Chapter 14: Chapter 13: Gryffindor Meeting
Summary:
In the lead up to the Yule Ball and the not so hidden jealousy amongst some of the Gryffindor boys gives Harry yet another problem to solve.
Chapter Text
Sirius Black smiled as he stepped out of the plane and down the short number of stairs back onto British soil. Those few weeks away had definitely been well spent helping him recover fully from his stint in Azkaban but he was happy to be home. He had not enjoyed being so far away while Harry was still dealing with this tournament non-sense but he'd put it off long enough that Amelia and Narcissa simply wouldn't let him do so any longer after the First Task.
He'd travelled by muggle means to keep anyone, mostly the Daily Prophet from learning his location. Thankfully the Potter Estate still owned and maintained the small planes that Charlus and Fleamont had purchased, though they were now mostly rented for private flights by muggles. There was a limo waiting for him not far from where he stood on the tarmac, a Bentley with the driver standing beside the door.
That was another welcome sight, his grandfather hadn't much cared for the muggle world but when he'd proposed the idea to start a car service in his fourth year his grandfather humored him. After hearing him out his grandfather agreed to the idea, mostly because Sirius was finally showing interest in business, even if it wasn't a wizarding one. He'd struggled with coming up with a name for weeks until Marlene suggested The Order of the Gallant.
The name took his idea from a simple car service to a luxury one for which they started off with two limousines. Within six months his grandfather had purchased two more and within the next year there were ten. The drivers were all either squibs or muggleborn wizards since that was as close as his grandfather was willing to deal with muggles. Now all these years later there were 110 cars and the company was amongst the largest and the best chauffeur services in the UK and was still fully staffed by squibs and muggleborn wizards and witches.
"Lord Black welcome home sir." Said the driver a pretty young lady who looked as if she was in her early twenties.
"It's good to be back. Anything I should know?" questioned Sirius.
"Things have happened. Your wife and Mr. Tonks are inside and will fill you in I'm sure." Said the young lady before opening the door.
Stepping inside he found that sure enough Amelia and Ted were both sitting inside. While he and Amelia still hadn't had a ceremony the Ministry recognized Bonded couples as married by magic, at least if the couple was of age. For minors it was simply considered as a betrothal and the status would change upon the younger partner reaching the age of majority. Amelia greeted him with a short kiss and he shook Ted's hand before he handed him a butterbeer which he accepted gratefully.
"So, what's going on?" questioned Sirius after the car began moving.
"Skeeter made her move. Rather than bust her Dora gave me the idea to use her. The article was released a few days ago."
Before Sirius could comment Ted handed him the article. By the end he could see that it didn't reflect badly on Harry but there was too much that she alluded to with no detail or context. While the article didn't attack Harry, instead making him out to be a victim, Sirius did see a few things he didn't like.
"This is the second time that someone used what should have been confidential information about Harry. His power level I could overlook, but his medical history and dredging up his past I will not." Said Sirius.
"I've already started a draft to make accessing someone's personal information illegal. It already is in the muggle world, so I was able to use it as a framework. We're hoping to have it done within the next few days and I'll get it to you soon after." Said Ted getting a nod from Sirius.
"Skeeter?" questioned Sirius.
"Harry had me impress upon Cuff that it would be a good idea for her to leave him and his alone and that any further articles concerning them should be handed to me first. Harry suggested that if he was caught by surprise again by something not concerning the Tri-Wizard Tournament the rest of this school year that there would be a new Editor in Chief before Cuff could get his lunch." Said Ted.
"That quickly?" questioned Sirius impressed.
"I've already screened a candidate, just have to get it through the Board without tipping Cuff off." Said Ted
"As for the woman herself we haven't done anything. We could still have her sentenced to Azkaban, but I don't think we want to go that route yet." Said Amelia.
"Anything else?" questioned Sirius.
"Potter Manor is ready for a walkthrough. It's not finished but if anything needs to be changed the walkthrough is the time to find out." Said Ted.
"Does Harry know?" questioned Sirius.
"He doesn't want to see it until its finished. He wants someone who lived there to make sure it's right though." Said Amelia.
"Which falls to me and Minnie." Said Sirius.
"McGonagall?" questioned Ted surprised.
"She lived there after her husband died. She didn't move out until she took the job at Hogwarts." Said Sirius.
"That explains a lot. According to Susan old Twinkles told her to maintain a professional relationship with Harry before he started his first year." Said Amelia.
"Makes sense actually. We know he wanted to keep Harry ignorant of his place in the world after all." Said Ted.
"Any word from Remus?" questioned Sirius changing the subject.
"Yes, he and Harry have been exchanging letters. Last I heard the only reason he hasn't written you was because he knew you would be getting treatment of your own." Said Ted.
"I'm thinking about taking Harry to go see him over the Yule break." Said Sirius.
"We could always have Remus come home. I don't like the idea of him being there alone over the holidays." Said Amelia.
"We'll figure it out. What else?" questioned Sirius.
The announcement of the Yule Ball was made two days after the last big announcement that rocked the school. Thankfully as part of the announcement they'd learned that those bonded to multiple people would be allowed to have all of them as dates. Unfortunately, as Champions he and Fleur still had to find people to open the ball with and Fleur surprised them all informing them that Dora would be her date. Daphne in turn asked Hermione while Susan had asked Penny.
Pick on Harry time continued as Sue Li got Parvati and Katie got Padma to agree to be their dates. All of this happened in the span of about thirty seconds over the bond which he knew was the girls' not-so-subtle way of forcing him out of his comfort zone, though he was informed that he WOULD be dancing with all of them during the ball. At the moment he was walking through the halls with Luna. He'd wanted to ask her to be his date, but it had already been announced that the ball would be for fourth years and up. Ginny was decidedly unhappy about that as she'd secured a date before the announcement had even been made and now Dean Thomas was scrambling to find a new date.
"Ask Ciri." Said Luna.
"I'm pretty sure someone's asked her already." Said Harry lightly.
"Nope, people say they have but no ones asked her. Their all too scared." Said Luna lightly.
"I don't know Luna." Said Harry warily.
"Ask her, you'll know how to dance by then so she'll have a good time."
Before he could comment they rounded the corner that led to the entrance of the Room of Requirement and he faltered half a step. Standing in the hall as if it was a normal occurrence was Narcissa Black in all of her regal pureblood glory.
"You're on time, good." Said Narcissa as they arrived.
"What's going on?" questioned Harry warily.
"Dancing lessons silly, I just told you." Said Luna giggling.
"Lord Black has entrusted me with insuring you are properly educated on how to conduct yourself in a formal gathering such as a ball. Normally such an education would have already been provided to you as Heir to a Most Ancient and Most Noble House. As this was not done I have been instructed to rectify this gap in your education." Said Narcissa.
"So not just dancing?" questioned Harry.
"No, my goal is to have you carry yourself as a gentleman of your stature should. Unfortunately our time is limited to just a few weeks for now but over the summer we will continue your education."
Luna chose that moment to skip forward to where the door would appear before walking back and forth in front of the space to summon the room. Narcissa raised a curious eyebrow at the sight though the other joined it as the door materialized once Luna finished pacing. Opening the door Luna called them to follow revealing a small ballroom decorated with only three chairs off to the side.
"What magic is this?" questioned Narcissa surprised.
"Welcome to the Room of Requirement, it is a room designed to provide whatever you require. The brainchild of Rowena Ravenclaw" Said Harry.
"Truly, Lady Ravenclaw created such a space?" questioned Narcissa surprised.
"The Founders all had their own special projects that became part of the school. For Slytherin it was the Chamber of Secrets, Ravenclaw created this room." Said Harry.
"Hufflepuff and Gryffindor worked together to create a Vivarium but no one has been able to find it." Said Luna.
"What's a vivarium?" questioned Harry
"A vivarium is a magical enclosure for which magical beasts can be kept and cared for. I have a small one at the former Malfoy manner." Said Narcissa.
"Sounds like a relatively safe mystery to solve and an excuse to explore the school." Said Harry.
"Later, for now let us begin your lessons."
The ICW being the body that it was had branch offices spread throughout the whole of the magical world. This made things such as preparing for the launch of the Legacy Preservation Accords much easier than if they had not had these offices. While Magical Britain didn't have such an office of their own, that was more due to the influence of the former Supreme Mugwump than anything else. Elias Emmerich was glad to have been assigned to the Berlin office, it had been quite some time since he'd been home and while he truly enjoyed his job and being able to travel there was something about one's home country that made it seem more special after time away.
Unlike local government branches the D.M.L.E for the ICW had several unique departments to deal with issues that they were uniquely placed to deal with. While the Auror office for the most part was similar to the muggle Interpol there was a branch of the Auror Office that acted more like spies than as investigators. Elias was one such person and had been for some time so when the old man sat down across from him in his booth he knew the man was not what he seemed. This was especially truth as he sensed a subtle privacy barrier be placed around his booth.
"Who are you and what do you want?" questioned Elias.
"Just a messenger, no one of importance. I've come on behalf of an acquaintance of yours."
As the man said this he shifted his hands on the table, just enough that Elias could see a ring come into existence on his right hand. The symbol of the ring was a familiar one, a serpentine 'S' made with green jewels. It was a familiar sight, the ring belonging to the heir of Salazar Slytherin.
"That man is dead." Said Elias
"Such reports were exaggerated. While he was certainly indisposed that situation will be handled shortly." Said the man
Elias did his best not to react to these words. This meant his suspicions were correct and he'd actually made a horcrux. He hadn't thought Tom would create one, the risks of going through with such a project were simply too high in his own opinion. Of course, Tom had also always been ambitious, perhaps a bit too ambitious, and with his tenacity Elias supposed he shouldn't be surprised that he'd done such a thing.
"Why have you come to me?" questioned Elias.
"Two reasons. Firstly, my lord would like to know how the events of the summer happened with no warning."
"It's simple really, we weren't involved and didn't care to look in on it. Remind your master that the arrangement was with him, and it died when he did. We couldn't care less for his associates." Said Elias.
"Secondly, my lord would like the locations of the Faithful." Said the man.
"Not happening. While such information could be gathered nothing of the sort will be done unless and until he solves his current dilemma. At that point perhaps a new arrangement could be discussed." Said Elias before pinning him in place with a look.
"Scurry back to your hole rat and know that should this conversation be even hinted at to anyone but him that there is no place that you can hide from me."
Shaken the old man could only nod before moving out of the booth and leaving the café behind. As he left Elias casually dispelled the barrier and tucked his wand back into the holster on his thigh and returned to what he was doing as if he'd never been disturbed.
After his new dance and etiquette class had come to an end Harry found himself wandering the halls of Hogwarts on his own. Narcissa had stated that while he'd done well for a first lesson they still had some ground to cover before he was ready for the Yule Ball which was only a few weeks away. After the lesson Luna skipped off informing him that she had a few other things to look into and that he should head to the library. Trusting Luna and her insights Harry followed her suggestion and began making his way to the library.
"Harry!" the call of his name had him turning towards it to see Dean Thomas coming towards him.
Though he wasn't as close with Dean as he was with Ron and Neville, the boys that he shared a dorm with had always been friendly amongst themselves. Dean as a muggleborn had often voiced things that he himself had felt but hadn't been able to say being who he was. Even as a first year he'd known being The-Boy-Who-Lived would cause issues other than the unwanted attention he tended to attract.
"Listen do you have a minute?" questioned Dean.
"A few, I'm on my way to the library though."
"Right, I won't hold you up too long, I don't want Hermione mad at me." Said Dean.
Harry didn't bother to correct him; everyone knew that the library was Hermione's domain and nine times out of ten if he or Ron were going there it was to meet up with her. These days Hermione was often joined by Padma, Daphne and Sue Li, all of whom appreciated her desire for academic excellence and her desire to know more about the wizarding world in general. Dean motioned to one of the nearby classroom doors yet neither of them were prepared to see a trio of nude witches being group fucked by what had to be at least four guys each. Hurriedly closing the door, they moved to the next one which was thankfully empty and entered, though the sight of Dean throwing up a privacy charm on the door caused him to narrow his eyes.
"What's going on?" questioned Harry.
"Okay, don't kill the messenger, I just lost the vote to talk to you." Said Dean.
"That wasn't a good way to start." Said Harry.
"I know, but I really am just the messenger. They figured I would be safer than some of them would be." Said Dean.
"They?" questioned Harry.
"A group of upper year Gryffs, they cornered me and Seamus. They want you, Ron and Neville to share the wealth." Said Dean.
"Share the wealth?" questioned Harry confused.
"The three of you are bonded to girls that all made the top twenty." Said Dean.
Harry felt his eyes widen before they narrowed dangerously as he realized what Dean was talking about. Daphne Greengrass, Susan Bones, the Patil Twins, Lavender Brown, Lily Moon, Pansy Parkinson, Sue Li, Hannah Abbot and Hermione Granger had all made the list of the top twenty girls in their year. Some of them had even made positions amongst the top fifty in the entire school.
"They were right, you are safer than they would be." Said Harry doing his best not to let his temper and magic loose while Dean flinched.
"What do you think about this?" questioned Harry.
"Honestly I think that there are enough unattached witches to go around. Plus, the ability to go to Hogsmeade every weekend will change things and it's not like new witches won't be available next year." Said Dean.
"I wish it was that simple. This was a power play and they used you because they knew you wouldn't recognize it for what it was." Said Harry causing Dean to look at him in confusion.
"You know there are a lot of things about this world that no one really talks about. I learned a lot over the summer from my godfather but there is still a lot that I need to learn. This though we talked about, I'll handle it." Said Harry.
"Harry is this going to cause a problem" questioned Dean his stance and tone changing just slightly enough that Harry recognized the version of him who fought at the Battle of Hogwarts just beneath the surface.
"After today no. House meeting for 3rd years and up, 5 o'clock attendance is mandatory." Said Harry.
"Got it, I'll spread the word."
"Also do me a favor and inform these upper years you spoke with me and that I would be speaking with Ron and Neville about it." Said Harry getting a nod from Dean before he opened the door and walked out.
Once Dean was gone Harry took a moment to contact Parvati and Katie through the bond and informed them of the meeting before putting up a wall on his end. While it was rude he didn't want the girls in his head right now, Daphne would rightfully take offence, and those people would have untimely accidents. There would be other responses, but Daphne's would be the most immediate and more than likely the most deadly and he couldn't have that.
"Dobby."
For a moment nothing happened and then Dobby was standing in front of him. The house-elf had changed little since being taken into the House of Potter, the biggest difference being in his state of dress as he now wore a butlers uniform complete with bow tie though sized to fit a house-elf.
"How can Dobby help Master Harry?" questioned the house-elf.
"Dobby, my dormmate Dean is going to speak with some upper year Gryffindor boys who thought it was a good idea to threaten me to share my bonded with them. I need you to follow him and find out who they are. Don't do anything, just find out who they are and report back to me. Also don't tell the girls, I want to handle this personally" Said Harry.
"Dobby can do." Said the house-elf before snapping his fingers and vanishing.
Taking a deep breath, he held it for a few moments before exhaling, repeating the action a few more times before he felt he was ready to move on. Stepping out of the classroom door he continued on his way to the library pleased when there were no further distractions. He ignored the absence of Madam Pince knowing the witch was more than likely somewhere within the deeper isles being occupied with a couple of wizards.
He was surprised when he found Hermione's commandeered table was empty, everyone knew not to sit at her table even when she wasn't there as she could show up at any minute. Still, he quickly realized why Luna sent him here as he saw Ciri sitting at one of the tables by herself. As he approached the table she looked up with an instant glare only for it to die upon seeing him. Holding his hands up in the universal sign for surrender he slowed his approach.
"Sorry, I can go if you want." Said Harry softly.
"It's fine. I've just had too many self-important wizards to deal with today." Said Ciri motioning for him to take a seat.
"Let me guess mostly Slytherins and Ravenclaws." Said Harry taking the seat across from her.
"A couple from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor too. Almost makes me wish I had that Veela allure so I could make them all go stupid and embarrass themselves." Said Ciri.
"Almost?" questioned Harry.
"I've heard Fleur complain too much about the downsides of the allure to actually want to deal with it." Said Ciri shrugging.
"Well, you are one of the most beautiful girls in the castle. Once word gets out that you have a date for the ball they'll leave you alone." Said Harry
"Are you volunteering?" questioned Ciri.
"Me?" questioned Harry.
"Well normally I'd go to this kind of thing with Fleur but apparently she has another young witch she wants to corrupt. You are the most powerful wizard in this school so it's not a bad trade off." Said Ciri.
"Ciri would you like to go to the ball with me?" questioned Harry.
"I would love to Harry." Said Ciri batting her eyelashes playfully.
"Harry there you are!" the sound of Ron's angered tone had Harry dropping his head with a huff before looking up at Ciri apologetically.
"Go, I have to finish this paper anyway. If you stayed any longer we both know what was going to happen." Said Ciri.
Hearing that didn't help his mood any, but he just sighed as he got up.
"I'll catch up with you later." Said Harry before turning to find Ron being held physically by Neville.
"Come with me." Said Harry to both.
Leaving the library Harry led them to one of the many hidden passageways within the castle. They followed the pathway for a while before emerging from an alcove behind one of the many suits of armor that dotted the castle. Before leaving the alcove Harry checked the map, finding the nearest unoccupied classroom and leading them inside before securing it with several wards.
"Has anyone talked to you yet?" questioned Neville almost immediately.
"Firstly, tell me you two aren't broadcasting your thoughts to your bonded." Said Harry.
"No but it was a close one. Ron and I were together when Sheamus found us and well you know the Weasley temper." Said Neville.
Even as he said this Neville wondered how Harry was still so calm. Personally, his own nerves were shot and it was taking everything he had to keep the wall up that separated his thoughts from Hannah, Lily and Sakura. Ron was nearly frothing at the mouth and yet Harry was relaxed as if they were talking about something mundane like the weather or something.
"Good. I don't want the girls, any of them to know about this yet." Said Harry.
"So why are we just waiting around?" questioned Ron hotly.
"We don't have enough information to act yet." Said Harry getting Ron to scoff.
"There are three classes ahead of us Ron. Do you want to just go fight all of them?" questioned Harry.
"Well, we can rule out the twins, they'd never suggest something so stupid or go along with it." Said Neville.
This was true, everyone knew that as much as they pride themselves on being pranksters there were lines that the twins would not pass. Over the summer after Harry had dressed them down along with Ron and Percy at the Burrow the twins had drawn new lines that they wouldn't cross.
"So, we get the information and what, go to McGonagall?" questioned Neville
"Hell no, they don't get off that lightly!" exclaimed Ron whirling on Neville.
"Ron, control yourself!" said Harry causing him to freeze.
"We understand you're upset but I think your inner animal is a little to close to the surface." Said Harry
"To answer your question Neville, I haven't made a decision yet." Said Harry.
"Harry you can't seriously…" started Ron only for Harry to hold up a hand.
"I haven't made a decision yet. That said I do agree that going to Minnie would be letting them off lightly." Said Harry.
"Well we need to do something." Said Neville.
"We will. I'm already working on it. Just give me some time, I'll know something soon. In the meantime, you two should go blow off some steam." Said Harry.
"How?" questioned Ron.
"Well you can always go down to the pitch, send a message to the Twins to help you practice." Said Harry.
He knew by this point both Neville and Ron could conjure fully corporeal patronus charms, he'd helped them get there. In fact the only ones that hadn't so far were Astoria, Luna and Ginny, Professor Flitwick had advised the three of them to give their magical cores time to get stronger as right now they had shapes they just couldn't get that last bit to make them corporeal. Harry had rewarded the rest of the group by teaching them how to send messages through the patronus while for the three younger girls he'd gotten them treats from Honeydukes.
"That will at least keep me distracted." Said Ron
After saying this he began taking several calming breaths before successfully summoning his patronus. Unlike what he remembered from the DA sessions Ron's patronus wasn't a Jack Russell terrier, instead it was now a Growlithe, though unlike his pet the patronus took the form of an adult version. Once the spectral dog was racing off out of the room Ron was walking out as well sparing only a wave but not turning to face them.
"You have any idea what his animagus form is?" questioned Neville.
"No, but I'm betting its something territorial. I'm betting on a dog personally." Answered Harry.
"I'm heading to the greenhouse, that place always calms me down. Plus, Professor Sprout is helping me with a personal project I'm working on." Said Neville before turning to leave.
Rather than leave himself Harry turned towards the door once more placing even more security charms on it than he had before. Before he could do more there was a pop as Dobby appeared in front of him. He did his best not to frown at what Dobby told him since he didn't want the little guy to take it the wrong way.
Thanking Dobby for the hard work he waited until he popped away once more before he allowed the frown to emerge onto his face. Closing his eyes he took several deep breaths and after focusing for several long moments opened his eyes to be greeted to the ghostly form of Charlus Potter.
"Now I thought we agreed that you wouldn't be using this power too much." Said Charlus.
"I know grandpa, I need help and didn't know what else to do." Said Harry.
Hours later, shortly before 5 o'clock the members of Gryffindor House began arriving within their common room where they found Harry, Ron and Neville already inside. Instead of being in their usual out of the way corner and the couch within it the three boys were sitting by the fireplace in three ornate wooden chairs that none of them had ever seen before that looked more like thrones than regular chairs. As the students entered and took notice of this voices lowered as they began to either whisper nervously or in most cases simply remain silent.
"POTTER WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"
The angered roar came from Marcus Belvin, the sixth-year boys' prefect. At 5'11 Belvin was amongst the tallest boys in the school and possessed short brown hair and blue eyes. Pushing himself to the front of the crowd of students he found Harry sitting nonchalantly as if he hadn't heard him which only made his anger increase. As he opened his mouth once more he was grabbed by the shoulder by Kyle Willoby who gave him a look then turned his eyes purposely and obviously.
Following the gaze of his friend it was only then that Marcus realized that both Ron and Neville had their wands drawn and aimed directly at him while Harry still hadn't even shifted in his seat. Over the next few minutes more students entered the room until the place was packed until finally the girls made their way inside all of them including the ones that were not sorted into Gryffindor and easily made their way to the front.
"Before anyone questions it the bond has several effects one of which being a mental connection between the bonded. Anything one knows the other knows, or in our case others. This means they have known the location of our dorm since the bond was established and the password since we learned it and vice versa. None of us have taken advantage of that knowledge in respect of our House traditions." Said Neville stopping some of the muttering immediately.
Ron said nothing, however, the anger radiating from him was clear to all of them with the look in his eyes causing many including his siblings to regard him warily as he looked over the room. Finally he turned his gaze pointedly to Harry causing all other eyes in the room to do the same. For several long moments Harry said nothing simply regarding the room as if it was a normal day before finally he spoke.
"Manners maketh man. Do you, any of you aside from my bonded, know what that means?" questioned Harry still looking over the room which remained in a tense silence.
"Judging by your silence I will assume that you do not, so I will tell you. Politeness, good manners and civility are essential to humanity, it is what separates us from savagery. With this in mind, we are doing our best to handle our grievance verbally rather than give into our desires to resolve things in a bloodier fashion. Even so, this is the first and last warning we will give." Said Harry causing several people to look around in confusion.
"Earlier today the three of us were approached separately by our dormmates who informed us that several upper year Gryffindor boys had cornered them and expressed to them that it would be in our best interest if the three of us shared our wealth to borrow the phrase." Said Harry.
"What does that mean?" questioned Willoby.
"They want us to allow free access to our bonded." Snarled Ron.
For a moment the room was in a stunned silence before it was broken as the room descended into chaos as people began shouting throughout the room. Surprisingly the Hufflepuffs, Susan and Hannah were the first to draw wands though their arms were quickly seized and pointed towards the ground by Parvati and Sakura respectively. When more people began drawing wands including the Weasley Twins and their bonded Harry had enough.
Suddenly the air was full of power as he let his magic free of its limiter yet rather than just let it reign free like normal he directed it. Instantly all the noise stopped as it was suddenly as if gravity increased as Harry's magic pressed down on them with several people dropping to their knees or struggling to breathe. Just as quickly as it started it was over as Harry reigned his power back in as if he'd never let go in the first place.
"Children, control yourselves." Said Harry calmly.
"How are you so calm?" questioned Pansy.
"Because the alternative is a pile of bodies decorating the Great Hall." Said Harry his words causing a chill to sweep through the room.
"Albus Dumbledore is dead and with him went his constant undeserved second chances for the guilty. Many of you probably believe that Minnie will operate in the same manner, I can assure you she will not as she too was handcuffed by Dumbledore in how she wanted to handle things." Said Harry.
"That being said there is a reason I did not go to her or Professor Marigold with this, even though I know exactly who was behind this. Minnie would only expel you, that in my mind is letting you off far too lightly. I can do far worse than that."
"What's worse than expulsion?" questioned Angelina.
"Excommunication. As first years when you were sorted into Gryffindor you were also given a small bit of access to the Gryffindor Family Magic. That magic has several uses not the least of which being that in an emergency situation one who is considered a true Gryffindor can summon the Sword of Gryffindor. On the flip side someone who has proven that they lack the qualities of a Gryffindor or even represents a danger to the House can be excommunicated.
You would lose that bit of Gryffindor magic and become an unhoused student but unable to be resorted. No Gryffindor would speak to you nor aid you in any way shape or form while in this castle, being unhoused you would have no access to any dorm, common room or even a house table. That would also mean you lose access to certain activities such as Quidditch if you are on a team and that is the lenient option." Said Harry.
"Your bluffing." Said one of the third years.
"Nope, It's in The Code, check it on your own time though." Said Harry
"So what, hang the code, it's just a guideline anyway!" exclaimed an older boy probably a sixth year if Harry had to guess.
"The Code is the Law." The voice of Sir Nicholas came before his body appeared floating above the students with his arms cross and a serious expression on his face.
"Back to the discussion at hand. To the person who initiated this stupidity, I'm going to act on the assumption that you were overly excited by the idea of getting your cock wet but don't actually know the particulars regarding the LPA. If you did you would know that a bonded witch is not held to the free use rules other witches are. If you knew this however it means you were trying to rape my bonded, making you an enemy of House Potter, something that would not end well for you or your friends." Said Harry.
"It was McLaggen! It was all his idea!" exclaimed a voice causing everyone to look over to the sight of Jason Swann.
"Jason!" exclaimed Cormac
"Fuck you. I didn't know about any of this shit. I wanted to know how he bonded so many girls and you dragged me into this stupid ass scheme without even telling me anything." Said Jason
"It's fine Jason. Like I said I already knew, I just wanted to expose this stupidity and deal with it civilly before Ron, Daphne, Pansy or Hermione killed him." Said Harry
"It's not like he could do anything, he's a half-blood and I'm a pureblood." Said Cormac
"Young Purebloods, so arrogant, to really think that you could so boldly challenge me after all this." Said Harry standing from his seat with it fading away right after causing several eyes to widen realizing it was a conjured chair.
"No violence remember, just words." Said Cormac.
"Oh, I could kill you without touching my wand at all." Said Harry causing his eyes to widen.
"Your sister Bianca she should be starting her time here in what two years." Said Harry causing several eyes to widen while Cormac's narrowed.
"She'll qualify for the LPA in just five years. Most of us won't be here but what do you think would happen to her if she somehow was lucky enough to bond with someone just prior to her fourth year and you had already set a precedent that being bonded didn't matter?" Questioned Harry causing him to pale.
"That right there, that's how I know you didn't actually read the LPA and understand what it meant. No brother, not even an arrogant blowhard like you, would wish that fate on his sister." Said Harry grabbing him just before his legs could give out on him.
"If I believed the contrary of you Cormac your blood status wouldn't save you, not from me. I'd have reported you to McGonagall and you'd have been expelled but that's just the beginning. Susan's father is Lord Bones, her aunt is the Head of the DMLE. You would have been arrested and charged before your father could even learn you were expelled. Your grandfather, however, is the Lord of your House, and he would have received letters from Lord Bones, Lord Greengrass, Lady Parkinson, Lord Longbottom, Lord Abbott and Lord Black, those are just the Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses that are active.
To save face he'd have no choice but to disinherit and disown you. From there you'd have gone to trial and been found guilty, worse you're a fifth year who has yet to sit his O.W.L.S meaning your wand would be snapped, your magic bound, and you'd have been obliviated of all knowledge of magic. Then you'd be dumped in the non-magical world and with no idea who you are or how that world operates you'd probably be dead within a month, two tops." Explained Harry as calmly as if he was talking about the weather.
"In this scenario, you live and you die according to my will, not your blood status. Luckily as I said I already knew you had no idea what you were doing. I would recommend you take this as a learning experience, this is a school after all. Become a better person and I'll forget you tried to have yourself killed." Said Harry before turning away from him and looking over the rest of the silent room.
"The population of magical humans is massively low and nowhere is this more apparent than the territory known as Magical Britain. Furthermore the levels of power amongst witches and wizards have declined massively over the centuries. If you speak to any of the portraits of the Founders they would all tell you that in their time the power levels of the populous was measured in the thousands, an average witch or wizard in that time had a power score of at least 3,000. The Legacy Preservation Accords were voted into law by the ICW to combat both issues." Said Hermione bringing attention to herself
"Children of magically bonded couples are historically known to be quite powerful in terms of power levels. The Mate Bond is established during sex which is why the free use aspect of the law was put in place since the bond has become rarer over time and considering people never stopped having children it was considered necessary to ensure more people bonded. The more powerful you are, the greater your chance of bonding with people which is why Neville, Ron and Harry were able to so easily bond multiple witches. It is of course more complicated than that but those are the basics behind why the Accords are structured as they are." Said Padma.
"Any questions, no, good. I'm glad we could handle things civilly. I would recommend you all do the reading on the Accords before we have another unnecessary incident." Said Neville standing from his own seat before it vanished.
Ron didn't say a word when he stood from his own seat. Instead he looked over the common room once and then strode to the portrait that led to the bonded quarters with Pansy and Lavender following in his wake. Trading looks with the rest of the Weasley's, Harry inclined his head slightly in Ron's direction and they immediately followed after their brother. Neville was the next to depart with Hannah, Sakura and Lily as they too headed to their bonded quarters.
Harry and his bonded were the next to depart with Harry only stopping long enough to trade a look with Marcus Belvin who gave him a shallow nod in return before he continued on his way leaving the common room and the Gryffindor dorms altogether. Wordlessly they travelled the halls until they came to the entrance to the Room of Requirement and after the required pacing the door opened to reveal a smaller, more intimate common room where he proceeded to immediately crash on a couch and drop his mental wall.
Hogwarts played host to many animals the most numerous being owls and cats as such it was not uncommon to see cats wandering the halls at any time during the day or night and usually went ignored. As such no one paid any attention as one such cat made its way into one of the castles numerous abandoned classrooms, the door to which had been left open just a crack. Inside the room was empty and upon seeing this the cat quickly shifted into human form as Minerva McGonagall stood in its place.
Turning back towards the door she made sure it was closed before her wand was in hand and she proceeded to layer it with all manner of charms to secure the room. She'd heard about the Gryffindor house meeting earlier in the day and considering who called the meeting she had been quite curious about what was going on. Never had she expected what the subject would be about, though in hindsight that would have been a very good guess.
Harry's performance had been masterful, it was a pure Charlus, though she could see the influence of House Black as well. The way Harry had effortlessly seized command of the room stunned her and Longbottom had shown he would become a great second. Ronald had said more with his silence and rage filled gaze than he would have if he'd actually spoken, but the threat in his eyes had not been hidden.
Still it had been Harry's show and nowhere had that been more apparent than when he'd released his magic on the room. There was no doubt in her mind that in that one meeting Harry had just taken the position of Head of the Pride, there was no other outcome this could result with. Even without the LPA in place such an action would have had the witches of Gryffindor queuing up to join his bed on a nightly basis.
She doubted there was a single pair of dry knickers in the room after feeling the weight of his magic, she shivered just remembering it. She'd been a cat at the time and it still affected her! That was why she'd ducked into the classroom; she just needed a bit of time to regain her composure. She was Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts and amongst the most powerful witches in the country, not some horny schoolgirl!
Still she was appreciative of the Ms. Granger and Ms. Patil sharing some of what they knew regarding the accords. Despite already knowing these truths behind the purpose of the accords she had been heavily against them having any role in her school. While there were a host of reasons for this one she'd kept to herself was that she'd known that the more open and blatant sexuality would have a side effect as it wouldn't be long before witches of higher power levels would develop higher levels of sexual frustration and sooner or later they would break.
'Morgana, this is going to be harder than I thought.' Thought the Headmistress realizing she'd soaked through her knickers already.