Paid In Blood - Revised

Chapter 28: Epilogue

Daphne Greengrass sat down her quill, having finally finished writing her very last spell into the new family grimoire, the same one Harry had started in their fourth year. It had been three years since that fateful day, when their lives had changed for the better. As one would expect, the merging of their older and younger selves after the battles with Voldemort and Rhassel'Thoth had a profound impact on both of them. It had taken a fair amount of time and regular application of Occlumency to sort out all their combined memories, but things had worked out better than they could have ever imagined.

Little by little, they had grown into the power and personalities of their older selves. They had retained their youthful personas, as Death had promised, but otherwise their combined souls didn't seem to particularly favour the essence of either timeline's version. Instead, both of them had become something altogether different, unique individuals who had inherited the best qualities from both versions of Harry and Daphne.

Daphne had long since left her Ice Queen mask behind. She could still be cold and stoic when needed, but more often than not, she could be found smiling and laughing among her peers. She had greatly enjoyed working in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey, even if she had to pretend to be less knowledgeable than she actually was. She had worked hard over the years and had gained the respect and confidence of the matron, who had begun to see her as an unofficial apprentice, and even a peer of sorts.

Harry's adjustment was slightly more complicated, which wasn't surprising considering how different his two former halves were from one another. Even with the older Harry's memories, he was a bundle of nerves his first day back with the snakes, the day after the events of the third task. Fortunately, everything the older Harry had done that year meant that his reputation was already fully entrenched, and his position in the house was never questioned.

His friends had noticed something was a little off about him those first few days, but they had chalked it up to his recovering from a traumatic experience. In the end, he had successfully navigated those last weeks with Daphne's support, and after having the summer to get used to everything, he was the confident boy people were used to seeing by the start of their fifth year.

Unsurprisingly, Harry was granted a place in the Slytherin Triumvirate. His lordship of House Slytherin was obviously a deciding factor, though his accomplishments the previous year would have likely seen him invited anyways. With his influence, the house would gradually move away from the pureblood dogma that had prevailed for decades, in favour of an ideology that focused on the good of all magical beings and preserving their way of life.

As was expected of him, he joined the Quidditch team as Seeker and was also named captain. Under his leadership, Slytherin ended up winning the Quidditch Cup all three years Harry was on the team. He had proven particularly adept at crafting unique strategies for their opponents and making in-game tactical decisions. When Daphne told him how impressed she was by his planning, Harry admitted that some of his schemes were adapted from his older self's war-time memories.

The Harry Potter who would leave Hogwarts after his seventh year had all the loyalty, selflessness, and moral sensibilities of the young boy he had been, but with the cold logic, intensity, and magical prowess of the Harry who had travelled back in time. The boy had grown to become a great man, and there was no doubt he would become greater still.

Daphne smiled at her thoughts as she took a final look at what she had written, and then she waved her wand over the page to dry the ink. Satisfied with her work, she closed the tome and ran her fingers over the black leather cover with the embossed Potter-Slytherin crest.

"Dobby!" Daphne called, and the elf popped to her side, ready to serve as always.

"Mistress?"

"Where is Harry?"