Harry got through the rest of 2005 well enough. Nothing more exciting than taking Malcolm to see Santa at the mall. Murphy managed to not get fired for missing 5 days of work by giving a story of a family emergency, but it was a close thing; she basically used up every chip she had just to keep her job as head of SI. Butters started knightly training with Michael. Michael still invited Harry over after church, but there was a distance between them that would only heal with time.

Harry quickly settled into his role as Warden. He went to every paranormal hangout in town, including McAnally's, posting flyers that listed the 7 Laws and Harry's contact information if anyone knew about a crime. Not every call was valid, but Harry faithfully answered even the crank calls. There would be no warlock activity in Chicago without Harry Dresden swiftly bringing a stop to it. Harry had no desire to have to execute any stupid teenagers suckered into black magic.

2006 moved at double speed, or maybe Harry was just getting older and his perception of time was changing. The eighth Carpenter child, another girl they named Theresa, was born. It occurred to Harry that Malcolm would have a lot of cute girls next door to crush on when he was older. Or boys next door. Or both. Not that Harry cared so long as Malcolm was happy. Anyway, Harry welcomed his new niece with joy.

Apparently Thomas felt a king should have an heir, because he knocked up Justine. Harry heard they had a wedding in Vegas to celebrate the news. Harry sent a protective amulet for Justine as a wedding gift.

Harry maxed out his Barbarian character at the Alpha's game night, so he started fresh with a Paladin character.

Lash did some calculation and told Harry if he kept feeding power and the Guard kept expanding to cover more and more of Chicagoland, Toot-toot could morph into a full Sidhe instead of just a dewdrop faery. Harry told Toot and the faery swore that even if he transformed into a faery noble, he'd still serve as captain of the Za-Lord's Guard. Harry bought an XL with Toot's favorite toppings.

Before Harry knew it, it was July and the merlin schedule the execution of a 16-year-old Korean boy in Chicago. Harry brought Molly, wearing the brown cloak of an apprentice. Molly didn't have the skillset to be a Warden, but he wanted to teach her a lesson about how serious the Council took the Laws.

Harry stood with Molly as Morgan read the list of the accused's crimes to Ebenezer and the Merlin, the only Senior Council members that could attend. They both voted the boy guilty. Right after, Morgan drew his sword and beheaded the young warlock.

Molly puked. Harry's own stomach filled with lead.

Harry and Molly left the warehouse, breathing in the fresh air. "Christ. He was younger than me," Molly breathed out.

"If it helps, he was already dead. Once he got addicted to black magic, he turned into a monster. It's like rabid animals, the only option is to put them down," Harry said heavily.

"That could have been m? If you hadn't come back, I would have broken a Law, not even knowing they existed, and I'd be voted to die by the Council?" Molly asked aghast.

"Afraid so, padawan. In canon, you use mind magic to help two addict friends stay clean, but you ended up accidentally destroying their minds."

Molly shuddered.

Ebenezer walked up to them. "Hoss! Got a moment?"

"Molly, how about you drive us home?" Harry handed the recently licensed Molly the keys to the Beetle. Molly nodded, knowing Harry really just wanted privacy and went to the car. Harry turned to his grandfather.

"How's she coming along?"

"She's basically good at everything I'm not. But I can teach her theory and supervise her execution. I think she's almost ready to make her first focus. I offered to give her my old ones but she wants to pave her own way."

"Like master like apprentice," Ebenezer chuckled. "You didn't even think of letting me carve your staff for you."

Harry shrugged. "This is the part when you ask me a favor."

Ebenezer frowned. "I managed to oust Peabody as a traitor after the Red Court attacks in October. He committed suicide by death curse, the Merline just barely stopped it from collapsing the whole Edinburgh complex. So the Black Council lost their inside man on the Senior Council. I pray he was the only traitor. Anyway, we still have a war to fight. We were expecting the Fae Courts to come to our aid, or at least declare their own war on the Red Court. You don't summon Outsiders into Faerie like the vamps did without consequences. Except there's been none. Summer's just shored up their borders and Winter's withdrawn a lot of their forces for some reason."

"So you want me to ask my contacts in the Fae Courts and find out why Summer and Winter haven't nuked the Red Court,' Harry asked to clarify.

"Unofficially, of course. You wouldn't represent the Council when you asked," Ebenezer added.

"I can guess why right now. Summer's paranoid about an attack from Winter. Winter, which knows the future since I paid off Lea with the memories, is probably preparing for the assault on Arctis Tor."

Ebenezer got an alarmed expression. "What assault?"

"In my future past, someone, probably the Black Council, attacked Mab's castle hard. There was hellfire used, so at least one Denarian. Why they attack and what they achieve, I have no idea," Harry revealed.

Ebenezer frowned. "What could they possibly accomplish aside from making Mab extremely angry?"

"I don't know, and I'd rather not stick my nose in it. I'm going home to my wife and kid and leaving the Sidhe to their own problems. But I'll still ask for you, sir."

"Thanks, Hoss. How's Malcolm and Susan?"

They're not called the terrible twos for nothing. Tantrums you wouldn't believe. But he's still my sweet little munchkin some days, so it's worth it. Susan's, well, Susan. I love her to death, even when she drives me crazy. We're thinking of making Malcolm a big brother at some point. Shame we're losing Sarissa in January, she's practically part of the family."

"Good to hear. Get that information to me when you can, okay?"

"Sure, Sir. Goodbye."

Molly drove Harry back to their homes. Harry waved Molly goodbye and got to his porch. He paused and turned to the hedges. "Major General Toot-toot Minimus! Atten-hut!"

Toot-toot flew out of the hedge, a foot tall as opposed to the 3 inches he'd been when Harry first met him. "Yes, Za-Lord, sir!" he saluted by slapping his forehead.

"Debriefing time, Toot. You've got friends in the wildfae, Summer, and Winter. What do you know about why neither Court has moved against the Red Court?"

Toot looked at Harry like he were an idiot. "Harry, I mean, my Lord, don't you listen? Queen Titania is vulnerable because Lady Aurora is still in treatment, so she doesn't want to split her forces guarding against Winter AND fighting the vampires. And Queen Mab is preparing for the strike you told the Leanandsidhe about! Everybody knows that!"

"Just wanted to hear someone else say it, Toot. You may return to your post. But before you go, is there anything you've heard you think I should hear about?"

"There's a jann in town! Working as a lawyer to some White Court vampire. They're in the hotel near the big building with the humans dressed in costumes," Toot faithfully reported.

"Thank you for the report, Major General. Dismissed!"

Toot slapped his forehead again and flew back into the greenery.

Harry entered his home, to have Malcolm run up and hug his legs. "Daddy!"

"Hey, little man. Where's Mommy and Sarissa?"

"They in the kitchen!" Malcolm declared. Grabbing one of Harry's hands, the toddler led Harry around the retaining wall into the kitchen. Susan was putting steaks in bags of marinade and Sarissa looked up from a book in Sanskrit ot eye her charge. "Good job fetching your Daddy, Malcolm," the changeling said with a smile.

Malcolm giggled, pleased at his success. Harry surprised him by picking him up and resting him on his shoulders. Malcolm cheered at being so high up.

"What happened at the trial?" Susan asked as she put the steaks in the icebox.

"What usually happens at a warlock's trial," Harry said flatly.

Susan nodded, sympathy in her eyes. She came up to give him a kiss. Malcolm said "Ew," making his parents laugh. Harry spent the rest of the day enjoying a Saturday with his family. When it came time for bed, Susan kissed him with heat and said "I'm ovulating." Normally this was a warning that sex was off the table for the night. But with the way Susan was looking at Harry, Harry knew it meant only one thing. They stripped naked and attacked each other. By the time they collapsed from exhaustion, a good few million of Harry's swimmers were on course for Susan's egg.

Harry waited a week for something bad to happen. But apparently he'd made enough changes to the timeline that the events described in his journal never happened. Molly wasn't kidnapped by fetches, Madrigal Raith didn't kidnap and try to sell Harry, and nobody had to go charging into the Nevernever. The further into the future he went, the more the butterfly effect would come into play. Harry certainly hoped he wouldn't be shot by a sniper after sacrificing Susan in this timeline.

A couple months went by and lash spoke up after one of their regular lessons. "Um, Harry. I have an idea I want you to seriously think about. Don't just dismiss it out of hand."

"Okay," Harry said, putting aside his notebook.

Lash took a deep breath. "I know how you could do the Darkhallow without killing anyone. That's your main opposition to it, right?"

Harry blinked. He counted to ten. "... How?"

"Do it on Demonreach. It's miles from the city. The vacuum when you swallow the vortex wouldn't reach the shore."

"Wouldn't it affect the prison?" Harry asked.

"I've done the math and no it shouldn't. The magic Merlin used it too strong and deep underground to be sucked into the vacuum. You'll kill every living thing on the island and a lot of fish in the lake, but no people."

Harry blew out a breath. "Why do that unholy ritual in the first place?"

"Don't play dumb, Harry. You have a lot of enemies. Enemies that could come after your family and friends, not just you. If you become a junior-league god, you could wipe out your enemies and protect the ones you love." Lash had an earnest expression on her illusory face. "Just think about it Harry. Your birthday is next month. Plenty of time to make a decision." With that, she vanished.

Harry did think about it over the weeks leading up to Halloween. The way Lash described it, it seemed to be all pro and no con. Harry could become the most powerful wizard ever to walk the Earth, and no one had to die or get hurt to make it happen. There was just the small matter of whether Harry trusted himself with that much power. He barely trusted himself with how much he had now. If Harry went through with the ritual, he'd become either an awesome force for good or a terrible force for evil. There was no in-between. Harry prayed on it, but God or one of his angels refused to offer any advice. Must be a free will thing.

On the morning of his birthday, Harry hugged and kissed Susan and Malcolm. Then he went out and bought a pumpkin on his way to the marina.

Harry boated out to Demonreach. He set up the ritual to summon the Erlking and spent the rest of the day meditating and praying, hoping he was making the right choice. When the sun set, Harry got to work. He used the ritual from Die Lied der Erlking and summoned the Erlking into a circle.

The Summer King looked at Harry in a kind of amused perplexion. "Why do you summon me, child?"

"I need the Wild Hunt," Harry said, reaching to break the circle, freeing the king of the goblins.

"You shall have it." The Fae blew into a horn and dozens of the most powerful hunter spirits in the world appeared at his side.

Harry closed his eyes, took a breath, and made his choice..

He started to pound his staff against the ground in a regular beat. He channeled his magic and seized control of the spirits from the Erlking.

"What are you doing?" the Erlking asked in confused anger.

"It's called the Darkhallow," Harry said grimly. Then he twisted his energy into the proper shape and began to form the vortex.

The Erlking vanished, probably leaving for the Nevernever. Harry barely noticed as he focused all his attention on controlling the ghosts and keeping the vortex going. As the cyclone of spirits began to form, the force of it sucked in every other spirit in range. People who'd died on the island, sailors who'd drowned nearby, everyone. When the vortex was almost too big for Harry to control, he brought it down and, with a gulp, opened his mouth.

How to describe how a ghost tastes? Harry decided it was like swallowing an electric eel; a long, thin, slimy form that passed over the tongue and down into the stomach, tines of energy radiating off it as it went. Harry felt his reserves expand almost twofold just form the first ghost. And then he swallowed the next one. And then the next. All told, Harry ate over a hundred spirits, each one almost as potent as Harry himself.

When the last ghost went down, the vortex of necromantic magic collapsed, forming a vacuum that sucked up life and magic. Harry didn't notice, too busy feeling like he was going to explode from all the energy inside him. It filled his body to the brim, energizing every cell. No mortal had access to this much energy. After the longest few minutes of his life, Harry adapted and began to feel normal again.

"Lash? How much stronger am i?" Harry asked the woman who knew his body and mind better than he did.

"You're stronger than Lea but not quite as strong as Mab. In other words, you could squash your average Red Court vampire like an ant," the shadow told him, her tone casual as if to lessen the impact of the words.

"Cool. Is there a way to suppress my aura so I don't alert every magically sensitive being within a mile I'm there?"

Lash taught him an energy control technique that reduced his signature to rightly the same as it had been before the ritual. Once he got it down, he made for the Water Beetle, trying to ignore how every tree had lost its leaves and there were no animals to be heard. Harry sailed the boat back to the marina and then drove the Beetle home. He walked up to his door and figured his first priority was to upgrade the wards with his new power. He walked in to find Susan waiting on the couch.

"Hey. I called your office and you weren't there," she said as she came up to kiss him.

Harry kissed her back. "I spent the day at Demonreach. Just… needed to be alone."

"What's wrong? Something's different about you," Susan eyed him with concern.

"I did an illegal ritual. There, I said it. But I only did it so I could protect you, Malcolm, and baby #2," Harry admitted.

Susan laid a hand on her faint bump. "Well, I'm sure good intentions count for something. Why is it illegal and what did it do?"

"It uses necromancy. And it made me stronger. A LOT stronger," Harry told his wife.

"Did you sacrifice or kill anyone?" Susan asked calmly.

"No," Harry answered.

"Then congrats on your power boost. Dinner's in the oven. I'm going to go take a bath. Love you."

"Love you," Harry said back, not believing his luck he had a woman like Susan.

Harry ate the food and noticed something odd. The food was delicious as always, but he didn't feel full when he was done. He didn't feel hungry before eating either, now that he thought about it. Maybe his new immortal body didn't need sustenance to survive. Not that Harry would stop eating and drinking, but cool that he couldn't starve. Harry went downstairs to check on Bob. The skull woke as Harry lit the candles with a match. "Oh, stars and fucking stones. You did the Darkhallow."

"Is it that obvious?" Harry asked.

"Unless there's another reason you're over a hundred times stronger than last night, yeah. What were you thinking?"

"That more power means I'm better able to protect my loved ones and myself. It's not like I'm going to attempt world conquest or anything. I'm going to live life the same as I always have. Just when I have to fight, I'll be a freaking juggernaut."

"Only you would achieve apotheosis and want to stick to mortal life. You realize you're immortal now, right?"

"Yes, I noticed. But the only way to live life is one day at a time. Yes, I'll probably outlive Susan and my children. But I'll deal with that when it happens." Harry shrugged. "Now, am I going to have to relearn how to cast every spell without overpowering it?"

"Immortals don't manipulate energy the same way as mortals. You should have pinpoint control now on top of stupidly large reserves. Go ahead, light a candle," Bob said.

"Flickum bicus," Harry concentrated on an unlit candle. It caught flame as normally happened.

Harry went to bed soon after, joined by Susan after her bath. He woke at 7 and went to do his workout. It felt easy. Too easy. Harry realized his body was as enhanced as his magic had been. He probably had superhuman strength and speed if he tried. He ruminated on that as he showered and went down for breakfast. He laughed as Malcolm played with his food, traded a loving glance with Susan and chatted with Sarissa. After doing the dishes, Harry went to his office, where Murphy called him in on a case.

LIfe as a god pretending to be human wasn't half bad. Harry quickly got used to constantly suppressing his energy. Only when he visited Demonreach did he let loose and experiment with his full power. Harry started by burning down all the dead trees and replanting the entire island. It took a while, but Harry hoped the vibrant forest would regrow. He'd see about reintroducing animals later, at the moment there was no food for them to eat.

When Sarissa's last day arrived, the family bid her a warm goodbye. Malcolm was in tears that his best friend was leaving them. He was enrolled in the winter semester of a private preschool, but he was going to miss spending all day with the changeling. "You've been excellent hosts. Raising Malcolm was a privilege. I wish you all the best," she said after hugging all three of them. With a wave goodbye, she was out the door.

Malcolm sulked for a week, but the stimulation of preschool and interacting with other kids his age distracted his from his mourning. When April came around, Malcolm got super excited at the idea of becoming a big brother. Nona helped with the birth again, and to the Dresdens' surprise it was a 2-for-1 special. Margaret Anita Dresden and Gwendolyn Susanna Dresden were identical, came into the world, and were instantly surrounded by loving family. Harry picked Billy and Georgia as their godparents, the guest bedroom becoming the twins' nursery. As he had with Malcolm, Harry took 3 months off to take care of the newborns. When Warden duties demanded he leave, one of Harry's many friends babysat.

Harry came to Thomas and warned his fellow father (Juliet Raith was a little cherub) about Vittorio Malvora and the plot to kill off the next generation of wizards. Thomas dug up some of his Father's old journals and presented Harry with the perfect way to deal with the White Court vamp and possible Black Council member. That night, at 11:47 pm, Vittorio Malvora was walking from his car to his front door when he was struck by lightning. Except it hadn't been raining. When Harry cast a bad luck murder spell, he cast it right. Anyway, the guy was dead as disco. Which meant no women being killed.

Elaine came to town for a visit. She was enraptured by Malcolm, Maggie, and Gwen. Harry joked about her copying his ad in the Yellow Pages. Susan, now the mother of Harry's children, gave her much less possessive treatment. Mouse and Mister seemed to like her scratches. Harry discussed his ideas for the Paranet, a network for hedge wizards and other small-time practitioners who didn't qualify for the White Council. Elaine jumped on the idea.

Marcone approached Harry and frankly asked him to sign Marcone's petition to become an independent Baron under the Unseelie Accords. Harry only signed because he knew Marcone would clean up the supernatural streets as he had the mundane streets with his ruthlessly efficient business practice. Better the devil you know, right?

The night of the White Courts meeting in the Deeps, Harry asked Thomas if he could attend. When asked why, Harry answered "I want to give you a present." Harry was given pride of place at Thomas's right hand. Harry waited until every noble from all 3 ruling families was assembled. Then, before Thomas could even call the meeting to order, Harry pulled out his blasting rod. He channeled about a quarter of his full reserves into the focus and with a cry of "Pyrofuego!" sent a finger-thick stream of concentrated fire out the end of the rod. Harry swept from right to left, bifurcating every Malvora and Skavis noble, overriding any protections each individual had. The smell of charred flesh filled the air. Harry pocketed his blasting rod and turned to a gaping Thomas. "Consider this a gift."

"Dresden… what did you just do?" Lara asked in shock.

"Killed everyone who's anyone in the two rival families. You can swoop in and absorb their assets and pick off or recruit the survivors. Basically, I just turned the White Court triumvirate into a dictatorship," Harry answered his quarter-sister. "And I killed over 100 vampires, which means less deaths which is always good."

Thomas got a victorious grin. "I love you, little bro."

"Love you too, big bro. Have fun cleaning up the bodies."

With that, Harry casually strolled out of the Deeps.