Chapter 15 (Part 2)
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"Mummy? How long until someone shows up?" asked one of the children, a brown haired boy of about seven or eight years old, who closely resembled Theo.
"I don't know, George," Tracey replied. "Be a little patient."
"But we've been waiting forever," a little girl whinged, making the other adults laugh. The girl seemed to be Theo and Tracey's daughter. She looked a couple years younger than the first boy, who must have been her older brother.
"Felicia, behave, darling. You know that Uncle Harry has to be cautious."
"I don't even remember Uncle Harry," the girl mumbled.
"You were too young," said a slightly older boy standing near Blaise. "Uncle Harry was a great guy. I always had fun with him... and Teddy."
"Who?" asked Felicia Nott.
"My friend... he's Uncle Harry's godson. He left to live with his godmother and hasn't replied to my letters in months," the boy replied.
"Daddy said Uncle Harry escaped Azkaban two years ago. Why didn't he call sooner?" asked the first boy. This time it was his father who replied.
"He was sick, and he needed time to recover," Theo explained.
"If he was sick, couldn't Mummy or Auntie Hannah give him a potion to make him better?" another boy asked. This one looked almost exactly like Millie, but with darker skin. He was probably around six years old.
"Not that kind of sick, Robert," Blaise advised his son. "The last time we saw him, he didn't even recognise us. I really hope he got better."
"He wouldn't call us if he didn't," Justin Smith stated confidently. "I know last we heard he looked terrible and was practically insane, but this is the captain we're talking about. Somehow, he managed to get out of there and recover, I'm sure of it."
"I think you're right." The older boy smiled, then turned his attention to the little girl at his side. "Are you all right, Daphy?"
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Real Daphne's attention snapped to the little girl at once. The girl couldn't have been more than four or five years old. She had short black hair and brown eyes, and she was obviously nervous about something. Daphne thought she somewhat resembled Millie, but what was with her name?
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"I'm fine, Cyril," the girl smiled, and the older boy nodded and patted the top of her head.
"You don't need to be nervous. Uncle Harry is a good man, you'll love him."
The girl nodded nervously.
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"Who's the little girl?" asked Daphne.
"Mmph?"
"The little girl, Daphy!?" she pressed, but Harry just smiled and refused to answer.
"Just keep watching."
Daphne went back to observing the room and saw Millie standing with her husband, looking at her son proudly, before turning to have a hushed conversation with Hannah Callen. She'd recognised Justin Smith earlier, and the older member of Harry's team had died, so that left only Jason Hallys missing.
"Where were you?" asked Daphne, and Harry pointed to the far corner of the room.
"Right there, under my Invisibility Cloak," he responded, and Daphne looked to the corner at once, but of course, didn't see anything.
"I'd already put the estate into full lockdown before I was arrested, so nobody was able to get in and confiscate anything."
"Ah, I wondered about that," replied Daphne. "How long until you reveal yourself?"
"Not long."
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"Azkaban changes people," said Justin Smith, who was standing with Theo. "Let's just hope he's healthy now, and that he's still the man we all remember."
"The man who killed the bitch that killed his wife, or the one from before that?" Blaise joked.
"If only we could've seen him earlier. If only we could have talked to him, done more to help him..." mumbled Theo.
"We tried, honey. It's not like we could've known that he'd try to escape, or that they'd send him to the deepest levels of the fortress," soothed Tracey, rubbing her husband's shoulder.
"At least Jason was able to find him," Hannah replied.
"One year too late," grumbled Theo. "He was already mad, by then. Not even the Death Eaters were sent to the deepest levels. Why was he?"
"Maybe someone wanted to hide him and take him away?" suggested the little girl shyly.
"But why?" wondered Millie, the others actually considering the little girl's words.
"I can't be sure about that," called a disembodied voice, one that the adults in the room seemed to recognise immediately.
"However, my guess is that two bastards decided they needed to protect themselves, and they bribed a lot of people to make sure I would disappear forever."
"H-Harry?" asked Millie, searching the room.
"Harry where are you?" Blaise asked hopefully.
"I'm glad you all came," the voice said again. "I'm glad to see I still have friends."
"Of course, we'd come, Harry," said Tracey, starting to get impatient. "But two years? What the hell have you been up to all this time?"
"Healing my body and my mind. Getting my power back. Planning my revenge..." Harry said ominously.
"Revenge? On whom?" Hannah questioned. "You already killed Weasley, Captain."
"I've been away for four years, Callen, but I do know that the Black Wands were disbanded. I haven't been your captain since I surrendered myself to all of you that day at the Ministry."
"So?" asked Justin, stepping forward. "You'll always be 'The Captain', the same way that Theo will always be Captain Nott."
"Yes, so you can drop the theatrics and that damn cloak of yours, and meet us face to face, you damned asshole!" Theo demanded.
Harry complied with Theo's request and pulled off his cloak. He was much slimmer than he was before Azkaban, and he was now sporting a short, black beard. His expression was stoic.
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"Still very handsome," real Daphne muttered, blushing when she realised she'd said that out loud. Fortunately, Harry hadn't noticed, or if he had, he'd pretended not to.
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"HARRY!" they all shouted happily. Some of them acted like they wanted to run and hug him, but his stern countenance gave them pause.
"What... What did you mean, when you said you were planning your revenge?" asked Millie, closely observing Harry and trying to get a sense of how he was and what they should expect.
"As it turns out, Weaselette only carried out the act. The idea to potion me came from others, people who had more to gain by controlling my opinion."
"What? What are you saying?" asked Theo.
"What I'm saying, Nott, is that while Weaselette was the one who brewed the potion that killed my wife and child, it was the Longbottoms who persuaded her to do it. They convinced her give me that thrice-damned potion so she could manipulate me to vote in their favour. In exchange, the red weasel would get to finally have me."
Their jaws were on the floor.
"Wha-What? Are you sure?" Tracey asked, and Harry nodded solemnly.
"They told me themselves. Those two bastards took everything from me," Harry scowled again, his voice boiling with anger.
"They took Daphne from me, they took our son from me... They took everything, and I will not allow them to get away with it. I will have my revenge, I swear it! For my wife and child, I WILL KILL THEM!"
"What about me?" a soft, downcast voice asked. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the crying little girl, who was hiding behind the oldest Zabini child.
"Oh boy," mumbled Blaise, massaging his temples while Millie paled considerably. Cyril Zabini encouraged the little girl to step forward, putting his hands on her shoulders. The girl looked up at memory Harry with tears in her eyes.
"Don't you care about me?" she pleaded.
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"What is this?" real Daphne asked, not really understanding what was happening. Harry didn't answer, he just kept looking straight ahead. Daphne could tell the girl was trying to be strong, even though there were tears running down her face, and it made her want to go to the child and wrap her in a hug.
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Memory Harry raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side.
"What do you mean, child?" he asked, and more tears streamed from the girl's eyes.
"Uncle Harry, you..." started Cyril, only to be interrupted by his mother.
"No, Cyril," she said, looking to Harry.
"Don't worry Daphy, Harry is clearly still sick. He must be. I'll make sure he gets well soon, and Auntie Hannah will help, won't you Auntie Hannah?"
Hannah nodded with a smile, "We'll make sure he'll be fine soon, I promise."
"R-Really?" the child asked, holding back a sob.
"Can someone please tell me what is going on here?" memory Harry demanded.
"Maybe you need to tell him who you are, sweetie," Tracey suggested.
The girl looked at her uncertainly and turned to Millie, who nodded encouragingly.
"It's ok, Daphy. Tell him, and show him the real you, as well."
"But... you said I should never take it off, unless I was in my room or in a safe place with just you, Uncle Blaise, Cyril, Uncle Theo, or Auntie Tracey," the child replied, and the adults smiled back at her.
"Oh honey, we all know," Hannah assured her.
"I don't," replied Felicia Nott, raising her hand.
Memory Harry wasn't amused.
"Once again, can someone explain what the hell is going on?" he demanded, regaining everyone's attention. Millie smirked and nudged the little girl forward.
"Go on," she encouraged her with a smile, and the little girl turned back to memory Harry with a look of resolve on her face.
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Real Daphne turned to real Harry and saw him smiling, looking on at the scene.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" she asked, not finding it as amusing as he seemed to.
"Don't worry, everything will be explained shortly," was all he said. With a huff, Daphne turned back to the memory and watched impatiently.
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The girl removed her necklace, and at once, her features started to shift. Her deeply tanned skin became whiter and milkier, and her short hair darkened and grew until it reached the middle of her back. Her facial structure changed a bit, and memory Harry inhaled sharply as he saw a very familiar face looking back at him, only hers was younger, with dark black hair and green eyes.
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Real Daphne's jaw dropped, and Harry squeezed her hand in support. She knew that face; she saw it in the mirror every day. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Harry smiling and looking longingly at the little girl.
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"Everyone always told me that I look like my mummy, with my daddy's eyes and hair colour," the girl confessed shyly. She looked hopefully up at memory Harry, who was looking back at her in complete shock.
"Don't you remember me, Daddy? It's me, Lilian Daphne Potter...your daughter."
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Oddly enough, real Daphne and memory Harry both reacted in the exact same way.
"WHAT!?"