Sirius leapt to his feet. "I don't trust Dumbledore as far as I could blast him," Sirius shot back. "Why would I? I spent a decade in prison because he wouldn't prove my innocence. In fact, he did the exact opposite until yesterday! I expect that Dumbledore thought that if he made me your teacher, I would get close to you and feed him information, but he was wrong, Harry. The only reason I came here, allowing myself to be near a man that I detest so highly, was you. I wanted to see you, be close to you, form a bond with you like I should have years ago as your Godfather. I knew that it was very unlikely to be easy for me to find employment anywhere else so I took Dumbledore up on his offer, seeing my chance to get to know you and be there for you like I should have done years ago. James and Lily must hate me for it, wherever they are."
"They don't hate you, Sirius," Harry murmured, with a dark look. "They were disappointed. My mother said it was foolish, but they both agree that it was exactly what they would have expected you, or my father to do, if either of you were in that situation. They forgave you years ago. They know how much you care about me and wish that you could have changed that day."
Sirius paused, gazing curiously at Harry and Gabby. "What about you, Harry? Dumbledore told me about you telling him everything, your past, training, your plans, and even about the Horcruxes."
Harry frowned. "I told Dumbledore nothing more, and nothing less, than what I had to tell him in order to coerce him into working with me. I gave him only enough information to work with, to further the part of my plans that he is an instrument in, and only enough that he needed to know, so that he would not go off and do something stupid, which would inevitably fall back on me in a way that I don't want. I only gave him small bits of information on anything I told him, except for the Horcruxes."
"Which is why, I believe, Dumbledore has just come to you, asking you to find out all about the details, right Harry?" Gabby interrupted, smiling at Harry and clutching his hand. Harry squeezed her hand and nodded. Gabby turned her focus back onto Sirius and continued. "Harry was a bit too vague on his explanations, and no one would expect Dumbledore to miss all the holes that Harry left when he was telling Dumbledore about his plans."
"Only I told Dumbledore exactly where he could stick it," Sirius interjected, grinning broadly. "I may agree with Dumbledore's views on what he thinks Harry should be focusing on, but Harry has been through this once before already and I will stand behind Harry, supporting him no matter what. I won't betray Harry's trust by being Dumbledore's little spy, just because he isn't happy with all the information he has been given. Personally, I think it's high time somebody got the nerve to give Dumbledore a piece of his own game. No one likes to feel used, the way Dumbledore has done to us all these years, and it's about damn time someone uses him. He doesn't like it, oh well, neither did we."
Sirius looked down at his watch, and jumped. "Dancing hypogriffs! We've been in here a bit longer than I thought. Your classmates should have gotten out of class nearly ten minutes ago."
"We did," Hermione said, coming through the door behind them. "Hello Harry, Gabrielle. What are you doing here, Professor Black?"
"Hermione, please. Just call me Sirius," Sirius replied, chuckling. He got up to leave and stopped at the door, turning to look at Hermione as he answered her question. "Being called Professor makes me feel old. I just dropped by to have a chat with Harry and Gabrielle."
"Oh, that explains why they weren't in class," Hermione said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, good day, Sirius."
"Good day to you also, Hermione," Sirius laughed as he walked out of the common room.
"So what's up, Hermione," Gabby asked, leaning back against Harry and stretching her legs out. Gabby watched Hermione curiously, not sure of the other girl. Hermione seemed highly intelligent, and from what Harry had told her, she was also very headstrong in her beliefs. Hermione wasn't necessarily confident around other people, and she sought acceptance for who she was, no matter who it was from. The girl had never had that many friends, and she would do nearly anything to have even a few, even if it meant going against her own beliefs, which is what Harry feared that she was doing. According to Harry, once Hermione was comfortable, and knew that she had friends who cared about the real her, she would be herself more, confident in her actions, especially her schoolwork, helpful, but also a bit overbearing when it came to pressing her beliefs on others.
"Oh, not much really," Hermione replied as she sat at the desk near the wall and started pulling out parchment, a quill, ink, and her potions textbook. I enjoyed my first day here, but I don't see how Professor Snape could assign us a foot long essay on the first day. I mean, I won't have any trouble with it since I memorized all my course books by heart, but how can he expect everyone to know the basic theory describing how to establish what an unknown poison is, its ingredients, what the correct antidote would be, and which ingredients to use to brew it? Professor Snape's upper year classes must be really advanced by now, if he expects this much already."
"That's actually quite a simple process," Harry interrupted. "The trick is at the beginning, where you can use a variety of different spells to identify the ingredients and their quantative ratios in whatever poison you are working with. Normally, most poisons you will deal with can be found in books, so a simple crosscheck, matching your results to various poisons, would tell you what you are dealing with, and what antidote to use. The book would usually give you a reference page or book, telling you where you can find the instructions to brew the antidote. That should be all that Professor Snape can expect from anyone for now, since identifying an unknown poison, and being able to decipher its ingredients, as well as knowing what ingredients and exact ratios to use to counteract the poison, would require a knowledge of herbology and potions combined that no first year would know, especially not on their first day. It would require a lot of cross-checking and a knowledge thorough enough to understand how to counter the effects of each ingredient in the poison effectively, without overdoing it and creating another poison. But, in the end, it really is as simple as breaking the poison down, and eliminating the effects of the ingredients of the poison, one by one until you have your antidote."
Hermione fixed Harry with a calculating look. "You seem to know a lot more than one would expect, Harry."
"Ah, it comes with the territory," Harry replied, leaning back easily with a broad grin. "Anyways, where is everyone else? Shouldn't they have come back after class?"
"I didn't figure they would, Harry," Gabby interrupted. "Didn't you look outside earlier? It's a beautiful day out, and tonight is going to be perfect. Nobody in their right mind would rather be inside on a day like this. I've been waiting for hours to drag you out."
Harry smiled and watched Daphne slip quietly into common room, giving her head a jerk to get his attention, and headed for an empty chair with her bag and homework. He had noticed the good weather, but he still had his mind on other things. A lot had developed that he hadn't been prepared for, and he still hadn't had the chance to talk to many of the girls privately or spend time with them. He had only the vaguest idea of what most of the girls thought about the situation that they had found themselves in, along with Harry, and what each of their feelings and reasons were. Daphne was going to be an issue, Harry already knew that off the bat. Her upper-class upbringing and the views that her family were infamous for, would make it difficult for her to accept being bound to a marriage contract, especially considering her independent, rebellious nature that she had been known for before Harry came back. That wasn't considering that the Greengrasses had been a neutral family, preferring not to take sides between the dark and the light for centuries, and marrying Harry would certainly change their standing drastically.
"Then what are we waiting for? Go on ahead if you want, and I'll meet up with you, unless you'd rather wait here. I hope you don't mind. I've been meaning to speak with Daphne since I haven't had much chance to do that yet, " Harry said.
Gabby gave Harry a piercing look. She knew what was on his mind, and who could blame him? Harry had a lot to deal with, and she knew that eventually he and Daphne would have to start talking, and figure out what they intended to do. Gabby agreed with Sirius that Harry shouldn't have to worry about such things as marriages, and fighting Voldemort, and she told him so. But Harry refused to put anything important off. He wanted to face his life head on, dealing with his fate on his own terms, and Gabby admired him greatly for it. Many grown wizards would cower, tremble, and flee from their own lives if they had to face even half of what Harry was destined to.
Destiny. One night while they were in their room at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry and Gabby had talked about that very subject. After all, who liked the feeling that they weren't in control of their lives? Anyone who denied that destiny exists did it for that sole reason, mistakingly believing that having a destiny took away one's free will. Gabby had believed it too, until then.
Harry had looked at her softly and told her, "We are all born with a destiny. Nobody can choose their destiny, but each person chooses they path they follow to reach it. That is free will. A person is not formed by fate, but by the environment around them. They are created by the opinions, beliefs, and actions of others, which they can choose to or not to follow. A man is born as many men, but each dies as only one. It is the choices that each one of us makes, that decides who we are. While our past experiences, decisions, and choices, make us who we are, destiny gives us a destination for our lives. Destiny is there for the hope of achieving our greatest fulfillment and potential in our lives, making something great of it."
"Free will. That is the difference between knowing your destiny, and walking it. It is the difference in being resigned to your fate, and walking into it with your head held high. It is magic at it's deepest. Love. In the end, that is all that truly mattered, for it is a power far beyond Voldemort's, beyond the reach of any magic, able to transcend death itself." That, Harry had said, was Voldemort's greatest weakness, for "you do not pity the dead, but the living, and those who know not love. Voldemort fears death, and has done everything in his power to overcome it, but the true master of death does not seek to run away from it, as Voldemort has done. Rather, he accepts that in the end, we all must die, and understands that there are far worse things in the world than dying."
Gabby knew that Harry knew what his destiny was, many people probably did, or had a good guess. But he was determined to reach it in his own way. How Harry understood the words he had spoken to her that night was beyond her. Rolling his words over in her mind, their meaning seemed so simple and clear, but at the same time, there were deep, hidden things in those words that she couldn't comprehend.
"Sure, I'll go on ahead and give you two some privacy," Gabby answered. "Do you want to come, Hermione?"
Hermione perked up from where she had begun to work and looked over. "Why not? I should have time to finish this later." Packing up her things, Hermione followed Gabrielle out the door to the common room.
Harry walked over, and leaned up against the wall, next to Daphne, and waited for her to begin. She must have had something on her mind to want him to come over to her in private.
Daphne sighed quietly to herself as she watched Gabrielle and Hermione head out to enjoy the day outside, and her stomach turned sour when Harry came over to her. She knew that she had caught his attention a couple minutes beforehand, but now everything that she had thought about, and wanted to tell him, slipped away.
All of her life, Daphne had valued her independence, even more so than her extremely spoiled little sister. Because of her attitude towards other people, and her habit of sticking to herself, many people misunderstood her, believing her to be a spoiled princess who always got her way. When in fact, the truth was quite the opposite. Her sister, Astoria, was the princess of the two. Her parents had always loved them both, of course, but Astoria had always been the favorite. Daphne didn't blame her for it, nor did she envy her sister. Daphne knew her parents loved her, but she preferred to stay silent, hidden in the shadows, unnoticed. It was easier to observe people that way. It wasn't that she didn't like people, but Daphne hated that people were often so predictable. Even her best friend Tracey Davis, who was always so totally random, and one of the few who could make her laugh, tended to be a bit predictable when it came to gossip. Daphne found it immature, so she preferred to avoid most people, simply because they annoyed her.
Harry Potter. That name. That boy. Try as she might, Daphne could not blame him for the situation she now found herself in, along with him. Nor could she blame his views, and actions towards trying to get to know the girls that he would one day have to marry. Daphne knew boys well enough to know that it would be a dream come true for most boys, but it seemed to sincerely bother Harry, who seemed very content to just have Gabrielle. But why? What made Harry Potter so different, so unpredictable? Most boys would be boasting to everyone about all the girls they had, if they were in Harry's shoes, but he had told no one outside the small circle of people he trusted, and the girls themselves. Instead of just being happy about it, and cheering that he had so many girls, Harry seemed to be in the same spot as the girls, trying to make the best of it, just figuring out what to do, getting to know each of the girls, one day and step at a time.
It was this, and the overwhelming power that Daphne could feel restrained within him, that intrigued her so much, that it so nearly eliminated her fury at her father, when he sent a letter back to her, explaining what he had done to his baby girl ten years previous.
What was worse, Aiden Greengrass had involved Astoria also, but unknowingly. At the time, he did not believe that he would have another daughter, but he did. That was the day he chose Astoria's name, even before she was conceived. Ever since, her father had been dreading the day, if it ever came, that his daughters would have to marry the Lord Black, whom most believed would end up being Draco Malfoy, at least until the will reading of Lord Sirius Black not two weeks before term began.
Daphne had to admit, she would have murdered Draco Malfoy, or herself, before she ever married such a prat. At least Harry seemed somewhat decent, and good looking. Daphne couldn't deny it to herself, she did find Harry Potter fascinating, and she liked him, which was a rarity for her. But she would still be cautious. After all, a marriage to Harry Potter would have an extreme effect on her family, as well as her, especially politically.
Her family had been dark, but remained neutral for generations, carefully protecting themselves from the wars between the various dark lords and leaders of the light, but if Daphne and her sister married Harry, that balance would be shifted heavily, presumably towards the light. The careful alliances and treaties her family had made with the other dark families would be broken, and her family would be in danger if another war arose.
There was a lot to contemplate, especially considering how Daphne abhorred the idea of being forced to marry someone she didn't want to, and even if she did, she despised the fact that her choice was taken away from her. Daphne hated her father for it, even as she loved him, but as hard as she try, she could place none of the blame on Harry Potter. Was he not in the same predicament as she, but worse? Besides, Daphne told herself, there was a slim chance that she was already beginning to like the idea of marrying him.
Daphne looked up from her parchment, and let her quill fall from her fingers. Harry was leaning against the wall beside the chair that she herself now sat in. "I owled my father late last night, after everyone else had either passed out or gone to bed. I got his reply owl shortly before potions ended," Daphne finally said after a few moments of silence between them.
Daphne half expected Harry to say something, but instead, he stayed silent, giving her a thoughtful look, making sure that Daphne knew she had his full attention.
When Harry remained silent, Daphne continued. "My father admitted to me about the contract he signed with your Godfather, Sirius Black, shortly before he was sent to Azkaban. He said it changed a preexisting will slightly since my sister and I hadn't yet been born when it was first signed with Lord Arcturus Black. I also read it over several times myself, looking for any loopholes that might get us out of this mess." Daphne paused.
"And?" Harry asked, suddenly sounding hopeful.
Daphne glared up at him. "You really are that desperate to get rid of me aren't you? Do you find me that horribly unattractive?" Daphne was surprised at her own anger, after all, shouldn't she be happy if she had found a way out of it?
Harry gulped. "Not at all. You're gorgeous, and intelligent. But I don't like this any more than you do. Do you think I want someone telling me who I can love, or have to marry? I choose my own life, not anyone else."
The cold glint in Daphne's eyes grew soft, and she bowed her head. "I feel the same way, believe me. Unfortunately, the contract is airtight. I've tried hating you for it, but I can't. That doesn't mean that I am going to... how you say it... accept my fate?"
Harry nodded. "I didn't expect you to."
Daphne's head snapped up, frowning. "Then what did you expect?" she asked him sharply, giving him a questioning look.
Harry crossed his arms and replied quietly. "Honestly, I didn't expect anything from you. My only intention was to make you aware of it, so that you could decide for yourself how to handle it, and maybe we could go from there."
Daphne looked incredulous. "What do you mean go from there?" she cried out angrily. "Do you expect me to just give in the way you have, and just open up to you? It doesn't work that way. My life is my own, and nobody, not you, or even my father, can take that from me!"
Harry wanted to try to calm her down, but her temper made her a bit unreasonable. "Of course that's not the way it works," Harry snapped. "And I'm not trying to take anything from you. You may not believe me when I say it, but I don't want to be in this any more than you do."
Daphne leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed, glaring at Harry accusatorily. "You don't seem so upset about it. I've watched you with the rest of the girls. You seem to be very content with it."
Harry sighed. What was Daphne thinking? It was like she was trying to find any and every reason to blame Harry for doing something wrong, even though Harry could tell that Daphne only half believed her words herself. "Come on, Daphne. I know you're more observant than that. Don't you realize that I am trying to make the best of what I have? Besides, what's so wrong with forming friendships and relationships with the girls that I will most likely have to marry one day? I'd rather not be forced to marry and live with complete strangers, you know."
Daphne's eyes flashed in anger. "So it's all for show?" she snapped coldly, pointing her finger at Harry. "You haven't been enjoying yourself? Your smiles and charm when you're around the girls are all fake?" Daphne laughed cruelly. "Oh, that's nice to know," she said sarcastically. "How could anyone trust a bloke who shows the exact opposite of what he's really feeling, and lets you make your own false assumptions, thinking that he enjoys being around you."
It was lucky that Harry had his own emotions, especially his anger, locked away behind his occlumency barriers. He was able to be far more patient with Daphne than he normally would have been with anyone, considering what she had just said to him. Harry stared her in the eyes and spoke firmly, carefully choosing each word. "I didn't say any of that, Daphne, and I never will. I admit that I enjoyed last night, and the small amount of time that I have been able to spend getting to know the other girls better."
Daphne reared back, looking indignant. "The other girls?" she replied coolly, with a furious glare at Harry. "Thanks, I mean it."
Harry looked at her softly, willing her to understand. Why was she taking everything he said the wrong way? Was she that desperate to hate him, instead of her father for what had been done? "Don't give me that, Daphne. You know full well what I meant. You haven't given me the chance to sit down and spend time with you, at least not before now, and I thought it best to give you time and space, allowing you to think things over and make the first move yourself. Why are you so upset because you think I don't like being around you? I thought you hate me, or you're trying hard to?"
Daphne bowed her head, suddenly looking ashamed of herself. She solemnly wished that Harry would be an arrogant prick with her, but unfortunately for her, his every reply was perfect dammit. No bloke could possibly be that sweet, or sensitive to another's feelings. "No, I don't hate you, Harry. Actually, I like you, which is the last thing I expected. It's just... it's a lot to take in, and I needed time to myself."
Daphne gazed sadly out the window that was next to her, talking to herself more than anything. "I mean, what was I supposed to do?" she asked Harry, still looking out into the daylight. "You had just told me, and given me proof, that my life wasn't my own anymore. You showed me that my father signed not only me away, but even my sister. Why did he have to drag Astoria into it? I can't believe he did that; she was always his favorite. He signed us away to some unknown bloke, mostly thought to be Draco Malfoy before you came along. How could he do that to us? What was so important to him, that he gave away both of his daughters, and signed away our right to choose who we wanted?" Daphne's voice continually rose in volume as she spoke, as her temper against her father began to once again rage and burn from the still smoldering ashes that had been left after she read his letter earlier that day.
Harry was silent for a minute, looking at Daphne as if he barely realized the pain and betrayal that many of the girls must be feeling. The question was, why hadn't he seen it before? Was he that thoughtless, just like most blokes were when they were young? Harry sighed to himself. He still had a lot to learn. "I don't know what you were supposed to do," Harry said finally, causing Daphne to look back over at him with pleading eyes. "The choice was, and still is, your choice. It always will be. I only gave you the information you needed to hear, it's your decision what to do with it."
They were both silent for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. Harry's full of concern, and Daphne's full of pain, now totally devoid of the anger that had sparked so quickly not minutes before.
"I wish that I could answer your other questions for you, but I can't," Harry stated quietly, not taking his eyes off of Daphne's. "I can't tell you what your father was thinking, or feeling, when he signed that contract. Did you ask him?"
Daphne didn't move, but slowly nodded her head, her eyes beginning to water. "I did, but he completely avoided the question, and that's not like him. He always tells us, Astoria and me, what we need to know."
"What about Sirius?" Harry replied. "Have you asked him if he knows why your father made the contract with him in the first place?"
Daphne's eyes went wide, shocked. "N-No," she stuttered out. "I don't know why I didn't think to. Do you think Professor Black will tell me?"
"Tell you what?" The voice came from the common room door, and they both turned to see Sirius walking up to them.
"And please, call me Sirius. I must have asked half the school to by now."
Harry grinned. "What brought you back this way, eh Sirius?"
"You did. I was strolling along one of the outside corridors, and I spotted Gabrielle, but you were nowhere around. I found it quite odd, to be sure. So I came looking for you," Sirius answered matter-of-factly.
Sirius fixed Daphne with a look. "Daphne, isn't it? Daphne Greengrass?"
Daphne nodded silently.
"So, what is it that you wanted to ask me? Please, ask me anything. Your father was a good friend of mine."
"I know," Daphne mumbled. Her voice was barely audible. "My father is the one I want to ask you about. I asked him, but he avoided my question entirely."
Sirius looked concerned. "What is the question?"
"Do you know why my father signed my sister and me both away? Didn't he care about us enough to consider our feelings about having no choice who we marry?" Daphne was in tears, quite unlike many would expect of the infamous Ice Queen of Slytherin. She huddled over in her chair, and kept her arms close, wrapped around her own chest.
"I can't say that I haven't been expecting you to ask me something to that effect," Sirius said thoughtfully. "But I did think that Aiden would have liked to tell you himself."
Daphne looked up disbelievingly, her eyes still wet and red around the brims. "So you know?"
"Of course I do," Sirius answered firmly. "I wouldn't have signed it otherwise, especially knowing that I was signing away part of Harry's future, and he means everything to me then and now. I see him as my own son, and a part of the best friends I ever had. I love Harry, but I also do it because I would like to honor their memory by raising their son as my own, the way they would have wanted." He looked directly at Harry with his last sentence, and Harry felt, once more, the connection to his Godfather that he had before he came back.
"Then why?"
"Your father wanted to make a statement, loud and clear," Sirius replied. "He wanted to formally announce his loyalties. As you probably know, your family has remained neutral for ages, but your father has sought to change that, which would be very dangerous for him, and you. Keep in mind that your sister was not yet born when the contract was signed. The contract names you both, even though Astoria hadn't even been conceived yet, because your father said that if he had another daughter, he would take it as a sign that it was meant to be this way. He has never agreed with many of the other 'dark' families, and their support for You-Know-Who, and he wanted to take a stand for his beliefs. Unfortunately, you were a baby then, and he didn't want to risk his family, so he did what he thought best. Your father contacted me, just before All-Hallows-Eve, the night Harry's parents, James and Lily Potter, died. He knew that even then, Harry was the person I cared most about in this world, and knew me well enough to realize that Harry was the only person that I would willingly name Lord Black. Your father knew exactly who he was engaging you to, and in his own words, he could think of no one better. Not only would your marriage place your family solidly in the Light, but you would also be well protected from the people who would know doubt go after your father, and your entire family, for him allowing the marriage to happen. He knew that his beliefs and actions would place your family in danger, and this was his solution. It was as easy a transition as he could think of, and even then, it broke his heart to do it, but he did it to protect you."
Daphne was speechless. On the one hand, she loved her father, and believed that he had her best interests at heart, especially considering how hard it had to have been on him. She knew that he was not the type of man to sit idly by, letting others fight for what he himself believed in. But on the other hand, the way he had done it made her feel like dirt. She wasn't just a political tool for her father to use, but in a way, that's exactly what he had used her as. Indeed, he was keeping her, and her sister both as safe as it was possible to be considering the choices, but it was also Astoria's and her marriage to Harry Potter that would enact her father's whole plan. Daphne knew that her father loved her, but she still felt used.
Silently, Daphne began to put up her things in her bag, before looking at Harry. "I'm sorry I blamed you, but please, I need some time to think this all over."
Harry gave her a nod, and Daphne quickly disappeared to her room.
Beside the Black Lake, Hogwarts, Northern Scotland
Leaving Harry alone with Daphne in the common room, Gabby and Hermione headed out towards the lake.
As they approached the lake, they saw a few first years watching Fred and George messing with the giant squid, cheered on by the first years, and Lee Jordan, who slipped something into his robes just before Gabby could see what it was. Checking quickly to see if anyone had noticed, Lee slipped to the back of the crowd before disappearing.
Gabby and Hermione chose a spot under a nice, shady tree, a short distance away from where the first years were. Gabby leaned back, enjoying the feel of the wind as it blew softly across her. Hermione sat down beside her, but remained quiet. In all honesty, Gabby was surprised that Hermione had agreed to come down to the lake with her, instead of excusing herself to the library. That wasn't the only thing that had surprised her about Hermione recently, especially with what Harry had told her of the bushy headed girl, and by her own confessions the night before.
Hermione watched the lake silently, admiring how beautifully it seemed to shimmer on a bright sunny day such as this. After a moment, she turned to Gabby, but the other girl simply stared off into nowhere. "Gabrielle, what's wrong?"
Hearing her voice, Gabby snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, it's nothing."
Hermione didn't buy it, but decided not to push. "Okay, but if you change your mind, I'll be here to listen if you need someone to talk to."
Gabby slowly let herself smile. Here she was, worried about Hermione, and Hermione was offering her the ear of a friend. "It's not like that Hermione. I was wondering about you, actually."
Hermione gave her a confused look. "What about me? All you have to do is ask. I don't know why, but I trust you, Gabrielle."
Now, Gabby was grinning softly, staring out over the lake, but said nothing in reply.
After a few minutes of silence, the lack of knowledge about what was currently piquing her curiosity seemed to have driven Hermione's patience straight off the edge. "Gabrielle, what is it? Don't I at least get the chance to tell you myself?"
"Tell me what?" Gabby asked quickly.
Hermione turned red, blushing. "Oh... well... whatever it is you're wondering about me."
By Hermione's reaction, she seemed to have a pretty good idea what was going through her mind. At least, that was what Gabby figured. "Looks like you already know what I'm talking about, Hermione," Gabby replied, not taking her eyes off the bushy headed girl.
Hermione blushed even redder, not daring to look up at Gabby. "I - I don't know what came over me last night. Not really..."
"You seemed to be enjoying yourself," Gabby said quietly.
"It was... unexpected," Hermione stated slowly. "I never thought I would do something like that. I mean, it's not like me at all, but I saw the rest of you doing it, so I guess I just let myself go. I wanted to have fun, and I did."
"Oh really? Is that all?" Gabby asked disbelievingly.
Hermione smirked. "Yeah, for now. We're too young for anything else, don't you think?"
Gabby was stunned. From everything that Harry had told her of Hermione, she was normally a reserved, bookish girl, unless it came to something she truly believed it. This was a side of Hermione's way of thinking that, perhaps fortunately, Harry had never been privy to. "What are you talking about, Hermione? Surely you can't already be thinking about that?"
Hermione's grin grew. "No, but one day. It's never too early to start thinking about and planning for the future. I want to enjoy my life, you know."
Gabby couldn't stand herself. She didn't know whether to be understanding, roll with laughter, or to be utterly shocked at the frankness of the girl. Gabby gave Hermione one thing. She definitely lived up to Harry's boasting about her always having the nerve to speak her mind, no matter how brutal. If they weren't careful, Gabby figured, they would one day have a miniature Tonks on their hands.
"Hermione, I'm a veela," Gabby started. "Veela are sexual creatures by nature. We are born knowing about sex. It is how most, well any full blooded veela, survive outside of our own sanctuary. Fortunately, since I am not full blooded, I can survive off of human food. But even still, I am very lucky to have been raised outside of the veela sanctuary, where my grandmother rules. I'm a virgin, but if I had been raised in the sanctuary, I probably would have had sex within my first few years of life, like almost all veela do. But even through all that, I'm still shocked by what you have just said."
"Th-That's not exactly w-what I meant," Hermione stuttered out, blushing madly.
Gabby raised her eyebrows, clearly not convinced.
"I j-just meant... that what everyone told me... about being myself was... you know... I guess what I mean to say is, I decided to just be myself and enjoy my life. Planning my future and what I want to do is important, but I have plenty of time for that. Until then, a girl has to have some fun doesn't she?"
"That's not what I expected to hear, you know that right?" Gabby asked.
Hermione smirked. "I doubt anyone would expect that from a shy bookworm like me. But since no one has ever taken the time to know how outgoing and straightforward I can be, I'll never really know for sure. It's definitely not a side of me I'll show a bloke anytime soon."
"Mm hmm... and what about last night with Harry then?" Gabby replied knowingly, dodging the book that Hermione swung playfully at her head.
"Oi! Be careful there!" Fred called out, striding toward them.
"Yeah, we've seen what Harry can do to people who mess with Gabrielle," George said, appearing next to his twin.
"What would that be, hmm?" Hermione asked, perking her head to the side slyly.
"He can turn you any color he likes... say blue... and only he knows how to turn you back, so you stay that way as long as he likes," Fred replied.
"And he can make ferocious beasts appear and make them use you for, eh... lunch... and only he can get rid of them." George continued.
"Or how about," Harry's voice came from behind the twins, making their eyes go wide in horror. "I can turn you into Siamese twins, complete with whiskers, pointy ears, a pair of cute, fluffy, pink tails, and yellow fur all over. What do you think girls? I think they deserve it for trying to have some fun with you, don't ya think?"
Gabby and Hermione were wearing identical, evil grins.
The twins both gulped, and turned tail, running full pelt for the front doors, but Harry, making sure that nobody was paying any attention, flicked his wrist, and wandlessly summoned the twins back to him, transfiguring them as they flew through the air.
Harry watched amused, as the twins flew back to him, and landed haphazardly in a heap at his feet.
"Come on, Harry. Why'd you have to go and do that," Fred said, trying to get up. "Argh... Merlin's pants, my bum hurts," Fred said, rubbing his bum and wincing. He failed to notice the two fluffy tails that were now poking from underneath his robes.
"Oi! Rub your own bum, Fred. Mine hurts too!" George cried out.
Fred frowned. "I di-" he started, but cut off as he realized what Harry had done. Before he could turn to glare at Harry, he caught site of George, who had grown pointy ears and whiskers, had only one arm, and had bright yellow hair all over him.
"Ha, you should see yourself George!" Fred cried out, pointing with his one arm at his twin.
"Aye," George said knowingly. "You're a sight yourself Fred," he said, pulling the hair around his twin's neck.
"Ouch!" Fred yelled, and attempted to throw himself at his twin, which caused them both to fall over, hands grabbing at each other's necks.
Meanwhile, Harry was smirking at the twins, who were now, quite literally, joined at the hip. Gabby and Hermione were roaring with laughter, drawing the attention of quite a few other first years, along with a couple second years, and some fifth years, all of whom joined the girls in laughing and catcalling at the twins.
The twins, having noticed all the attention they were getting, promptly stop trying to strangle each other by the hair on each other's chins, and began making awkward bows to their audience, all the while, barely managing to stay standing.
"Alright, you two," Harry laughed. "I'm glad you're here, actually."
"Why?" Fred asked.
"Yes, what would a little pipsqueak like you want with us?" George continued.
"Especially after you did this to us!" the twins finished.
Harry leaned easily back against the tree the girls had sat under. He hadn't expected the twins to take it sitting down, and he had to say that he was going to immensely enjoy watching them squirm. "Hey, I could decide to leave you both like that for... a week, perhaps?"
The twins gaped at Harry in horror.
"Y-You wouldn't dare," Fred cried, but the look of terror on his face said that he believed every word Harry said.
"I think he would, dear brother. I suggest we hear him out," George said quietly.
Harry chuckled. "Don't worry. It's nothing really. I just wanted to show everyone something, but it's back in my room. I was going to come looking for you to see if you could possibly help me gather everyone up before dinner."
Hermione looked as confused as the twins, but looking Gabby's way, and seeing her slight nod of agreement, put her worries out of her mind.
"Is that it?" Fred asked, looking bewildered. Honestly, he had expected something a bit more, well, amusing really. At least amusing to Harry. Fred was thankful that hadn't come to pass as it would have been at his and George's, most likely humiliating, expense.
Harry nodded. He knew the twins hadn't expected to get off so easily, but then again, his fun with them hadn't been planned as this had. Still, they couldn't know that Harry himself had no way of countering his charm and that it would take exactly one full week to expire, yet. Part of Harry wished that Colin Creevey was already at Hogwarts to see it happen, because when the charm did wear off, the twins would be stark naked, wherever they were, and in full view of whoever happened to be watching.
"What is it that you want to show everybody, Harry?" George asked curiously.
"You'll find out with the rest," Harry replied. "Except for Gabby, of course. She probably already knows what I have in mind, so it won't be a surprise to her."
Gabby faked a sad look, but Harry smiled brilliantly at her. "Don't worry, Gabby. I have something special in mind for you, but that comes later tonight."
Gabby and Hermione squealed, both of them jumping up and down, looking very excited. How Hermione could be excited about it, Harry didn't know. Girls were weird sometimes, very.
"Alright, Harry. We'll get right on it, but where and when do we meet you?"
Harry raised an eyebrow at Fred. "Let's say an hour from now, in the common room. Think you guys can do it?"
"You got it, mate," George said. "Just leave it to us."
"Cool, thanks you guys."
"No problem, Harry. See ya in a few," Fred replied as they walked away quickly, in search of their dorm mates.
Harry turned to Gabby and Hermione, who had settled down a bit, but were smiling brightly at him. "Well ladies, shall we?" he asked, offering them each an arm.
A minute later, Harry walked back up to the castle, with Gabby and Hermione on either side of him. The day was starting to look up finally, and the night would be oh so much better.
Author's Notes:
Mmm... Sorry about the long update folks. I tend to be a bit busy lately. Life... you know... work before fun, can't do it any other way. Thanks for all your reviews, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Btw, for those who have asked me, I will only be posting an unedited, but lemon cut version of this story here on this site. Once I have completed it, I will post the full, reviewed, edited, and modified story on a site that allows NC-17, where I will post my complete, updated files where I have gone back and filled all the holes, and have not cut out all the lemon, thanks to my reviewers.
This is to those couple that I have found that have already posted my story on their own blogs or sites, or links to it. I'm glad you think my story is worth that much, but don't forget I'm playing in JKR's backyard. Anyways, thanks to you, I have probably gained a lot of readers, but don't think I haven't reviewed those couple of sites and read everything said, especially the negative. If anyone has a problem with this story, or any ideas on how it can be improved, feel free to bring it to my attention. I won't give any 'nasty' replies to reviews per se, but I will be just as honest about my opinion.
There will of course be scenes that are recognized from Harry's first year, but I will only include those that help to further the plot, and will most likely change them up a bit. This is only to contribute to the argument that I have already placed about not changing the future too much. However, as I said, I will change the details around to suit my own purposes and any such recognizable event is credited to JKR for her geniousity.
Furthermore, I will NOT remove Ginny from the coven. She happens to be my close 2nd favorite, sorry to all those who had hopes otherwise. In terms of arguments against her, if a sufficient number of my reviewers leave note in their reviews as to their objections and reasons, I will of course leave a note at the end of my next chapter answering ALL arguments to a well reasoned, logical point, backed by JKR's own writing, that I have already used to quell the objections of quite a few who have mailed me. As for ships... I have planned nearly all of them out so far, but since many of them have not yet been revealed in the story, I will neglect to post them here.
Ah, the power levels. Brief overview and a little math to answer some questions before they arise. Take note that as Harry said, Dumbledore's powers were equal to about half of his own. This is the half the key to the math, the other half being that as a wizard matures, his powers grow along with him until they peak at the age of 17.
Tom Marvolo Riddle (a.k.a. Lord Voldemort): 740 (11yrs, magical core Immature) ...4895 (Matured Powers)
Dumbledore: 725 (11yrs, magical core Immature) ...4795 (Matured powers)
Harry: 1370 (11yrs, magical core Immature, approx. 1/7 of his powers.) True score: 9590 (2x Dumbledore's) ...63427 (Matured Powers)
Gabrielle: 965 (11yrs, magical core Immature) ...6382 (Matured powers)
I have already given various information throughout the story, detailing what I am about to write, but I am going to outline it for those who have not managed to put the picture together yet. Remember that right now, Harry's and Gabby's powers are immature. Also, since I will no doubt have many comments about the godly power of Harry, I will also note that there are two reasons his powers are so high. One, of course, would be his ancestry. I have only begun to reveal a couple of Merlin's secrets of who he was, but being one of the 9 Divines (Immortals, gods, etc...) or whatever you choose to call them, Merlin passed on extreme amounts of power that would rightly be considered godly, far more than a normal mortal could handle. Reason two is that Harry has all the powers of one of the ancient Sorcerer's, though he is slowly growing into them. The one ability that shows itself immediately, as you can see, is the ability to draw external magic into himself. Every wizard is connected to magic to a varying degree, and can manipulate their own magic by channeling it through their magical core. Harry's connection to magic is far more powerful, not only being a Sorcerer, but also the Heir of the one who initially brought magic to mortals, making it possible for witches and wizards to exist. While any wizard is able to manipulate the magic around the with the use of a wand, by drawing swirls and patterns in it, and using their will to create the spells, Harry is, as I said, able to draw it into himself, or he can manipulate it by will alone. The magic around Harry is, in essence, an extension of himself, all the while separate from him, but also a part of him, turning his magical core into a veritable ocean of magic, seemingly never-ending. This makes it nigh impossible to get an accurate read on Harry's own magical core. And do not forget that Harry retained his full powers from before he went back. See chapter 3 for details.
BTW for those of you who I know will feel compelled to mention that I went over the top with his powers, I did not. It is perfectly realistic for the end result, but to tell you that, I would have to reveal several secrets, which would ruin the story. Just have faith that I know what I am doing, and where I am going with this. That is also why I gave the information above on the two reasons he is so powerful.
Again, thank you to all who have reviewed, and I hope you continue to look forward to this story.