Soul Bond

Zozo had a bad day. Her boyfriend dumped her and her mother was nagging her that it was time to settle down and produce the long awaited grandchildren. How could she produce grandchildren without a man in her life? She wasn’t all that disappointed about her git of a boyfriend ditching her. He sucked in bed, and not literally either. It was time to move on with her life. She loved her job in the Malfoy-Potter household. There were a few more babies than she bargained for, but the guys really were good at helping out and not just abandoning the kids to the nursery all the time. In fact, it rather surprised her how involved Harry and Draco were with their children.

She still wondered about Lilly, the missing oldest daughter. The subject was taboo and she never brought it up. She could see the pain that the missing girl caused the entire family and she wasn’t about to start asking questions and loose her position. She would never find a job that paid as well elsewhere. Nannies were notoriously underpaid. She pulled her key from her pocket and walked in the front door of the manor. She was early, but didn’t expect anyone to be home. The guys had made it clear that she could have the night off and they would be taking the children on a family outing.

She softly shut the door and started walking towards the kitchen when she heard screaming and shouting from Draco’s study. She wondered if she should ignore it, but then realized it was a female voice. When you lived in a home full of males, it was a strange thing to hear several female voices, but young and old ones. She changed her course and walked into the study in time to see a beautiful little girl, who could only be Draco’s daughter, and Siri, race into the fireplace. She gasped when she heard Molly shout that she would go after them.

“Hermione?” Zozo asked in wonder.

“Zozo! Oh thank gods you’re here! I need to go after Lilly and Siri. You stay here an watch the babies!” she said rushing towards the fireplace.

“Wait! What’s going on?”

“I don’t have time to explain!” Hermione said impatiently. “Draco is at St. Mungo’s, and Arthur, Harry, and Severus are in danger!”

“Your husband will kill you if you go after them and put yourself and his baby in danger,” she warned. She knew how protective Mr. Longbottom was with his wife and how much he was looking forward to the birth of his heir.

Hermione stopped for a moment and turned. “Then I suggest that you don’t tell him!” she said. “Is that clear?” she demanded.

Zozo was stunned. Never had Hermione ever talked that way before. “It’s your life,” she said. “It would just be a shame to loose your baby by doing something rash,” she continued.

“I think that I know what is best for myself and my baby!” Hermione hissed. She grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. “Lestrange Manor!” she said. Turning one last time to glare at the nanny, she stepped into the green flames.


“Great!” Zozo muttered to herself. “Piss off the company, why don’t you? Can this day get any worse?”

Just then Flunky popped into the room. “Miss Zozo, the babies are crying and they all have dirty nappies,” he said with a disgusted look on his face.

She looked from the elf to the fireplace and wondered what the chances were of making a run for it.

Harry and Snape apparated to the edge of the driveway, close to where he had been earlier that day with Draco and Arthur. “The wards are down, lets go,” Harry said.

They both quickly ran towards the back door of the house, and when they got within about thirty feet of the door they were both slammed backwards, landing in the dirt on their backside.

“I take it you do not know the difference between an active ward and a non-active ward, you idiot?” Severus hissed gingerly standing and rubbing his aching backside.

“It was down earlier!” Harry growled. He too stood, and rubbed his arse.

“Obviously Lestrange has activated it. Lucky for us, unless he has changed the password, I know it.” Severus pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at the ward. “Riddle Lord,” he shouted.

Harry snorted. “How original,” he said.

“The Lestranges are not know for their mind’s,” Severus said.

“Apparently. How did you know that password?”

“I am aware of all the passwords of Voldemort’s inner circle members. One never knows when we will have to seek an immediate hiding place.”

The two men stealthily made their way again towards the door. Harry pointed to the broken step and both men cautiously stepped over it. “Where would he hide a child?” Harry asked.

“Probably in one of the guest rooms upstairs,” Severus stated. “Follow me, and for Merlin’s sake, don’t make any noise,” he hissed.

Harry nodded and followed the snarky man quietly across the room. They made it down the long corridor to the room where Draco was injured and came to a stop.

“Dolohov!” Severus hissed, looking into the dead eyes of his former acquaintance. “How I loathed this man!” Severus said stepping right on top of him and walking towards the stairway.

Harry raised and eyebrow but said nothing. He stepped over the dead body and followed Severus up the wide stairs. He paused for a moment, thinking that he heard a voice, and then shook his head and continued on. A moment later he paused again. “Did you hear that?” he hissed.

Severus brought his hand up to his lips and motioned for Harry to be silent. They stood there for a moment longer until they heard footsteps running above them. “How many people are here?” he asked.

Harry shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Just then Harry heard Lilly scream, “Daddy! Daddy! Where are you?”

Severus and Harry reacted as one. They both sprinted up the stairway seeking out the screaming child. “Lilly!” Harry shouted.

“Dad!” Sirius yelled when he saw his father. The two children threw themselves into Harry’s arms about the same time as Molly and Arabella ran out of a room at the end of the hallway.

“What the hell is going on here?” Severus demanded.

“Sirius! Molly! Arabella?” Harry said. “What are you all doing here?” At that moment Hermione chose to come rushing out of the door. From the other end of the hall, they watched in horror as a door opened. Harry grabbed his two children and shielded his body in front of them, pointing his wand at the newcomer.

“Arthur!” Molly shrieked and raced down the hall towards her startled husband.

“Molly! No! Get back!” he yelled. “Lestrange is right behind me!” he said slamming the door shut and running.

Molly paused for a moment and then turned and ran towards the others who were all running back towards the bedroom where the fireplace was. “Hurry!” Arabella shouted. “The ghosts know we’re here!”

Harry picked up a child in each arm and raced down the hall to where Hermione was motioning him. He couldn’t understand why all them were there, and he briefly wondered who was watching the babies, but let the thought go as quickly as it came while he raced for his life. He had no idea how many people were in the house and he wouldn’t risk the lives of his family.

“You brought that disgusting half breed killer into my home!” Bellatrix shouted at Lilly.

“He’s not disgusting!” she shouted back.

“Why did you return, you devils spawn?” she yelled. Do I need to sick the Lestrange ancestors on you again?”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Arabella shouted, standing up before the ghost with her full height.

“A squib?” she cackled. “A squib thinks that she can stand up to me and all of the Lestrange ancestors?” she laughed manically.

“I am no squib, you vile witch!” Arabella shouted, stepping in front of Harry and blocking Bellatrix’s view of Lilly.

“Arabella! NO!” Lilly screamed.

“Harry! Take Lilly and run! She won’t survive another attack!” Arabella shouted.

Bellatrix howled with laughter at that. “One less half-breed to dispose of!” she screamed. “Get her!” she shouted sweeping her hands through the air and motioning to her sister’s granddaughter.

“No!” Arabella screamed. “You will have to go through me first!” she said rising her hands up in the air and enlarging her entire body in a red stream of light.

Several ghosts stopped their pursuit and others tried to make their way through the red light surrounding the medium. The light acted as an electrical shock to the ghosts and they bounced off and disappeared, howling in pain. The others cautiously watched, waiting to see what would happen.

“You idiots!” Bellatrix screamed, “Get her!” She and the remaining ghosts rushed at Arabella, only to bounce back in pain and disappear.

“No!” they all heard Bellatrix scream before she disappeared, gone forever.

“Arabella!” Lilly screamed again, watching as her mentor collapsed to the ground. “Daddy! Let me go!” she sobbed.

Harry turned and looked at the older woman who lied on the floor, the red glow slowly abating. Her eyes were dimming as she reached out to Lilly. He quickly ran back to her and let Lilly go. She rushed to the floor and threw herself on Arabella’s still chest.

“Lilly,” Harry said pulling his daughter back. He could see that the kindly old woman was gone.

“No! Arabella! I’m not ready! You can’t die!” she screamed, pulling herself away from her father and back onto the prone body of her dearest friend.

A second later a red light flowed from Arabella’s body and circled the room above them, only to seconds later come back down again and enter Lilly. Lilly gasped and shook, and then went still.

“Lilly!” Harry shouted pulling at her, only to be repelled back. “Lilly!” he shouted, trying again.

Siri stared for a moment and then said, “The power shifts as one Medium dies another receives her gift. As one Medium leaves this plain, another rises in full glory.”

Seconds later the red light pulled Lilly from the ground, floating her body up, outstretching her hands and feet as if to receive a gift from the gods. She swirled in the air for a few more moments and then she was gently lowered to the ground next to the body of Arabella, who was slowly disappearing.

“It is complete,” Siri said.


A/N:
Ok, what did you think? That chapter just wrote itself...I wasn't even going to write anymore today, but it just had to come out...please review and let me know what you think...