30 Horcuxes No More
Kreacher had never been happier. He had languished in the old mansion for decades as the Black family fell apart. He could do nothing but watch as members were blasted from the family tapestry and stricken from the family name. He couldn't interfere, under orders, when several members fell to the influence of a dark lord and brought the rest of the family to near ruin.
With the house empty and his beloved master passed on, he had failed to complete his last order and nearly lost all hope. Only the family magics had kept him going, old as he was, and there was almost nothing left for him to do.
Then a powerful stranger showed up and completed his master's task for him. He didn't know who he was at the time; but, he was on guard. He needn't have worried. When it was explained to him in the terms he could accept, he agreed to try and become his master's house elf.
Oh, the power tingled and energized him so! His old bones creaked happily and his weak muscles screamed to be used for a new purpose... and then he felt it. The spark. The spark of family magic he had spent his entire life surrounded by. His idea to check for it had his new master leave and search diligently, both magically and physically, only to find he had Black blood in his veins!
Kreacher was so proud when his master returned and told him that he was both a great-grandchild of Dorea Black and was a named main branch heir. The little elf then stared at his master as he waved his wand at him and cast several spells that healed him and his apparently weakened mind. A small vial of red liquid was drunk as well, which gave him energy and let him feel like he was in his prime once more.
His tea towel outfit was changed into a stylish butler suit with the Black family crest on it, then his new master asked if he wanted to visit the woman that led him to Kreacher. The old and now young elf quickly agreed. He was absolutely delighted when they apparated directly into the forbidden and magically barred prison, only to see the dead body of the child he hated and his old mistress had blasted from the tapestry for being a traitor to the family.
“Yes, he really was.” Master Harry had said and pointed down the hall to the right cell.
The elf's large eyes then saw the vision of loveliness that was Miss Bella, his favorite of the Black Family children, and she looked wonderful! He had run to her and declared his praise for his new master, whom upon the death of the hated child, was to become the head of the Black Family. They would rise to prominence once more and he would serve them for as long as his undying days would allow.
Speaking of which, Kreacher was currently inside Gringott's Bank and had been ordered by Miss Bella to retrieve a special cup, that was like the locket, from her vault. After a quick stop by the ministry to reclaim Miss Bella's things, he had been given a box to levitate the cup into and did so, then he popped away and returned to the Black Family Townhouse.
Kreacher once again witnessed a ritual to destroy the thing and he felt fulfilled that his task for his beloved master Regulus was still being performed. When he learned there was only one left at the Malfoy Manor, he jumped at the chance to pop by to visit Miss Cissy on behalf of his new master, Heir Black!
*
Narcissa Malfoy was gently woken by a small hand and she slowly opened her eyes to stare into the youthful elf eyes she hadn't seen in several decades. “Kreacher? Is that you?”
“Yes, it is I, Miss Cissy.” Kreacher said, happily. “Master bid for me to visit and to ask a favor.”
Narcissa blinked her eyes at him for a moment. “You can't mean Sirius, because he's still in prison with Bella. Who is your master?”
“He is the best, Miss Cissy! He rid the family of the blood traitor and has become Heir Black!”
Narcissa caught her breath and sat up. No! Her little dragon couldn't have become a murderer! She thought in a panic and then realized what the elf had said. Sirius Black was dead! “You need to tell me your master's name.”
“He has asked me not to reveal that yet. No one can know, except for those that already know.” Kreacher said, a little sadly. “Once your traitorous husband is convicted or dead, then you will know.”
Narcissa gasped and stared at the elf. “No! You can't kill him! He is all I have besides Draco!”
Kreacher shuddered at the venom in her voice. “Not I, Miss Cissy. His own actions dictate it will be so.”
“Explain what you mean by that!” Narcissa spat as her anger rose.
Kreacher did and it was shocking. Memories, documents, and written copies of Voldemort's orders had been delivered to the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement. By themselves, they might not be enough to convict anyone. What they would do was cast doubt on their pleas of innocence and being under the Imperius curse.
Their lives would be ruined, especially with Draco's own Dark Mark being revealed. That was a shock to see as well. He denied getting it and didn't know what happened, and Narcissa believed him. Only Voldemort himself could cast the mark on someone's arm and there was no chance that he had access to the students since his death.
“W-what...” Narcissa paused to take a deep breath and calmed down. “What is the favor your master wants?”
“He wants the last piece of nasty dark magic that Master Regulus tried to fight against.” Kreacher said.
Narcissa stared at the elf and she wasn't sure what to say. Regulus had been fighting something before he died? “You need to tell me as much as you can.”
Kreacher explained to make Narcissa understand and once again, she was stunned. Voldemort had more people against him than he ever suspected. She agreed to let Kreacher search the entire house and grounds for the thing he needed, only for her own house elf to pop in with a cloth-wrapped bundle that he dropped to the floor.
“Yous master sounds to be a goods one.” Dobby said and popped away.
Narcissa blushed in embarrassment over her own house elf's appearance. “He is a Malfoy house elf.”
Kreacher nodded at the distinction. He knew she had no control about how the master of the house treated the house elf. “Master warns you to not run. None of the evidence is about you, a daughter of the Black Family.”
Narcissa's eyes widened. “But, I... my son...”
“Is his father's son.” Kreacher said, because again, he knew she had no control about that.
“I understand.” Narcissa said. “Tell him I will fight this, because it is expected of me.”
Kreacher took out a letter and handed it to her. “If you have a need, call and I will come.”
Naricca accepted the letter with a nod, then Kreacher put the book into a box and disappeared. To her surprise, it was a letter from Bellatrix! She tore it open and began to read furiously.
*
Harry apparated with the box and Tom Riddle's diary into the hidden cave. He placed it inside the empty basin on the little island and then cast Fiendfyre on the thing. Since it was on such a small scale, the fire never had a chance to go out of control. It consumed the box and then the diary, with the soul piece inside screaming as the container was destroyed.
All that was left was the original soul, or what was left of it. Since Harry had no idea where it could have gone or what it would have possessed to remain alive, he could do nothing until it returned to take revenge on him. He knew it was going to happen, because he didn't complete the quest and his Luck stat was still locked with the 'prophecy unfulfilled' qualification.
Harry apparated away and went back to his dorm room. Padma was curled up on his bed and was surrounded by books with a look of joy on her face. He smiled and moved some of the books aside, hugged her close, and went to sleep with the 4 hour option from the drop down menu. He hoped that Amelia had a lot of fun with the permanent pensieve and evidence he had left on her desk.
*
Amelia groaned as she entered her office in the morning and found the piles of paperwork on her desk. Or what she thought was paperwork. When she started going through it, she realized what it was. She moved it aside and then stared at the expensive memory viewing device that had been left on her desk with a note.
Here is a little something to help you at work, Mum. Love Harry.
Amelia shook her head at her son and sat down. She had already caught a lot of anger and accusations over the Bones Family Heirloom History Book, which copies were being made of right now. By hand. In triplicate.
She chuckled at the Records Department permanently assigning half of their workers for the task. She didn't want to tell them that Harry could probably make them another copy, mainly because she couldn't quite believe it herself.
The best thing to come out of it was that the Goblins had formally requested a copy as well, because it included an entire section on Goblins and a lot of their own history documents had been lost or destroyed over the centuries. They had even agreed to honor the original bank charter!
Amelia tucked the note away and didn't bother trying to look through the memories yet. Paperwork was always first, then she could use the memories as confirmation, instead of the other way around. She called in two of her trusted Aurors, Mad Eye Moody and Nymphadora Tonks to help her.
The mangled old man growled about being too old for paperwork as he sat down across the desk. That make Amelia laugh and she handed him the top folder. The old man's eyes widened at the name on it, then tore it open and started to read. The manic look on his face shocked his trainee and kept Amelia in a good mood for the entire morning as they worked at documenting everything.
*
“Sir, we have a bit of a problem.” One of the new Aurors on Azkaban prison duties said to the warden. No one questioned why all of the previous guards had suddenly resigned and then disappeared.
The thin man seemed to be constantly shivering as he looked at the guard. “I don't care. Do what you want.”
“But, sir...”
“I. Don't. Care.” The warden said and stood on shaky legs. “I'm going home. I'm not feeling well and...” *BLLUUURRRGHHHH!*
To the guard's surprise, the warden threw up about a gallon of gruel, then another. The thin man started letting out grunts and cries of pain as bruises started appearing on his face and arms, then there were several cracks of bones breaking and the warden collapsed to the floor as he screamed in agony.
The guard watched in horror as the man seemed to waste away and became only skin and bones, then the warden let out one last rattling breath and expired. The guard had no idea what to do, so he backed out of the office and closed the door as he told the other guards what had happened. No one had to be prompted to leave the office alone and the first guard ran to the docks to get back to the mainland.
He had to let the Ministry know that they needed a new warden for the prison. And a new guard. He wanted nothing to do with whatever that was and would quit if they didn't transfer him out.
*
The Student Supplies Market Stall was a huge success. It had sold nearly 50 galleons worth of supplies during the first lunch hour it had been opened. The word would soon be all over the school and Eliza expected to make two to three times as much tomorrow. Since it was all profit, she kept ten percent as her pay and put the other half into the strongbox Harry had given to her.
Eliza already had ideas of products to add and to change to make their customers happy. She picked up the nearly weightless bag that was practically full of empty ink bottles, broken quills, and crushed or ruined parchments that students exchanged for the discounts. There was even a pile of old essays and reports that students didn't want, which she was sure would make Harry very happy.
With a tap of her wand, the market stall shrank and Eliza put it into her pocket. She went back to her Ravenclaw dorm room to get her books for her afternoon classes, dropped the bag of broken items onto Harry's bed, and left with a smile on her face.
It had been an easy job to run the stall and it paid very well. The free supplies were also a huge bonus, especially when she added her own used materials to the bag and would get them repaired and restored for free.
Harry really is the best. Eliza thought happily and met up with her friends to go to class.
*
It had been another great and unbelievable day for Padma. Even with Harry constantly after her to protect her from the mistakes he had made when he levelled up his skills, she just couldn't stop herself. She wanted to learn more. No, she needed to learn more! She had never felt so much accomplishment in so short a time and it was a very addictive feeling.
Of course, so were Harry's kisses and his attentiveness. He treated her like a princess and she could feel how much he treasured her. She treasured him in return and last night she had fallen asleep with books in her arms and woken up with him in her arms, which had been the perfect thing in her mind. The symbolism was not lost on her, either.
Padma knew that everything good in her life right now was because of him.
“You're almost there.” Harry said and handed her another set of books. “Let me know when you get these levelled. We can sneak down to the Ravenclaw Library and you can start working on the next shelf.”
Padma hugged the books briefly, then put them down and hugged him. “I love you so much.”
Harry held her and looked into her eyes. “I love you, too.”
The pair shared a long slow kiss that would have caused a scandal if it had been seen in public.
Padma broke the kiss and bushed. “Why am I regretting that we have to wait to get married?”
Harry chuckled. “I think it's our magic giving us pushes. The more we train and use it, the more it wants us to hurry and grow older so we can use it more.”
Padma giggled. “You sounded just like that sixth year trying to convince his girlfriend that they didn't have to wait to get married for them to get together.”
Harry nodded. “It's similar, since the more mature we are, the easier the magic is to work and our bodies are more prepared to handle it.”
“But, you're already so powerful.” Padma said.
“Yes, I am.” Harry agreed and then grinned. “Now imagine what I'll be like when I'm of age.”
Padma stared at him as her mind did the linear progression of Harry's abilities since he learned about magic. Her eyes widened and she started breathing heavily.
“Now guess who I'm bringing along on my journey?” Harry asked her.
“I really, really love you.” Padma whispered and kissed him again.