The Assassin's Comeuppance: Chapter 18 (Patreon)

After their adventure in the British Department of Mysteries, Harry and Elena quickly left Level 9. Exiting the lift, they walked out into the atrium proper. Harry was surprised for a moment when he saw people still coming in, the floo and apparition points busy and no change in traffic. People were still congregated in the atrium, and with a start, he recalled that time had stopped when the ritual activated.

His eyes wandered to the side, and he saw, to his rage, the two assholes still standing near the floo.

Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini.

The two cunts had conspired to kill him, all in an attempt to push the bill back and keep the discriminatory laws in place so that they could continue to practice barbaric acts on people they considered of lower birth or social ranking. Tough luck, dipshits.

Harry grabbed Elena’s hand and pulled her to a stop. She looked at him with questioning eyes, and Harry gestured for her to look. She turned to the side and her eyes widened slightly before she gave him a nod.

Harry pulled her to the side and took out his Invisibility Cloak. Elena pulled it over her, and Harry nodded before he started to walk toward the apparition point. He saw the two cunts glaring at him out of the corner of his eyes, and smirked before he started to whistle a jaunty tune. He deliberately chose the apparition point which was nearest to where they stood, and coincidentally, he encountered someone perfect.

“Hey Penny!” Harry shouted.

The sandy-haired witch whirled around in surprise before her eyes widened slightly and she grinned.

“If it isn’t our favorite savior turned philanthropist,” she smiled, and Harry gave her a quick hug.

“How are you?” He grinned.

“I’m good. Going to be even better when that bill you’re proposing finally passes,” she grinned back, eyeing the fuming duo out of the corner of her eyes.

Harry grinned. She had caught on to what he was trying to do in an instant, and even added her own input. This couldn’t have gone any better even if he’d staged it.

“Oh it will pass soon. We have a gala coming up at Hogwarts soon, right before the session actually. You can rest assured that we’d whip up at least 85% of the votes in our favor. Everyone of note shall be attending. I am the one throwing it, after all,” Harry remarked, looking on in satisfaction when Malfoy looked as if he’d swallowed a lemon.

“Humble as always, aren’t you,” she snorted.

“Part of my charm, as you well know,” he grinned, and despite herself, she blushed. Penny had been one of those he had been with a few times. Although it was something well into the past, Harry still used to sometimes tease her about it. A sharp poke to his side made him wince, and he realized that Elena was standing right beside him. He grinned sheepishly, looking to the side for a moment before he turned back to look at Penny.

“Anyway, what are you doing so early in the ministry? I don’t recall seeing you here at this hour, ever,” Penny remarked, and Harry looked at Zabini out of the corner of his eye, who seemed to be looking elsewhere. He knew though, that the cunt was keeping one ear trained on whatever they were talking about.

“Oh, nothing much. Just came over to meet Luna for a bit. She’d called on me yesterday, so I thought why not drop by for a quick chat. Also had to drop some stuff up in my office,” he replied. Penny nodded.

“Alright. I’ll get going now, or else the boss will chew my head off once again,” Penny chuckled.

“Yeah, I gotta go as well. Met this fine lady a few nights ago in a club. Let’s see how it goes,” he grinned, glancing at Zabini who had now turned to look at him.

“You’re still going strong, huh?” Penny remarked.

“You know me,” Harry grinned, before leaning forward to whisper loud enough that the two imbeciles could hear, “this one seems different though. For one, she’s a few years older. And two, she’s Italian. I can already imagine what I’d do-“

“Aaand I’m out. I don’t need to hear you describe your lechery. Goodbye,” Penny wrinkled her nose and marched off, leaving a chuckling Harry in his wake.

Still laughing, he turned to where Zabini and Malfoy were standing and saw a grimace on the former’s face while the latter was glaring at him.

“What?” He asked them with a raised eyebrow. No reply.

“Move away, shitstains,” he grunted, purposefully giving them a look as if they were literal stains of shit beneath his boots. The two bristled, but Harry didn’t bother to stay for a response and walked over to the apparition point.

Making sure Elena had grabbed on him, he twisted on the spot and apparated away, leaving a pair of fuming wizards in his wake.

XXX

A soft crack of apparition sounded out near the steps to Gringotts, and Harry Potter materialized out of thin air. A few people turned to look at him, giving him small smiles. Harry smiled back before he started to walk toward Ollivander’s shop.

He held the door open, and Elena slipped inside before he closed the door behind him and turned to see Elena had taken the cloak off. She shoved the cloak back at him, and Harry pocketed it.

“I told you I don’t like to share,” she muttered, and Harry frowned.

“I’m sorry, Elena. Had to sell the image back there. You know you’re the only one for me now,” he reassured her and pulled her close. Elena sighed and nodded.

A soft clearing of the throat pulled their attention away, and they turned to look at Ollivander who nodded at Harry before looking curiously at Elena.

“Hello Mr. Ollivander, this is Elena. She wants to buy her first wand,” Harry started, and Ollivander frowned before looking at her.

“First wand?”

“That’s right,” Elena smiled, “I used a different focus until now, but unfortunately, it got destroyed recently. Harry said you are the best wandmaker in this country, and I thought about giving a wand a try,” she finished. Ollivander looked at her with slight excitement in his eyes.

“Ah yes, I can feel it. A work of alchemy and runes – a true work of art, your previous focus was. But…” he frowned, “it wasn’t attuned to you, was it?”

Elena remembered the ring as it caught fire and melted right before her eyes and grimaced.

“You could say so,” she remarked.

“Ah yes. Perfectly understandable given the circumstances. But fear not, my dear. You will certainly find a companion in here, that I can assure you of. No one has walked out empty handed since my great ancestor established this shop all those years ago, and you won’t be the first either.”

Elena exchanged a look with Harry and smiled.

“Now, could you tell me your wand arm please?” Ollivander asked.

“It’s my right arm,” she replied, and Ollivander nodded before waving his wand. Suddenly, an enchanted tape jumped off the counter and started measuring her arm, fingers, and surprisingly, the length of her neck as well. Elena looked on in bewilderment as Harry chuckled.

“Don’t worry. It’s the same for everyone. It even measured my waist when I first came in here,” Harry laughed, remembering how shocked he was when he’d first come to this shop.

Elena nodded with a weak chuckle as the tape slithered away and Ollivander snatched it up and waved his wand over it.

“Ah I see, yes… okay… hmm…” Ollivander muttered as various glyphs appeared on the tape, before getting up and walking off. They saw as he picked out a few boxes from different shelves before he walked over to the front and gently placed them on the counter.

He opened the first box and picked out the wand before offering it to Elena, who took it with shaking hands. Harry gave her shoulder a soft squeeze and she smiled at him before holding it in front of her.

“Birch, with Unicorn hair, ten-and-a-quarter inches, fairly springy. Give it a flick, my dear,” Ollivander rasped, and Elena looked at him before she nodded and did as he told her to. Immediately, a lamp exploded into pieces and Ollivander quickly snatched the wand out of a flabbergasted Elena’s hands.

“No. That won’t do. Not at all. Try this. Walnut, with Dragon heartstring, eleven inches, quite rigid,” he encouraged her, and Elena shakily nodded before she repeated the process.

The counter caught fire, and Harry quickly put it out before Elena quickly placed the wand on the table.

They went through all the boxes with similar results until only two more remained.

“Another tricky customer, like this one over here,” Ollivander smiled, nodding at Harry before he picked up the box and opened it.

“Holly, with thestral hair. Twelve inches, very rigid.”

Harry looked on in surprise as the wand was placed in front of her. It was a slightly dark-looking wand, on the longer side, and Harry took out his own Holly wand. The two looked very similar.

Ollivander looked at him and chuckled as Elena looked on, confused. Harry saw her shoot him a questioning look and mouthed ‘Later’ and she nodded before grabbing the wand.

Immediately, a shower of sparks shot out of the wand, and Elena’s face lit up into a huge smile.

“This is it,” she whispered and looked at Harry, who gazed at her with a soft smile. She watched, surprised, as he closed the distance between them and pulled her into a gentle kiss, before smiling at her.

“Looks like you’ve got your companion,” Ollivander remarked, looking at Elena, who smiled.

“Looks like it,” she whispered, looking at her wand before looking at Harry, who gave her a smile.

“Is there anything else you want?” The old wandmaker asked, and Harry nodded.

“A wand holster, Mr. Ollivander. The Demiguise one would do.”

Ollivander nodded before he reached under the counter and picked up a wand holster. Harry took it with a nod and attached it to Elena’s arm, where it promptly vanished.

“That would be 12 galleons,” Ollivander said with a smile, and Harry nodded. He put the galleons on the counter and Ollivander smiled. With a short bow of his head, he put his hand on Elena’s lower back and guided her out of the shop.

“What had you so surprised back there?” Elena asked as they started walking toward the apparition wing.

“Your wand is made of Holly, with a core of Thestral hair,” Harry began and Elena nodded.

“Well, my original wand is made of Holly, and my current wand has Thestral hair as its core,” he smiled. Elena’s eyes widened slightly before she grinned.

“We’re so compatible, aren’t we?” She joked, and Harry laughed before pulling her closer by the waist and dropping a kiss on top of her head.

“That we are,” he whispered before they apparated away.

XXX

They reappeared in the living room of the renovated #12 Grimmauld Place and Elena looked around. The house was decorated tastefully in a way that it resembled the residence of an upper-class individual, and Elena raised her eyebrows, impressed.

“This is a nice place,” she remarked, and Harry grinned.

“It’s your home,” Harry replied, looking down at her softly. Elena’s eyes widened slightly.

“Come,” Harry took her hand, and she followed behind him in silence. They walked up the flights of stairs until Harry stopped in front of a room at the end of the hallway. He tapped his wand against the doorknob, which glowed for a second before flashing. A click sounded and Harry pushed the door open as they entered.

Elena looked around and saw a massive wall decorated with an intricate tree that extended all over it.

“That’s the Black family tree,” Harry answered her unspoken question.

They walked forward and trailed their gazes over various names that adorned the tapestry. Most of the names were ignored and they reached where Harry’s name was displayed.

“You’re related to the Blacks?”

Harry nodded.

“My grandmother was the sister of Arcturus Black, as you can see over here.”

Elena followed the trail and saw Arcturus Black’s name and followed it down to where it got segregated into his children and grandchildren until she reached the name she was searching for and her breath caught in her chest.

Harry looked with a soft gaze at Sirius’ name.

“His mother had blown off a lot of names, for committing acts that were unforgiving in her eyes. I restored this tapestry to its original state after taking up the lordship of the Blacks,” Harry gazed at Sirius’ name.

“Why am I not here?” Elena asked with a frown, “Shouldn’t I be listed as his daughter?”

“That’s because your mother was not married to Sirius, but if I may,” Harry urged, moving closer and placing his wand on Sirius’ name.

“Proles e coniugio nata revela,” he whispered and saw as a new branch was carved on the tapestry. Taking Elena’s hand, he pulled her beside himself and nodded.

With a gasp, Elena saw a fragmented branch connecting her to Sirius. Her fingers trailed the way until they hovered over her name.

‘Elena Black’

“The branch is fragmented because your parents were not married, but that doesn’t negate the fact that you are a daughter of the Blacks.”

With a tightness in her throat, Elena nodded and burrowed her face into his chest, and Harry held her.

“I’d have loved to know him.”

Harry felt tears prickling his eyes and fought to keep them at bay.

“You’d have loved him. I know I do.”

Elena nodded, and Harry tightened his hold around her as she clutched the front of his shirt tightly.

They stood there for quite a while, simply reveling in each other’s presence until Harry’s stomach rumbled. Elena failed to hold back a giggle.

“What? I’ve not eaten anything since last night. And after all that has happened since then, I think I should be excused this much at least,” Harry complained, and Elena giggled.

“Let’s go then. I’m quite hungry too,” she smiled, and Harry took her hand as they walked out of the room. Harry shut the door behind him and it glowed slightly as they walked off.

A soft pop interrupted them as they were walking, and Harry turned around.

“Master Harry be back.”

“Hey Tinsel. Yeah, I’m done with work. Could you fix up some breakfast for us please?”

Tinsel smiled.

“Tinsel done with food, Master Harry. Master Teddy be waking up, so Tinsel be going to bring him down,” Harry nodded and Tinsel vanished with a pop.

“Who’s Teddy?” Elena asked, and Harry’s eyes widened slightly.

“Shit! I never told you about Teddy, did I?”

Elena shook her head and Harry sighed.

“Everything’s happened so fast that I’ve not even told you about some of the most important stuff,” Harry sighed as they reached the ground floor and walked into the kitchen. He passed the plates to Elena who put them on the table and grabbed the food Tinsel had cooked and brought it all over.

“Smells nice,” Elena remarked, and Harry grinned.

“Now, about Teddy,” he began, “he is my godson. His parents died in the war, and I’m raising him. He doesn’t know about it though, and thinks I’m his father. I haven’t felt like correcting him though. I think I’ll tell him when he’s old enough to understand.”

Elena’s eyes widened slightly.

“I hope that’s not going to be a problem going forward?”

“Oh no, Harry. I completely understand. After all, it would be quite hypocritical of me if I complained about it, wouldn’t it?” She smiled, and Harry relaxed before giving her a loving smile.

“You’re brilliant, you know that?” He said honestly, and Elena blushed before taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Daddy?”

Elena turned around at the voice, and her eyes widened slightly. Clad in a pair of unicorn pajamas was a little boy of roughly four, blinking at Harry before his eyes landed on her. He watched on in confusion, wondering who the new lady was, and Harry stood up before picking him up and bringing him over to the table. He placed him on a chair opposite him and took a seat on the other side.

“Is this the new mommy you told me about?”

Elena coughed abruptly and Harry’s eyes widened as he hastily passed her a glass of water. He watched as she took the glass and gulped it down, before looking at Teddy who was looking on with a cute frown on his face.

He remembered telling Teddy that someday, he will get her a new mommy after Fleur had left them. He had no idea Teddy had still been holding on to that promise.

He watched as Elena got her breathing under control and turned to look at him. She gave him an understanding look before she turned toward Teddy and smiled sweetly.

“Hello Teddy, I am Elena.”

Harry watched on in amazement as Elena started to talk with Teddy, who, while initially slightly subdued, quickly started to open up to her. His meal stayed forgotten as he saw her make his godson laugh before the little tyke changed the color of his hair and eyes to match that of Elena.

She whirled around to look at him in surprise, and Harry grinned.

“He’s a metamorph,” he nodded, and Elena looked at him in wonder.

“Well, aren’t you a special boy?” She smiled, and Teddy giggled when she mussed his hair up.

All the while, Harry simply sat there in pleased wonderment as he looked at Elena and Teddy interact. In no time, she had made herself so involved with him that Harry could only watch in fascination.

As Teddy went back to his breakfast, Elena turned around to look at him and saw that he was smiling that smile of his. She blushed when he leaned over and pecked her lips.

“I love you,” he whispered, looking into her eyes.

“I love you too,” she smiled, caressing his face before he leaned back. She returned to joking with Teddy who giggled at her antics as Harry smiled.

XXX

To be continued…