January 23, 1945
Saturday Morning
"We're not ready for this - Elaine didn't think so and I know for a fact that what I was hoping to do isn't remotely ready for use in the field," Harry said to Corene as the pair stood stock still, their eyes locked on the spot the latter's elf had just been standing.
"I would agree. Elaine had hoped for another few days at the least, more if she could squeeze them, but it would seem that isn't to be," Corene said as a perplexed look settled on her face. "I do wonder what changed for the attack to be prematurely launched as it is. Perhaps they feared a mole in the Ministry, which wouldn't be a false worry, need I tell you. On the other hand, there's a chance that they found themselves with additional forces earlier than expected… the possibilities are endless."
"What should we do? Are we still going to go up top and take a peek at Hogsmeade? We should be safe, all things considered if it's the Ministry and the volunteers with them attacking the village instead of Grindelwald leading the charge on Hogwarts. Dumbledore is here too, isn't he? Grindelwald should be very cautious about his presence if half of what I hear about the old Professor is true," Harry said, more for his own benefit than Corene's since the girl still didn't seem all that nervous despite the rapidly evolving situation.
"Professor Dumbledore is gifted and magically powerful, so much so that I should think he'd defeat Elaine in a fair bout, but if you've studied much history you would understand that wars are never meant to be fair. Grindelwald has likely prepared for the eventuality of facing Professor Dumbledore and due to that, he'll likely mitigate any advantage Dumbledore had aimed to use," Corene cocked her head and favoured one side over the other, causing the left portion of her body to shrink ever so slightly thanks to her posture. "We'll move to the stairs and risk a glance so that we can report accurate information to Elaine. Should she ask, we were already above the chamber at the time of the attack, else I believe she'd grow quite annoyed with the both of us."
Harry nodded. That definitely sounded like his possessive, very-affectionate and as of late, vaguely stressed out girlfriend. He should be grateful she cared so much in her own unique way and as for the empathy he'd heard from her a few weeks ago, he figured he was doing what he was sent here to do in the first place. She had grown far more human in her actions and way of thinking, so he'd definitely not do anything to risk that going forward.
He wouldn't deny it any longer either. Harry had grown very fond of Elaine in the time he'd spent getting to know her and should anything happen to her - which he figured wouldn't happen since Elaine was Elaine - he would be very bothered. Whether it was love or just a very strong affection, he wasn't quite sure since he hadn't ever experienced a romantic form of love. The Weasleys, Hermione and Sirius were the only people he could say he'd ever truly felt a deep love for and it was needless to say that not one of them was romantic.
Hermione could have been, but that wasn't what life had planned, evidently.
"Nervous?" Corene inquired, her head still cocked and her hand now around his.
Harry shook his head. "I don't think so. This doesn't feel quite as bad as I thought it would… does that make sense?"
Corene looked him up and down appraisingly, calculatingly even, before she replied to him with a small smile on her face; smile was the right word too, for this time, he could see those teeth and dimples of hers. "You're either a liar or far more like Elaine than you care to think if you're not worried at the idea of heading into battle. I'll tell you that I feel some sort of dread at the thought of fighting adult wizards and witches that sided with him," she finally gripped his hand tighter as the two began to head towards the exit, their steps barely echoing as they closed in on their destination. "You and Elaine will need to win quickly if you're to spare too much carnage amongst our friends. Most of those who follow Grindelwald care not for the age or looks of whom they fight, they slaughter mindlessly like Muggle killing machines."
"Why don't you stay back and make sure nothing sneaks up on us then? Elaine and I can handle the rest, all you have to do is make sure that nobody hits us in the rear. It'd be deadly helpful, let me tell you that," Harry said as he attempted to persuade the shorter girl, hoping that Mortem and whatever other beings existed in the world gave him at least this one thing before he charged into yet another fight that they'd somehow gotten involved in his life.
"You're not genuinely worried about a person attacking you from a blindspot. As all friends do, you're attempting to protect those closest to you and such an effort is commendable. Unfortunately, it is as I said earlier, however," Corene paused as he opened the door and she continued speaking when the pair were at the first portion of the staircase a good few dozen feet away. "Sacrifices must be mad if this conflict is to end and I must aid you in any way possible, lest our lessons over the summer, fall through."
She remembered that, at the very least, Harry thought with a smile coming to his face. Nothing can happen to her, I won't let it.
That was his last thought before the pair further ascended the stairs, for what he saw next would take the entirety of his brain to comprehend and remember.
The Battle that had started nearly five minutes ago by the time they made their way up the stairs and to a secure, reinforced window, was the epitome of violence. There were no other words that could be used to describe what he saw with his own two eyes and Corene, for a change, seemed equally as bothered by the sight despite her attempt at maintaining that look of hers.
She wasn't sad-looking as he was, though, for in her eyes were the purest form of hatred and anger that he could recall since his time of seeing… no, Voldemort himself lacked these emotions whenever they faced off with one another. Old snake-face was always attempting dark jokes as he duelled Harry and in the instances that it looked like he had the upper hand, Voldemort would go on a tangent whilst they fought. Nothing he ever spoke was helpful, needless to say, but the point Harry was making; Corene was very angry at the sight of carnage first-hand.
"Don't do anything crazy when we're done there, yeah?" Harry asked, attempting his best smile as he tightened his hand around one of hers, for a change. "Elaine will have to learn the truth after all of this is finished and I'm looking forward far too much to the family days we'll have once you tell her. Who knows, maybe we could even fit in a cool trip to the basement of my place - there's a good dozen or three artefacts that I haven't ever had the chance to witness myself."
Corene finally looked away from the window and over to him, her gaze Daphne-like in its coldness and hostility, but that only lasted a few seconds before she squashed whatever was happening internally. "I would greatly enjoy that, Harry," she said simply, her breathing slightly deeper and her hand far tighter than was normal for her. "We'll return to Elaine now before the battle progresses too rapidly for us to examine and prepare around."
Harry nodded, willing to do whatever Corene wanted if it kept her happy and in a good state of mind whilst he shot one last look over his shoulder in the direction of the battlefield. No description would or could ever do it justice, but when he began to file everything that he saw away in the event that he was called upon for war-crime trials against Grindelwald's forces, his heart only hardened against those who called him an enemy.
They would come to learn that doing just that was a horrible, stupid idea. Every Auror burned, blown up, cut and killed in general would be a follower of Grindelwald killed in revenge. For every one volunteer slain in the defence of their homeland, Harry would see to it alongside his friends and Elaine that those doing the killing would be met with a force unparalleled. Finally, for Grindelwald himself, Harry would see to it that the man never saw the darkness of a cell or the bars of a prison.
Death would claim him and when it did, Harry would be the one standing over his corpse with his friends, wife-to-be and rest of the wizarding world beside him.
It was about an hour later when Elaine finally returned, her hands trembling, but not with nerves or sadness; rage. Rage was the only word that could describe the look she wore and so heated was it, that Harry finally remembered that the woman he'd been sleeping beside, the one he'd come to feel quite strongly for, was this world's version of his mortal enemy.
They were two very different people, he'd come to learn that recently when his stubbornness had finally left him, but in rare moments such as these, the two people were incredibly similar. Elaine was justified unlike her male counterpart and Harry, he was equally as angry, as were a majority of those in the room that she'd gathered. It wasn't the entirety of her follower base, not even half or a quarter of those that were hidden in the chamber of secrets. Inside of their bedroom turned meeting place were those who mattered strategically - her inner circle if you would.
Daphne, Emilene, Aster, Reinhard, Abraxas, Corene, and a few students in upper and lower years who were still fairly shy around Harry, those were who constituted her inner circle of followers.
"We should be out in the thick of things by now, not waiting down here for it to die down," Reinhard said, his voice far more gruff-sounding and grunt-like than it usually was. "If they had us on the left flank or right, we could turn it and destroy them. Right, Aster?"
Aster shook his head immediately. "Most of us are pretty good when it comes to fighting, sure. I'd say some of us are probably slightly beyond your typical adult witch and wizard, even, but most of our friends in the other room aren't half as good as us. We're outliers, there's a reason we're here in this room in the first place, isn't that right?"
Daphne snorted while Elaine nodded once, sharply. "We won't bicker, argue or otherwise get into arguments - I'm prefacing this conversation with that, for there is absolutely no time for it. Any of who you get confrontational will have your memory wiped and your influence destroyed," Elaine looked around the room once, her eyes flashing save for when they settled on Harry, at which point she took in a deep breath before she moved closer to him. "We'll wait, as I initially planned until the forces have exhausted one another so that we suffer the absolute minimum losses. I understand your wish to fight, Reinhard, such is the reason that you're here, but our companions in the next room over are exactly as inept as Aster has said they are and would prove only a hindrance against fully-rested enemies."
"We've been trai-" Reinhard started, but Elaine raised one hand and after half a second, the much larger boy crossed his arms and stopped speaking. His nostrils were flaring, Malfoy was smirking, but he listened to Elaine.
"You have done an exceptional job in preparing them for the eventuality of going against wizards and witches of a higher calibre. I don't seek to steal that from you, nor do I mean to say that you did poorly, it's just a simple fact of the matter that training does not equal experience, nor will it ever," Elaine gestured to the table. "Sit."
The one word had all save for Harry and Corene doing just as she said, the latter only moving when Harry gave the slightest of nods. Elaine didn't seem to notice and if she had, it was promptly ignored, likely stored for a later date.
"My plan is for one of us to be up top, under a shield ward of my own making, at all times. Those of you who can cast a Patronus charm, are the priority, for the ability to communicate in real-time is incredibly necessary," Elaine shot Harry a look then, but she continued as if it hadn't happened at all, such was the speed of her appreciative glance. "All of you will be charged with a specific task and group. The coins that lay under your chair each have a command word for immediate communication with me and additionally, allow me the ability to summon you - the stone will heat up when I wish for you to make your way to me. Aster, I've put three people in your group who have the ability to apparate to make up for your inability to do so. Keep one close at all times."
She's used my idea rather than the mark… I didn't think Elaine would listen to me, but she did. Merlin, do I feel like an absolute tool or what.
Harry couldn't believe that his wish, his suggestion really, had stuck with her. She hadn't seemed to like it, the tattoo was definitely the better way of doing things too, he knew that even if he hated it, still, she'd listened to him and used a coin-based system. It had to be absolutely tedious to do each one separately with different activation words and the like, but she'd gone through with it regardless. He owed her for that and when the battle was over, he'd make sure he expressed his happiness.
"… nd finally, Harry and I will do what we've meant to do since Grindelwald's presence was first known. He and I will find where Grindelwald is hiding and together, we will engage him in a fight the likes of which the world has never seen. Our wands, combined, will be more powerful than even the Elder Wand. He'll fall, our victory will be guaranteed and the wand that has caused so many issues will be hidden away for the world never to find again," Elaine took in a breath, her eyes scanning the room and settling on him, again, before she asked one final question. "Is everything crystal clear?"
Aster was the only one to raise his hand, a bit of a wince coming from him when everybody turned to look at him. "One question on my end, if you don't mind?"
Elaine gestured for him to go on, her hands neatly folded in her lap now as she raised her nose, clearly enjoying that everybody had listened to her, as they always did.
"You have me in the centre at the very rear - I know you want me to react to changes as they occur from a vantage point, but won't people see what I'm doing and try to stop me? What about messages, I know the coins work but what if it's something incredibly urgent?" Aster seemed more nervous than Harry had ever seen him. The boy wasn't stuttering or sweating uncontrollably, but the way he played with the cuffs of his sleeves and how he avoided eye contact… it was obvious that he was feeling very unsure of this entire idea whilst Reinhard, well, the boy always itched for a fight and nothing would change that.
"I have no doubt that you'll be seen and the occasional spell will be tossed in your general direction to disrupt your vital role, but you can manage that along with the five people I've given to you. Transfigure stone cover, have shield charms cast on your persons behind that cover and should a particularly heavy barrage be launched, have those you're with apparate you and those who can't do so themselves out of harm's way," Elaine removed one hand from her lap and patted Aster reassuringly on his shoulder. "Your sister often told me that you were reliable and had a mind for strategies, regardless of what they were meant for. Druella never once gave praise that wasn't earned and whilst I admit I may be hard on you, a better mind for force management, I have never found. Put your worries aside and do your best, the total collapse of Grindelwald's forces will happen should you do nought but that."
Aster nodded slowly, swallowing as he looked down with a look of contemplation on his face. His worry was plane to see to them all, but nobody brought it up and after another few minutes of chatter, this time small talk and other unimportant conversations, the others were all off to speak with those who Elaine had assigned to them. The only ones that remained behind, were Elaine, Harry… and Corene.
All it took was one look at the lattermost person for Harry to determine her reason for staying even as Elaine told her a second time, to exit the room; she wanted to tell the truth and when she stepped back, her eyes still as bored as ever, he thought she'd decided against it.
That would have been far better than what she said.
"We have the same grandma."
Elaine's reaction was a snort and shake of the head, her eyes rolling as she looked over to Harry. She didn't believe what Corene said, evidently, and so Corene repeated it again, her voice a bit louder and filled with an emotion he couldn't quite describe. It sounded remorseful, happy and at the same time, as typical as Corene always sounded.
"If you speak the truth, Corene, then we'll have words when this battle is over," Elaine said, her tone deadly calm as she moved over to Harry, a hand of hers sliding down his back until it moved around his side to pull him close. "Should those words be false, I'll be very displeased - go, prepare, cousin. "
Like that, the big reveal was said and done, leaving Harry to look at Elaine with a look of pure curiosity. "You're not reacting to that revelation remotely how I thought you would."
"And how's that?" Elaine asked, snorting as she turned him and wrapped her arms completely around him before finally jumping to wrap her legs around his waist. After a few more seconds of maneuvring, at which point she was perfectly on him and secure, she peppered his face with kisses of an aggressive, nipping nature before pulling back with a reddened face. "I've known she's different than the others in one way or the other. I've always let her and Daphne get away with more than most, but for her to claim such a close relation… I'll be very cross with her should it be untrue, my love. Not even your suggestion would spare her some form of punishment, but you understand that, don't you? All those who're bad deserve some manner of correction. It's the natural way of life."
"That correction doesn't need to be horrible or otherwise painful, be it mentally or physically," Harry responded, leaning in to plant his lips on Elaine's collarbone and neck, causing her arms to tighten around him.
She respond breathily while he did so, her hands beginning to knead his shoulders, back and on occasion, head. "You're far too kind and I adore that. I do believe I'd be on a different path had I not met you and whilst I can say it would be easier, the affection I feel towards you would leave me feeling empty," Elaine pulled away to look him in the eyes, her face contorted into a look of madness, lust, love and perfect clarity; he couldn't understand how she pulled it off. "You complete me in a literal sense that I'm unable to explain and when this battle comes, when we fight side by side, it will feel just as natural as sleeping beside you. I long for a year to pass already so that our family begins, our power is grown and our lives immortalized."
Harry couldn't help the small snort at her final word. "Have a way for us to live forever?"
Elaine shook her head. "If only I knew of such magic. I would see to it that we lived for all of eternity until time ceased to be and only our souls remained, intertwined forever."
Intertwined forever… that's a right comfortable thought, it is.
The Battle had stopped after nearly an hour, but that wasn't to last for more than half as long before a renewed offensive was launched at the behest of somebody too far removed from the field. Many an Auror and twice as many volunteers lay visibly unmoving outside of Hogwarts, at the edge of Hogsmeade and even in the woods surrounding the general area, but not nearly enough to stall the attack.
There were hundreds of bodies that belonged to Grindelwald's side too, far more than the 'few dozen' followers that he'd allegedly brought with him to Hogsmeade. At some point, he had found a way to sneak large groups of people through a hole in the line in his dash to Hogwarts and it was incredibly alarming that not even Corene's source directly in the Wizengamot was able to find out how it'd been done. If it happened once, twice or however much it truly did, the likeliness of additional forces - should he have any - arriving, was, incredibly high.
Based on what Harry saw, with the bulk of the Auror corps, allies and everybody else still stuck around Hogsmeade with only a tiny portion fighting inside of the near-completely destroyed village, the odds already weren't that high when one thought about a victory for Magical Great Britain.
"I find there's something to be said when you look upon a field of battle with all of her claimed dead," Elaine said from beside him, an eyebrow raised and a look of disdain on her face as she surveyed the field from the tower they'd snuck off to. "So much potential wasted thanks to the ravings of a mad man. Who knows what inventions, potions, wards and spells lay lost before us. There'll never be a way to quantify the experience and technological loss that we currently see and this only strengthens my resolve in achieving a position of power. Never would I allow this to happen when we take total control."
Harry wanted to respond, but Corene entered the room for what felt like the tenth time in the last hour. Tensions between the two girls were absent, completely, with each of them carrying on as if nothing had happened. Elaine was her typical self, able to switch between emotions and personas whilst wearing that beautiful smile at the same time Corene kept her neutral appearance, absent of nervousness to any degree.
"The evacuation of Hogwarts has begun, officially. All students are being sent home through the utilisation of the Floo network, but it's slow-going and requires a registry," Corene said, blinking once when she finished, the girl looking tired and her earlier anger towards Grindelwald stowed away for later.
"I imagine that means we're losing even with McMacson and Maxis' restoration to the Auror Corps," Elaine mused, shrugging. "They're not responsible for the lack of properly trained Aurors, the theft of Galleons and an incompetent Minister are the true criminal and reason for such a waste of life that we currently see - Aster's decision, where is he in terms of force-analysis?"
"Aster believes that Grindelwald's remaining followers likely number around one-hundred, give or take ten, based on the battle's progression. As I recall, the number of forces deployed by the Ministry was at five hundred and two, and now currently, they number around the two-hundred marker whilst the exact amount will be too hard to find," Corene answered, additional information pouring from her lips that aided Harry in understanding how costly this battle had already been.
"Dumbledore?" He blurted out, turning Corene's attention away from Elaine and over to himself.
Corene shook her head once. "There have been no sightings of Albus Dumbledore on the field or in the vicinity and as of yet, the same could be said of Grindelwald. When the opening barrage was launched and he fired a barrage of spells - allegedly - that is the last anybody has seen of him whilst Dumbledore was spotted amongst the advancing force."
"It's entirely possible that he's head," Elaine said, the briefest of smirks flashing across her face before she moved to console him with an arm around the shoulder. "Should that be the case and should Grindelwald be injured from Dumbledore's vast knowledge, we would need to make our move as soon as we possibly can. Patience will only hinder us at this point in time."
"What about what As-" Harry tried, but Elaine cut him off with orders being barker to Corene.
"Have our friends ready themselves - potions will need to be taken preemptively, the meal I've prepared beforehand should do nicely. Do be sure to tell them after they eat and drink their fill that we'll be going in half an hour later, it wouldn't do, them losing their appetite with how many additives lay inside it,' Elaine glanced at Harry, one hand raised so that he would remain paused, and continued. "Aster will need to find a stronger, closer position than his current one too. It'll need to be quickly advanceable. You, Corene, will be tasked with ensuring those close to us remain safe and refrain from any reckless actions."
"Am I to understand that as a reassignment?" Corene asked, her tone still neutral as she cocked her head at Elaine.
Elaine nodded a few times, her action careless but her next words were anything but… so long as you knew her. "Yes. I've decided that I would need one in whom I can trust to ensure the likes of Reinhard and the others who remain headstrong don't charge into battle with their tombstone already made. For the betterment of our society and the strength of our group, we need as many to survive as possible."
"I'll do as you ask," Corene said, passive and shrugging as she turned to leave the room, assuming that was her dismissal. She would have nearly been right too, but Elaine slid in one final remark before the other girl was completely gone from her line of sight.
"Tomorrow I'll expect a copy of your family tree and assistance in scheduling a meeting with our shared grandmother," Elaine said in way of parting words, her attention finally returning to Harry with him being the only other person in the room. "She'll be fine."
"I didn't think otherwise," He responded. "I've duelled with her once, very recently actually, and she's got to be one of the fastest people I've ever seen. Her spells weren't all that powerful and her accuracy was only slightly above average, but I couldn't hit her to save my life."
Elaine snorted. "I've not duelled her for quite some time, it would be rather interesting to see if she's grown faster than last I remember. You'll have to enlighten me in bed tonight, I do find my curiosity regarding her piqued and at the same time, I'm very pleased to know that my internal assumptions were entirely correct when they felt a particularly strong pull towards her.
"You're always right, huh?" Harry asked with only a slight snicker, to which Elaine responded with a serious, singular nod as her hands went to her hips.
"I should certainly think so," she answered. "I was right that you're mine, I was correct in assuming Corene was unique in her thirst for knowledge, right in predicting a horrible attack with many dead and finally, right in predicting one final, key task to ensure our ultimate rise to power at absolutely no risk to ourselves."
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in that final piece. Still, I imagine we have to go and eat with the others, yeah? You probably don't want to leave them alone with the rest of our friends, Reinhard especially with how angry he seems… shite, " Harry cursed, his mind coming to a complete halt at the same time his face dropped.
"What's the matter?" Elaine questioned, her eyes darting over to the battlefield for all of a second in case something had changed, but nothing had.
"Yaxley," Harry said, swallowing as he inhaled and slowly exhaled, one hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Do we know what happened to him? What really happened to him other than him being in a city or two before allegedly joining Grindelwald's cause? Was he still alive after all they've gone through, is he out there right now… neither you or Corene have said anything about him anytime recently."
Elaine furrowed her brows and brought a hand slowly to her chest, then it slid to her stomach as her face grew more perplexed. He could see those Muggle cogs whirling about when he looked into her eyes, but that contact didn't last all that long before she blinked away whatever it was that she'd debated within herself.
"Would you like me to tell you something that eases your mind, my current and best guess, or solely the facts that I know are resoundingly true?" Elaine finally asked, her lips twitching a few times and her nose flaring up equally as many times before those signs too, were removed with a refocusing.
"Start with the facts, go to your guess," Harry said, hating himself for not going with the option that would ease his mind and make life easier.
I owe it to Aster, I owe it to Reinhard and more than that, I owe it to Yaxley himself. He had tried to warn me many a time and yet here I stand with Elaine with plans for marriage before too much longer, Harry thought, a guilty feeling pooling in his stomach the longer he thought about the long-forgotten boy and the tale of the one that'd come before him, the one that'd drowned in a mysterious way. I'll never come to know the truth of any of it.
"Yaxley was meant to aid me politically from the onset of our friendship, thanks to the influence his family has. They're wealthy, of pure stock and most of all, loyal when they pick a side," Elaine gripped Harry's hand tightly at the end of that sentence and began to lead him towards the exit of the room, the battle no longer mattering now that her decision was made. "He grew paranoid after a time and while he wasn't quite as bad as you were, Cliff was very nervous whilst I was near. I enjoyed his nervous looks and reflection of fear every time I looked into his eyes but they grew too frequent and hate began to fester, hence why I began to clean him from my group as you'd do to an infection in a wound. Had I known he would run to Grindelwald, I would've done so in a very different manner, I admi-"
"Did he know something about you? Did he guess something, maybe?" Harry tried, pushing for hints even when his mind told him not to.
Elaine nodded once, careless as she was when Corene was sent away. "He knew that I was the one responsible for Turtle's death in the lieu," she answered with her words as casual as they were when she spoke of meals or the like. "It was entirely by accident before you think any less of me. The beast was anxious to perform and I, in my foolishness, allowed it to do so in the hopes of having a troublesome Professor removed from his position."
Harry couldn't describe how bothered he was that Elaine didn't even remember Myrtle's name, but what bothered him more was how… well, how little it truly bothered him that she forgot the other girl's name. In the past, there was no doubt in his mind that he would have been incredibly angered by such a crude disregard for life, especially when he knew the person quite well, but now that love for all was gone.
Myrtle was innocent, she shouldn't have died any more than Hagrid should have paid for Elaine's crime, but the world wasn't perfect, just like Elaine wasn't. She understood that she'd made a mistake and whilst it was too late to fix that, it most certainly was not too late to fix her. Empathy had begun to grow in her heart, love was overpowering lust and true feelings beyond the drive for power were visible in her actions; from when she cuddled him at night, her arms tightly wrapped around him and their legs entangled to when she just earlier removed Corene from a position that would've seen her in direct combat.
It may not be noticeable to her, perhaps not even to others, but his presence had finally begun to pay off and it would continue to do so, as long as he wasn't killed in this stupid fight on account of Grindelwald's lust for Muggle genocide or slavery. Really, the man was an absolute dolt if he thought that such a small magical population could do anything to the Muggle portion of the world.
"Are you cross with me for the loss of one life in the midst of a war that's already cost millions, should you include Muggles?" Elaine asked, her expression one of genuine curiosity and to a lesser extent, when he truly looked, worry. From the subtle shift of her body that moved her closer to him and the way that she moved her hair with a twist of her head to conceal her face to the way her hand began to actively caress his… everything told him that she was desperate to maintain their current level of intimacy and perhaps that was the true reason, despite her words, that she wasn't angry with Corene.
"Everybody deserves to live, Elaine. I think you already know that just the same as I do," Harry started, witnessing how her face fell and her tough tightened further. "I wasn't here when it happened, I don't know what you said to the ba-beast and I probably never will unless you feel like reliving everything. Regardless, you should try to figure out a way to make up for it and move forward. You said you want to make the wizarding world better and we can. I really believe that you and I can do that together."
"I love you," Elaine said, her eyes focusing intently on his and flickering about, seemingly searching for something in his eyes. "You don't need to return the words as a gesture of kindness or for my own comfort, but you truly complete me. I've previously said that you'll never leave my side and while I know you won't, the thought alone is more than enough to make me strive to do anything that you should ask of me. I would give that control to no other, I doubted I would feel emotions even half as strong as I currently do but you managed to do something to me. Perhaps it's your seer vision, maybe it's magic and quite possibly, it's that being within your mind that refuses to let me glimpse her face… it frustrates me to say that I know not what drives us ever forward but I do know that my feelings for you truly encompass love."
Harry responded, but his words didn't matter even one-tenth as much as hers did. The sincerity was not doubted, her body language and voice were too good but more than that, he had seen recently how true her feelings were for him when compared to earlier in their relationship. She didn't strive for gropes and contact of a sexual nature, but for reassuring caresses and cuddling. Her words weren't crude or forceful, but soft and filled with love. There was still much progress to be made when it came to political ambitions and her mask therein, but that could be changed if everything else could.
I think I love her too… and to think I'd hated her for nearly every month but the last few. Merlin, how times can change.
"I never expressed my surprise earlier, when I mentioned spiking food with potions I fully expected you to call me out and ask why I would do such a thing, but you remained silent," Elaine said as they walked along in one of the ruined halls of Hogwarts, stone and wood mixed together with suits of armour and artwork occasionally littered in too.
Harry smiled softly, his rage and sorrow at the sight of Hogwarts being defiled too high for him to do anything more as they walked in silence towards where their friends lay in wait for them. "It wouldn't be anything harmful, I know that and knowing that is enough. If you gave them potions that caused faster healing, perhaps more physical strength or quickness, all of it would be incredibly necessary with this upcoming fight."
Elaine shook her head. "I did nothing of the sort," she said, earning a curious look from him. "One could say that from this day on, all of their luck is gone, used up, for it was sorely needed today more than any other in the future. That's something they'll be told when the battle ends so that no adverse effects occur later on in their lives."
Liquid luck… she spiked their meals with liquid luck and from the sounds of it, the maximum dosage anybody's allowed. That's a good idea, really. Merlin knows all of us could use all of our luck right now.
"Did you use it on us? Corene and Aster? The others that we're usually with?" Harry asked, not feeling any different than he previously did.
Elaine shook her head and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek, affection so heavily present in her eyes that he swore he could see the little hearts that Luna would often draw all across her parchment. "I wouldn't do anything of the sort to you, nor would I harm our most powerful relationships - they don't need the benefit either, nor do we."
"You really think so?" Harry asked quickly, stepping over the remnants of an Auror that very quickly forced him to look away; it was too bloody, too horrible a sight to realise that all they were at the end of the day was a collection of flesh, fat, bones and hair.
"You witnessed the power of our wands when we work in tandem. None can overcome that save for a pair of others with wands like our own and those happen so rarely that I would wager on our lives we're the only current living pair," Elaine said, smiling as her eyes flashed and a spark of her old madness was brought to the forefront of her feelings. "It's but another reason on a very long list that we're meant to be together."
Harry couldn't help the smile that made its way to his face at such a statement. She was bold, confident and in a way as he'd come to see it, completely right. Mortem had sent him back here, be it by her own power or at the request of another being, to stop Elaine and he'd done it. Maybe they hadn't meant to do it in this way but after months of paranoia and thinking, she wasn't Voldemort and he wasn't a cold-blooded killer who killed at the behest of a being too scared to directly intervene themselves.
That wasn't who he was and it would never be. The only people he'd kill are the ones he was about to go out and face this very day, this very hour even, for any who followed Grindelwald were guilty of something, such was the evil of their ways.
"They're up ahead," Elaine said, stopping them before they could turn the corner. "Is there anything you'd like us to do before we join them and shortly thereafter, make our way to Grindelwald, wherever he is?"
Harry could see what she was getting at and leaned in without delay to press a kiss directly on her lips. They were sweet and soft as ever, perhaps more so with the nerves of battle finally settling in regardless of how many times he'd been involved in such a thing before.
"How's that?" He asked when he withdrew, smiling softly as he'd done earlier.
"I'm glad I've found myself such a wonderful husband who's able to decipher my words without my needing to directly say them," Elaine answered before she resumed their walking and turned the corner, bringing them to a halt only a few dozen feet away from where roughly one-hundred Slytherin students were; the classes were much bigger and in this instance, that turned out to be a boon rather than a privacy-reducing hindrance as it typically was. "Is everything in order?"
Those were the simple words that exited Elaine's mouth and in response to them, Harry saw a collective set of nodding, and thumbs-ups and a few of the braver ones even gave verbal responses of 'yes' or 'ready'. He wasn't sure how they were all so calm, brave, collected an- ah, the potion. Maybe the liquid luck would help in that regard, he wasn't sure.
"Wonderful," Elaine said, clasping her hands together. "Let's take a walk."
Like that, they were off in the direction of a battle that would very likely claim the lives of more than a few of their number. It was an odd thought, an incredibly odd one if he were honest, but at the same time, it felt strangely comforting considering the last time he personally had died had led him to a world filled with people he couldn't imagine going on without.
"Pev."
"Alright, Pev?"
Aster and Reinhard had come over as they made their slow, near-silent walk out of the castle. Each of the two boys had left their group, temporarily, to come over and speak with him, he figured. Both of them seemed nervous now, especially Aster who was constantly swallowing his saliva and glancing around.
"I'm good, guys," Harry responded, smiling as best as he could despite everything in the hopes that it would calm them down or reassure them. "We'll have to talk about how Malfoy handles himself tonight, won't we? I'll even promise a game of chess to you, Aster, if you can beat Reinhard five games in a row without him flipping the board."
"Or flipping Aster," Reinhard said, a small grin on his face as he patted the much smaller boy on the back. "Neither of you gets hurt, it'd be a shame if you got any shorter than me than you already are."
Aster smiled faintly, it was there, but he didn't seem to be. The next words he said before swiftly falling back to where he was supposed to be all but confirmed that too. "You guys be alright, yeah? Don't do anything stupid and if I make a bad decision, please, apparate away."
"I trust you completely mate," Harry said. "You've trounced the lot of us too many times for me to say any different."
"You're like a brother to me, that's all I need to say," Reinhard said, patting Aster again on his back with a touch so much softer from the large boy than was usual that the smaller one nearly lost his footing as he attempted to compensate for a force that never came.
That was a good last vision of the two, but before he could return to Elaine, there was a trio that made its way over to him; Corene, Emilene, and Daphne.
"You don't seem all that nervous, not like I thought you'd be," Daphne opened, her words a tad bit insulting despite the fact that she'd come over to him. "I expect to see you and Elaine both return victorious. My parents would be very annoyed with me if we lost the chance to visit you when this setback is finally dealt with - the fact that students have to do so in the first place is beyond ridiculous."
Harry agreed with Daphne more than he ever had before and as they began their slow trek towards Hogsmeade, the Battle still ongoing, those nerves of his finally returned. The time had come, he would fight Grindelwald alongside Elaine and if Mortem, that being, was with them… it would soon be over.