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The Assassin's Comeuppance #10
🕑 Added 2022-04-22 17:30:01 +0000 UTCA soft pop sounded in the living room of #12 Grimmauld Place as Harry Potter apparated in with a sleeping beauty in his arms. Quickly, he dashed out of the room and made his way upstairs, climbing two steps at once in his rush. Striding forward, his hands grasped the doorknob and twisted, pulling the door open.
Harry walked over to his bed and slowly put the woman down, covering her with the blanket. With a frown, he closed his eyes and pointed his wand at her. A bolt of red light impacted the woman as she descended into further sleep. With a sigh, Harry turned around and exited the room. He shut the door behind him and tapped the runes on the knob. The door glowed for a moment, signifying the activation of the lockdown wards.
Turning around, he walked down the hallway and pulled the door of the only room there open.
“Shh... Master Harry, young master be sleeping,”
Harry came to a halt at the edge of the bed and smiled sheepishly at Tinsel.
“Did he give you any trouble, Tinsel?” Harry asked, taking a seat at the edge of the bed and rubbing his hand over Teddy’s head. The young metamorph had once again copied his looks, his pale complexion as well as those dark unruly locks a testament to his remarkable control over his powers at such a young age. Harry was very proud of his boy.
“No no no, master Harry... young master be sleeping,”
Harry smiled and patted the young elf on his head.
“Does master be wanting tea?”
“No Tinsel, no tea, I just came over to tell you to keep watch over Teddy for a few more hours, I’ve got to go meet someone urgently, can you do that buddy?”
Tinsel beamed.
“Tinsel will do, master Harry,” he stated with an emphatic nod and Harry chuckled.
“Alright then, I’ll be back in a couple of hours,”
Harry planted a small kiss on the young boy’s forehead and with a smile, made his way out.
“Expecto Patronum,”
The familiar silver stag materialized in front of him, looking around for any danger. Not finding any, it turned toward Harry and bowed.
“Hey Prongs, tell Luna to meet me in my office in fifteen minutes. I have something urgent to discuss with her before she starts her shift in the DoM,”
Prongs bowed once again before galloping through the wall.
Wasting no time, Harry twisted on the spot and apparated away.
*****
Only to reappear in the atrium of the British Ministry of Magic. Numerous witches and wizards were appearing near him, some via apparition and some via Floo, and Harry quickly started walking toward the elevator.
Bustling inside with multiple other witches and wizards, he pressed the button for Level 2 and stood aside. A few polite greetings were shared with people unnamed before the voice chimed in.
“Level 2, Wizangamot Chambers”
“That’s my cue, I’ll see what I can do, Thomas,” Harry shook his hand with Thomas Avery, one of the few people from the traditionalist faction who had genuinely contributed to their Act.
“Looking forward to that, Harry,” he nodded and stepped aside. With a smile, Harry stepped out of the elevator and walked toward his chamber. The Potter family held a wizengamot seat, and when he turned of age, he inherited all the rights and responsibilities the seat entailed. Coupled with the Black family seat that he had inherited from his godfather and his Order of Merlin: First Class, Harry controlled more votes than any single individual inside the wizarding parliament cum judiciary.
Tapping his wand against the runic engraving on the richly decorated door, he muttered the password. The door swung open and he walked inside. Flicking his wand to light up the torches and lanterns adorning the walls and the chandelier, he walked over to the leather couch set in the corner and poured himself a drink. He took a small sip, rolling the whiskey inside his mouth while pondering upon the happenings of the previous night.
The evening had been fantastic, and Harry couldn’t ask for a better one. Elena had had a wonderful time, and so had he. However, it was when they came back to her apartment late at night did things got confusing for him.
He couldn’t deny that he felt a massive attraction for the beautiful woman who had captured his heart and seeing her in that attire had sent his blood rushing southward. The feeling of her delicate body in his arms as they continued to devour each other’s mouths was inexplicable, and his heart raced when he imagined how it felt to touch her so intimately, over the thin fabric of her nightdress and then under it.
Although it was going a little bit fast, he found he didn’t mind in the slightest. The only thing he was concerned about was the fact that it was escalating for Elena. She hadn’t given him any indication that she was ready to take that step with him, and that was the reason why her direct approach was a surprise.
However, he was thrown off at her reaction afterward. She had been terrified! Muttering about someone, it was pretty horrific now that he thought about that. One thing was for sure though, whatever happened, was not normal.
And what followed afterward that night...
A soft knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked up sharply. Luna was standing outside in her formal robes with that usual serene look on her face. Harry quickly got up and approached her.
“Isn’t it too early for a drink, Harry?”
Harry shrugged as they made their way over to his desk. Taking a seat, Harry sighed.
“Look Luna, I know you’re very busy with your work, but I need this... I need you to do something for me,”
Luna looked at him in surprise.
“Sure Harry, as long as it’s nothing illegal, I’ll do everything to help you,”
“Thanks Luna, you’re a great friend,” he smiled.
“Is it something to do with the wumpledumps?”
“Wumple-what now?” He asked, bewildered.
“Wumpledumps Harry, they are tiny pink creatures that wobble around your head and dump their waste on your head. It fills your brain with anxiety,” Luna stated, matter-of-factly.
“O-kay... yeah, kinda...” He finished lamely.
“You can tell me Harry, I won’t judge,”
Harry sighed.
“You remember I told you about Elena?”
“Oh yes, your new girlfriend you met in a club, what about her?”
“Well,” he began hesitantly, “I think there might be something wrong with her,”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s better if you see for yourself,”
He waved his wand and floated the pensieve right beside his desk. Both of them stood up and came up by the device. Harry pressed his wand against his temple and pulled. A wispy white smoke slithered out of his temple, connected to his wand, and Harry deposited it inside.
“After you,” he gestured for Luna to step ahead, and she nodded. Inserting her finger inside the liquid, she floated away. Harry joined her shortly.
*****
“You are a really good kisser, Harry,” Luna intoned in her airy voice as they looked at the memory playing in front of them and Harry raised his eyebrows at her. Currently, they were seeing Elena and him making out inside her bedroom.
“Wha-what are you doing!?” Harry stammered out when he saw Luna making her way ahead to stand behind where memory-Elena was perched atop memory-him who was groping her in lust.
“Mmm... she’s shaved down there, nice...” Luna muttered as she bent down behind Elena right when Harry shifted her nightdress upward.
“Luna!” Harry hissed, scandalized at her behavior, who rolled her eyes and made her way back to stand beside him.
“Something to keep in mind in the future, no?” She cocked her head at him. Harry shook his head in exasperation.
“Would you mind paying attention?”
“You want me to pay more attention? I thought I was...”
“No! Not that kind of attention... look...”
They saw Elena breaking down, his eyes narrowing when Elena muttered about some ‘her’ and behave in such a terrified manner.
“Her eyes just flashed,” Luna muttered.
“What?”
“Her eyes... they just flashed purple for a moment, too quick to notice for a regular person,”
Harry stared at her for a moment.
“It’s not normal,”
“No it isn’t... but this doesn’t tell me anything, I can’t tell what is wrong just by a flash,”
“No, look on, there’s something else,”
Luna nodded and they continued watching the memory play out.
Harry and Elena slept soundly, his arm wrapped around her frame while she rested her head against his chest, their breaths even.
“Aaaaahhhhhh!”
A loud cry tore through Elena’s throat as she bolted upright, her eyes wide in fright and her body covered in sweat as she heaved roughly.
“Elena!” Harry shouted, frantically sitting up and grabbing her and pulling her into his chest. She sobbed, her hands clutching him desperately as if afraid he would go away. Harry rubbed her back as she sobbed, his face set into a deep frown as his free hand stroked her hair softly.
“She’s terrified,” Luna remarked, as Harry looked on in sadness. Luna looked at him and grabbed his hand, silently supporting him. Harry flashed her a small smile in gratitude.
“Yeah she really was,”
Minutes that felt like hours passed with no signs of calming down from Elena, and Harry clutched her tighter against his chest.
As Harry looked on, he remembered how helpless he was feeling at that moment, unable to help Elena when she was so blatantly distressed.
“Shh... it’s alright... it’s alright, I’m right here,” Harry whispered into her ear as Elena’s sobs subsided slightly, devolving into soft sniffles. Harry continued comforting her, whispering assurances in her ear, stroking her back and hair softly, and wishing with his entire being for her to calm down.
Slowly, her sniffling abated, and she pulled back from him. However, her hands kept a firm hold on his t-shirt, and Harry looked down to see it wet with her tears.
“What happened, Elena?” He whispered, cupping her cheek and trying to tilt her head upward to look her in the eyes.
Elena avoided eye contact with him, her eyes still brimming with tears as she shut them tightly. Harry pursed his lips.
“Elena, this is the second time tonight that you’ve had this... breakdown... please, please talk to me,” he asked her desperately. Elena kept her eyes shut, her lips quivering as a few teardrops leaked out and slithered down her cheeks.
“Elena...”
Her eyes slowly opened and she tilted her head upward and looked at him. Harry could see her eyes flooded with tears, those grey pools that he liked so much obstructed from his view.
“I... I can’t Harry...” she whispered brokenly before she winced as a harsh pain tore through her head.
Inside the memory, Luna’s eyes narrowed.
“No... not now...” she whispered frantically, her eyes wide in fright.
“Harry please!”
“What? What happened?” Harry was flabbergasted at the sudden change in her demeanor, and he saw her start hyperventilating.
“She’s coming Harry! Please stop her somehow!” She grabbed his hand in a vice grip, her nails digging into his skin and drawing blood as she looked at him pleadingly. Harry flinched slightly but didn’t dwell on the pain.
“Who’s coming, Elena? What’re you talking about?” He asked her urgently. The situation was getting out of hand.
“I... I can’t tell you Harry! I want to! Oh I want to tell you everything... Merlin knows I’ve waited so long for my free-aaahhhhh!”
“Elena!” Harry shouted when she cried out in pain and clutched her head.
“I’m... I’m doing all I can to hold her off Harry! But I... but I won’t be able to hold on for long! Please stun and bind me Harry!”
“What!? Why would I do-”
“HARRY!” Her loud shout cut him off, and he saw her looking at him desperately, her hands clutching her head tightly, “Please!” She finished in a broken voice. Harry felt something break inside him before he summoned his wand.
Her teary eyes pleaded with him to continue.
A silent stunner connected with her, and she slumped on the bed. Harry quickly grabbed her in his arms and cradled her, his eyes sorrowful as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. A silent ‘Incarcerous’ bound the woman in tight ropes and Harry slowly laid her down on the bed.
Not a second later, Elena’s body shuddered and Harry grabbed her hand in a vice grip. Making sure she was stable, he covered her under the blanket and got out of the bed, walking over to the window and rubbing his hand over his face. As he looked out, he saw the first rays of the sun over the horizon and sighed.
Harry gazed at the scene with deep sadness and looked over at Luna. His friend was frowning while looking at the bound Elena. She was muttering something under her breath. As the memory ended, the two found themselves back in his office, their fingers still inside the pensieve.
“Where is she right now?” She abruptly turned toward him, her eyes uncharacteristically serious and all hint of her normal self gone.
“At my home, I couldn’t leave her alone like that... I apparated with her and tucked her into my bed. Cast another stunner for good measure. I might’ve overpowered it a bit so she should be out for another few hours at the very least. Why, what did you find?”
“You didn’t pay attention, did you?”
“What do you mean?”
“When she was having a breakdown, I saw something. It became even more pronounced when she asked you to stop this woman, whoever she is, who was coming...”
“Get to the point Luna!”
“There were purple glows under her nightdress, not entirely visible but enough to pass through the thin material. And these glows were all over her torso if I’m not mistaken, and were visible the entire time until you stunned her,”
“I thought I was imagining those right now, yeah I too saw them just now, agreed that I didn’t see anything last night as I was too occupied dealing with whatever was happening to her, but right now I could see something glowing under her nightdress,”
Luna nodded.
“Such a thing is not normal. You told me she was a squib. There shouldn’t be anything remotely magical happening around her, yet this glow... Harry!”
His head swerved over to Luna.
“Bring her over to the department as soon as you can, make sure she’s unseen, your cloak will help, and take this,” she conjured a key and handed it to him, “when you reach the department, insert this key inside the keyhole and you’ll be granted access, go now.”
Harry didn’t need to be told twice and both of them quickly headed out of his chamber. He shut and locked the door to his office and with a sharp nod to Luna, hurried down the corridor toward the lift to reach the atrium. Luna watched him go with a frown.
“Merlin, I pray it’s not what I’m thinking...” she muttered as she started making her way down to Level Nine.
*****
To be continued...
