Narcissa's Reality

Bellatrix smiled weakly at Reggins. "I'm glad that you did. Harry seems to have a habit of blaming himself for a great deal of things that are not his fault." She turned to him and took his hand. "With authority, comes responsibility. It's possible to take too much responsibility though."

Reggins nodded in agreement and then began to explain what his earlier comment had meant. "Of all the residents in your dominion, the Count of Trazkaban has the most autonomy. Some men who have held that position have even gone so far as to say that you hold no dominion over the island. In fact, during the reign of Lord Polairix IX, the Countess of Trazkaban sieged Nair'icaix."

"Your point?" Harry inquired.

"Sorry for wandering, my lord." The ghost said. "Anyway, Trazkaban is recognized as private property. For their loyalty and alliance in the political sector, the House of Polairix grants Trazkaban complete sovereignty and autonomy. Technically, what they do on that island is none of your business. Even if you didn't want them to kill trespassers, there would be nothing you could do about it."

"I see."

"I'm glad, my lord." Reggins then disappeared.

Bellatrix smiled and squeezed Harry's hand. "See? Not your fault. If you do want to blame someone though, blame Voldemort. He's the one who sent Rodolphus and other fellow Death Eaters to Trazkaban."

Harry nodded sadly. "Everything that has been going wrong can pretty much be traced to him."

"I suppose so." Bellatrix said quietly. "I think that I shall return to my work in the library. It will help keep my mind off . . . things." She then stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Harry to contemplate life as he surveyed his empty throne room.

Who was to blame? Voldemort of course. Then again, he had the power to kill Voldemort, didn't he? So, if he did nothing with that power, then he would be held to blame. On the other hand, it wasn't as if Harry had forced Voldemort to do what he did.

Who was better? A man who used his talents for evil, or a man who did not use his talents at all? It all depends on how you look at it, Harry concluded. So many decision and so many points-of-view.

His reverie was interrupted when one of the doors slammed open and a grumpy woman carrying a bucket of water stomped in. Upon closer inspection, Harry realized that it was Narcissa. She had not noticed him however, so he did nothing to remedy it as she got on her knees and began to scab the floor with a sponge produced from the depths of the foamy water in the bucket.

Narcissa's hair style was now quite simple, yet good looking. The same went with her dress and general appearance. Apparently she had been making enough money from her services to live as a typical servant did.

Harry's plan to put her in a situation faced by many who actually had to work for their living had apparently been successful. The question was now whether or not she was learning the lesson that she was supposed to learn. Did she have any more respect for those who had been formerly below her?

Unable to resist the urge, Harry reached out with his Legillimency skills and gingerly touched her mind so as not to alert her to his snooping presence. He was quickly disappointed. All Narcissa could see was that the spoiled 'Boy-Who-Lived' was forcing her to do servant stuff. She was afraid of him and continually wondered what Bellatrix saw in him.

With an inward sigh, Harry withdrew. She did not seem to understand that the attitudes of herself, ex-husband, and Voldemort caused pain to so many people. Maybe she needed to be exposed to more of the harsh realities of the world. I'll have to arrange for her to experience some reality as soon as I get the chance, Harry decided.

…..

Alastor Moody paced outside the ward at St. Mungos in which the Longbottoms were permanently hospitalized. He was waiting for Mrs. Longbottom, Neville's formidable grandmother to finish inside with them. Neville had asked Moody to go and see if he could assess his grandmother's attitude toward one Harry Potter.

She was certainly against Lord Voldemort, but she wasn't a particularly active member in the Order of the Phoenix. If the results of today's meeting were favorable, Mrs. Longbottom would find out about both Harry Potter and her son's involvement with Potter's Legion.

The door to the ward opened and Mrs. Longbottom walked out of it in her usual vulture hat with the big handbag. She smiled at Moody. "Thank you for waiting, Alastor. I've just received some rather pleasant news from one of the healers."

"Oh? What was that, ma'am?" Moody asked politely as they made their way down the hall and eventually toward the Apparition point.

"Frank and Alice seemed more responsive to my voice and presence today." Mrs. Longbottom pronounced proudly. "The ward's resident healer seems to think that this is a sign that they are coming out of their mental condition. He thinks that frequent visits from family members would help their recovery immensely."

Moody smiled at Mrs. Longbottom. "That's wonderful news. I imagine that maybe a visit from Neville could do wonders as well. Do you have any plans to have him visit soon?"

She shrugged indifferently. "When school gets out I suppose. They would hardly recognize him I think. Besides, I would not want to get his hopes up for nothing. The healer stressed that maybe they would go back to normal within a few days or weeks."

"At least they're still alive." Moody said carefully, making an attempt to segue the conversation into a discussion about the Potter family and then onto Harry.

"Ah, yes. The Potters. Do you know how young Harry is these days?" Mrs. Longbottom said, unknowingly taking Moody's bait.

"Well . . ." Moody said as he launched into the whole story. A half-hour and several blocks down the street later, he had related the whole story concerning Harry and Potter's Legion. Neville's grandmother had shown little emotion throughout, and Moody hoped that he had not just made a mistake.

Mrs. Longbottom smiled. "The whole thing with young Mr. Potter seems rather confusing, Alastor. I can't help but be proud of Neville though. He's become a natural born leader. I reckon that the skill will come in handy."

"Yes, I'm sure it will. I was wondering if you would consider working with those of us who believe Harry innocent against You-Know-Who." Moody said hopefully.

Longbottom sighed. "Of course I'll help. Potter is likely not happy with certain people in our world right now. We need people that he would have no enmity against. I can't guarantee my skill in a fight with Death Eaters however.

"Not everyone has to be a front line fighter." Moody said wisely as he thought about the situation with Frank and Alice.

Though Mrs. Longbottom seemed to be on his side, there would still be no convincing of her to allow Neville to visit his parents before the end of the term at Hogwarts. In his not so humble opinion, he thought that Neville should visit as soon as possible. Not only that, if the Longbottoms were to recover . . .

...

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