Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice 1. Chapter 1

Pride and Prejudice has always been my favourite story but it was Harry Potter that induced me into writing my own stories. It was only natural that I attempt a story with both the elements.

I am not a native English speaker and so did not even make an attempt at recreating the regency style language and expressions. I tried to keep the manner of address and the beliefs and customs of that period intact. If I failed miserably, I apologize. That said, this is just a story and I do not mean any harm by twisting the two original stories to my liking. I do not make any profit from this piece of fiction except for the accolades I may receive.

I cannot guarantee that I would reply to each and every review, but I certainly take great pleasure in reading them. I thank you in advance for taking your time to read this.

Declaration: I do not own Harry Potter world or the storyline of Pride and Prejudice. I do not make any profit through this story and is only for reading pleasure.

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**Chapter 1**

_**A red-gold glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above them as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearest window. The light hit both of their faces at the same time, so that Voldemort's was suddenly a flaming blur.**_

_**Harry heard the high voice shriek as he too yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco's wand:**_

"_**Avada Kedavra!"**_

"_**Expelliarmus!"**_

_**The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead center of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Harry saw Voldemort's green jet meet his own spell, saw the Elder Wand fly high, dark against the sunrise, spinning across the enchanted ceiling like the head of Nagini, spinning through the air toward the master it would not kill, who had come to take full possession of it at last.**_

_**And Harry, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed, the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upward. Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken, the white hands empty, the snakelike face vacant and unknowing.**_

_**Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry stood with two wands in his hand, staring down at his enemy's shell.**_

_**One shivering second of silence**_… {Thanks to J.K. Rowling for these words. Taken from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}

_**Part I**_

… and then they all could hear the most insane laughter they ever heard in their lives. The laughter was coming from within the body of the dark lord which was lying motionless on the stone floor. A black mist started to gently seep out of the fallen body and began to coalesce into a shape, a wraith that began floating out of the body of Lord Voldemort. It was this wraith that was laughing at the assembled fighters of the light side.

"Potter!" Lord Voldemort's shade gloated. "I went furthest in terms of achieving immortality. I am the greatest of all wizards of all times, I am Lord Voldemort and I will come back again. Stronger and turn this land into rubble."

Before anyone could react or even worse scream out in terror, Hermione Granger reacted. Pointing her wand at the wraith, she intoned, "'_rhwymo eich ysbryd_'!"

The incantation was old Welsh magic which literally meant 'bind your spirit'. This was used as a means to control unruly or unaccommodating members of a house by the head of the house. It was meant to bind someone's spirit and made them obedient. In a normal human being, the 'spirit' or 'will' is bound. The spell was outlawed due to the increased misuse of the charm in binding people and enslave them; it was found by those who regularly used the spell, that a witch or wizard with enough magical power and will power could bind those of lesser power even if they were not of their own house.

The wraith from of Lord Voldemort was nothing more than an embodiment of the minimal magic of the soul of a wizard and the remaining soul piece. It was in existence due to the will of Tom Riddle and it was this 'spirit' that was targeted by Hermione's spell.

Harry immediately understood what Hermione was doing. During the time that Ron abandoned them, Harry and Hermione broached the subject of what would happen in exactly such a scenario they were facing now. What would happen if Dumbledore's calculations were wrong? What would happen if Lord Voldemort had a horcrux that was impossible to find?

The only answer they had was what was happening now. Tom Riddle's wraith struggled against the spell that was forcing his will to submit to a mudblood. It cannot be, and though he did not really have a magical core, he looked to be winning the war of wills.

Harry took just that few moments to react to what was happening. He learnt the spell along with Hermione and practised hard to be able to cast it. It was just that he needed a little longer to recall the spell and the wand movements. It was after all not in his native language or in his adopted language Latin. With the Elder wand in his hand, Harry shot the same spell at the struggling wraith of Lord Voldemort.

This time, the result was instantaneous. During the Ministry of Magic debacle at the end of his fifth year, Harry was able to push out a magically powerful Lord Voldemort out of his mind and foiled his attempt to possess him. Harry came out top in that battle of wills and this time was no different, moreover, Harry was aided by the 'wand of destiny'.

Lord Voldemort's wraith ceased its struggle and was suspended, docile. This allowed Hermione to cancel her own spell and gave her time to rummage in her ever present beaded bag.

"Harry, force him into this," Hermione exclaimed holding out a vial. It was not Aladdin's magic lamp, just a small glass vial that Hermione conjured to hold Snape's memories during his dying moments, but it would serve their purpose.

With a mental command and a flick of his wand, Harry directed the wraith into the conjured vial. It was a tight fit and so Hermione was forced to enlarge it a bit but the deed was done. Hermione replaced the stopper and with a snap of her own wand, conjured a black bag.

Harry understood what his best friend was doing. He cast the strongest '_imperturbable charm_' he could manage on the bag with the Elder wand hoping that the charm would take care of outside magical influences and also prevent the dark lord from escaping. The vial containing the wraith of the cruellest wizard of recent years went into the black bag and that went into the same beaded bag and would stay there until they could get it under a plethora of wards.

The terror that permeated the defenders of Hogwarts castle at the appearance of Lord Voldemort's wraith was replaced by cautious optimism after Harry and Hermione's actions. Everyone understood that the threat of the dark lord was removed at least for the time being and hopefully the 'Boy-Who-Lived' would be able to take care of the threat.

Harry looked around the assembled witches and wizards and could see the still lingering doubts in their minds. He could not deny that the threat was still there and even though they got a reprieve, hopefully for a very long time, Harry did not feel like celebrating. He looked at Hermione and he could sense the same thoughts running through her mind.

This was not how he imagined the end of their struggle to be. He imagined people celebrating and wild parties on the lawns of Hogwarts and in every home. What he was faced with was sorrow for many lost lives, dismay that their efforts were not enough, and a little hope that they may yet live without the threat of Lord Voldemort at least for a good number of years. Over and above all of this, Harry could see a weariness that seeped into the bones of all of his friends.

Harry turned to Hermione and gave her a tired smile, "Hey, I hope that I can keep counting on your help to unravel this mystery."

"Of course Harry," there was no hesitation in her reply. "I promised that I will be there for you and I will be there to see him dead."

Ron was incredulous, "You cannot mean that Hermione. It may take many years."

"I am aware of that Ronald," she hissed at him. "I don't care."

"What do you mean you don't care? We cannot put our lives on hold for Merlin knows how long," he retorted.

"We?" Hermione was beginning to get angry. "You can carry on with your life as you want Ronald. No need for you to put it on hold."

"How can you say that?" All signs pointed to an impending Weasley explosion, "I was waiting for the war to finish to get together with you." He breathed in deeply to calm himself but could not leave without having the last word, "… you kissed me."

Hermione was angry now. "It was supposed to be a little peck. On your cheek. But no… you grabbed me and kissed me." She realized that they were making a scene and struggled to calm down. Harry's hand on her shoulder of course sped the process a lot.

"Even in the tent, I chose Harry, Ron and even now I choose Harry," she proclaimed with a finality that was not lost on anyone, least of all their redheaded friend.

Ron could only gape at her before throwing a betrayed look at Harry and Hermione before storming off.

"Harry?" Ginny asked tremulously.

"I know that you have gotten close to Neville, Gin." As his feelings changed during the hunt, the Marauder's map also showed him that Ginny was spending a lot of time with Neville. During the brief time he saw them together before the fight, Harry could sense the changed dynamics and he could honestly say that he was happy for his ex-girlfriend. He gathered Ginny into a loose hug, "I am happy for you."

Ginny pulled back and saw the truth in his words. She kissed Harry's cheek, relief evident on her face, "Thank you Harry."

With that she went to her boyfriend's side who gave a grateful smile before pulling Ginny into him.

"We would very much like your help Professor," Hermione called out to McGonagall. The interim head of the school was moving towards the commotion caused by Ron's abrupt departure, she was within hearing distance and so was able to follow the conversation going on.

"I vowed to do whatever it takes to bring the madman down Miss Granger and I will do whatever I can," the professor answered. Then she sighed, casting her glance around the destruction, "My priority will however be the school. There is a lot to be done to get it back in shape."

Harry and Hermione understood that. They in fact thought that they would help in the reconstruction and maybe even come back to finish their final year and take their NEWTs. This situation with Lord Voldemort however threw all their plans out of the window.

"We understand professor," Harry replied. "I cannot promise to come every time you may need us, but please do not hesitate to send us a message if you need any help."

"Thank you Mr Potter," the professor replied gratefully.

"In the same way, may we avail of the library when we need it," Hermione enquired.

"Of course Miss Granger. That goes without saying."

Harry then turned to Kingsley Shacklebolt who was the sole remaining auror in the Order of the Phoenix. Anticipating their question, the auror replied after a heavy sigh, "I and Arthur are the only members who are also a part of the ministry. We will have to take a lead role in cleaning it up and bringing things back to normal as soon as possible. Things cannot go back to what they were before, we have to bring in the change now that we have the chance to do so."

That was very much needed. Things escalated in favour of Lord Voldemort so quickly during the previous years because of the death eaters who were allowed to go free without punishment. This time around, Kingsley was determined to see that each and every remaining death eater or those who fought on Lord Voldemort's side was given a trial with the truth serum and appropriate punishments doled out.

The remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix were support members like Hagrid, Mrs Figg, and Madam Pomfrey who were very willing and capable members but were totally unsuitable for a prolonged search for answers to the latest conundrum.

"Can't we just leave him the way he is now? Put it under heavy protections?" Mr Weasley pondered.

Harry shook his head in the negative while Hermione answered, "What is to say that the protections will last forever Mr Weasley? There could always be a fanatical follower who would make an attempt to free and resurrect him again. We cannot live our lives always looking over our shoulders sir."

"Besides," Harry interjected, "Most of you know about the prophecy or know about it. What will happen after me?"

That was a very valid point. Would Lord Voldemort be back after Harry's death? Who would vanquish him if Merlin forbid he returns and Harry was not there to confront him? No, it has to be done and it looked as if Harry and Hermione would be the only ones to look for a solution.

Before any plans could be made, the two teens decided to talk to the one wizard who may have at least some answers, Albus Dumbledore. After a hearty breakfast, McGonagall led the two teens to the head's office.

As soon as Harry and Hermione entered the office with McGonagall, the portraits of the former headmasters and headmistresses began applauding the two teens. Leading their efforts was none other than the wizard they respected a lot and wanted to meet. Dumbledore was kept abreast of the happening of the wizarding world by Snape and so was well aware of the state of things. He also knew that the only horcrux that was left was the one in Harry's scar and with the same young man standing before him, it was evident that Lord Voldemort was dead.

"Well done my boy, well done," Dumbledore crowed with a genuine smile and tears threatening to overflow. "You overcame overwhelming odds and emerged victorious. I am proud of you."

The former headmaster turned to the current headmistress and exclaimed, "Why the long face Minerva, this is a time for celebration." The rest of the former heads also joined in the cheering except for Phineas Black who was still disgruntled for being stuffed into a bag and jostled all across the country.

"Lord Voldemort is still not dead Albus," her quite announcement brought absolute silence to the room. All the portraits were filled with shocked faces but they were absolutely silent, not willing to miss anything that was said in the office.

Hermione explained how Tom Riddle was not dead even after the horcrux in Harry was removed. Here she could not help but give Dumbledore her best glare conveying all the anger that she kept bottled up from the time she came to know that her boyfriend was a horcrux. Only Harry's hand on her shoulder allowed her to continue where she explained succinctly about Lord Voldemort's body killed by a backfired killing curse but how he was still existing as a wraith. She then explained how the spectre was contained for now.

Even though Dumbledore was nothing more than a portrait, the living members were able to feel the despair the former headmaster felt about the news. He closed his eyes tightly hoping that the nightmare would go away but it was futile.

"So my worst fear came to pass," Dumbledore sighed softly.

The silence hung in the air for a few minutes before Harry broke it; they were here for answers but it looked like there were none forthcoming from Dumbledore. "Forgive me for asking this sir, but the ring was the only one destroyed when neither Hermione nor I was present. Can you describe what happened when you destroyed the ring horcrux?"

"What are you saying my boy?"

Harry described how the diary, locket, and diadem horcruxes reacted when destroyed. How an ear splitting scream echoed out of them and how the soul piece within the horcruxes tried to overwhelm them and tried to save itself from destruction. Hermione also pitched in with her own experience with the Hufflepuff cup and Nagini which were similar to what Harry described.

"Hmm," Dumbledore stroked his beard before continuing, "I did not hear any scream or threats to my life from the ring horcrux. In fact, without the withering curse affecting my hand, the ring did not put any fight."

It was very much evident that the Guant ring, containing the resurrection stone, most likely was not a horcrux. Either it was a hoax or Lord Voldemort recognized the stone for what it was and was most likely hiding it for his own use. Dumbledore's opinion that there were seven of those monstrosities was probably accurate, just that the identity of one of them was wrong.

"Do you suggest that we leave the wraith of Lord Voldemort contained as it is now and not look for ways to destroy it?" Hermione had to ask the former headmaster's opinion. Not that the answer would change their own course of action, but Hermione wanted Dumbledore's honest opinion.

The former headmaster looked sharply at the teens, "You know the prophecy Harry. You are the only one who could destroy the blight on wizarding world and bring peace to our world."

"Do not be hard on them Albus," McGonagall interjected. "They are willing to do what was needed of them to destroy Lord Voldemort once and for all."

"Good, good," Dumbledore nodded his head absentmindedly. "The order will help you in every way my boy…"

"There is not much left of the order Albus," McGonagall cut him off harshly. Her emotions were all over the place after the bloody battle and now her mentor added to the mess by almost forcing them all to hunt for a needle in a haystack. She monotonously listed all those who died in the battle adding to the already depressing mood.

Dumbledore's portrait sighed heavily, "I know that I am asking a lot of you Harry, but the risk is too great..."

"Not to worry sir. Hermione and I are committed to end the threat once and for all," Harry replied.

Hough Harry's answer brightened Dumbledore's face, a frown quickly replaced it. "Not Mr and Miss Weasley."

"No sir," Hermione replied shortly.

"I love Hermione sir. Ron is angry with her for not choosing him and Ginny is happy with Neville," Harry added.

Dumbledore was a little saddened after hearing. "When did that happen?" he asked with genuine curiosity obviously referring to Harry and Hermione's relationship.

"When Ron abandoned us for more than a month during the hunt," Harry replied with a careless shrug of his shoulders.

Dumbledore sighed heavily, "I made the deilluminator to take a witch or a wizard to what they wanted the most at that time. I used it to take me to where I was wanted the most, during a battle or to just help out with problems, always trying to make the world a better place to live…, trying to save lives.

I gave it to Mr Weasley because I felt that he needed the most protection among the three of you. You, Harry are very powerful magically and I knew that nothing could hold Miss Granger for very long. The two of you could not only protect yourself but together, could save many lives.

Mr Weasley on the other hand needed something to get him to safety, basically to either one of you. I felt that it would help him if he got separated from you and needed to get to safety."

Dumbledore paused in his explanation. He rubbed his eyes from under his glasses and then looked at the two teens, "I am sorry to hear that Mr Weasley left when the going got tough."

What can Harry or Hermione say to that?

Harry grunted in what could be taken as acceptance or just annoyance. "Do you have any ideas where to look sir? Or even what it could be?"

"I am sorry Harry. I was hoping for you to find all of them. The reason was not because I was confident about my guesses but because I was terrified of being wrong."

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance. There was only one way to get the answers they need, "From Voldemort himself," they echoed.

_**Part II**_

Escaping from the school and the clamouring public was very easy for the two teens. They had the experience of being on the run for more than 8 months and they had the cloak of true invisibility with them. Harry did not have the resurrection stone with him physically, but Dumbledore confirmed that once a 'master of death', always a 'master of death', until Harry's dying day that is. It did not give him any extra powers but it did give him enormous control over his magic and what he wanted the result to be.

Harry could wish for a particular thing to happen and it would happen. Alas! It did not solve the problem of the unknown horcrux.

The first place Harry and Hermione went to after leaving Hogwarts was the Gringotts bank.

The goblins were snarling at the two teens as they strode confidently into the bank. They recognized Harry and Hermione as thieves and were itching for revenge. The two teens did not waver in their determination to get out of the bank without showing any fear or without meeting any unreasonable demands from the goblins. Instead they demanded to meet with the highest authority in the bank, the director.

The director of the bank snarled at the audacity of the two humans who strode into his territory making demands. He wanted nothing more than run them through with his sword. Unfortunately, the treaty with the humans was such that he would have to answer their demands, magic enforced that bit. Well, he would meet with them and then hang their heads on a pike in front of the bank, war heroes or not.

Unfortunately for the director, the meeting turned out to be a disaster. Harry and Hermione might have held a little fear going into the bank but the knowledge that Harry had unprecedented magic at his fingertips gave them the courage to meet the head goblin on his own territory. Without a word being spoken, Harry and Hermione had the upper hand.

Harry simply showed them the memory of Griphook renegading on a deal made in good faith. They also showed the importance of the Hufflepuff cup. The director understood the implication of not just the vile magic in the cup but also the behaviour of one of his employees. Hermione need not even threaten the goblins about going public with Griphook's treachery, the director understood the damage it would bring to the credibility of Gringotts as a trustworthy bank. The director captulated without putting up even a token fight.

The goblins came down from their lofty perch and agreed not to block any of the Potter finances or Harry's access to them. Feeling generous, Harry offered to bear half of the direct cost incurred in repairing the damage done due to their escape on a dragon. Even that was not a burden that Harry was allowed to bear. Once Kingsley heard about the deal, the Ministry of Magic was forced to foot the bill. There was enough in the ministry's coffers due to the enormous fines that the interim minister of magic was planning to impose on all the families that aligned themselves with Lord Voldemort.

Putting Hermione on all his vaults was easy as was withdrawing a lot of money from the main Potter vault. Most of the gold was converted into pounds and US dollars. The two teens were ready to hunker down for a long siege and wanted all the resources they needed to hunt down the last horcrux of Lord Voldemort. Their base of operations was Potter Manor and no one other than the two of them, had unlimited access to the manor as that was where Harry and Hermione were going to hold Lord Voldemort.

Potter manor had a very intriguing secret. The basement of the manor house was nearly 15 feet deep from the surface and it was made of mostly support pillars and a few storage rooms. There was one room for a potions lab also but most surprisingly, in one corner of the basement, a ritual room was also present. What was intriguing was there was no record of when the ritual room was constructed or for what reason. Potter magic apparently brings the room into existence only when there was a great need for that particular room.

The ritual room did not have a floor and a simple 'X' was etched directly into the dirt, almost at the middle of the room. Hermione found out that the 'X' also marked the convergence of two different magical leylines and was probably the most magically powerful spot for miles.

The vial containing Lord Voldemort's wraith found a new home under several powerful wards inside the ritual room. Hermione tied the wards to draw power from the leylines. Harry added his own wards on top. Having wards with two different magical signatures made it nearly impossible for anyone to break them down. It would take the concerted and near simultaneous actions by at least two curse breakers and the two teens were hopeful that only Gringotts would have two such people in their employ.

Once they were assured that the wraith was not going out of the ritual room, even if it were to get past the vial, the leylines and the wards, Harry and Hermione decided to get the answer to the burning question. 'What was Tom Riddle's last horcrux and what happened to it?' As Dumbledore acknowledged, the only way to know that was from Lord Voldemort himself and at the same time, the two teens also knew that he was not going to tell them that easily.

What was unsaid during their conversation with the deceased headmaster, and what the three of them knew instinctually was about the only way to get that information. Of those who were alive, Harry was the only one who had any experience in being possessed by Lord Voldemort and successfully beaten him back. The fight at the end of their fifth year showed that he was magically and mentally strong enough to overcome Voldemort's influence, unlike Ginny Weasley who succumbed easily.

"There is no sense in skirting around what I need to do," Harry commented a week later. Along with Hermione, he took the time to recuperate and recharge his mental fortitude. He was drained after the torment of seeing his friends and the last of his father's friends killed but the presence of his girlfriend with him helped Harry to recover swimmingly. The pain was there but it was tempered with the acceptance that the circle of life was unavoidable.

"Yes," Hermione agreed, "… are you certain that you will be able to hold up to whatever visions Riddle will force on you?"

Harry simply nodded his head. Though Lord Voldemort was magically weakened, they had no way to estimate the strength of his mental shields.

"Only one way to find out." With that comment, Harry cancelled his wards around the vial that held Lord Voldemort's wraith. Hermione followed suit and uncapped the vial.

Lord Voldemort woke up from the slumber he was forced into due to a combination of the spell that Harry and Hermione used in addition to the lack of a magical core. The first thing he noticed was that he was allowed to roam free but he did not make an attempt to escape. No, he had one clear goal and that was to destroy Harry Potter.

With a scream of rage, Lord Voldemort headed straight for his mortal enemy and with a characteristic ruthlessness, began to enter Harry's mind to take over his consciousness.

During Ron's absence, Harry and Hermione used their down time to practise occlumency and legilimency to such an extent that they could be classified as masters in the art. Harry did not resist Voldemort's attempt to possess him; he could repel him with occlumency if Harry wanted. In his desperate attempt to overpower Harry, Lord Voldemort dropped his own occlumency shields and opened his mind.

Taking full advantage of Lord Voldemort's vulnerability, Harry counterattacked. It was a simple thing for him to overwhelm Tom Riddle's magically weakened mind and dwell into his deepest secrets, not that Harry was interested in any of them. He was only looking for one memory and latched onto it easily.

The memory in question showed Lord Voldemort storing a piece of his soul in a sparkling sapphire. This sapphire was set in an intricately designed golden bracelet that belonged to his muggle father, Tom Riddle Sr. A different memory connected to the bracelet showed an older Lord Voldemort using a ritual to open a rift in the time stream and casting the horcrux into the time stream. Even at the height of his powers, the dark lord was not able to keep the rift open for more than a couple of seconds and so was unable to determine where or when the bracelet landed. Nor was the dark lord really interested to know, he was not worried about its destination, only that it was out of the reach of anyone who was living now or was going to come next. Digging further into Lord Voldemort's memories, Harry was able to learn everything about the ritual used. He may not understand much about the ritual with his current lack of understanding of ancient runes, but his memory of the ritual was all that would be needed for Hermione to unravel it.

Hermione's hand on his shoulder helped Harry not to get embroiled in Lord Voldemort's mind. With nary an effort, Harry threw out the dark lord's weak attempt at possession and was free once more.

Harry's brutal attack on Lord Voldemort's mind and the subsequent forced removal threw the dark lord into a magical coma. The two teens hoped that he would never recover from it, but for the moment, Lord Voldemort would be easy to control and to be held prisoner under the wards set by Harry and Hermione again.

"Do you have any idea if the final destination of the horcrux was in the future or in the past?" Harry asked his girlfriend. They were walking around the enormous grounds of Potter Manor. Both of them needed the fresh air to get their equilibrium back; Harry after his struggle with Lord Voldemort, and Hermione after viewing Harry's memory of the details of the ritual.

"It has to be in the past Harry. The future is still not written and so there is no way for his horcrux to land into the future." Hermione huffed in annoyance, "Even then the past is so vast. Currently we have no way to know when in the past did it land."

Thinking about it was driving Harry and Hermione into near panic and they did not want that. Harry had to be strong for Hermione and he had to pull his and his girlfriend's energies towards forming a plan to hunt the last horcurx down.

"We have the ritual that Riddle used and we also have a source for his magical signature, Hermione. That is a start and all we need to do is to follow the magical signature through the time stream." Harry did not know if it could even be done but if Lord Voldemort could open the time stream to send an object out, then Hermione Granger could open the time stream to send a person to follow that magical signature. He vowed to do everything in his power to achieve their goal of destroying Lord Voldemort and it seemed that he would have to step up on learning new branches of magic like ancient runes and arithmancy, if he had to help Hermione help him.

There was a lot of unknown magic involved and they had no idea where to start looking for magic that dealt with time manipulation. One source could be the department of mysteries as they already had a collection of time turners. A lot of them were destroyed yes, but that could not be the entire stock, right? Even if that was, they would be sure to have detailed notes on them. The easiest source however, was the one that the two teens did not even want to approach.

The department of mysteries within the British Ministry of Magic was notorious for guarding their research with the utmost secrecy. Harry and Hermione could probably pressurize Shacklebolt in letting them inside but the two teens were sure that the head of the department Croaker would certainly like to chalk up a few favours at the least or even demand to keep the wraith of Lord Voldemort with them. Even if it was just for safekeeping and not for any studies, Harry was not ready to take the risk of Lord Voldemort escaping from their clutches. If he wanted something done right, Harry was going to make damn sure that either Hermione or he himself did it.

The only viable option for the two teens was to learn from other countries and the first stop in a world tour was Australia. After restoring Hermione's parents' memories, the two teens lived with the native magicals of Australia and New Zealand before departing to Japan. The elder Grangers decided to continue living in Australia until Hermione was ready to settle down and so only Harry and Hermione went on the world tour.

The Americas were next on their agenda after taking a detour through China. Visiting the US was also memorable for them when they got married at Las Vegas right at the stroke when Hermione turned twenty two.

Continuing on their learning tour, the Potters sought the blessings of the Hindu priests residing in the Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath and also The Dalai Lama and other Buddhist priests residing in Dharmshala in India.

Finally after ten years of extensive research, the two Potters finalized the runic structure and the spells needed to identify the magical signature of the horcrux in the time stream. It took them another two years to construct a hand held device that could 'home' onto the magical signature of Lord Voldemort and also to create a rift in the time stream that could allow them to travel to the required time period. The rift had to be stabilized long enough for Harry and Hermione Potter to touchdown at their destination and should also be contained enough that it did not devour the present and bring an end to the world.

The magical power requirement needed to accomplish this was enormous but serendipitously, a powerful source of magic was within their grasp. Just to be sure, Harry also powered a good number of Magical Crystals that could be used as power generators during the ritual.

Initially, the husband and wife team were worried that they may have to carry Lord Voldemort's wraith with them in order to home onto the signal of the horcrux. Thankfully, Harry and Hermione were able to develop a portkey based spell that would not only recognize Lord Voldemort's signature, but also take the two Potters to the source of that magical signature. This unique spell was cast on a twig that would be used as a portkey.

One fine day, the two thirty year olds kitted themselves out fully to face a war and activated the runic circle in the ritual room.

… and Harry and Hermione Potter disappeared from Potter Manor.


	2. Chapter 2

Declaration: I do not own Harry Potter world or the storyline of Pride and Prejudice. I do not make any profit through this story and is only for reading pleasure.

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**Chapter 2**

_**Part I**_

Young George Wickham was in an enviable place despite his lowly roots. He was the godson of a very affluent and well respected man, Mr George Darcy, who was known throughout Derbyshire as a very generous man. To those who knew of Mr Darcy's generosity, it was not a surprise to see Mr George Wickham, the son of his steward, elevated to the status of a favourite.

Who could not fall in the boy's charms? He was a very lively and engaging boy whose motive in life seemed to please everyone around him. As a child, it was very easy to see the trouble he got into, as the antics of a very energetic boy. Mr Darcy was especially charmed by his playful ways, and it was easy for him to look at the young Wickham with a fond eye. It did not take much for childhood antics and boisterous behaviour to turn into bullying attitude and ruthlessness.

Even as a boy Wickham managed to hide his cruel streak from the elder Mr Darcy and only the young Fitzwilliam Darcy had an inclination of the man the young George Wickham would turn out to be. Being constantly in the presence of a boy of his own age, Fitzwilliam Darcy knew exactly how not to behave and how not to be a wastrel. The example of George Wickham burned into the mind at even such a young age for the young Darcy heir.

At 8 years of age, Wickham was the only constant playmate to the Darcy heir. Wickham was aware of the great opportunity he had to improve his standing in society. With two people as the current head of the Darcy family and its heir, he had all the prompting and help he needed. He started out with the intention of making the most of the opportunity he was given. He tried his best to please Mr George Darcy and the elder Mr Darcy needed very little to be pleased, while the younger Darcy was grateful that he had someone to play with when his own cousins were not around.

George Wickham learnt the value of hard work on his father's knee, hoping to make his way in the world after gaining his majority, but at the same time he also learnt something more profound in his mother's lap; money…

Money was the key to everything in this world.

Even at that young age, George Wickham was intent on thinking and planning about the different ways to be someone of importance in society. His version of being important consisted of only one thing and that was to have enough luxuries in his life. He was able to get a small taste of what money could buy when he looked at the life of the elder Mr Darcy. His young mind was only focussed on the riches but not on the responsibilities.

George Wickham learnt that he could either, work hard like his father and make his way in the world as a respectable and dependable man, or he could become rich with a little bit of luck. His young mind could not grasp the dangers that are usually associated with becoming rich in many of the less than respectable ways.

He knew that his father would want him to be the former while his mother would advocate the later. What was life without a little risk, if the fruits are that much tastier, all the better. While he was indebted to Mr George Darcy for bestowing a status as a godson, George Wickham knew that those born to poor families do not have much chance in the world. He did not have the patience to wait until Mr Darcy bequeathed some wealth on him to enjoy its fruits. No, if Fitzwilliam Darcy could enjoy his wealth as an heir, he, George Wickham should too as a godson.

Walking around the vast estate, George Wickham planned his first foray into adventure and with a little bit of luck, he may even land a good haul of cash. He just had to wait until the tenants would be attending the harvest celebrations at the huge barn on Pemberley lands.

His musings and dreams of a future haul were cut short when his toe stubbed on something hard, hidden in the mulch near one of the now empty fields.

Wickham's mouth spewed out the various profanities he learnt from the less than savoury characters he constantly met in the nearby town of Lambton. He looked down at the ground in anger, at the audacity of something insignificant tripping George Wickham. It was a sturdy little branch that was sticking out of the ground, partly buried under the rotting straw.

Wickham could not let it go just like that; he had to destroy the offending article. To the child, it was the only measure of revenge. Forgetting the small fact that he would have to get himself dirty if he had to get at the branch, Wickham began using his hands to dig around the branch. It took him sometime but finally managed to loosen most of the mud that was holding the branch down.

With a triumphant yell, Wickham pried the piece of wood out of the ground and promptly fell on his backside. The eight year old had another chance to practise his cursing and it would have even made a sailor blush if he was to hear the variety spewing out of Wickham.

Wickham also pulled out a long buried treasure with the branch and that effectively shut him up. With shaking hands, the child reached for the chain which was definitely made of gold, for Wickham was able to recognize the precious metal in whatever shape or form it was in. The chain was in fact an intricately designed bracelet that usually adorned the wrist of a wealthy man. What caught Wickham's attention was the bluish stone set in the bracelet. At that age he could not recognize the stone as a sapphire, but he knew that it was probably as expensive as the golden chain itself if not more. He did not know for sure how much money it could fetch but Wickham knew that it would be quite a bit.

Instinctively, George Wickham kept his jubilation to a minimum. He was certain that he would be caught out if he drew attention to himself. He dare not spend much time admiring his find in broad daylight and in the open where anyone could find him and take it away. Wickham quickly hid the article in the pocket of his shorts and hurried home; he could admire the article in the privacy of his room.

From his studies with his father, Wickham knew that things of monetary value found on an estate belonged to the owner with part of the value going to the government as taxes. His childlike loyalty warred with him to take it to his godfather but his mother's teachings supressed it effectively.

'I found it,' Wickham clutched the pocket where the article rested in, fiercely, 'It belongs to me.' He thought vehemently. It was the beginning of his luck which would take him into the world of rich men. He was going to Eton in a few years as Mr Darcy promised and he could sell it off once he was settled in there and made a few rich friends.

Wickham took out the bracelet from his pocket in his room. It was still wet from the dunking he gave it on the way to his home; at least it was clean now and could see the sparkling precious stone set in the bracelet. The stone caught the fading light from the window and Wickham sucked in a heavy breath with his eyes opened wide in awe.

With a trembling hand, Wickham ran a finger on the stone. He was mesmerized by the play of light when his finger moved over the stone and could not help repeating the motion a couple of times, his child like fascination drawing him to the light show.

Wickham frowned as his eyes were drawn to the brownish mud that was still lodged near one of the horn like setting that kept the sapphire in place. With an annoyed grunt, he used his thumb to get at the dirt and began cleaning it off furiously. So concentrated in the task he was that Wickham did not realize that the gem was getting brighter and brighter. Abruptly there was a flash of light and he felt as if his mind and body were being invaded before he lost consciousness.

Over the next couple of month's Lord Voldemort's soul piece began to slowly integrate with George Wickham's. The consciousness within the soul piece knew that it would perish without a host and even though the human it latched to was not a wizard, it had no choice but to stay within the host. The little amount of magic the soul piece had with it was used up in integrating itself with George Wickham's soul. If the host was a wizard, then it need not have had to integrate but stay as a parasite as it did with Harry Potter, drawing magic from its host to survive. Now it had only one choice and that was to stick as close to the host's soul as possible.

The magical signature of Lord Voldemort continued to linger within George Wickham and it would remain until the annihilation of the container. The child was already hungry for power and the influence of the darkest wizard ever known to the world only stroked the hunger further.

Over the years George Wickham's life was one of idleness and dissipation. Petty thievery sustained him before he graduated to gambling and seduction. He used his successful conquests to blackmail and gain more money. His mother's teachings about the importance of money became perverted. Under the subtle influence of Lord Voldemort, George Wickham's new understanding was that every action was acceptable as long as he was not caught in the act.

After his own father and Godfather died, he could have gotten into a respectable position ensuring a comfortable living. That would not have given Wickham the luxuries he needed and not in the time frame he set for himself and so he refused the living. Instead, he tried to stab the same hand that fed him.

Thankfully, at least for the Darcy family, Fitzwilliam Darcy who grew up to take the mantle of head of the family more than five years ago came to his sister's rescue. Wickham was shrewd enough to have enough to blackmail Darcy and threaten ruining young Miss Georgiana Darcy's reputation forcing Fitzwilliam Darcy not to take any drastic action against the scoundrel.

Wickham grew bolder as his conquests went unchallenged. Striking another blow to the polite society, the wastrel induced a silly young girl, Lydia Bennet to elope with him. The girl dreamed of marriage but Wickham only wanted to enjoy a few days with her while in London where he had supporters for his way of life. With their help, Wickham managed to horde enough money to give him passage out of the country to the continent.

George Wickham knew that he had amassed a few powerful enemies and they were sniping at his heels. He needed to get out of the country and fast, especially after abandoning his post with Colonel Forster at Brighton. Wickham intended to travel to Plymouth to board a vessel to France or to Lisbon and he had enough to cover the fare in a cargo vessel. If needed, he could put an act of working off any left-over fare. He only needed enough to travel the long distance to Plymouth and was waiting to get rid of the final vestiges of imbibing too much.

Wickham was only dimly aware of what was going on around him but did not bother about that. He knew that he was safe for a few more days and he only needed tonight to swindle enough money at the crooked gambling hall nearby. After that, a last roll in the hay with Lydia Bennet and a good night's rest before he would bid goodbye to London.

Harry Potter removed his hand from atop Wickham's head and looked at his sprawled form in disgust. He along with his wife Hermione Potter were brought to the current timeline following the magical trace of Lord Voldemort. It was a very strange coincidence that the worst dark lord in modern history found someone as devoid of morals as himself to harbour his soul piece.

"He is a vile man, my love," Harry whispered. "He was very difficult as a child and had already decided on his path to get rich. The horcrux did influence him but only to enhance his desires which had already taken root."

"He is not worth living," Hermione exclaimed quietly. Harry was able to share a few memories with her, especially the one where he tried to backstab his own godfather's daughter and also the one which showed them the reason for Wickham being at the tavern. Both Harry and Hermione were quite proficient in Occlumency and Legilimency and so everything was done in a few seconds. Hermione was naturally in full agreement with her husband.

Harry did not like killing; he would do it if he had to but that did not mean he would take a chance to avoid it. "At least he does not have any living relations."

"Good," Hermione answered, "We could kill him and no one would be wiser."

Even if Harry and Hermione would have liked not to kill anyone, there was no other way in this instance. The soul piece of Lord Voldemort was so entrenched into Mr Wickham's soul that there was no way to demarcate where one ended and the other began. It was not a true assimilation but was a very strong binding, almost as if the new piece of soul was wrapped around like a skin.

If the host was a stand-up guy with morals as strong as Harry's, the two travellers would have still ended up killing the host but they would have agonized over it, but now there was no despair. The world needed a reprieve from a man like George Wickham; the two Potters could keep their conscience clean.

Harry extended his hand to cast a wandless stunner at the man and cart him away but before he could accomplish that, they were interrupted…

_**Part II**_

Fitzwilliam Darcy finally got the address where Wickham arranged his lodgings with Miss Lydia Bennet. He had to bribe Mrs Younge, a woman he had to dismiss from his service as a companion to his sister and whom he knew to be unscrupulous. He was loath to enter into the establishment but he had no other alternative. He could not bear to see the anguish of Miss Elizabeth Bennet and whenever he closed his eyes, all he could see were the tears in those gorgeous eyes.

'No,' Darcy groused silently, 'It would not do.' He would do everything in his power to take the pain away from his beloved and if he could gain her love and affection during the process, he would be a blessed man indeed.

Thankfully there was no need for him to enter the rooms that were rented by Wickham. Darcy was told that the man he was looking for was in the tavern nearby, sleeping away his drunken stupor. This was the first bit of good news in a string of bad days that started from the time Wickham tried to elope with his sister. Hopefully it will end with the elopement of a silly girl who despite his reluctance, would like to call a sister in the near future.

With a spring in his step, Darcy entered the tavern but immediately came to a halt at the threshold. He spied two gentleman who were definitely interested in Wickham if their posture and gestures were any indication. What put a fear into Darcy's heart was the clearly intimidating aura that the two possessed. Even at a distance, he could see that even the shorter of the two gentleman could clearly put fear into you just by staring at you.

Darcy inched closer to the two and his eyes widened in shock upon hearing their words. They were talking about killing Wickham! Apparently the bigger of the two knew Wickham quite intimately if his words were any evidence. When he was about to grab his father's favourite, Fitzwilliam Darcy stepped forward and interrupted them.

"May I know what you want with Mr Wickham?" Darcy enquired. He dared not to be anything but polite if he was to avoid turning their wrath onto himself.

Harry cursed silently. They wanted to get rid of the horcrux quickly and without attracting attention and were ready to even murder someone, but he did not foresee being interrupted. The Potters did not want to disrupt the timeline too much and certainly did not want to be noticed. Their intention of being unobtrusive was just thrown out the window and they had no other choice but to try and send the man away without too much magic thrown around by them.

Harry and Hermione turned around to face man who interrupted them. He was a fine figure of a man dressed in high quality cloth and certainly looked fashionable. He was slightly taller than Harry's 5 foot 11 inches. The man had an aristocratic bearing and was obviously used to having his orders obeyed. A quick surface scan of the stranger's thoughts showed that the man was not really a friend of George Wickham but at the same time did not want to see him dead. He came there for a purpose and he was going to see it done.

Harry suddenly remembered the man as Fitzwilliam Darcy from Wickham's memories. He did not have a way to alert his wife of the man's identity and will have to act as if the man was a total stranger, not that it was difficult.

Hermione Potter could see that the stranger held himself with pride but the unmistakable sign of nervousness and maybe even a little fear was easily evident in him. That was not really surprising to her, as she was aware that the aura they project unconsciously was often intimidating. She could not sense any ill intention towards them and so reigned in her aura just a little. She immediately felt Harry drawing in his magic too but was still ready to act at a moment's notice.

'We should have put up a stronger notice-me-not ward,' Hermione thought ruefully. The temporary charm they put up would prevent a casual observer but anyone looking for someone specific could easily defeat the charm.

Then again all witches and wizards were a little overconfident in their actions. Having magic at their side certainly made things easy and they could simply obliviate the man who stopped them but that was not palatable to the two Potters. Neither Harry nor Hermione were fans of memory modifications and their mentor Albus Dumbledore taught them well. Moreover, Hermione developed an aversion to using it after she had to used it on her parents and since then vowed not to obliviate just on a whim.

Hermione decided to try and reason with the man and be done with it. She was fairly confident that Harry might have also reached the same conclusion. Thankfully, Hermione was still under a glamour as a slightly shorter man about thirty year old, which was her real age anyway.

Harry turned on the charm, "Hello sir. If you know him as I know, then you would certainly agree with me that he should not be in polite society."

Darcy knew enough of Wickham to agree with him and also knew that it was probably the best course of action, but now with his love within easy reach, he was not willing to take any risk which would jeopardise his efforts to win over Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

The two Potters and Darcy moved to a table a little out of the way. After seating themselves and refusing to order anything, Darcy introduced himself.

Hermione's eyes widened at that; she had an inclination as to why Darcy tried to stop them. She realized that their task might have gotten a little harder.

Darcy began his tale of Wickham being the favourite of his father and how the elder Mr Darcy wanted his son to do whatever was in his power to help Wickham in his life. Hearing the tale from Darcy's perspective gave an insight into why the young man did not want any harm falling on Wickham. Respect for his father might have been a good motive but Harry and Hermione were not satisfied. Even after Wickham tried to ruin his sister, Darcy was willing to protect the man. That did not sit well with them, something more important was driving Fitzwilliam Darcy to swallow his own pride and come to the rescue of a man who just a few days ago might as well have been the devil reincarnate.

"… so now you know why I want his life to be spared," Darcy finished his short tale. He of course left a lot of things unsaid and if he himself was an impassionate observer, he would have known how hollow his reasons sounded.

"I will take full responsibility for his future actions, sir. I am willing to compensate you for all the trouble you might have had," Darcy declared.

Hermione scoffed at that, "We do not want your money sir. You surely see how dangerous it could turn out to be if this man is left to roam freely."

"I am prepared to buy him a commission and send him off to some remote location. I have a cousin who is a colonel in the army and he could arrange that Wickham would never mix with polite society again."

Harry began to get angry. 'Does this man not know how truly dangerous he is or could be?' His anger dissipated as soon as it came as Harry realized that Darcy did indeed not know how truly dangerous Wickham was. He did not know that he harboured a piece of soul that belonged to an immortal dark wizard or that the soul piece may eventually take over the psyche of Wickham. Killing Wickham was the only way to put an end to the reign of Lord Voldemort.

While these thoughts were going on in his mind, he tried to put it across the need to get rid of Wickham without really divulging the real reason, "Getting rid of him permanently would protect your sister's reputation also…"

Darcy suddenly turned pale hearing that. He was afraid for his sister as he was never before. Before he could regain his composure, Hermione raised her hand in a placating gesture, "Peace Mr Darcy, we do not mean any harm to you and certainly not to the young lady. But you can see that how much damage Wickham could cause to other's sisters and daughters."

Darcy breathed a sigh of relief hearing that. He was thankful that the two gentlemen before him were not against him, but he also realized that they could turn against him if he did not give them a valid reason for the need to spare Wickham's life. He could laugh at the irony of his position if he could, begging for the life of a man who he loathed with every fibre of his being.

'It is all for Elizabeth,' he consoled himself. He quickly came to the realization that the only way he could even have a chance of gaining Elizabeth as his wife was by full disclosure. He decided to do just that.

Darcy's thoughts were broken by the shorter man addressing him, "I am sure your father would understand your actions sir. You did everything in your power to honour your father's wishes, but I am sure that even he would not like to see Wickham set loose on innocents."

"No sir, he would not." He sighed heavily and rubbed a tired hand across his face, "I am not doing this for myself or for my father. I am doing this for the woman I love…"

Finally relenting, Darcy told the turbulent story of his love, found, lost, and found again. He hoped and was cautiously optimistic that Miss Elizabeth Bennet returned his love, the blushes and stolen glances meant something right? At the same time he also knew that Wickham's stunt put a crimp in their unusual courtship. Miss Elizabeth was a woman of principles and she would never put Darcy in an uncomfortable situation. Her sister leaving her family without being in the marriage state was certainly more than uncomfortable.

Darcy was intent on showing Miss Elizabeth that he did not resent her due to the foolish mistake of her sister and finding Wickham and getting him to marry Miss Lydia would go a long way in making his case. Once that was accomplished, Darcy could show Miss Elizabeth that his love for her had not diminished even a bit, rather, it grew to be more pronounced.

"If I can bring any measure of comfort to her, I am willing to do so. I have to show her that I listened to her and took steps to change the aspects of my character that were not so palatable to her," Darcy finished. He reiterated his vow to keep George Wickham so tightly bound that he would be in no position to do harm to anyone, not even to Miss Lydia. It may be condemning a young and silly girl to a life of misery but it was better than ruining the reputation of every Bennet, especially that of the two eldest Miss Bennets.

Hearing Fitzwilliam Darcy's story threw Harry and Hermione Potter into a conundrum. On one hand, they could simply obliviate the man and take Wickham away and be done with it, but that would certainly make his situation that much difficult. They could agree with Darcy that judging by whatever they learnt about this Miss Elizabeth Bennet, she would not like to put Darcy in a bind by being tied to a scandal. No, she would do the honourable thing and break off from Darcy even if she loved him as much as Darcy loved her.

A situation like what Miss Lydia Bennet was in would not even raise an eyebrow in their time, but in the era they were in, it was a big deal to lose someone's virtue without being married. Being a mother in such a situation was even worse.

Harry could certainly empathise with the man. Darcy was socially awkward like himself, and he had a legacy tied to him. Harry had two girlfriends and both of them turned out to be a disaster. Even before he had his girlfriends, there was only one woman he was comfortable with and it was the only woman he loved, Hermione his wife. It seemed to him that Darcy could also love only one person in his life and that was this Elizabeth Bennet. If he lost her, Harry was certain that Darcy would probably never recover.

The honest plea in the man's recital moved the two Potters. There was no option when it came to Wickham, and that man had to be removed from the face of this earth but that need not be at the price of ruining two lives. Hermione was willing to help out Darcy to gain the love of his life. After all she loved her husband dearly and Darcy proclaimed an ardent love for Elizabeth Bennet.

Maybe they could extend their stay a little longer? They had magic on their side and were not hesitant to use it if needed. Besides, it was one thing to read about the regency era in books and altogether different to enjoy it. They would never get the chance to do anything like this, and Harry and Hermione Potter were not going to turn away from an adventure they found themselves in.

While the two Potters were in earnest conversation with Fitzwilliam Darcy who was making a credible pitch to save the life of a wastrel, the said wastrel regained some of his lucidity. He was still hung-over but it was not so bad as to put him into a stupor.

The first thing that Wickham saw was Fitzwilliam Darcy sitting in the same room as he was. That itself gave him a scare enough to make him more lucid. Darcy being in the same room as he was did not bode well for Wickham. What made him fear for his life was the other two people that Darcy was talking to.

If Wickham was to guess, then they were talking about him only. He could not hear what they were saying but the two strangers intimidated Wickham; they had a presence in the room that screamed at him to get the hell away from them. He suspected that Darcy was finally tired of his antics and contracted the two strangers to do away with him, and the two men certainly looked capable of that feat.

Wickham knew that Darcy did not come after him even after trying to elope with his sister. The only reason for that was to avoid a scandal. Now that a long time had passed, it seemed that Darcy was out for blood this time and it looked to be something permanent if those two gentlemen sitting with Darcy were any evidence. Wickham knew that Darcy could be vindictive. Thankfully, Darcy did not know about Miss Lydia being with him, after all how could he? If he knew about Miss Lydia, Wickham was sure that Darcy would be even more ruthless, not that anything could top killing him.

For a moment Wickham thought of using Miss Lydia Bennet as a bargaining chip, but it had a great chance of backfiring. Oh, he knew that Darcy would honour his request and save Miss Lydia but he also knew that there was a great chance of being shackled with the young lady as a wife. For that would certainly be the honourable thing to do in Darcy's understanding.

If Wickham was to be honest, he knew that Lyida Bennet did not have any dowry. That did not stop him from enticing Miss Lydia away from her family and friends. The sole reason was to enjoy her company and move on, marriage was certainly on the cards. If he was forced to marry Miss Lydia, Wickham was fairly confident that Darcy would provide him some means of living. He was not that cruel to subject a young woman to hardships, and that too a young woman whom Darcy had an acquaintance with.

Wickham shuddered at the thought of having Miss Lydia as a wife. If he was to be shackled with someone as a wife, then anyone would be better than Miss Lyida, she was the silliest girl in all of England. His life would be miserable. Maybe Darcy would do just that to ensure that he suffered. That was a thought that sent a chill down Wickham's spine, even more than the thought of getting killed. He had to get out of there, out of London, and out of the country as soon as he could.

Peeking a glance at the table in the far corner, Wickham noticed that the three occupants were still deep in conversation. Trying not to make any commotion, and more importantly not to stumble and garner attention to himself, Wickham managed to stand up. Thankfully, the bar tender who was well acquainted with Wickham unknowingly came to help him out. Leaning on the help he was given, Wickham managed to make his way out, hopefully without any one the wiser.

The cold air revived him a bit and Wickham managed to stumble away. He had to make haste and start to be on his way to Plymouth right now rather than wait for the next morning as he originally planned. He thanked his old habit of always carrying his valuables with him. That habit helped him now as he was able to make his getaway without the need to go back to the room he rented. Miss Lydia would have to fend for herself.

Wickham's getaway was not as clean as he hoped. Sitting at the table where he was able to keep an eye on their target, Harry noticed the movement in his peripheral vision. He also did not want to attract any attention to Wickham; if they wanted to get rid of the man, it was better if he was outside London anyway. It was also a bonus that no one could connect the Potters to Wickham. It was a win-win situation. To ensure that Wickham could be traced any time, Harry tagged him with a tracking charm wandlessly and turned back to the conversation with Darcy.

"I fully sympathise with your plight Darcy," Hermione said. "At the same time let me tell you that Wickham cannot be allowed to live any longer. There are things about him that you do not know. I am sure that once you are in the know, you will agree with us."

Harry and Hermione could see that Darcy visibly deflated at those words. They were not sure if Darcy was convinced but did not want to continue the argument any longer.

Sensing that Darcy was going to demand an explanation, Harry put a stop to that and gave him some hope at the same time. "Darcy, why don't you take us to this Miss Elizabeth you are talking about. We will explain our reasoning to both of you. If she is as much in love with you as you are with her, she will agree to your proposal once we explain the need to do away with Wickham."

Darcy cringed at the callous way that the two gentlemen before him were discussing killing someone. Then again, if Wickham was truly as dangerous as they implied then it was better to put an end to his life rather than endangering more young women. Given a choice between protecting other young women from Wickham's wrath and saving her sister's reputation and consequently her own reputation, he was fairly certain that Miss Elizabeth would choose to save the others. She would take the scorn of the society and also the pain it would bring her in losing his good opinion of her, rather than knowingly subject innocent young women to lives of misery.

Darcy knew that he was boxed in and he had no other alternative than to agree to their demand. He could not face Miss Elizabeth if she knew that he let a scoundrel go, only for him to turn around and ruin more lives.

Harry clapped a hand on Darcy's shoulder, "Don't you worry man, everything will be alright in the end."

Darcy had to hope that it would be. He had no other choice. "What about Wickham…" Darcy's words died in his throat as he saw the empty table where Wickham was sprawled before. Panic surged into him. It took him a very long time to trace Wickham to this place and now that he knew for sure that Darcy was on his tail, it will be that much harder to trace Wickham again.

Darcy was ready to hurry outside to see if he can stop Wickham but was stopped by Harry and Hermione.

"Not to worry, we have a way to trace him," Harry tried to calm the agitated young man.

"But how?" Darcy stammered. He was in no shape to think straight. All his plans became unravelled that morning and it was difficult for him to accept that he was no longer in control of the situation he found himself in.

Hermione gave him a knowing grin, "We know things about Wickham that you cannot even dream about. We know where he is heading to and we have the means to get to him."

Darcy was still not convinced. He was not sure if he wanted to believe the two men with him. He did not even know their name and yet had no option but to put his future in their hands. That did not sit right with him.

Harry sensed the conflict in Darcy's mind. He need not use legilimency to understand that, his emotions were clearly written on his face. "We will give you a full disclosure but not here. We need to get somewhere private," Harry suggested.

"May be if we can get a hold of your Miss Elizabeth, it will be easier to explain it to both of you at the same time," Hermione added.

The little bit of composure that Darcy managed to regain after learning that Wickham was on the run again, was lost after those words and he blushed brightly. It was one thing to imagine Miss Elizabeth as 'his' but being implied as such in words by someone else brought a pleasant feeling to him.

Trying to control his blush, Darcy stammered out, "She may be at her home in Hertfordshire…"

"There is no harm in checking her relatives house in London, is there?" Harry retorted.

Darcy led them to his carriage and they set on their way to Mr Gardiner's house on Gracechurch Street. It was mid-morning and Darcy was sure that Miss Elizabeth's uncle would be at work or busy searching for Miss Lydia but Mrs Gardiner was to have come to London the previous day. Darcy planned to talk to her about his search not being fruitful and may in time slip in a question about the whereabouts of Miss Elizabeth.

"Darcy, I am sorry not to have introduced myself," Harry started. "I am Lord Harry James Potter and this is my wife the Lady Hermione Jane Potter."

With that Hermione dropped her glamour in front of an astonished Fitzwilliam Darcy.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I hope to answer the point raised by 'madbrad' in this chapter. Hope it is satisfactory.

Declaration: I do not own Harry Potter world or the storyline of Pride and Prejudice. I do not make any profit through this story and is only for reading pleasure.

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**Chapter 3:**

_**Part I**_

Fitzwilliam Darcy could not believe what he was seeing. Who he thought to be a gentleman was in fact a lady, a quite attractive lady in fact. Right in front of him, something happened to change the man into a woman, something that he could not understand. There was no warning, just a rippling effect and he was left gaping at the sight. It was very difficult to believe but he had to believe it; he would have dismissed it as a drunken man's ramblings if he heard it from someone else but he was not drunk and he definitely was not insane.

That's when he focussed properly on the appearances of the people in front of him. Darcy's eyes widened comically and he could not stop the blush that spread on his face. He tried not to ogle the lady in front of him but could not help it. Not only was she quite pretty, probably somewhere about twenty years old, but also her mode of dressing was quite provocative. She was dressed like her husband in trousers and a shirt, made of some leather that he could not identify and both of which were hugging her body like a second skin. Though the shirt she wore covered her up to her neck, there was not much left to imagination.

The man also wore a body hugging outfit, but at least on him it was not distracting. He could not guarantee what Miss Elizabeth's reaction would be, at seeing the man, though. A spike of jealousy shot through him and was quickly followed by the need to protect his love from this stranger. The man was certainly handsome and he was sure that the Emerald Green eyes would draw in a woman like a moth to a flame.

A sudden thought struck Darcy; here he was sitting feeling jealous at just the thought of how Miss Elizabeth Bennet might react to Lord Potter's presence. At the same time he was ogling the Lady Potter and in front of her husband too. He could not suppress the chill that ran down his spine; he did not want to tangle with the obviously powerful Lord Potter. Darcy was not certain he could survive the encounter unscathed, he better bring himself under better regulation.

Darcy's emotions showed clearly on his face prompting Harry and Hermione to exchange amused glances.

Hermione took pity on the poor man and conjured a dress over her body armour that did not look too much out of place in the time they were in. She saw that Harry also conjured his own suit that was a clear copy of what Darcy was wearing except that it was a dark green in colour. Their dragonhide battle suits cannot be transfigured and so they used glamour charms to keep up the appearance of being in clothes that were from the era they were in. Now that their original plan was derailed, the two Potters decided to use conjurations instead of glamour charms. Not only were they durable but glamours could be easily spotted if one was to look intently for them.

Hermione was thankful that the dresses used as formal wear in this era were not too different from the formal wear of the future from. From what she saw in the streets during their drive, the dress she conjured for herself would stand up to scrutiny without any problems. If they had to stay longer in this age, they would have to make some permanent transfigurations or buy some contemporary clothes.

"Darcy," Harry called out to the man who was on the verge of fainting due to the lack of proper blood flow. "Hermione and I are a lucky few who can use magic. We are born with this ability and it makes our life simple. When used properly, it also gives us a chance to help those who are less fortunate."

No one said that Fitzwilliam Darcy was slow. He was immediately able to make the connection, "So all those witch hunts are real?"

Harry and Hermione were a little saddened by that remainder. "I am afraid so," Harry agreed.

Fitzwilliam was horrified. He read about the large number of witches who were burnt at the stake and could not imagine the pain they might have gone through. Yes, witches and wizards were certainly different in their abilities, but looking at Lord and Lady Potter in front of him, Darcy could not for a moment imagine anything different in them except for when they used their magical ability.

"Fear is something that prompts humans to be irrational. They did not understand that a witch or a wizard was no different from them. It was this lack of understanding that caused others like us to hide and not come to the aid of normal people like you," Hermione added.

"Then why are you here?" Darcy could not help but ask.

Harry sighed, "That is something that will take a while to answer. Suffice to say that the evil within Wickham is greater than you could ever imagine."

Darcy's mind was still on the countless souls who were burned at the stake. His thoughts were broadcast quite loud for the two Potters to pick up and so Hermione sought to appease him, "You certainly can imagine that we have enough protection against something as common as a fire, can't you?"

"Oh!" Darcy was openly astonished. At first look, it seemed to him that magic had a lot of advantages.

Harry agreed with his wife and elaborated for the advantage of Darcy, "We have historical evidence, mostly writings by the witches themselves, about the fun they had in such instances. They knew that the masses were mostly misguided by a few in power and did not hold any grudge against them. They either moved away or went into hiding."

Darcy did not have time to express either his astonishment or his relief at that. His eyes were caught by a well-known figure that was walking in the park a little distance from the road they were travelling on. That the park was close to the Gardiners' home was a stroke of luck for him. Darcy banged on the roof of the carriage and as soon as it came to a halt, he vaulted out without losing a moment, going so far as to open the door himself. Not even acknowledging his travelling companions, Darcy began walking towards the object of his affections, trying and failing not to be seen as too eager.

Harry helped his wife out of the carriage, not that she needed it but it was the gentlemanly thing to do. The couple exchanged amused glances before following Darcy at a discrete distance. They were quite sure that the young woman was Miss Elizabeth Bennet and were ready to make the most of the chance to get to know the young woman. Harry was not averse to using a little Legilimency to see if they could even take a chance in letting Miss Elizabeth and Mr Darcy into their secret or just memory charm both of them and be done with it.

Miss Elizabeth Bennet was despondent. She was never in agreement with her mother or her father on the behaviour of her youngest sister but now when she was vindicated, she could not gloat in her triumph. Instead, she was on the verge of a breakdown. Never before was she as angry with Lydia as she was now. What her father dismissed as a silly girl and her mother encouraged as a lively and engaging girl, led to the ruination of her entire family. The chances of any of the Bennet girls having a good marriage were never bright before, but now, they were non-existent.

Elizabeth was never made for melancholy but what brought this bout of never ending sadness was that she found someone who she could not only respect as a husband but also truly love as a person. When it seemed that she was able to enter the marriage state with all her heart, one unguarded moment made sure that all of her dreams and aspirations for the future were for naught. One misstep by her youngest sister was all it took to graduate Lydia from a silly young girl to a ruined young woman.

Elizabeth was well aware of the lack of marriage prospects for all the Bennet girls, and so was mentally prepared for a life as a governess. Now it seemed that even being a governess was out of her grasp. Her plight made her spirits low, but it was the total loss of any chances for her dearest sister Jane to marry well that made her anguish into anger. Anger at Lydia, at her father, her mother, and most of all at Wickham.

Some of her anger was directed inwards; she was angry at being angry at her parents and also for getting her hopes up before being dashed cruelly. Elizabeth felt fresh tears making their way into her eyes. Only the presence of a maid and the footman allowed her to ensure the safety of her nieces and nephews; she was in no state to entertain them while she could not even muster a weak smile in response to their clearly amusing antics.

Her musings were disturbed by someone calling her name. Turning towards the source, Elizabeth was shocked to see the man who was occupying her dreams of late. 'Was she dreaming again?' she thought.

She certainly was not. "Good morning Miss Elizabeth. I hope you are doing well." Darcy bowed correctly, even more importantly for him, he tried to convey his happiness at meeting her.

Elizabeth was shaken out of her musings and curtsied mechanically in response. Her brain was still unable to grasp the thought that she was seeing Mr Darcy and that he was acting politely towards her. "I am well, thank you sir."

A short moment of silence followed. It was broken by both Elizabeth and Darcy trying to speak at the same time. Darcy retreated and gestured for Elizabeth to go ahead.

"I am surprised to see you here sir. I though you would be at Pemberley," Elizabeth was quite surprised at seeing him in London. She was of the firm belief that the man wanted nothing to do with her. If he indeed was in London on an errand she dared not hope for, then she was ready to apologize, grovel on her knees even, for every bad thought and every unkind word she had for the man.

Elizabeth was sure that she would have to deliver on the promise she made for herself as soon as Mr Darcy opened his mouth. "I came to London for you Miss Elizabeth, I came to find Mr Wickham…"

For a brief moment, Elizabeth's surprise at hearing his declaration threatened to overwhelm her but the grave countenance of the man before her brought reality crashing onto her and panic began to take root. 'Did he not find him? Did he not find my sister?'

Darcy did not disappoint her in this matter too, "I did find Mr Wickham…"

Elizabeth suddenly perked up hearing that. She flew from the heights of elation to the depths of despair as Darcy continued, "… I am sorry to say that he abandoned your sister. Seeing me he ran away and I could not trace him again, I am sorry."

A strangled sob escaped her and unmindful of the public place and of Darcy in front of her, Elizabeth hid her face in her hands and gave in to the urge to cry her eyes out.

Fitzwilliam Darcy was known to be the epitome of propriety. He was even called cold due to the distinct lack of visible emotions on his face. When faced with his distraught beloved, Darcy flaunted propriety and all that he showed the world and drew her into a hug, holding Elizabeth to his chest and whispering words into her ear to offer as much comfort as he could.

Elizabeth was surprised by the contact; she knew that Darcy was a passionate man but found it very difficult to show his emotions to those he did not consider to be family. To be the recipient of a hug in broad day light was a bold declaration. Even though her mind was cautioning her to be circumspect in taking comfort from a man who was not her family and possibly may never be, Elizabeth gave in to her love for the man and threw her arms around Darcy. Resting her head against his chest, she took the comfort his embrace gave and tried to control her emotions.

A little distance away, Harry and Hermione witnessed the exchange and were satisfied that at least Miss Elizabeth Bennet seemed to accept Darcy's offer of comfort. Hermione launched a low level probe and found a myriad of emotions going through the young woman. Elation that the man whom she grew to love with all her heart still loved her, proud of Darcy that he overcame his own pride to hunt down a silly young girl and a man he despised with every fibre of his being, and lastly, hope that she may still have the happy ending she always dreamed of, a marriage of love and respect.

However, all of these positive emotions were drowned by overwhelming shame. Shame that her family exposed themselves so badly. Elizabeth had to give Darcy a chance to back away before he was incontrovertibly tied up with her future.

Moving away from the embrace, Elizabeth dried her tears. Her heart breaking, she forced herself to speak, "I am sorry sir, I know that you have been desiring not to involve yourself with my family anymore…"

Her speech was cut short when Darcy silenced her with his finger on her delectable lips, "It was not your family I was thinking of Elizabeth. Whatever I did was only for you. My actions have been governed by the thought of giving you even the smallest of comforts…"

Elizabeth was hoping for the same feelings from Darcy that she herself was harbouring for him, but she was still surprised to actually hear them, "Even now…" she managed to stutter, the awe in her voice clear.

"Now and always, my dear…"

Even through her tears, Elizabeth's smile was radiant, accentuating her true beauty. Harry suddenly understood that Miss Elizabeth Bennet was probably similar to his Hermione in many ways. She had the same understated beauty that took a man of discerning taste to find out. Harry realized that if Miss Elizabeth also had the same inner beauty that he recognized in Hermione, then they would do everything in their power to bring Elizabeth and Darcy together. It was the least they could do to at least undo some of the damage that Lord Voldemort brought about.

Hermione moved to remind Darcy that they have to get to his house not only to explain their purpose but also to retrieve Elizabeth's sister. She was quite sure that Darcy and Elizabeth would remain in each other's arms and gazing at each other the whole day otherwise.

Darcy and Elizabeth blushed furiously after hearing the not so subtle reminder that they were not alone. To cover his embarrassment, Darcy introduced Harry and Hermione to his beloved. "Miss Elizabeth, these are the Lord and Lady Potter…"

Elizabeth immediately dropped into a curtsey but Hermione held out her hand to stop her. She grabbed Elizabeth's hands in her own in a gesture of camaraderie, "Elizabeth please consider me your friend. I would like to think we are equals."

Elizabeth was too overcome to even express her gratitude. Just a few minutes ago, she considered herself not even worthy to gain the love of Fitzwilliam Darcy and now she was being added to a circle that was among the finest of the society. Her happiness was clearly evident on her face.

"Miss Elizabeth," Darcy gained her attention and taking her willingly given hand into his, continued, "We have much to discuss and to plan regarding getting a hold of Mr Wickham. The Lord and Lady Potter have an inkling about his final destination. As much as I respect your aunt and uncle, we will have much more privacy in my town house for this discussion as we are not sure about the end result. We would also have to retrieve your sister from the inn she is currently in, all alone."

That thought spurred Elizabeth and she readily agreed to accompany Mr Darcy and his friends. She would have liked either her aunt or her uncle to be with her, but she trusted Mr Darcy implicitly. More importantly, he respected her enough to include her in the planning session. She, of course was the only one who could bring Lydia home. As much as she would have liked her uncle to be the one, Elizabeth knew that Lydia could be headstrong and her uncle did not have much sway with her, not that she herself had much. Elizabeth knew that she was possibly the only one of her sisters who could muscle Lydia out of the rooms she was currently occupying, and if needed, she could do it literally. Besides, Elizabeth knew that her uncle was searching the coaching stations on the outskirts of London and so would be difficult to trace and time was of essence in rescuing Lydia.

Collecting the children was a very easy job. They sensed their cousin's agitated state and also the presence of Mr Darcy and two new adults gave them the indication that things were not right and that they should not trouble their dear cousin any longer.

Reaching the Gardiners' residence, Elizabeth got her aunt's reluctant permission to accompany Mr Darcy and his friends to retrieve Lydia. Mrs Gardiner was also aware that her husband may not be reachable and she agreed with her niece that speed was of the essence. Learning that Mr Wickham was absconding again troubled the good lady, but was placated by Harry's assurance that he had a way of keeping tabs on Mr Wickham.

Mrs Gardiner was not satisfied by that assurance alone and needed some explanation. Elizabeth was understandably curious and Even Darcy wanted to see if Lord Potter would provide any explanation.

Naturally, Harry had to spin a tale on the spot and he did it with aplomb, "I came into town to find Wickham. I will not bore you with the details of why, but one of my men knew Wickham from before. He found out that he was headed to Plymouth. My man is to follow Wickham and secure a seat in the same coach. If Wickham is travelling horseback, my man was to offer to accompany his friend. I have stationed a few men to follow him discretely and they will keep me posted of Wickham's movements."

What else could Mrs Gardiner do but to agree that Wickham would be caught one way or the other. With a promise of luncheon at the Darcy town house and another to return before dinner, Elizabeth entered the Darcy carriage.

_**Part II**_

Elizabeth and Darcy looked at the two Potters with disbelief. It was not the witch and wizard part that was difficult to believe, after all the two of them put quite a show with juggling things around without even touching them. Harry and Hermione, as they were to be called, told them that most of the stories about the witch hunts were indeed true even though the results of said hunts were apparently quite different.

No, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet believed that Harry and Hermione Potter were indeed what they declared to be, a witch and a wizard.

It was the coming from the future part and hunting for a psychotic dark wizard's soul piece that was beyond belief.

Hermione dug into the beaded bag she used to carry during Ron, Harry, and her run across the country searching for the horcruxes. Only this one was a mark II version, much better protected and could hold almost all of the Potter and Black wealth together with the manor houses if needed. She brought out a pensive that was in the Potter family for many generations.

Both Darcy and Elizabeth watched in fascination as Hermione pulled out a silvery thread out of her head and put it in the basin like structure. "This is a memory strand. I am going to project what London looks like two centuries from now."

Places like King's cross and Piccadilly were shown as were easily identifiable places like Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, and Tower of London. Though the structures were pretty much unchanged, the areas around them were so different from what either Darcy or Elizabeth knew, that they were forced to consider the Potters' tale that they were indeed from the future.

"So this is from the year 2012?" Darcy asked in awe looking at the red box like structures on wheels that seemed to carry passengers and zip around. There were other smaller black boxes that carried only two to three people unlike the red ones that ferried a lot more than a dozen. Even the houses were unrecognizable. How could something so tall stand without toppling? How could people not fall off them or get dizzy just looking from that height?

"Well, 2011 actually," Harry supplied.

Elizabeth knew that she was intelligent. Her father did consider that she was intelligent enough to attend university if they allowed women; they were apparently allowed in the future! They even showed how a doctored memory, a vision, or a dream looked like. There was a hazy quality to that and was easy to identify that it was not real, a lot different from an apparently real memory.

Sitting beside Mr Darcy, Elizabeth could easily spot the difference and together they successfully called out all the fakes. Taking all things into consideration, she had to conclude that Harry and Hermione were indeed telling the truth. It took her sometime to even consider that what she was seeing and hearing was the truth and even longer to actually believe them.

The Potters even offered to swear an oath on their magic and life that they were telling the truth. It was not the offer that convinced Elizabeth though, it was the other part of the explanation. Why did they need to concoct such an elaborate hoax, when they could simply modify Mr Darcy's memory, get away with Mr Wickham and get their job done, with none the wiser? What did they gain by such a story? Practically nothing. Instead, Harry and Hermione went out of their way to help Mr Darcy in uniting with his beloved. That was what convinced Elizabeth.

"… and this dark wizard's soul piece happened to come to this year?" Elizabeth regained her wits to focus on the problem.

Harry and Hermione sagged visibly in relief that their story was accepted. They took a liking to Darcy and Elizabeth and did not relish the idea of modifying their memories.

"No," Hermione corrected her gently, "Lord Voldemort deliberately sent it to the past in an attempt at immortality."

"Are you really thirty years old?" Darcy blurted out and then blushed in mortification. Then again, what was he to think, Lady Potter certainly did not look to be in her thirties, and here he was thinking that she was even younger than Miss Elizabeth who he knew was one and twenty!

Harry and Hermione had a good laugh at his discomfort and even Elizabeth joined in that. As an observer of human folly, it gave her great pleasure in learning that Mr Darcy was not as in control of his emotions as he wanted others to think.

'It would certainly make our married life more interesting,' Elizabeth thought and promptly blushed deeply at the thought. Thankfully, the other three did not notice it as they were either laughing out loud or trying to extricate himself from being the source of said laughter.

"Yes William, my wife and I are thirty years old. People with magic age slowly and live longer than their non-magical counterparts," Harry replied.

While this was going on Harry was getting ready with more memories. These were directly connected to the horcurx and with Wickham. The first memory showed the end of the battle at Hogwarts and the subsequent revelation that Lord Voldemort was not dead. The next one was a memory of Tom Riddle's memory wherein he was able to ditch the horcrux after opening a rift in the time stream. The final memory was that of a young George Wickham finding the same horcrux and pocketing it.

"Do you think that the piece of soul from this evil wizard made Wickham the way he is now?" Darcy asked a little hopefully. If that was the reason, then he could at least rest easily thinking that his father did not make a mistake in choosing to try and elevate the son of his steward to respectability.

Hermione instantly began to analyse the effects of a foreign soul piece on the psyche, if there are any. Harry was more direct though, "I do not think that the small bit of foreign soul could exert such an influence. I was able to throw away Lord Voldemort's influence when he tried to possess me. One of my professor's willingly allowed the same sized soul to possess him. I believe that Wickham wanted to turn to the path he is currently on. Only then could the soul piece have exerted any influence."

"I firmly believe that if someone like you, someone with strong morals and a clear understanding of right and wrong, came in contact with the soul piece, it would not have been able to implant itself," Hermione added. "In such a case, the soul piece would have simply died without contact to a life force. We would not have had to make this journey," she finished a little wistfully.

"Why do you have to find Mr Wickham at all? Other than for my sister of course," Elizabeth wanted to know. "The soul piece would also have been destroyed when Wickham died."

Hermione took up the challenge, "We are not sure that Wickham would have died…"

Elizabeth and Darcy gasped hearing that. They heard about achieving immortality before, but it was something else to actually having a chance for it to happen. This Lord Voldemort might have achieved it if not for the efforts of the two Potters and it seemed that Wickham might have also achieved it if not for the two Potters.

"Time magic is an uncharted subject. As far as I can deduce, having a piece of his soul in the past prevented Lord Voldemort from dying. If we apply the same logic to Wickham, it is possible that Wickham would also have survived…" Hermione trailed off finding a definite fault in her logic.

A fault that Harry was easy to point out, "Lord Voldemort's soul did not merge with Wickham's soul Hermione. It is very much possible that Wickham might have had a natural death."

"Yes," Hermione agreed, "At such a time, Lord Voldemort's soul might have either died or might have possessed someone else and continued living, we would never know."

Elizabeth tried to wrap her head around that argument but realized that it did not completely explain the need for Harry and Hermione to actually travel to the past. Before she could voice it, Darcy put forth his objection on the same matter, "If that was so then you should have detected the last surviving piece in your own timeline…"

"… but we did not," Harry answered agreeing to his logic.

"If Lord Voldemort's soul died with Wickham then he should have died," Elizabeth finished.

Harry had no answer to that. However, seeing the intense look of concentration on his wife's face, Harry hoped that Hermione had an answer to that.

Harry sought to give her some time, "We never expected Lord Voldemort to find a host actually. We were expecting to find the horcrux intact. It would have been the easiest for us. We would have simply grabbed the bracelet and left."

"Then we would not have met you, which is not a very good proposition in my mind," Elizabeth gave Hermione's hand an affectionate squeeze.

"I would still have been unsure of Elizabeth's feelings for me," Darcy interjected exchanging a fond look with his beloved. "Even if I was able to find Wickham and get him married to Miss Lydia, I would not have had the courage to meet with Elizabeth and confessed my love again."

"So, even if what happened was bad for Mr Wickham, I would not trade it for anything," Elizabeth finished.

By now Hermione sorted her thoughts and was able to return Elizabeth's gesture of affection in equal measure, "I do not know if the Darcy family is still in existence during our time. Meeting you has given me a unique perspective of the past."

"We will definitely look up your descendants when we get back to our own timeline," Harry promised. "Now I believe that my beautiful wife has an explanation to the conundrum we inadvertently found ourselves in…"

Hermione swatted his bottom playfully causing Darcy and Elizabeth to blush furiously.

"I think that the two soul pieces were never meant to meet…"

Even Harry was perplexed at that but he had an epiphany, "Paradox!" he exclaimed.

Hermione smiled affectionately at that, "Yes my dear husband, paradox."

She turned to Elizabeth and Darcy and began her explanation, "Think of a scenario where a piece of Lord Voldemort is already in existence at the time Lord Voldemort was to be born. He could not be born with a fully intact soul, two copies of the soul cannot exist at the same time. That is what a paradox is."

"So if the soul piece that was sent into the past was still in existence, then a new soul of Lord Voldemort would not have been born. A soul could not be born if it was not intact, if it was not whole..." Harry continued the explanation.

"… and if Lord Voldemort was not born, then he would not have sent a part of his soul to the past. Then that piece of soul that was already in existence cannot exist." Hermione finished.

"Wow! What a muddle!" Elizabeth exclaimed softly.

Darcy was also awed by the magic of it all. He could not even imagine that something like what he was hearing could exist. "So in a way you were forced to travel to the past to get rid of the paradox, isn't it?"

Harry and Hermione shrugged their shoulders simultaneously. Hermione answered, "That is the only possible explanation I have…"

While Harry's contribution was an offhanded, "We may never know."

A few moments of silence followed that declaration while everyone mulled over the explanation trying to poke any holes if they could.

Elizabeth was also thinking about what was unsaid. If she was to judge for herself from what she was told by Mr Darcy and what she concluded by her own observation, then Wickham was nothing more than a nuisance to society. Some of the memories shown by Lord and Lady Potter showed that even as a young boy, Wickham was willing to disregard the mores of polite society to get comforts, in his mind it was justified. Growing up, the propensity to disregard society rules turned more into an utter disregard for everything that was proper. Even Mr Darcy admitted about Wickham's gambling, and debauchery. Apparently the man left natural children around like someone would leave old clothes.

Would she leave the fate of her youngest sister to such a man, truly knowing what kind of a man he was? Elizabeth was sure that if the elopement did not take place, she would have done everything to stop Wickham from being in their presence. Now, she was not sure what was better, forcing Mr Wickham into a marriage with Lydia or never seeing his face again even at the risk of their reputations.

Elizabeth also realized something, the finality with which Lord and Lady Potter were talking about the paradox. Lord Voldemort could not be born with a part of his soul missing! With a jolt, she came to the conclusion that the fate of Wickham was out of mortal hands. The silence was broken by Elizabeth's soft whisper, "You have to kill Wickham, don't you?"


	4. Chapter 4

Declaration: I do not own Harry Potter world or the storyline of Pride and Prejudice. I do not make any profit through this story and is only for reading pleasure.

**Chapter 4:**

_**Part I**_

"Come on William, they will be fine," Harry said in his best soothing voice. "Hermione will be able to defend both of them if needed and we are only a shout away."

All four of them were just outside the inn that Wickham rented rooms in and where Lydia Bennet was now staying all alone. Apparently, the rent was not paid too and the inn keeper was ready to throw the girl out. Darcy paid the remaining rent and a promise not to disclose the identity of the room's occupants was also extracted. Of course, a little extra to keep his mouth shut was also the reason for the inn keeper's silence.

It was only a few hours since Darcy and Elizabeth learnt the truth about the two Potters and it was nearing five in the evening. Elizabeth was anxious to retrieve Lydia and go back to her aunt's house. Even though there was nothing they could do to salvage Lydia's reputation, Elizabeth was determined to at least minimize the burden on her new found fiancé.

"Yes William," Elizabeth blushed, "We will be fine. Trust me."

Darcy beamed at being called by his shortened name by the woman he adored. He was so caught up at the pleasantness of the address that he could not raise any objection as Hermione and Elizabeth walked into the inn.

Darcy and Elizabeth did not formalize their relationship yet; with the threat of Lydia's ruin hanging over their heads, Elizabeth was still reluctant to fully commit to being Darcy's wife. The short time they were alone in the foyer before setting out to retrieve Lydia was not enough to really talk about their relationship. Elizabeth did promise that she was waiting for Lydia's situation to be resolved, either way. Then hopefully, if Darcy still wanted her, she was his. Darcy was only eager to agree to her condition with an addendum of his own, he was never going to let Elizabeth slip out of his hands again.

The casual ease with which Harry and Hermione weaved their magic still amazed the two who never saw anything like that before. Getting ready to go out was a chore with the multitude of outer garments, bonnets, and gloves to be worn. Harry and Hermione simply waved their hands and were ready, Hermione was dressed in an elegant periwinkle blue gown of a fashionable cut, and Harry recognized that the colour of the gown was the same as the gown she wore during the Yule Ball of their fourth year but was designed for a more mature woman. Harry was dressed similar to Darcy in clothes that were obvious in stating their social standing.

Now, they were outside the inn; Darcy wanted to be the one to go in but he could not go into a room with Lydia as the sole occupant. He certainly did not want Elizabeth to the only one to go in, not that he did not have any doubts about her ability to force Lydia out of there, but he did not trust the other people who might have rented rooms in the inn. The inn was not in one of the better parts of London and certainly did not look fashionable.

Elizabeth could not hide her grimace at the sight of the room that Lydia currently called a bedroom. Not only were her clothes lying around, but even men's garments which the two women could guess as being Wickham's were also intermixed with Lydia's. For Elizabeth, it was disgusting to watch her sister who was no more than five and ten, sprawled on the bed in only a thin shift that left nothing to imagination. She was very glad that William was not the one to find Lydia, Elizabeth was not sure that their fledging understanding they had would have survived this bit of behaviour from her family.

The air inside the room was stinking and filled with that of sweat and something more that Elizabeth did not even want to think about. Then again the outside air was no better; London during the summer was not a fit place to live in.

Lydia certainly did not look surprised to see her sister, "What took you so long to come up. I saw you down in the street a long time ago." She did not even make an effort to get up from the bed or try and cover herself up.

Elizabeth came into the room very angry and with an intention of giving her sister a piece of her mind, but she was rather shocked into silence at her sister's behaviour and total lack of concern for her future and reputation. She could not bring herself to expend the energy to rationalize with her youngest sister. "Come on Lydia, let's go home," Elizabeth spoke tiredly.

"What! Why?" Lydia cried in outrage. "I am waiting for my George to come back to me, why should I leave this place?"

Elizabeth was quickly losing her patience, she did not want to be in that foul smelling place and her sister's unconcerned attitude and the shame Elizabeth was feeling made her snap at Lydia, "Wickham abandoned you. He had no intention of ever marrying you and ran away. You are lucky we found you or you would have been thrown out onto the streets by the innkeeper."

"No I do not believe you," Lydia shrieked. "My George told me that he loved me, he promised me that he would marry me."

Before he left to meet Elizabeth, Darcy left a man to canvass around. The footman found the stable that Wickham rented a horse from to aid his flight. Harry and Hermione were unfortunately unable to help Darcy and Elizabeth in this endeavour to track the route Wickham took. Though Harry did tack the fleeing man with a tracking charm, neither Harry nor Hermione had the means to actually track him, yet. They needed a place to do that job and Darcy's townhouse was not the one. They did reiterate their promise to Elizabeth though, the promise that they could indeed track Wickham but just not now and definitely not in Darcy's house.

"Then where is he?" Elizabeth barely managed to keep her voice down, the urge to shout at her sister was overwhelming. Before Lydia could retort, she continued, "The innkeeper will tell you, the owner of the tavern is a witness, and the stable master where Wickham got a horse from will tell you. He fled London."

Lydia really wanted to put her elder sister in her place; she was obviously jealous of the fact that she Lydia was the one to bag the handsome officer and left her other sisters unmarried. The fact that she was not really married did bother Lydia a little, but it was quickly forgotten under the feeling of superiority to have beaten her sisters at marriage.

Then again, her empty stomach did remind her that she did not eat after breakfast and it was now close to dinner time. Lydia knew that George did not return to her in the morning after a night of trying to win at cards. The wife of the innkeeper brought her breakfast in the morning but absolutely refused to get her lunch unless Lydia paid the required amount but she had no money and was forced to go hungry.

Her musings were disturbed by Elizabeth, "We could leave a word with the innkeeper. He could direct Wickham to our uncle's house when he comes back. We can even get our father and uncle to give you the money to get married quickly." Elizabeth changed her tactics to get her sister to agree. She knew that Lydia was coddled by their mother so much so that threats or fear of punishment never worked with her. Bribes certainly did and the promise of money to get married was certainly a good one. Elizabeth was not foolish enough to give the unsavoury innkeeper any knowledge as to who they were and certainly not the knowledge of finding them, Lydia need not know that though.

Lydia wanted to object to that. She wanted to wait for her George to come and get her. However, she was never hungry before and that was messing up her thoughts. Lydia suddenly perked up, "Can we at least eat before we leave? The smoked pork is to die for!" she exclaimed.

That was it, Hermione could not restrain herself any longer and launched her verbal assault at the girl who could not see anything wrong with her behaviour. If it was someone she knew, Hermione would have launched at her physically, but she had no right to interfere with the lives in this timeline, what Harry and she were doing now itself was bordering on dangerous.

"You are nothing more than a spoilt brat who should not have been let out into society. You are so selfish that you do not have any consideration for your family's respectability and the reputation of your sisters. You do not even realize what would happen to you if you were thrown out into the streets."

Lydia Bennet was shocked. She was never shouted at. Her father might have been angry at her many times but only called her a silly girl and retreated to his book room and Lydia was free to do as she wanted. This stranger was shouting at her? Unacceptable, "Who are you to scold me? I do not even listen to my father, why should I listen to you?"

Hermione did not trouble herself to answer, she simply stood tall and glared at the girl. The small amount of magic that she allowed to leak out of her gave Hermione a menacing air and that was enough to terrify Lydia.

The young girl squeaked in terror before she scrambled to get her clothes in order. She turned to look at her sister and maybe try to have the last word, but could not supress a shiver as her eyes inadvertently found the woman standing beside Elizabeth. With another squeak, Lydia hurried into the room that served both as a bath and as a dressing room.

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose in an effort to calm herself, "I am sorry Elizabeth, I should not have lost my temper."

Elizabeth did not want her apology, "Don't be…" she gave Hermione's hand a small squeeze, "If only someone took that tone with her before, I might not have seen this day."

With that Elizabeth walked into the bath to help her sister get dressed. Meanwhile, Hermione gave a disgusted glance around the room and waved her hand. The feminine articles lying around, folded themselves neatly and packed themselves into the small holdall that had a monogramed LB on it. The men's clothes, she did not even bother with. Hermione gave one last glance and moved out of the room and into cleaner air to await the Bennet sisters.

Lydia's reception at her Aunt Gardiner's house was also cold. Her uncle did not even look at her while her aunt greeted her with a curt, "Go to your room Lydia, I will have a tray sent up to you."

In contrast, Darcy and the two Potters were welcomed with warmth and effusions of thanks. The greetings were not too overboard and were just enough to show the genuine gratitude of the Gardiners in bringing their wayward niece back.

Dinner was not a pleasant affair with the threat of the entire Bennet daughters' ruination hanging on their heads. It was not very unpleasant too as Harry and Hermione were the centre of attraction as due their status as a lord and lady. Thankfully, there were too many things to be discussed pertaining to the actions that need to be taken to find Wickham. Harry had to reiterate his lie of having a man stay with Wickham always during the trip to Plymouth or wherever he was to flee. Though he could not offer any evidence in the form of a written note from the said man, no one could expect one in the few hours of the day, no one was able to doubt the word of a Lord. Elizabeth and Darcy needed no convincing as they were sure that magic was probably used or was going to be used and so were easily placated to go with Harry's word. The Gardiners did not have occasion to doubt the word of the people who went out of their way to rescue Lydia.

"I want to go with you," Elizabeth stated after a few moments of silence following the discussion and a rough outline of the course of action being finalized.

Mr Gardiner was naturally reluctant; he did not object outright but he was not slow to voice his concern at Elizabeth's desire to put herself at inconvenience and possibly danger.

Elizabeth sensed the reluctance in the eyes of everyone in the room; she could see that even Harry and Hermione were not willing to allow her to accompany them. She was certain that the Lady Potter was not going to sit idle and so did not see any danger in that. It was the subtle play of emotions in Harry and Hermione's eyes that made her realize how foolish her request would sound to those who did not truly know about the Lord and Lady Potter's special abilities.

She lowered her head and managed to whisper, "I would like to be of some use. Both Mr Darcy and the Potters do not have any reason to show us the extraordinary gallantry in solving our troubles."

"There is no chivalry Elizabeth," Harry countered gently, keeping up the facade. "I am happy to help my good friend William and if at the same time I can bring the scoundrel Wickham to heel, I consider a job well done."

Mrs Gardiner noticed a change in her niece's attitude towards the master of Pemberley during their visit to that estate. It added credence to her observations that Elizabeth was not indifferent to the handsome young man, in fact it could be quite the opposite. She could not help but ask for some clarification on that matter and if it gave her a chance to tease one of her favourite nieces, all the better.

"… and why should Mr Darcy take the trouble?" Mrs Gardiner turned a mischievous glance towards Elizabeth, "Do you have anything to say dear?"

Elizabeth blushed brightly at that but she was in no position to reveal anything about her relationship with Mr Darcy or her hopes in that direction.

"Not yet aunt," she replied.

Darcy was no better. He was also blushing but managed to school his features a little better. He was sure that he knew why Miss Elizabeth wanted to go on the trip, he was also very curious to see more magic. He wanted to know how the Potters will track and get them to Wickham, if he did not want to deny himself the opportunity, he certainly cannot deny Elizabeth.

Hermione came to Elizabeth's rescue, "Why don't you come with me Elizabeth."

The look of hope brought a smile to Hermione. "The Potters have a place to live on the way to Reading. It is a little less than 2 hours carriage ride. You can keep me company while we can wait for our men to come back with the scoundrel."

Hermione's choice of words was thankfully not commented upon and neither was Elizabeth's bright pink cheeks in response.

"I have not heard of any Potters near London…" Mr Gardiner mused. He recollected himself and apologized, "Forgive me, it's none of my business."

Harry chuckled at that. Of course, he would not have heard of any Potter dwelling as there was none nearby. "The seat of House Potter is in Wales. Traditionally the Potters did not have any interests near London but we still have a house nearby in order to enjoy the entertainments offered. The Potters never liked the bustle of the city after the wilds of Wales and so had a decent sized dwelling on the outskirts of London."

"It is a little far to travel at night, but with a well sprung carriage and a few footmen make the journey safe," Hermione added.

Mr Gardiner gladly agreed to that plan and allowed his niece to keep the Lady Potter's company. The day after next was fixed as the day Darcy and Elizabeth would accompany the Potters. That would give the Lord Potter and Mr Darcy enough time to settle their affairs for the short term. By that time Lord Potter would also have a confirmation from his man the route Wickham took and the possible time and place to intercept him. The ladies would be dropped at the Potters dwelling allowing Darcy and Lord Potter to pursue the wayward George Wickham.

Farewells were exchanged for the night. Darcy offered hospitality to Harry and Hermione, but they declined citing the need to visit Potter Manor in Wales and disapparated in front of an awestruck Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Harry and Hermione appeared outside the ward boundary of the Potter Manor. They were quite confident that the wards would recognize Harry as a Potter but were not so sure about Hermione's reception. They were not going to take the chance by trying to breach the wards by apparating into the compound.

It was only a short distance to the ward boundary from where they landed. Harry and Hermione were not even challenged by the wards and were allowed access easily. The Lady of the house ring on Hermione's finger may have been the reason.

It was already night and most of the lights around the manor were extinguished. As they neared the main entrance of the Manor, Harry and Hermione spied a house elf who stood on the threshold with his hands poised to blast the intruders away.

The two time travellers stopped a couple of feet away from the clearly confused house elf, "You be Potter," the elf gestured towards Harry. "But I be not knowing you."

"Hello there," Harry greeted the house elf, "Will your master be willing to meet with us? We have an important matter to discuss with him."

Glad to have a Potter giving him directions, the house elf allowed Harry and Hermione entry into the house and led them to the very familiar parlour. With the snap of his fingers, a pot of tea was before Harry and Hermione while he left to tell his master and mistress about their guests.

The wards around a Manor house are tied to the magic of the Lord of the house. The Head of house Potter at that time, Lord Geoffrey Potter could sense the disturbance in the magic of the wards. The magic of the wards and of the manor was conflicted by having two acknowledged heads of house Potter at the same time and at the same place. That was not possible and so Lord Geoffrey Potter was forced to agree that the two visitors were indeed from another timeline, even without hearing their story.

Harry and Hermione were reluctant to share their story and Geoffrey and Amanda Potter immediately agreed that they did not want to know anything except for the small piece of information whether they were from the past or the future. Once that was given, they left the manor in charge of their many times grandson and his wife and decided to visit their children for a few days. They did not want to do anything that would influence the timeline and so did not even ask.

It was not possible to visit their children that night and so Geoffrey and Amanda moved to the Potter cottage on the French Riviera for the night. Harry and Hermione felt a little guilty at effectively banishing the rightful owners out of the manor, but it could not be helped. The manor would never accept two heads of house. Harry feared that his magic being more powerful than the current lord of the house, Geoffrey would lose the headship and that would be a disaster.

After a good night's sleep, the two Potters decided to hit the library intent on finding any new information that would help solve the predicament they were in.

_**Part II**_

A stately carriage, even more impressive than the one Elizabeth rode in a couple of days ago from the Darcy townhouse, pulled in front of the Gardiners' house. Dawn was just breaking but almost all the occupants of the house were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the travellers in the carriage.

The carriage was bigger than whatever the best money could buy. This was clearly a custom job and the Potter crest on the side displayed to the world who the proud owner of the luxury conveyance was. The four Clydesdale horses that were driving the carriage were themselves majestic to behold but they did not appear to be the normal variety.

Unlike what was known of that particular breed of horses, these animals were very dark bay, almost black, with white markings. Towering at a little more than 20 hands, they were all muscle and looked as if they were bred specifically to pull this particular carriage.

In addition to the driver, there was a guard in front with a gun held discreetly not to attract attention and two footmen rode in the back. One of the two also had a gun hidden on the top of the carriage but within easy reach.

There was not much time to dawdle, but the Lord and Lady Potter were introduced to Mr and Mrs Bennet. Mrs Bennet was ready to push Elizabeth out of the Gardiners' house; she knew that the sooner Elizabeth and the others were on the road, the sooner would her favourite daughter get married. So Elizabeth's luggage was taken to the Potter's carriage with little fuss and they were ready to move on.

Mrs Bennet changed her tune, however, as soon as she laid her eyes on the magnificent conveyance. "Why is Lizzy going? She does not have any relation to these people. It should be my Lydia that should be going."

"And why should Lydia go Mrs Bennet? She is not even up," Mr Bennet was the first to recover from the shock of that lady's proclamation.

"She did not visit any nice places. Besides she is going to meet her husband," Mrs Bennet declared as if that was gospel. She conveniently chose to ignore the fact that said girl was not married. Besides, no one wanted to give the clearly spoilt youngest Bennet daughter any concessions.

Harry was ready to explode. He was on a very short fuse. Hermione dragged him out of bed at an unholy hour and they made the journey from Potter Manor the same morning. He did not get enough sleep as he was tired from casting enormous amount of magic in charging the crystal sinks they brought with them. They were needed to power the ritual that would take them back to their own timeline. Reaching London, they picked up Darcy and reached the Gardiners' place to pick Elizabeth up before daybreak. Harry wanted nothing more than to grab a few more hours of sleep but all thoughts of that vanished on hearing the garbage spewing out of the Bennet matriarch's mouth.

Even Darcy was uncomfortable. He never liked the woman due to her lack of real understanding and her opinionated behaviour. She did not even consider if her opinions had any merit. Darcy was determined to respect the Bennet family, the mother included, and so strove hard not to show any emotions on his face. He only wished he could hold his Elizabeth's hand; that would not only give him the comfort he needed but also alleviate some of her embarrassment.

Mr Bennet sensed the change in emotion in Lord Potter. He could see that the man, though very young, had a powerful presence. Mr Bennet could also see the favour bestowed on her favourite daughter by these people. He was not going to destroy that by allowing his wife to run away with her mouth.

"These good people are going out of their way to restore our respectability when they have no need to, Mrs Bennet. The least we could do is to show them our gratitude." Mr Bennet grasped his wife's arm firmly and pulled her back putting her behind her brother Mr Gardiner.

Emboldened by that, Elizabeth grasped the hand of the man beside her, an act which clearly surprised her relations. "Besides, I am not going with strangers papa. My fiancé is with me."

Mr Bennet was clearly shocked, he thought that her daughter loathed the man. "When did this happen my dear?"

A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes, "When I saw his beautiful grounds at Pemberley…"

Mr Bennet could see the knowing looks exchanged by his brother and sister-in-law. It looked as if a lot had happened during Elizabeth's trip to Derbyshire. He could interrogate his relations later but now he had to focus on Elizabeth's words, "… It started in Kent though, where I learnt how truly a good man William is."

That name slipped so casually out of her mouth that even Elizabeth was surprised. No one called her on it though, her father had more important concerns.

"Was that how you knew about Wickham and his ways?" Getting Elizabeth's agreement, Mr Bennet closed his eyes in pain, "… and I did not listen when you tried to warn me."

Tears threatened to leak out of his eyes but he managed to keep them at bay. Mr Bennet patted Elizabeth's cheek fondly, "Well, well, go on. Your friends are waiting for you."

Only when they were safely away, did Elizabeth venture to satisfy her curiosity. The inside of the carriage was larger than what they could see on the outside. Her curiosity also helped her forget the humiliation inflicted by her mother and hoped that it did the same to William too.

"Space expansion charms," Harry answered. He took a look at Darcy and answered his unasked one too, "The carriage has a weight managing charm. It keeps the carriage light while giving it the necessary weight to run on the roads. It does not matter how many people are inside, it would weigh the same."

"How many people can travel in this?" Darcy enquired curiously.

Hermione grinned, "There is no limit actually. The only issue you have to be careful with is that no one sees a brood exiting the carriage."

That silenced them; Elizabeth and Darcy took to observing the inside of the carriage while marvelling at the wonders of magic. Harry was trying to get some shut-eye but he knew that they were to stop pretty soon and so contented himself by browsing through a couple of old newspapers that he managed to snag from Potter Manor. This also gave some diversion to Darcy and Elizabeth who were obviously fascinated by the moving pictures.

The traffic was almost non-existent due to the earliness of the hour and within an hour or so, the carriage came to a halt. They stopped in a copse a little ways from the road they were travelling on which afforded a good deal of privacy.

Standing beside the carriage, Elizabeth looked around worriedly, "Are we really going to stay here? Though I do not know where here is…"

Darcy also piped in, "I do not see any dwellings…"

The two Potters shared an amused glance. "No, we are not staying here Elizabeth," Hermione answered.

"We are going to Potter Manor," Harry added. Elizabeth could not stop the gasp of surprise that escaped her. Even Darcy looked bewildered. He could understand that telling the others that they were going to follow Wickham to try and catch up with him might have been a small fabrication. He guessed that the Lord and Lady Potter had a magical way of getting to Wickham without a fuss, otherwise, how could they have travelled to Wales and back within a day?

Elizabeth also suspected the same thing, but she had an inkling as to why they were not going after Wickham immediately. "The ruse has to be upheld," she whispered. At Darcy's questioning glance, she elaborated, "We could not just appear to travel to Wickham in the blink of an eye and get back the same way. It would probably take a day or three to get to him even in a conveyance as fast as this appears to be."

Harry agreed to her assessment with a nod of his head and called out, "Noody!"

One of the footmen who was standing at the back of the carriage climbed down to stand before Harry. "We should really get going now," Harry suggested.

If Elizabeth and Darcy thought that Noody was a strange name for a footman, they did not raise any noise but they could not stop the gasp of surprise when they saw who or what Noody actually was. Standing before them was a very strange creature. It was not more than 3 feet in height and had a very strange appearance with large bulbous eyes and their ears were similar to those of a bat.

"These are intelligent and powerful magical beings called house elves," Hermione explained a little steel creeping into her voice. "They can be your friends, family, or simply servants. One thing you will have to remember is that they can and will protect their masters and only stop short of being lethal."

Harry laid a hand on his wife's arm to calm her down. Other sentient beings trapped into servitude was one sour point with Hermione even after travelling around the world and experiencing different cultures. However, her anger here was totally misplaced. Harry was sure that neither Elizabeth nor William would even dare to boss around the Potter elves. For one, they are too new to this world of magic that they dare not touch anything without the presence of the two Potters and then, Elizabeth seemed to be one who would rather do everything herself than depend on others for day to day activities.

"Just remember to be polite in your request for help," Harry finished at that.

While this was going on, the driver and the other two footmen also changed their appearance. There were now four of the house elves standing beside the carriage. The elf who was addressed as Noody, snapped his fingers.

Even before the transformation happened, the horses that were tethered to the carriage were impressive. Now they were simply staggering. At ten feet, they were the largest of the species that either Darcy or Elizabeth had ever seen. Their distinguishing feature, however, were the pair of wings protruding out of their back and that told the two that these horses were clearly magical.

"These are magical creatures called Abraxans. As you might have guessed, they fly," Harry beamed at the gobsmacked looks of Darcy and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth so wanted to touch the magical horses, the rich chocolate brown coat looked ultra-smooth but the blue tipped wings were so mesmerising to her. Hermione took her hand and allowed Elizabeth to pet the animals while Darcy admired the fine lines the winged horses had on display. They certainly looked powerful, they would have to be if they were to lift the carriage into the air and fly the distance to Wales.

While the gentle flight was awe-inspiring to Darcy and Elizabeth, the two Potters enjoyed it immensely too. Harry was used to flying, but it was always under his own power on a broom and it was never this comfortable. Hermione hated travelling by broom, Hippogriff, or by Thestral. None of the three were comfortable and the motion of flying through the air unprotected, was terrifying to her. Sitting in the luxurious carriage and gazing out of the huge windows was certainly a novel experience which she would like to recreate once they reached their own timeline. Maybe she could persuade Harry to buy a herd of Abraxans and maybe the carriage they were currently travelling in was stashed somewhere on the manor grounds.

There were no telephone poles or towers for cellular phones and so the entire duration of the flight was barely above the tree tops. Protected from prying eyes by disillusionment charms, the experience added a whole lot of excitement to the journey and it certainly was a novelty to Darcy and Elizabeth who were very vocal in their appreciation.

As all things do, the journey was also at an end and the Potter carriage touched down just above an hour into the flight.

The rugged landscape of Snowdonia blended beautifully with the grounds of the manor house and Elizabeth was simply captivated. Even Darcy who lived in the wilds of Derbyshire found the mountains near Potter Manor enchanting. The engaged couple exchanged fond looks; they hoped to find some time to walk about the surrounding area and partake of some of the beauties of the land.

Harry had a word of caution though, "You are free to roam about the lands for however long we are here. However, the manor is protected with wards…"

"As you might have guessed, a ward wards off the unwanted," Hermione piped in much to Harry's amusement. He knew that his wife could not resist imparting knowledge to those who wanted it.

"The grounds are protected by wards that do not allow those without magic to enter. The only way for normal people to get in is in the presence of the lord of the manor, just like you did. If you cross the ward boundary, which is quite clearly demarcated from the inside by the way, you will not be able to enter again."

"I know that the temptation to wander around is very high," Hermione took over from her husband. "Try to stay within the boundaries, if you need to go beyond that please let one of us or one of the elves accompany you. They will be discreet and will not interfere."

"I cannot guarantee the same if either Hermione or I was to go with you," Harry added slyly.

Elizabeth and Darcy progressed to holding hands whenever they were together. Their relationship was still new and Harry was able to bring about a rosy blush on Elizabeth's cheeks at that. Darcy managed to stay unfazed but he enjoyed the beautiful sight of his fiancée standing on the beautiful grounds of Potter Manor.

After enduring a round of good natured teasing from her new friends, Elizabeth and Darcy were relieved to be led into the house. Harry threw open the doors and gave the traditional greeting that was needed for any guest to stay within the main house.

"Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, welcome to Potter Manor. Please enjoy our hospitality."


	5. Chapter 5

The distances travelled in this story are purely out of my imagination. I took the basis of Darcy's quote 'What is fifty mile of good road? I call it an easy distance' as a mark. I would assume that the drive to Kent would have taken Elizabeth and the Lucases a day. That was by private coach. So I assumed that a fully laden post coach could not travel more than 30 miles a day.

Declaration: I do not own Harry Potter world or the storyline of Pride and Prejudice. I do not make any profit through this story and is only for reading pleasure.

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

_**Part I**_

Inside, the house looked quite ordinary. The only way to identify that the house had anything to do with magic were the tapestries and framed sceneries inside the rooms, and only because the images were moving. A few other clues were very subtle like the lamps that apparently do not need any fuel, the roaring fire place that is apparently not used to warm a room but rather to travel and to communicate, and then there were dust and spilt beverages or food vanishing right before Darcy and Elizabeth's astonished eyes.

"There are a lot of magical items in here that are not obvious and can cause harm, so please be careful," Harry warned the two guests one last time before giving them permission to explore both the house and the grounds to their hearts' content.

Elizabeth was excited; it was a rare chance for her to see another new place so soon after travelling to Kent and to Derbyshire. This place in Wales promised new wonders too. What made it more memorable was that she was going to share it with the man who loved her with all his heart and one she did with the same intensity too. Before that could happen, Elizabeth wanted to be satisfied on the matter that brought all of them together.

"Can we at least get a glimpse of the plan about catching Wickham and how you will go about it?"

Darcy wanted to ask that too, but he was a little selfish. Oh! He wanted to get his hands on Wickham but he wanted the actual act to be delayed as much as possible. He knew that Wickham was headed to Plymouth and that would take more than a week if he was racing across the country. If the Potters had a reliable way to keep tabs on him, he was willing to take that gamble and wait that long. Darcy knew that it could go horribly wrong, but being with Elizabeth was a good trade for a little lack of peace of mind concerning Wickham and Miss Lydia.

In answer to Elizabeth's query, Harry led them into the master's study and to a map that was hung on the wall. This was a map of the world that was known to wizardkind and apparently had a few more islands and places that were not known to muggles. Harry explained that these places were warded so that the muggles could not even approach within a mile or so and therefore were not known to exist. A sea faring muggle would see that place as a shallow and rocky reef where his ship could run aground and since there was no land nearby, would not dare to approach it.

The two non-magical guests watched in fascination as Harry tapped his finger on the United Kingdom and the entire map faded away leaving only the land mass they were currently on. Another tap and the land mass enlarged enough to cover the entire map. This time though, Harry put his finger on an intricate design at the bottom right hand corner of the map and waited a few seconds. A flash of light passed between his finger and the map and then the whole display on the map changed.

The map was now criss-crossed with squiggly lines that ultimately looked like spider webs dispersed all over the map. Unlike the precise geometry that was unique to a spider web, these webs on the map did not follow any pattern and were more like the scribbling of a child. The spider webs were not too big, more than a dozen covered mainland England with about half a dozen in the smaller land of Wales, surprisingly the highest density was in Scotland. The lines often crossed each other and in some places there were more than a few lines coming together forming a dense point in the centre of that particular web.

Pointing to the small design that started all the display on the map, Hermione explained, "This is called a rune. Each rune is a letter in the alphabet of magic and is usually used in complex and precision magic. The wards around this house are based on these runes to the most extent."

"The squiggly lines as you called them William, are called ley lines," Harry smirked at the man. "Just like the latitudes and longitudes that are used to navigate and to mark the time around the world, these leylines carry the magical energy of the Earth."

"But that means the leylines are actually present," Elizabeth piped in.

Harry smiled at the young woman, "Very astute Elizabeth. Yes, the magic flowing through the leylines is actually measurable. When they meet, the nodes that are formed have a higher concentration of magic than the surrounding areas."

Darcy had another question, "Do these leylines power the magic in a witch or a wizard? I thought you said something about a magical core?"

"A witch or a wizard does have a magical core to power the spell," Hermione answered. "Inanimate things draw their power from the leylines. Enchanted objects like the lamps in this house, the fireplace, and the wards around Potter Manor for example."

Elizabeth and Darcy spent a few moments examining the fascinating map. It must have taken a very long time for such a detailed map of leylines to be generated. What they did not know was that there was no human intervention in making the map, it was completely made by magic itself, humans just provided an outline of the various landmasses.

"We are very near a magical node," Elizabeth exclaimed, "Does this mean that the protection around Potter Manor are very powerful?"

Harry just hummed in agreement as he did not have any chance for a verbal reply as Elizabeth exclaimed, "Manchester is in an area where there are very few leylines."

"You are correct," Hermione agreed. "It became a very big industrial centre in the future."

She took some time to explain how modern appliances that were run by electricity could not work in magic rich areas. The total lack of any magic in that area might have somehow influenced industrial development was Hermione's theory. There was no way to prove it nor disprove it, and even in the future timeline, Hermione had to be satisfied with making a hypothesis.

Neither Darcy nor Elizabeth understood most of what Hermione was trying to impart. For them bottling energy in the form of this electricity and using it to do most of their work was unheard of. They allowed themselves to be immersed in the feeling though, trying to soak up as much knowledge of the future as was possible.

Hermione could have talked their ears off and both William and Elizabeth would probably have let her do it too. Harry interrupted the conversation and brought it to the need to track Wickham. They could not not know where he was currently in. Harry found out his plans by reading his mind, but they were just that, plans, and they could be changed.

Harry touched another rune on the map, and pulsed his magic. "I put a tracking charm on Wickham," he gained the attention of his audience with that. "What it basically means is that I put a little bit of my magical signature on him. We can track that signature on this map."

A bright red dot appeared on the map right above the dot marked Potter Manor confirming that the spell took hold. "Now we have to wait for Wickham to cross one of the leylines and the map will begin to track him," Hermione concluded.

"So now we wait," Darcy proclaimed.

Elizabeth could not contain her excitement; she was learning a lot and this subject of tracking someone by their magical signature was fascinating. "Can you track a witch or wizard in the same way?"

"Not unless the witch or wizard donates his magical signature," Harry countered. He continued the explanation, "The tracking charm that I used on Wickham will not take hold on another magical, as their own magic acts as a shield to repel my raw magic."

Hermione was more willing to delve into the alternative means of tracking a witch or a wizard, "There is a variation of the tracking charm where in the charm captures the magical signature of your target. This is tied to a device that can show you the direction the witch or wizard is and also roughly the distance he or she is from you."

"Hmm…" Darcy mused, "More like a compass or a sextant that the sea faring travellers use."

Just at that moment, another red dot appeared on the map showing the position of a travelling Wickham. Both Darcy and Elizabeth were excited by that.

"Now that the map knows what to look for, it will keep updating the position every five seconds or so or when he crosses a leyline. This is the most accurate position we can get but as you might have guessed, Wickham must be near a magical leyline at all times for the map to pick it up. If he is near a powerful enough source of magic that can be picked up by the map, it will pick up Wickham too."

Thankfully, Harry need not have worried as the route that Wickham had to take to get to Plymouth was covered with a multitude of leylines.

Darcy traced the route a traveller had to take from London in order to reach Plymouth. "He passed Andover…"

"That would be 75 to 80 miles away," Elizabeth added, looking at William for conformation.

Darcy agreed with her assessment, "That is just about what you can expect while travelling by a public coach in two days."

Now it was the third morning since Wickham escaped from London and Harry was surprised that the man did not get far. Then again, he had no way to compare the travelling speeds in this era. But the man left on horseback…

Darcy had an answer to that, "Unless you are willing to pay the entire cost of the horse, no one would be willing to rent you one. People are very suspicious about losing their property. The only other way to get a good riding horse, is to get one from well-known estates in that area with the promise of returning the horse to the owners or to replace one."

"Wickham dare not stop at the big towns or the estates," Elizabeth prompted.

Darcy agreed with his fiancée, "If he is aiming to use the money he has to get out to the continent, then he could not afford to rent horses as much as he would like to. No, he would have to travel by post."

"Added to that, he would not dare to show his face for longer than necessary. From what I gathered from his thoughts, he thinks that there is a wide spread manhunt for him," Harry added without thinking.

Darcy was stunned, "What? Mind Reading?" he exclaimed. Did the Potters read their minds too?

Harry instantly knew that he made a mistake in saying that, but he had no choice now. He had to own up. Thankfully, Elizabeth was excited enough to divert the attention for the moment.

"Are we going to catch him now?"

Hermione was also glad of the change in topic, "No we do not want others to see us or to notice Wickham's absence in broad daylight."

"Can you not make others forget that we were there?" Darcy wanted to know.

Harry looked grave when he answered that, "We can. However, modifying someone's memory is a messy business."

Darcy suddenly realized something, "You could have done that to me when we first met. You could have simply wiped away my mind about seeing Wickham and take him away. You need not have had to spend these days chasing around…"

Neither Harry nor Hermione did not deny that and though they did not agree too, Darcy got his answer. "Why ever did you not?"

Harry exchanged a glance with his wife before deciding to explain, "Two things mainly. It is an invasion of privacy which my wife and I detest. We swore not to do it casually and we hope to stick by it."

Hermione joined in, "But for us the second reason was more important. For, you see we put up a charm that would not have allowed you to notice us or Wickham, but you overcame it. It told us that you were searching for him quite desperately, we were curious to see who would be looking for such a despicable man. If you were in league with Wickham, we would have taken care of you too."

Harry sighed, "Then when we heard your story, we could not ignore you. Not when I love my own wife more than my life itself."

Elizabeth and Darcy exchanged fond looks.

They were getting comfortable at the displays of affection that the pair showed. In the beginning, both William and Elizabeth were very uncomfortable at the casual way that the two Potters kissed and in front of others too. But getting to know them and understanding the depth of love they had for each other, they were no longer surprised by their interactions.

If anything at all, Darcy and Elizabeth wanted to have that same depth of understanding and love in their married life too. They wanted to emulate the relationship that the two Potters shared and what a relationship it was! Communicating without the need for words. It was a relationship built on implicit trust in each other. It was a little disconcerting to think they were trying to emulate someone who were younger than themselves, but Elizabeth and Darcy had to remind themselves that looks can be deceiving, these were two people who fought a war and were involved in each other's lives for nearly twenty years.

Elizabeth and Darcy were now at a point where they were very comfortable in each other's presence. If they forget for a moment the society's mores of propriety, then they were able to actually learn more about the other. That added a big boost to Elizabeth's understanding of the man whom she respected a lot, and now she was beginning to love a lot. They were able to control their reactions to the presence of the other and began to get more comfortable, progressing to the stage where they began to hold hands in a gesture that was natural to them.

They were truly ready to take the next step and get married.

The group's thoughts were broken by a 'pop' signalling the arrival of one of the house elves and that it was time for lunch.

The rest of the day was simply spent in being busy and doing something meaningful. Elizabeth got a book on the history of magic in England and spent the afternoon perusing it while Darcy got a book on household charms. He was fully engrossed in the sheer number and the variety that made the life of a wizard or a witch that much easier. The cooler air of the evening gave the engaged couple an opportunity to explore the grounds near the manor arm in arm. They did not know how long they were to stay at the manor as the Potters did not share the plan yet but whatever time they were given, Darcy and Elizabeth wanted to spend in each other's company.

Meanwhile, Harry and Hermione were not idle. While looking through a tome that was not there in the Potter library during their time, Hermione came across a ritual that could solve their problem and still leave Wickham alive. The only issue was that she had to get Harry to agree to the ritual, she was not powerful enough to pull it off and the ritual was certainly something that neither of them would do if it was not desperately needed.

_**Part II**_

George Wickham stopped for the night in a coaching inn about 10 miles out of Andover. He was cursing his luck, the coach he was travelling in had a cracked wheel and all the passengers had to get down. The men were deputed to push the carriage to the nearest coaching inn that was thankfully only a couple of miles from the place the coach broke down.

The driver of the coach was getting the wheel repaired but there was no way for them to travel that day anymore. They would have to stay at the inn for the night. All in all Wickham estimated that he travelled about 90 to 95 miles in three days, which was actually not bad, but the situation he was in meant that he wanted to be nearer his destination.

He cursed his luck at not having the time to get more money in London, not with Darcy hovering around and nearly getting caught. He did not dare to spend the money he had to rent a horse. While that would mean reaching Plymouth faster, it would also mean waiting at one place until he could find more money to complete the passage.

At the moment he had enough money to get on board a cargo vessel as soon as he reached Plymouth; he was lucky to have swindled his fellow traveller last night and get the few pounds he still needed. Wickham was not sure if he could get more if he spent what he had in hand. No, even though it was inconvenient, Wickham realized that currently everything was going on in his favour and he should not buck the trend. He was going to bear the inconvenience for now. After all, the future after that was rosy.

With that thought, Wickham downed the last of the rye and walked up to the room he rented out for the night. He could not have more than one glass of rye or anything more potent. He wanted to be on the stage that was scheduled to start at daybreak after getting the repairs done on the wheel. Wickham entered the room and suddenly felt extremely tired and sleepy all of a sudden. 'Must be the cheap rye,' he thought before falling flat on to the bed.

Elizabeth was having a serious information overload. A little after dinner the same night after arriving at Potter Manor, Harry was ready to travel to the coaching inn that Wickham was staying in. They were to get Wickham back to Potter Manor and not end him right then and there. Hermione was of course ready to go with him and that left William and her in the manor, which did not agree with Elizabeth, not that she did not trust William but she was not ready to miss the action after coming so far.

Her demands to accompany them were accepted without much fight. Hermione warned about the discomfort they were to experience when travelling by something called apparition. Elizabeth never felt such a bad squeezing sensation before, not even when her mother tried to fit her into a corset that was two sizes too small for her.

Standing in the room before an unconscious Wickham, Elizabeth could still not believe the ease with which the task was accomplished.

Harry left them to travel to the location, apparently blind apparition as it was called was quite dangerous as they could not predict what they would run into at the destination. Apparently Harry was magically powerful enough to survive even running into a brick house travelling blind. He returned about five minutes later giving the all clear. Harry stared into his wife's eyes and that was all it took for Hermione to get the knowledge about the place they were to travel to! Magic was amazing.

William left with Harry and she was left to travel with Hermione. Even after being warned, Elizabeth was not prepared for the squeezing sensation. Just when she feared losing consciousness due to the lack of air, Elizabeth appeared in the room which was housing Wickham for that night.

Standing in a corner with William's hand in hers, Elizabeth was astounded to see Hermione becoming invisible right before their eyes. Then, Harry covered William and her with a cloak that rendered them invisible too! Within a few minutes after that Wickham entered the room and was knocked unconscious. Apparently, Harry just waved his hand and that was enough.

Elizabeth considered herself an intelligent woman, but this display was astonishing and if she did not see it with her own eyes, she would never have believed it. Looking at her fiancé, she was thankful that William was looking at the two Potters wide eyed. She was at least in some illustrious company when it came to witnessing the impossible.

Harry and Hermione cancelled their 'disillusionment charms' signalling Elizabeth and Darcy to come from under the invisibility cloak. Harry dragged the unconscious Wickham onto the floor which allowed Hermione to conjure an exact replica of the man. It would not fool anyone who wanted to take a closer look, but the muggle repelling charm on the door would compel everyone not to look.

Harry picked up a length of rope from his pocket. Touching the rope with his finger tip, Harry muttered a portkey charm that would take all of them straight to the ritual room inside Potter Manor, except that it was not a ritual room yet, just a storage room for old crates.

Hermione levitated the unconscious Wickham and held him mid-air, while Harry looped the rope around his wrists. "You should get a hold of the rope," she gestured the rope towards Darcy and Elizabeth who complied easily.

"Now this is another form of magical transport, as unsettling as apparition," Harry commented with a sly grin. They had this debate about magical transport and both Darcy and Elizabeth were adamant that they were thankful that they did not do it every time. Only the ride in the magical carriage drawn by the Abraxans was comfortable, even Harry had to agree with their assessment that most magical transports are a pain.

Hermione was going over the mechanics of the portkey while Harry set up the muggle repellent ward at the entrance of the room. He could not have it any further into the corridor and so had to make it a little more powerful than normal.

"You will stumble as soon as you land," Hermione was coaching Darcy and Elizabeth. "As soon as I give the signal, let go of the rope and kick your legs as if you were walking. That should help you."

When everyone gave their agreement that they were ready, Harry activated the portkey and they were jerked away from the dingy room. The landing was in a heap. Though Hermione, Elizabeth and Darcy managed to stand on their feet after landing, Harry brought them all down. He tried, really tried to stand but the bulky and unconscious body of Wickham made it difficult for him and the result was a tumble to the floor.

"Remind me never to get on a magical transport if it was not pulled by winged horses," Elizabeth groaned after lifting herself off the floor. Thankfully, she fell on Darcy who was more than willing to hold his fiancée and steady her.

"Remind me to look for the carriage once we get back, Sweetheart," Harry looked around the room mentally planning the changes they had to make. Hermione was doing the same and silently agreed with her husband. The carriage they used to fly in was one of the most comfortable she ever travelled in and that was saying something for magical transport. If they could find a good herd of Abraxans, then they would have a quick and comfortable way to travel, especially when they had children or she was pregnant. Harry might even appreciate not falling on his face when using the floo or a portkey.

The room they were in was a part of the basement and it was not too big. The floor was covered by wooden slats and since the room was dug out of the ground and was nearly 15 feet deep from the surface, it had some serious waterproofing and weatherproofing charms applied on every inch. Surprisingly, the floor was the only part of the room that was lined with wood, the other five sides were with bricks and painted over.

Darcy provided the answer, "This was probably used to store barrels of either wine or more likely whiskey. A stone floor is not conducive for proper aging of single malt whiskey. Ideally the entire room should have been lined with wood."

There was no way for Harry to know if the room was actually used for that purpose and was remodelled later on. But that was not relevant to what they were going to do and so with a shrug of his shoulders, Harry moved Wickham to one corner of the room.

Hermione began pulling the thin and long wooden floorboards that lined the floor with great care. They were perfectly chiselled pieces and could be works of art, if they survived in the future. May be they could build a gazebo of sorts on the manor grounds and use the slats to form retractable walls to provide some protection from the elements.

Elizabeth was intrigued at Hermione's actions. She could not imagine any reason for the floor to be demolished. If what she read was correct, then some kinds of wood actually provide a focus to the magic. "What are you doing Hermione?"

Hermione did not stop what she was doing but still replied any way, "While it is true that wood can channel magic much more efficiently than air, the best source of magic is the earth itself. The closer you are to the ground, the more powerful some of the magics can be, like the rune based wards. Especially near the leylines, and more so where there is a node."

"… and if you remember, we are sitting on top of one such node," Harry joined the conversation. BY that time a good enough area was cleared off the wooden flooring exposing the earth below.

Harry cast a spell and the entire floor lit up in a bluish haze. The brightness of the area began to reduce and seemingly as Harry concentrated more and more, the area that lit up was reduced. Finally, only Harry and Hermione had the blue haze around them apart from two lines that ran close to the ground and formed a simple 'X' where they crossed in the room, a little off centre.

Hermione took out her wand, the first time she did after coming to the past, and made a precise 'X' mark in the dirt where the lines crossed. She did not use an ordinary cutting curse to achieve that result, instead she used a little known spell that superheated anything it touched. The grooves cut into the dirt would remain etched permanently.

What Harry did was a simple spell that identified any magic around them. Since the room was in the vicinity of two leylines and a magical node, the entire area around them lit up. What he did next was extremely taxing and needed a lot of precision control. He simply began to reduce the power he put into the spell such that it became more and more inefficient. Ultimately, what the spell picked up was the biggest sources of magic in the room, the most powerful wizard that walked the earth after Merlin and Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the brightest witch after Ravenclaw and Lily Potter, Hermione Granger-Potter, along with the two leylines that formed the node.

Harry let the spell go and took a deep breath to steady himself. Hermione cast a glance at the two non-magicals in their midst, "I hope you may have identified that exact spot to be a magical node?" getting nods of affirmation from Elizabeth and Darcy.

Things settled down a bit after that and it looked as if the two Potters were getting ready to do what they came to do.

Darcy was a little apprehensive to be in the room to witness what would essentially be a murder. More than that he did not want his fiancée to be in there. "Are you sure we should stay in here?" he asked.

Harry and Hermione looked up, their eyes a little out of focus. It was apparent that they were in a world all to themselves and did not register the presence of the other two for a moment.

"Oh!" Hermione recovered first, "We found a ritual that is far better than killing the man outright."

Both Elizabeth and Darcy perked up at that. They were cognizant of the fact that an unmarried woman with child would attract the worst sort of attention and however much the Bennets would have tried to hide the fact, Miss Lydia and consequently the entire Bennet family would be censured. If there was a chance that Miss Lydia would be respectably married even to an unrespectable man, both Darcy and Elizabeth would take the chance.

Harry cautioned them though, "There is still a chance that Wickham would end up dead…"

Hermione chanted in ancient Sumerian for about a minute waving her wand over the prone Wickham and a glowing bluish sphere formed in the air right above the region where the two collar bones meet. The bluish sphere would have been mesmerising to watch with its faint pulsing, if not for the presence of an angry red coat that covered just short of half the sphere giving the look of a red hemisphere over the blue sphere.

"This is a representation of Wickham's soul," Harry declared eliciting cries of surprise from the two non-magicals. He continued to their increasing disgust, "The red part is Lord Voldemort's soul piece that has attached firmly onto Wickham's soul. It is almost a part of the original soul, but not quite. If this had happened in a witch or a wizard, then Voldemort would have had enough influence to take over the body it inhabited."

Hermione took over, "We could try and rip away the foreign soul piece, but we cannot guarantee that Wickham's soul also would not be ripped away."

"What we will try to do is remove a part of Wickham's soul that is bound with Lord Voldemort's soul…" Harry was interrupted by Elizabeth's gasp of surprise.

"You will create a horcrux for Wickham?"

Both the Potters were extremely impressed. Elizabeth grabbed the concept very easily.

"Yes, we are and once we do that we are going to destroy the dual horcrux thus eliminating the final horcrux of Lord Voldemort," Hermione explained.

"The process may still rip out Wickham's entire soul into the horcrux. This ritual is for magicals only and we do not know how it will effect muggles," Harry raked a hand through his messy hair. He was willing to kill Wickham but this need to try and keep him alive while still taking care of Voldemort's horcrux was getting him frustrated. Moreover, he was in essence creating a hrocrux, and that was revolting indeed.

"If the ritual was to succeed, what would happen to Wickham? Would he lead a normal life? Or what goes as normal life for him," Darcy amended with a roll of his eyes.

"Again, I cannot say for sure," Hermione answered. "He might lead a normal life as you said, but I do not think that he will be able to live much longer."

Darcy looked at her with enquiry clearly written on his face and so Hermione obliged, "A witch or a wizard has magic in him that can compensate for the loss of a part of the soul, as long as the horcrux is intact. But for a muggle it is totally different, they have no magic to compensate for the loss of a soul."

"History talks about an Egyptian Pharaoh how went mad after having his soul split," Harry interjected. "We do not know for sure if the piece of split soul was captured as a horcrux or not. What we know is that the Pharaoh committed suicide to escape from the madness. Now, if the Pharaoh had a horcrux, he might not have died, but we do not know for sure. Does this mean that the split soul did not form a horcrux?"

"It is quite possible as we know that the magic of the soul is also a part of the ritual that makes the horcrux," Hermione added conversationally.

"So either way Wickham is doomed," Elizabeth let out a huff.

Darcy took her hand in his and gave it a small squeeze of support, "If the ritual does not kill Wickham, it would give Miss Lydia some respectability."

What Elizabeth knew and Darcy did not voice was that it would save not just Lydia but the other Bennet sisters too. She was fairly certain that it would not matter to William one way or the other, but as someone who was coming into his family, it was Elizabeth's beholden duty not to bring any scandal into the family. She was praying that Wickham survived the ritual. Let him get married to Lydia and even if he was to die a day later, it would not matter one jot to her.

With that discussion out of the way, Hermione placed a simple gold piece in the centre of the 'X' that marked the magical node. This was actually a galleon that Harry and Hermione enchanted to accept the soul pieces and become a horcrux.

"I am going to erect a ward now," Harry warned Elizabeth and Darcy not to move from the corner they were currently in. They were towards the door which would lead them to the stairs in the basement and if it comes to the worst, they could make their escape easily.

Hermione took one last look at the book in her hand and decided that the runes and every other requirement for the ritual was in place. She slipped the book into the magically enlarged pocket of her jeans. The next time Hermione would lay her eyes on the book would be in their own timeline while emptying the clothes out of her beaded bag for laundry. That was the reason why she could not find the book at Potter Manor, it travelled through time with her.

With everything set, Wickham was levitated into the centre of the ritual circle. The outer edge of the circle was drawn to encompass the galleon that was placed on the magical node. Surprisingly, the runic architecture that formed a part of the ritual were not complex at all. Though it took Harry and Hermione a greater part of an hour, they had no problems in getting the runes etched out in the ritual room.

The ritual was not very long but was very taxing on the caster. Harry had to keep a steady stream of magic and wand movements to accomplish the ritual. Thankfully, the runes were powered by the leylines and so did not need much input of magic. If they were not near a magical node, then Hermione might have also been exhausted powering the runes.

As soon as Harry started the ritual, Wickham's soul was visible again. Five minutes of furious wand waving finally brought him to the zenith of the ritual. With a diagonal swipe of his wand, Wickham's soul neatly separated into two. As soon as this was done, Harry's left hand shot forward and made a motion of grabbing onto the soul piece that contained Lord Voldemort's soul piece too.

It was Harry's magic that latched onto the cleaved soul piece and not him physically. It was just that Harry was comfortable doing the motions physically while directing his magic to actually interact with the split soul.

The magic of the ritual awakened the dormant soul piece of Lord Voldemort's soul and it sensed its doom. The soul piece of course resisted the separation and began the fight to merge back and it was just a matter of will power to decide who the victor was. Harry and Hermione had a lot riding on this and the longer it would take to pull the separated soul piece out of Wickham, the greater was the danger to the man and for failure.

Harry was not a novice when it came to exerting his will power, he beat a powerful Lord Voldemort in that game. Wickham's own soul was being influenced by Voldemort but the dark lord's soul piece was so small that it did not make much difference to Harry and Wickham's will was not that strong.

With a final tug, Harry drew the connected pieces of soul out of the physical body of Wickham. It turned out that the blue colour of Wickham's soul and the red colour of Lord Voldemort's soul piece were merely for the sake of representation. In reality, an ugly grey blob about the size of a strawberry came out of Wickham's body at Harry's bidding.

Most of the grey mass crumbled into a fine mist and dissipated into the air as soon as it cleared Wickham's body. Harry and Hermione's conjecture about muggle souls and the inability to form a horcrux proved to be true as only the small bit of Lord Voldemort's soul piece remained hovering in front of Harry. The enormous amount of magic being expended by Harry and the ritual was probably enough for the soul piece to survive even after extraction from a muggle.

With a screech that could be construed either as anger or fear, Lord Voldemort's soul piece streaked towards the two muggles who were huddled beyond the powerful ward in the ritual room. If it were to either possess one of the two muggles standing in the room or to escape the room entirely, the soul piece would have to get past Harry's protective ward.

Harry's ward construction ability was not even tested. His hand shot out and his magic snagged the fleeing soul piece. With a flick of his wrist, Harry threw the soul piece towards the gold galleon in the ritual circle and the magic of the ritual did the rest. Despite a furious struggle, Lord Voldemort's soul piece was once again bound to the rune etched onto a piece of gold.

Behind the protective ward, Elizabeth was terrified. Who would not be if the soul piece of an insane dark wizard was approaching you in the blink of any eye? She snuggled into the protective embrace of her fiancé Darcy meanwhile turned his back towards the approaching soul piece and offered himself as a shield to his beloved. Thankfully, Harry proved to be quicker and well in control of the situation.

Once the soul piece was safely bound, Elizabeth shook herself off her fear and bravely turned to face the action again. She was thankful for William's arm around her as it kept the small amount of fear at bay and also gave her trembling legs a little support to stand.

As soon as the soul piece was bound, Hermione picked up the sheathed sword of Gryffindor and tossed it to her husband. Harry caught the scabbard in his left hand and drew the sword with his right. In one smooth action, the sword left its housing and struck the bound soul piece with devastating effect.

The pitiful wail of the last piece of Lord Voldemort's soul echoed in the enclosed room during its dying moments, signalling the end of the last obstacle in Harry and Hermione's way. While Hermione ran a complete set of diagnostics on the galleon, Harry did the same to Wickham. Satisfied that Lord Voldemort's soul piece was destroyed and that Wickham was alive, Harry dropped the ward that kept Darcy and Elizabeth confined to one corner of the room.

Assurances were exchanged of each other's well-being and it was finally time to decide what to do next.

"I put Wickham into a deep sleep which will allow his body to recover from the ordeal," Harry told Elizabeth and Darcy. "He will probably wake up at about lunch time tomorrow."

Darcy was relieved. He was also relishing the feeling of holding his beloved close to him, "That would give us enough time to rest too, you look dead on your feet," he commented looking at Harry.

Harry agreed to both observations easily, "I can put him in his room at the inn before daybreak tomorrow."

Hermione began leading the way out of the ritual room with a floating Wickham in her wake. "I am ready to find a bed."

And why not, all the inhabitants of Potter Manor had a very early start and it was especially hectic for Harry and Hermione. It was close to eleven in the night and they all earned a well-deserved rest.


	6. Chapter 6

I thank one and all for taking the time to read through the story. I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it. A special shout out to Gloria for sticking it through the story and taking the time to drop a note, every chapter!

Declaration: I do not own Harry Potter world or the storyline of Pride and Prejudice. I do not make any profit through this story and is only for reading pleasure.

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**Chapter 6**

_**Part I**_

Elizabeth and Darcy were the only ones to be at the breakfast table the next morning. Though they were confident that the ritual and subsequent recovery of Wickham went well, there was an undercurrent of tension hanging in the air. Elizabeth felt that they would all breathe easier only after Lydia is married to Wickham. For her, the world would be rosier only after settling at Pemberley, and that was something that she found really curious. For Elizabeth, home seemed to be Pemberley and not Longbourne.

They conversed happily about topics that were anything but Wickham. His absence the morning was a little worrisome but they trusted Harry and Hermione to do the right thing. Now that the real threat of the horcrux was gone and Wickham seemingly alive, the two Potters really had no reason to hang around; they could just leave the recovery of Wickham and his subsequent delivery to Lydia on Darcy and Elizabeth. That they were still willing to hang around and help them meant a lot to the engaged couple.

They were just finishing breaking their fast when Hermione came into the room. That she was not a morning person was very much evident by the state Hermione was in. Stumbling gait, wild hair, and blearily eyes told them that she was not fully rested.

It looked as if Hermione picked up her breakfast foods almost at random from the sideboard before she plopped herself on the chair beside Elizabeth. She took a deep draught of her morning coffee and sighed deeply. Only then Hermione looked a little awake.

Her antics brought a few chuckles to the audience in front of her. Hermione grimaced, it was almost a ritual for her right from the time she was five years old. Her parents and Harry were accustomed to it and even helped her feel normal in the morning. Hermione knew who it would appear to strangers, but she just could not help it.

"Harry already dropped off Wickham in his room, he would stay there until the afternoon," Hermione told them.

"Where is Harry?" Darcy had to ask.

"He had his breakfast and went back to sleep right away," Hermione replied, "The tax on his magical core will force him to sleep for another hour or two and then he will be back to his full strength."

Elizabeth and Darcy waited until Hermione finished her breakfast before leaving the room themselves. Hermione wanted to sleep for a bit more and wake up with her husband and that left the engaged couple free to roam the park.

The initial few minutes were spent on the task before Darcy and the Lord Potter, retrieving Wickham publically.

"He would be sent to a regiment up north," Darcy explained the plan he concocted with Mr Bingley and was refined by the Lord and Lady Potter. "I purchased him a commission in the regulars."

Darcy hesitated for a moment. He knew that he was arranging things for Elizabeth's family without even their knowledge and he knew how independent Elizabeth was. Would this anger her?

"Is this to your liking?" he asked a little apprehensively.

Elizabeth also understood the reason why William was unsure. She could detect the nervousness in his tone, something she never imagined with her fiancé.

"William," that address always brought a smile to Darcy's face and now it also brought a little relief. "As much as I love my family and fought with you over your representation of them, it is the truth that my father would not trouble himself to do even half of what you did."

Darcy tried to protest but Elizabeth cut him off, "You are going to be family William, you are allowed to voice your displeasure at them occasionally."

The tease in her voice was easily evident and Darcy joined in with a soft chuckle.

"I thank you, sir. I thank you for all that you have done for me," Elizabeth met his eye to show him how sincere she was and also that it would be the last time they would approach the subject. Darcy was sensible enough not to argue with that and they lapsed into a comfortable silence enjoying the sights.

"Be careful please," Elizabeth begged Darcy.

Darcy pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead fleetingly, "Do not worry my love, we are not going to be in Wickham's company very long. The Lord Potter plans to confine him to a different carriage and the elves will take care of the rest. We may even be back in Potter Manor very soon after Wickham sets on his journey."

They wandered along taking in the sights. Eventually, Darcy brought the one matter that was still hanging on his head.

"I confessed my unwanted interference to Mr Bingley before leaving Pemberley." Darcy saw the hesitation in Elizabeth's eyes. He knew that it was very wrong of him and he was also sure that Elizabeth knew that it was very wrong of him. Elizabeth was never one to shy away from speaking her mind and she did it before, but now she was hesitant to accuse him. With the situation of their relationship changed, and probably exhausting her opinion on the topic, Darcy guessed that she had nothing else to say. According to Elizabeth, she would think only of that past as its remembrance gives her pleasure. The onus was on him to put all his ghosts to rest and he did, he just hoped that he did the right thing.

"I know that my interference in your sister and Mr Bingley's lives was just that, an interference. Charles was justifiably angry but his anger was very short lived, he told me. He was more focussed on planning to get to Netherfield Park and apologize to your sister than waste his time to argue with me."

Elizabeth grinned at that. She could just imagine the exuberance of that man coming through. Darcy also saw the happiness in her eyes but he wanted to make sure, "Do you approve of it?"

He was rewarded by the tinkling laughter that enchanted him and haunted him many a nights, "How can I not sir, when you gave me two of my heart's deepest desires."

Darcy was obviously happy, but "Two?"

"Yes two," Elizabeth replied hoping that the matter got dropped but the expectant face of her fiancé told her a different story. With a sigh she began, "One, the happiness of my beloved sister and two a husband who loves and respects me."

Elizabeth refused to blush but she could not meet Darcy's eye yet.

Darcy meanwhile was overjoyed. He lifted Elizabeth's hand and kissed her un-gloved hand tenderly, putting all his feelings into that kiss. He was not brave enough to kiss her outright like the two Potters do, but it was only a matter of time when they would be sanctioned by the church to do so. He could not wait for the day to come.

Elizabeth was clearly overcome by the tender feeling and more so when her William proclaimed softly, "You must allow me to say how ardently I admire and love you."

Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes. Elizabeth met Darcy's eyes and replied in a similar voice, "And you must allow me to say that you are the best of men I have ever known."

_**Part II**_

George Wickham woke up with a headache that forced him to keep his eyes closed. However much he wanted to open them, the pain was forcing them closed and the sun streaming into his room was not helping any. When the fact that the sun was high up percolated into Wickham's brain, he knew that he overslept. The coach he was supposed to travel onwards might have left at daybreak as the driver promised. The driver of the coach would probably have waited for him a few minutes but definitely not hours.

Wickham rummaged in the small bag he managed to procure and now had all his worldly belongings in. Finding the powder mix that was ever present, he mixed it with the water and drank it down. The powder was a life saver for him many a times in the past, when he was hung over.

As much as Wickham would like to portray himself as a gentleman, he did not have enough money to support a valet for himself. That meant that Wickham had to learn to do even the menial tasks for himself and that included going to the apothecary in every town he was in to stock on headache powders.

Taking a long drink of fresh water, Wickham fell back on the bad and pulled the covers over his eyes to keep the sun away. He tried to remember what he did to merit the headache. He consciously stayed away from drinking too much. With his freedom at stake, Wickham could not risk a drunken night and miss transportation. He could do that once he got onto the ship or onto his destination. That was the reason why he struck to one glass of rye.

'It must be the rye,' Wickham decided. He knew of such places that would mix a few things into the rye to make it taste like rye but was not really the drink a customer would pay for. It was usually the fastest and cheapest way to make up the volume of the drink; the inn keep could always blame the customers' health due to the long travel they had just made if anything went wrong.

Wickham finally managed to get ready for the day and get down to the foyer in time for lunch. As soon as he stepped out into the street with the intention of going into the eating place a few paces down the street, Wickham saw the most amazing carriage that he ever laid his eyes on. He did not recognize the crest on the carriage and so was fairly certain that they would not know him. If he only could himself a seat in that carriage. Wickham straightened himself and put the most charming smile he could manage. He took a few steps towards the carriage which by now came to a stop near the inn and he too froze.

The man who stepped out of the carriage was one who he never wanted to see again, one Fitzwilliam Darcy. If Darcy's visage sent a shiver down his spine, then the man who came next was utterly intimidating to Wickham. He had no chance of an escape now that they were coming towards him.

Wickham did not understand why Darcy was so adamant in finding him. Did his attempt to use Georgiana for his own means finally bring the famous Darcy wrath on him? Wickham could only think that was the case. It was now more than a year and any rumour he might start would have no meaning. Darcy knew this and he must have finally got tired of him. Would he throw him in debtor's prison? Unfortunately, Wickham did not know how his life would turn out to be a nightmare, something to run away from, even though he had no chance to do so.

He had no fight in him anymore. Something happened to him to take away the belligerent attitude but he knew that it was a little too late.

"Can we at least have some lunch before we start back?"

After lunch, Wickham was given the privilege of having a carriage all to himself. It was a carriage in the loosest of terms, more like a prison on wheels. Harry also strengthened it with magic and with two elves playing footmen along with the driver, there was no chance of his escape. Even if he did, the elves tagged Wickham with a tracking charm and he would be back in the cell in the blink of an eye. At least the cushions were a lot better than the ones in the post coach he travelled in.

Harry bought the carriage and modified it with magic to make it difficult to escape from.

Darcy offered to pay for the carriage but Harry waved him off, "The Potters were a very wealthy family William. Where I come from, I am the last Potter and I have a fortune. Hermione and I came prepared for a war, I converted some of the money that magicals use into pounds."

After the modifications were done, the carriage was transported to the coaching inn Wickham was in and the show was on the road. The carriage that Wickham was in travelled ahead with a couple dozen feet separating the Potter carriage that contained the Lord Potter and Fitzwilliam Darcy. After they left the town and the pace picked up; unseen by anyone, the Potter carriage flew to Potter Manor with its two occupants and all Wickham could see was an illusion of the carriage that would keep him company through the journey.

Wickham never experienced a travel like what he did that night. It was of course the first time he every travelled in a gaol cart, but it was also the first time that he travelled through the night. It was comfortable enough for him to sleep on the cushions and if the high and mighty Fitzwilliam Darcy could sleep in a cramped carriage, however luxurious it may be, George Wickham could too. Not that he was given a choice.

The cushions in the carriage were good enough to sleep on and that was what Wickham did, aided by a sleep spell. Travel by portkey was enough to give the illusion of travel through the night while giving the horses and the elves guarding Wickham some much needed rest.

Their mode of travel meant that the carriage carrying Wickham made good time in reaching the outskirts of London in a little more than a day, faster than what it took Wickham by about two days. The man could only lament that he did not have such a mode of transport while fleeing which would have taken him right up to Plymouth in the given time.

Harry and Darcy joined the procession a few miles from the same glade that they stopped in on their way out of London. This was to be the location of the house that the Potters were supposed to have near London. Wickham's carriage stopped in the clearing just in front of the driveway, while the Potter's carriage went up to the doors of the modest two storied three bedroom cottage.

Wickham was curious to know the reason for such a stop. His eyes lit up seeing a beautiful young woman who could only the Lady Potter being escorted down the steps. Wickham was shocked to see the next woman being escorted by Darcy, it was Miss Elizabeth Bennet and they were looking too cosy to be two people who loathed each other.

Seeing the interaction of Miss Elizabeth with Darcy, opened up a world of suspicions to Wickham. For the first time he had a doubt about the reasons that Darcy was chasing him for and for the first time he had an inclination as to the reasons why he was being taken back to London for. He feared that he would be put in debtor's prison for all the trouble he caused the Darcys. Now though, he shuddered at the thought of the fate that awaited him. For he was sure that he was going to be shackled with a young and a very silly wife.

The two ladies did not spare a glance at the carriage that Wickham was in before they were handed into the Potters' carriage. The pace was a little slower than before, owing to the ladies' comfort and even then the carriages reached the Gardiners' place by the late evening. All in all, Wickham was absconding for only four days but that was enough to make him very unpopular with most of the Bennet family and their relations. On the other hand, those who went after him were treated as dearest friends.

Only Lydia Bennet and Mrs Bennet were overjoyed to see Wickham. The rest of the members of the house were just relieved that a nightmare has come to an end.

The man in question was not insensible of the hostility towards him. In a way he counted himself lucky that these people needed him alive, if not, his life would have been drastically shortened. Wickham made sure to always be with Lydia and Mrs Bennet. They were the only ones who showed any happiness at him being in their midst. If any outsider was to see the way Wickham was attentive to Miss Lydia, they would have been tricked into being in awe of the love the young man had for the girl. No one privy to what happened would have been mistaken though.

Wickham did not want to be in any room that had only the men of the house or even Mrs Gardiner. Wickham was sure that they will not be shy of telling him what they thought about his stunt of inciting Miss Lydia to an elopement and then abandoning her. Though he kept up a cheery façade, he was miserable thinking about the life he was to face with Lydia as his wife. His days of cavorting were done.

The other acknowledged couple in the room, Elizabeth and Darcy were content to exchange smiles and touch hands whenever the opportunity was provided. They were happy in the knowledge of their love for each other and of the knowledge that their own union would bring happiness to not only their family but more importantly to each other.

Darcy and the two Potters were pressed to stay for dinner and was accepted. The Potters did not have any place to go except for Potter Manor and Darcy had the unglamorous task of keeping Wickham confined until the wedding. The Darcy townhouse had a room above the stables which was used to stock up hay and grains for the horses during winter and was empty now. This would serve as a good housing for Wickham; Darcy vowed not to allow the man into any of his houses and was determined to uphold it. No one need to know where he was housed and Wickham would be sure not to blab about it. Two of the Potter elves would take turns with Darcy's footmen in ensuring that Wickham would not have any unsavoury thoughts.

The post dinner tête-à-tête between Hermione and Elizabeth was tearful. Elizabeth was shocked that the Potters were not going to stay around and attend her wedding which was planned to take place in two months' time.

"You do know how far we have to travel to get to our home," Hermione reminded her. "We were prepared to stay for any length of time but truth be told, we did not want to. The more we stay in this timeline, the greater is the danger of causing some irrevocable changes."

Harry and Darcy joined the conversation; they were relieved that the women had their round of tears and were now relatively collected.

Harry explained about the bright blue moon that was to occur the day after tomorrow and how that would be a powerful night for their ritual. "Besides," he continued, "I am guilty of displacing the current Lord Potter from his home."

The two Potters and the engaged couple took their time as Wickham was still trying to explain himself to Lydia with a beaming Mrs Bennet trying to give them as much privacy as possible.

"You are the only ones who know the truth about us and you will be the only ones who will remember us properly," Hermione replied to a question from Darcy. "The others will know about Harry and me but they will never question you. They will not even remember to ask you about us. Over a period of time, they will forget about the Lord Potter unless the current Lord Potter comes into their lives, which I do not see happening."

Elizabeth and Darcy were quite satisfied with that explanation. They themselves would make sure that the topic of Lord and Lady Potter would not be raised often. Hopefully, they will be able to communicate with the current Lord Potter and straighten any inconsistences that might arise.

When no one was looking towards their small group, Harry handed an envelope to Elizabeth who was curious enough to open it right away. Her eyes widened in astonishment which prompted Darcy to take a look inside the envelope. It was a banker's draft for twenty five thousand pounds.

Before they could say anything, Hermione grabbed one each of their hands in hers. "Please consider this as a wedding gift."

"Use it to enjoy yourself or to improve the lives of those around you," Harry piped in. "All that gold was lying idle in my vaults. I know that you will do much good with the money."

Elizabeth and Darcy shared a look and accepted the gift graciously. A few seconds later, Elizabeth threw herself in Hermione's arms, "I will miss you…" she sniffled through her tears.

Hermione was also a little tearful, "I did not have many friends until I met Harry, but you are one that I will count as a friend. I will never forget you."

"and I you."

Two nights later, when the full moon was at its brightest, Harry and Hermione got ready to activate the ritual that would take them back to their own timeline. Now that they had a specific destination, the ritual was much easier compared to the one they used to come to the past. Though Hermione was sure that there would be no need for them, the crystal magic sinks were fully charged and ready for use.

With the last minute instructions given to Noody about informing Lord Geoffrey and Lady Amanda Potter of their departure, Harry and Hermione Potter started the ritual…

…And Harry and Hermione Potter disappear from Potter Manor.

_**Part III**_** (Epilogue):**

_**A red-gold glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above them as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearest window. The light hit both of their faces at the same time, so that Voldemort's was suddenly a flaming blur.**_

_**Harry heard the high voice shriek as he too yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco's wand:**_

"_**Avada Kedavra!"**_

"_**Expelliarmus!"**_

_**The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead center of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Harry saw Voldemort's green jet meet his own spell, saw the Elder Wand fly high, dark against the sunrise, spinning across the enchanted ceiling like the head of Nagini, spinning through the air toward the master it would not kill, who had come to take full possession of it at last.**_

_**And Harry, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed, the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upward. Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken, the white hands empty, the snakelike face vacant and unknowing.**_

_**Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry stood with two wands in his hand, staring down at his enemy's shell.**_

_**One shivering second of silence**_… was shattered by people cheering wildly.

Harry looked around to see people rushing towards him. His friends and others. First to reach him though was his best friend, Hermione Granger. She threw herself at him screaming his name and laughing wildly.

Their eyes met and memories poured in. Memories that they did not have before. Memories of being married, ten long years of struggle, of going back in time to destroy the last horcrux of Tom Riddle, and of the ritual that brought them back.

Harry and Hermione Potter shared a wide smile and crashed their lips together in a searing kiss.

"Wha…" Ron sputtered. "But… kiss…" he mumbled stunned at the actions of his two friends.

Hermione broke the kiss but stayed in her husband's arms, "I am sorry Ron, but I made my choice in the tent itself."

**Six months later**

The newly remarried Lord Harry Potter and Lady Hermione Potter waited in the luxurious lounge of the headquarters of Pemberley Estates and Farms. Situated in Derbyshire near Bakewell and the Peak district national park, Pemberley has been in the Darcy family for many generations. The family had been quite prosperous in monetary terms and also in their goodwill.

However, with the advent of modern day practises and profiteering, the Darcy family suffered while holding to traditions of fair play and good of all. Harry and Hermione were determined to help the family again.

Sitting in the spacious lounge, Harry and Hermione were attracted towards a portrait of a very pretty woman who was in her early thirties. The portrait captured her fine eyes and the remarkable sparkle in them very well. The portrait though not large was big enough to attract the attention of guests, and the woman inside had an endearing quality that was hard to overlook.

Harry and Hermione walked to stand in front of the portrait reminiscing the interactions they had with the woman painted in there. They did not know her very long, but it was enough to leave an indelible impression on the two.

They were disturbed by a soft voice at their side, "That was Elizabeth Darcy." A young man probably entering his thirties was standing to the left of Harry. "It is said that she brought light and laughter back to the Darcy family."

With that the young man turned back to the portrait of his many times grandmother. Even in these dark times, the lady in the portrait never failed to lift his spirits, such was the effect Elizabeth Darcy apparently had on every member of the Darcy family, even if she was confined to a portrait these days.

The young man turned to Harry and Hermione extending his hand to shake, "William Darcy the IInd at your service."

Harry clasped his hand and introduced himself, "Lord Harry Potter and this is my wife the Lady Hermione Potter."

William Darcy's eyes lit up. He knew that the Potters and the Darcys had a good relationship through many generations but had petered out during the last half century or so. Maybe it was time to revive the relationship that started during the time of the lady that was watching over them now from her portrait.

"Let me introduce you to my wife," William led them towards the drawing room where his wife was waiting. "We can always talk business at a later time."

That was something Harry and Hermione were happy to do too.


End file.
