Chapter 14: Additions and a History lesson
Saturday, December 2nd, 1994.
Hospital Wing.
"I'm sorry Miss Greengrass, but the results are clear. You and Miss Bones have both been cursed…with the Gift of Aphrodite."
Daphne blinked in a stupor as those words rattled around inside her head.
She started to shake her head, eyes widening in muted horror.
Sure, she'd enjoyed the brief tryst with Harry in the Hospital wing the other day, but that had been a one-off, she'd never intended to go back for seconds, she certainly didn't want to step on Hermione's territory.
But now…
"I'm sorry."
She blinked, her gaze, and everyone else's, going to Harry, who wouldn't meet her eyes, or those of her parents, Susan or her aunt.
"What do you mean? It wasn't your fault." Hermione said.
"It was. I could have…should have decapitated Malfoy the second I destroyed that door, but I didn't until after he cursed you guys."
"Harry!" Dumbledore admonished, a look of shock crossing his face.
"It's a good thing you did not, Mister Potter. While personally, and off the record, I can sympathize with such a thought, my position as Head of the DMLE would demand that I arrest you for murder had you actually done that. Not to mention that Lucius would have had his puppet Fudge demand that I arrest you. Which I would have to do." Amelia said, giving him a firm look.
"Which also wouldn't be good for our health." Susan added, giving him a meaningful look, which rapidly turned to a look of lust and hunger, before she tore her eyes aware from him and blushed fiercely.
Hermione gave her a sympathetic look. While she was still dealing with the elevated levels of lust and arousal, she'd gotten fairly used to it now, so she was mostly able to block it out, as long as she didn't go too long between feedings.
Speaking of which…there was no way Daphne or Susan would be willing to wait as long as she and Harry did, to do so would be selfish, unfair, reckless and dangerous.
Which, she realized as she worried her bottom lip, that within at least several hours, definitely before the end of the day, she would more than likely be engaging in her very first, but certainly not the last threesome at least, foursome at most.
Then another thought came to her…the possibility that she would end up engaging in lesbian sex with either or both of her friends was now very high. Almost a certainty. She didn't really count the session in the Hospital wing on Thursday, sure, she'd admired Daphne's body, maybe even made some silent comparisons, and admitted that the blonde looked good, and shared her boyfriend with her, but Hermione hadn't actually touched Daphne in a sexual way.
And if she was completely honest with herself…
She wasn't sure how to feel about the whole situation. She wasn't into girls, she knew that much, but she was starting to resign herself to the fact that, even the new situation they were all now in, she likely would be, eventually.
'I guess we cross that Gorge of Eternal Peril when we come to it.' She thought, she just hoped it wouldn't be until she was ready.
"He could swear a Blood Feud against Malfoy." Astoria pointed out, Harry shook his head,
"From what Luna told me, I can't, I haven't taken my lordship yet, and even if I did, I couldn't touch Draco."
Erikson nodded, "Aye, that is an unfortunate technicality. But you don't have to worry about that, my father and I'll be handling that front. Though to be honest, the whole 'Lord' thing doesn't really mean much anyway beyond certain traditions most families don't bother with, may families don't use the title anymore, actually, but they still have and use the family rings. The only time the 'Lord' title is really observed these days is at functions and parties hosted at the residence of a pure-blood family, particularly if they're ether Ancient, Noble, Most Ancient, or an assortment of the three." He then turned and looked at his wife, "I guess this means we've officially picked a side m'lady, father is going to love this…"
Eleanor simply smiled and took her husband's hand, "It is alright, I'm sure he'll more than understand your reasons." She then turned and looked at Daphne with a kind, loving but firm look.
"Daphne, your father and I, and Madam Bones, had the situation explained to us by Professor McGonagall, Mister Potter, Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood, well, Miss Granger, Professor McGonagall and Miss Lovegood did most of the talking. Mister Potter was too busy pretending he didn't exist." She finished, giving Harry a brief, but amused smile.
"While your father and I are not…happy with this arrangement, this certainly wasn't how we envisioned learning of you having a boy in your life, let alone the specifics…from what we understand, whats done is done. Though your father and I will be doing our own research for any information we can find on a cure."
"As will I." Amelia said.
"Also, while we are not adversed to the idea of grandchildren." At this, Eleanor gave her a look that Harry found rather odd, a mixture of hope but also a hint of warning, "We don't want them yet. So if you and Mister Potter, Harry, wish to Bond, then you have our blessing, just please remember to be careful when the time comes." She then stepped forward and leaned over, planting a kiss on Daphne's forehead. Daphne's arms immediately went up and around her mother, hugging her tightly as she buried her face in the older woman's neck, a shiver of trepidation running through her.
"You'll be okay, my little Valkyrie." She whispered, then she pulled back and turned to Harry, giving him the kindest, yet sternest look she could manage.
"Harry Potter, I'm entrusting my daughter's wellbeing, safety and…needs, to you. Do not let us down. Look after my daughters."
Harry gave her a reassuring smile and a nod. "I will."
"Very well then, I believe we should get going. Professor McGonagall, I think it would be best if we took Astoria home for the rest of the weekend." Erikson said.
"What? But I'm fine!" Astoria protested.
"Tori…" Daphne began, sitting up, getting ready to stand, but stopping for a moment, only just suppressing a hiss and shiver as she felt her knickers brush against her now hard clit, and she realized with a flush of embarrassment, that she was soaking. Her breasts were very sensitive too, and her nipples were two hard small points pressing against her bra almost painfully. A quick glance over at Susan showed her friend was in a similar state from the way she was blushing as she sat up.
Oh Morgana! This was going to be so awkward!
"Astoria." Their mother said in that tone. The tone that meant 'no back talking'. "You've been through quite the ordeal, your father and I do not feel leaving you here right now would be a good idea, you can return in time for classes Monday morning, but for the rest of the today, and tomorrow, your father and I feel it best you come home with us."
"But mum!" Astoria protested, eyes wide.
"Your mother is right, sweetheart." Erikson said gently, placing his hands on his youngest daughter's shoulders. "Tracey told us of the animosity your house displayed towards your sister over the past couple of days, we honestly don't feel comfortable leaving you here to be left at their mercy. I'm sure miss Davis would do all she could to look after you, but you don't take the same classes, you aren't in the same year, and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be allowed to sleep in the Second year Dorms."
Astoria looked like she was going to protest, but eventually sighed and bowed her head in acceptance.
"Okay dad." She said quietly. She then turned and approached Daphne and flung herself at her sister again, but this time, Daphne was ready for it.
"I'll be okay Tori. I've got Susan, Hermione, and the Boy-Who-Lived looking after me." She said, noting Harry's wince out of the corner of her eye at that moniker he hated so much. She winked at him and mouthed 'Sorry!' he simply smiled and shrugged in return.
Once Astoria pulled away and rejoined her parents, heading into the embrace of her mother, Erikson stepped up to McGonagall and leaned forward, speaking just loud enough to be heard by the 4th years.
"Minerva, I'm also trusting you to keep an eye on both of my daughters. Should the need ever arise, I want Astoria in Gryffindor with her sister." He said, then paused for a moment, rolling his eyes with a slight smile. "Honestly never thought I'd ever say those words."
McGonagall also smiled, "Don't worry, I'll be keeping close tabs on both of them."
Satisfied, Erikson stepped forward and embraced Daphne, whispering quick words of endearment to her, then he pulled back and turned to Harry. "I know my wife already said this, but…look after my daughters Mister Potter, and treat Daphne and her friends well, as long as you do that, you will be welcome within our house." He raised his hand, which Harry awkwardly took, and they shook. Erikson smiled, nodded once to Harry, Amelia, Pomfrey, McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout, before he turned and followed his wife and younger daughter out of the room. It didn't escape anyone's notice that he'd ignored Dumbledore.
Now it was Amelia's turn to step forward and embrace Susan, hugging her tightly, her normally tern expression cracking.
"This isn't how I pictured you getting a boyfriend Sue, but…I don't think you could have done better. Just remember, I'm in no hurry to be a Grand Aunt." She said with a smile.
"Auntie…" Susan moaned in embarrassment as she hugged her aunt back, wishing she'd called her in sooner, then all of this might have been avoided.
Amelia then stood up and turned to the rest of the professors, "As for you lot, I'll be keeping my eye on all of you, and what is happening here, a lot more closely from now on. By all rights, I should be hauling at least two of you in, namely you Dumbledore, and you Snape. Fortunately for you, the Triwizard bylaws are protecting you. For now. If I ever hear of this curse being used within these walls again, I may have to start bringing you in for questioning. As it stands, I'm taking the book Draco used as evidence, and thoroughly examining it."
"Fine." Snape growled, before he turned marched out, his cloak billowing.
"Alright, Miss Davis, Miss Lovegood, Mister Longbottom, Miss Abbott, Mister Weasley, lets get you back to your dorms." Flitwick said, as he started to herd the students who didn't need to be there out of the room.
"Don't worry guys, Ron and I'll keep quiet, right Ron?" Neville asked as he was herded towards the door.
Ron blinked and nodded, "Uh, yeah, sure." He honestly wasn't sure how he felt about a Slytherin joining Gryffindor, but…he figured there was nothing he could do about it.
He internally winced at the realization that Harry now had three girls with him now. That was three girls giving him a blowjob several times a day! That was anywhere up to twelve blowjobs a day! And three fannies and three arses! And SIX boobs!
Part of him wondered if he'd have the stamina to keep up with that if he were in Harry's position, but that question as soon drowned by the surge of jealousy that flooded him.
It just wasn't FAIR!
Harry go the money, he got the fame, he got the girl! Worse, he now had three girls!
'Still…' he reasoned as the group walked back towards Gryffindor tower. 'I might still have a chance with Hermione, then there was that bet I made with Dean and Seamus on whether or not I can ask Fleur. Pfft! Three girls? One Veela beats an entire Quidditch team of regular girls.' Then his thoughts went to what had happened to Draco, and he shuddered.
Part of him really wanted to rail on Hermione for traumatizing him like that.
As they approached the Fat Lady, who swung open when she saw them approaching, Hannah gave Neville a quick hug and kiss, saying she'd see him later, and he and Ginny stepped through the portrait hole.
"Oi, Nev, what's with you and Hannah?" Ron asked as he moved to sit down at the table where he'd set up a chess game earlier in the day, before he'd gone to get something, only to run into Neville and McGonagall.
"What do you mean?" Neville asked, raising an eyebrow as he too sat down.
"Since when is she all over you?" Ron asked.
"Since a few weeks ago? Why?" Neville asked, a little suspiciously.
Ron just stared at him. Everyone around him seemed to be getting a girlfriend lately, hell, even the twins had managed to nab themselves a girl each. He wasn't sure about Dean, Seamus, Lee, Colin or Denis, though he'd heard Colin was gay so…
He really had some catching up to do.
-=-=-=-
Back in the Hospital Wing, Amelia continued her instructions to everyone still present, "Now, Miss Granger mentioned a second book, which from what I've been told contains spells of a similar, but lighter nature. I'm going to let her keep custody of this book." She then turned and looked Hermione in the eye, fixing the girl with her 'I'm the head of the DMLE, so don't ever fuck with me' look.
Hermione gulped, eyes widening as she suddenly felt like she was back in First year, in that bathroom, staring down that mountain troll all over again.
"Provided that you do not use any spells within that could be dangerous. And any spells you do use, I want your word you'll keep your Head of House and Madam Pomfrey informed." She said.
"Uh, y-yes…ma'am." Hermione said, face a few shades paler than normal.
"Good." She then turned to Harry, and fixed him with a similar look to the one Hermione had got. "As for you Mister Potter, all I want from you is your word that you will make sure my Susan is taken care of, in all respects." Harry swallowed then nodded.
"Good." She then turned and smiled at Susan again, "I'll be in touch Susan, and please keep me informed of the goings on around here." And with that, she hefted the black book in her arms, before turning to leave.
Once she was gone, McGonagall turned to Sprout, giving her a rueful smile, "Sorry to poach one of your best Badgers, Pomona."
Pomona shrugged, "I know you'll take good care of her Minnie."
She then turned to head out the door as it opened again, and Moody hobbled in, his magical eye surveying the room, before they settled on the four teens.
"Where have you been Alastor?" Dumbledore asked, speaking up for the first time in a while.
"Helping the others deal with Draco and his lot. Saw Snape following us, but I took a moment to tell him to bugger off." He then looked at the teens, his eye easily detecting the magical aura that he'd first detected weeks ago, now covering Daphne and Susan, he also noticed a faint 'string' of magic connecting Hermione and Harry, clear evidence they were already Bonding.
"Potter, Granger, Greengrass, Bones, starting Monday, you'll be having private self defense lessons with me, twice a week, after dinner."
"I'm afraid that will not be possible Alastor, Mister Potter and Miss Granger will be taking Dancing lessons with me 3 times a week, starting on Monday, then Wednesday and Friday, up until the Yule ball, or until I'm satisfied on how much they've learned." McGonagall said.
"Mm." Moody grunted, "Fine. Tuesday and Thursday, after dinner, DA class room. All four of you." And with that, he turned and hobbled out.
-=-=-=-
Once Flitwick, Sprout and Moody had left with the others, Minerva turned to Pomfrey and Dumbledore.
"Poppy, do you need to keep them any longer or can I take them and get them settled in?"
Pomfrey waved her wand over the four in question, pausing for a moment to check the readouts, then nodded. She then turned and walked towards her medicine cabinet, then came back with several vials.
"These are for later." She said, handing them to Hermione. She looked down at them. Calming droughts, stamina potions, and re-hydration potions by the look of them. She looked up at the mediwitch questioningly.
"To help you relax." She said, smiling. Hermione felt her cheeks flush, wondering if they'd really be needed, then again, considering what they'd just gone through, and what they would likely have to do very soon, which would normally be the last think on anyones mind after a near-miss like they just had, these potions were probably going to be needed.
"Alright, they can go Minerva."
"Just a moment, I would wish to have a moment with Harry." Dumbledore spoke up, getting everyone's attention. Minerva sighed.
"Very well, if you three girls will wait here with Harry, I need to make some alterations to the private quarters, and tell the rest of Gryffindor they're getting two new additions."
Once she'd left, Dumbledore turned to give Poppy a look and she rolled her eyes and stepped away, pulling the girls with her as he erected a privacy charm.
"Harry my boy, I must say I'm profoundly disappointed in you. You could have defused that situation without resorting to bloodshed." The old man chastised, projecting the air of a disappointed grandparent.
"What would you have expected me to do? Draco is lucky I showed as much restraint as I did. I could have easily dropped him, permanently, the moment I walked in that door."
"And if you had, you'd be on your way to a Ministry Holding Cell by now, given your…condition, I doubt you would have lasted long." The old man replied.
"Maybe if you'd actually done something about Draco, instead of waiting for him to 'see the light', after he first cast that curse, then maybe I wouldn't have had to escalate things." Harry growled.
Dumbledore opened his mouth to reply, but Harry cut him off.
"What if that curse had hit Astoria? Or if he'd used it on a First year and a member of staff like say, Professor McGonagall or Sinistra when he first used it, instead of me and Hermione?"
Dumbledore paused, and winced. Yes, that certainly would have created a situation that would have caused a lot of issues.
"The fact is, you got lucky with Susan and Daphne taking that hit, a hit that was meant for others. Now Draco is out of the picture, and I hope he stays out. Because next time, if there ever is one, I may not show such restraint as I did this time. So go ahead, be disappointed in me, I've got other things to worry about now, like making sure I have enough reserves to keep not one, but three girls alive."
Harry then turned and stepped away from Dumbledore, seemingly done with the discussion.
Dumbledore sighed mentally. There was nothing he could do for Draco now, the boy had sealed his own fate casting that curse and casting an Unforgivable.
This would also reflect badly on the school, which was the last thing he wanted right now. They already had enough scrutiny because of the tournament as it was.
-=-=-=-
As Daphne and Susan stepped through the portrait hole into Gryffindor tower, they paused as the eyes of every person in the common room turned to look at them. It looked like the entire house was present.
"As I told you, these are the new students joining us, I'm sure some of you have had interactions with them before, but from now on, they will be part of this house, I want you to treat the two of them as you would any other member of this house. Though again, I will not say why they are joining us, but…I'm sure you'll probably see it in the Prophet soon enough. If I hear that anyone has been giving them a difficult time, because of their prior house affiliation, there will be consequences." McGonagall said, levying a meaningful look at Ron, and several other boys.
She then turned to address the four teens.
"The private quarters are this way. For a time, they were the Head Boy's quarters, but at one time, they were private quarters for the Head of House, and for the rare occasion when Gryffindor Students would marry while still attending Hogwarts."
"Hufflepuff doesn't have that I think." Susan said, McGonagall shrugged.
"All houses have them, but since the teachers have their own quarters separate from their houses, these quarters generally are no longer used. Now, I need to go in there and make some modifications to the arrangements. And as I said to Harry and Hermione, I expect you to mingle with your house-mates from time to time." They nodded their ascent, then she turned and headed into the private quarters.
Daphne and Susan looked at each other and then moved to sit on one of the sofas, then the others moved closer, and started to introduce themselves.
During the introductions, Harry found himself being stared at with various looks of awe, jealousy and envy. The twins even gave him a thumbs-up each.
"So what happened guys? One of the Portraits on the third floor said something about Aurors being called to the school." Parvati asked.
"Short answer: Draco and his lackeys won't be at Hogwarts for a while." Harry said with a shrug.
Parvati's eyes moved to Daphne and Susan, and seemed to scrutinize both girls, before they widened and she looked back at Harry.
"He didn't."
"He did." Hermione said, nodding.
Now some of the envious looks Harry was getting turned to sympathetic, but not many.
"And he threw in a AK for free, fortunately it didn't hit anything more important than a table. Then I cut his arm off." Harry said.
"Then Hermione and I hit him and Bulstrode with body modification curses." Daphne grinned.
"Oh? This we gotta hear." Fred, or George, piped up.
"Don't remind me, please!" Ron cried from one of the chairs, putting his hands over his ears. Ginny giggled, and Neville rolled his eyes.
"I hit him with a curse that turned his mouth and nose into an accurate representation of what's between a girl's legs, and Hermione hit him with a breast enlargement curse." Susan said.
"Why?! Why did you remind me!" Ron moaned.
"Then I gave Bulstrode a second 'wand'." Hermione smirked, mindful of the younger students present.
The students exchanged looks that ranged from barely contained hysteria to horror.
"Pro tip Harry, don't ever make any of these three mad at you." One of the older boys said, grinning. Harry snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Hey Fred, George, Ron might need your help, he saw some things today that can't be unseen." Harry grinned, Hermione, Daphne and Susan snorted, as did several of the others, Ron just moaned.
"Don't worry Harry, we'll take care of 'ittle Ronnikins." Fred, or was it George? grinned in in his younger brother's direction.
Sally-Anne smiled and invited to two new Gryffindors to sit at the table she and Lavender were sat at.
Harry smiled as he took a seat in an arm-chair, turned and looked into the fireplace as it warmly burned in the hearth.
-=-=-=-
Later, as they entered the Great Hall for lunch, things were a bit unruly, with several students clearly agitated, talking animatedly among themselves, at least, most that weren't the Slytherins, who were looking around confused, having taken notice that several of their house-mates were missing.
Soon, as the students filed in and settled down, Harry, Hermione, and now Susan and Daphne, settled in and took notice of what was going on. Several students were looking in their direction and pointing, some wondering why Daphne and Susan were sat with Gryffindors, and others giving Harry suspicious, envious, and in one or two cases, sympathetic looks.
Dumbledore stood and made an announcement, saying there had been an altercation between several students, and that, regrettably, several had been arrested by the DMLE, though he assured the students that it was all just a misunderstanding and that those in question would return soon.
Harry raised an eyebrow as he looked up at the Head Table.
"Not bloody likely. Not if Malfoy wants to keep breathing." Harry muttered. Dumbledore's statement had also apparently riled up Daphne, Susan and Hermione, who had almost stood up to counter the professor's claims, but a reassuring gesture from Harry had stayed them.
Harry felt eyes on him and looked up, meeting the venomous glare of Snape, Harry new better than to hold that glare, as it would be seen as provocation, so he returned to his lunch.
His mind still wracked with emotion over the fight with Draco. One one hand, he was pissed off that it had had to come to this in order for something to finally be done, and on the other, he wished he'd taken off Draco's hand sooner. He looked around the table, Hannah was once again sat next to Neville, leaning into him, his friend was blushing a little, but definitely seemed to be more confident. Evidently Bonding with his girlfriend was having a positive effect on his self esteem.
Harry could relate.
'Well, good for them.' He thought with a smile.
He looked at Daphne and Susan, who were sat to his left, eating their lunches while talking to to their new house-mates.
They seemed to be settling in well, that was good, though Ron was still giving Daphne suspicious looks, though he was alternating between that, shoveling pounds of food down his gullet, at least until his gaze inevitably drifted over the Ravenclaw table where Fleur was sat, and all semblance of intelligent left Ron's face.
Harry just shook his head. Sure, the Veela was attractive, and her allure certainly affected him, he was just unusually good at resisting it.
-=-
Mufasa smiled as he turned and looked at the blonde and redhead, "Ah, growing your Pride already I see young lion. I had a feeling you might."
"Pride? We're not lions." Susan said, arching an eyebrow as she stood watching the painting dubiously. Mufasa shrugged.
"Perhaps not literally no, but every alpha needs a Pride to be truly strong, as it is a demonstration of his true capability as a protector and leader, and eventually, a father." Mufasa replied.
"Don't the females do all the hunting though?" Daphne raised a brow, as she tried to ignore the last part of that statement. Harry meanwhile had turned red.
McGonagall stepped forward, "Alright, you old cat, open up and let them in already." She said, slightly smiling.
Once the four entered the common room, they looked around at the space which seemed to have been remodeled a little, there was an extra two-seat sofa, an extra armchair, as well as some more cushions, and a bigger table.
"I also took the liberty of remodeling your bathroom. I think you'll be rather impressed." McGonagall said, "I also had your things moved from your respective dorms, Miss Greengrass, Miss Bones, and remember, I expect you to mingle with your new house-mates."
After leaving several more vials of potion on the table for them, saying they were for 'later tonight', they followed her back out into the main common room, and there she gave her house one last talk, then left.
Sunday, December 4th, 1994
At dinner, in the Great Hall, Susan sat with her friends enjoying the roast chicken, mashed potato, gravy, peas and carrots, casually talking to her new house-mates when the Sunday edition of the Prophet arrived, and she got a sinking feeling about what was going to be in it, if Friday's edition was anything to go by. Bracing herself, she took the folded up paper and unfurled it, hoping it wouldn't be as bad as she feared.
Bloodbath in the classroom!
By Rita Skeeter
She sighed as she read the article, rolling her eyes at the blatant portrayal of boot-licking. Sheeter was doing all she could to paint Harry as a violent instigator who had crashed a "Inter-House meeting" and attacked Draco, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott and Bulstrode without provocation.
Though Skeeter apparently couldn't get round, or gloss over the fact, that Draco had also cast an Unforgivable, but not at Harry. And that he'd also cast the same spell that he'd used on Harry and Hermione, aimed it at Astoria, Neville and Hannah, only for Daphne and herself to jump in and take the hit.
She paused…that was…odd.
"How does she know what happened? There's no way Auntie would let her have that kind of information, and I know she didn't talk to any of the witnesses…and how does she know for sure it was the same curse?"
"Its almost like she was in the room with us." Daphne said, reading her own copy as murmuring started to circulate around the hall.
"But she clearly wasn't." Neville pointed out. "And we sure as hell didn't talk to her." A round of shaking heads told them no-one sat at the table had spoken to her.
"So what could he be looking at?" Lee Jordan asked.
"Well, I'm not sure about Parkinson, Bulstrode, and the rest, but if convicted, I doubt we'll ever hear or see Draco again."
Deciding she didn't want to talk anymore on the subject, lest she lose her appetite, she folded up the paper and cast it aside, then returned to her food.
-=-
Lucius's face twisted into an expression of fury as he screwed up the paper and hurled it into the fireplace.
This was not how he wanted his week to start. First he'd received an emergency summons from the DMLE late yesterday afternoon, informing him that his son had been arrested, along with several classmates. He'd arrived, to be greeted by his friends Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, Nott and Bulstrode. That had at least told him who else had been arrested.
A howler he'd received later on in the evening from Henrikson Greengrass had informed him, rather bluntly, that there was now a Blood Feud between their two Houses and their allies, and, he reasoned with a growl, that soon, that was also likely to include Houses Bones and Potter also, though that last one was still unknown, as the Potter brat hadn't taken up his Lordship yet, even if the title didn't really mean anything these days.
He scowled again as he thought of Draco. His idiot son, who was far too brash and reckless for his own good, relying on his father's money and influence to get him what he wanted and get him out of trouble. Well, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to help his son this time, not now that Amelia already had her hands on him.
And he'd already tried to get his son out of there. It was a wonder he'd been allowed to walk out of her office not in cuffs himself considering the way Amelia had glared at him as she'd listed the charges Draco and his friends now faced, including use of the Killing Curse, and an ancient sexual slavery curse on, apparently, Amelia's niece and the eldest Greengrass daughter, hence the howler he'd got. It was the same curse he'd hit Potter and the Mudblood with that the Prophet had mentioned on Friday.
Henrikson Greengrass had not been there, which was probably fortunate for both of them, since they were now apparently in a Blood Feud, and declaring those in person was not considered to be a good idea, as the moment the status was officially declared, that basically would have given both men a free shot at the other the moment their back turned, which is why declarations such as that were done via Owl Post or public statement, though he expected there would probably be some mention of it in a future issue of the Prophet.
The best he could possibly try to do was push for a mistrial, or go for a settlement out of court, which would be expensive, and without the funds of the Black Estate to augment his own, it would severely diminish their finances, but if it kept his son away from those wraiths…
He needed to limit any possible information that they could get out of Draco. They had needed his consent to use Veritaserum for Draco's interrogations, so of course, he had not given it, even if information extracted under Veritaserum wasn't really reliable or usable in a trial, Draco was still privy to a lot of sensitive information that Lucius did not want in Amelia's hands.
He was starting to regret telling Draco about that book, which was now sat on Amelia's desk.
He just hoped his son wasn't stupid or arrogant enough to brag about what he'd done, or what he knew. Fudge, that incompetent oaf, had promised Draco would be released soon, and Potter brought up on charges, but Lucius doubted that would happen now.
-=-=-=-
In the kitchen of Malfoy Manor, Narcissa held her own copy of the Prophet with shaking hands.
Her son, her little dragon, the only good thing she'd ever accomplished in her life since marrying Lucius, was now in DMLE custody, and probably facing a lengthy spell in Azkaban.
'Is my bloodline cursed?' She thought solemnly, 'First Bella, then Regulus and Sirius, now my Draco…'
She'd read Friday's copy of the paper of course, and while she did not know the curse that Draco had used, from it's effects, it seemed to be some sort of sexual slavery curse, which was bad enough, but the fact he'd used it twice, and two of the victims had been Pure-bloods, well, she silently wondered what else he'd done.
A silent tear started to roll down her cheek as she thought of the son she hadn't realized she'd lost.
-=-=-=-
Gringotts, Diagon Alley.
Remus looked around the foyer of the Goblin Bank, the black dog that stood next to him tense as several people milled about, though it was the weekend, the Bank was still open for business.
He spotted the teller, and the small group of people standing in line. This was going to be a tad difficult. The goblin teller likely wouldn't let him see the Black Account Manager, Sirius had to be the one to do that, but if people saw Sirius here, there could be a panic, plus it would blow Sirius' secret of being an unregistered Animagus, even if Gringotts was 'neutral ground', word would spread that he had been seen, and that is what they were trying to avoid, depending on how long they were here, if he was seen, then in all likelihood, there would be a squad of Aurors waiting for them outside by the time they finished.
Eventually, another line thinned out, and Remus moved forward, the dog at his heel. He remembered Sirius' furious rant that morning following the arrival of the Prophet, it had taken Remus all the skill he had stop Sirius from marching into the Ministry to hunt down his cousin's son. So instead, Sirius had demanded that Remus escort him to Gringotts.
Sirius had been planning to go there anyway, but not this soon.
But now, here they were.
As they approached the teller, Sirius transformed, donning a hood to hide his face as he straighted himself up.
The goblin sat at the kiosk raised an eyebrow, but apart from that, didn't react.
"Um, hi, I'm…I'm Sirius Black, I'm here to see my Account Manager."
The pointy-eared, white-haired goblin looked up at him, gave him a cursory once-over, then turned to his ledger and started leafing through it.
"Ah yes…one moment." He said, then pressed a small stone on his desk, which lit up with a rune that Sirius couldn't quite make out, then started speaking in the gravely, guttural sound of their native language. Sirius had tried to learn it, but he'd always struggled.
"Account Manager Sawtooth will be here momentarily."
The teller then turned his attention to Remus, who shuffled a little awkwardly.
"I was just here to bring him, to make sure no-one attacked him." Remus supplied.
The goblin made a dismissive grunt, then muttered something in gobbledygook. After a few minutes of waiting, a goblin dressed in the usual garb of an Account Manager walked in through a side door.
"Sirius Black, I am Sawtooth, the Account Manager for the Black Family Vault, Estate, Accounts and Holdings, please, come to my office." And with that, he turned and headed back the way he'd come, Sirius took a moment to get his bearings, then followed.
Once he and Remus were in the office, he sat down and regarded the Goblin before him.
"Now, what business do you have with Gringotts today Mister Black?" Sawtooth asked.
"I'd like to get a full overview of my account, it's…been a while. I'd also like to update my Will." Sirius replied.
-=-=-=-
Office of DMLE Director.
Amelia Bones sighed as she looked down at the sheets of parchment in front of her.
Each one was a separate list of charges leveled against each of the students brought in from Hogwarts, and she had a feeling several of them would get longer.
Off to the side, there was also a list with Dumbledore's name on it, as well as one for Severus Snape.
She picked up the sheet that had the least amount of charges on it. Pansy Parkinson.
She hadn't participated in the fight that had led to her arrest, due to being injured when Potter hand made his entrance, but still, she had participated in the kidnappings, and she did help destroy Hermione's shirt, so that was at least assault with intent, conspiracy, kidnapping, and there was no doubt there would be more when the interrogations really got underway.
That did prevent an issue however. Using Veritaserum on a minor required parental or guardian consent. And none of the parents who she had spoken to, namely the fathers, had consented. She snorted to herself, who was she kidding? There was NO way Malfoy would ever let Draco get dosed with that stuff.
Then again, if Narcissa came to her and OK'd it, then she could potentially get all the information she needed to put the little bastard away for life and bury him.
The problem, she reasoned, was that Veritaserum was inadmissible in court, as it wasn't 100% reliable. Some could naturally resist it, and if someone slipped a suspect who was about to be interrogate the antidote before hand, that could skew the results. Or some could contest that the Veritaserum was contaminated, invalidating any testimony gained. And those who were particularly strong Occlumens, with strong mental defenses could resist Veritaserum to some degree.
She sighed, and turned to look at the book, remembering what she'd been told by Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Madame Pomfrey and Minerva; and what she had been told about what had just been done to the last member of her family. Well, there was her brother, but he was in the Muggle world, being a squib, on the magical side, Susan was all she had left. Susan, who was now condemned to a life of near sexual slavery and borderline sexual vampirism, being utterly dependent on others for survival. That the curse basically forced an even trade in that matter, that was small consolation.
She had always hoped that Susan would one day find a boy that she liked, and let things develop from there. This was not how she'd envisioned it happening.
'Still…at least it's Potter. She could have done far worse.' Amelia thought as she opened the book at the page miss Granger had marked, and started to read.
A knock at her door drew her attention and she looked up.
"Enter!" she called.
Her already cloudy mood turned decidedly drizzly when one of the three people she hated the most waltzed in as if they owned the place.
Dolores Jane Umbridge.
Amelia silently grit her teeth. She did not want to deal with this right now.
"Ah, Amelia, glad I caught you." The toadish woman said, in her usual pink cardigan. It looked hideous.
"Madam Under-Secretary, what can I do for you?" Amelia asked in a clipped tone, face neutral.
"I'm here about the Potter Incident. I want to know what you intend to do about him."
"Do?"
"Yes." Dolores said, in a sickly sweet tone that made Amelia's skin crawl.
"What exactly, are you referring to?" Amelia said, wondering what the woman was getting at. Anyone else, with a lesser-trained eye might have missed the barely perceptible narrowing of Umbridge's eyes, or the fractional tightening of her faux smile.
But she did not.
"Why, his brutal and quite frankly, rather extreme treatment of his fellow students of course. You aren't going to arrest and prosecute him for maiming a fellow student? For destroying another's wand and injuring a third before this…altercation even began? He showed an excessive amount of force when simple body-binds and stunners would have been more than sufficient."
"I'm not going to do anything." Amelia replied. Dolores opened her mouth to protest, but Amelia cut her off. "And even if I wanted to, I can't. He's protected by his position as a Triwizard Champion."
Now Umbridge scowled. Her face twisting into a rather ugly visage, and her next words were laced with so much venom, Amelia wondered if the very air she was breathing had just been poisoned.
"A position he only got be cheating!"
"That has not been proven! And from what I have been told is still being investigated. Besides, it's a moot point now. He has to compete or lose his magic. I certainly won't be the one to tell the world that The-Boy-Who-Lived has been rendered a squib because he was forcibly removed from the Tournament."
Dolores' nostrils flared as she inhaled, her chin and jowls moving in a way that to Amelia, made it look like the woman was about to croak like a frog, or a toad.
"Well…that protection does have an expiry date. Do you intend to pursue justice once that date has passed?" Dolores said after a moment of collecting her thoughts and getting her anger under control.
"That depends on the outcome of the trials."
"What about young Mister Malfoy? And his associates?" Dolores suddenly spoke up.
Now it was Amelia who narrowed her eyes and tightened her features as she sat up straight to stare at the woman head-on.
"What about them?"
"You're going to just leave them in Azkaban?" Dolores said, sounding genuinely confused.
Amelia raised an eye-brow. "They're in youth wing under human guard. It's not MAXSEC so there won't be Dementors anywhere near them, they'll be under Auror guard until their trial date, which has yet to be determined."
"They are children!" Dolores snapped. "And what about their trial? You can't just send them to Azkaban without setting a trial date to prove their innocence. After all, it was only—"
"It was only what Dolores?" Amelia snapped, finally losing what little patience she had for the woman. "And as for their trial, they'll get them, it's just arranging a date that's the more difficult thing. Out of all of them, Parkinson is looking at the least number of charges, but still serous ones. Meanwhile Malfoy is looking at a life sentence!"
She looked back at the sheets of parchment. "As for the others…" she trailed off, a faint sliver of anger leaking into her voice. This was where things got 'complicated'. She was the head of the DMLE, which meant, she was the one heading the whole mess, but, there was a little annoying matter of her niece being one of his victims. Which meant a little something called…
Conflict of Interest.
The one thing that had the most potential of derailing this whole thing more than anything else, and that included potential meddling by Fudge, Malfoy or Umbridge. Amelia mentally sighed as she contemplated the likelihood of having to turn this case over to Scrimgeour.
"Why are you really here Dolores? I've already had Fudge come waddling in here protesting Draco's innocence, as well as Lucius making similar protestations, despite the fact that Draco Malfoy has not only used an Unforgivable in front of witnesses, which carries a life sentence if convicted by the way, but he also cast a curse on four other students, three of which are the heirs of their respective families, and two of those are the last children of their line, so that's at least two counts of attempted Line Assassination, which as you know, carries a statutory 10 year sentence per count. So even if he hadn't cast that Unforgivable, he'd still be looking at 20 years at least. And that's not counting the other charges he's facing: conspiracy, assault with intent, kidnapping, attempted rape, and molestation. And I'm certain other charges may follow. So I find myself asking, why are you here?"
"As I have said, I'm here to find out what you intend to do about Potter. His use of excessive force in a duel and his willingness to shed blood is most concerning. I personally fear for the safety and security of the other students, in particular, the eldest Greengrass daughter and your own niece. Are you really expecting me to believe you're comfortable with either of them associating with such a violent degenerate, considering his, quite frankly, scandalous lack of decency when it comes to public displays? I read Friday's paper, and quite frankly, I'm appalled that standards in that school have slipped so much as to allow such a thing."
Amelia grit her teeth in fury and loathing as this…thing before her dared question her feelings regarding her niece's…condition.
"First of all Under-Secretary, who my niece associates with or does not, is her prerogative, and none of your business. I trust her judgment. I always have. And besides, it's not like she has a choice associating with Potter now. And considering that Miss Greengrass and my niece took a hit that was meant for two, possibly three others, among whom was Greengrass's own younger sister, who is a second year, well, if she had been hit, I doubt Malfoy would have left that classroom alive. Daphne probably would have killed him as soon as she got the chance, if not her, then their father would have the instant he declared that Blood Feud. And as for Mister Potter himself, he's not the one who committed enough crimes to earn himself at least 30-50 years in Azkaban, not counting the life sentence."
Dolores opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but Amelia cut her off again, "I read that paper also, and quite frankly, I'm more disturbed that the Prophet felt it was necessary to paint the most intimate details of a young couple's private life all over a publicly available medium than I am about the contents of that article."
"And what of this curse?" Dolores asked, looking down at the black book. Amelia didn't miss the look of hungry curiosity that flashed in the other woman's eyes.
'I'm not letting you near this book Dolores. I don't care what position you hold. You're not getting your hands on it.'
"From what we've been told, it seems to be some form of sex magic that was created a long time ago, and it's creators apparently fucked up somehow, making it irreversible. I've already asked the Unspeakables to dig through the archives and bring me anything they find on it. But they told me there likely isn't much. Honestly, I'm surprised this book even managed to make it's way to Hogwarts, and that it wasn't found sooner."
'I'm still not okay with them keeping the other book, but the spells in that one seem to be more benign.' She thought.
"What sort of sex magic? The students are aware that most sex magic is considered Dark by the Ministry." Dolores asked.
"Apparently, it's supposed to be a spell intended to help the Bonding process." Amelia replied.
"Ah, I see. I never cared for that myself." Dolores said dismissively.
'Translation: You could never find any boys desperate or dumb enough to risk sticking their dicks in your mouth. And no girls probably wanted to do you either.' Amelia thought.
"Should that book not be in the archives by now?" Dolores asked.
"It is evidence."
"I'm assuming that this book is also where your niece and Potter's…paramour found the three curses they used to horribly disfigure Malfoy and miss Bulstrode?" Dolores asked. Amelia raised an eyebrow, questioningly.
"How do you know about that?" Amelia asked, suddenly on-guard. As far as she knew, those three curses had been relatively easy for Pomfrey to reverse, well, two of them had been. The facial modification had taken a bit longer. Though in her own personal opinion, Draco deserved to have that modification to his face made permanent, but she'd never say that out loud.
But she and her Aurors hadn't arrived until after those curses had been reversed.
So how did Dolores know? Malfoy and his friends had spent Saturday night in the Holding Cells, and had been transfered to Azkaban pending arrangement of their trials first thing that morning.
Which meant that the group had either bragged or otherwise spoken to their Auror guards, and one of them had spoke to Dolores, or Dolores herself had spoken to the prisoners, or maybe Snape or Malfoy had said something. The only question then was, why? What interest would Dolores have in the children of several former — and in Amelia's own opinion, still active — Death Eaters?
"It does not matter how I know, what I want to know is what is to be done about that."
"In what respect?"
"Body modification curses like that are—"
"Hardly worth getting arrested over. And certainly not worth getting suspended or expelled over, not when the 'condition' of the two casters is considered. Besides, when there are jinxes and hexes that can make you sprout antlers or rabbit ears, I hardly see what was so criminal about the modification spells used on those Slytherins. So no, I'm not going to do anything about that."
"I see." Dolores huffed, as she straightened up. When her eyes once again flicked to the black book, Amelia scowled and picked it up, opened her desk draw with a flick of her wand, and dropped it in, then with another flick, closed it. Then she pressed her left index finger tip to the small white crystal on the handle, which then turned red, signifying the locking ward was in place.
When she looked back up and saw the thinly veiled fury on the toad's face, she inwardly smirked. There was no way Dolores would be able to get through the blood-ward on that draw, not easily anyway, and they both knew it.
"Well, clearly I'm not going to make any progress here. Good day, Director." And with that, the toad-like woman walked out. Amelia didn't even bother to reply.
-=-=-=-
Monday, December 5th, 1994.
The chaos of the weekend's events hadn't settled down by Monday, not that Harry or any of the girls he now found himself living with really expected it to. The article about Draco's arrest was still in the Prophet, and surprisingly was still on the front page, though it had been side-lined by an article that described a sighting of Sirius Black at Gringotts, accompanied by a as yet unidentified man, there were some speculations that it was someone under the Imperious, something Harry and Hermione found laughable.
Harry sighed as he sat between Hermione and Susan, with Daphne on Hermione's left. Several of Gryffindor house were still giving the two new-comers odd or suspicious looks, at least in Daphne's case, but they kept it to a minimum.
Susan's and Daphne's new timetables had arrived, unsurprisingly, their class schedules hadn't changed all that much: Daphne knew she would still have Potions with what was left of Slytherin's Fourth year, namely Tracey, the Sallow twins, who she hadn't interacted with much, Priscilla Wakefield and Grace Pinch-Smedley. As for Susan, she now had Care of Magical Creatures and Potions with the Slytherins, were as before it had been Ravenclaw for both, and of course, the shared classes, such as Ancient Runes and Divination, the former being the only class Hermione still took.
"It's going to be weird sat with the Slytherins in Potions…" Susan said, looking at the entry on the parchment sheet under Tuesday for later afternoon. Double-period. She winced.
"Is Snape as bad with the Claws and Puffs as he is with us Gruffs?" Fred asked. Susan shrugged.
"I don't know, why? How bad is he with you guys?"
"You mean he doesn't make comparisons? He almost never docks points from Slytherin, and when he does, he's quick to restore them. He goes after Gryffindor almost religiously, singling out me, Harry and Ron the most, at least in our year. Not sure what he's like with higher or lower years." Neville said.
"It's usually us he has a go at, and Jordan, for some reason." Fred answered. "Probably because he always calls them cheats during matches."
Daphne winced too. She'd heard those accusations of cheating during the Slytherin/Gryffindor matches, Draco had clearly ranted about it enough. She was not looking forward to spending 2 hours with Snape on Friday, and at least an single session on Tuesday after lunch so soon after getting a good chunk of them arrested. She knew that wasn't her fault of course, but she knew her former house-mates, they'd still blame her. Even now, those that remained were sat at the table giving her rather unfriendly looks, at least the older ones. The younger ones, and the remaining girls looked rather relieved.
She didn't dare look up at the Head Table, sure she'd see Snape glaring in their direction.
"We've got Herbology with Hufflepuff, then Care with Slytherin though, just before lunch." Harry pointed out, as he worked his way through his breakfast.
"Well, after lunch, we've got Arithmancy with Hermione." Susan replied.
"But first, Herbology with Hufflepuff." Daphne sighed. She then looked over to the Slytherin table again, and spied her sister sitting next to Tracey, she smiled, it looked like things were going well for Tracey and Astoria, the students seemed to be giving her sister some space, no doubt afraid of incurring Harry's wrath if they hassled her, though she would have probably neutered anyone who tried to lay a hand on her sister first.
"At least Wednesday is mostly clear. There's only Charms second period, rest of the day we've got free." Susan said, "We should probably use that time to figure things out," she gave her friends meaningful looks.
"I'm still trying to figure out how the hell Rita managed to get all of that information, it was like she was in the room with us, but thats impossible, right?" Neville spoke up from further down, the others looked at him, he blushed, "I mean, think about it for a second, that article on the fight with Draco reads like she was actually there, and saw everything. But she wasn't in the room."
"Invisibility cloak maybe?" Fred asked. Hermione shook her head.
"Those are really expensive, costing a small fortune, and on a reporters salary?" Hermione shook her head as she continued eating her breakfast.
"I guess we'll find out eventually, although after her last couple of articles, I might just strangle her on sight." Harry muttered. Thankfully, no-one brought up the uncomfortably detailed article she'd written about him and Hermione that had come out on Friday. He was definitely sure that for some of those instances she described, the two of them had been alone; no ghosts, no paintings, no living witnesses.
So how the hell had she got all those details right?
-=-=-
Their classes that day happened mostly without incident. The Hufflepuffs in Herbology gave Susan concerned looks, but were mainly supportive, then afterwards, the Slytherins spent all their time glaring at Daphne, Susan, Harry and Hermione during Care, and if that wasn't bad enough, the weather was miserable, cold and raining, and on top of that, Harry's favorite fiction writer decided to show herself.
Hagrid, Harry noticed, was keeping Madame Maxime's horses well provided with their preferred drink of single-malt whiskey; the fumes wafting from the trough in the corner of their paddock was enough to make the entire Care of Magical Creatures class light-headed. This was unhelpful, as they were still tending the horrible Skrewts and needed their wits about them.
"I'm not sure whether they hibernate or not," Hagrid told the shivering class as they stood in the windy pumpkin patch. "Thought we'd jus' try an' see if they fancied a kip… we'll jus' settle 'em down in these boxes…"
There were now only ten skrewts left; apparently their penchant for killing each another had not faded. Each of the grotesque abominations was now approaching six feet in length. Their thick gray armor; their powerful, scuttling legs; their fire-blasting back ends; their stings and their suckers, combined to make the skrewts the most repulsive things Harry and his friends had ever seen. The class looked uncertainly at the enormous boxes Hagrid had brought out, all lined with pillows and fluffy blankets.
"We'll jus' lead 'em in here," Hagrid said, "'en put the lids on, and we'll see what happens."
But the skrewts, as it turned out, did not hibernate, and did not appreciate being forced into pillow-lined boxes and nailed in. Harry could relate, for a very brief moment, he found himself sympathizing with the creatures, but that didn't last. Hagrid was soon yelling, "Don' panic, now, don' panic!" while the skrewts rampaged around the pumpkin patch, now strewn with the smoldering wreckage of the boxes. Most of the class had fled into Hagrid's cabin through the back door and barricaded themselves in; Harry, Ron, Susan, Daphne and Hermione, however, were among those who remained outside trying to help Hagrid. Together they managed to restrain and tie up nine of the skrewts, though at the cost of numerous burns and cuts; finally, only one skrewt was left.
"Don' frighten him, now!" Hagrid shouted as Daphne and Harry used their wands to shoot jets of fiery sparks at the skrewt, which was advancing menacingly on them, its stinger arched, quivering, over its back. "Jus' try an' slip the rope 'round his stinger, so he won' hurt any o' the others!"
"Yeah, we wouldn't want that!" Ron shouted angrily as he, Daphne and Harry backed into the wall of Hagrid's cabin, still holding the skrewt off with their sparks.
"Well, well, well…this does look like fun."
Rita Skeeter was leaning on Hagrid's garden fence, looking in at the mayhem. She was wearing a thick magenta cloak with a furry purple collar, and her crocodile-skin handbag was over her arm.
Hagrid launched himself forward on top of the skrewt that was cornering Harry, Daphne and Ron, flattening it; a blast of fire shot out of its back end, withering the pumpkin plants nearby.
"Who're you?" Hagrid asked Rita as he slipped a loop of rope around the skrewt's sting and tightened it.
"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter," Rita replied, beaming at him. Her gold teeth glinted.
"Not to mention Grade A bitch!" said Hermione under her breathe, as she glared at the woman with a look that clearly telegraphed the fact she was contemplating murder, but Skeeter either chose to ignore the glare, or wasn't even paying attention, instead she was focused on Hagrid as he got off the slightly squashed skrewt and started tugging it over to its fellows.
Harry was also glaring at Rita, it was taking all of his willpower not to kill the woman now standing before them, though if he were honest with himself, he'd rather just toss a skrewt at her, and found himself idly wondering if he did, would it either maul her, eat her or mount her?
"What are these fascinating creatures called?" she asked, beaming widely.
"Blast-Ended Skrewts," grunted Hagrid.
"Really?" said Rita, apparently full of lively interest. "I've never heard of them before… where do they come from?"
Harry noticed a dull red flush rising up out of Hagrid's wild black beard, and his heart sank. Where had Hagrid got the skrewts from, anyway? Hermione, who seemed to be thinking along these lines, said quickly, "They're very interesting, aren't they? Aren't they, Harry?" while she did her best not have an expression on her face that was giving away her murderous thoughts.
"What? Oh yeah…ouch…interesting," said Harry as she stepped on his foot.
"Ah, you're here, Harry!" said Rita Skeeter as she looked around, the fake smile on her face seemed to grown, it was honestly starting to look rather creepy. "So you like Care of Magical Creatures, do you? One of your favorite lessons?"
"Yes," said Harry stoutly. Hagrid beamed at him. 'Though it would be a lot nicer if there weren't any talentless muck-raking hacks loitering around.'
"Lovely," said Rita. "Really lovely. Been teaching long?" she added to Hagrid.
Harry noticed her eyes travel over Dean, who had a nasty cut across one cheek, Lavender, whose robes were badly singed, Seamus who was nursing several burnt fingers, and then to the cabin windows, where most of the class stood, their noses pressed against the glass waiting to see if the coast was clear.
"This is on'y me second year," said Hagrid.
"Lovely. I don't suppose you'd like to give an interview, would you? Share some of your experience of magical creatures? The Prophet does a zoological column every Wednesday, as I'm sure you know. We could feature these — er — Bang-Ended Scoots."
"Blast-Ended Skrewts," Hagrid said eagerly. "Er — yeah, why not?"
Harry had a very bad feeling about this, but there was no way of communicating it to Hagrid without Rita Skeeter seeing, so he had to stand and watch in silence as Hagrid and Rita Skeeter made arrangements to meet in the Three Broomsticks for a good long interview later that week. Then the bell rang up at the castle, signaling the end of the lesson.
"Well, goodbye, Harry!" Rita Skeeter called merrily to him as he set off with Daphne, Susan and Hermione. "Until Friday night, then, Hagrid!"
"She'll twist everything he says," Harry said under his breath.
"Just as long as he didn't import those skrewts illegally or anything," said Hermione desperately. They looked at one another — it was exactly the sort of thing Hagrid might do.
"Well, hopefully, Dumbledore won't be forced to fire him." Susan replied. "Worst that can happen is Hagrid'll have to get rid of the skrewts. Sorry. Did I say worst? I meant best."
Harry and Hermione laughed, and, feeling slightly more cheerful, went off to lunch.
They had soon discovered though that their now usual method of 'grabbing a quickie' right after a meal wasn't as practical when there were now two extra mouths to 'feed'. Fortunately, after locking themselves in a disused classroom, they quickly worked out an arrangement, that mainly involved Harry laying on the floor, on a hastily conjured mattress, while Hermione straddled his face, and Susan and Daphne sat on either side of him, each gently suckling at one of her breasts, then Hermione had fed from Harry. She still wasn't comfortable licking either of them, despite her attempts in the bath, and using the Lust Potions McGonagall had provided, and while she was still weirded out by them suckling, Saturday night in the bath and the previous day had been very weird for her, but she knew they had no other choice, it was quicker and more convenient when they were in a hurry to grab for one of her breasts, though Daphne seemed to favor going for Harry more than Hermione. And she knew it would only be a matter of weeks before they started producing milk of their own.
Though it also became clear that even this wasn't a permanent solution, they'd have to keep trying to find new ways to accommodate each other.
-=-=-=-
As Harry and Hermione entered the old classroom Minerva had set asides for their dancing lessons, they took note of the small desk next to their professor, who stood next to it. On the desk was what looked to Harry like one of those old phonographs, an old radio with a brass trumpet like funnel on it.
"Ah good, you're here. Now, before we begin, do either of you know anything about dancing?" McGonagall asked.
"I've had some experience over the years, though I prefer slow dancing or waltz." Hermione replied.
Harry shrugged, "Pretty much nothing."
McGonagall nodded, pointed her wand at the radio, and violin music which Hermione recognized as Mozart, or maybe Beethoven.
To say that Harry's first dancing lesson did not go well would have been an understatement. He stepped on Hermione's feet three times, and almost tripped once.
Hermione had even asked how someone with the reflexes of a Seeker could voe so uncoordinated on his feet. Harry had just snorted and rolled his eyes.
By the end of the hour, they had made some progress, but McGonagall was far from satisfied, but they were out of time for the night.
"Well, that could have been better, you've got eight more opportunities to improve Mister Potter, now, before you go, there is something I need to talk with you about."
The two shared a look, before turning to their Head of House.
"Now, Miss Granger, have you sent a letter to your parents yet, telling them what has been going on?"
Hermione blinked, then shook her head. "Not yet, I…with everything that's been going on, I haven't had the time."
"I see, well, I'm assuming you plan to. Well, this might be a moot point now, but I was concerned about your welfare during the summer months, about how the two of you would cope so…" then she reached into her robes and pulled out two glass vials, each filled with a clear liquid and held them out to the teens.
Sharing another curious look, the teens stepped forward and took the vials. Harry shook his a couple of times while Hermione tilted hers this way and that, studying them.
"Is this water?" Harry asked.
"Mostly." McGonagall said, not meeting his eye, or Hermione's, the look of…was that embarrassment he saw on her face?
Shrugging, Harry uncorked the vial and took a sip, only to freeze when the taste of Treacle Tart registered on his tongue. His eyes going wide, he lowered the vial and turned to look at Hermione, who was eying him curiously, while studding the vial she held. He then looked back at his professor as his mind processed what his taste buds had registered.
"Uh…Professor…is this…was this…did you…?"
"Yes Mister Potter…Harry. That's…that's mine." She replied, finally meeting his eyes, though a blush did color her cheeks.
Harry looked back at Hermione, her wide eyes meeting his, clearly she'd realized the same thing he had, and their Processor's words had clinched it.
"Just how did you plan to make that work?" Hermione asked, trying not to picture what her favorite Professor had done to make the contents of these two vials.
"Well, in the event that you and Mister Potter could not arrange alternate accommodation that would allow the two of you to meet daily, I was forced to come up with an alternate method. Supplying the two of you with these vials, via owl post, each day."
Harry cringed, as he tried, but utterly failed to not think of just what she would have to do to make those vials, and how often. A light cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck.
'Oh god…I think I need to be Obliviated.' He thought.
In his head, he heard Hermione snort, 'Honestly Harry, me, Daphne and Susan are going to be her age one day, and so will you.'
'True, but that doesn't mean I want to think about our Head of House masturbating!' he replied. Hermione blinked then also cringed, then smirked.
'Don't worry, I'm sure Daph, Sue and I will be able to permanently drive that image from your mind later.' Then, to her professor, she added, "We…appreciate the thought Professor, but I don't think it will be needed."