The Eagle and The Snake: A Tragic Love Story

103. The End

Luna and Carly were forced to fight dirty during the battle of Hogwarts.
They did not enjoy killing, but they knew it was necessary.
Murdering their classmates was not something they ever thought that they would have to do. But they knew that if they wanted to win the war, they would need to fight with all their strength, to the best of their ability.
In the end, Luna ended up killing Neville, Fred, and Lavender, and Carly killed Ginny, Colin, and Cho. Putting an end to Dumbledore's Army, once and for all.
And even though Harry managed to come back from the dead, in the Forbbiden Forest. The next time he faced Voldemort, in the great hall, he was killed for good. Putting an end to the war, forever.

Very few members of the Order of the Phoenix survived the war.
Some political prisoners were placed in Azkaban, and the pure-bloods who surrendered, were allowed to keep their freedom, if they swore allegiance to Voldemort.
But not many chose that path, as they preferred to go out fighting, rather than live as prisoners or cowards.
Ron and Hermione had managed to escape, but they were the only two who ended up on the run after the war.

Pius Thicknesse had died in the battle, so Voldemort decided to declare himself as Minister for Magic, to make his dominance of the Wizarding World, even more obvious.
He ended up becoming one of those terrifying leaders, that barely anyone ever saw. For he preferred leaving his death eaters in charge of the day to day running of the magical world in Britain.

Many new policies came into effect with Voldemort in charge, but since the girls were both death eaters, and decorated war heroes, these new rules didn't really effect them that much.
But in their last year of Hogwarts, Voldemort changed the house system, making everyone a Slytherin. Which meant that Luna and Carly got to share a room, making their final year of school very enjoyable.
And since so many students had died during the war, fitting everyone into Slytherin house was fairly easy.

Both girls passed all of their NEWTs with Outstandings, and Carly had even been made Head girl in their last year.
With their perfect grades, they could go into any career they liked.
But they both chose to join the Magical Law Enforcement department, as they wanted to work for the Ministry, helping to enforce the laws that they had worked so hard to create.
And as time went on, they began to forget what the world had once been like, when they were children.

"Good day at work?" Luna asked Carly one evening in December, as her wife stepped out of the fireplace, and began patting floo powder off of herself.
"It was fine. Busy as usual, especially in the run up to Christmas. How are my two favourite people?" Questioned Carly.
Luna looked over at the girl sitting on the floor playing gobstones, and smiled, "We've both had a great day".
Carly smiled and bent down to kiss her daughter's head, before sitting down on the sofa next to Luna.

After the war, Voldemort had implemented a new law where all Muggle-borns were taken from their families the moment their names were written down in the Book of Admittance. These children were then placed into a special orphanage run by wizards, who taught them about magic.
They were then shipped off to Hogwarts at 11, to receive their education.
The Muggle-born kids could be adopted by any wizarding family who wanted them, but the children would forever be known as inferior to their pure-blood counterparts.

Luna and Carly had adopted a 7 year old girl, a few years after working at the Ministry.
Luna decided to quit her job to care for their daughter, until she was old enough go to Hogwarts, and then Luna would return to work.
And if they adopted another child, or found a way to have one naturally using dark magic, Carly would be the one to temporarily give up work. Since they both wanted to allow the other to be the primary parent, while the other worked.

"Anything interesting happen while I was at work?" Quizzed Carly.
"Not really. An owl arrived for the two of us, inviting us to the Malfoy's annual New Years Eve ball" answered Luna.
"I don't see why they bother sending us a formal invitation, when we are family, and we also go to the ball every year" sighed Carly.
"I expect it's just a formality. They send out invitations to all the pure-blood families, so why not us as well".

"I suppose. And it's not like they have to hand write each one. They simply use magic to copy the letter a hundred times, and then just send them all off via owl" said Carly.
"I wonder if Draco will keep up the tradition of throwing a grand ball, when Lucius and Narcissa die" replied Luna.
"I doubt it. We both know that Draco is not a fan of these kind of events. He only attends them because he's forced to. And with Astoria's health being so fragile, after giving birth to Scorpius, he would prefer for her not to leave the house, especially to attend such a frivolous event" admitted Carly.

"To the Malfoy's, the event is not frivolous, but a necessity. After the war, parties like that, were the only thing that rebuilt their reputation to how it had once been. They have to keep showing off their wealth and luxury, so that people continue to admire them" reminded Luna.
"I guess that's true" sighed Carly.
"Do you think we should take Regina with us, to the party?" Asked Luna, as she glanced over at their daughter.
"I don't know. It would be her first time at a Malfoy New Year's Eve ball. And she is legally our daughter, so she should come with us. But everyone there will know that she is a Mudblood, and I don't want them to call her nasty names".

"She is going to have to hear those names eventually. When she goes to Hogwarts, her time there will not be great, as all Mudbloods are kept in a separate dormitory to the pure-bloods, and aren't treated very well by the staff or the other students. She will have to learn how to stick up for herself soon" insisted Luna.
"Soon maybe, but not yet. She is only 7, and I would like to preserve her innocence for a bit longer" replied Carly.
"She already knows she's different than us pure-bloods, because she was in that terrible orphanage for nearly a year" reminded Luna.
"I know, but I still don't want to expose her to the real harshness of the world, just yet".

"If we can't bring her with us, then we will have to get a baby sitter, since our attendance at the ball is expected" said Luna.
"I know Draco would watch her, if he weren't also being forced to attend the ball" replied Carly.
"Who do we know that we trust enough to watch our daughter, and not treat her badly?" Questioned Luna.
"I'm not sure. All of our friends have pretty strong beliefs when it comes to Mudbloods".

"What about Andromeda?" Suggested Luna.
Carly frowned, "Why would you mention her? You know she hates us. After her and little Teddy were forced to change their last names to Black, after the war, Andy's hatred of me grew even more. Especially as I chose to change my last name to Black, removing the Potter part completely. These days, she would rather withstand the Cruciatus Curse than help me".
"She allows us to see Teddy through" pointed out Luna.
"She has no choice in the matter. It is court ordered that Teddy spends one weekend with us every month, so that he picks up on our pure-blood beliefs, and not hers. If we hadn't been so young when Nym and Remus died, we would have been forced to take full custody of Teddy. Which Andy knows, and is another reason why she hates us".

"Well, Andromeda might be our only option, since everyone else we know will be at the ball" admitted Luna.
"Wait a minute, we are forgetting the most obvious person in the world" announced Carly.
Luna frowned, "Who?".
"Your dad" answered Carly.
"Oh, of course. Daddy loves Regina, so I know he won't mind watching her while we're out. I'll send him an owl later to ask if that is alright"
"Sounds like we've got a plan then".

"Yep, we certainly do... Are you going to buy a fancy new dress for the ball?" Asked Luna.
"I guess so. Narcissa would have a fit if she saw me at the ball wearing a dress I have already worn before. I have also heard a rumour that the dark lord himself might be attending the ball" admitted Carly.
"Really? But no one ever sees him anymore, since he is so reclusive... Well, I suppose if you have to get a new outfit, then I have to as well. Especially if the dark lord really is coming" sighed Luna.
"Pansy's Pure-blood Delights, is not my favourite place in the world, particularly as it is run by Pansy Parkinson. Whom I have always despised. But the shop does sell some very nice dresses. So, I guess we'll have to head there later this week"
"Yes, we will".

"I'm going to go and get out of my work clothes now" announced Carly, as she got up off the sofa.
"Dinner will be ready soon. Kreacher wanted it to be ready shortly after you got home" informed Luna.
"It's a good thing that house-elf is a better cook than either of us. Even if he is sometimes bitter that we made him live here at the Potter Manor, instead of in 12 Grimmauld Place" replied Carly.
"We always return a few times a year to check on the place though,  since we own it as well"
"Yeah, I know... Anyway, got to go. I'll be back down in a sec"
"Alright, love you"
"Love you too".

The End...