Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Chapter 14

Harry briskly walked into Gringotts Wizarding Bank and headed towards the front desk. Griphook was on duty. When he saw Harry, he bowed deeply and gave a gracious smile.

"Mr. Potter. How may I be of assistance?" he asked kindly. Harry pulled out his vault key and showed it to Griphook.

"I'd like to make a withdrawl from my account and I'd also like to speak with Crawbeck in private, please." Harry told the goblin. Griphook nodded and took the key from Harry.

"Of course, Mr. Potter." he said obediantly. "Crawbeck is just finishing up with a meeting right now. If you would like, I can have another goblin take you to your vault first. He should be able to see you once you return." he advised. Harry nodded.

"That's fine. Thanks Griphook." he said. The goblin bowed once again and immediately called for another goblin. This one appeared to be a female (although at first glance you wouldn't be able to tell the difference) and she introduced herself as Recail. She took Harry down to his vault in one of the speedy carts, but when Harry went to withdraw his money, he was faced with a dilemma. He turned to Recail. "Er... you would'nt happen to know approximately how expensive baby supplies would be?" he asked. When Recail raised her eyebrows suspiciously, Harry elaborated. "Cribs, toys, clothes... that sort of thing. You know, for a friend of mine." he lied.

"At least 1000 galleons." she sighed exasperatedly. Harry thanked her, hoping that she wouldn't question him further and took double the amount she suggested. Recail rolled her eyes in annoyance and brought Harry back upstairs with his money bag full.

"Mr. Potter, Crawbeck is ready to see you now. Recail will take you to him" Griphook informed him from the desk. Harry nodded and followed Recail down the big marble hallway and she let him into one of the far rooms at the back. It was the same room Dumbledore had talked with Slipknat in, but of course Harry didn't know that. Crawbeck stood up when he saw Harry and outstretched his arms in a gesture of respect.

"Mr. Potter! I am glad you came to talk with me. I have some news to share with you." he said, shooing Recail out of the room. Once she was gone, he sat down in an armchair and beckoned Harry to do the same.

"News?" Harry asked, puzzled. He knew that Voldemort had taken over yet another part of the wizarding world, killing hundreds of innocent men, women and children along the way, but that had been all over The Daily Prophet for weeks. Anyone who didn't already know about it was either a muggle or a fool.

"Yes. It's about Albus Dumbledore." Crawbeck informed him. Harry's eyes went wide.

"That's exactly what I came here to talk to you about." Harry said, flabberghasted. Crawbeck nodded solemnly and sighed.

"It seems we now have not only one, but two enemies on our hands." he said darkly.

"Yes." Harry agreed. He sat down in the armchair across from Crawbeck and sighed. "I guess I'll start." he began. Harry explained about what had happened between Dumbledore, Tonks and Remus. He told the Head Goblin about Dumbledore's insane plan to take over Voldemort and how he had tried to kill Remus. He then went into how Tonks had luckily walked into the situation and got it under control. When Crawbeck questioned Harry on why she hadn't taken him into custody, Harry explained that he had threatened to kill her parents, and that no one would believe her or Remus over Dumbledore anyway. Crawbeck stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Hmmm... this is disturbing news." Crawbeck replied gravely. "I will alert the goblin army and make sure they are aware of this." Harry nodded nervously.

"What did you want to tell me?" he prodded bluntly. Crawbeck sucked in a breath and slowly let it out. He leaned forward in his chair and gave Harry a penetrating stare.

"This occured quite some time ago. I am very sorry that we could not get together to speak of this sooner. Mr. Dumbledore came in to Gringotts requesting to speak privately with Slipknat, who is Head of the Will and Testament Department as you already know." Harry waved his hand impatiently, wanting Crawbeck to get on with it. He continued. "He asked Slipknat if you had questioned the goblins about why he had the keys to your vaults and properties. He seemed very secretive, as if he was hiding something. Slipknat assured him that you had not questioned his motives and Mr. Dumbledore left. Slipknat immediately alerted me to the encounter and as I had pledged my alliegance with you, I felt it necessary to notify you." Harry put his head in his hands, thinking hard.

Why hadn't he questioned Dumbledore's motives? Now that he thought about it, he shouldn't have had his keys. Had he really been so blinded by false trust in the man that he overlooked such an obvious and suspicious act? How could he have been so stupid? The worst part of it was he may have put Bella and their child in danger by never questioning. If Dumbledore had had his vault and property keys, surely he would have ways to infiltrate the mansion? Harry sighed and secretly kicked himself for being such an idiot.

"Thanks for telling me, Crawbeck." he finally answered, getting up from his seat. "I'll be on my guard from now on." he assured him. Crawbeck nodded and shook Harry's hand.

"Thank you for coming today, Mr. Potter." Crawbeck replied. "The goblin army will be notified about this." Harry nodded in agreement and walked out of Gringotts with many thoughts weighing on his mind. He stood on the front steps of the bank, pondering his own idiocy when a young witch holding a crying baby bumped into him.

"So sorry." she muttered quickly before rushing off without a second glance at him. The brief encounter had jogged Harry's memory. He was supposed to be buying baby supplies. Bella had given him an extremely long list. He pulled it out of his robe pocket and scanned down the list.

The baby's going to need:

A crib
Crib bedding
Stuffed animals and toys
Bottles
Bibs
Baby shampoo and bath supplies
Picture books
Diapers (lots of diapers)!
Clothes
Pyjamas
Pacifier

Forget one thing and you're in trouble, Harry!

Harry sighed and folded up the list. He was almost glad that the baby was due soon. Maybe Bella would start being nicer to him. He looked around the cobble-stone street, but there wasn't a baby supply store in sight.

"Great, just fantastic!" Harry grumbled irritably. He saw a frazzled wizard with two young infants in his arms and decided to ask him. "Excuse me, but do you know where I could find a store selling baby supplies?" he asked the man.

"I'm afraid there isn't one in Diagon Alley, lad." he replied, trying to shush one of the babies. "If you want baby supplies, you're going to have to buy a few odds and ends from every store. I wish they had one store for everything..." he added whistfully. "It'd make my life a lot easier." Harry inwardly swore with frustration, but he nodded politely to the man.

"Thank you." he said.

"No problem lad. I hope you find everything for your baby sibling." he replied. Harry rolled his eyes. Did he really look that young? Then again, he was only seventeen but he felt much older. "Say, you look a lot like Harry Potter." the man commented. Harry nervously flattened his fringe over his scar and was glad he no longer wore glasses.

"Er... yeah, I get that a lot." he lied before shuffling off to Flourish and Blotts to find some baby books.

"Ah, Mr. Potter! How may I be of assistance today?" the friendly clerk asked jovially as Harry walked in to the tiny shop.

"Er, would you happen to carry any children's books? Baby books, actually." Harry asked. Once again, he was greeted with a peculiar stare, but the clerk just shrugged and led him to an aisle of books closer to the back of the store.

"I think you'll find what you're looking for here somewhere." he said, waving his hand throughout the aisle gracefully before heading back to the counter to greet customers. Harry thanked him and began to browse. There was so much selection that Harry had no idea which ones he should buy. He came across hundreds of titles, such as The Poky Little Centaur and The Silly Muggle. He finally decided on a bunch of magical creature books and safety books for his son or daughter and carried the massive pile up to the counter. The clerk stammered out the price in shock and numbly offered to get a box for him, which Harry gladly accepted. Walking out of Flourish and Blotts, Harry checked his list again.

"A crib..." he muttered. Where on earth was he supposed to get a crib? After wandering around for quite some time, he stumbled upon the little knick-knack shop he had bought his contact lenses from and searched around. Sure enough, there was an old but beautiful antique crib. It was made of pure mahogany and handsomely carved to fit well in an old-fashioned Victorian home. The entire crib had delicate vines and birds engraved into it. For something so old, it was almost in perfect condition. A little more searching revealed matching antique crib bedding. Side padding, blanket, tiny pillow and all also decorated with tiny vines and birds. The fabric was a silken powder blue. Nodding his approval, Har paid a fortune for the antique set and had the old clerk dismantle it and put it in a large bag so that it would not need to be delivered.

"Stuffed animals and toys..." he said to himself. At least that one was easy. Zonko's Joke Shop carried a wide variety of children's toys (which were perfectly safe, unlike the rest of their products). Harry got a little carried away buying the toys and ended up walking out with a huge bag stuffed full of rattles, teddy bears and other odds and ends that a child would love to play with. It felt good to buy all these beautiful things for his child, because he remembered all too well how sad he had been as a little boy who never had anything nice to play with. If there was ever one solid wish Harry had ever made to himself, it was that his child would never experience the same childhood he did.

By now, Harry was getting a lot of odd stares from the shoppers in Diagon Alley. He had a box full of baby books, a bag bursting with baby toys and an even bigger bag holding the pieces of an antique crib and bedding. What on earth was the Chosen One planning to do with all of these child supplies? Not wanting to draw any more attention to himself, Harry quickly finished up buying everything on Bella's list and caught the Knight Bus home.

"Did you get everything?" Bella asked him pleasantly enough, looking up from her book in the sitting room to see Harry lugging in everything he had purchased. She got up to help Harry with the crib, as it was a little heavy. Panting, Harry nodded.

"And then some." he replied jokingly. Bella chuckled and raised her eyebrows.

"I see that." she laughed. She unwrapped the crib pieces and gasped. "Harry, this is beautiful! Where on earth did you find this?" she asked. Harry explained about the mismatched shop at the end of Diagon Alley. Bella looked through everything Harry had bought, approving of everything (which was a great relief for Harry). She especially loved the clothes, as most pregnant women did. "Where do you want to set all this stuff up?" she asked him eagerly, fingering through the picture books.

"Bella, we still have another three months to figure that out." he replied exasperatedly. Bella's face fell and she rubbed her large stomach, frowning.

"Oh yeah... a whole three months!" she pouted moodily. "I want it out of me now, I'm so sick of being pregnant!" she whined, flopping down onto the couch.

"Trust me, I'm sick of you being pregnant, too." Harry said without thinking. Apparently, that had been a big mistake. Bella's eyes flashed dangerously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped aggresively. Harry began to shake his head.

"Nothing, just that-" he started, but Bella interrupted him.

"Just that you're sick of me is that it, Harry?" she yelled tearfully. Harry threw his hands up in the air in exasperation.

"No honestly, I..." he faltered unsuccessfully.

"Don't pretend to care about your family, Harry!" Bella cried, struggling to get back up before fleeing upstairs to their bedroom, crying her eyes out. Harry chased after her and yelled up the stairs.

"Bella, wait! That's not what I meant! I- oh forget it!" he gave up, stomping bad-temperedly into the sitting room again to finish putting away the baby's things. Dobby appeared in the room and began to help Harry clean away everything. "Actually, Dobby could you go upstairs and make sure Bella and the baby are okay instead please?" he asked politely. Dobby nodded.

"Of course, Harry Potter." the little house-elf squeaked, rushing up the stairs as fast as he could to carry out Harry's instructions. Harry finished putting away all the baby supplies on his own. Going into the kitchen to take some crushed ice up to Bella as a peace offering, he noticed Kreacher trying to mop up something he spilled with that day's newspaper.

"Kreacher, I haven't read that yet! Use an actual mop!" he snapped in annoyance. Kreacher just muttered a bunch of curse words under his breath and walked away to find a mop. Sighing, Harry picked up the damp paper and wrung it out before glancing at the front page of The Daily Prophet. You-Know-Who Looking For The Wanted Bellatrix Black was the headline.

An anonymous informant has revealed that You-Know-Who is on the hunt for his most loyal Death Eater, Bellatrix Black (formerly known as Bellatrix Lestrange prior to her divorce from Rudolphus Lestrange, also a wanted Death Eater). The informant, who's word has been supported by the Ministry of Magic claims that Black went missing over ten months ago from the Death Eater community and has not been heard from since, cutting off contact from You-Know-Who himself.

"Well, obviously she's fled to avoid arrest, and You-Know-Who is trying to find her and punish her for running away. Smart woman, she knew that the Ministry is getting close to apprehending You-Know-Who and decided to cut her losses. However, rest assured that our Auror Department will have both You-Know-Who and Ms. Black in custody before the end of the month." Cornelious Fudge, Minister for Magic told the press when questioned about Bellatrix Black's alleged disappearance and her possible motives.

There was more to the article, but Harry's hands were shaking too badly to read any more. He threw the paper in the waste bin and sat down numbly at the kitchen table. This meant that Voldemort was looking for Bella, which put her and their baby in grave danger. Voldemort would never think to look for her here. Harry Potter and Bellatrix Black having a secret love affair was almost laughable to the outside world, but how long did they have until Voldemort stopped laughing and decided to look into the matter once he failed to locate her everywhere else? Remembering that he was supposed to be getting crushed ice for Bella, he quickly beat up some ice cubes, poured the remaining slush into a glass and took it upstairs. He knocked gently on the bedroom door, not wanting to barge in on her while she was upset.

"What is it?" Bella asked in a voice that made it plain she had been crying. Harry walked in to see Dobby fluffing up her pillows and he bowed to Hary before leaving the room. When she saw the crushed ice in his hand, the corners of her mouth twitched upwards slightly, but she crossed her arms and looked in the other direction.

"I'm still angry with you." she told him severely. Harry put the glass down on the night stand and sat down on the bed beside her. He placed his hand over hers and she gave him a strange look. "What?" she demanded. Harry just smiled and shook his head. He wouldn't worry her. Not right now anyway.

"Nothing... I love you. You know that, right?" he told her gently. Bella raised an eyebrow and nodded cautiously.

"Yes." she said slowly. She opened her mouth to ask Harry why he was suddenly being so sentimental when she clutched her stomach and grimaced. The baby had kicked again, and Harry kissed her forhead before undressing and turning in for the night.

As he lay there in the dark, with Bella's head on his chest and his hand on her belly where he could feel their child moving, his heartbeat quickened. What if he lost all of this? His girlfriend, his baby... they were the most precious things in Harry's life and in an instant, Voldemort could have them obliterated. He was about to start a real family and for the first time since he was a baby himself, he was truly happy. He would not let Voldemort take that away from him... not again. He held Bella closer to him and made a silent vow to protect them both against all odds. "You won't win, and you won't take my family away from me!" he silently mouthed to the cold-blooded killer who was searching for him and Bella at that very moment.

Chapter 15

Tonks rapped urgently on her parents' door for the seventh time that week. Since Dumbledore's threat, she had been visiting them every day to reassure herself that they were okay. At first, they had been glad to see their daughter more often but now Tonks felt that she was beginning to worry them. She hadn't acted this dependant on her parents since the age of two, and it certainly wasn't normal behaviour for a grown woman of twenty-three years to be so strangely attached to her parents all of a sudden. Tonks didn't care. As long as she kept visiting, she would convince herself that they were safe... until the next day when she visited again. They were alive and Tonks would make sure that they stayed alive.

"Nymphadora?" Ted inquired when he opened the door. "Honey, don't you think visiting us every day is a little unusual? Not that your mother and I don't appreciate the company, but... well, we're concerned." he sighed before letting his daughter into the house.

"Really dad, I'm fine." Tonks lied, shedding her winter cloak and scarf as she walked into the kitchen to greet her mother. Andromeda smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey mum." Tonks told her.

"Hello dear. Your father's right, Nymphadora." she persisted, taking her daughter's hand and leading her to the couch in the living room. "Is there something going on that you want to talk to us about? Is something troubling you?" Tonks shook her head.

"No mum. I just want to see you more often, that's all." she lied once again. "You know, just... check up on things and make sure everything's alright here." she vaguely hinted. Andromeda and Ted exchanged worried glances. Ted sighed.

"Nymphadora, you're our daughter. We're the ones who are supposed to look after you, not the other way around." he pointed out gently as Andromeda nodded in agreement. "There must be something that's frightened you. Why won't you tell us?" he inquired. Tonks knew that she could not tell them and transfer her own fear onto their shoulders. She also knew that if she stayed at her parents' house any longer, they would keep questioning her and Tonks didn't want to deal with that. Besides, she had made her visit for today. They were alive and well and most likely would be tomorrow, she reasoned with herself. Glancing down at her watch, Tonks faked a shocked expression and shook her head.

"Sorry mum, dad, but if I don't leave now, I'll be late for my shift at work." she told them, getting up to put on her cloak and scarf. She had the day off today, but they didn't know that and work was always a good excuse for getting out of unwanted social situations Tonks found. "Bye. It was good to see you." she told them, kissing them goodbye. Andromeda quickly grabbed a small handful of homemade cookies from a jar on the kitchen counter and returned to the small foyer with them wrapped, handing them to her daughter.

"Take these with you, honey." she told her. "You must not get to eat often enough with that dreadfully dangerous job of yours." she said, worried. Tonks laughed and accepted the cookies.

"Thanks mum." she said simply, too tired to get into her usual argument with her mother about how she loved her job and would not ever consider changing careers, especially after spending all that time and money at Auror school. The dangerous part gave Tonks an adrenaline rush which was part of the reason she loved being an Auror so much. Tonks walked out the door with her mother's cookies in her hand. Nibbling on one, she decided she would go visit Harry and Bellatrix since she couldn't think of anything more productive to do.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remus Lupin put down his book and sighed. He had read the same paragraph ten times and had still not taken in a word of it. He was too preoccupied... too worried. She was safe for now, since he was positive Dumbledore had no knowledge that he had told anyone of his dire threat. Kingsley and Mad-Eye were good Aurors who would never let the information they had shared with them leak outside of their circle.
That pit in his stomach gave another lurch as his anxiety and concern for her safety returned. Dumbledore had threatened to tear the people he loved most out of his life. There was only one person Remus loved in this world, and that was her. He imagined the most horrific fates befalling her and he shivered and covered his face with his hands. He couldn't sit here and drive himself crazy like this. He had to preoccupy his mind with something. The book he had put down was useless, he needed to go somewhere and do something. The problem was where? He did not have a steady job to go to, he didn't have any close friends, and he wasn't the kind of individual to just hang around in pubs for no apparent reason.

"Harry..." Remus murmered to himself, slowly rising from the chair he was sitting in. That was it. He would visit Harry. After all, he had been meaning to check up on him lately. He had been holed up inside his mansion for nearly an entire year now without contact with anyone other than Tonks as far as he knew. Picking up a recent issue of The Weekly Prohpet (not to be confused with The Daily Prophet), Remus scanned over the article he had read in detail before and frowned. The title read Mystery Man Harry Potter is Back... With Diapers?

The famous Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One has recently showed himself in public after months of secrecy and hiding in his new residence inhherited by his deceased godfather, Sirius Black (formerly a wanted criminal, but cleared of all charges once his innocence was proven after his death). Several witnesses claim they saw Mr. Potter walking down the streets of Diagon Alley, heavily laden with baby supplies.

Reasons as to why Mr. Potter was carrying these items is beyond the knowledge of just about everyone. When questioned about his sighting of Mr. Potter, Ralph Dunladen who is a wizarding resident had this to say:

"I didn't even recognize him at first. He wasn't wearing glasses and had a pierced ear, you wouldn't be able to tell it was him at first glance now. I spoke to him not realizing who he was, of course. He asked me if there was a baby supply store in Diagon Alley and I told him he'd need to find what he needed in all the stores. I thought he was just another young lad helping his mother shop for a younger sibling."

Countless other accounts insist that Mr. Potter emerged from the various shops with a box of baby books, a bag of toys and clothes and yet another bag containing a dismantled crib. What secrets could Mr. Potter be hiding behind the walls of his mansion?

Remus put the newspaper back down on the table, unnerved. What had Harry been doing with all of this stuff? Remus had been trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for the situation for days without any success. Pocketing the article, Remus headed out the door. He would find out soon enough.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dobby welcomed Tonks into the foyer and went to call for Harry. He soon appeared, looking extremely worn out. Tonks raised her eyebrows as she followed him into the sitting room. "You look half-dead." she commented bluntly. Harry sighed and flopped down on the couch.
"You'd be too if you hadn't slept for days." he snapped. "Bella keeps waking up in the night uncomfortable and she keeps having nightmares. Not to mention my own nightmares over last week's article in The Daily Prophet about Voldemort looking for her." he sighed, leaning back and rubbing his temples. It suddenly struck Tonks how fast this boy had been forced to grow up. Poor kid, she thought sympathetically.

"Does she know?" Tonks asked. She had read the article too. Harry shook his head.

"No. I don't want to scare her while she's pregnant. She's already having a hard time as it is." he replied, trying to stifle another yawn. Tonks raised her eyebrows.

"You really do love her, don't you?" she asked. She had thought they were both just being delusional before, but now she was starting to see the truth. Harry rolled his eyes.

"No, I've just been sleeping with her for the past eight months to give me something to do." he replied sarcastically. Tonks made a face.

"Alright, alright. You don't have to put images in my head." she retorted. As she said that, Dobby came running into the room, bobbing up and down nervously. "Dobby, what's up?" she asked the house elf in concern. Dobby bowed and cleared his throat.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Tonks... Mr. Lupin is here. Should Dobby let him in?" he asked. Dobby was under strict orders not to let anyone except Tonks into the mansion. It was too dangerous for Bella and their baby. If the information that she was living there and pregnant with Harry Potter's child leaked out, it meant certain death for both of them. Harry and Tonks exchanged nervous glances.

"Tell him to wait a minute Dobby." Harry told the house elf. Dobby bowed and went to tell Remus Harry's message. "I'm just going to make sure she's still asleep." he told Tonks, running up the staircase to check on her. Sure enough, when Harry entered their bedchamber, she was fast asleep in the bed, one hand resting on her large stomach. Harry sighed with relief and quickly scribbled a note to her to leave on the bedside table.

Bella,

Stay upstairs until I say it's okay for you to come down. Lupin's here, and I'm not sure if it's safe for him to know about you living here and about the baby. Don't worry, you'll both be fine as long as you stay up here.

Love Harry.

He placed the parchment in a position where she would see it as soon as she woke and he ran back down and gave Dobby the okay to let Remus in the mansion. A minute later, Remus appeared in the sitting room being led by Dobby, who bowed. "Thank you Dobby." Remus said kindly before the house elf beamed and ran off to clean something. He turned to look at Harry and Tonks. "Fancy seeing you both here." he commented.

"Hello Remus." Tonks said, nodding as she sat back down. Harry and Remus followed suit. Remus nodded back to her and pulled out the latest issue of The Weekly Prophet throwing it down on the table in front of them.

"I take it you haven't gotten this week's issue yet." he remarked. Harry shook his head. Plain as day on the front page was a picture of him in Diagon Alley with the baby supplies he had bought that day. His heartbeat quickened. Voldemort would see this, and there was no doubt he would be very interested to find out why his nemesis needed child care products. He was getting too close to Harry's family for comfort. Trying to keep calm, he maintained an unperturbed face and looked at Remus.

"It's amazing the kinds of stories reporters will come up with for a good story." Tonks laughed, trying to save Harry the trouble of responding without making Lupin suspicious. Remus' eyebrows raised.

"There's a picture of him." he said simply. "What I fail to understand is why Harry would need these things. Perhaps I wouldn't be so perturbed if Harry hadn't cut off all contact with everyone around him except you." he said. He didn't seem angry or irritated, simply confused. Tonks looked down at the floor and bit her lip. Even she could not help Harry this time. Remus turned to Harry. "I think you have a very big secret, Harry and you're afraid to tell anyone. I think this secret is the reason you've been so secluded this past year and I also think that Tonks knows about it and is protecting you. Now, I think I have a fairly good notion of what this secret is." he said. Tonks and Harry stared at each other, confused. How on earth could he figure it out?

"And what exactly do you think this secret is?" asked Tonks in a voice of mock innocence. Lupin cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows, glancing at Harry, then Tonks, then Tonks' stomach. Getting the hint, Harry and Tonks burst into hysterical peels of laughter. Them? Together? With a baby on the way? It was just too funny for the two of them to think about. Once Tonks finally regained some sort of control, she managed to gasp her reply.

"That's the grossest thing I've ever heard." she cackled. Wiping her teary eyes from her outburst, she sat up straight again, still chuckling. Harry shook his head.

"No, just... no." he said, not knowing how else to put it. Remus looked extremely disbelieving. Harry couldn't really blame him after all. What other explanation could there be from his pint of view? Tonks was the only person who had stayed in touch with Harry. The conversations they had were kept private to protect Tonks' job, and Harry had recently been spotted purchasing baby supplies. He had to admit, he'd probably be suspicious of himself too if he was in Remus' shoes.

"Then there must be another explanation, but I fail to see how that is possible." Remus insisted in a calm, level voice, but there was something in his eyes that made Harry feel an unexplained sympathy for the man. Tonks sighed.

"Remus, I'd no sooner have Harry's baby than willingly change my hair to a normal colour." she snapped irritably. "Now, if that's the only reason you came to see Harry, then you wasted your time." Tonks stood up to stretch her stiff muscles and shot Remus an annoyed glare.

"She's right." Harry told him. "I mean, have you ever seen Tonks with normal hair?" he asked. Remus did not look amused at the feeble attempt at a joke. A voice from the doorway caught everyone off guard.

"You always were stubborn as a mule, Remus. Just like my cousin." she said irritably. All three people whipped around. Harry's head jerked towards Bellatrix in panic. Remus' eyes widened in shock and he immediately took out his wand, prepared to fight. As Bellatrix walked a step forward and the light from the sitting room windows washed over her, Remus instantly realized she was heavily pregnant and slowly lowered his wand but didn't put it away. He wouldn't be responsible for the murder of an innocent child.

"Bella! Why didn't you stay upstairs?" he asked feebly. Bella glanced quickly at Remus and gave a wry smile.

"I didn't think our baby was in any danger around him. I also happen to think he cares about you enough to be trustworthy." she replied sensibly. At these words, Remus sank down into his chair again staring blankly. He looked as if someone had clubbed him over the head with a very heavy brick. Harry sat down across from him and sighed.

"I guess you know the secret now." Harry told him. Not wanting to explain the entire story himself, he looked to Tonks who nodded and began to tell Remus of Sirius' will reading and how Harry had gone back to Gringotts for more information about the marriage contract and found out that Bellatrix had been forced into her marriage with Rudophus and had been his slave. Then Harry interjected with how it was Rudophus who had forced her to become a Death Eater and kill all those people, and how Sirius' death had been an accident. "After the meeting I called to help clear her name, I offered her a place to stay, and then, well..." Harry finished, knowing that Remus could guess the rest. Remus stared at all three of them for a moment, then slowly nodded his head.

"Well... this is... nearly unbelievable." he muttered, looking at Bellatrix. She cleared her throat nervously.

"Harry and I need your silence about this." she said quietly. "If this gets out, Voldemort will know where to find me. I know he's angry with me for running away from his service. My brand hasn't stopped burning all month, and once he knows where I am, he won't think twice about killing our entire family." she told him, gesturing to Harry, herself and the child in her belly. Remus sighed heavily and gave a slight nod.

"I will not betray Harry, and I trust the judgement of him and Tonks. I would not destroy him by allowing his child to die... or you." he told her. This was a lot to take in, but the bottom line was his best friend's son was having a child of his own and it was plain for all to see how he loved both his unborn baby and Bellatrix. Remus would not be responsible for taking that away from him. Any happiness Harry could find in his difficult life was happiness Remus welcomed and accepted as far as he was concerned.

"Thank you." Harry whispered, clearing his throat awkwardly to mask his emotion. Standing up he gently helped Bellatrix to her feet. She smiled weakly as Remus shook her hand. Remus nodded curtly as he said his goodbyes to all three of them.

"Actually, I think I'm just going to stop by the office to pick up any paperwork Kingsley left for me. I'd better go. Goodbye." she said, leaving a few minutes after Remus.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The second Tonks walked into the Ministry, she knew something was very wrong. People gave her sad stares as she headed up towards the Auror Department. Frowning, Tonks stepped off the elevator and entered her small office. To her surprise, her desk didn't have a single piece of parchment on it that hadn't been there that morning. It seemed as though Kingsley had come in person instead of leaving her papers. He was standing by her desk, apparantly waiting for her. She was about to crack a joke about the lack of papers, but immediately swallowed it back down when she saw the sombre look on his face.
"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked immediately, worry plain in her voice. Kingsley's eyes softened and he took a step forward. Tonks could feel her heart banging against her chest wildly. Was that pity in his eyes? Sympathy? He shook his head and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Tonks... I'm so sorry..." he began. Her face paled and she felt her knees go very weak. Catching her breath to speak, she whispered.

"What? Tell me straight Kingsley." she demanded. He sighed and looked her straight in the eye.

"Your parents... they were found in their home this morning. They're dead, Tonks." he said as if it hurt him to say this to her. Tonks' vision went fuzzy and her brain felt the same way. Her knees gave way, but Kingsley supported her and led her to the chair at her desk.

"No." she whispered numbly. "I-I saw them this morning... they were fine..." she gasped. Suddenly she couldn't breathe. She felt as if the walls of her office were caving in on her and she didn't even notice when she began to cry. Kingsley put an arm around her shoulder and called out to anyone in the hallway who could hear him.

"We need a healer in here. Tonks is having trouble breathing." he yelled as Tonks slumped against him, sobbing. She had checked on them every day, and they had still died. If only she had stayed a few minutes longer... "We'll find who did this and have them in Azkaban before they know what happened to them, Tonks. I promise." he told her. Tonks barely heard him and was oblivious to the healer who had come rushing in with his wand to open her airway.

Dumbledore and Voldemort... they'll both pay! Tonks thought savagely, her vision still blurred by uncontrollable tears. I'll have my revenge in the end, even if I die doing it! That was all Tonks remembered of that night.

Chapter 16

Tonks knocked on Harry's door a few days after the news of her parents' deaths had hit her. Her mousy brown hair hung lank and flat to her shoulders and covered her pale, sullen face. She had lost quite a bit of weight for only three days and looked quite depressed and sickly. She wasn't wearing her usual punk attire, rather long black robes with a matching cloak and black heels. She hoped this visit wouldn't take too long. She didn't want to be late for the funeral. Harry opened the door and silently let her in the mansion. Sitting down in the living area, Harry was the first to speak. "Isn't the funeral today?" he asked her. Tonks nodded solemnly.

"Yes. I came in case you and Bellatrix wanted to give me something to put on their graves. How is she?" Tonks asked in a monotonous voice, obviously referring to her aunt. Harry sighed and ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

"A wreck, actually." he admitted. "She hasn't stopped crying since she found out and hasn't left the bedroom. I've had to force her to eat." he said. His voice held a note of worry and Tonks knew he was worried about the health of their baby as well as Bella. Looking down at the ground for a moment, Tonks bit her lip to stem a sudden upsurge of tears and swallowed hard. Clearing her throat, she looked up again and nodded.

"I can talk to her if you want." she offered. Looking down at her watch, she added "I've still got about an hour." Harry had to admire her courage. Her parents were dead and she was still thinking of everyone else around her and offering comfort to others. With a faint smile, Harry nodded and led her upstairs to his and Bella's room. He knocked gently on the door.

"Bella? Tonks is here. She wants to talk to you." he said tentatively. A faint sniffling could be heard and Dobby opened the door. Bowing deeply to both Harry and Tonks, he squeaked in his high-pitch voice.

"Ms. Black would like to see both Mr. Potter and Ms. Tonks." he announced, allowing them both into the bed chamber.Bella was seated in the armchair in the corner of the vast room, her large belly covered in a quilt. Her hair hung in front of her face as well, and her eyes had pink rims around them from crying. She looked up at them and gave a watery smile.

"Tonks." she said quietly. "I'd hoped you'd come. I wanted you to bring these to the funeral for me." Bella slowly got up with a bit of assistance from Harry and walked to the nightstand where a bouquet of flowers lay tied at the stems. Picking them up and breathing in the scent of the wild flowers, Bella handed them to Tonks who accepted them gingerly, as if afraid of ruining them. Tonks smiled faintly when she saw the daffodils placed among the assortment.

"Daffodils... mum's favourite." she whispered, clearing her throat once again to avoid tearing up. Nodding gratefully, Tonks waved her wand and the bouquet disappeared, ready to be resummoned once she arrived there. Bella had gone back to the armchair and was wiping her eyes with a handkerchief Dobby had handed to her. Harry gave Tonks a pointed look and she nodded as Harry walked out of the room. He knew Bella wouldn't listen to Tonks if he was hovering nearby and he had already tried lifting her spirits himself with no success. Sighing, Harry flopped down on the couch in the sitting area and buried his head in his hands. Voldemort was gaining more power every day, Dumbledore was going crazy, Bella and his child were in danger, Tonks' parents were dead. The entire wizarding world was falling apart and Harry had no idea how to put it back together.

Upstairs, Tonks hesitantly sat on the bed across from Bella in the armchair. She gave her aunt an exasperated look, and Bellatrix raised her eyebrows. "What?" she asked. Tonks sighed and allowed another strand of mousy hair to fall into her eyes.

"Harry." Tonks said simply. Bellatrix looked completely nonplussed and continued to give Tonks a blank stare.

"What about him?" she asked. Tonks sighed and threw her hands up in the air in her frustration. How could she be so dumb sometimes?

"Can't you see how worried he is? He told me that you haven't eaten a proper meal in three days. Need I remind you that you're pregnant?" she asked, losing her patience. Bellatrix's eyes narrowed and she stood up as abruptly as she could with the extra weight in the front. Her eyes flashed dangerously and she put her hands on her hips. For a moment, Tonks was reminded of Bellatrix Lestrange, wanted Death Eater, but the memory quickly passed. Bellatrix's voice shook with anger when she next spoke.

"Harry sent you up here to try and talk to me, is that it? My sister is dead!" she screamed. Tonks stood up as her eyes involuntarily popped from their normal colour to red to purple to black and back again.

"BOTH MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!" Tonks shrieked even louder. "You know what? Fine, starve your baby for all I care! I don't know why the hell I give a damn!" she shouted, her cloak whipping around behind her as she stalked out, storming down the stairs. Harry looked up hopefully but one look at Tonks' furious face told him things had not gone well. He opened his mouth to try and say something, but she just glowered and he fell silent again. "Goodbye Harry!" she snapped, bolting out of the living area, but collided with Remus Lupin, who had just been allowed entry into the mansion by Dobby. Tonks sighed and ruffled her lank, brown hair stressfully. "Sorry, Remus." she mumbled. Remus just waved off the apology with a simple hand gesture.

"It's quite alright." he assured her kindly. "I take it you didn't get my owl this morning saying I'd meet you here, then." he told her. Tonks sighed and shook her head.

"No, I left early. I must have missed it." she admitted. Looking down at her watch, she frowned. "Dammit! If we don't get a move on now, we'll be late." she said, grabbing Remus' arm and practically dragging him out of the mansion. She bolted out the door with Remus trailing behind, looking slightly puzzled. As they reached the end of the drive and prepared to Apparate, Remus grabbed Tonks' arm to hold her back for a few moments.

"Your eyes are popping different colours. You're angry." he observed. Tonks pulled out of his grasp and glared. Why was it that every time she was upset, he always wanted her to open up? It was aggravating. She could handle herself just fine without turning into a pile of sappy jello.

"I'm perfectly alright, given the circumstances Remus. Can we please get a move on?" she snapped. For a moment, Remus looked as if he were about to argue, but seemed to have thought better of it and closed his mouth with a silent nod. "Thank you." she told him irritably as both of them Apparated to the funeral service.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry gingerly sat down on the bed beside Bella, who had collapsed there crying after Tonks had left in her storm of anger. He felt quite helpless and a little guilty for not being able to at least make Bella feel better. He squeezed her hand and sighed. "You know, I just thought that if she talked to you instead, it would work out better since you're both grieving, that's all." he said to her for the dozenth time. After Tonks had left, Bella had rounded on Harry for sending Tonks to talk to her. Sitting up, Bella gave a very dry laugh.
"Really? Well, I guess you didn't think that she'd tell me to starve our baby for all she cared, did you?" she snapped bitterly. Harry's jaw dropped. Tonks wouldn't say something like that, would she?

"She said that?" he asked her. Another sob escaped her as she nodded, and Harry frowned. "Well, I'm sure she didn't mean it. You know, she's stressed and all..." he tried to defend her, but he still made a mental note to make it very clear to Tonks that he would destroy her if she ever said something like that about his son or daughter again. Bella wiped her eyes with the corner of the comforter and sighed.

"Maybe." she whispered weakly. "I miss Angie so much. All those years we never spoke because I was a Death Eater and now she's gone and I can never make up for it." she wept bitterly. Harry's heart ached for her. He had to do something to make her smile, if only for a little while. Quickly forming a plan, Harry kissed her forehead and stood up.

"I'll be right back." he told her. Dashing down the staircase, Harry began rummaging in the baby supplies from Diagon Alley that Dobby and Kreacher had stored in one of the spare rooms. "Come on, where is it... I know I bought one..." he mumbled to himself, ripping through the box of children's books. He had nearly gotten to the bottom of the box when he found what he was looking for and pulled out the book with a satisfied smile. Dashing back up the staircase to his and Bella's bedroom, the book tucked under his arm, he sat down on the bed beaming, ignoring Bella's questions. He handed the book to her and she scanned the cover.

"1001 Baby Names for Newborn Witches and Wizards..." she mumbled to herself. A very faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and Harry inwardly congratulated himself on achieving his objective. Talking about the baby never failed to lift Bella's spirits and make her smile. She opened the book and scanned through some of the names. "For a boy... what about Winston?" she asked hopefully. Harry raised his eyebrows and laughed.

"No. It sounds like an old, sour-faced politician." he told her. Bella rolled her eyes impatiently as Harry took the book from her. Looking down the list of A's, he stopped on one. "For a girl... Angelica?" he proposed. Bella wrinkled her nose in disgust and shook her head.

"That's a horrid name!" she argued. The bickering continued like this for quite some time until Bella suddenly looked around the large, dark room and sighed sadly, gently rubbing her belly. Harry's eyebrows knit in concern.

"What is it?" he asked gently, grabbing her hand. Bella gave him a very forlorn look and swallowed a wave of tears, shaking her head ever so slightly.

"It's just... this house has so many bad memories within its walls, and I was forced to grow up here as a child." she told him. "I don't want our baby to have the same childhood I did and I certainly don't want him or her to grow up to be like me." she sighed. Harry had never realized how unhappy living in this mansion had made her. Indeed, it was never Harry's intention to stay here as long as he did. He had originally chosen to take up residence here because it was so close to Ron, but Ron was nothing more than a stranger to him now, a distant memory of who he had been as a young boy. Harry had opened a new chapter in his life now and Ron or Hermione did not fit into that chapter. He had stayed at the Black family mansion because he had thought Bellatrix wanted it that way, but now he knew otherwise.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" he asked her. "I didn't know you hated it here... you never said anything." he told her, feeling a little bewildered. Had she really thought that he would be angry or argue with her? What normal human being in their right mind would ever want to live in a gloomy, depressing place like this, let alone raise a family here? Bellatrix raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"I thought you liked it here. You built Sirius' memoriam here and you worked so hard to decorate this place for Christmas. It almost looked cheerful for the first time I can remember of this house, remember?" she asked, smiling whistfully at the memory. Harry smiled too, remembering how wonderful and happy that Christmas and New Year's had been. He nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." he agreed. Well, he would have to fix this situation. This was one problem that he actually knew how to solve and it was a relief to focus on something other than war or death. "Bella, we have other properties, other houses. We can live anywhere we want. We don't have to stay here if you don't want to. I don't like it here either, to be honest." he admitted. Bella laughed for the first time in three days and Harry's heart leapt. He had missed hearing her laugh so much. Squeezing her hand, he continued. "I can go and look at all our properties and find a home that we'll actually be happy in. What do you think?" he asked her, feeling his mood lift considerably. Maybe being in a brighter, happier home would be good for them. Harry had begun to feel like a mole, being holed up in such a dark place for the longest time. Bella nodded, smiling.

"Thank you, Harry." she told him. "I'll be glad to be rid of this festering grime-pit." she sighed, eyeing her old childhood home with disdain.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The gloomy light of torches along dark stone walls cast an eery glow upon the underground room. Moisture dampened the walls and floors, creating a musty smell as rats squeaked and jabbered at each other from the room's crevices and corners. A large, slithering snake sat coiled snugly on a rickety table as her master was perched on a rather antique-looking chair behind the table. One long pale finger reached out from the darkness to stroke the snake's head lovingly and the snake hissed in pleasure, enjoying the affection from her master. "Any moment now, Nagini." a high cold voice whispered softly, confident that his servant would return within the hour. If not... well, that would be quite unfortunate for his servant.

The frantic squeaking of another rat rang through the room and soon a very thin, tiny body missing patches of fur and missing a toe scrambled up the table, it's eyes practically popping out of its head. Nagini hissed menacingly and started to open her jaws to gulp down the frightened rat, but it gave another terrified squeak and dived off the table, landing with a thud on the damp stone floor. "Wormtail! What news have you brought?" the cold voice of Lord Voldemort demanded.

"M-my Lord. Very exciting news, I have. V-very exciting!" Wormtail gasped. He was no longer the ugly rat that scarpered off the table, but a very ugly man with beady black eyes. The foot that had the missing toe as a rat was now a gleaming silver hand, all five fingers intact. Wormtail bent his head in respect for his master and rattled off all that he had found out. "M-My Lord... Harry Potter has been sighted in Diagon Alley, buying baby supplies." he rattled off, taking deep gulping breaths to keep himself from stuttering in his mingled awe and fear. "Some muggles living nearby claim that they may have seen a dark-haired woman in the distance, walking around Harry Potter's property but they are unsure and no one in the wizarding world seems to believe them." he finished, shuddering slightly as Nagini repositioned herself on the rough uneven table. Voldemort stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"This is quite disturbing, Wormtail." he revealed softly, his narrow, red eyes unfocused on a particular object as he thought to himself. "My most loyal Death Eater goes missing for over a year and evades all of my attempts to locate her. My nemisis is seen purchasing children's products and filthy muggles are claiming to see a woman who strangely resembles my Death Eater walking around Harry Potter's property. Wormtail, do you know what is happening here?" he asked coldly, his recently unfocused eyes now sharply attentive to the quivering, pathetic man bowing in front of him. Wormtail whimpered, terrified of answering the question incorrectly, but even more terrified of refusing to answer Voldemort's question.

"My L-Lord." he gasped, rubbing his silver hand nervously. "You don't think... Bellatrix and Potter..." he began, but Voldemort held up a sickly white hand to silence him and Wormtail obliged, shaking from head to foot. Voldemort laughed cruelly and resumed stroking his beloved snake.

"Oh I do not think that they are together Wormatail." he chuckled in a soft tone that made Wormtail's blood run cold. "I know they are. Thank you Wormtail, you have proven to be helpful for once." he snapped spitefully. "It seems I have a new objective." he announced. Wormtail hesitantly looked up, but quickly snapped his head down again, too terrified of looking his master in the eye.

"W-what is that, my Lord?" he asked in a very feeble voice. Voldemort stood up and loomed over Wormtail, his evil red eyes boring through his skull as if someone had put a magnifying glass over his head on a hot summer's day.

"To destroy Potter and Bellatrix... and any unworthy little brats that may come from them!" he hissed. Wormtail nodded and dared to ask one last question.

"Do we carry your plans out right away, My Lord?" he asked. Voldemort sat back down and folded his hands in his lap.

"No, Wormtail. Not just yet." he replied. "Let them enjoy the safety of their cozy mansion and the birth of their child. Then we shall strike and greatly enjoy seeing the looks on their faces as they witness their child die at the hands of Lord Voldemort." he chuckled sinisterly. "I shall wipe out any trace of Harry Potter on this earth, mark my words." he said in a low, angry voice.