A/N: Here's chapter ten for you guys. Because of the overwhelming review count for last chapter, I'm posting it earlier than I had planned. Like the last chapter, this is mostly character development, especially between Meciel and Harry. I've had a few people at DLP ask me what their relationship was like, so I'm going to clarify it a little.

With a wand pressed to Amanda's throat, Harry gripped her arm with his other hand and led her from the small room. He paused in front of the door and motioned for the girl in front of him to go first, a look of warning in his eyes and he jabbed the wand at her. Amanda gulped, fear on her face as she slowly walked out of the room, turning her head and glancing down both ends of the hallway. She turned back to Harry and shook her silently at his unasked question. Harry moved forward and walked from the room into a long passage. At one end of the passage was a door, most likely the master bedroom, and at the other end was a set of stairs.

“Where did they take the coin?” Harry asked Amanda in a soft but hard voice, placing the tip of the wand at the back of her head. The girl quivered beneath his touched, a soft gasp of fright escaping her lips as she quickly gestured down the hallway towards the master bedroom.

“There's a safe room down there,” She whispered quickly. “Dad built it so if we're ever attacked, we have somewhere to hide. I'm not mean to know this, but it's also where they put anything that they think is dangerous to us.”

“Take me to the safe room,” Harry instructed quietly and Amanda nodded as she led him down the hallway. The floorboards beneath them creaked softly and Harry winced, but the sounds of chattering and clinking dishes continued as the family continued eating their dinner downstairs, oblivious to the breakout that was happening in their very house. Amanda stopped in front of a linen closet and Harry frowned as she opened it, clicking on the light. Stacks of towels and sheets had been folded neatly and placed on the shelves and Harry blinked, turning to Amanda.

“There's a panel in there, right at the back where the wall meets the corner,” She answered quietly, eyeing the wand carefully. “Is that all?”

Harry shook his head and gestured for the girl to get inside the closet. The blonde-haired pre-teen did as she was told and Harry followed her in, closing the door behind him. Inside, it was cramped as Amanda pressed up against the shelves, trying to stay as far away from Harry as he possibly could. Harry ignored her and stared intently at the back wall, his heart thudding in his chest. He could see the place Amanda meant, a small section of the wall that looked as if it were misaligned with the corner of the closet. Slowly, he reached out with his fingers and let them brush over that section of the wall. He let out a small gasp of surprise, drawing Amanda's attention to him as he could suddenly feel a quiet hum of constant power around the panel. He pulled his hand back and frowned at it, biting his lip in thought.

“What is it?” The girl asked, unable to stop her own curiosity.

“There's a form of magic protecting that panel,” Harry told her quietly. “It feels like the power your father was using when he and the other Knight fought me. I probably shouldn't touch it.”

Amanda understood his implied message and bent down, eyeing the panel warily, as if she hadn't known that the thing was magical before. Harry watched with bated breath as she stuck her fingers in the small groove and fiddled around with something. There was a small click as something unlatched and suddenly the entire wall behind the closet shuddered as Amanda pushed it aside like a sliding door. Behind it, Harry could dimly see into a small, bare room surrounded by unlit candles. At the back end of the room, he could see a bunch of items, including the hilt of a sword wrapped around a bundle of cloth- the clothes he had been wearing that night. Anticipation and hope flared in his veins as he gestured for Amanda to go and pick the bundle up.

“Remember my promise,” Harry said quietly as the blonde-girl moved past him. She hesitated, eyeing him carefully but nodded as she walked into the room and picked up the bundle, clutching it to her chest as she turned around. Harry gestured for her to come to him impatiently and backed out of the closet, opening the door and scanning the hallway carefully as he continued to level his wand at the girl in front of him.

The two of them backed out of the closet and Harry closed the door, taking a hand and gripping Amanda's shoulder firmly as he led her back to his room, closing the door firmly behind him. With quick, frantic movements, Harry gestured for Amanda to drop the bundle onto the bed and then motioned her backwards as he approached it, his wand shaking in his hand as he pulled off the bloody and ripped clothes surrounding the bundle.

“Where is it?” Harry muttered to himself, frustration peaking in his voice as he carelessly threw the sheathed sword off the bed, rummaging in the small pile of items, which included his wand, his gun, a fistful of bullets, a wad of money, a small pen-knife, a small torch, a set of shiny keys and an unknown polished wooden box that Harry had never seen before.

“You don't have to pick it up,” Amanda said hesitantly as she watched him pick up the box, staring at it intently as he tried and failed to open it. Harry snapped his head up, his emerald eyes looking as if they were close to tearing up in frustration. “You could be normal again.”

“I don't want to be normal,” Harry snapped softly but harshly. “I want Meciel.”

“What about your family?” Amanda asked strongly.

“I don't have any,” Harry muttered as he strained with all of his strength to pull the small lid off the box.

“I'm sorry,” Amanda said softly, sounding genuinely sympathetic.

“Don't be,” Harry grunted as he placed the box down and levelled Amanda's wand at it. “I'm the one who killed them, well, my Aunt and Uncle at least.”

Amanda looked shocked as Harry gave a short flick of the wand, feeling a trickle of his magic flow into him and burst out through the wand with a small flash of blue light. The lid of the box suddenly popped open with a soft click and Harry peered inside intently, tremendous relief flowing over his features. Inside the box laid the coiled chain of his necklace and on the end of that necklace sat Meciel's coin, gleaming and unmoving. He let a smile of relief and happiness come over his face as he glanced back up at Amanda and noticed her shocked expression from his previous statement.

“They were a little abusive to me,” Harry elaborated, and a chilling smile coming over his face. “Killing them was my first act as a Denarian and when I look back now, I don't regret it.”

“Oh,” was all Amanda uttered as Harry turned back to the box and stretched out his trembling fingers, a look of longing on his face as he slowly clasped his fingers around the coin. The sigil that had been burnt into his left hand suddenly flared up with heat and Harry closed his eyes in pleasure as a wave of searing power swept through him, a cascading tumble of fire and heat that burned the bottom of his stomach with delight. His skin tingled as a warm, sweeping presence, decidedly feminine, cantered in his mind and suddenly Meciel appeared in all her beautiful, her silver eyes bright with delight as she regarded Harry with an elated smile.

“You are not dead then,” She breathed, her voice flowing with relief. “I had feared for the worse when I was taken from you, beloved.”

“No, they didn't kill me,” Harry remarked, his face transforming into the picture of innocence as a blinding smile came over his face. “Actually, they saved my life and healed me up.”

“I believe you are very lucky, beloved,” Meciel said seriously and walked over to him, her warm hand stroking through his hair alike to a soothing maternal gesture. “And I am tremendously relieved that you are still alive.

“I agree,” Harry muttered with all seriousness, unconsciously leaning into Meciel's touch as a small smile of affection came over his face. He could feel Meciel rummaging through his mind, quickly scanning the memories of the previous day faster than he could comprehend them, but he didn't mind as her familiar and welcome glow spread through his body.

Meanwhile, Amanda had frowned, staring first at the wall that Harry seemed to be talking to and then at Harry himself as she saw him lean into the air as if somebody were there.

“Who are you talking to?” She asked, breaking into Harry's moment. “Because there's nobody here except for you and me.”

Harry sighed and shot her a dark look; leaning back from Meciel's illusionary touched as the Meciel's spectre disappeared from his vision. However, the comforting stroking of his hair continued as he stood up, his face showing so much annoyance and irritation that the blonde girl visible flinched and took a step backwards away from him.

“Just because you can't see her doesn't mean that she wasn't here,” Harry snapped out. “The only way you could see her was if you took up the coin.”

“Oh,” Amanda uttered softly as Harry let a sly smile come over his face and held out the necklace that was clasped in his hands

“Would you like to pick it up?” He asked derisively.

Amanda slowly shook her head, leaning away from the coin, but Harry took it back and carefully placed it around his neck, fingering the coin almost lovingly before he turned back to Amanda.

“Now, who's here in the house,” He asked. Amanda hesitated but after seeing Harry roll his eyes, she spoke up, her quiet voice echoing in the room as she quickly rattled off a list of names.

“Well, Hope, Daniel and Mom are here. Alicia and Matthew are out at a movie with some friends or whatever,” She rattled off nervously, her eyes darting to Harry as she continued. “Harry's in bed, it's his nap time. Dad and Sanya have been gone for the day; they're on some work thing, and Molly's out in her new apprenticeship. She's a wizard as well, not a wand-wizard like us though.”

Harry stared at her incredulously, his eyes wide with surprise and Amanda squirmed under his gaze, fidgeting on her feet/

“Are they your brother and sisters?” He asked in disbelief.

“Well, Mom, Dad and Sanya aren't…” Amanda trailed off as Harry let out a small chuckle of mirth, shaking his head with an incredulous sigh as he turned back to the bundle, still keeping his wand levelled at the girl as picked up the bundle of clothes and wrinkled his nose at the smell.

“So, I guess it's true what they say about catholic parents and contraceptives,” He muttered to himself, but it was loud enough for Amanda to hear as a look of disgust came over her face as she wrinkled her nose in revulsion.

“Ew!” Amanda cried out loudly, but Harry ignored her as he unfolded his clothes and quickly ran his wand over it, a soft incantation slipping from his lips. Amanda peeked forward and her eyes widened as the clothes unwrinkled themselves, the blood stain fading away and the rip closing in on itself under the useful household charm. “Cool.” She muttered.

Harry turned to her and cleared his throat, making a motion with the wand. Amanda blinked in confusion but her cheeks suddenly stained with red and she let out an “eep” as Harry took off his pyjama shirt, spinning around quickly as the boy changed his clothes, embarrassment painted all over her features.

Harry finished dressing himself and reached for the sword-sheath, frowning at its weight as he strapped it to his back. Although it was a powerful artefact, it was pretty much useless to him until he grew a little taller, its size making it clumsy to wield at the moment.

“You can turn around now,” Harry said, his voice tinged with slight amusement and Amanda turned around, her cheeks still blushing.

She watched him as he reached for his own wand, which was a little bigger than her own and seemed to have runes carved into the very wood of it. Harry quickly traded wands, making sure one was aimed at Amanda at all times, and then placed her wand in his pocket.

Amanda watched him do this with narrowed eyes, eying his pocket closely, but she suddenly gave a start as Harry picked up the gleaming revolver and checked the ammo. He reached into one of his other pockets and pulled out several bullets, slotting in the ammunition and reloading the gun and with quick, well-practised movements.

“What are you going to do now?”

Harry blinked as he tucked the gun into his pants and shoved the rest of his cluttered stuff into his pockets, eyeing the blonde girl in front of him, who looked as if she regretted saying anything.

“Well, like I promised, I'm leaving,” Harry answered and watched her sag in relief, as if she had being having doubts that he would have kept his word. “But I'm not sure how I'm going to leave. I wish I knew how to apparate or make portkeys. Hmm, maybe if I open a portal to the Nevernever…”

'No, beloved, that will not be possible. There are powerful bindings on this house and although they are not made of traditional magic, they are powerful nonetheless. You will not be able to open a portal here. I suspect, beloved, that a great number of my powers will be restricted in this place.'

“What's apparate and portkey?” Amanda asked curiously, knocking Harry out of his daze as he was considering Meciel's words.

“It's a wand-wizard way of travelling,” Harry answered her, his voice distracted as he frowned in though. “It's…um…instant teleportation from one place to another.”

“Cool!” Amanda exclaimed, looking impressed. She suddenly got a puzzled look on her face and glanced at him curiously. “Why can't you do them?”

“I'm not old enough,” Harry declared flatly. “Making a portkey is pretty technical stuff and I haven't learnt about it yet and I'd probably leave behind an arm or a leg if I try to apparate.”

Amanda let out a small giggle but it faded away as she saw that he seemed to be deadly seriously.

“That can really happen?” She asked in surprise.

Harry nodded absently, eying the window as he wondered if he could squeeze out of it. He saw a car drive past the house, its headlights bright in the darkening night and suddenly a speculative smile came over his face as he turned back to Amanda

“Come with me, we're going downstairs.”

The first person to see Harry and Amanda walking into the living room was the little girl that had entered his room before, Hope, and she let out a loud, piercing scream, backing away from him. The table in front of her seemed to be in the middle of being cleaned, with empty and food-smeared plates and half-empty glasses. Harry dragged Amanda in front of him as he placed his wand at her temple, his eyes serious as footsteps pounded from the next room and Charity burst into the living room, an apron over her clothes.

Her eyes quickly flickered over towards Harry and Amanda and fear for her daughter spread over her face as she gestured at Hope, her voice firm and hard.

“Hope, come here!” Charity ordered quickly and small girl moved away from Harry, her mother ushering her out of the room.

“What's going on?” Somebody called from the kitchen and the tall boy that Harry had met before, the one Amanda had called Daniel, entered the room, an inquisitive look on his face. His eyes scanned the room, widening at the sight of Harry. His face hardened until he took notice of Amanda and a flicker of panic flashed on his face.

“Hi,” Harry said brightly, flashing a fake smile as he clenched both his wand and Amanda with a tight grip. “Where's the door?”

“Let her go,” Charity said quietly, her voice hard and her face calm, but Harry could see an underlying layer of fear for her daughter, a slight trembling of the shoulders.

“You see, if I let her go then I won't have a hostage,” Harry said and shook his head, tightening his arm around Amanda's throat but still leaving her room to breathe.

“Take me instead,” Charity said quickly, her dark eyes serious. “I promise to go quietly and give you no trouble. Just let her go.”

“Hell no,” Harry snorted, shaking his head quickly. “You're bigger and stronger than Amanda and you're more likely to give me trouble. Besides, you're a lot scarier as well, you devil woman.”

Charity blinked, taken aback, but Amanda, held in place by Harry's arm, seemed to let out a little giggle, as if she found something about the situation extremely amusing. Both Charity and Daniel glanced at her, startled, while Harry looked down into her tangled blonde hair, a frown on his face.

“What is so funny?” He demanded.

“You said 'devil woman',” Amanda replied hesitantly, the humour gone from her voice as if she could feel Harry's frown on the back of her head.

“And…?” Harry asked slowly, not understanding what the blonde girl was talking about.

“Well, you're a demon,” Amanda said. “And you're calling my mum a devil woman. I just found it…funny.”

Harry let out a sigh and dug the wand into Amanda's head with a little bit more force, electing a small gasp of shock from Amanda and hisses of disapproval from both Charity and Daniel, who eyed the wand as if it were the most dangerous weapon they had ever seen.

“I have a wand to your head. Could you at least be a little scared, hmm?” said Harry flatly, before he let out another sigh, this one of impatience. “Look, from now on, you don't get to talk.”

“What…” Amanda started, but Harry interrupted him, his voice hard.

“Ah! I said no talking.”

“If you hurt her, I will murder you,” Charity said in a cold whisper when Harry looked back up, and he stared into her eyes, seeing the cold resolve behind them and knowing that the woman was deadly serious with her threat.

“Okay, I'm definitely not using you know,” He muttered and his green eyes swung to the tall, teenage boy. “Hey, you there. Get the keys to your car.”

Daniel bit his lip uncertainly and glanced at Charity, who nodded at him without taking her eyes off her daughter, and then left the room. Harry could hear him quickly stomping his way upstairs as a tense silence fell through the living room. Charity continued to stare intently at her daughter, as if there was nothing else that mattered to her at that moment. Harry noticed the looks and gave a small, bitter smile.

“It's hard seeing your loved ones in danger, isn't it?” He asked softly, eyeing Charity coldly.

The woman finally looked away from her daughter and met Harry's gaze unflinchingly, an unspoken answer to his question on her cold and angry face. Harry smiled again and was the first to look away, focussing on the warmth of the coin that weighed around his neck.

Well, now you know how I felt when you took Meciel from me,” He said harshly. “Consider this my revenge.”

“You love her?” Amanda broke in, surprise in her voice.

Harry frowned, almost ready to tell her off for speaking again, but decided to answer the question.

“She's the only one who's ever shown affection to me,” He answered quietly, his voice losing some of its harshness. “She's the only who's ever cared for me. Of course I love her.”

“She doesn't love you,” Charity said and there was a slight look of sympathy on her face as her voice softened. “She's a Fallen, a manipulator and a deceiver. She's using you.”

Harry let out a derisive snort, staring at Charity and rolling his eyes.

“Of course she's using me,” He snapped, dimly aware of Meciel giving them mental approximation of a jolt of surprise in his mind.

Charity blinked, confusion twisting her face and furrowing her bows at Harry's declaration as Harry continued, his face deadly serious.

“She knows that I've always wanted a family that would love me and she uses that,” Harry said softly. “I know that. But that doesn't mean that I still don't love her.”

“She'll devour you,” Charity whispered intently. “She'll twist you and eventually she'll be in control, not you.”

Harry gave a snort, dismissing Charity's concerns with surprising ease.

“If she wanted that then she would have done it already,” He said, scorn in his voice. “She would have possessed me when I was younger and weaker.”

It was at this moment that Daniel came back into the room, a set of jingling car keys clasped in his hand. Harry gave a soft sigh of relief and felt Meciel steady his nerves, her warmth flowing through him and comforting him more than she had realised. He took a deep breath and then turned back to Daniel.

“Alright, this is what's going to happen,” He said quickly but firmly. “Daniel, you're taking me to the car and then you're going to drive us away from this place. Amanda, you're going to come with me to make sure Daniel does what I say. Charity, you're not going move at all. If you do what I say, I won't hurt any of you. I just want to get out of here.”

Charity ground her teeth, fury flashing in her dark eyes, but she backed away and gave her son a tight nod, emotions flashing through her eyes as Daniel swallowed nervously and gestured at one of the doors on the other side of the living room. He walked over and opened it up, revealing the cool night sky on the other side. Harry, still keeping his eyes on Charity and Daniel, led Amanda towards the door. Charity watched his progress with burning eyes and Harry knew that at that particular moment, she would have liked nothing more than to see him dead. But she made no attempt to move, her gaze flicking to her daughter, and Harry made it outside, closing the door with a soft thump.

The moment he stepped outside, he felt something. Tight strands of power lay over the front yard, a deep humming noise barely detectable to his ears even with Meciel's abilities. A lot of power had been put into the bindings on the house, more than the secret panel in the cupboard, but the wards didn't react to his presence. Perhaps it was because he had been invited in by the family or perhaps the wards didn't perceive him a threat to the family because of his promise. Whatever the reason, Harry kept walking down the yard and approached the cars.

Two cars had been parked down the driveway, a small, blue minivan and a battered and old car. Daniel gestured to the battered car and Harry nodded, still clutching Amanda against himself as he led her over to the car. Suddenly he frowned as a thought occurred to him and moved the wand away from her head, levelling it at the blue minivan. A quick, sharp incantation burst from his lips as he gave the wand a quick slash.

There was a flash of silver light- the tip of Harry's wand glinting in an odd, metallic glow and suddenly one of the minivan's tires let out a loud hiss of noise as a large gouge ripped through the rubber, effectively slashing the tire and making it useless. Harry nodded to himself in satisfaction and opened the backdoor to the battered car. He pushed Amanda's head down, forcing her into the backseat and sitting next to her as Daniel hopped in the driver's seat.

“Where am I taking you?” The teenager asked quietly, his eyes flicking to the mirror and eyeing Amanda, who had scooted over to the other side of the seat, with a look of fierce determination.

“I want you to take me to the nearest highway,” Harry said and glanced out the window, seeing Charity's face peeking through the curtains. “Right now.”

Daniel nodded and started the car, which belted out a deep, throbbing noise. Harry continued eyeing the window, although his wand remained levelled at Amanda, seeing Charity disappear from view.

Moments later, Daniel had reversed out of the driveway and was speeding along the road. Harry finally allowed himself to relax a little and sat back in his chair, triumph roaring through him. He had made it. He was free again. He let a small, relieved smile come over his face and let out a soft chuckle, taking a deep breath and glancing around. Daniel's face was intent as he stared at the dark roads ahead, carefully navigating through the suburban streets, but Amanda was watching him with something like sadness and pity on her face, eying him with a strange look in her eyes. Harry met her gaze and raised his eyebrows, his wand still levelled at her.

“What?” He asked in annoyance.

“It's, I dunno, sad about you and your Fallen,” Amanda said, squirming uncomfortably under his gaze. “You know, that it's the only person to show you kindness.”

“I don't want your pity,” Harry growled in irritation but sighed and rolled his eyes, looking back out of the window. “Anyway, I thought I told you to stop talking.”

Some time later, Harry glanced out of the window and frowned, seeing nothing but darkness accompanied by the dim light of the stars, which were partially blotted by thick, angry clouds.

“Hey, stop here,” He called out to Daniel, who nodded and slowed down, pulling over to the side of the dark road. As the car stopped, Harry saw a few cars drive past, their lights whizzing by.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Daniel asked as he switched the ignition off.

“I'm leaving,” Harry said as he unbuckled himself.

“What about us?” Amanda asked softly, eyeing him with a pleading look in her grey eyes. “You promised.”

Harry didn't say anything but he raised his wand, levelling it at Daniel, who flinched, staring at Harry with wide eyes. His lips opened as he began to say something, but Harry interrupted him.

“Stupefy!”

Daniel slumped as a beam of shimmering red light struck him, his head flopping down and slamming into steering wheel, his eyes closed, while Harry turned to Amanda. The blonde girl had a horrified expression on her face, tears welling in her grey eyes as she tentatively poked his shoulder with her finger.

“Relax,” Harry said quickly. “He's just stunned.”

"You're not going to kill us?" Amanda asked, her face hopeful.

Harry snorted, a bitter sound as he spoke.

"Your father saved my life, even if he did wound me," He told her. "The Old Rules state that I owe him a large debt. Killing his daughter and son wouldn't be such a good thing to do, would it?"

Amanda blinked as relief swept over her face, while Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out her wand. He threw it at her and she caught it, blinking in shock as Harry opened the door and stepped outside. She slowly crawled over the backseat and peered out the window, straining to see him, but it was like he had just disappeared into the darkness. With a sigh, she sat back and waited for help to arrive.

Harry entered his apartment as the first rays of the sun peeked from the east, golden rays beaming down on the large city of Chicago. As soon as he entered, he slammed the door shut and touched a small, elegantly rune that had been carved into the doorframe. The rune glowed with a deep red light, lighting up as if it were an ember as the protections around the apartment activated. Although they weren't especially powerful and could have been ripped down easily, they ensured that nobody could track him back here.

Harry finally let out a sigh of relief as exhaustion washed over his features, the emotion and physical strain of the previous night finally slamming into him with the subtly of a bulldozer. He staggered to his bedroom and threw his sword in the corner of his room as he flopped onto the bed, closing his eyes and exhaling loudly.

“I almost lost you,” He said softly and within his mind, her heard Meciel respond, her voice soft and comforting.

“It was a close call, beloved, but I am still here.”

“I almost lost you,” Harry repeated tiredly.

'But you didn't, beloved, so you may rest easy.'

Harry sighed and fumbled beneath his dark shirt, clasping the necklace and the coin with his hand. He could feel the steady throb of heat emanating from the coin and allowed it to wash over him, relaxing his tense muscles and soothing his agitated mind.

“I gotta find a better place for this coin,” He murmured softly.

'I suggest you place it somewhere within your body, beloved. That is what most of the others do.'

Harry nodded, gripping the coin tighter, but suddenly had the sense that somebody was nearby and opened his eyes. In front of him, Meciel's illusion appeared, her face softened and pensieve as she sat down next to him, her hair glimmering as the sun beamed in through the window. She placed an arm around him and Harry let out a small noise of approval, sounding very much like a child as he leaned into her shoulder, savouring her warmth and gentle smell.

“You truly meant what you said,” Meciel said gently, her voice quiet and pensieve. “That I show you affection so I can use you.”

“You do, don't you?” Harry asked softly. Before Meciel could answer, he opened his eyes, his emerald orbs stirring with something like sadness and resignation “Don't lie to me Meciel. I know you do it.But it's okay, I'm not upset."

“Why not, beloved?” Meciel asked quietly.

“Because you might not love me like I love you, but I know you at least care for me,” Harry said, his voice thick with drowsiness. “You could have crushed my will and taken over this body ages ago. You could have forced me to give the coin to somebody else, somebody that had more power than I do. But you didn't, and you've cared for me more than anybody else in my life has. That's gotta mean something.”

Meciel stared at Harry for a second and something flashed over her face, a brief look of sadness and pain, and she wrapped her arm around Harry, drawing him in closer to her body as she manipulated his body into lying down. Together, they lay in comfortable silence as Harry embraced the warm presence of Meciel, a tingle running up his skin as sleep started to claim him. At that moment, both Fallen Angel and damned mortal were happy to just sit there in each others company.