Warmless farewell

// THIS IS AN OLD CHAPTER. THE NEW CHAPTERS ARE IN VOLUME 2. YOU CAN READ THESE CHAPTERS IF YOU WANT SOME INSIGHT ON WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN LATER BUT SOME EVENTS CAN BE DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW CHAPTERS.

We didn't leave as fast as I would have liked. When we got back, we had to pack up all our stuff and sensitive documents. But this long move has at least a good side. I'm able to say goodbye to Daphne and keep my promise to Dumbledore.

I'm on the porch of the Greengrass mansion early this evening. There is light in the small living room and smoke is rising from their fireplace. I knock twice and wait for someone to come and open the door for me. A house-elf opens the door, looking taken aback by my late visit.

"Good evening, I would like to speak to Daphne Greengrass." The house-elf invites me in.

"Mirty goes get the master." The house-elf disappears with a snap of his fingers. I wait a few minutes when I finally see the whole Greengrass family arrive.

"Sean! We were wondering where you've been. No one has seen you since you left after the last task!" Daphne rushes forward and plants a quick kiss on my lips. Her parents seem very amused at their daughter's behavior.

"Hi, Daphne. Good evening Lord and Lady Greengrass. I'm sorry to bother you at such a late hour but I have to talk to you."

"We are going to talk in the living room, it will be much more comfortable." I follow Daphne's father to a room where several red velvet sofas surround a low table in front of a roaring fire. The room is decorated with a bookcase that covers an entire wall and what I think are family portraits.

"I'll get right to the point because unfortunately, I don't have much time. This is confidential information and I want you to refrain from talking about it if possible. The Dark Lord has returned, and my parents have decided that we should go back to the US. My family has a special relationship with Voldemort, my grandfather was his uncle before Tom Riddle, Voldemort's real name, killed him. He came back on the night of the third task to kill Harry Potter and I am on the list of people he wants to kill. " I sigh deeply, I really don't want to do this even though it's the best thing to do. "Daphne, it's not something I want to do but I think we have to stop seeing each other. It's too dangerous." Daphne has tears in her eyes, when she runs away, pursued by her mother.

"Daphne, sweetheart, wait." I hear them going up the stairs as the door to the small living room closes, leaving me alone facing Mr. Greengrass.

Some long second of awkward silence passes before Daphne's father gets up and goes to serve us two glasses of whiskey.

"I think you made the right decision. If after what you just told me, you had not broken up with Daphne, I would have separated you." He sits down and places the two glasses on the coffee table. "I think about the safety of my daughters above all else, although I was delighted to have you as a future son-in-law. Now tell me what to expect."

"Nothing normally. Daphne should stop talking about me and shouldn't try to see me again. Hopefully, she'll go unnoticed while some friends figure out our dark mage problem. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to go to a discreet country house. "

"I see, in that case, I think there's nothing more we need to speak about. I wish you well, and may you stay out of trouble."

"Good luck to you too Lord Greengrass." I get up as he walks me back to the front door. Every step I take is so heavy that I feel like I'm using my supernatural strength every time I manage to lift my foot off the ground. I only want one thing, to run up the stairs and tell her it was all a bad joke. But it would be selfish of me to risk her safety.

I apparate to 12 Grimmauld Place. Lucius is waiting for me in the shade of a tree, a hood covers his head. He does everything to appear as discreet as possible.

"Good evening Lucius." He jumps when he hears the sound of my voice.

"Good evening Sean. Your friends are putting me at risk, they refuse to let me in."

"It's because I'm not used to letting vipers into my house." Sirius Black comes out from behind a bush. He looks a lot better than the last time I saw him. He has gained some weight again and there is hardly any trace of the black pockets of fatigue he had below his eyes. He wears the same black suit as in the movies, which I think fits him extremely well. I should get a similar one made. "So here is my savior. I haven't yet had a chance to thank you for clearing my name, let alone apologize for attacking you. Usually, I'm not aggressive when I'm metamorphosed into a dog. James even says that I am more of a salon dog than a watchdog."

"Good evening Lord Black, you don't need to apologize for anything. Is Professor Dumbledore already here?"

"Oh yeah, he had us clean up the house for three days to find this locket. I couldn't believe there was one of those damn things in my house before we found it. Such a small object holds a fragment of Voldemort's soul." Lucius falters when he hears Tom's nickname and starts to look frantically in all directions. "Come on, I'll let you in."

We approach the house. Sirius waves his wand, deactivating the protection that hides the house. Our host opens the door and lets us in. The house looks clean even though it looks like it needs some serious renovation.

"Sean, you are so skinny. You will stay for dinner I hope?" Molly Weasley comes out of a hall without warning and takes me by the shoulders. She smells strongly of potato gratin.

"Good evening Mrs. Weasley, I'm sorry but I ..."

"No sorry but with me, come and sit at the table, it will be ready soon." She turns her attention to the second guest. "Good evening Lucius, I guess I'll have to save you the embarrassment of watching us eat."

"Don't bother, I'm afraid anything that comes out of your kitchen will cut short my appetite." Lucius covers his nose with a handkerchief deceptively dramatic.

"Well then don't eat anything. Come on Sean, I'll show you the dining room." She turns around and screams on the stairs. "It's almost time to eat dinner!"

We all follow Molly as she leads us into the dining room. Arthur Weasley is quietly reading his newspaper in his chair as we walk through the door.

"Sean, I'm glad to see you. With the guys from the lab, we were thinking about ..."

"Arthur leave our guest alone. You'll have plenty of time to talk about work another day." Mr. Weasley sighs before winking at me.

The other occupants of the house arrive one after the other. Lilly and James arrive accompanied by Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. Alastor Moody is the next to enter the room. Snape retrieved him from Barty Crouch's trunk and took the opportunity to alter his memory. In Moody's mind, he was responsible for the security of the tournament and has no idea why the cup turned into a portkey. Then it's Fred and Georges who arrive with Ginny and Rose. Followed by Harry running with his supernatural vampire speed to his place.

The last to arrive is Dumbledore who is holding a box in his hands. Molly is already serving the meal, a potato gratin and roast with gravy.

"Good evening Sean, I'm glad to see you coming. I thought you finally decided to give us false hopes."

"I only have one-word professor. Is that what I believe it is." I gesture towards the box. An all-metal box and padlocked.

"Of course, that's what we were looking for. This crap smells of dark magic from miles away. Sirius almost tore his eye out himself when he found it." Everyone turns to Moody when he makes this remark and Sirius lets out an embarrassed chuckle.

"Thank you Alastor, I don't think there is any need to add more detail. Are you sure you can handle it?" Dumbledore looks at me worriedly. He looks like a librarian with his gray robe.

"Well, a demonstration is better than a great speech." I take out the knife that is attached to my belt.

Dumbledore gently opens the box and when I approach the blade the locket reacts the same as the tiara, it vibrates slightly in place however black smoke escapes from it. I had forgotten this little detail, but this kind of curse is exactly what I need to strengthen my great-grandfather Elvis, the banshee.

"I warn you, don't be afraid; the specter obeys me" I open my briefcase and let the specter out. Some people at the table move back. A little terrified by the non-living creature.

When I touch the locket with my knife, a black cloud with Tom's face appears.

"Maledicent Spectrum Confirma. Et Autem Ad Tenebrae Mortis" Elvis opens his mouth and the cloud begins to be engulfed. "Maledicent Spectrum Confirma. Crescere Gradum Proximum Progredi" My great-grandfather looks stronger than ever; he still hovers above the ground but I feel like I could touch him if I wanted to. A new aura emerges from him and he looks much stronger.

Everyone looks at me without understanding what just happened. James and Alastor are standing ready to fight and even Dumbledore who is sitting still doesn't seem comfortable.

"Sean, could you explain to us what you just did?" Dumbledore tries to be polite but there's not much stopping him from pulling out his wand and lining up with his two other comrades.

"It's necromancy. A long time ago it was the specialty of my family. But it fell into disuse when the ministry created rules against this practice. I used it to transfer the curse of the locket to my banshee. Now that there is no more protection, all that remains is to deal with the unwanted tenant and get back what is mine. "

"I should have you thrown at Azkaban to practice such magic." Mad-Eye points his wand at me.

"So that's how you thank me when I come to do you a favor! Go ahead, attack me if you dare. I'll leave it to you to explain to my aunt why I should be thrown in Azkaban. I can't wait to see which one of us becomes its new resident. " I take out my knife and plant it violently in the locket. A lonely cry that freezes your blood escapes, I put the two objects in my pocket. I reopen my suitcase to bring in the specter and I put down a box containing about twenty vials of 30 centiliters of Styx venom on the table. That's several months of harvesting venom. "As promised, here's a crate of basilisk venom. You just need to soak the Horcrux in it to destroy it." I'm mad with rage, I'm already having a horrible evening with what I just did to Daphne, and now this. "Come on Lucius, we're leaving. You don't need to get up, we know the way out."

I get up and walk briskly towards the exit, I've seen enough people for tonight. However, Lilly runs in my direction.

"Sean, wait! What you just did with the locket, do you think you could do it with Harry too?" I sense a glimmer of hope in her voice. Despite all the horrors her son has done, she remains a mother above everything.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Evans. But what Harry has is an immortality spell, not a curse. And even if I could remove it, he would again suffer what killed him and there is nothing that can survive the effects of the killing curse." The hope that was in her eyes disappears. Her legs give way, and she finds herself kneeling on the floor. A lonely tear rolls down her cheek.

I'm leaving the Black House after what has to be one of the worst nights of my life.