Chapter 34

HOW DAPHNE BECAME A FUGITIVE

GILLELEJE, DENMARK

The dark forest in the little town wizarding community in Gillelleje was before, a place where young witches and wizards went through various invitation rites when they displayed the first signs of magic. It was also home to colonies of the fae. The essence that gave life to some particular kinds of wands could be found in the forest if you knew where to look. However, until a few months ago, a dark creature had moved into the forest and was killing the children in the little town one by one.

The townsfolk had tried all manner of spells but were unable to properly dispel the creature but succeeded in wounding it. When however, the town's baker's sweet little daughter was abducted, everyone had had enough and immediately an owl was sent to bring in a renowned hunter to save the situation. Upon arrival, the hunter interviewed the people and after confirming to them that a shtriga was causing the menace, headed into the forest with nothing but a wand and the girl's toy unicorn. After hours of tracking the creature through the woods, our character came across a peat bog with bubbling, growling noises from within the deep. The hunter crouched down and darted about in a plume of black smoke the smoke moved around and settled on a branch on an elm tree. The human figure materialized and scanned the dark forest for signs of the creature.

"Almost there," our hero muttered and pulled the toy from her cloak and muttered a spell over it. Suddenly, a loud scream pierced the silent darkness and in a flash the hunter apparated towards the sound of distress only to see a dark shtriga advancing slowly toward a little girl about five years of age.

The hunter took a vial from a pouch and banished its contents at the dark creature. The shtriga roared in fury and advanced towards the new target but the hunter drew slender looking wand and repelled the creature with attacks. The shtriga stopped dead in its tracks and roared as it started to combust. The hunter chuckled in amusement and took a deep breath before walking towards the girl to pick her up.

"You are safe now child. I've got you."

The little girl rested her red head on the shoulders of her rescuer and stopped sobbing when she was presented with a chocolate fudge her saviour pulled out from behind her ear. The little girl giggled in delight and unwrapped the chocolate happily. After a long walk through the forest came to a clearing where they were received by shouts of joy. The child was let down from her perch and she sprinted to her family as fast as her little legs could carry her. Our hero received praises from all and after sharing a few mugs of mead with the locals, slowly retreated to the lodgings provided by the town's chief wizard.

"Monster hunting?" a voice said quietly and in a flash our hero spun around and banished a chair at the sound of the voice but the trespasser simply sent the chair crashing into the wall.

"Narcissa. You know better than to sneak up on me that way."

"Come now Andromeda, you could not kill me," the Malfoy matriarch responded. "You should see Bella. She kills first, summons your ghost and asks questions later."

Andromeda laughed and shook her head in amusement. "She really is something else little Bella," she commented and threw her cloak on the bed and sat by the fireplace. There was some silence in the room before she broke it again.

"Voldemort is causing an unbalance all over the world. I just got rid of a shtriga in that forest," she complained and massaged the sides of her head gently.

"A shtriga? Are they not supposed to be in Albania?"

"Yes they are and that's how it has always been. Domestic dark creatures stay in their domestic areas and terrorise those around them, people kill them to survive and life goes on. That is the natural order of things", she mused. "Now Dumbledore's dead, Voldemort's gaining an advantage everywhere and dark creatures have started moving across borders and that is dangerous for everyone."

"Harry Potter will deal with Voldemort soon. I have knowledge of a prophecy Sybil Trelawney made a while ago which is very perplexing but what is clear is that he will be the one to end everyone's suffering," Narcissa replied quietly.

"Harry Potter," Andromeda said quietly. "The papers say he is quite the character." Narcissa nodded in response and stroked her silver blonde her gently.

"How is that slimy cunt Lucius?"

"I wish him dead."

"Draco?"

"I have almost lost faith in his redemption. I fear for his life every day." The sisters sighed and Narcissa followed with her question.

"How is Ted?"

"He's fine, looking after the children at home. I have to call him to let him know I'm alright. Nymphadora tells me she's in love with Remus Lupin." Narcissa chuckled and nodded her head.

"He's a decent guy Remus, Nymphadora tells me he does not want her to waste her time because of his werewolf curse."

"What do you want for your child Meda?"

"I wish for her to find true love and follow her passions like how I followed mine," she responded wisely.

"What is it now Cissy? Why are you here?" she asked after a very long silence had passed between them.

"She's gone Meda. Bellatrix is gone. Kidnapped with the aid of Daphne Greengrass and Voldemort probably has her again," Narcissa said quietly. Immediately, Andromeda got on her feet and waved her wand around the room packing her belongings into her duffel bag. She extinguished the fire with a wave of her hand and put on her cloak.

"Say no more sister, let us go and find her."

CROUCH FAMILY ESTATE

Bellatrix was lying in a pool of her own vomit and woke up with a start when she felt water dripping on her face. She hissed as a sharp pain shot across her body leaving her crippled on the floor. Her ears were still ringing from Voldemort's assault upon her person the previous night and she could not feel her legs. Her cell was made of pure stone and had no door but a very complex boundary spell prevented any prisoner from leaving which she found amusing. An empty doorway that teased freedom but that was far from the truth. She sat with her back on the wall and stared at the corridor in front of her waiting for the sound to return to her ears because she seemed to be temporarily deaf.

As she gradually gained composure, the eerie silence all around her was shattered by a piercing scream and she looked around her in alert. Suddenly, she could hear everything going on around her and the screams of torture she was hearing was wonderful music to the ears of the mad witch. She could hear someone raining abuse in a deep Irish accent as he suffered at the hands of his torturer.

"You fackin' little basterd! I'm gonna kill ye!" he roared and screamed and half laughed amidst his sufferings. Bellatrix crawled to the gate of her cell to see if she could get a view of what was happening but could see nothing.

"Dementors," she muttered as the air around her grew cold and shuddered from the sudden cold that swept her body. The screams stopped and she rolled her eyes when the sucking sound of the Dementor's Kiss reached her ears. As she lay there, she saw Voldemort gliding across the floor, his feet inches above the floor and his hands tucked inside his robes like a monk with Nagini slithering behind him. He turned his head to the left and his eyes flashed dangerously when he saw his former acolyte looking haggard and filthy on the floor. Bellatrix quickly crawled on her belly to a corner of her cell for comfort but the Dark Lord laughed quietly as he followed the helpless witch from behind. When she reached her corner, she blew a strand of her from her face and growled at him when she felt safe.

"CRUCIO!" Voldemort chanted and the pain ripped through her body like thousands of needles stabbing her and cutting her skin. She cackled softly and looked up at the Dark Lord.

"You seem to have a rather feisty tenant in the other room my lord," she said in exhaustion as she lay huddled on the floor. "Shall I assist you to break him?"

"Nagini," he whispered and the serpent crawled slowly towards Bellatrix hissing softly and waving her forked tongue at the witch.

"Here snakey snakey," Bellatrix cooed and moaned loudly as the serpent coiled around her before sinking her fangs into the neck of the battered prisoner. The poison slowly entered her blood stream and Bellatrix was beginning to understand why she was unable to make use of her legs. As Nagini repeatedly attacked her, all she could focus on was the smug face of Daphne Greengrass and how she was going to kill her when she escaped.

"Enough!"

The snake crawled back to her master and continued hissing softly.

"I miss that pale cock," she whispered loudly and raised a weak right hand and pointed it at Voldemort's groin. "I miss it and how you used to send Nagini down my pussy to torture and please me," she croaked and cackled softly. She felt her skull make a cracking sound from a hex that he had cast and vomited blood as a result.

"My lord," she whispered again and fainted on the floor.

"Nagini, come," Lord Voldemort whispered and left the cell the same way he entered.

SPINNER'S END

We are all aware that Spinner's End is the home of the legendary Potions master, Severus Snape. The house was as gloomy as the Potions master himself and did not have bright colours and all that dainty things that made a home a home. Since we have acknowledged this gloomy fact, we go down a dark corridor and take a right turn into a dark living room with very thick dark curtains and there we find Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom and the elves sitting quietly by a fire that is the only thing giving the room light. This time, Harry Potter is fuming.

If the reader has been with us right from the beginning, an attempt must be made to recollect some instances where a fuming Harry did some very dangerous things. How he killed Voldemort's top lieutenants, how he almost blew Daphne's head of with a shotgun at a party she had organized among other things. In summary, when the Potter heir is in his elements, it is a dangerous thing and now he is about to execute a dangerous plan.

All the occupants of room were scheming. They had reached a consensus that it was time to get the heat on Daphne which was long overdue and after days of deliberation, they had come up with plan.

"Alright lads, bring me pawn number one," Harry muttered and in an instant, the elves apparated away. Neville tapped his boots on the stone floor impatiently and played with his thumbs at the same time.

"Calm down mate. It will be a scary day for all," Harry said quietly. The only noise in the room came from an old clock ticking loudly from the corner of a room where it stood. They appeared seconds later with the famous Hogwarts Quidditch commentator and editor of the Freedom Report, Lee Jordan. Neville looked at his watch and back at the elves again who shrugged in response. Neville smiled and turned his attention to their visitor.

"Sorry about all the cloak and dagger shit Lee, but we had to do that," Harry said once Lee was seated.

"Of course Harry. How can I help you?"

"Neville?"

"Right, we need you to write a story today and stir up memories about that attack on The Factory."

"Where Voldemort dabbles with dark creatures?"

"That very one," Neville answered. Dobby circled around and received a bundle of papers Harry handed to him and whisked away after a low bow.

"We need you to let everyone know that it was Harry who launched the attack with inside information from someone close to Voldemort." Lee scratched his stubble and looked at them, the tension in the air slowly beginning to catch him.

"Daphne Greengrass," Neville said in a dead voice. Lee whistled and let out a deep breath.

"You need to paint her as a believer of the cause Lee," Harry emphasised. "You got to sell it well and include in your article that you have knowledge of correspondence between herself and an unknown liaison to the Order."

"Of course Harry," Lee nodded and furiously scribbled on a piece of parchment he took from his coat.

"She already set me up and caused a riot in Hogwarts a year ago when on the Hogwarts Express, a student nearly lost his life for reading your newspaper. Dobby intervened but the target she painted on my back was fucking messed up."

Lee chuckled and shook his head. "You threatened to destroy her and you caused her embarrassment she has never experienced. It's only fair she retaliated," he said and winked at his old housemate. "Anyways, I got a way to paint it and make it look like you are still the hope and all that- which you are of course, we still believe in you Harry. You will get this thing sorted out quickly so we can go back to living normal lives but yes, yes mate, I've got you covered," he said quickly. Harry nodded and shook his hand. Lee shook Neville's hand and straightened his coat.

"Oh and Lee?"

"Harry?"

"Golden Boy, Chosen One, Dumbledore's Pet, all that shit should not come in."

"Yes gaffer."

Kreacher grabbed Lee's hand and took him away without wasting time.

"Now it's up to Dobby to finish the last job," Neville said and folded his arms as they waited for the elf to return.

GREENGRASS RESIDENCE

Dobby was inside the vast mansion under Harry's Cloak of Invisibility and slowly made his way past the sentries of wizards and witches Draco had hired to guard the place. He slowly made his way inside the house and looked around for any Death Eater that would be easy for him to execute his plan on. He looked around with his huge eyes and saw a Death Eater dozing off in a chair by a door.

"Bingo," he whispered in glee as he recollected their plans to rescue Bellatrix.

Dobby you will steal yourself inside her house and plant some letters I will give you on one of the Death Eaters you get your hands on. Jinx him so when the time is right, he will then plant them someplace in Daphne's study once Lee's article begins to generate the desired feelings, a raid by the Lestrange brothers and some other high ranking blokes will definitely be conducted and then our pawn will bring out the letters so planted into discovery.

The elf made his way cautiously towards him and muttered a spell with his bony fingers aimed at the sleeping sentry. The Death Eater opened his eyes and stared blankly into space. Dobby quickly placed the letters into the Death Eater's cloak and made his way out of the house and apparated back to his master.

"It is done," Dobby announced and took off the Cloak.

"Good job mate," Harry said and nodded his head in appreciation.

"What are we to do now?" Neville asked and out of the blue, Andromeda Tonks appeared before them together with her younger sister.

"Hello boys," she announced quietly and beamed when she saw Kreacher.

"Kreacher you sly old fox," she cooed and tickled the elf's ear much to his annoyance. Narcissa conjured a chair and took a seat, her blue gray eyes silently scanning the room.

"Mrs. Tonks," Harry said and stretched a hand.

"Call me Meda or Andrea, Harry. You really took after James," she observed.

"Meda," Neville greeted.

"Neville my boy! How's Augusta doing?"

"She's well."

"Merlin's beard! She just won't die eh?" she said quietly and took Harry's chair from him. Harry chuckled and took a moment to observe the woman he had heard of but had never seen till today. She was tall, like Narcissa but stood a little above her by some inches. Her hair was dark like Bellatrix's and her eyes were a deep green. She was beautiful and like her sisters, it was impossible to tell her age. She was quiet and it seemed that Bellatrix was the only sibling that was outspoken, but what was common throughout the Black sisters was their very dangerous nature that was capable of eviscerating armies when they were properly motivated.

"What the fuck have yous been up to? It's been a week innit?"

"I cannot find Bella on my own, but I have instigated a chain of events that are going to destroy the person who is the cause of our meeting today."

"What have you done to Greengrass?" Narcissa quizzed.

"In a few hours, Lee Jordan will publish an article that will expose the Greengrass girl for aiding The Order in carrying out the attack on The Factory. Voldemort will be infuriated and he will send his lieutenants to her residence to find proof. All manner of charms will be cast to find something incriminating but our inside guy will deliver the final blow under Dobby's guidance and then, she will be forced to flee," Harry explained as he paced about the room.

"The worldwide manhunt will now divide their numbers because revolts may rise from all over the country and during that chaos, we will pick the top most members of his inner circle one after another till someone squeals," Neville finished.

The sisters sat down quietly and stared at each other.

"Nice plan. You are smart boys," Andromeda complimented.

"Astoria," Narcissa muttered and groaned.

"What is it Cissy?"

"Her sister is under my wing. She will become a target. The Lestranges are already seeking for a pound of her flesh but so far, they have been unable to find anything on her. This is a perfect excuse for them. I must warn her."

"Where are you going?"

"To send a Patronus," she replied and walked out of the room.

"Dobby go and take up your position. Keep a close eye on our friend for me," Harry instructed. The elf bowed and apparated away.

"Now we wait. Later we hunt," Andromeda said quietly and shut her eyes.

A FEW HOURS LATER

The entire wizarding community of Britain was in a frenzy so strong that, even the Muggles could feel something was happening in the atmosphere. It was simply because, after months of silence, the Freedom Report was once again in circulation and this time, it was not a message from Dumbledore or something that The Order had done to frustrate Voldemort's plans but rather, it was centered on the Ice Queen of Britain.

Harry chuckled when Kreacher handed him a copy of the newspaper and nodded his head in satisfaction. "He's got her where I want it," he muttered and passed it to Andromeda.

"These letters of correspondence Mr. Jordan speaks of is where Dobby comes in yes?" Narcissa asked and Neville responded in the affirmative. She chuckled lightly and tossed the paper to Neville.

"Is she out to get Voldemort for the murder of her parents? Or is Voldemort so obsessed with her beauty that he cannot see that the Death Eaters are all out for personal gain?" Neville read the last line aloud and shook his head.

"Voldemort will be angry," he said in amusement.

"Which means I have to report immediately. The Dark Mark is starting to crawl about my arm," Narcissa added and walked out of the room.

"How she keeps her mental shields up without arousing suspicion is astonishing," Andromeda remarked in her sister's absence. "Occlumency and all that shit I haven't done that properly in a while," she added and shook her head.

"It requires constant practice but I guess she's skilled," Harry said.

"The Golden Snitch is still flying boys, let's see if we can catch it," Andromeda said quietly and put on her coat.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to kick down a few doors and string up some people. I haven't beheaded a human being in a while," she said in a calm manner which Harry and Neville found amazing.

GREENGRASS MANSION

The air was dark with the flying movements that Death Eaters brought and gradually they dropped down on the lawn of the mansion and made their way inside the building. Draco Malfoy greeted them at the entrance, shocked to the bone about the allegations being levelled against his wife-to-be.

They followed Draco silently into a chamber where Daphne was bound with a spell Mulciber had cast suspending her in the air. As she tried hard to counter the jinx, she remained calm because she knew this was Harry Potter's doing. There was a loud hissing noise and in an instant, all the Death Eaters dropped on their knees and bowed their heads.

"You are suspended in the air because of accusations of treachery levelled against you by The Order," Voldemort said in his raspy voice. "It may be a ruse to cause division in my ranks but the Lestrange siblings have warned me constantly of your deceitful nature and I am inclined to believe them now," he added.

"Rise."

They all stood gracefully and waited to see what was about to happen. There was a smirk on the face of Rabastan Lestrange and Daphne wished she could smite him with her daggers look. Narcissa quietly entered the chamber and blended with the rest of the inner circle. She took a deep breath and stared at the floor to wait for what was about to happen.

"Mulciber release the girl," Voldemort commanded and Daphne hit the floor with a sickening thud. She coughed in pain and held her sides as she prepared to make her submission.

"I have no idea why Lee Jordan will write such an article," she started slowly, "and I have not corresponded with any member of The Order to attack a place known only to a few members of this fellowship. You may search this house which is the only house I have from my parents and nothing will be found to corroborate what you may all think of me."

"Rodolphus," Voldemort signaled and the wizard muttered a spell and sparks flew out of his wand and flew about the house.

"I have some of my men searching her study and other rooms as we speak my lord," Draco said quietly and gasped when Voldemort was before him in an instant grabbing his neck.

"If I find out you aided her boy, you will watch as I kill her before I kill you," Voldemort hissed and threw Draco across the room.

"There is no need. Draco does not have the heart to betray you nor I for that matter my lord," Daphne said quietly.

"Such a brave girl. I will enjoy killing you if something is found." A house elf walked into the room with a glass of water for her mistress. Daphne took a sip gently and handed the glass to the elf after staring at it for a while. The elf left as she came and suddenly there was a shout and Dobby's pawn walked inside the chamber and handed a bundle of papers to Rodolphus.

Rodolphus Lestrange chuckled and looked at Daphne in disgust. "She's a traitor my liege," he announced and suddenly everyone in the room started to talkin hushed tones.

"Harry Potter is such a devil," Narcissa muttered to Snape.

"I fear for the girl's life," Snape said.

"I don't. She has an escape plan already. Did you not see how she looked at her glass before she gave it to her elf?"

"She's jinxed. She cannot apparate or cast complex spells. The Lestrange brothers were already here to secure her under the Dark Lord's instructions."

"They should have done better. She has probably given her elves instructions. I cannot wait for the drama to unfold."

Voldemort looked at the letters before him and screamed in rage. Nagini hissed violently in support and everyone in the room was beginning to fear for Daphne. Daphne was shocked at what had just happened and was searching her mind for how on earth Harry had managed to perform such a feat. Her knees were weak all of a sudden from the stunning revelation but she did not collapse in fright. She held her chin up proudly and glared at her accuser.

"Any last words before I take you away?" Voldemort asked quietly.

"Nessy," Daphne muttered and her words were followed by a loud bangning noise and a beam of bright light as her elf stunned the Death Eaters present. Spells were fired where Daphne stood and after the light had died down, Daphne Greengrass had disappeared into thin air.

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