With dinner over, Harry called Dobby. "We're going to have a ritual to remove the dark entity from my scar. We need four house-elves to take part in it. Would you like to be one?"
Dobby seemed almost offended at the mere thought that he wouldn't want to take part in something to help his master, but also elated that he was the first to be considered and that his opinion mattered. "Dobby would gladly help. It's an honour for Dobby to be chosen."
"Who else should I ask?" Harry wondered loudly.
"Kreacher should be asked. He adores master. And then, Twinkle and probably Winky," Dobby suggested.
"Is Winky well enough to take part in this?" Hermione asked.
Dobby nodded. "Winky is still weak in the muscles, but her magic is fully back."
"Alright, ask them first. If any of them can't come, ask some others. I want you to bring four house-elves, and have four more ready to come, just to be on the safe side," Harry instructed.
"Dobby will do," the little house-elf said and vanished.
By the time Bill had everything ready, Dobby had already returned with Kreacher, Winky, Twinkle and Sparky – the feisty cook. "All the others, except for mothers with small ones, wanted to come, but master said only four," Dobby apologized.
"That's alright, Dobby. I don't think we even have room for more," Harry told him. Indeed, the kitchen, that Bill selected due to it being built directly on the ground, was barely large enough to hold four people and four house-elves in the ritual circle that took most of the kitchen's floor space. The floor was also covered by multiple magical instruments, carefully positioned to aid in the ritual. A patch of floor was left free for Harry to lie on.
"Are you all ready?" Bill asked. They all nodded.
Harry noticed that Sparky was somewhat sad for not being able to participate. He then thought she could help differently. "Sparky, I want you to monitor us all. Aside from Bill and Fleur, nobody knows much about the ritual. If you see someone get exhausted, you can exchange places. Pay special attention to Winky, who's not fully recuperated, and to Kreacher, who is much older than the others." He would have liked Sparky to pay special attention to Hermione, but he knew that Hermione would resent the idea. He had to trust the house-elf to pay attention to its Mistress.
Bill first led Harry to his place on the floor, making sure not to disturb anything. "I'm sorry that I can't use any cushioning charms in this ritual, but I need to use some sticking charms to prevent you from moving inadvertently, once the ritual starts taking effect. Find a comfortable position and I'll stick you to it."
Harry did as requested. He then noticed Fleur coming with a fine paintbrush and a can that contained some kind of magical paint. She started painting on his forehead. Harry could only assume that she was drawing some runes since he couldn't see his forehead. What he could see quite well was Fleur's breasts, that her shirt could barely hide while bending so low. As much as he would have liked to fondle them only a few days earlier, he found them much less enticing than Hermione's.
By the time Fleur finished painting the runes, Bill had already positioned the other participants and instructed them. Fleur took her place and then Bill lighted the circle with a touch of his wand before moving to stand at Harry's head.
With his head stuck to the floor, Harry couldn't see much. The chant even lulled him to sleep, although he didn't fully fall asleep either. That changed after a while. He started feeling some pricking in his scar. The pain intensified quickly. After a while, he felt like a hundred needles were stuck deeply in his scar and were pushed farther in by huge hammers. Luckily, he couldn't scream. He wasn't sure if Bill had used a petrification spell or that was a part of the ritual. In a way, he felt thankful that Hermione would not hear him scream.
And then he felt like his scar was being cut open by a blunt knife. He thought he would pass out due to the pain, but then he heard a scream and saw some dark smoke coming out of his forehead. Bill stepped forward and led the black smoke into a small earth-ware flowerpot. The smoke seemed to try and go elsewhere, but Bill used his wand to direct it where he wanted. After a short while, the smoke seemed to be absorbed into the dry clay, embedding itself into the pot. Bill waved his wand, surrounding the pot with a translucent shield and floated it away.
A short while later, Harry could move again. Fleur released him from the sticking charm and offered to massage his back and his limbs if needed. Harry refused her offer politely, knowing that Hermione wouldn't like it.
Still lying on the floor, he looked around. Hermione was looking exhausted, as were Winky and Kreacher, yet all three seemed pleased. Dobby was also looking tired, but not as tired as the others, and so did Fleur. He saw Sparky standing aside, feeling redundant. "Sparky, I think we could all use some invigorating tea. Can you make some for us and for the house-elves?"
Sparky seemed to have been recharged, jumping to do as asked. Harry glanced at Fleur, noticing her approval. "Where's Bill?" he asked.
"He went out to the pottery oven. He's using Fiendfyre to destroy that object. He'll be back shortly."
Dobby helped Harry up and he sat down at Hermione's side, hugging her tightly. Dobby did the same with Winky. Harry thought there might be more than friendship there.
"I was so worried for you," Hermione whispered in his ear. "It took hours on end, and you just stayed there, not moving, barely breathing. I was afraid I would lose you."
Harry didn't say a word, knowing that she had to bring it all out before she could calm down.
"And then your scar seemed to inflate and change shape and colours, as if some invisible creatures were fighting within. It seemed an eternity before some blackness oozed out of your scar and turned into a kind of smoke that Bill captured. How is your scar now?"
Harry didn't even know. Hermione moved his bangs aside to check for herself. "It looks better now, as if it's healing. Your forehead is covered with paint and some blood and even some black powder. You should wash it all away."
Before Harry could respond or move, Sparky was already in front of him, sporting a damp cloth. She cleaned his forehead carefully, checked it again, and then clicked her fingers. Harry felt his skin tightening for a moment, the way it happens when a cut starts healing. A moment later, that tightness went away. Sparky smiled and popped back to the stove.
"It's gone!" Hermione said with some disbelief.
Harry touched his forehead. He could find no sign of his famous scar. His skin was clean of any blemish, as if he'd never had a scar there. He felt elated by that discovery.
Bill returned before the tea was served, looking just as tired as his wife. "It's gone," he said with finality in his tone. "Are there any more?"
Harry shrugged. "We don't think so. Well, his snake might be one, but it will be dealt with soon. We had the diary, the ring, the locket, the diadem and the cup, and now me. I don't think he could have more than seven. From what I heard, even that is almost too many."
Bill whistled. "Seven? Wow! No wonder he's totally crazy. Splitting one's soul so many times is bound to do that. How did you destroy them all?"
Harry tried to recall the facts. "The diary was destroyed when I pierced it with a basilisk's fang. That saved Ginny…"
"What are you talking about? How was Ginny even involved?" Bill's temper flared.
Harry sighed. "It looks like you were also kept in the dark, like me. I'll tell you later about this. Back to these items, though… Dumbledore found and destroyed the ring, not before he was tempted to put it on his finger and got cursed. We then found the locket, that Kreacher had tried to destroy before. We suspected two more items of the founders, and Kreacher found one in Bellatrix's vault in Gringotts. Dobby found the diadem at Hogwarts and brought it along with the sword that I had used to kill the basilisk…"
Bill couldn't stay quiet. "You killed a basilisk?!"
"Later, please... Anyway, it was embedded with basilisk venom, so we used it to destroy these three items, and you already know about me."
Sparky brought tea to all present. Harry noticed that the one served to the house-elves seemed to be much lighter in colour. The tea helped to calm them all but didn't seem to help much with the tiredness, Bill seemed to notice the same.
"I suggest we all retire for some sleep. We may need to sleep quite late, since it's already way after midnight. Fleur will show you to the guest room." Bill then turned to the house-elves. "Can you all share a single room? It has a large bed, but nothing else. You may also use the couch if you like."
Dobby answered for them all. "Master Bill need not worry. House-elfies can make their own places to sleep."
They all finished their teas. Sparky collected the cups and Fleur led the teens to the guest room. Hermione was barely able to undress before she collapsed in bed, followed a second later by Harry. They didn't even notice when Fleur closed the door. They didn't care either.
\/\/\/
It was almost midday when Harry stirred awake. Although he hadn't been aware of it, the ritual taxed his magic just as much as it did to the others, or maybe even more so. Hermione was already awake and was eager to catch up on what they'd missed the previous night. They felt lucky to have an attached bathroom there. It was really small, but still large enough for them to shower together. Harry didn't mind if Fleur and Bill knew about them having sex. After all, they were magically married. He just didn't like the idea of smelling of sex. Whatever he did with his wife didn't need to become public.
By the time they reached the kitchen, it was past lunchtime, yet Fleur and Bill looked like they woke up only minutes earlier. "Slept well?" Hermione asked.
"Like a log," said Bill.
"But unlike a log, he snored. And you?" Fleur responded.
"It was nice sleeping with no pains from the scar and no vision of what that madman does. I may miss the bits of information I got that way, though," Harry said.
"And I don't think he snored, or I would have known," Hermione added, making Fleur smile and Bill frown.
"Where are the house-elves?" Harry asked.
"They already left, after cleaning and tidying all over. They even made lunch for us," Fleur told them. "The house has not been so clean since we first moved in. May I borrow one of yours?"
Harry shrugged. "I'll ask them. I'm sure they won't have much to do until we finally settle in."
They ate with gusto, barely talking while eating. Once the meal was eaten, Fleur couldn't refrain from returning to what interested her the most. "So, you've not told me yet how you became a couple."
Hermione didn't mind telling. She only skipped telling about the disguises and the optician. Harry knew that she trusted the couple, but if they didn't know something, they couldn't tell it, nor could that information be forced out of them by Legilimency. He thought Hermione was right to keep that information to herself.
Once that was done, with Fleur smirking knowingly most of the time, it was Harry's turn to tell about the basilisk and Ginny's part in it. Bill was furious that Dumbledore had kept it secret and that he had forced his parents to keep it secret. He didn't think they would have not told him of their own accord otherwise.
Hermione urged Harry to also tell about their adventures in the first, third and later years. Evidently, most of the information had been kept secret. Bill could hardly believe that such dangers were deemed acceptable by Dumbledore. The man had probably lost his mind to age – that was the only plausible explanation. Anything else would have painted the Headmaster with very dark colours.
Finally, Harry told them about taking control of Grimmauld place and making it inaccessible. Bill thought that was a very logical action, one that Sirius should have done initially. It was also something to blame Dumbledore for. Sirius should not have been made to feel like a stranger in his own house, no matter what Molly wanted.
"Have you done anything about your Potter inheritance?" Bill asked.
"Well, you saw the house-elves. They recognize me as their master and they took me to see the Manor, but we're not going to stay there until we feel it's safe." This was a slight lie, but Harry didn't want to make that place a target.
"So, you intend to stay at hotels?" Fleur asked.
"Why not? We can afford it, and there are hundreds of hotels in London alone. Add other cities… You can see why I consider it safer. The only way they could find us is if somebody else knew and told them. If we tell nobody and only decide at the last moment, we shall be practically unplottable."
"But you will still look the same, won't you," asked Bill.
Harry shrugged. "Why should we? Even without magic we can look young or old, change our hair and skin, change our clothing… The possibilities are infinite. And looking for a couple wouldn't help them. Most people travel in couples, except for business."
Bill nodded understandingly. "You could even change your eyeglasses or use contacts instead, or you could find somebody to heal your eyes. Without your scar, very few would even recognize you with no disguise at all."
With that subject covered, Fleur went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Hermione joined her, although she doubted she could help. Her talents stopped short of the kitchen. The times she tried it with her Mum it turned into a practical disaster.
Bill had some advice to share. "While you can't currently reach Gringotts due to the Ministry, I suggest you assign a representative to care for your interests. Gringotts has an account manager to handle your account, but he won't bring any money to you nor exchange currencies. You need someone who can still move freely who is not associated with Gringotts, to not cause a conflict of interests."
Harry chuckled. "That precludes practically everyone I know and trust."
Bill chuckled as well. "Not quite. Fleur has resigned from Gringotts, unwilling to serve the Death Eater clients, so she can have no conflict of interests. Her father is now the head of the country's security forces in France, similar to the head of the DMLE here, but much more influential. Even the Dark Lord would hesitate to anger him by targeting his daughter."
Harry considered the implications. "Well… I suppose she could do, although I'm not sure what I need to ask her and how much should I pay her."
"You don't need to pay anything! We're fighting the same enemy and that's a part of the fight, even if not seen as such. I assume you'll need some money to live in the muggle world. You may also want to check your parents' will. It has never been opened, as far as I know. Then your annual report may give you some other hideouts if you need them. It was actually Fleur who thought about this. I'm quite sure she's talking about it with Hermione right now."
Indeed, this was also the main topic of discussion during dinner, although the Potters were not yet sure about what they could ask. They still signed an appointment letter before calling Dobby to take them back to the Manor.