The two most powerful people in Britain currently lay in the same bed.
No neither of them were Minister of Magic, nor was one of them replacing the former Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, who had commanded so much power.
Only a few years ago even they themselves would have never imagined they would be in such a position.
Yet there was no denying that what they did next was going to shape the universe.
Governments could fall, people could die, the entire world could very well be laid waste.
It was a lot of pressure for anybody, but for two pregnant women that ought to be worried about their soon to be delivered children, the stakes didn't get any higher.
In some strange twist of fate, the two most powerful women in the world on the eve of the most important time in wizard history were pregnant and about to give birth.
These women were of course Amelia and Narcissa Black, but with so much going on in their lives, they knew they simply could not do it alone.
What had really jarred them into realizing the tenuousness of their situation was Narcissa's collapse.
Needless to say the doctors that had examined her were not pleased and recommended she take it easy. Too much stress could easily put the baby at risk.
Obviously Amelia could only do so much as well since she was about to give birth herself so it would not be a good idea to put her at risk either.
So they talked about what they were going to do and who they were going to rely on to do it.
"Do you realize what kind of havoc could have been wrought if that stone had reached its destination?" Narcissa asked.
"I'm well aware," Amelia agreed, "although it does not fill me with comfort that we managed to intercept it. There could be more out there."
"We could have the Auror Department run a sting operation maybe send someone in to deliver it?" Narcissa suggested.
"We could, and also monitor the drug dealer that gave it to Draco, but ultimately I somehow suspect we'll only get so far. I highly doubt the drug dealer even knew what he had, otherwise he would have been a lot more careful with it than simply giving it to Draco to deliver. When it comes to this sort of thing, whoever wanted it sent will have made sure it couldn't be traced back to them." Amelia recommended.
"True," Narcissa agreed, "do you think it might be Dumbledore?"
"It could be, I can't think of anyone else who might have the capability although he's still on the run. I don't think he's even still in the country." Amelia answered.
"Well we still don't know how many clones or other followers he might still have left..." Narcissa pointed out, "Really it could be anyone and we might never find out who."
"The Auror Department is spread thin enough as it is, what with the terrible condition the Ministry decided to reduce it to so its been hard getting it built back up again. I also can't say I even trust some of them with something like this since they would be too tempted to use it." Amelia answered, "Besides as worrying as this is, our main focus and concern should still be Dumbledore."
"I agree, which means we're going to have rely on someone else to do some digging for us." Narcissa replied, "I suppose I could hire a private contractor or two."
"Who exactly did you have in mind?" Amelia asked.
"I'm thinking some of the children." Narcissa confessed.
"No! Are you serious? There's no way I'm putting them in any danger like that." Amelia insisted.
She was quite tired of having the kids be put in such situations, even if she knew they could handle it.
"It seems to me they've already proven themselves." Narcissa argued, "Besides I'm going to at the very least involve either Fleur or Gabrielle. I need to know more about what we're dealing with and the only place I know of that we can get that information would be inside the Veela Colony."
For Narcissa to even make suggestion meant she had clearly lost it. No one besides Veela really seemed to know much if anything about that place, but what she had heard was enough to make even the bravest (or stupidest) wizard to never want to send anyone there, even if they were Veela.
"Okay, now I know you've gone crazy, we really can't ask Fleur or Gabrielle to go in there, they might never come out again." Amelia answered gravely.
She'd heard all sorts of stories, but she didn't want to believe they were true.
From being around Fleur and Gabrielle, she just didn't see how that would be possible.
"They love Harry, that should be enough." Narcissa replied as if that was all the reassurance needed.
Amelia sighed and said, "Let's at least talk to Ariana first and see if she might know something, if not I suppose we can at least talk to Fleur and Gabrielle and see if there might be a way for them to get that information without actually going there."
"Let's do that then." Narcissa agreed.
Both women got up and went over to Ariana's bedroom.
After knocking, Ariana opened it to reveal both her and Susan apparently engaged in a game of wizard chess.
"Ariana, could I ask you something real quick?" Narcissa asked gently as she held up the black rock they had confiscated from Draco, "Do you know what this is or perhaps does the name Anduvar ring any bells?"
Ariana shook her head and asked, "Should I know something?"
Narcissa sighed and said, "No, we were just hoping you might, but don't worry about it if you don't."
"So what were you planning on doing as far as going to Nurmengard?" Amelia then queried.
"Well I'm still planning on going in the next couple days." Ariana confessed, "It might take longer without you there Narcissa, but I'll just have to figure something out."
"I'll give you some letters of recommendation in order to get you audiences with the right people." Narcissa told her.
"I should go with her." Susan insisted.
"No, you're not." Her aunt argued.
"Ariana is going to need someone who understands politics and how to deal with those types of people, if neither of you are going, then I'm the next best thing." Susan pointed out.
"I won't allow you to be put at any unnecessary risk." Amelia replied.
"What would be the danger? Germany is a perfectly stable magical country and I promise I won't even be in the room when Ariana talks to Grindelwald, I'll just talk to a few people and that's it, simple as that." Susan urged.
Amelia seemed to think about it for a moment and then said, "Promise you won't even get near the prison?"
"I promise." Susan said.
"All right, fine." Amelia reluctantly told her, feeling like she had given in too soon.
She felt like she was really starting to become a pushover when it came to the children asking for things.
"Thanks aunty!" Susan said as she gave her a hug as best she could around her huge, swollen belly.
"The things I let you get up to..." Amelia muttered.
After they got done talking, Narcissa and Amelia left and Narcissa once again pointed out who they needed to go to next.
With a sigh, Amelia agreed and went with her over to Fleur's room.
Yet when they knocked, they heard a flurry of activity before Fleur opened the door.
She along, with Harry were clad only in a blanket, making it obvious what they had been up to.
"Can we speak to you privately Fleur?" Narcissa asked.
Fleur looked a bit reluctant in her present state of undress but she said, "All right but try to make it quick and don't worry about saying stuff in front of Harry."
It was pretty obvious Fleur just wanted to get back to what they were doing and get back to it as soon as possible.
Not that Amelia could blame her.
"It's about the Veela colony," Narcissa admitted.
Fleur's eyes went wide before finally telling Harry, "I think you'd better leave. I'll catch up with you later."
Harry seemed to have a problem with that but Fleur soon realized it was because he was also still wrapped up in the same blanket as her, otherwise totally naked.
"One moment." Fleur told them as she shut the door in order to let Harry get dressed.
Both women stood and waited in front of the door.
"I really wouldn't have been upset seeing him naked." Narcissa admitted to her.
"He's like a son to me." Amelia said flatly.
"Well he's not my son and clearly I don't have a problem with incest, I married my own cousin for Merlin's sake." Narcissa pointed out.
"You've got problems." Amelia claimed.
"Yes, and one of them is my inability to have sex right now. It's irksome." Narcissa agreed with a grin.
After Harry had gotten dressed he came out and then Fleur let them into her room.
Narcissa held up the rock again and asked her, "Do you know what this is?"
Fleur's eyes went wide again as she stared at it.
"Get it away from me!" Fleur yelled in fear.
Narcissa put it safely back into a small bag and into her pocket.
Even as she did so however, Fleur still looked wary as she looked at Narcissa's pocket almost as if the contents might somehow escape and attack her.
It was perfectly safe the way it was, but the poor Veela girl still had good reason to be wary.
"Sorry to have frightened you Fleur." Amelia apologized.
"I'm guessing you know what it is?" Narcissa asked.
Fleur slowly nodded.
"I'm sure Harry and Su have told you about what happened with Draco, this is what I confiscated from him that the drug dealer tried to have him deliver. I hope you understand what it can potentially do?" Narcissa informed her.
Fleur again gravely nodded.
"The problem is that although we know what it can do and know that it is very hard to make, there is a lot we don't know about it. For all we know someone out there is making thousands of them and you know what that could do." Narcissa said.
Fleur shuddered at that.
"The only place we're going to get that information is in the Veela Colony, but obviously we can't go or even know the way, which is why we need either you or your sister." Amelia said.
Fleur looked clearly surprised and even more, if it were possible, visibly shaken.
"You want me to go there?" She asked in disbelief.
"We know how dangerous it might be, but we simply don't have any other options." Narcissa admitted.
Amelia decided they had better make sure Fleur even knew how to get there even though even that would be tricky.
In order to make sure the location of the Colony remained hidden, all Veela had certain spells placed on them to prevent them from even admitting they knew where the Colony was.
Such spells would kill them long before they could do so.
Even knowing that much was way more than most non-Ceela ever knew.
"Do you even know the way?" She asked,"You don't even have to say yes or no, just don't say anything if you do."
There was a long pause with Fleur remaining silent letting them know that she did.
Now they just had to find out if she would help them.
"I suppose," Fleur tentatively said, "for something like this... a pardon would be granted. They wouldn't want any more of that out in the world either."
"Will you go then?" Narcissa questioned.
Finally after another long pause, Fleur said, "I will, but I'm going to need to take Gabrielle and Harry with me."
Both pregnant women rose their eyebrows.
"I would say that would be even more dangerous." Amelia pointed out.
Gabrielle might be okay, but there were plenty of horror stories about what happened to non-Veela who had attempted to find the Colony.
"Normally yes, but in this case no, the spells placed on me wouldn't allow me to tell you why, but just know that bringing both of them will be necessary." Fleur insisted.
Amelia shook her head, definitely not happy, but also feeling like she had to trust Fleur.
"You do realize how much of a huge risk I'm taking in letting you do that?" She asked her.
"I know," Fleur said gravely, "it's a tough decision, but the only one. I'd also advise that you not tell Harry. He needs to be as kept in the dark about it as possible."
"We can do that." Narcissa agreed.
"If you need any help just ask," Amelia added, "or if you change your mind."
"I'll be fine." Fleur said, trying to show more confidence than she really had.
"I sure hope we don't regret this..." Amelia said quietly.
DUELDUELDUEL
The next day Amelia gave birth.
It was a stressful day, multiplied by three from the number of children she was having.
Thank goodness for magic, but otherwise Amelia would have been reduced to nothing by then and probably cursing Sirius' name for ever knocking her up.
Harry accompanied everyone to the hospital after the births.
At any rate, all 3 babies were born perfectly healthy. The two girls were given the names Jessa and Jenna, and the boy was named Jonas.
Amelia let Susan and Fleur hold the girls while Sirius held his newborn son.
Pansy held baby Cassiopeia, who was now almost a year old.
"They're so beautiful!" Susan remarked.
"I know aren't they?" Gabrielle agreed, "I can't believe you're finally a mom Amelia."
"I've been a mom for a long time," Amelia calmly replied.
Indeed she had. Ever since she had adopted Susan, yet it was still amazing that she actually now had 3 of her own children that she had actually given birth to, almost to make up for her being without child for so long.
While it would be hard on her for sure, if anyone could handle triplets, it was Amelia. It also wasn't like she wouldn't have help.
As Harry glanced at each of the girls, he noted that she certainly had some helpers even if most of them would be leaving in the next couple of days.
He still didn't know exactly where he was going, Fleur wouldn't tell him, just that Gabrielle wasn't happy about it, and both girls were rather nervous.
You would think they were going to the underworld based on how they acted however. For whatever reason they were going, it had to have been awfully important, he reasoned.
With the 3 of them leaving, along with Ariana and Susan, that would leave just Pansy and Su to stay behind.
Pansy wouldn't mind, having the chance to take care of all the babies, but Su was already upset that she would be missing out on all the adventures they were sure to have.
He'd find a way to partially make it up to her he was sure before he left.
People would have assumed that the one with the strongest sex drive would be either Fleur or Gabrielle, and while that might be true, he'd have to say Su could certainly give either girl a run for their money.
Right now however most of the girls seemed to be more focused on a possible result of sex, or in this case all the adorable babies.
Glances from each of the girls towards him seemed to show their own desire for a baby one day.
Of course he wanted children, but with so many girls wanting that with him, it was enough to drive him partially insane.
He knew how tired Sirius was just with baby Cassiopeia and him soon to have 4 newborn babies in the house if you counted Narcissa's soon to be delivered baby, plus another nearly 1 year old baby, Sirius might very well end up collapsing.
Although he tried not to think about it, he knew it was very likely he would have the same problem.
Sirius only had two wives, he would have at least three times as many, which could mean...well a lot of children.
What if they all ended up getting pregnant at the same time and some of them even got pregnant with twins or even triplets like Amelia?
Then he'd have a house full of pregnant or recently having given birth mothers and tons of babies that he had no idea how to care of.
He just wasn't sure he could handle all that.
At any rate, he decided to keep his thoughts to himself and only smile back at each of the girls.
DUELDUELDUEL
Harry was now on a train to who knows where as he also wondered why they had to take a train there, when taking a plane would seem to him to be faster. To make matter worse, neither Fleur nor Gabrielle would tell him nor how long they might be gone.
Since he was already missing the other girls, he was hoping it wouldn't be for too long.
Both Fleur and Gabrielle were currently sitting on either side of him.
Fleur was currently going through their list of supplies, currently all located in one of the "infinite space" bags that some wizards used, but outwardly looked like the size of a small purse.
She had already pulled out sleeping bags, a tent, food, and the many other things she figured they might need.
When she started pulling out really nice dresses however, he was a little confused.
"If we're going camping and hiking, why do we need such nice clothes?" He asked her.
She looked at him and said apologetically, "I'm sorry Harry, I know you're probably going crazy wondering what's going on, I promise if I could tell you I would."
"Can you tell me anything?" He asked.
Fleur thought about it for a moment before saying, "I can tell you everything when we get there. Until then you'll just have to trust me."
"I trust you." He told her easily.
That at least was something he could say.
"I still think it's a crazy idea." Gabrielle commented.
"We'll be fine, I know we will." Fleur insisted.
Gabrielle unfortunately was still skeptical.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom." Gabrielle announced as she got up and left, likely more than a bit perturbed at the moment.
Fleur sighed and said, "She knows we need to go, but she just isn't happy about it, but then again neither am I. You'll understand why later."
"Is there anything I can do?" He offered.
"Just try to be extra nice to her, she's already having a hard time." Fleur suggested.
He nodded in agreement.
DUELDUELDUEL
Meanwhile Ariana and Susan were just now getting off a plane in Berlin.
They were both understandably tired, but they still had plenty to do that day.
First they had to locate the German Magical Ministry.
"Wait a minute..." Susan realized as she looked at their map, "There appears to be two of them on here."
"That's because in the wizard world, West and East Germany never merged." Ariana explained.
"Well which one do we need to go to?" Susan asked in confusion.
"Both," Ariana admitted, "Nurmengard Prison is a jointly run establishment with both governments since neither side trusted each other with it. It was actually part of wizard history taught at Hogwarts before Dumbledore did away with that part of the curriculum."
Go figure Dumbledore would keep them from learning anything about history. She wasn't sure she could take learning about another goblin war.
"I wonder how much else Dumbledore kept out of our education?" Susan commented.
"From what I can tell, a lot." Ariana answered, "Of course it still doesn't change our situation. Due to the friction that still exists between the two magical governments it only makes it that much harder for us to be able to get into the prison."
"I'm starting to see now why it would be so difficult." Susan observed.
"We'll do what we can." Ariana pledged.
They headed to the closer East German Ministry building first.
The entrance was very much unlike the entrance to the British Ministry building, which little more than just an old broken phone booth.
Instead it was a large, intimidating red building with 4 guards wearing brown and red Muggle military uniforms and hefting guns.
The only way Susan could even tell they were wizards was because they had wands poking out of holsters on their hips.
When they approached, one of the guards, a big burly looking fellow with a big mustache and who was currently blocking the door asked gruffly, "Identification?"
"We're actually foreigners." Ariana admitted.
The guard looked down suspiciously and then asked, "Americans?"
"British, actually." Susan said, deciding to take over although altogether unprepared for such a welcome.
Nevertheless she handed their passports over to him.
He looked them over before declaring, "They seem to be in order. What is the purpose of your visit?"
"We'd like to discuss a private matter with whoever is in charge of Magical Law Enforcement." Susan answered, before handing over the letter that Narcissa had given them.
The guard looked at the letter and then at her and then gestured to one of the other men, a tall, lanky younger looking man, and ordered, "Go find out."
Immediately the guard went inside while they were forced to wait.
After 5 minutes, the guard came back out again and then said, "He's busy. You'll have to come back when he's next available in a couple of weeks on the 20th at 3."
"A couple of weeks!" Susan exclaimed, "We can't get in anytime sooner?"
"I'm sorry." The guard who they had first spoken to said, "You might be accustomed to things being different in your country, but that is how we do things here. You're actually quite fortunate to be getting in that quickly and that was with the letter that you provided."
Ariana seemed inclined to argue, but Susan noted that the guards likely wouldn't hesitate to do something if they acted in such a fashion.
Besides it appeared there was little they could do.
"Come on, let's go." Susan urged, "We'll return then."
Ariana reluctantly agreed and followed her.
"Hopefully we'll have more luck at the West German Ministry." Susan said positively.
"Let's hope so..." Ariana answered.
When they got there, the entrance was much less obvious. All it was was what appeared to be a cellar door in an alleyway with a young man loitering outside with sandy blonde hair that didn't appear to be all that much older than them, probably just out of school.
He was however wearing wizard robes, although they were tattered and dirty.
In his mouth he was chewing on what appeared to be a piece of leather.
As they approached, Ariana asked, "Is this the entrance to the Ministry?"
"Yep." The boy nodded, obviously bored.
"Do we need any identification?" Susan asked.
"Nope." The boy replied as he continued to chew on his leather. "So I'm guessing you're visitors?"
"That's correct." Ariana agreed.
"Then it will be 10 galleons for a visitor's pass." The boy answered.
"Ten galleons?" Ariana exclaimed, "That's outrageous."
Susan however was studying the boy and guessed what was really going on.
"How about I give to you personally two galleons and you give us each a visitor's pass?" Susan suggested as she held out the gold.
Fortunately the magical currency in Britain was used here as well.
The boy seemed pleased that she had figured out what he really was expecting and took the galleons before handing over the passes.
After taking them, they opened up the cellar before opening up a set of stairs down to where the ministry was actually located.
"I suspect we'll have to do a lot of bribes if we are to be able to accomplish much." Susan observed.
"It appears that way. At least we got inside." Ariana pointed out.
As they walked down the long hallways however, it appeared everyone was in a hurry as they rushed from place to place, all wearing just as poor of a condition clothes as the youth at the entrance.
They tried to stop someone to ask for directions but none of them seemed to have any time.
Finally Susan managed to stop someone long enough as she held up a silver sickle.
"Where is the department of Magical Law Enforcement?" She asked the middle-aged woman who she had stopped.
The woman, looking like she hadn't slept in days, pointed down a hallway and said, "Room 115."
Susan handed her the silver sickle in thanks and the woman hurried along her way.
"This place seems about as friendly as the East German Ministry." Ariana commented as she saw all the many people bustle about with grim and tired expressions on their faces.
At any rate, they finally managed to get to the place that the woman had mentioned.
Ariana knocked on the door.
It took a minute before anyone answered however.
"What is it?" A man's voice asked sounding annoyed as the door was opened.
The man now standing in front of them wore a blue and faded uniform, although it appeared to be well cared for nonetheless. As for the man himself, he had short brown hair and looked just as tired as everyone else they had seen.
Susan handed him the letter of recommendation that Narcissa had provided.
As he read, the man's eyebrows rose before saying in a surprisingly friendly tone of voice, "Come on in."
He guided them over to his desk, which was little more than a small table with a single chair.
After realizing they didn't have anywhere to sit down, he conjured up some chairs for them before they sat down on them.
"I'm Chief Wolf." The man introduced himself as he shook their hands.
"I'm Susan Bones and this is Ariana Taylor." Susan replied.
After a moment of the man studying them, he then asked her directly, "So you're the Black's niece?"
"That's correct." Susan agreed.
"I must admit I'm surprised to see you here, although I am grateful for what your aunt has been doing in this country." The man admitted.
"What exactly has she been doing?" Susan queried.
"Providing jobs that's what she's been doing, it's been quite awhile since anyone has invested in businesses here." He admitted.
"Why?" Susan then asked curiously.
Chief Wolf grunted and then said, "I suppose you don't know much about West Magical Germany then, which might actually be a good thing. During World War II most Germans joined up with Grindelwald and elected him as our magical leader. He persuaded us we would have a better life, but when we lost the war our country was split into two when the Soviet Ministry demanded the Eastern half as a spoil of war."
"The western half, which would be us, was left to govern ourselves."
"However we soon found that not only was our economy totally in ruins, but no other country wanted to do business with us as they believed we could no longer be trusted."
"With no help to be able to rebuild many either left the country searching for jobs elsewhere or those that were able took jobs in the Muggle world."
"Even now, over 50 years later it's still a struggle. People work hard for little pay because there simply aren't any other jobs available."
"That's horrible." Ariana said with a shudder.
Chief Wolf nodded and then said, "That's why I'm rather grateful to your aunt, her investing plans have already brought a lot of hope to a lot of people. Perhaps we might finally have a chance of improving our situation if good investors like her are willing to take a chance on us."
"I am hopeful as well and pleased to hear it," Susan agreed, "Out of curiosity, how is East Germany?"
"It's probably just as bad only in a different way." He admitted, "In the magical world, the Soviet Union never collapsed. They are still going strong and they still maintain the largest magical government in the world. Over there the people all have jobs but all their possessions are government issued and owned. Even where they live is owned and regulated by the government, with the entire population of East Berlin living adjacent to the Ministry."
"The police force makes up a large portion of the population and is mandatory for all of its citizens as soon as they graduate from school and must serve for a period of 10 years. They are also trained in both magical and Muggle combat and use both to ensure total control of the population and enforce strict rules. Crimes are punished harshly, often death."
"However the good news is at least they have a police force, personally I have maybe half a dozen officers at my command in the entire country which is hardly able to do anything besides ensure that the Muggle world doesn't find out about us. The people know they can get away with just about anything as long as they don't do anything that might do that and I can hardly blame them. Many are starving and only seek to provide for their families."
It sounded vastly different from what she was accustomed too, Susan thought.
"I'm sorry, I had no idea." Susan confessed.
"Few seem to know or care about our plight." Chief Wolf answered.
"Is there something maybe that we can do?" Ariana suggested, "Give you money perhaps?"
He shook his head and said, "I am better off than most. I would feel guilty in taking your money while so many others are in such dire straights. If you want to help, tell your aunt to continue to invest heavily here. Tell her that the people will work hard for what they receive."
"I will." Susan promised.
After he nodded, he then asked, "So what exactly can I do for you?"
"We'd like to get into Nurmengard Prison and get an audience with Grindelwald." Ariana stated.
Chief Wolf's jaw visibly dropped.
"Why in Merlin's name would you want to see him?" He asked in clear surprise.
"We believe he might have information, information that could prove to be quite valuable to us." Susan explained.
"That's going to be a tall order even if you can manage to get him to talk." He admitted.
"Can you get us in?" Susan begged.
"Oh, I can get you a pass that allows to enter the prison certainly, there should be no problem there, it's just I doubt anyone would follow it." He confessed, "Unfortunately with our money problems we've had to have East Germany supply all the guards for it, and none of them answer to anyone in the West. For you to get permission there, you'll have to get it from their Head of Magical Law Enforcement and getting audiences with anyone there is notoriously hard and takes a long time of waiting."
"We noticed." Susan commented. She was starting to realize that this may take longer than she would have wanted. It appeared they would just have to wait another couple of weeks. They could last until then.
After that, hopefully they'd be able to move forward.
DUELDUELDUEL
If there was one thing Harry had decided, he hated hiking. Or at least hiking at the current moment.
After days spent on different trains, they finally disembarked in a small town in Bulgaria. From there they were forced to walk since Fleur had told him evidently magical travel, including the use of brooms wouldn't work for a reason she couldn't seem to explain.
The weather was also miserable the whole way as it rained almost the entire time although after an entire day of rain he would have expected there to be more water on the ground.
Yet it could simply be that the ground was absorbing it all. He really didn't know enough about such things outside of Britain.
In addition Fleur didn't appear to be following any viewable path and at many points they were forced to chop their way through various foliage while also avoiding various insects.
Strangely even as he glanced back, he swore the foliage was already starting to grow back behind them, but it could have just been his imagination.
The insects, on the other hand, which they occasionally spotted, didn't particularly bother him as he had had many of them in his cupboard back at the Dursleys, but they certainly scared poor Gabrielle, who squealed every time she saw one.
Gabrielle was highly embarrassed at being so afraid of insects, but he and Fleur thought it was hilarious.
What did bother him however was constantly walking having no idea where they were going or just why they were going to it.
His annoyance seemed to be greater than he would have expected however, he just felt like they shouldn't be here and that they should leave as soon as possible.
When he confessed this to Fleur however, she had told him that that was actually an enchantment on the place in order to discourage people from going further and to ignore it.
For the first night now that they were totally in the middle of nowhere, they set up a tent for the night. Or rather he set up a tent. Neither girl really had the first clue on how to do it and neither did he but he gave it his best shot.
"You know," He asked as he realized something, now halfway through setting up the tent, "how come you can't use magic Fleur to set up the tent? You're of age."
"That would give our location away to them sooner than I would like." Fleur admitted.
"Them?" He queried.
Instead of answering, she only stared back at him, trying to apologize with her eyes.
"Let me guess, I'm not allowed to know?" He suggested.
She nodded.
"It should only take one more day right Fleur?" Gabrielle asked hopefully.
"It should." Fleur confirmed.
"You know, with all these secrets, I'm starting to wonder if I ever really knew either of you." Harry replied.
It was evidently the wrong thing to say.
Both Fleur and Gabrielle began to cry.
"Look, I'm sorry." He tried to apologize, having no idea that such a comment would affect them so much, "I feel on edge constantly because of the enchantment and I'm saying things I don't mean to vent, and I keep wanting to get out of here somehow."
Gabrielle wiped a tear away.
"You have every right to be upset," Fleur told him, still crying a little, "you have no idea how many times I've wanted to tell you but couldn't... wishing that you could somehow use Legilimency to find out... but knowing even that was impossible."
Why he had never found out their apparent secret in such a way had never occurred to him before but evidently even that would never have happened.
"We never wanted to keep secrets from you Harry." Gabrielle answered, "If there is anything good about this, it's that tomorrow you'll finally know everything there is to know about us. No more secrets."
"I suppose I can live with that." He agreed.
He went over and put his arms around both girls which they took gratefully.
As much as he might be annoyed by the situation, he accepted it and he definitely loved both girls, more than he could have ever imagined.
"I love you Harry." Fleur said.
"I love you too." Gabrielle added.
"I love both of you." He answered as he kissed both of them.
DUELDUELDUEL
They got up early the next morning, first because none of them could really sleep very well and second because none of them wanted to be out here any longer than necessary.
There followed yet another day long hike. Harry felt like he was in really good shape, but even all this hiking, chopping down foliage, and killing bugs was starting to wear on him not just mentally but physically.
Finally Fleur stopped in front of the side of a cliff.
"We're here." She announced.
Had he not gone to Hogwarts, he would have wondered what she meant since it appeared to be just a cliff face, but he knew better and guessed that it was a magical entrance.
Instead of press any secret buttons or whisper any secret passwords, Fleur began to sing, quickly accompanied by Gabrielle.
He had heard both girls sing before, and they had lovely voices, but whatever music they were singing sounded altogether different, more like screamo music that his cousin Dudley used to listen to.
As he listened, however, all he could seem to feel was a sense of fear. That he needed to get out of there now. Immediately.
The only thing that kept him from fleeing was the knowledge that both Fleur and Gabrielle were there and he could never abandon them.
Besides neither of them were running away, still concentrating on their singing.
Yet just as he was starting to wonder if perhaps he might end up messing his pants out of fear, the cliff face suddenly had a large cave appear in front of them.
Both girls stopped singing and the fear accompanied with it immediately died away.
"This is our last chance to back out." Gabrielle reminded her sister.
"We've come too far to turn back out now." Fleur pointed out.
She bravely walked into the cave and he followed her, with Gabrielle bringing up the rear.
As they walked further inside, the light from the cave entrance began to die away, but he could still somehow see nonetheless even if he couldn't seem to tell just where the light that was illuminating the cave was coming from.
Another five minutes of walking and he spotted two women currently standing further down the tunnel they had been walking down.
Fleur chose to draw closer and closer to them, showing no signs of fear, giving him confidence that they would not attack them.
They were almost on top of them before he realized that both women were Veela.
Both had the same silvery-blonde hair and incredible figures that both Fleur and Gabrielle had, dressed in little green dresses that ended at the knees and clasping wands in a non-threatening manner.
However both women did nothing and only watched them come forward until they were finally in front of them.
One of the women let out a smile and said in a melodious voice, "We welcome you sisters."
At first he was confused as he wasn't aware that Fleur had any sisters besides Gabrielle, but then realized it was only a term of some kind and that neither girl knew either of these women.
Fleur and Gabrielle extended their hands and formed some kind of sign which both women returned.
"We thank you for allowing us entrance." Fleur said politely, "If you might allow us to see the Queen?"
"Of course, the Queen welcomes all who have returned." The same woman that had greeted them said in the same melodious voice.
Through all this time, neither woman had acknowledged or even spared him so much as a glance, but he didn't take offense to it as he followed all 4 Veela a little further before the cave suddenly ended as they emerged out the other side.
As soon as he exited, his jaw dropped.
It was easily the most beautiful place he had ever seen.
Trees covered in beautiful flowers in every conceivable shade of the rainbow surrounded them as various creatures, some of them obviously magical, scurried about.
White marble buildings were currently in the distance in front of them, sparkling in the sunlight that shone down without a hint of the storm clouds that had been overhead all throughout their journey.
It was to the buildings that they headed.
Once they reached the closest of them he marveled at it, and the impressive architecture, but had little time to truly study it as they were still being lead through the city.
As he continued to look around, he also took notice of the people.
All of them appeared to be women and also Veela, dressed in beautiful dresses of various vibrant colors.
Each Veela looked at both Fleur and Gabrielle with curiosity, but seemed to avert their eyes when it came to him.
He could only wonder just why that was as they entered the largest building of all.
Since they were evidently going to see the Queen, he guessed it was the palace.
Inside was a large chamber that was about half the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. In the far back was a woman sitting on a throne, and he guessed that this was the Queen. She looked rather young, but then again it seemed all the women here appeared young.
She also had perhaps the most impressive figure he had ever seen. Tall and majestic, with absolutely insane curves.
Her breasts were massive, dwarfing even Fleur, Susan's or even Narcissa's or Amelia's while they had been pregnant but her pure white dress she was wearing only halfway covered them with a ridiculous amount of cleavage still being displayed.
Staring at other women was something that he thankfully did not usually have a problem with since he had more than enough eye candy to keep him happy, but for whatever reason, the Queen was hard to ignore.
Realizing however that it probably wasn't a good idea to be staring at the Queen, especially in such a way, he looked down at the ground and continued to walk forward until they were just in front of her.
All 4 Veela, the two guards and Fleur and Gabrielle bowed, and he hastened to do the same before looking up at the Queen again.
Unlike everyone else, the Queen stared at him curiously for a second before turning to look at Fleur and Gabrielle.
She actually looking surprised to see them, but finally a big smile appeared on her face.
As he looked over at Fleur to judge her reaction, she let out a small smile of her own and then said, "Hello Mom."