Riddle Manor, Little Hangleton, 1/1/1993, 12:11
Voldemort had just finished listening to Dawlish's report on the attack from the ministry's perspective. He was actually quite pleased with the outcome for the most part with the exception of the Cresswell home. It was obvious that the ministry had been tipped off to that attack, unfortunately, the only death eater that had prior knowledge of that attack was currently in a ministry holding cell.
The attacks on Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade had gone as he'd expected and truthfully he'd only chosen them to draw the ministry's forces out and make it more difficult for them to respond to the more important targets.
The two attacks in Surrey were executed flawlessly and he couldn't be happier with Travers' artistic touches.
The only raid that gave him pause was the one Rupert Cromwell was in charge of since this was the attack that the Reaper had appeared at after all.
Voldemort already had plans to speak with Rupert forthwith so he could get to the bottom of this mystery. If Rupert was involved with the Reaper as Voldemort suspected, the man would be begging for death very shortly.
Almost as if thinking about him had made him appear, Rupert entered the study looking very anxious and came to stand in front of the dark lord with his head bowed respectfully.
"Ah Rupert, I am so glad you could join me," Voldemort said in a pleasant tone as he studied the man before him.
"I live to serve you, my lord," Rupert said his voice quivering from nerves or excitement, Voldemort wasn't sure which.
"That is good to hear because I wish for you to explain to me how it is that the Reaper knew your team was going to be at the hospital last night," Voldemort said all signs of cheerfulness absent from his voice now.
"Sirius Black ca-called for him, my lord," Rupert stammered out looking terrified.
"Legilimens!" Voldemort hissed and forced his presence into Rupert's undefended mind.
Voldemort was both pleased and a little disappointed to learn that Rupert was being truthful. Voldemort saw it through his servant's eyes as Sirius Black sent off a patronus that summoned the Reaper and his partner to the battle. He watched on as the Reaper battled with the vampires while his partner held off the death eaters under Rupert's command. It actually worried him at how easily the Reaper dealt with the vampires before he joined Black and the woman to dispatch his death eaters. After watching Rupert activate his emergency portkey, Voldemort pulled out of Rupert's mind leaving the man gasping for breath on the floor.
The Reaper would have to die and soon, there was no avoiding that fact any longer. Voldemort had hoped that the vampires would have evened the odds but Reaper obviously knew how to combat them.
"You did well given the circumstances, Rupert," Voldemort said after a moment's silence.
"Th-thank you, my lord," Rupert stammered out as he shakily climbed to his feet.
"But I am still very displeased that your team was killed so easily," Voldemort said taking satisfaction in how fast Rupert's face lost colour.
"Please my lord, It w-was not my fault," Rupert stuttered, his voice going up several octaves.
"Fear not, Rupert, I have a way for you to redeem yourself," Voldemort said in a comforting voice
"Anything, my lord," Rupert exclaimed.
"I want you to kill Narcissa Malfoy for me," Voldemort instructed an evil grin playing on his lips.
"My lord?" Rupert asked.
"You heard me Rupert, I want you to kill Narcissa Malfoy," Voldemort repeated.
"It will be very difficult but I am certain that I can do it," Rupert assured his master.
"I have no doubt that you can but I can assure you that you will not like the consequences should you fail," Voldemort warned.
"Of course m-my lord," Rupert stammered.
"Good, you have until the new year, now leave me," Voldemort instructed before he gestured toward the door.
Voldemort watched Rupert practically trip over himself to get out of the room and he couldn't help but wonder if the imbecile would actually accomplish the task he'd set him.
Somehow he doubted it but it should definitely provide a much-needed distraction for another plan he had in the works. Narcissa Malfoy was someone he'd suspected had been passing information to the Reaper so this would be taking care of two birds with one stone, provided Rupert could pull it off, of course.
In the meantime, he had things to prepare if he wished for his own plans to be ready when Rupert made his move.
Hogwarts, 11/7/1993, 11:43
Harry was feeling bloody miserable right now, the rain was unbearable and the wind was blowing him all over the place.
The match was not going well for Gryffindor. Heidi Macavoy and the Hufflepuff beaters were really giving the Gryffindor chasers some problems today.
Harry couldn't actually hear the commentary over the wind and rain but he could hear the gong that rang every time someone scored a goal. He could also guess the score based on where the majority of players were congregated when said gong was heard, and most of the goals scored were on the Gryffindor hoops.
Harry's counterpart was circling the pitch in the opposite direction as he was and they would pass each other every so often, both of them soaked to the bone from the icy rain falling in thick sheets.
Harry was pretty sure that Cedric Diggory wasn't very fond of him. This had only gotten worse after last week when the rumours started to spread that Harry had shared his bed with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott, at the same time. Harry had been trying to sort that issue out all week but that was very difficult when the Weasley twins were cheering and clapping him on the back anytime they were in the same room. Cedric hadn't confronted him yet but Harry could sense that the older teen didn't care for him very much.
Harry was pulled from his snitch-hunting when a bludger whizzed by his head so close he could feel the smooth metal surface of the ball brush against his cheek as it flew by.
"That one almost had your name on it, Potter," a voice called out over the rain.
Harry turned to see Cedric hovering beside him and giving him an unreadable expression.
"I noticed," Harry snorted a bit unnerved at the look Cedric was giving him.
"If one of us doesn't catch the snitch soon, we'll all die of hypothermia," Cedric commented as he scanned the pitch below.
"It would help if there was some lightning, the flashes would make it easier to spot," Harry said unsure about what this was about.
"You Gryffindor lot really like to live on the wild side," Cedric said.
"No guts, no glory," Harry shrugged as a particularly strong gust of wind blew pushing him a few feet to the right.
"So what's with you and my cousin?" Cedric asked as he looked the younger boy in the eye.
"We're dating," Harry said wondering if Cedric was really wanting to have this conversation here a hundred feet in the air in the middle of a raging storm.
"If you hurt her, I will bury you," Cedric said his grey eyes boring into Harry's.
"Is this really the place to do this?" Harry asked, feeling a bit unnerved at the look the older boy was giving him.
"It's the best place for us to get some privacy," Cedric shrugged.
"Right," Harry nodded.
"But while I've got you here, what's this I hear about you hosting a threesome?" Cedric asked seeming to be unconcerned about the storm picking up around them.
"We were using a communication mirror to get in touch with my godfather about the attack at Saint Mungo's," Harry sighed having heard this particular rumour for the past week.
"Good, oh look there's the snitch, if you'll excise me," Cedric said sounding almost cheerful, before he leaned forward on his broom and went into a steep dive.
Harry felt like kicking himself as he hurried to follow after Cedric, the rain whipping at any part of exposed flesh as he picked up speed. He was very grateful he had bought these goggles last weekend as they had been a big help today. Harry was slowly catching up to Cedric now but he still couldn't spot the snitch anywhere, Harry was starting to think this was a feint and was just about to back off when the snitch appeared in his line of sight for a split second before Cedric's body obstructed it from view again.
Harry leaned forward on his broom and tried to coax a bit more speed out of it. He was forced to veer left as one of the Hufflepull chasers flew into his path, Harry just barely avoided hitting her and swiped wildly as he passed by, knocking the quaffle out of her hands.
This change in course was fortuitous as it gave him a better line on the snitch but Cedric was still closer to it. Harry rolled right avoiding a bludger and flew toward the ground completely inverted for a few seconds before gradually reorienting himself so that he was flying normally again. Cedric seemed to have lost some of his momentum as they were almost beck and neck now with Cedric flying parallel to the ground a few feet below Harry. The snitch was just below Harry an just above Cedric. It looked like Cedric had overshot the snitch and was now stuck chasing after it just like Harry was.
Harry could see the snitch zigging back and forth splashing through the large droplets of rain falling from the sky. He was now within five feet of it and he could see Cedric out of the corner of his eye. They were on a collision course with the stands and Harry was preparing to pull up any second but he was determined to make this catch.
Harry tuned out everything but the snitch that was steadily getting closer to the stands, the wind and rain whipped his face but he ignored it and focused only on that tiny golden ball.
Harry was brought rather painfully back to reality when something hard slammed into his shoulder with enough force that it rolled him sideways, he heard a sickening 'crack' and felt pain radiate through the right side of his body. He had just started to try and right himself when something much larger slammed into his other side.
Harry was only holding onto the broom with his right hand and this second impact succeeded in unseating him from his broom, Harry had the sinking sensation of falling before he smacked into the pitch and slid across the grass before coming to an abrupt stop against one of the posts for the stands.
"...AND SOME RATHER UNDERHANDED BLUDGERWORK BY RICKETT CAUSES POTTER TO CRASH INTO DIGGORY! POTTER HITS THE PITCH HARD AND IT LOOKS LIKE DIGGORY IS STILL ON THE SNITCH, DIGGORY MOVES IN AND... UNFORTUNATELY, DIGGORY MAKES THE CATCH! HUFFLEPUFF WINS THREE HUNDRED AND TEN TO ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY!"
Harry heard the commentary and felt his heart sink as the Hufflepuff side of the stands began to cheer uproariously. Harry tried to sit up and pain like he'd never felt before shot through his shoulder taking the breath out of his lungs in its intensity. Harry was pretty sure he'd broken his collarbone at the very least though judging by the pain he was feeling, the injury was much worse than that.
"Don't move around Potter, I'll have you sorted out," Harry heard MadamPomfrey call to him as she made her way across the pitch holding a large umbrella.
Harry closed his eyes and tried to ignore the rain pouring down on him and the wet grass underneath him soaking through his robes as he waited on her to begin treating him.
Harry was caught off guard a bit when he started to float into the air and felt as if he were on an invisible stretcher.
"I would prefer to work on you somewhere a bit drier," Madam Pomfrey said at his questioning look.
"How bad is it?" Harry asked as she began hovering him toward the castle.
Harry was grateful that she was walking beside him and using her umbrella to keep the rain off his face. From where he was floating he could see most of the students making a dash for the castle but the players from both teams were making their way to the changing rooms.
"You've really done a number on your right side but it's nothing I can't set right," she assured him.
Harry stayed quiet for the rest of the trip to the hospital wing trying to wrap his head around the fact that he'd lost his first game.
An hour later Harry was just stepping out of the hospital bathroom having showered and changed into some clean pajamas. He would be staying here overnight to repair some torn ligaments and repair three broken bones in his arm and shoulder, much to his displeasure.
Harry was surprised to see Hannah waiting by the bed Madam Pomfrey had assigned him looking very anxious. Her eyes lit up when she saw him enter the room and she hurried over to meet him.
"Be gentle with me, I'm very delicate according to Madam Pomfrey," Harry said giving her a soft smile.
"You had me so worried," Hannah said as she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Whoever hit that bludger was trying to kill me," Harry said only half-jokingly.
"That was Tony Rickett, though I don't think he was trying to kill you," Hannah assured him as she guided Harry towards his bed.
"True, it was the collision with your cousin that did the most damage," Harry conceded.
"I saw. So how are you feeling?" Hannah asked sounding annoyed for some reason.
"I'm a bit loopy from all of the pain potions but otherwise I can't feel a thing," Harry admitted as he took a seat on the edge of his bed.
"At least you're not in any pain," Hannah said as she took a seat beside him.
"I feel better now that you're here," Harry said unsurprised to realize he meant it.
"Thanks, I got tasked with delivering some bad news," Hannah said giving him a nervous smile.
"I already know that Hufflepuff won the match," Harry said, giving her a look of amusement.
"It's not that but it's nice that you aren't upset with me," Hannah said, giving him a sideways glance.
"Why would I be upset with you?" Harry asked giving her a blank look.
"Quidditch can put a strain on inter-house relationships. Roger Davies dumped poor Heidi last year after we beat Ravenclaw," Hannah shrugged.
"You don't have to worry about that," Harry assured her before he took her hand in his.
"I wasn't worried," Hannah said, though Harry could hear the relief in her tone.
"Sure you weren't, so what's this bad news did you have to deliver?" Harry asked, his curiosity peaked.
"After you fell off your broom, your Nimbus was caught in the wind. It got blown into the whomping willow," Hannah said softly.
"The what?" Harry asked trying to remember what the whomping willow was.
"The whomping willow is that tree near the old gamekeeper's hut. It hits anything that goes near it," Hannah explained as the door to the hospital wing opened and Susan stepped inside followed a second later by Hermione.
Both girls looked to have just gotten cleaned up. Susan seemed like her normal self but Hermione looked very nervous about something.
"How are you feeling, Harry?" Hermione asked as soon as they made eye contact.
"Awful, Hannah just told me that my broom got destroyed by an angry tree," Harry scowled.
"We know," Susan admitted, giving him a sympathetic look.
"We were hoping you'd take the news better coming from Hannah," Hermione admitted.
"Thanks," Hannah muttered, shooting both girls an exasperated look.
"So how is Wood handling the loss?" Harry asked as he intertwined his fingers through Hannah's.
"As well as can be expected. The puffs won fair and square," Susan shrugged.
Before Harry could comment, the door to the hospital wing opened again and Cedric Diggory entered still dressed in his quidditch robes and tracking mud with every step he took. Cedric rolled his eyes when he saw that Harry and Hannah were currently seated side by side holding hands but he didn't say anything about it.
"Haven't you caused enough problems today, Cedric?" Hannah sighed when she spotted the boy approaching them.
"I just came to make sure Potter was alright after that wipeout," Cedric said, giving Harry a questioning look.
"I've been better," Harry shrugged.
"Just so you know, I didn't mean to crash into you like that," Cedric said looking apologetic.
"I figured as much. That bludger knocked me right into your path," Harry snorted.
"Well I'm still sorry about knocking you off of your broom," Cedric said looking a bit uncomfortable for some reason.
"Thanks but it's all part of the game," Harry shrugged.
"It's a violent barbaric game," Hermione muttered darkly, her voice carrying in the quiet room.
"It is but you really took a spill," Cedric said, giving Hermione a strange look.
"Well congratulations on the win but if I have my way, that cup will still be ours at the end of the year," Harry promised.
"Good luck with that, we're a snitch catch ahead of you now," Cedric smirked.
"That won't be a problem," Harry said with complete confidence.
"Unbelievable," Hermione whispered to Susan causing the redhead to nod her agreement.
"Well, I still have an afterparty to go to," Cedric said
"You may want to shower first," Hannah suggested.
"Yeah I planned on it but I wanted to make sure I hadn't killed your boyfriend," Cedric shot back before giving Harry a nod and leaving the infirmary.
"What a prat," Hannah snorted as Cedric stepped back into the hallway.
"You're missing your afterparty?" Harry asked as he glanced over at Hannah.
"It'll be going all night, I figured that I would stay with you until dinner," Hannah waved him off.
"Thanks," Harry said feeling a strong desire to kiss her for some reason.
"There is a party going on in the tower as well," Susan added.
"For a loss?" Harry asked as he saw Madam Pomfrey making her way over with a tray full of potions.
"The Weasley twins made a lot of arrangements for a party when they thought we'd win. They had the stuff already so they decided to throw the party anyway," Susan said as the matron joined them.
"Time for some more potions, Potter," Madam Pomfrey said as she set the tray on his bedside table and began consulting from her clipboard.
The next fifteen minutes involved Harry drinking down nasty-tasting potions while Madan Pomfret cast spells on his shoulder that made his right arm feel all tingly like it had fallen asleep.
"The potions are working and your ligaments are starting to heal," Madam Pomfrey said as Harry drank down the last vial of potion she handed him.
"Does that mean that I don't have to stay the night?" Harry asked daring to hope that he could get out of the hospital wing.
"I'm afraid that you will still have to remain here overnight," Madam Pomfrey said before making notes on the clipboard.
"Is it alright if we stay here a few hours?" Hannah asked hopefully.
"Yes but don't excite him too much, or I will ask you all to leave," Pomfrey warned before bustling back to her office with the tray of empty potion vials.
The rest of the evening passed fairly quickly and before Harry knew it, Madam Pomfrey shooed the girls off for dinner. Harry ate a light dinner of his own before taking another round of potions.
Harry strongly suspected that the last dose of potion was a sleeping draught because he had barely swallowed down a dose of purple liquid before his eyes became very heavy.
It was all he could do to climb under his covers before he fell into the most restful sleep he ever remembered having.
Carfax Abbey, Near London, 11/18/1993, 23:03
Tonks strolled up the drive leading up to the old manor and kept an eye out for her contact. She didn't have to wait long before a familiar figure exited the manor and began to approach the pink-haired cadet auror.
"Your uncle has certainly made waves in the last month," Merula said by way of greeting.
"What are you on about, Snyde?" Tonks asked rolling her eyes at the vampire.
"According to our sources in the village, Bethany nearly died from drinking his blood," Merula said and she was unable to disguise the curiosity in her voice.
"He was bitten?" Tonks exclaimed.
"Yes, and as I said, his blood nearly killed her," Merula said.
"Serves her right," Tonks shrugged.
"I would have to agree," Metula said.
"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Tonks asked, wanting to get off of the current topic.
"I have some information for you, of course," Merula said, giving Tonks a look of annoyance.
"Well spit it out already," Tonks huffed sounding impatient.
"Bethany's minions have been putting a lot of effort into creating more fighters in the past weeks, I can only imagine how large her numbers are by now," Merula answered.
"You wouldn't happen to know why?" Tonks asked.
"No, but I would assume that they are planning for a repeat of Halloween," Meula shrugged.
Tonks would have to agree though she would never tell her former schoolmate this. The signs were definitely pointing to another attack especially when she thought about the news Snape had delivered at the last order meeting.
"Lovely," Tonks muttered as she pulled a shrunken trunk from her pocket.
"Your side did very well the last time," Merula pointed out.
"To hell we did, thirty-three people were killed at the hospital because of those fucking vampires," Tonks scowled, anger creeping into her voice.
"That is why the dark lord brought them to Britain, to begin with," Merula pointed out looking unbothered by her reaction.
"Here is your blood but we need better information if you expect more," Tonks said as she reversed the shrinking charm on the trunk.
"Fear not, Nymphadora we still have a source or two inside the dark lord's headquarters, we will alert your people as soon as we hear something," Merula smirked.
"Good," Tonks muttered already eager to be parting company with Snyde.
"Until we meet again," Merula said before she bent down and picked up the trunk by the handles.
"Yeah take care, Snyde," Tonks said her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I plan on it," Merula assured her before sweeping off towards the manor without a backwards glance.
Tonks stood there for a moment before shaking her head in exasperation as she began retracing her steps back toward the street. She wasn't surprised to see the man in grey robes watching her, what did surprise her is that he seemed to be conversing with a tall blonde woman that Tonks easily recognized. Tonks debated on approaching them but decided against it and instead opted to return to headquarters and fill Mad-Eye on how the meeting went.
Harry had been watching over Tonks meeting with Merula when he saw a figure approaching him from the wooded area near the manor. Harry had kept his eye on his niece and waited as the figure got steadily closer.
"I was hoping you would be here tonight," Daciana said by way of greeting.
"Daciana, isn't it?" Harry asked remembering meeting her at the Carrow property.
"It is, I have waited a long time to properly meet you, Lord Peverell," Daciana said her blue eyes seeming to glitter in the moonlight.
"What makes you think that is who I am?" Harry asked trying to hide the surprise in his voice.
"Those robes are quite good at hiding your face but nothing can hide your scent from my kind. Meruls recognized your scent from her last meeting with Nymphadora," Daciana explained.
"I see," Harry said a bit surprised that Merula was so familiar with his scent that she could recognize it considering he hadn't taught her for over four years now.
"There is no reason to be alarmed, I mean you no ill-will," Daciana assured him as he watched his niece apparate away.
"So what is it you want from me?" Harry asked as he lowered his hood.
"I was most intrigued to learn of what happened between you and Bethany," Daciana said as her eyes roamed over his features.
"Bethany?" Harry asked, unfamiliar with the name.
"The vampire who bit you, she used to belong to my coven," Daciana explained.
"But now she works with Voldemort," Harry snorted.
"Actually at the moment she is quite ill, your blood seems to have poisoned her in some way," Daciana corrected.
"Can't say that I'm upset considering she was the one who bit me," Harry shrugged.
"And you haven't experienced any ill effects from the bite?" Daciana questioned sounding very curious.
"No," Harry said, having no wish to go into too much detail with a possible enemy.
Truthfully he had experienced a few strange side-effects the most notable being that he could see much better in darkness. Narcissa believed that he would lose this ability over time as the potion purged any remnants of the vampire virus from his body but for now, he had incredible night vision.
"It is very unusual, I have never heard of a wizard being immune to a bite from my kind," Daciana mused.
"I was quite surprised myself," Harry admitted.
"I must confess that I arranged this meeting tonight so I could speak with you," Daciana said her blue eyes boring into Harry's
"About what, exactly?" Harry asked in no mood to play games with a vampire.
"Helping you achieve your goals," Daciana replied.
"The problem with that is that I don't trust you," Harry said rather bluntly.
"That is very wise. Trust between a vampire and a human is not a very easy thing to reach," Daciana said looking pleased for some reason.
"I know how to gauge magical creatures, it is a requirement in my line of work. My experience with vampires is that they are opportunists and will turn on you when it is convenient for them," Harry continued.
"When you live for centuries upon centuries, you learn that words and agreements are meaningless. We see agreements more as guidelines than something set in stone," Daciana explained.
"Which is exactly why I am watching over my niece when she meets with Merula," Harry pointed out.
"She has nothing to fear from the coven, your presence at the first meeting we had with her has ensured that," Daciana said.
"Good, so what is it you are offering?" Harry asked.
"I can get you inside Lord Voldemort's headquarters," Daciana smirked.
"And how could you manage that?" Harry asked sceptically.
"All in due time, I want something in return," Daciana continued.
"Blood?" Harry asked warily.
"No, I want you to arrange my coven's safe passage to Mexico, an old friend of mine runs a bar near a town called El Rey," Daciana explained.
"Mexico?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I have a few contacts over there," Daciana answered.
"I am not well-liked in that part of the world," Harry admitted.
"Because of the basilisk?" Daciana questioned.
"Yes, they would love to throw me in a Peruvian prison if they got the chance," Harry agreed.
"The part of Mexico I wish to travel to is on the American border, from what I gather there is a heavy vampire community in the area," Daciana said.
"It is not impossible but it will be dangerous for me. I could probably get you across the Mexican border but I don't want to go too deep into Central America," Harry pointed out.
"My main concern is crossing the Rio Grande with my native soil, I can hardly do that as a bat. I don't have such problems moving over land, I can rent an automobile if I must but travelling in the daytime is still a problem for me," Daciana explained.
"I see, so you want me to charter you a cargo flight and then rent a truck and drive you across the border?" Harry asked.
"Essentially, I would prefer a red-eye flight, we travel better after sundown," Daciana added.
"I think I could work something out but it will take time," Harry mused.
"I can wait but don't take too long, he very well might change his secret keeper," Daciana warned.
"I know but this isn't something that I will rush into," Harry shrugged.
"When you reach a decision, you know where to find us," Daciana said before she leapt into the air and transformed into a bat before she glided back towards the manor.
Harry stood there for a moment still feeling taken aback at the events of the last few minutes.
Shaking his head, Harry prepared to return home for the evening. He would be lying if he said he wasn't very tempted by Daciana's offer. As he turned on the spot and apparated away, he was still going over the pros and cons in his mind but he already knew that if there was even a chance that this deal was above board, he would go for it.
Disappearing with a barely audible pop, Harry left nothing behind but footprints, just like every other time he'd visited the vampire's manor.
Peverell Manor, Leeds, 11/23/1993, 20:25
Harry smiled down at the babe sleeping in his crib and couldn't help but marvel at how much his youngest son had grown. Though Hardwin was still quite tiny, he had grown quite a bit in the past few months.
The last few weeks had been hectic and he had been forced to sit through two emergency Wizengamot meetings about the attack. There were talks of beefing up security at the hospital but short of stationing a squadron of aurors at the hospital, there wasn't anything that could have been done to prevent the attack.
The hospital was meant to be easily accessible to the public so making it more difficult to go there wasn't feasible. In the event of a medical emergency, everyone needed to be able to enter the hospital without hassle which unfortunately made the place vulnerable to an attack.
Other than that, things had begun to settle down somewhat. Voldemort had been unusually quiet for the past few weeks which Harry took to mean that he was planning something.
"You look deep in thought," Bella said from where she stood in the doorway.
"I was just noticing how big he's getting so big," Harry whispered as he stepped out of the nursery.
"They all are getting bigger," Bella sighed as she took his hand and led him down the hall toward their room.
"I know. Just think, this time next year and the twins will be at Hogwarts," Harry said a touch of sadness in his voice.
"At least you'll get to see them every day at school," Bellatrix pouted as she began to change into her night clothes.
"Yeah, when I'm having to oversee their detentions," Harry sniggered
"They had better not be getting detentions," Bella muttered.
"We both know that they will," Harry said as he pulled off his boots.
"I just got off of the floo with Cissa," Bella said.
"Oh?" Harry said as he tossed his outer robes in the hamper.
"She was making sure we would be at her Christmas ball," Bellatrix explained after pulling a nightgown over her head.
"We always are," Harry pointed out.
"I know but I was debating having a ball here this year," Bellatrix admitted.
"Oh," Harry said not really surprised Bella wanted to host a ball of her own.
"Narcissa suggested that we host a ball here on new year's Eve instead," Bellatrix said, giving him a questioning look.
"So we don't ruin her Christmas ball," Harry grinned.
"Probably but she offered to help me plan out the party," Bella shrugged.
"It's up to you. I figured you'd want to host your own parties eventually, that's why I wanted us to move into the manor," Harry pointed out.
"It's expected of a lady of my station to host the occasional function," Bellatrix said.
"I know," Harry said as the two of them climbed into bed.
"I'll think about it but if I do host a New Year's ball, it won't be as extravagant as one of Cissa's parties," Bella mused as she wrapped herself around Harry.
"So we won't be turning the ballroom into an ice palace, then?" Harry chuckled.
"No, though we will need to hire an orchestra," Bella said.
"You'll have to have Cissa help you with that," Harry said as he waved his wand to dim the lights.
"I will," Bella muttered sleepily.
Harry felt her start to snore into his chest but he stayed awake anit longer thinking about what having a ball at the manor would entail. There was a major problem to contend with, the wards would have to be lowered for the evening which he had reservations about given the current climate. He would look into setting up some temporary security for the evening but in order to let in a large group of people and not key them into the manor's wards he would have to take them down for a few hours.
Going over the logistics of security for the night was somehow calming for him as Harry eventually followedBellatrix into slumber, his mind still whirring with possible ways to protect the manor during the night of the ball.