As a Breather Episode, there were more ridiculously heartwarming moments in this installment of The Dresden Files than usual. WARNING: Unmarked spoilers below!
- Harry reading his daughter a bedtime story and tucking her in for the night.
- That entire scene, from the moment Maggie and Harry lay eyes on each other. Maggie is adorable (seriously, she likes My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic), and it's funny seeing Harry not quite be sure how seriously to take things that she says.
- "Do you want to be my Dad?" is possibly the Crowning example for the entire series. And nothing bad happens to either of them later!
- Later on, Maggie playing Dinosaur Cowgirl, with Harry Carpenter in the role of Sue. The saddles Harry used back then came from a display on Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and Michael specifically mentioned Harry's zombie dinosaur ride down Michigan Avenue earlier in the book.
- When they first meet, Maggie recognizes Harry on sight... because Molly has been telling her stories about how he's a hero who protects good people from "Draculas". This is cute enough on its own, but takes on new levels when you remember that Harry was afraid Maggie would always see him as a big, dark, scary man thanks to what happened at Chichen Itza — Molly has been doing her best to prove his fears wrong.
- Harry comforting the parasite, both before and after it’s removed from his head. His subconscious puts it best."Protect the offspring," he said firmly.
Yeah. Animal desires.- Seeing Harry and Subconscious-Harry completely agree about something was a nice touch too.
- Grey at the end. He turns down his fifth of the diamonds, insisting that he merely needs to settle his debt with Harry. His price? A dollar. He basically did the whole thing pro bono, turning down millions.
- The best part is that Harry didn't know how much Grey would charge him until the very end. Shows that, While Grey has done some terrible things, he might not be a terrible person.
- Which makes this an oddly Heartwarming Case of displaying how they're not so different.
- The best part is that Harry didn't know how much Grey would charge him until the very end. Shows that, While Grey has done some terrible things, he might not be a terrible person.
- In what’s possibly the oddest one of these in the series, when they need a live sacrifice to get through the Gate of Blood, none other than Deirdre willingly goes beneath her father's knife. And it's clear that this hurts them both horribly, in what is one of the few times anyone of them shows honest and genuine emotion.
- In a similarly odd and tragic way, Tessa's dogged determination to stop the heist. It only becomes clear after Nicodemus' team passes through the aforementioned Gate of Blood why she was trying so hard to thwart her husband and daughter: To save her daughter's life.
- When Michael is preparing to sacrifice himself for Harry and Murphy, Uriel appears to try and talk Michael out of it. Uriel clearly has nothing but respect for Michael, and doesn’t want to see him suffer. But when Michael calls Uriel "my friend", those words affect Uriel so profoundly that the Archangel of the Lord rocks backwards like he'd been struck physically. It's very possible that Michael is the first being to ever consider and call Uriel a friend. That makes this and their other interactions all the more heartwarming.
- Uriel Loaning his Grace to Michael is possibly the biggest show of faith in the series so far. He had faith that Michael would use it appropriately, faith that Harry and Michael would make it worth risking death, or Falling. And it paid off.
- Uriel's reason for Loaning Michael his grace in the first place isn't to help Michael fight again or to secure the Holy Grail. It's to save the souls of Nicodemus' squires. He risked falling just to have the chance of redeeming a group of people who made a couple of bad choices.
- Perhaps not the standard sort of heartwarming, but Michael's argument with Uriel about the Loan certainly seems to show what a good man he is. At first Micheal want's to give back the Loan immediately, and is quite adamant about it. When Uriel says the Loan is to save a soul Michael is done arguing. The possibility of saving just one soul is more important to Michael than the numerous arguments he had just moments earlier; even if he didn't know anything about how or what soul might be saved.
- And what does Uriel do while Michael has his Grace? He finally gets to help his friends directly. He helps them take care of Murphy, he helps Charity take care of her children (even helping her cook while wearing an apron), and then he gets to help defend his friend's home. After millennia of working indirectly from the shadows, Uriel is finally able to openly and directly help people he cares about.
- Considering how bad things have been for Harry's friends since his not-death, Murphy spending several minutes on the floor of her kitchen laughing at Harry can tug on the heartstrings a bit.
- Harry to Karrin in the hospital."I want you to rest and get better, too," I said. "We have some things to do."
"Like what?" she asked.
I felt myself smile. There might have been something merrily wolfish in it. "Things I've only dreamed about."- And it comes right after a Big Damn Kiss!!
- It's also followed by a Funny Moment:
Karrin: [She breathed and eyes glittered] Oh. That. [Tilting her head] That was . . . was me?
Harry: That was you. Seems fair. It was your bed. - Throughout the book, Michael's absolute faith that Harry is not a monster and is not becoming a monster. It's best shown in the aftermath of Tessa's attack when he prays over Harry:"Lord of Hosts, be with this good man and give him the strength to carry on."
...Michael still thought I was a good man.- And note that this is after Harry had accidentally given Michael the idea that he was sleeping with Molly, though he doesn't realize it until later. The fact that Michael, though uncomfortable, accepts this and still has the amount of faith in Harry that he does is incredible.
- The conversation between Harry and Hades. Hades literally slows down time to give Harry some advice, point out how they are both decent people despite public opinion of them and to wish him luck defeating Nicodemus.
- Cerberus — big, scary, ferocious, freakish Cerberus (also known as Spot)— dozing contentedly at his master's feet, having each of his heads stroked in turn.
- Harry's reunion with Mister, who can't get enough of his long-lost friend's ear-scratches.
- All the more touching in that, of all the characters who've been hoping for Harry's return, Mister is the only one with no ulterior motives whatsoever except friendship. Forget the Alphas' hero-worship or Maggie's parental hopes or Murphy's UST or Chicago's need for a wizard protector: to Mister, it's enough just to be reunited with the big goof who pets him and shares his sodas.
- Butters spends most of the book being heartbroken that Harry's been gone for so long, feeling betrayed and abandoned by someone he looked up to. As soon as he realizes that he was wrong, that Harry is back for real, doing what he has to do, and finally getting back to the guy he used to be, Butters is his best friend again, to the point of needing Harry's approval for his plan to take up the Sword of Faith.
- The last scene of the book. It's such a perfect, quiet moment. Harry and Michael sitting on the front porch, sipping beer and dozing in the lazy night. Mouse across his legs, and Maggie in his arms. It's the first time since before Changes that Harry's been able to just.... Be.
- The fact that, at the end of the book, after the past three books have nearly killed him, destroyed his home, and killed Susan, Harry's life is finally starting to look up. He has money now (more than he's ever had), he's connecting with his daughter, he might start dating Murphy... things are starting to get better for him.
- For the longest time, both the readers and Harry thought that when Harry was being tortured in that museum on Halloween so many years ago, no Knight of the Cross came to his rescue because he hadn't relinquished Lasciel's coin. It was Butters who had to save him from Cassius. Butters, who is now, and always had the potential to be, a Knight of the Cross. Uriel himself confirms it: They did send a Knight to save Harry, just not the one he was expecting.Uriel: Cassius was a former Knight of the Blackened Denarius. It seems appropiate that he should be countered by an incipient Knight of the Cross. Don't you think?
- Harry is afraid of what he's becoming as a result of the choices he's been making, and goes directly to Michael, who immediately invites him in to talk it through. Michael then (gently) calls Harry out on Harry's sheer arrogance, pointing out that Harry never really considered that the reason no one has been coming to see him is less that they're all afraid Harry is becoming a monster and more because he's been living on an island that hates everyone but Harry and where some awful things have happened to people. Michael manages to tell Harry exactly what Harry needs to hear to ease his fears of becoming a monster.
- Considering how the last character to offer Harry such perfect reassurance did so with exactly seven words, it makes sense that the fellow whom that very character entrusted with his Grace could provide a similar caliber of insight.
- Making this even better is the fact that Michael doesn't give Harry the standard words about God's love and forgiveness, but just gently calls him out on being a pig-headed idiot, because he knows that it's exactly what he needed to hear at that time.
- Michael's response to the attempt to entice him with the promise of money. It really sums him up as a character."I have a family. I am rich beyond measure."
- It was in one hell of a stressful situation, but Murphy openly admitting that she loves Harry when Nicodemus tries to call her bluff as she brandishes a rocket launcher at him in close range is very heartwarming. She's come so far from the beginning of the series and having frustrating Tsundere tendencies with Harry to this, being his closest friend and trustworthy ally. Barring Butcher doesn't do something heartrending, these two will make an awesome Battle Couple someday.
- Shhh! Don't jinx it!
- Too late!
- Shhh! Don't jinx it!
- An odd example, but it makes sense when you think about it. Molly mentions that the Winter Fae have been attacking her mentally while she's dreaming. Seems to be cruel, until you remember that the Fae are big believers in, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." There's a lot of nasty things that would and could harm an inexperienced Winter Lady (including Nemesis, among others), and Molly's court is making sure she's strong enough to handle it. Attacking her is their roundabout way of saying they like her, and she has their support. Molly herself seems to realize it as well, comparing it to how her little siblings would team up on her while she was babysitting.
- Molly also mentions that the Winter Fae like to attack her while she's dreaming because it's anonymous and she can't track back who's behind the attacks. In other words, they already think that she's powerful and capable enough that they don't want to attack her to her face.
- Although of course, it doesn't hurt that aside from her own toughness, she's the daughter of a former Knight of the Cross and the one-time apprentice of in-universe Memetic Badass Harry Dresden.
- Molly also mentions that the Winter Fae like to attack her while she's dreaming because it's anonymous and she can't track back who's behind the attacks. In other words, they already think that she's powerful and capable enough that they don't want to attack her to her face.
- Demonreach's wanting and accepting the name 'Alfred' after Harry jokingly called it that. A running theme in the series is the power of names, and that Harry gives out names and nicknames like candy. One of which, Lash, the name he gives to the shadow of Lasciel, leads her to reject her destiny and sacrifice herself for him. Which was such a powerful gesture of love that it allowed a new spirit of intellect to be born from the both of them. Considering Demonreach was only ever meant to be a guard of unspeakable things and little else, the idea that it might not only be developing a personality but doing so out of the want for one is just oddly heartwarming.
- The name becomes more significant when you remember that Harry is devoted to comics. The name he gives Demonreach is that of Batman's badass butler, loyal and practical assistant, surrogate parent and best friend, Alfred Pennyworth. Harry, unwittingly or not, chose the name of someone who knows about darkness, grief and the pain that both cause... but who is still willing to love, trust and help, anyway.
- Michael offering redemption to Nicodemus — Nicodemus, of all people. The man who willingly allowed himself to be possessed by a Fallen Angel. The man who has killed countless Knights of the Cross, including Michael's friend and mentor. The man ultimately responsible for crippling him. Michael genuinely offers a chance of redemption to Nicodemus, not just out of duty, but genuine love for a man who he sees in terrible pain — and he calls Nicodemus his brother, twice, and means it.
- In a moment that’s touching to everyone moved by selfless love and especially to those of religious faith, Michael's willingness to deliberately leave the protection of his angel-guarded property and surrender himself into the hands of Nicodemus to spare Karrin and Harry's lives, despite knowing, as Uriel put it, Nicodemus would be "free to inflict upon [him] such pain as even [he] could not imagine." Michael knows this, but is prepared to sacrifice himself because both Karrin and Harry would do the same for him, and because he's "not the Carpenter who set the standard."
- Though it's Played for Laughs, Harry treating Jordan like a person and not a faceless enemy Mook, even tossing him a cheeseburger, is very much heartwarming when one remembers that Nicodemus recruits from the desperate and emotionally vulnerable — it's probably been a long time since anyone, especially outside of the other squires, has treated Jordan like a person, much less a friend. Which probably helps to explain his Heel–Face Turn at the end.
- Throughout the whole book, Murphy has complete faith and trust in Harry and constantly reassuring him of it, in contrast to Butters having a lot of issues with Harry and thinking he Came Back Wrong.
- On the same note, despite her extremely limited screentime owing to her new status as the Winter Lady and how much backlog she's having to clear up, Molly is completely in Harry's corner: chewing out Mab for deliberately keeping them separated and out of contact for six months, vowing to help remove the parasite from Harry's head as soon as she's able (and making good on her word at the end), and trusting that he knows what he's doing with Nicodemus and company.
- Hade's vault, in an odd way. He uses pure gold bars to construct frames and niches for his collection of art, and uses diamonds and gems as fountains to give accents. Unimaginable wealth. Because the God of Wealth considers the art - mortal creations at that - to be the real treasure.
