If the Fates Allow

Chapter 23

Liberty

"Liberty is liberty - not equality or fairness or justice or human happiness or a quiet conscience."

(Sir Isiah Berlin)

Inside his little Hogsmeade house that he had bought with the money he had earned as the first ever elf writer, Dobby was dreaming of wonderful, new, mismatched socks. There was a knock on the door.

"No thank you, Dobby is not buying anything else but socks," he murmured in his sleep, trying to cling to that particularly delightful fragment of dream about owl-patterned socks.

The knock was repeated.

"Yes please, Dobby would like that warm, fluffy one with the tiny owls..."

Knock again.

Dobby pulled the covers over his head. "Dobby's not home!" he shouted.

"Then who's home?" came a question from outside.

"No one!"

"Then who just said 'no one'?"

Dobby sighed and slipped out of bed, realising that he couldn't go back to sleep and buy socks in his dreams with someone constantly hammering on the door. With a huge yawn, he clicked his fingers to ignite some candles, then shuffled to the door and opened it.

"Bet you like Winnie the Pooh," he told the two figures standing outside.

"Er... Winnie the Pooh?" one of the figures asked.

"Never mind." Dobby waved dozily. "Come in."

Wrinkly and Bobby entered the little house, the latter slightly stooped, as though carrying something. "Um..." Wrinkly began, "sorry to bother you so late..."

"So early, you mean," Dobby pointed at the clock on the wall. It was three o'clock in the morning.

"Wow, some clock you have there," Bobby said admiringly, gazing at the clock that had twelve little Harry Potter heads all around its dial.

"Oh, yeah..." Dobby sighed. "Poor, poor Harry Potter... Dobby liked him so much!" he dropped himself on his bed, looking utterly miserable. "Harry Potter gave Dobby his first socks ever! Harry Potter set Dobby free! Dobby always wanted to repay him, but... nothing whatsoever Dobby did made up for that wonderful, wonderful deed Harry Potter did to Dobby!"

"Well, you wrote a book about him, that isn't nothing," Wrinkly pointed out. "My Hero Harry was definitely the best book Wrinkly has ever read."

Dobby looked up, his eyes shining happily. "You liked it?"

"Of course, everyone liked it." Bobby nodded. "Certainly we had to keep it a secret from Master that we were reading it, Bobby thinks he might have whipped us if he'd known... But, if you still think that writing a book about Harry Potter's deeds hasn't been enough of a repayment, then Bobby has another idea..."

"What sort of an idea? Dobby wishes nothing more than to properly return the favour to Harry Potter, but Dobby fears he will never have the chance!" sighed the owner of the little house.

"Perhaps you will," said Wrinkly wisely.

Dobby frowned at him. "What do you mean? What can Dobby do for him? For a dead man?"

"Well..." Bobby pulled something out of his pillowcase, "take care of his son."

* * * * *

Two weeks had passed since Ginny had given birth, and she was recovering - at least physically. Her soul was far from recovered, and she doubted she'd ever be the same little Ginny she had been before... then again, the 'little Ginny' had died the day she had been forced to marry Draco Malfoy. With the 'little Ginny' had died her trademark cheerfulness and mischief, the qualities that had made her resemble Fred and George so much. For those couple of days spent with Harry in Greece she had thought her old self had been resurrected, but the second life of 'little Ginny' had been short - it had died together with Harry.

Now she doubted that her old self would ever return again - not with so many wounds in her heart.

She thought the best tactic to make her heart ache less was to not even think of Harry and their son. Why should I keep tormenting myself with it? Our baby's a little angel up in heaven, he's rejoined his father... they don't need me to feel sorry for them. They're together. Wish I could be with them...

She shook her head. I'm not thinking of this anymore, or I'll be going mad!

The door opened to admit Draco.

"What do you want?" She folded her arms and leant back in her seat, looking up at him challengingly.

"Can't I visit my wife when I feel like it?" He knitted his eyebrows. He hadn't visited Ginny for over a week. He had taken her to St. Mungo's the day after she gave birth, and she had spent three days in the wizarding hospital recuperating. Her parents and brothers had visited her there and tried to talk her into going back with them to the Burrow, but she'd said no. Just another three weeks, she had thought, I won't have to live with Draco for more than three weeks... but I mustn't leave him now, not when he can still cut the hair... I have to be patient.

And she had been patient. She had returned to Malfoy Manor with her husband and hadn't left her room at all, just played the obedient little wife.

"Yeah, you certainly can," she replied coldly. For another two weeks, she added in thought, feeling triumphant. Oh, you have no idea, dear... In two weeks I'll be leaving you and this damned house forever!

"Why are you looking at me like that, Virginia?"

"Why, how am I looking at you?"

"Dunno... weird. Sort of..."

"...murderous?" she said sweetly. "Because that's how I feel..."

"Then I'm happy you haven't got your wand back, darling." He smiled, though his smile wasn't genuine, it was a nervous one.

"And when will you give it back to me?"

"Not for a while." He shrugged.

"Why not? You know that I'm not exactly a danger to you. The worst thing I could do to you is cover your face with batwings again."

Draco grimaced. "I'd rather you didn't. But the real reason why I'm not giving it back to you is that it would help you escape."

"Hah. Am I a prisoner again?"

"Just for a while..."

"How long?" she demanded. She really needed all her inner strength to remain seated and not try to scratch his eyes out. If she didn't get her bloody wand back, and he continued keeping her as a prisoner with all sorts of alarm-charms placed around the corridors, then she might not be able to leave him when the 'Day of Independence' arrived...

"Well, you know," he drawled, casually examining his fingernails, as though they were highly interesting, "yesterday I thought of something."

"Can't wait to find out what it is," she murmured through gritted teeth.

"So." He dropped himself into the armchair facing hers. "I had this idea... and truth be told I got rather mad at myself for not having thought of it earlier... You just had a baby."

"That's big news," she grunted.

"...you just had a baby, which means you are fertile."

Ginny's eyes widened. Was he driving at what she thought he was driving at?

"Yeeees. You can have other children. My children."

"You wish," she whispered.

"Yes, that's exactly what I wish." He grinned. "Soon I'm going to visit you Virginia, and together we'll create a Malfoy-heir."

"Right." She nodded.

Draco blinked, surprised. "Did I hear you correctly? You said 'right'?"

"What else could I do?" She cocked her head. "I'd like to have a child to replace my lost one, and I'd go to any length to have one... even sleep with a bastard like you. But you'll have to wait another two weeks. You know, it's not advisable to have sex until one month after a woman gives birth. Things have to go back to normal... down there."

"Oh... right. I'll meet you in two weeks then. And don't even try to escape, my love, for the alarm charms are still there." With that he stood up and walked out of the room.

"I'm going to get out of here, if that's the last thing I do," she whispered after the door closed. "I won't let you touch me again, you filthy Slytherin..."

* * * * *

As Blinky, Bobby and Wrinkly saw Draco hurry out of their Mistress' room, they exchanged worried glances.

"Are you sure it was wise not to tell Mistress that her baby's alive?" whispered Bobby, gently massaging his bandaged hands.

"I think it was," replied Wrinkly quietly. His hands were bandaged too. Both male elves had closed the oven door over their hands after having smuggled the baby to Dobby. "Just imagine; if we told her that the rain or the thunder or whatever must have woken the little one and he started to cry outside, she'd be so happy that she might involuntarily reveal the truth to the Master, and there'd be hell to pay... That's why Wrinkly thought we should take the baby to Dobby and not the Weasleys. The Weasleys would immediately try to contact Mistress and what if Master catches their owl? We can't risk that, we have to keep it a secret for the time being. We'll tell Mistress in time..."

"But when?"

"After we've helped her leave this bloody place," said Wrinkly seriously.

"Leave the place?" Blinky's eyes widened.

"Don't you realise she can't stay here forever? She'll wither away and die, she deserves to be free... at least she should be free from evil Master if we can't be..." sighed Bobby. "Bobby will try and get her wand back, she'll need it."

"Oh my..." Blinky whispered excitedly, "we're planning a rebellion against Master, do you realise that?"

"If Dobby did so all those years ago, we can too," Bobby replied. "And Bobby doesn't care if he gets a whipping after helping her escape, because then the happiness at having caused Master a lot of trouble will be greater than the punishment."

* * * * *

20^th June

Ginny woke up that day with rather ambivalent feelings. She knew she should be happy that the day of freedom had finally come, yet she was still a prisoner in the Malfoy Manor and what could she do with being free from The Fates Charm but not being free to leave her quarters?

She was free, and yet she wasn't free.

Her heart clenched at the thought of Draco's message he'd sent her with Blinky yesterday. The message had said that the one month after her giving birth was over and Ginny should prepare herself for a very special night spent together with her husband. She felt sick when she imagined what her husband had meant by 'special'. She had always hated him touching her, for he'd been sometimes rude, sometimes just egoistic, and never caring to please her. She'd always wondered what his whores could see in him - could it be possible that the only woman whom he didn't seek to pleasure was his own wife? Why???

Oh, of course she knew the answer to her own question, or at least suspected it: Draco's bedfellows must all have been willing, but Ginny never was. Her playing the frigid ice queen must have hurt Draco's Malfoy-pride and incited him to make her pay for her coldness.

She had no doubt that Draco was planning the greatest punishment ever, and this time not only for her being an unwilling lover, but also for her having been a willing lover to Potter.

She shuddered and willed herself to think of something else, anything else...

Should I try to escape? - she pondered. Surely Draco would notice at once, and her punishment would be greater than she could possibly imagine...

But I have to try, she told herself. I can't sit here peacefully, waiting for him to come and rape me... I'm not going to give birth to his spawn, I'd rather die...

The door of her room opened and a slightly trembling Blinky stepped inside and closed the door.

"What happened, Blinky?" Ginny hurried to her. "Has someone hurt you? Has Draco hurt you?"

"No, Mistress." The elf shook her head. "Blinky is just too excited... and a bit nervous too... for Blinky and her two friends Bobby and Wrinkly have decided to help Mistress leave Malfoy Manor."

Ginny's eyes widened. "You decided... what?"

"You heard well, Mistress, but shhhh!" Blinky pressed her index finger to her lips. "We must not be overheard! Bobby, Wrinkly and Blinky have been plotting against Master for a while, and today the plan is finally complete."

Ginny was listening breathless.

"So... We've been trying to find a route for Mistress to leave the manor, but for weeks we couldn't find anything because all the exits seemed to have Master's alarm charm cast on them... yesterday evening, however, Wrinkly found it. The way to your freedom, Mistress."

"What is it?" Ginny whispered, feeling that her heart might jump out of her chest.

"A secret passage that opens behind a shelf in the library. It goes underground to the Muggle village. There is no alarm charm on the way from your room to the library, so you can get out without Master noticing. He has left for a couple of hours, he won't return till evening..."

"Oh, Blinky, I could kiss you!" Ginny said with a wide smile. "When can I go?"

"In a couple of hours, Blinky believes. Bobby still has to get Mistress' wand back from Master. He is trying it right now, as far as Blinky knows. He will of course have to punish himself afterwards, but he says it's worth the pain."

"Oh, Blinky..." Ginny had to blink back her tears. She didn't remember when she had been so touched. "I... I don't even deserve your help; I don't want to get you into trouble..."

"Not to worry Mistress, we do not care for the punishment; we just want to teach Master a lesson. Master is an arrogant git and he deserves it!"

Ginny had to press her hands over her mouth not to laugh aloud.

"I don't think I can take any of my clothes with me." She stepped to her wardrobe to look at her beautiful, expensive dresses. None of them was proper clothing for an escape. Neither did she have any money, so she didn't have the slightest idea what she'd do after she fled. She surely couldn't go back to the Burrow, that'd be the first place where Draco would look for her. Of course after the effect of The Fates Charm was lifted, she was no longer bound to Draco, but you could never be sure with a Malfoy - he might have learnt that damned Fates Charm over the years, and he might cast it on Ginny's mother or brothers this time, and Ginny knew she had no chance to go through the Row of Gods once more, not without Harry and his special talents... However, if she fled from him and took divorce proceedings from a place unknown to Draco, then it was very unlikely that Draco would try to curse Ginny's parents, for he couldn't even tell Ginny that he had cursed them... unless he sent her an owl announcing that he'd cursed them, but... Ginny decided that she was overcomplicating things. All she knew she needed was to get as far from her husband as possible.

As her eyes skimmed her wardrobe, she noticed a small package that she hadn't touched for a month.

Now she took it out of the wardrobe and opened it. It contained four small, baby-sized shirts, sewn by Ginny in her leisure hours. Two of them were blue, two pink.

How could I have forgotten about these? she chastised herself, took a pink one, and turned to Blinky.

"Here." She handed the elf the piece of clothing. "Tell your friends I have two blue ones for them, too."

Blinky's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Mistress!"

"Shhh!" It was Ginny's turn to hush the elf. "Tell them they won't have to punish themselves if they help me. Free elves never have to punish themselves, do they?"

Blinky stuffed the pink baby shirt into her pillowcase and ran out, tears of happiness flowing down her cheeks.

* * * * *

"You fools," Voldemort growled at Macnair and Jetson (the latter being a recently recruited Death Eater). "You let that Greek slip out of your hands?!?"

"Er... well, he knew the way around wizarding Athens better than us, My Lord, and..."

"I expected that, Rodolphus, and that you two could catch one single man," Voldemort huffed, "but it seems I expected too much of you. If I want to achieve something, I have to take things into my own hands, don't I? I'm surrounded by idiots. Honestly, just like that case in the Department of Mysteries... I had to go there because twelve Death Eaters couldn't handle six kids! And those kids were only outnumbered two to one! That Papafotiu chap was outnumbered three to one, and yet you let him escape!"

"Well... he wasn't really trying to escape from us..." Jetson shuffled his feet. "Because, truth be told... he didn't even know we were after him... he still doesn't know..."

"What?" the Dark Lord gasped. "You didn't even try to catch him?"

"Of course we tried," Macnair said hastily, "but some stupid wizards on buzzing, two-wheeled Muggle thingies crossed the street and by the time they had made the way free for us again, Papafotiu had disappeared!"

Voldemort rolled his eyes. "Those are called mopeds or motorcycles... I can't believe that three of my Death Eaters let someone disappear just because of mopeds crossing the road!"

"Well, there were loads of mopeds." Macnair shrugged. "Some sort of a moped-race took place..."

The Dark Lord exchanged a sour glance with Bellatrix. "It seems that if I want to get the Greek chap, I have to do it myself."

"Off to Greece then, my Lord?" asked the woman.

"Off to Greece, then." Nodded Voldemort.

* * * * *

Draco returned to Malfoy Manor around eight o'clock in the evening. He didn't go straight for Ginny's room; he instead headed for his own to have a bath and get changed. Although he had stopped applying hair gel to his hair after leaving school, tonight he decided to use some. He looked into the bathroom mirror, examining his reflection. Dashing, he thought. Every woman would be happy to be mine... Virginia's of course an exception... but the more difficult it is to besiege a fortress, the more delightful it is when its defences finally tumble down. She'll want me tonight, and I'll be gentle with her, no matter how much she's played the inaccessible princess. I want to restart everything with her, and perhaps tonight's the night when I get the chance to do so. A new life with my Ginny...

After sprinkling some fragrant aftershave on his face, he adjusted his clothing and walked out of the bedroom. Just in case, he conjured a bottle of champagne and set off for his wife's room.

He knocked on her door, although it was highly unusual for him to knock on it - he was used to bursting in without being invited. Tonight, however, he wanted to do everything just right. He wanted to win her heart, and he realised that his former tactic of rushing her hadn't paid off.

No one answered his knock.

"Ginny?" he said. "May I come in?"

Still no answer came.

"Ginny?" he opened the door and peered in, to see that everything inside was dark. He swished his wand to ignite the candles and looked around. His wife was nowhere to be seen. "Are you playing hide-and-seek?"

Nothing stirred in the room.

"Where are you? Stop playing!"

Draco started to feel more and more worried. Surely she couldn't have left, not with all the alarm charms - the alarm charms he had placed in the vicinity of all possible exits would not only have warned him if she tried to escape, but they would also have disabled her...

Something glinted in the candlelight, and Draco walked up to see a small, round object on Ginny's bedside table...

It was her wedding ring.

His heart that had been clenched with worry for minutes, now sank into his stomach. He snatched up the ring and noticed that it had been lying on top of some sort of a parchment.

He unfolded it to see a short letter in Ginny's handwriting.

Draco,

By the time you read this, I will have left the manor and you forever. Don't even try to find me. You will soon get the divorce papers. Please don't refuse to sign them, in your own interest. Should you refuse to sign them, I will be forced to bring our little blackmail case to the Magical Law Enforcement. Be a sensible little Slytherin and give up on me.

Ginny

P.S. I set the elves free. They helped me escape, but now you can't punish them for it. Revenge is sweet.

Draco crumpled up the parchment in fury. Had he not put the bottle of champagne down before unfolding the letter, he surely would have thrown it through the closed window.

"How could she have left?" he muttered under his breath. "Surely the alarms would have gone off... but the elves helped her, the filthy little..."

With a sudden thought, he stormed out of the room and into the library. He knew his father had once made a detailed map of the manor's ground-plan and there had to be an exit Draco didn't know about...

He remembered that Lucius had once showed him where the map could be found, so he headed straight for a shelf hidden in a far corner.

"That's it!" He snatched a parchment off the shelf and rolled it out on a nearby table. "Corridor leading to the front door," he murmured, running his finger on the map, "corridor leading to backdoor A, the other leading to backdoor B... Aha!" He noticed a corridor he had never known to be there. "It goes under the surface... and it opens right... here. How convenient."

He marched to a bookshelf marked on the map and started looking for a sign that he should push or a handle he should turn... And there it was: a small, snake-shaped latch. He moved it, and the whole shelf slid aside to reveal a dark corridor.

"Lumos," he said and entered. He didn't know what to expect from going in there, it was highly unlikely that he'd find Ginny still lingering in the corridor, yet he had to try... He visualised the end of the corridor as his destination and Disapparated.

"There, Mistress, we've reached the end of the passage," said Bobby, holding a torch high into the air to illuminate a door-like thing beyond which freedom awaited Ginny.

"Thank you," Ginny said, feeling deeply touched. "But you don't have to call me Mistress anymore, you're free."

"We know, Mistress." beamed Wrinkly. "And we are very grateful to you. Wrinkly always wanted to have a blue shirt; it makes him really handsome."

"It definitely does." Grinned Blinky, who was sporting her new pink shirt. "Take care, Mistress, we'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too." Ginny smiled and dropped to her knees to pull the elves into a hug. "What will you do now that you're free?"

"We think we are going to go and get jobs at Hogwarts," said Bobby. "Dobby will surely recommend us to the headmistress."

"Speaking of Dobby..." Blinky cut in, "we've got to tell you something, Mistress. And please don't be mad at us for not telling you earlier, but..."

Suddenly there was a Crack and Draco Apparated right next to them.

"Going somewhere, Virginia?" he said, pointing his wand at her.

"D... Draco," Ginny breathed.

"So you've set my elves free, have you?" growled her husband. "And you thought you could leave, just like that..."

"Please, Master, don't punish her, it's not her f..." Blinky squeaked.

"I wasn't asking you, stupid little..."

"Tempus Glacietur!"

Ginny had used the momentary lapse of Draco's attention when he'd addressed the elf, to cast the first spell she could think of. The spell she'd learnt from Harry.

Draco and all three house elves were frozen in time, Draco's mouth open, forming some rude word to describe the elves, Blinky furious and both Bobby and Wrinkly looking surprised. For a second it crossed Ginny's mind that it was strange that the elves didn't look frightened at all, then she realised that the elves were free and they had their own branch of magic with which they could defend themselves from Draco's fury.

I don't have to worry about them, she thought. They'll surely be able to deal with Draco when the spell wears off...

With a last fond glance at the elves, she pushed open the hidden door of the corridor and stepped out into the cool, fresh summer night - into freedom.

* * * * *

"It's wonderful that they're all gone," said Amrita, sitting at the kitchen table at the Death Eater Headquarters, stirring her hot cocoa. "Why did they all go, Wormie?"

"Never you mind," said Peter Pettigrew.

"But Wormie... I want to knoooow!"

Seeing her pleading expression, he sighed.

"Oh, all right. There's nothing wrong with me telling you that... I suppose the Dark Lord wanted to catch someone and wanted to make sure that the person was really caught... at least that's what he said. It seems he has lost confidence in his Death Eaters' abilities."

"And why does he want to catch someone?"

"Because..."

"Because he's an evil man?" said Amrita.

"Er... sort of."

"People really dislike him, don't they?"

"Well, most of them do."

"And you? Don't you dislike him, too?"

"Enough of the questions," replied Peter, standing up on a stool to peer into an upper cupboard. "Damn, it's empty."

"What?"

"We've run out of..."

"...of?" she asked with a curious expression.

"Never you mind." Waved Peter.

She shrugged and continued slurping her cocoa as loudly as she could.

"I've got to go to Knockturn Alley and get something," he muttered, taking off his apron.

"What do you have to get?" Seeing the expression on Wormtail's face, she made a grimace. "I know: never you mind."

"Exactly." Nodded the man. "The only problem is that I can't leave you here alone..."

"Why not?" enquired the child. "I wouldn't really mind."

Peter gave her an appraising look. "I don't even want to imagine what you'd do here alone, young lady."

"Nothing bad, I promise," replied Amrita eagerly. "I'd try on Lady Lestrange's spiffy earrings, the ones she got from Rodolphus, and perhaps that beautiful pink tutu too, that Goyle wore for the Halloween party..."

Peter's mouth twitched. Neither could he decide whether to laugh or scold her, nor could he decide whether she was just saying these things out of childish innocence or if she was deliberately joking. Could a barely seven-year-old child joke about things like that? Well, after all, Amrita had always been an exceptionally intelligent little girl, having inherited genes from the Dark Lord himself... and Harry Potter couldn't be called an idiot, either, and Amrita had genes from him, too. Yet Wormtail didn't envy the poor lamb for her ancestry. Not in the least...

"So, can I wear Lady Lestrange's earrings, pleeeease?" She gave him her thoroughly exercised puppy-stare that had always melted his heart. Not this time, though.

"No," he shook his head.

She was about to start pouting when he added: "You're coming with me."

"To nocturnally?"

"Yeah, to Knockturn Alley," came the answer. "But we won't spend much time there, I'll just buy what I need in ten minutes, then we'll be coming back here. Who knows when the Dark Lord will arrive back? He'd be really mad if he didn't find us here. Especially if he has exhausted himself and needs a new ritual..."

Amrita put down her cocoa, having lost her appetite. She hated those damn rituals!

* * * * *

"Damn you, V'rginiaaaa," Draco hiccoughed, dropping himself on his bed, a bottle of Odgen's Old Firewhisky in his right hand. He had only arrived back into the manor a quarter of an hour earlier, but he was already totally drunk. Drunk and seething with rage. Ginny had not only escaped, but freed his remaining three house elves and cast some charm on him, from which he'd only woken up around dawn.

"Damn ya a thousan' times," he growled.

Suddenly he pushed himself into a sitting position. Something had occurred to him. He stood up, and slightly swaying, he stumbled to the picture of Narcissa Malfoy and wrenched it off the wall. Now he was facing a little, hidden door. "Tujur puuuuuure," he said, his tongue not being able to work as he would have liked it. "I'm sayin' Toujour p... damn." He shook his head, trying to clear it, but to no avail. He tried for the third time: "T... toujours pur!"

The little door swung open to reveal several items that the Malfoys would never have showed to outsiders. In fact, Draco had never showed this to his wife, either.

Hiccoughing, he reached into the safe and took out a longish glass case that contained one single red hair. "You are... you're goin' ta pay, Virginia!" he muttered and opened the glass case, taking out the hair. "Sc'ssors, I need some sciss... bugger, I 'ave a waaaand!"

He pulled his wand out of the pocket of his robes and pointed it at the hair: "Se... Secetur!"

A devilish smirk spread on his face. "Now ya got it... S'ry Mr Weeeasley... res' in peace."

* * * * *

"Of course we're helping you, sis, how much d'you need?" asked Fred, gazing at Ginny's nervous face. After fleeing from the tunnel, her way led first to Diagon Alley and to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. She hoped that Draco would look for her in the Burrow or Ron and Hermione's flat rather than here.

"Actually, I need quite a lot," she sighed. "I want to leave the country."

"And where would you go?" interjected George.

"Dunno... perhaps... perhaps to Greece."

The twins exchanged a knowing look.

"Wouldn't it be too painful for you to go there?"

"No." She shook her head. "True, Harry died there, but... besides Hogwarts and the Burrow that was the only place where I was truly happy. And since I can't go to Hogwarts and can't go home, at least not yet, I want to go to Greece."

"But what are you going to do there?"

"I don't know yet... I'll surely find a job... Perhaps Nikias will employ me as a waitress."

"Well, until you find a job, you can count on our financial help." George smiled. "We love you little sis and we want you to be happy... and to top it all, I owe you my life." He winked at her. "Had you not notified the Healers that I was moaning like hell, I would have died there."

"I didn't even know it was you." She shrugged.

"Well, you need money." Fred turned the course of discussion back to the original one. "Muggle money, I presume?"

"Yeah." Ginny nodded. "I can't travel by magic, the Greeks don't like Portkeys and they don't use Floo either. And I can't Apparate. Nothing's left but Muggle transport, and surely Draco wouldn't go to the airport to look for me, would he?"

"Nah, it's beneath his dignity to enter a Muggle place." Waved George. "But how are you going to get the papers you need? You don't have any Muggle papers."

"I'm a witch, remember?" She grinned at him. "I can conjure papers."

"Oh, yeah." Fred grinned back at her. "Too bad you don't want to stay for one more day; the family's going to visit the Lupins tomorrow. You know, they had their son last week."

"Did they?" Ginny's face fell. She knew she should feel happy about Remus and Tonks' happiness, but her own grief was still too fresh. She'd lost her son, and it hurt her to hear about other people's babies.

"Oh... it was stupid of me to mention it." Fred made a grimace. "Sorry sis, I forgot."

"Never mind, Fred. It was better this way," she replied. "According to the elves my little son was a spitting image of Harry... Draco wouldn't have let him live. He would have died either way."

"Oh, sis." Fred gathered her into an embrace and she wept into his dragon skin jacket for minutes.

"It's okay," she finally pulled back, sniffing. "I'm happy for Remus' baby. I'm sorry I can't see him, especially because I had promised Tonks I'd be the kid's godmother... tell them that I'm really sorry that I have to break my promise."

"They'll understand," George said, and then a little smile appeared on his face. "You should have seen Remus a couple of days ago; he was practically dizzy with happiness, kept hugging and kissing everyone! Actually, he was a bit tipsy... Between two hiccoughs he said he only wished that his old friend Buckbeak were here to share his happiness."

"Buckbeak?" Ginny's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! We forgot... we left him in Pireus! And Harry promised Remus to return Beaky to him safe and sound... oh, I've got to go to Pireus and get the poor thing out of the Flying Creature Repository!"

"The flying creature what?" the twins asked.

* * * * *

Amrita was walking down Diagon Alley holding Wormtail's hand, her eyes drinking in the beauty of the place. She had never been outside the Death Eater Headquarters before, and suddenly she was at a place where everything was so new and exciting that she thought her heart would burst.

She was grinning uncontrollably as she kept looking from her right to her left, not to miss anything from the thousand wonders of the wizard street. Here was a shop window full of owls, there was a robe shop with beautiful, modern robes direct from Paris, on the opposite side of the street was a shop whose window was full of stylish brooms and children of Amrita's age were pressing their noses to the glass, letting out 'oooh's and 'ahhh's.

Amrita wanted to join them and check out the brooms, but Peter held her hand tightly and steered her deliberately through the maze of cobble-stoned streets. She wondered why his hood was drawn up to cover his face, but she didn't ask. There were too many things to see and store in her mind to waste her precious time on asking questions she could ask when they arrived back at the headquarters.

Suddenly Wormtail stopped in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. "I'm going to go alone from here," he told the child.

"Why can't I go?" She frowned.

"Because I'm going to a place not suitable for little children. Be a good girl and wait for me here. Sit down at a table, and when the waiter comes and asks what you'd like to have, ask for an ice cream. I'll pay for it when I get back. By the time you finish it, I'll be back. I promise I won't be long."

"Ooookay." She pouted and watched Pettigrew walk into a nearby street.

Well, what could she do? She dropped herself on a chair on the parlour's terrace, wondering what the heck ice cream could be.

* * * * *

Draco woke up with a terrible headache. "Arrgghh," he groaned, massaging his forehead that hurt like hell. Actually, his whole head hurt like hell.

That's what you get when you drink a whole bottle of Firewhisky, he thought sourly.

"Blinky!" he called, expecting the elf to hurry to his service and make him a nice, strong, headache-killing tea. However, the elf didn't turn up.

"Oh yeah," he murmured, hiding his face in his hands. "They left. Ginny set them free... It looks I'll have to make coffee myself..."

He stood up and started looking for his wand that he must have dropped during the night. He found it lying next to Narcissa Malfoy's picture on the floor. Draco knitted his eyebrows. Why and when had he pulled this off the wall?

He looked up to see the door of the safe open. "Did I open this?" He scratched his head, trying to remember. As he strained his mind, a memory crossed it like a flash of lightning: a red hair... a wand pointed at it... him holding the wand, and muttering a severing charm...

He felt as though he had been slapped across the face by the tail of a Blast-Ended Skrewt.

"I've killed him," he whispered. "I've killed Arthur Weasley! Heavens..."

* * * * *

"Honestly Ron, going into Knockturn Alley," Hermione said in a scolding voice, "I understand you promised Fred and George to get doxy venom for them, but you could have bought it in the apothecary's shop in Diagon Alley as well."

"Yeah, but you can get it in Knockturn Alley much cheaper," Ron replied. "And Fred and George have good business relations with an apothecary in there, who gives them forty percent discount."

"Oh yeah, I can imagine them being on friendly terms with such dubious characters," she snapped.

"If you're so much against me getting supplies for my brothers, then you are free to leave. I'll do it alone," he grunted.

"It's not like that," she said, somewhat frightened from the prospect of leaving him alone in a dodgy place like this. She had agreed to come in the first place, she shouldn't back out now.

"Then what is it like?" he demanded.

"It's just like..."

Ron never got to know what it was like, because in the next instant a hooded figure ran headlong into them.

"Watch out where..." Ron began, but stopped in mid-sentence, for the blast of the collision had swept the hood off the wizard's face.

"Wormtail!" breathed Hermione.

The Death Eater's eyes widened with shock and fear while Ron's face showed anger and Hermione's hand dived into her robes for her wand.

Peter, however, had been clutching his wand under his robes all along, even when walking hand in hand with Amrita. If he had learnt one thing in Voldemort's service, it was never to go into Diagon Alley or any wizarding community without clutching your wand under your cloak.

A millisecond earlier than Hermione, he whipped out his wand at the two young people. "Stupefy!" he shouted, but since he couldn't stun two people at once, he aimed somewhere between Ron and Hermione, not managing to stun either of them, but making them feel the charm brush them. However, these few seconds of diversion were enough for Wormtail to turn and run, pointing his wand over his shoulder and sending jinxes at his pursuers.

Totally forgetting about his intention of buying doxy venom for the twins' next invention, Ron hurled himself after the Death Eater who had once betrayed his best friend's parents and who had aided the Dark Lord in returning to a new body... Pointing his wand at the fleeing Pettigrew, he kept sending hexes, and next to him Hermione was doing the same, breathing hard as she ran flat out, her face set, her brows furrowed angrily.

They couldn't let this scumbag escape again!

* * * * *

Amrita was licking a delicious strawberry ice cream (deciding that she had never eaten anything as wonderful as this), and watching the witches and wizards walk around. She realised that it was highly interesting just to watch the passers-by. Never in her seven years of life had she been outside the headquarters, and the only people she had ever met were her grandfather and his Death Eaters, who were always dressed in dark robes. The world seemed to be filled with colours she'd never seen, odours she'd never smelled, and happy chatter she'd never heard. It surprised her that the world could be this interesting, this colourful and noisy...

She glanced at the neighbouring table where a woman was sitting with her hood drawn over her face. However, from what Amrita saw of the woman's face she could tell the woman was really pretty and friendly, for she sent the child a smile whenever she looked at her. The woman had arrived shortly after Peter had left....

Half an hour after Peter had walked into Knockturn Alley, Amrita was still sitting on the parlour's terrace (having eaten her way through fudge and chocolate ice creams too) and had begun to worry. What had happened to Wormie? He said he'd be back soon! In the headquarters he'd said he'd buy whatever he needed in ten minutes and he'd return after that. But... the ten minutes were long over... What if he had got into trouble?

Amrita began rocking on her chair, deep in thought. Should I go looking for him? she thought. But no, he said I should wait for him here. He said we had to go back to the headquarters, because Grandpa might return any time, and he might need me for another ritual...

She shuddered.

I'm not going back! - she said to herself and got frightened by her own boldness. Am I allowed to not go back?

She looked around again, to see whether Wormtail was coming or not. There was still no trace of him.

What if Wormie brought me here and left me here because he wanted me to leave? He has always felt sorry for me... Perhaps he didn't mean it when he said I should wait for him here... Yes, I think he wanted me to escape, because he wanted me to be free from Grandpa at last! I bet he wanted to help me, now we know that Daddy's alive, I can go looking for him!

With a bright smile she hopped off her chair and wanted to leave, but Florean Fortescue called after her:

"And who's going to pay, young lady?"

Amrita turned around. She had totally forgotten that Wormie had told her he'd settle the bill when he returned.

"I... I don't have any money." She shook her head. "But I'm sure that my friend will come soon and pay you, but I really have to go now..."

"I'm sorry, little one, but you'll just have to wait for your friend here," replied the owner of the Ice Cream Parlour.

The woman who had been sitting at the neighbouring table now rose to her feet and walked over to Mr Fortescue. "I'll pay her ice cream. I'd like to settle my own bill as well. How much is it?"

"Ten sickles, madam."

"Here." The woman handed the owner ten silver coins, then turned to Amrita. "You're free to leave, my dear."

"Thank you." Beamed Amrita as Mr Fortescue returned to his shop. "You saved my life."

The woman laughed, her voice was very pleasant, just as pretty as her face. "I hardly think I saved your life."

"But you did."

"How did I save your life?" asked the woman, bending slightly down. A thick mass of dark brown hair cascaded out of her hood.

"You saved me from that man who wanted to put me into an orphanage!"

"An orphanage?" The woman's chocolate brown eyes widened. "Are you an orphan?"

"Yeah, madam." Amrita nodded. "My mum died long ago, and my dad died recently, and that man wanted to take me into the orphanage, but do you know what sort of an orphanage is that?"

The woman shook her head.

"It's awful, with a lot of awful people and a very evil director!" the child said passionately, finding this fibbing-business quite entertaining. But after all, she wasn't fibbing that much, her 'home' was really a terrible place full of terrible Death Eaters and Voldemort was definitely the worst 'director' imaginable. Also, she had heard from Wormtail that her grandfather had grown up in an orphanage, and - according to Wormtail - this had been the reason for Grandpa Voldemort to become such an evil man. "I don't want to go there, madam."

The woman regarded the child with a completive look. "What's your name?"

"Am... Amy," lied Amrita. Wormie had told her that people didn't like her grandpa, and she assumed that if this nice lady knew whose granddaughter she was, she wouldn't like her, either. So she just had to lie...

"My name's Ginny, and I'm heading off to a very nice, sunny place. I think I could use some company on my way..."

Amrita's eyes widened. It seemed that today was a day full of surprises and wonders - first Wormie bringing her along to a wonderful place, then she ate ice cream and now this lady offering to take her to some nice place... and she wouldn't have to go back to Grandpa!

Ginny didn't know why she had found it so natural to offer the child to take her along with her... she really couldn't have explained it. She just felt something warm and happy when she looked at this child - the little one had been so sweet sitting there, licking her ice cream and looking at the world as though she had never seen it before, her green eyes wide with amazement... It didn't even sink in why she found the little girl so sympathetic, but the thought crossed her mind that if she could have had a daughter, she would have liked to have one like Amy.

"Of course I understand if you'd rather stay here," Ginny said, but Amrita cut in:

"I'm coming, madam."

"Just call me Ginny, I'm not that old."

"Okay, Ginny. Do you know you're really beautiful?" Ginny laughed lightly. "Why'd you hide your face when you're so pretty?"

"Perhaps because I don't want anyone to see me." Ginny winked at the child and pulled her hood even lower.

* * * * *

Draco thought he was going mad. He'd lost Ginny, he'd lost his elves, and he'd become a murderer. Certainly he had never really wanted to cut that hair, but too much alcohol turns even the finest gentleman into a beast and makes him lose control over his thoughts and deeds...

When he'd severed Arthur Weasley's hair, he hadn't been in his right mind. This whole Fates Charm affair had been good to keep Ginny around, to keep her in check, but Draco had never really meant it! He was a bastard, yes, but not a murderer!

Or was he?

He looked at the phone box that served as the visitor's entrance to the Ministry of Magic.

His father had been here on several occasions when he'd been on such good terms with Fudge, and he had told Draco the series of numbers to dial.

He entered the telephone box.

"Six... two... four... four... two," Draco muttered and waited for the dial to whirr back into place.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Er... Draco Malfoy, going to denounce myself to the Magical Law Enforcement."

"Thank you. Visitor, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

A badge slid out of the telephone apparatus, bearing the legend Draco Malfoy, Criminal.

"Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

The telephone box started to sink, and as daylight disappeared and darkness closed around him, Draco suddenly felt frightened to death. He had been frightened enough when he'd realised that he'd killed someone, but now that he was about to admit it to the Aurors, he really had cold feet.

Had he made the right decision to come here and confess?

The Malfoy and the Slytherin bastard in him were rebelling against that little fragment of righteousness that had (who knows how?) been born in his heart overnight.

I shouldn't have come here, he thought and felt like banging his head into the telephone box's glass pane, but he realised it was missing - some vandal must have broken it. In the next instant golden light illuminated his feet, and soon he was facing the Atrium.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day."

"Yeah, pleasant," Draco grunted and walked past the long-since repaired fountain of Magical Brethren, heading for the lift. However, a voice stopped him from the left.

"Your wand, please!"

He whirled around to see a badly-shaven wizard in peacock blue robes, holding The Quibbler upside down, leering at him.

"Oh, yeah." Draco nodded absentmindedly and handed over his wand. The Security wizard gave him - or rather his badge - a questioning look, but said nothing. He had just taken his wand back when the lift to Draco's right opened and a highly familiar figure strode out.

Young Malfoy's wand fell onto the floor with a clatter.

"Arthur Weasley!" he breathed.

"Yeah, that's my name... son-in-law," Arthur said with a sour expression.

Draco couldn't believe his eyes. He had killed this man during the night, and yet he was here, very much alive!!!

As he bent down for his wand, his hand went to his visitor's badge and - as inconspicuously as possible - he slipped it into his pocket.

"It's not likely I'll remain your son-in-law for long." He grimaced as he stood up.

"What do you mean?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Ginny left. She... escaped."

"Well, it was high time," Mr Weasley said. "You treated her like a slave, you locked her up and you didn't let us visit her... not even when she gave birth... The way you treated my daughter... no wonder her baby became ill and died. You are the murderer, only you, Malfoy."

Seeing Mr Weasley's furious face, Draco gulped. "You're right. It's my fault. And not only this. As we've started this, I want to tell you the whole story. From the beginning."

"Into my office, then," Arthur instructed.

* * * * *

"Oh, so terrible," sighed Blinky, dropping herself on a chair in Dobby's little house. "She cast some charm on all four of us and fled and we never even had a chance to tell her that her baby is alive!"

"We'll find Ginny Wheezy and we'll tell her somehow," replied Dobby, cradling the little boy in his arms. "She has to get to know... this little angel needs his mummy... don't you Baby?" he cooed and gave the baby a bottle of warm milk. "Awwww... isn't he cute? He looks exactly like Harry Potter!"

"He does," agreed Wrinkly, examining the little boy's face and his radiant eyes. "Wrinkly is sure his eyes are going to remain that green. Really, Dobby, what's his name?"

"His name?" Dobby frowned. "Dobby never thought of naming him. Dobby just calls him Baby. We have to give him back to Ginny Wheezy; she's going to name him."

"Do you know it's bad luck if a baby isn't named for several days after its birth?" asked Bobby worriedly.

"Nah." Dobby shook his head. "This little one can't have bad luck, can he? It's a wonder that he's alive... he's downright lucky."

* * * * *

"Why have you sent for me, Your Majesty?" asked Harry, bowing slightly before Hades.

"I have news for you, young Potter," replied the King of the Underworld. "First of all: the culprits who set Cerberus on you have been caught. Salazar Slytherin and Lucius Malfoy."

"Why am I not surprised?" Harry grimaced. "What are you planning to do with them?"

"Well, it's rather hard to make up something suitable, since no punishment I have tried so far has worked for the Tartarus people... I thought maybe you could suggest something?"

Harry frowned, racking his brain. Then suddenly his face lit up. "I know! I've seen the Addams Family, and there this little punishment worked wonderfully..."

"Well?" Hades asked.

With an impish grin Harry leant closer and told him.

The King's eyes widened. "That's ruuude! Especially for someone from Tartarus!"

"I know," winked Harry. "They deserve it for wanting to do me in, don't you think?"

"Well, actually they confessed that they didn't want to kill you, just maim you so that you wouldn't be able to play Seeker. But of course they didn't know what I know: that you won't be here for the next match."

Harry gaped at Hades. "D'you mean what I think you mean?"

"Yeah." Hades nodded. "Cedric returned yesterday evening. You're free to leave."

Harry's face lit up with happiness: he'd be able to see Ginny at last, and Ginny was free from The Fates Charm already, so he'd be able to marry her if he could divorce Phaedra!

Then his smile vanished, as it struck him that leaving the 'safety' of the Underworld would also mean having to face Voldemort... for he had long ago decided that he'd put aside his fears for his daughter and wouldn't let Voldemort blackmail him any longer.

"That's... that's great," he muttered. "I'll go then and say goodbye to my family."

"Do so. Oh, and Harry!"

"Yeah?"

"You have won three matches for Elysium - you've given us hope... I'm eternally grateful for that and I'd like to say thanks with some sort of a... gift. I thought I could give you some powers... Of course not all sorts of powers, for example I can't give any power to take away things from people... just to give them things. And I can only give you a one time use power... But such powers can be rather useful, too, so think up one and you'll get it."

"I don't think I need any powers." Harry shook his head. "But thanks."

"Just think it over, Harry."

"Okay, I will." The young wizard nodded and walked out of the King's palace, his heart full of ambivalent feelings. He was free at last... but freedom meant he had to leave his parents again. For ten happy months he felt his parents' love, their caring... he got to know what it was like to be held by an affectionate mother or slapped on the back by a proud father. He had to leave this behind. He had to leave his little daughter here too, only to sacrifice his other one if it came to that... But what if it really came to that, and he again was weak, his damn good heart again preventing him from doing the sensible thing? As long as he had had to stay in the Underworld, it had been quite easy for him to say 'If I have to choose between saving Amrita and saving the world, I won't hesitate which one to choose'... Now that the time to make this decision for real was so close, it suddenly seemed terribly hard. After all, what father would willingly sacrifice his child to save the world?

Involuntarily Harry thought of God Almighty of whom he had read in the Bible in his childhood. He had sacrificed his own Son to save the world...

Harry looked up at the bright blue sky, feeling extremely small, a mere piece of dust on Earth. What was he compared to God? Nothing.

"I heard you were leaving..."

Harry had been gazing at the creek that crossed the land on which the Potters' house stood. He had been saying goodbye to this place. He had already said goodbye to his parents, Sirius and Daffy and he just wanted to cut this picture into his mind, to be able to remember it forever... although he wasn't sure that he wouldn't be returning here soon... Having to face Voldemort also meant he might die...

And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...

He turned around to face the owner of the voice.

"Yes, I am. Cedric returned," he answered.

"I know. I just wanted you to know that the union between us wasn't done for nothing. Should you feel you're weak, call me and I'll be with you. My soul will be able to separate itself from the Underworld and accompany you. I'd like to help you against my father, I really would."

"Thanks Linda, I'll remember that," replied Harry and bent down, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for being such a good friend."

Someone cleared their throat and the two young people turned around to face Albus Dumbledore.

"Take care, Harry," said Linda and walked away, leaving Harry alone with the onetime headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Professor," Harry said, not really knowing what to expect. Had Dumbledore come to give him advice on how to kill Voldemort? Would he try and convince Harry to forget about his feelings for his daughter and give all his strength to ridding the world of the Dark Lord?

What Albus said then surprised the young wizard:

"Death is not the worst thing that can happen to someone, Harry. Remember that."

Harry opened his mouth to reply, to ask what Dumbledore had meant, but couldn't for the old man suddenly pulled him into a tight hug, then Disapparated.

Harry had never seen someone Apparate or Disapparate in the Underworld before. When he had arrived here he had decided he wouldn't try Apparating in case it went wrong down here, and since then he had already forgotten about trying it.

"Wait!" he shouted, but Dumbledore was gone.

Frustrated, Harry sank into the grass and pulled off his shoes to bathe his feet in the pleasantly cool creek for the last time. He leant back, shielding his eyes against the sun's rays and thought.

What had the crazy old man meant by that? Worse than death? What could be worse than death?

Well, of course Harry could think of a couple of things: living locked up for years, for example... he had never asked Sirius, but he surmised that spending twelve years at Azkaban must have been worse than dying... What else? He closed his eyes, thoughts and ideas chasing each other in his mind. Linda?

*Yes?* she replied inside of his head.

What do you think would be worse for your father than dying?

*That's obvious, isn't it?* she replied. *What does he love above all?*

Er... power, I think...

*Bingo.*

Oh! I understand! Harry slapped his forehead. Thanks a lot, Linda!

*What for? I haven't even helped.*

Harry ran through the meadow, towards Hades' palace. On his way he saw a cute little pink house in front of which Salazar Slytherin and Lucius Malfoy were standing, surrounded by five of Hades' guards.

"What sort of treatment is this?" huffed Lucius Malfoy.

"You are going to go in there and have a bit of fun..." laughed one of the guards.

"Yeah, we have the house equipped with a huge movie screen. Non-stop movies for a whole week for you people..." nodded another guard with an evil smirk. "Hades said you'd love them!"

"Oh come on, you surely don't mean this!" whined Slytherin.

"But we do," sneered the guards and pushed the two villains towards the pink house's door.

"But..." Lucius shouted desperately, "but... Disney???"

"Your Majesty!" Harry stormed into the throne room, panting. He stopped in front of the throne to see Cedric standing there. "Oh, hi, Ced."

"Hello, Harry. I've heard you beat filthy Tartarus three times. Well done!"

"Oh, yeah," Harry was gasping for breath. "What... what's up with your parents?"

"They're feeling loads better. They'll have to remain in St Mungo's for another month or so, but they are going to heal totally."

"Glad to hear." Harry smiled. "Have you... have you delivered my message to Ginny?"

"I have." Cedric nodded. "But I'm not sure she believed me. She was in a state of shock, the poor thing."

"Then I have to hurry back to her and make her see I'm alive, eh?" said Harry, then turned to Hades. "I've... I've changed my mind, Your Majesty. I do need a power...a very special one..."

"Fire away, young Potter."