"I suggest you get dressed for today's practice, as it may turn quite cold," Gerard told them the next morning after breakfast.
They still spent more than an hour at the pool before reluctantly covering themselves with clothes and going to the training room.
Gerard was already waiting. "This time, after you show me you can still produce a Patronus, we shall try it almost for real. You see this box?" He tapped his finger on a large wooden box with a locked lid. "It contains a Boggart. This is a shape-shifter. Nobody knows its real natural form because it changes according to the viewer, taking the shape of what frightens them most. There are ways, though, to force it into one shape or another, and I intend to force it into the shape of a Dementor. As such, it will affect you almost as much as a real Dementor, giving you a very good simulation of what may happen if you meet one. Now, let me see your Patronii."
The teens cast the Patronus charms one by one, achieving very impressive results. "Now, stand back, as I let the Boggart out and force it to simulate a Dementor."
Gerard opened the box, pointing his wand at it and saying a spell that Harry didn't recognize. A black mass rose out of the box and took the shape of a long black cloak with a hood, obscuring whatever face there should have been there. Two bony hands came out of the tattered sleeves. They suddenly felt very cold, despite the clothes they were wearing, and Harry started hearing voices. 'Not the boy!' a woman said in his mind, as cruel laughter came from another person. Harry tried his best to concentrate and recall the feeling of the night he married his wives. It was almost impossible under the circumstances.
"Expecto Patronum!" three voices sounded as one. Three silvery forms leapt forward, none fully recognizable, making the Boggart-Dementor retreat hurriedly.
Gerard waved his wand at the Boggart, forcing it back to the box and closing the lid.
"This was very good for a first time, but not good enough," he told the teens, who looked exhausted. "The three of you managed to repel the Dementor, but only barely so. You need to be able to perform this charm, producing a corporeal Patronus when you're alone. A Dementor soaks all happy memories and makes your worst memories surface. That is why it's so difficult to use this charm. We shall practice some more, but first, you need a bit of this." He put a few chocolate bars on the table. "Take as much as you need to repel the bad feeling. Try to also recall happy memories. They will help you when we continue."
It took several more trials and quite a few chocolate bars before they were able to produce more than a silvery wisp when facing the Boggart. Once it was locked away, though, they each produced a full-bodied Patronus. They were even able to pet the silvery animals before they disappeared.
"We shall try again tomorrow," Gerard told them, "but you will not be able to train once we reach that resort, you know. Try to find a very happy memory that you can easily recall to help you produce a Patronus even with a Dementor present."
They were all glad to be able to get rid of the clothes and warm their bodies in the sun for a few minutes, before going back in, not risking sunburns. They finished their homework that afternoon, just in time to welcome the Granger parents, and were all packed and ready the next morning.
\/\/\/
After spending a part of his previous summer vacation at a nudist resort, as well as visiting Elsa's home, Harry was no longer affected by the many naked girls and women he saw there. He did appreciate the views, though. He was quite aware of all the shapely women around. Mrs. Granger was not a bit less attractive than her daughter, and Elsa's mother was just as attractive. Claudette and Fleur, who also came for a few days, didn't seem as attractive as his wives, although it was quite nice to watch them play on the beach.
Feeling so happy, surrounded by love and acceptance, Harry tried to remember the feeling, along with all other happy feelings he got from his wives in private, to be used when casting the Patronus charm. With his luck, he was sure he would need to cast it quite soon. He hoped to be ready by then.
Elsa's mother spent some time teaching Hermione how to control her allure. This made Hermione very happy, more than when learning other things, as this was something unique to her. Later that evening, when she let just a bit of her allure out, Harry saw her with an intense pink halo, much stronger and wider than Fleur's. It seemed to affect Dave and Jean the most, but Gerard also looked quite dazed.
"What was that?" Gerard asked once he recuperated.
His wife smiled. "That was Hermione's allure at the minimum level. Just imagine what a full blast could feel like..."
Gerard smiled and looked pensively at Hermione.
Dave wanted to understand some more. "This had a very disturbing effect, you should know. I've never thought of Hermione in any sexual way, but whatever that was made me lust for her uncontrollably. My mind didn't seem to work at the time, but once it was over, I felt confused and ashamed. What is that 'allure' you've mentioned?"
Hermione thought it was best if she explained. "Think of it as a kind of drug. Once it affects you, your mind goes to sleep and your lust is taking control, only wanting the female that caused that. Veela use it in small amounts to control men, just the way women used sex throughout history, only in a much more powerful way. At a higher level, it's used as a weapon. It makes people around them become almost catatonic for the duration of the allure and even after it is removed, allowing the veela to either flee or do whatever is needed to subdue the enemy." She then smiled at her father in a calming and reassuring way. "The lust you felt was like LSD hallucinations, according to what I read. It felt real while it lasted and made you react in unexpected ways, objectively, but when you got free of it, you could regain control of yourself and see things as they really are. Is this explanation helpful?"
Dave nodded. "So, a powerful allure can become a formidable weapon when needed." He then smiled. "I'm glad you can use it to protect yourself."
\/\/\/
The Grangers only stayed in France for two weeks, enjoying every moment of their vacation. Harry was sure that they would become frequent visitors to DuValais's house, since both couples seemed to become very good friends during the vacation.
Harry and his wives continued training with their Patronus charm each day. It was not perfect yet, but Gerard felt confident that they were as well prepared as possible to meet Dementors. He doubted many adults would hold any better.
The youngsters were also thinking of the Dementors.
"I wonder if they would affect us the same way the boggart does," Hermione said.
Elsa shrugged. "Probably. It's supposed to mimic whatever it pretends to be quite faithfully. What did it make you feel? For me, it was my fear of losing loved ones. That has always been my greatest fear, and I thought I'd see my parents and my sisters dying. I didn't see them, though. I saw you two, and it was awful!"
"I expected it would be losing Harry, but it was losing the two of you," Hermione said.
Harry looked pensive. "The first time, I heard my mother pleading for my life and Voldemort laughing as he killed her. Then, the next times, I also saw him kill the two of you." He shuddered. "I don't think I can live without you any longer."
They all collapsed into a three-way hug that changed into comforting lovemaking for half an hour. None even thought of dementors after that.
\/\/\/
As the summer vacation neared its end, they started to talk some more about the school, especially considering the electives.
"I've chosen all of them," Hermione told them.
"I think that's too much," Elsa told her. "Besides, with so many lessons, they're bound to clash. You won't be able to attend two lessons at once, you know."
Hermione shrugged. "I talked about it with Professor McGonagall and she said she might be able to help me with that."
Elsa frowned. "That would mean cheating time, using a time turner or something that has the same effect. It's very dangerous and besides, you'd turn extremely tired, staying awake for longer hours and not having time for enough rest."
"But I want to take them all," Hermione insisted.
Elsa pulled the page where all electives were listed. "What do you need muggle Studies for? You've grown among muggles. You could probably teach this subject better than the current teacher."
"Well, I want to learn about how wizards see the muggles..."
Elsa shook her head dismissively. "You know they don't mind muggles, they're oblivious to technology and they fear any change and the British are even more so than the French. You don't need this subject at all." She scanned the list once again. "What do you need Care for Magical Creatures for? Do you plan to keep a zoo?"
Hermione seemed offended. "Well, no. Of course not. I just want to know..."
"Everything," Elsa completed the sentence. "As much as I feel the same, it's not something you can realistically achieve. The muggle science and technology advance so fast, that there's no chance for any living person to learn everything. Even the magical world has so many facets that one can never know everything. You should concentrate your effort on learning as much as you can about your selected subjects and only understand the rest enough not to make a fool of yourself."
She glanced at the list again. "What about divination? You should already know that it's useless to learn it. Either you have a talent in that area, and then it all comes naturally, or you don't, and then no amount of studies would do you any good."
Hermione huffed. She already knew all that, and yet her thirst for knowledge seemed to push her to act irrationally. She then sighed. "Well, I suppose I should drop these three subjects. It would make my studies easier and allow me to give due attention to the more interesting subjects. What about you, Harry?"
He didn't feel like answering. "Well, I took Divination and Care for Magical Creatures. They seemed to be the easiest. At least Ron thought so."
Both his wives looked appalled. "Harry, if you take Ron as your example, you'll never achieve much. I don't know how he's so good at Chess, but he's rubbish at everything else. I'm sure you can do better than that," Hermione told him. He could also feel her disappointment through the bond.
"I suggest you take Runes and Arithmancy," Elsa said. "Your ancestors were known as masters in Runes, among other things, and Arithmancy is considered important for devising new runes or spells. I'm sure you'd do well in both, and we would be able to help you as needed."
Harry knew better than to insist. Besides, he didn't feel like Ron's influence on him was very beneficial.
\/\/\/
Normally, assets weren't added or removed without somebody being involved. Since only the Potter account manager was allowed to handle such transactions, Sharpclaw only checked the list of assets every few months. There was really no need to pay it more attention. While the value of some assets could change due to external events, none could be added or removed without his knowledge, he was sure.
Then Sharpclaw noticed a change in Potter assets – the addition of a house-elf, previously owned by Malfoy. Since it was unimaginable that Malfoy would willingly transfer a house-elf to Potter, and Potter hadn't informed him of any such transaction, Sharpclaw decided to check that.
With the three youngsters spending their vacation in France, asking them was not a viable way of action. The other alternative was interrogating the house-elf. Sharpclaw checked the name again and then called, "Dobby!"
It only took a few seconds for the small house-elf to pop into his office. "What can Dobby do for Harry Potter's account manager?" he squeaked.
"Can you tell me how you became Lord Potter's house-elf? You were Malfoy's elf before that, as far as I know."
Dobby felt quite proud to tell about how Harry Potter tricked the bad master to let Dobby go. He didn't even mind elaborating about that diary when asked. And even tell all that he knew or suspected about how Harry Potter killed the giant snake and saved the girl.
"Where is that diary now?" Sharpclaw asked.
"Dobby keeps it safe, far away from any student or professor, so nobody can see it and be tempted to do some more evil."
"Gringotts has some specialists who can check it over and remove whatever danger might still lurk in there. Can you bring it in? You'll get it back once we make it safe."
"Wait. Dobby brings it at once!"
Indeed, Dobby popped back with the diary, kept safe in a dragon-hide bag, only a moment later. Sharpclaw and Dobby brought it together to the team's head, who looked extremely pleased. The diary was found practically free of dark magic, and a short ritual removed even the minuscule amount still there.
"The diary is now as safe as it can be. You may even let children play with it with no danger at all," Sharpclaw told Dobby.
Dobby bowed politely. "Thank you, Harry Potter's account manager." He then clicked his fingers and vanished.
Sharpclaw was left with some interesting ideas to contemplate. What was that snake-monster that Potter killed? Could it be a Basilisk? If so, it was still fresh and could get a very good price if rendered correctly. He would need to talk to Lord Potter, but this wasn't urgent. A Basilisk was so poisonous, that even most bacteria couldn't affect it. The carcass could stay fresh for many more years. There was no hurry.
\/\/\/
Too soon, it was time to pack for school. Gerard had a portkey ready for them, one that would take them directly to the platform. Harry took another longing look at the garden and the pool before being whisked back to London.