Harry's fifteenth birthday was a memorable day. It started with Hermione initiating some bedtime entertainment, as soon as he woke up. It continued with a festive breakfast, in the company of three nude Veela, and then a visit to the nude beach.
As the sun rose higher, they returned to the villa. A short shower later, they took a portkey to Paris, where they had lunch at the best restaurant the Delacour could book. They spent the afternoon at an elegant hotel, where Harry enjoyed the pleasures of matrimony with his wife, and then had a tour of Paris, with a candle-lit dinner on a restaurant boat — once again it was among the best. They finished the day at a musical show, with lots of naked dancers. Harry found them lacking, compared to Hermione, or even to any of the other women in his group.
Back at the villa, after the extensive day, Harry was content to just cuddle with Hermione and make love to her, giving and receiving love and reassurance.
–..–
They couldn't similarly enjoy the next day. Andy had managed to ensure a trial for Sirius and a special meeting of the Wizengamot was set specifically for that trial. She had sent the Potters some very detailed instructions on how to act and what to say. Harry felt quite grateful for that, as he was still unsure he could find his way in the magical high-society, despite all the books he had studied along with Hermione. It was just too much to assimilate in such a short time.
They used the Gringotts portkey to reach the London branch, where they took the relevant rings from their vaults, and then used the Floo to reach the ministry, wearing their finest. When passing the guard on duty, they still used their old names, as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, coming to watch the trial, not willing to attract premature attention. As advised, they used glamour charms and notice-me-not charms on themselves before entering the court hall and taking seats in the front row.
They had to wait for a while. Harry fidgeted, feeling too excited and too worried to stay still. Hermione tried to calm him down, although she felt almost as agitated. Neither of them paid attention to the rest of the audience, not even when Remus Lupin took the seat on one side of them while a young woman in Auror robes sat at their other side.
As the Wizengamot seats were slowly filling, Andromeda arrived, along with Sirius Black, who was now wearing robes of the highest quality, his house crest clearly visible under his left shoulder. Soon enough, everybody was present. Dumbledore, in his role as Chief Warlock, started the meeting.
"This special session of the Wizengamot has been called to deal with a very unusual situation, as a Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House seems to have been sent to prison without trial. We're expected to give the wizard his belated trial. If found guilty, he will be sent back to prison, however, if found not guilty, we should compensate him for the time spent unjustly in prison and publicly restate his position." He took a sip of water as some whispers were heard. "Now, as is the custom, every Wizengamot member can raise some more issues to be dealt with during this meeting."
Harry knew this was his cue. He removed the charms and stood up. "As Lord Potter, Peverell, Slytherin and Gaunt I hereby request this body to acknowledge my position and let me do my duty as a member."
Hermione followed, "As Lady Ravenclaw, I hereby request this body to acknowledge my position and let me do my duty as a member," she said in a loud and clear voice.
Several gasps of surprise were heard, as well as some indignant voices. Dumbledore seemed mainly surprised and somewhat curious, but he quickly regained control, wearing his usual grandfatherly image. Harry could see that the Minister was very angry, as were a few others. An ugly witch dressed in horrid pink stood up. "Hem, hem… Since Mr. Potter is clearly underage, as is the girl presuming to be a Lady, I believe we should dismiss both at once."
Dumbledore turned to her. "Undersecretary Umbridge, I believe you don't need reminding that only a legitimate Lord or Lady can wear their house rings, and once they wear their rings, their position is automatically acknowledged." He turned to Harry and Hermione. "I believe you can show me the rings to support your claims. Can you?"
Both teens approached the Chief Warlock, showing him their rings. Knowing these two, he did not doubt the truthfulness of their statements. He still wondered at the multitude of titles and rings, but he could hold his curiosity for later. "I can state that your positions are proven without a doubt. You may take your seats, and the ministry-appointed proxies for these seats are requested to leave."
Harry could see the Minister and his Undersecretary turn livid, yet it was all legal and over-the-table, so there was nothing they could do.
Dumbledore then added, just for the youngsters to hear, "You may consider appointing your representatives, so you could finish your studies without being too involved with politics. Your solicitor can give you further advice about this."
"Thank you, Chief Warlock, we shall consider that option, yet for this session, I shall vote for four houses, if you don't mind."
Dumbledore was certainly content with the way things were moving. Despite his concerns about Harry gaining his position way too early, this meant making the Minister less powerful, and by extension — Voldemort and his Death Eaters, as the minister was much too close to Malfoy to think that he could lead the country against the Dark Lord. He was also wondering why the media had changed the way it was treating Harry and himself. He suspected some power game behind the scenes but didn't know anything for sure.
The trial was basically an open-and-shut case. The Potter will gave the basic information and it was further enhanced by Sirius testifying under Veritaserum. Not even the dark families could oppose the verdict of "Not Guilty" for Sirius, as putting a Lord in prison without trial offended their ideals of considering nobility to be above the law.
Sirius seemed ecstatic to finally be free. He hugged Andromeda first, and then hugged Harry and Hermione, and then turned to Remus. Harry thought that the media would give Sirius all the attention. He was not ready for the multitude of reporters who wanted to speak with him and with Hermione and was quite confused and even frightened by them. He was rescued as another person he knew came forward. "Lord Potter will give a public announcement later this month. Right now he's just getting accustomed to his new position. Give the guy some space and he will appreciate it," Neville said to the reporters, stationing himself in front of the couple. He was joined almost immediately by Susan Bones. Both were wearing official robes showing their house crests.
The reporters seemed unwilling to leave them alone, yet Neville and Susan stood firm and were soon joined by Madam Bones, the head of the DMLE. That seemed to make the difference, as the reporters moved to the group surrounding Sirius, who seemed delighted to get the attention.
"Thank you, guys. I didn't know you'd be here, and I didn't expect to have to face the reporters," Harry said sincerely.
Neville shrugged, his face turning red. "I should have stood by your side when your name came out of the Goblet. I was later feeling ashamed of not standing with my ally. Potter and Longbottom have been allies for many generations, you should know."
"And so were Potter and Bones," added Susan. "I hope you forgive me for the way I acted at the beginning of the tournament. I later understood my mistake and repented it."
Harry smiled and shrugged. "We all make mistakes while we grow up. You still haven't told me why you're here."
Neville blushed. "Mrs. Tonks told Gran it was time to let the younger generation start taking responsibility. I can't yet sit here for my house, but she wanted me to witness the proceedings and learn whom I can trust. I think Mrs. Tonks also told her about you taking your position, and Gran thought we could do well together."
Susan turned her attention to Hermione. "How did you become Lady Ravenclaw? Aren't you muggle-born?"
It was Hermione's turn to blush. "After Harry and I completed our bond, it was suggested that I take an ancestry test. I didn't expect this result."
"You have a bond? What is it? How did that happen?"
Neville intervened. "I don't think they're comfortable talking about this here. Maybe we should meet a bit later somewhere private? I'm sure my Gran would be happy if you join us for lunch or dinner."
Hermione felt relieved. Harry gave the offer some thought. "I believe Sirius would like to spend this time with me, now that he can. I'm not sure…"
"Gran can invite Lord Black as well. She would really like to get to know him better," Neville said.
Sirius was finally able to move, as the reporters left. He swiftly came to Harry and gave him another hug. Neville didn't wait with his offer. "Lord Black, will you do us the honour and join us for lunch, and possibly for dinner as well? I'm sure that my Gran would like to meet you."
Sirius smiled gratefully. "Lunch is fine, but I promised to dine with my old girlfriend. Need to resume our relationship, you know…"
Neville smiled. "Let me just call and make sure everything is ready. Susan, will you be joining us?"
"Sure!"
–..–
It was Harry's first time at Longbottom Manor, and he was almost overwhelmed by its grandeur and splendour. Most of it, though, was not meant for daily use. The rooms used by the family were still luxurious, but functional and quite understated, just like Neville. Lady Augusta had the introductions in the official reception hall, though, and Harry felt thankful for having read all those boring etiquette and protocol books, enabling him to act as expected of a person of his position. When Neville introduced him as Lord Potter, he stepped forward, holding Hermione's hand in his. After bowing and kissing the old lady's hand, he introduced his wife. "Lady Augusta, let me introduce my dear wife, Lady Hermione Potter-Ravenclaw, née Granger. We've bonded a few weeks into the summer vacation."
The old lady gasped and then smiled. "Glad to meet you, Lady Potter. My grandson has a very good opinion of you and I'm eager to get to know you." She then turned back to Harry. "It's well known that Potter men usually find love quite young, but you must have set some record with this. You weren't even fifteen when that happened, were you?"
"I was about three weeks short of fifteen, but I'm very happy with our bond."
"As you should. It's very rare for a couple to be soul bound, but it also makes the couple much happier than normal, concerning the relationship between the two."
With the formal part of the visit over, they moved to the family sitting room, where Lady Augusta wanted to talk with Sirius some more, leaving the teens alone. "So, you got a soul bond?" Susan said, sounding excited.
"Well, my parents took me on vacation to France. I then happened to meet Harry and we were invited to stay with the same friends that had him stay with. I then decided to act on my feelings for him. The next thing we knew — we were soul-bound." Hermione didn't intend to elaborate.
"Aren't you skipping some juicy parts of the story?" Susan teased her, not really expecting more details. "Well, everybody thought you two belonged together since the second or third year. What are your plans now?"
Harry turned serious at the question. "We can't plan much ahead, as we have a madman trying to kill me. We first need to vanquish Voldemort, once and for all, and then we can think of what to make out of our lives."
"I suspect that keeping a close eye on his supporters, possibly even putting them out of the picture, could help a lot," Susan said.
"Do you mean that we should kill all suspected Death Eaters?" Harry asked incredulously.
She shrugged. "That could be the best solution, but just keeping them busy with many legal and political issues until they're unable to respond to their master without giving out their alliance could do almost as well. With Black, Potter and Ravenclaw setting the tone, the Dark Lord supporters will be pushed hard. Laws like the forced use of Veritaserum for all major crimes, including bribes, could make them much less assured of their positions. Add some laws forbidding bearers of the dark mark from serving in any position of authority and you practically destroy them without shedding any blood. I'm not sure their response to such laws won't be bloody, though."
Harry sighed. "That's all quite impressive, but without enough Aurors, it's all theoretical, and Fudge has cut the funds for Aurors to the minimum."
Susan didn't relent. "You may use your political power to change that and even replace Fudge with someone competent. You may even lend the ministry enough money to quickly reform the Auror force and lose nothing in the long term."
Hermione was fascinated by the fiery redhead. "How do you know so much about the wizarding politics?"
Susan shrugged. "Try growing up with the head of the DMLE. If you think it's mainly about keeping the law then you're mistaken. It's mainly political survival, with all the money changing hands under the tables doing most of the damage. If you manage to eliminate that, the rest should be relatively easy."
Harry sighed. "I don't yet know what I can or can't do, but I'll try my best to improve all aspects of the magical community, starting with eliminating Voldemort. Otherwise, nothing will really work."
–..–
Too soon, they had to finish the visit, although they really liked it better in France, where both could relax. They both rid themselves of all clothing as soon as they reached the Delacour villa, joining the others at the pool.
"Have you given our invitation to Lord Black?" Claude asked.
"Yes. Sirius asked me to thank you for the invitation and said he needed a day or two to settle a few things before he could come, but he's looking forward to spending some time here." Harry then smirked. "I'm sure it has nothing to do with the many naked women around."
Claude laughed. "After spending twelve years in that dreadful prison, nobody can fault him for trying to look at more lively and more beautiful views."