evil. If somebody had to eat another person in a ritual or murder somebody random or otherwise in cold blood for the magic to take effect, it could be called nothing else. He didn't know what to think and so he waited. Harry waited for Elaine to return to their bedroom, which she did not more than twenty minutes later, and then he confronted her about her latest book that she'd picked up.
He didn't do so rudely or aggressively, but with curiosity and a gentle tone. The last thing he needed was her bottling something up, especially if it were as nefarious-sounding as the book seemed to be.
"It's curious, isn't it?" Elaine responded, finally, after nearly thirty seconds as she nodded at the book. "I'd heard about something similar before, the year prior to your arrival, and it had been just as curious then. I assume you're nervous about it being in my possession or is that look on your face due to something that you read?"
At that, Harry nodded. "I got to the part about cannibalism or murder, the author couldn't decide and sounded fairly indifferent. It's evil, really. Worse than anything you or I should ever think about doing, so what's gotten you interested in it? There's a real reason, right?"
Elaine laughed and made her way over to him, the girl coming to a pause when she reached his side as she tucked in beside him on their shared bed. "We'll never cease our studying and the topics therein should be forever expanding. What if we had to fight somebody who had done dozens of rituals or another who had done everything in their power, as horrible as you may think it to be, to keep themselves on this plain of existence? This is necessary and could even lead us to the truth behind Grindelwald's current status."
At that, Harry shook his head. "I saw him. We killed him. They have his body - the Ministry - we saw them take it, remember?"
'The Ministry no longer has Grindelwald's body. It was destroyed, his ashes tossed into the sea and the location of its happening won't be shared, ever. Three men know it, one's already been killed in an attack and the other two, they'll never speak a word of it to anybody," Elaine summoned the book and waved her hand across it, muttering a phrase in the process that served to restore it to perfect condition, or near-enough. "Here."
Harry looked at the now pristine book and back up at her. The title was still concealed by her hand, but he read that it was written originally by an Egyptian author but translated into English by a friend of the man. One piece of art that he caught on it was a crude depiction of a jar with something inside of it atop a pyramid.
"Why Egypt?" Harry asked when his eyes went back to Elaine.
She looked at him with furrowed brows before smirking at him. "History. We'll have to go over it together at some point, but suffice to say that much of the magic made in ancient times was decidedly more interesting to those such as myself and Corene. It was more potent, served a true reason and found itself mastered across centuries of practice. Nowadays, a country considers itself lucky if it's avoided some massive change for one century."
"Alright… so what do you think? You've made it some distance into the book by now, haven't you?" Harry settled a bit further into the bed, but he knew he'd have to get up before too much longer. Still, his curiosity was getting the better of him as the weird, dark book found itself nestled between them.
"I think it's possible but unlikely, should you seek the truth. As for my reasoning, it's simple - the creation process isn't known to us and the few books that speak of similar acts are one-offs. That means there's one copy of them, the rest were destroyed or lost to time and all of those books, of which there are single digits of them in the world, are hidden away," Elaine leaned forward, offering a view of cleavage before his sight was filled with her face and their lips were connected; ten seconds later, apart from one another, she smiled assuringly at him as she spoke for the last time that evening about magic. "You don't have to worry about us using Jars filled with our organs, my love. That magic's far too crude for us to meddle with, but if it weren't, just know that I'd keep your heart right alongside my own, forever. It'd be the ultimate showing of our love."
Harry wasn't entirely certain of that.
February 9, 1945
Tuesday Afternoon
Today, Harry wouldn't be working at the Ministry. He wouldn't be staying at Peverell Manor either. Today, finally, Harry would visit the home of a friend and hopefully get to speak with her without Elaine being present. He doubted it would get back to the woman and if it did, it wasn't totally unforeseen or uncommon of a happening, but he wanted to get out and accomplish something, even if it wasn't all that important.
Corene was his friend and an amazing source of information. Even now, with her father still incredibly high in political power, the girl could feed information to him and Elaine both. Sometimes, oftentimes really, the information she gave to them was ahead by a day or two. That amount of time could prove vital in nearly any circumstance but today, Harry didn't need to know anything beyond the usual information they went over when together. All he wanted to do was speak with her about her shared grandmother with Elaine and what that would mean going forward since he'd not been in the room during the conversation.
It still bothered him, but he hadn't pressed the matter until recently when Elaine had fed him some sort of potion disguised as a regular drink. There remained no obvious effects or problems, but he was smarter than that. She had done something to him, he was sure of it.
"Laddy," Harry called as he finally dressed and went through the motions of the morning. "Find me in an hour, please. I'm going to have lunch with a friend, should Elaine return whilst I'm gone, tell her I'm out running errands - it can't be longer than an hour, I'd like to get my training done early today so I can enjoy a very rewarding day away from work."
Laddy nodded and Harry was off.
Just as he'd done a few times before, Harry appeared in the more private floo at Carrow Castle. It was empty save for one familiar girl seated perfectly and directly across from the exit.
"Hello, Harry," Corene said to him impassively, her eyes blinking slowly and her posture not shifting as he moved closer to her.
"Hi, Corene," he responded with a small wave as he held out his hand. "You'll lead us to the dining room, yeah?"
Gently, she grabbed the offered hand of his and pulled herself up. With a wave of her wand, she smoothed her clothing and once that was done, she turned to cock her head at him, that small Corene-like smile of hers on her face. "I'll do as you ask," she said simply to him before the pair started forward towards the exit of the room.
An awkward silence followed her remark for the next thirty or so seconds. One that saw him cough in the hopes of her speaking twice, but when the second attempt failed, he chose to fill the silence himself.
"Elaine hasn't been over recently, has she?" he asked, hoping for an easy question and answer to start everything off.
Corene regarded him with those dark eyes and a cocked head of hers silently, letting his question linger for a few seconds before she answered. "Elaine hasn't visited in well over a week, nor has she written to me within the past three days. You've also been absent as of late."
He wasn't sure he was right, but Corene's tone had sounded almost accusative, but when she finished and turned her head back to looking straight ahead without care or delay, he figured he'd heard wrong. Corene had never taken a tone with him that was too far removed from her emotionless voice and the smiles he'd gotten from her, rare as they were, had been as far as she'd ever gone. The girl could have very well passed for a robot in Muggle books, the ones that go into those barmy technological happenings…
Harry snorted at the idea of aliens and lasers.
"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, remembering himself. "This job's busy, but that's just an excuse, I suppose. I should've kept up better with you before and after that little party. I know."
Corene's lips went up, that much was noticeable before she turned to look at him again. "You've arrived now and before long, we'll share a meal," she said to him as impassively as before. "We'll eat, I'll share what I've heard with you and finally, as we spoke of nearly a year ago, we'll continue the advancement of our familial relationships as is necessary for our continued strengthening."
Right, those deals we signed together… guess I should've kept up better with those too… Mortem, I really wish you would've given me a helper or a friend of some sort.
"Definitely," Harry agreed with a few nods before his question-filled mind got the better of him. "Say, your father doesn't have anything about Grindelwald's scattered forces, does he?"
Corene openly smiled at him in response. Her teeth were showing, and she looked the picture of pleased, and that was all the answer he needed.