Family ties
Chapter 19:
The next week or so was an exercise of self-control for Harry. The very strenuous hold he had on his temper was at constant risk of becoming completely undone.
The main source of his rage was Snape.
Before, he had thought that he could forgive Snape for all he had done eventually. After learning a bit of Snape's past, especially his childhood trauma, Harry felt like he could actually sympathise with the man. Merlin, he had actually found many similarities between him and Snape.
But now, after learning of Snape's worse and more importantly, unforgivable crime, after learning that he had been the one to give Voldemort the reason for attacking his parents, for attacking him...
Again, his opinion had changed concerning the potion's master. Harry now saw past the bias of sympathy, and realised that no amount of past trauma, no amount of past abuse, could excuse Snape for what he had done.
His newfound sympathy had blinded him to the fact that Snape had chosen to join the Death Eaters. Yes, peer pressure may have contributed to it, but it was still Snape's decision. He chose his path. He chose to serve Voldemort, he chose to inform Voldemort of the prophecy.
It did not matter how sorry he felt afterwards. It did not matter if he became a double agent. It did not even matter that Snape had saved him multiple times. Nothing the man could do would ever redeem him in Harry's eyes.
Now, whenever Harry saw Snape, he had to resist the urge to do something he would later regret, such as stabbing him, punching him, or even choking him again. Even if Snape barely interacted with Harry now, even during lessons, simply being in close proximity to the man was like putting a lit match extremely close to the keg of powder that was his temper.
Thankfully, he had Hermione and Ron to help calm him down. Whenever they saw him tense, Hermione would grab his hand and squeeze it tightly, while Ron would try to distract him with stories, either about quidditch or the misadventures of his many older brothers.
Harry was grateful for their help. He did not know what he would do without them.
The other source of his constantly boiling rage was the giant herd of sheeple otherwise known as the student body of Hogwarts.
No matter what Harry said or did, he could not convince them that he did not put his name in the goblet of fire. He tried reasoning with them, trying to explain logically that he was innocent. But of course, wizards and logic did not go together.
Thankfully, there were a small few who actually listened to him and believed that he did not enter his name. Ginny, and the twins after some convincing from Ron, believed his innocence. He was thankful for this, as he thought of the Weasleys as part of his family, and he really did not like conflict between the people he cared about.
Another person who believed him was Neville.
Ever since the disastrous first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, Harry had made time to listen to Neville say all the things he was afraid to say. Harry even shared some of his past, and he could sense a friendship growing, though it went quite slowly due to Neville's anxiety and self esteem issues.
Harry knew that he was far from a qualified therapist, but he was a good listener, and he hoped he could do what he could to help Neville come out of his shell and become more confident in himself. After all, Harry had once been like him; a socially awkward loner who was afraid of interacting with others and not being accepted.
Harry was pleased when Neville told him that he never believed Harry put his name in the goblet. When Harry had asked about it, Neville had said that, from what he had observed over the years, Harry did not seem like the kind of person who would willingly throw themselves into danger for selfish reasons like eternal glory and a thousand galleons.
All in all, even if most of the school had turned on him at the first chance they got, there was a small handful of students who believed him, for which he was thankful. It was proof that not the entire school was a herd of sheeple; something he desperately needed these days. He only wished more people believed him.
Murtagh and Harry both agreed they should increase the intensity of the younger Rider's training. Not only that, but they would also take trips every couple days to the nearby mountains so he and Colaen could practice flying together in private.
Harry was happy with the changes, despite the training being harder.
What he was not too happy with was Murtagh finally insisting upon Harry wearing something to block his mind. Harry had been determined to learn how to protect his mind as well as his father did. He still felt disappointed that he could not accomplish something that came so easily to his father. Murtagh had not pushed the issue, as he did not wish to take away Harry's freedom of choice concerning this matter.
But now that they knew someone was determined to harm Harry, and was most likely in the school itself, Murtagh put his foot down and insisted that Harry wear something that was enchanted to protect his mind. There was of course a bit of an argument, but Harry eventually relented. They ended up casting the enchantment upon the necklace that Brinla and Hurzomna had given him for his birthday. Harry was still disappointed in himself, for not being able to protect his mind independently, but he understood that this had to be done.
His alliance with Cedric was already producing benefits. After a quick discussion, they decided to help each other with training. Cedric would train Harry in some more advanced magic that they believed would be useful, and Harry would help Cedric in physical training.
It was actually Cedric's idea that Harry help him improve his physical health. Apparently, the older wizard had seen Harry doing his morning routine a few times, whenever the Hufflepuff had been awake to do some early morning homework.
Cedric had been curious to see if his physical health would have any impact on his magical prowess, and Harry had decided why not?
So Harry invited Cedric to join him during his morning runs around the lake.
Over the past couple of months, Harry had increased his number of laps from five to ten. However, he figured that Cedric would not be as used to running as he was, so he eased up and only ran until the older teen felt he could not run anymore.
To Cedric's credit, he was in better shape than Harry suspected. He was able to run almost three laps before collapsing to the ground, panting heavily.
"Hey, woah!" Harry said as he skidded to a stop and fell to his knees at Cedric's side. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." Cedric panted harshly, a sheepish grin on his face. "Guess I overworked myself."
Harry shook his head and got up. He quickly ran to where they had left their robes and pulled a bottle of water from one of his pockets before running back and handing it to Cedric.
"Thanks." Cedric said, taking a large swig.
Harry shook his head again.
"You shouldn't overwork yourself." He said. "You could seriously hurt yourself. I would have hoped you knew this from quidditch practice."
Cedric nodded, grinning.
"Yeah, I do." He said. "It's just when I'm trying new things, I like seeing what my limits are. I can't help it if I'm a hard worker."
Harry rolled his eyes as he took back the water bottle.
"Typical Hufflepuff.“ He muttered.
Harry began to lead Cedric through some cool-down stretches.
"Hey, you don't look as exhausted as I do." Cedric observed.
Harry shrugged.
"Yeah well, I've been practicing for a lot longer." He replied. "I'm sure, with a bit more training, you'll be beating my record in no time."
Cedric frowned.
"You don't have to cut back on your exercises for my sake." He said.
Harry only shook his head.
"It's only fair." He replied. "I don't like showing off."
"I wouldn't think it's showing off." Cedric replied. "As you said, you've been doing this for a lot longer..."
Harry only frowned. "It would still feel like showing off to me, and anyway, we're supposed to be working together. So it's only fair."
After a few seconds, Cedric smiled and nodded.
"Thanks." He said.
Harry smiled.
"Yeah, don't mention it."
About a week after Harry was entered into the tournament, the reinforcements from the academy arrived. It was thankfully in the afternoon, and on a Saturday. So Harry was already in the clearing with his father, Thorn and Colaen when Eragon, Saphira, Hurzomna (on his dragon Volmea), and Brinla, (on her dragon Arnamuith), flew over the Forbidden Forest. The four on the ground helped maneuver the six in the air to the clearing. Thankfully, Murtagh and Thorn had anticipated that they would need a bigger clearing, due to the increase of dragons. So they had taken down a few trees and increased the perimeter of their campsite.
Eragon and Saphira were the first to land and let their camouflage fall. As soon as the Rider's feet hit the ground, he walked towards where Harry and Murtagh were standing. andHe wrapped his nephew in an embrace. and The younger Rider could tell just how worried his Uncle had been.
"Hey, don't worry." He said, patting the man on the back. "I'm fine."
Eragon pulled back and shook his head in frustrated amusement.
"Yes, you are fine, if you consider being put into a dangerous tournament against your will as fine."
Harry shrugged.
"I did say trouble had a habit of finding me."
Eragon shook his head again and turned to Murtagh.
"How are you feeling Murtagh?"
His father shrugged.
"I am still unhappy with the situation, but there is nothing we can do except ensure Harry is properly prepared."
The conversation was cut off when something, or rather someone, slammed into Harry, almost knocking him over.
Brinla, having landed and dropped her camouflage, had pounced upon Harry and wrapped him in a very tight embrace.
"Harry." She said.
"Yeah, hi." He said, attempting to catch his breath. "Do you mind...?"
Brinla loosened her hold on him, but only slightly.
"I thought I told you to stay out of danger." She reprimanded.
"And I thought I said I could only promise that until Halloween." Harry retorted. "As I said, danger loves me."
Brinla only sighed and shook her head.
"Honestly, you are worse than my sisters..."
Harry then heard a chuckle from a few metres away. He looked past Brinla's shoulder to see Hurzomna, his lips turned slightly upward in an amused smile.
Harry decided he wanted to knock that amused smile right off of his elven friend's face, so he sent a quick mental message to Colaen.
Hurzomna was too busy watching Brinla scolding Harry like an overbearing mother. So he was surprised when a dragon's tail literally swept him off his feet. He ended up crashing into Brinla and Harry. The three young riders all landed on the ground in a great tangle of limbs.
"Ouch..."
"Hey, get your elbow out of..."
"Get your foot off my..."
Both Murtagh and Eragon chuckled at their antics.
"Children, please." Murtagh said, a rare smile of amusement on his face.
Eventually, the three young riders managed to untangle themselves from each other.
"Well, if you are done playing around," Murtagh began. "I have set up another magical tent, as there is not enough room for the four of us in the one I have been using. Shall we discuss the sleeping arrangements?"
It was quickly decided that Eragon would move into the tent that Murtagh had been using, while Brinla and Hurzomna would use the new tent. Thankfully, there was a curtain, so the younger riders could have some privacy when they had to change clothes.
When that was settled, Harry looked around finally noticing three absences.
"Hey, where're Sirius, Remus and Buckbeak?" He asked.
Eragon cleared his throat.
"They did not think it would be wise to come here, as Dumbledore is still presumably trying to track them down. If not to find out where you are, then to find out where you were during the summer."
Harry nodded in understanding.
"Sirius did mention something about a secret hideout that Dumbledore could not find." He remarked.
Murtagh nodded.
"Perhaps we could go see them tomorrow, give them some time to settle in."
Harry nodded in understanding.
"Okay."
Harry also remembered that Sirius had mentioned he would rather never return to wherever his secret hideout was, but that he was willing to go back there if it meant he could protect Harry. Harry felt a bit guilty for Sirius returning to somewhere he would rather not, purely so he could protect him easier. However, Harry also knew Remus was with Sirius, and that the werewolf would help comfort his friend.
That night, after everyone else had gone to sleep, Murtagh led Eragon to London and into the Wizarding hospital St. Mungo's. When they reached their destination, Eragon frowned down at the two patients in the bed.
"You say they were tortured into madness?" He asked his older brother.
Murtagh nodded grimly.
"They were very good friends of Lily." He said somberly. "They were both attacked just after the fall of Voldemort... They both have a son around the same age as Harry, and the poor boy has very little self-confidence."
A small smile of pride flickered over his face.
"Harry has been trying to help him sort through his issues and build his confidence, however."
Murtagh sighed.
"For the past couple of months, I have come here every other night to attempt to heal their minds, though it has been a long and arduous process."
Eragon nodded.
"Well, how may I help?"
Murtagh's gaze once again flicked to the Longbottoms, still in their sleep.
"I have a feeling it will still be a while before they are completely healed." He began. "I was hoping that, with your assistance, we could quicken the process."
Eragon nodded.
"Of course." He replied.
His eyes flicked to his brother.
"This is a truly good thing you are doing Murtagh." He said.
Murtagh nodded sadly.
"I failed them." He said regretfully.
Eragon grasped his hand.
"You did not fail them." His brother said reassuringly.
Murtagh only shook his head.
"I could have prevented this, but I didn't."
He sighed.
"No matter. I cannot change my past mistakes. However, I at least intend to bring them back to sanity at the very least. These two, and their son, all deserve better than this. They deserve to be together."
Eragon nodded in understanding.
"And I shall help you in achieving this." He said. "No child deserves to live their entire life without their parents, nor do parents deserve to be separated from their children."
Murtagh nodded in agreement. They both knew what it was like, to grow up without their biological parents. However, Eragon was at least lucky in that he had still been raised by a loving family, while Murtagh had had a very lonely upbringing.
But they would ensure the Longbottoms were healed. Murtagh was thankful that Eragon had agreed to help him. The sooner Alice and Frank were healed, the sooner young Neville would be reunited with the parents who had been so close and yet so far for his entire life.
The next day, Harry and Murtagh snuck away from Hogwarts with Thorn and Colaen’s help. They had to rest occasionally, as Colaen was still getting used to having Harry on her back. However, they managed to reach the location that Sirius had told them to meet him.
They now stood in the middle of a cluster of rundown looking houses.
"Okay, where are they?" Harry muttered.
Murtagh looked around. He then noticed something strange.
"Look." He said, gesturing towards two houses.
First, there was the house labelled number ten. Then, came number eleven. However, the next house was number thirteen.
"Errr, okay." Harry said. After a second, an idea popped into his mind. "Maybe number twelve is the secret hideout, and it's hidden by magic."
Murtagh nodded.
"I thought so." He said.
Before they could speak any further, they noticed a figure appearing out of seemingly nowhere.
"Remus!" Harry said, running up to the werewolf.
Remus, smiling, wrapped Harry in an embrace.
"It is good to see you too." He said.
He turned to Murtagh.
"Both of you." He added.
"Where's Sirius?“ Harry asked.
"Still inside." Remus replied. "We thought it wouldn't be a good idea for his face to be seen in public, because... You know."
Both Harry and Murtagh nodded in understanding.
Remus began to lead the two Riders to an area between houses eleven and thirteen. When they were only a few metres away, a house suddenly appeared, pushing the other two houses beside it out of the way.
"The wards recognise that you have been invited by an occupant of the house." Remus explained. "So it has appeared to you."
Father and son nodded.
They reached the front door. Before Remus opened the door, he cleared his throat.
"Something you must understand." He began. "Sirius's family, the blacks, were a very old and proud pure blood family. So you should expect some... Remnants from their time. Sirius and I have begun cleaning up but..."
Remus shook his head.
"Just please, be sure to be very quiet when walking through the front hall."
Harry and Murtagh nodded. Remus opened the door very quietly and began to walk down the hall as silently as possible. The two Riders followed suit. Harry had much experience of being quiet, so he did not find it too hard to walk down the hall.
Remus led them into an underground kitchen, where Sirius sat waiting for them. As soon as he saw Harry, the man got up and pounced on him, much as Brinla had done.
"Bloody hell Harry." He said. "You are a magnet for trouble."
"Yeah, thanks." Harry muttered. "Are you okay."
Sirius pulled away and sat down. The other three also took seats at the long table.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Sirius said, though Harry could hear the gloom in his tone.
"Was this your family home?" Harry asked hesitantly.
Sirius nodded.
"Yeah." He muttered. "Ran away when I was sixteen. My parents were big supporters of Voldemort, and I couldn't take the constant arguing anymore."
He sighed.
"My only regret was that I didn't take my brother Regulus with me. Ended up joining Voldemort and dying a year or two later."
Harry frowned.
"I'm sorry." He said softly.
Sirius shook his head.
"It's fine." He muttered, though Harry doubted he was being completely truthful. "Sorry for all the mess, my darling hag of a mother died about a decade ago, and Kreacher has been the only one here."
"Who's kreacher?" Harry asked.
Sirius snorted.
"A very old and troublesome house-elf."
"Wait, what?" Harry asked. "Your family had house-elves?"
Sirius nodded.
"Yeah. Don't worry, we took down all the house-elf heads that were mounted on the wall, but I still wouldn't bring Hurzomna around, considering Kreacher..."
Murtagh then cleared his throat.
"Sorry to interrupt." He began. "However, we may have a situation."
"What?" All three wizards asked in unison.
Murtagh drew the stone that he had enchanted to track down Voldemort's soul shards out of his pocket.
"This has been extremely warm ever since we entered the house." Murtagh explain.
"What?" Harry said in surprise. "But... But that would mean there is a piece of Voldemort's soul in this building."
Sirius swore.
"How the bloody hell did a piece of that snake-faced bastard get into my house?"
All four stood. Murtagh, using the stone, led the way to the hidden soul container.
They were eventually led to a drawing-room. Murtagh opened the old cabinet. After looking at the many miscellaneous objects that radiated various levels of dark energy, he finally drew out a locket.
"Look." The older rider said. "There is an S on this."
"Slytherin." Harry said, his eyes wide.
Sirius swore.
"How did... I can't believe... Wait... Kreacher!"
There was a sudden crack. Then, in the middle of the room, there was a very old and filthy house-elf.
"Filthy blood-traitor master has summoned Kreacher." The house-elf, Kreacher, said in a very old croaking voice.
Sirius grabbed the locket from Murtagh and practically shoved it into Kreacher's face.
"Care to explain how this got here?" The man snarled.
Kreacher's eyes were wide. He was trembling violently.
"Master Regulus's locket." He muttered.
"What!" Sirius practically screamed. "Regulus...? What the blood hell does my brother have to do with..."
"Sirius, calm down." Harry said.
He knelt before the obviously distraught house-elf.
"Kreacher, please." He said soothingly. "Can you please explain how exactly this locket came to be here, and what it has to do with Sirius's brother."
So the house-elf began his tale. He spoke of how Voldemort had requested that Regulus loan Kreacher to him for an unknown purpose. He described the cave, and the potion Voldemort had forced him to drink. He spoke of how Regulus's summons had saved him from being eaten by undead rising from the water.
He then described how Regulus had discovered what Voldemort had used Kreacher for, and of the younger Black brother's change of heart. He spoke of how he and Regulus had returned to the cave and of how the young wizard had ordered Kreacher to feed him the potion. At this point, Kreacher was in tears.
"And then... Then Master Regulus told Kreacher to... To leave him there and... And to destroy the locket." Kreacher continued. "Kreacher did not want to leave Master Regulus but... But Master Regulus had ordered Kreacher so... Kreacher had no choice."
He continued to sob violently, and Harry did his best to console him.
"Kreacher has tried everything." The house-elf wailed in grief. "But he has not been able to fulfill Master Regulus's last wish."
He finished his story, and the room was completely silent, save for the continued weeping of the house-elf.
Harry looked up from the floor, where he was still comforting Kreacher, to see that Sirius was clutching the locket very tightly in his hand. His grey eyes were a raging storm.
"Sirius..." Harry began hesitantly.
Remus made to put a comforting hand on Sirius's shoulder, but Sirius pushed him away.
"I'm fine." He snapped.
Harry frowned. He had not heard the man this angry since he had confronted Wormtail in the shrieking Shack.
"Are you sure?" Remus asked in concern.
"Yes." Sirius snarled. "Or rather, I will be fine when this thing is destroyed."
He then began to walk towards the door.
"There is a dueling ring in the cellar." He said, his voice still tense. "I am sure the wards around it will contain any magical backlash."
The other three followed the obviously furious wizard.
Once they reached the door to the cellar, Sirius turned to Murtagh.
"You will do... Whatever it is you do when you separate the soul shard from its container?"
Murtagh nodded.
"Good." Sirius replied. "I want to be the one to destroy it."
Murtagh, Remus and Harry exchanged a look.
"Sirius, are you sure?" Remus asked.
Sirius only nodded.
"I need to do this Moony." He said in a shaky voice. "For... For Regulus..."
Both Murtagh and Sirius stood in the middle of the dueling ring. Harry and Remus stood to the side, in case they needed backup. Murtagh held the locket, while Sirius held ZarRoc in a vicelike grip.
Murtagh eyed the wizard warily. He was not exactly comfortable, allowing the furious wizard to hold such a dangerous weapon. However, Sirius had requested that he destroy the soul shard, and Murtagh simply could not refuse.
He could somewhat understand Sirius's anger. After all, the man was clearly furious over learning the truth of his brother's death. He most likely saw destroying the soul shard that had cost his brother his life as a form of revenge. Murtagh understood this. If anything happened to Eragon, Murtagh knew that he would go to the ends of the earth and beyond to avenge his brother.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
Sirius glared at the locket.
"Let's do this." He growled.
Murtagh began the process of separating the soul shard from the locket. After a few minutes, a dark mass began to appear, just as it had for all the others. Sirius adjusted his grip on ZarRoc, ready to strike. However, unlike the other shards, this dark mass began to take shape.
It coalesced into the image of...
"James?" Sirius gasped.
The image of James Potter glared at Sirius.
"Why Sirius?" The image said. "Why did you have to be such a coward?"
"James, I..." Sirius began, his previous anger being replaced with distress.
"You told us to change the secret keeper at the last minute, because you were afraid." James spat. "Then Peter betrayed us and now Lily and I are dead."
"No, no, I..." Sirius said frantically.
"Sirius, snap out of it." Remus shouted. "That's not James, it's just the soul shard messing with your mind!"
Sirius shook his head.
"Nice try, you snake faced bastard." He spat. "You'll have to try better than that if you..."
Suddenly, the image changed. Where James Potter had once stood, there was now a young man of around seventeen or eighteen years of age, who looked similar to Sirius.
"Sirius?" The image said.
"Re... Regulus?" Sirius breathed in surprise.
"Why Sirius?" The image of Regulus Black said in a sorrowful tone. "Why did you leave me?"
"Regulus, I'm sorry." Sirius said. "I tried to save you but..."
"But you were a coward." The image spat. "You ran away, and I was fooled into joining The Dark Lord by our parents. And then I died, I you weren't there to help me. Did you even care that I was dead?"
"Of course I..." Sirius began, tears welling in his eyes.
"Sirius!" Remus yelled desperately. "It's not Regulus! It's just the soul shard trying to manipulate you!"
Sirius's face twisted into absolute rage. He lifted ZarRoc and charged, screaming a furious battle cry, towards the image of his dead brother. The shard had only enough time to widen its crimson red eyes, before Sirius stabbed the blade into its chest. The dark mass exploded outward, and the force of it knocked Murtagh and Sirius against opposite walls. ZarRoc had been blown out of Sirius's hand and had slid across the floor, but that did not matter.
Murtagh got shakily to his feet, to see that Harry and Remus had rushed over to where Sirius still sat against the wall.
"Sirius?" Remus asked.
"Are you okay?" Harry continued, his voice full of concern.
Sirius did not reply. He had drawn his knees up, and when Murtagh reached them, he could see that the man was crying.
Remus wrapped his arms around his friend and began to rub his back comfortingly.
"Shhh." The werewolf hushed as Sirius wept into his shoulder. "It's alright. You did it. You destroyed the soul shard."
Sirius continued to sob into Remus' shoulder. Harry and Murtagh knelt beside the two wizards, also comforting the distraught man.
"I... I am fine." Sirius muttered into Remus' shoulder. "It's just... All these years... I thought that... That Regulus died for that... That... And to learn that he... He died fighting Voldemort... That he died like a hero..."
"Shhh." Remus hushed again. "It will be alright Sirius. You have done it. You have finished what Regulus started."
Sirius nodded.
"I know." He said weakly.
Shakily, Sirius pulled away from Remus and got to his feet.
"I... I just need some time... To process all of this." He said shakily.
Murtagh and Harry nodded in understanding.
Sirius left the room. Remus turned to the two Riders.
"You should go back to Hogwarts." He said quietly. "Before Harry's absence is noticed."
They both nodded.
"Will Sirius be okay?" Harry asked in concern.
Remus sighed.
"Don't worry, I will be here to help him through his grief, and to make sure he does not drink himself to death."
Murtagh nodded.
"Sirius is fortunate to have a friend like you."
Remus smiled sadly.
"I know. And I am fortunate to have a friend like him as well. Now, you two better be off."
As they were flying back to Hogwarts, Harry voiced his concerns to his father.
[Do you really think we should have left Sirius in the state he was in?]
Murtagh sighed.
[I understand your concern. But do not worry about Sirius, I am sure Remus will be able to help him through this emotional time.]
Harry nodded.
[I know, but he seemed pretty upset.]
[I can understand his grief.]
Murtagh replied.
[If anything happened to Eragon, I do not know what I would do.]
Harry sighed.
[I can kind of understand too.]
He said.
[I mean, I don't exactly have a brother, even if I’ve always wanted one. But Ron's kind of like my brother. He's always been there for me, even when I had the brilliant idea of following the spiders into the Forbidden Forest, despite the fact he is terrified of spiders. I don't know what I would do without him.]
He sighed again.
[Still, it would be nice to have a brother. I mean, I know that family and blood aren't the same, but still... It would be nice, to experience something like that.]
He then turned to where he thought his Father was flying.
[Why are you looking at me?]
Murtagh asked.
[Well... you are kind of the only one who can give me a biological brother.]
Harry argued.
Murtagh chuckled.
[Slow down there.]
He said.
[I am a little busy keeping you out of danger to even pursue a relationship, let alone conceive another child. One is enough at the moment.]
Harry pouted. Then, he sighed.
[Will you ever do it?]
[I beg your pardon?]
[Pursue another relationship?]
Murtagh was silent.
[Father?]
Murtagh sighed.
[I do not know.]
He admitted.
[Part of me still grieves for your mother.]
[Mum wouldn't want you to mourn her forever.]
Harry pointed out.
[She would want you to be happy. I want you to be happy.]
Murtagh sighed again.
[Let's just focus on getting you through this death tournament. Then we can discuss our love lives.]
Harry sighed, but agreed.
[But hey, let's look on the bright side.]
He said.
[Not including the shard in my scar, there is only one more.]
[Yes,]
Murtagh agreed.
[Soon, we shall permanently destroy Voldemort.]