Chapter Twenty Two
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot
"Hermione."
"Yes, Harry."
"I love you and I am sorry."
"Not that I mind you telling me in public or these physical exams in private, Harry, but are you going to wake me up like this every day for the rest of my life? Not that I would mind, love."
"Yes."
Hermione smiled and hugged Harry's head to her belly. "Promises, promises, prat. It's been a week, you know. I'm still here, it's still me."
"Hey! It isn't about that any more--well, not completely. Somehow I just can't resist looking you over."
Hermione giggled "Pray continue, Your Grace." She stretched luxuriously in Harry's arms, then wriggled around and took his hard length into her mouth and down her throat, forcing him to pull her head up and off as she got woozy from lack of air. Hermione caught her breath and choked herself on Harry again. Harry growled and shrank himself. Hermione pouted and applied suction and every bit of her skill with tongue and cheeks to get him to relax so she could choke herself yet again.
The inner circle of the Coven smiled and got up. Susan walked on tiptoe to the bath. The Coven watched intently, tiptoe did very interesting things to the rest of Susan starting with interesting shifts in those magnificent breast and not leaving out a taut jiggle in a pink arse cheek and tightened muscular legs all surmounted by the sexiest head of deep red bedded head hair, the kind with hand grips in it still. They kept very straight faces. She had tamed the savage Harry last night--well, after she talked him into being the savage Harry--then Hermione had used Harry to tame Susan, in the arse, twice.
Harry and Hermione made PT with the rest and saved their bath time for after PT with the use of a few Scourgifies.
Emma sidled up to Hermione in aerobics. "So?" "So what, Mother?" Emma arched a brow. "Don't you what me, young lady. You know what. How is it?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Do all of you sit around discussing my sex life all the time? It's fine, if you must know. The night before last Harry shagged me completely bowlegged and last night I
helped him shag Susan until she passed out for the third time. This morning I sucked him hard and choked myself nearly unconscious on him. So there!"
Melba chuckled. "We didn't need that much detail, dear. A simple 'we're fine' and a look is all it takes. But it is rather important, especially in a couple as young as you are, the sex I mean. Later, in sixty or seventy years, it won't be so important."
Hermione spent the next several minutes trying "looks" on her mother. Emma's commentary kept the women in stitches. Especially the "That one's your poopy face from when you were in diapers, Hermione."
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Over in the men's exercise room Sirius was fighting Harry in their by now normal morning duel. It was instructive to watch. Moody was coaching Harry on spells as well as him taking them from the minds of the Coven, which now included the older, but still in childbearing years Malfoi widows and Josephine and Melissa Malfoi.
"TIME!" Moody's shout broke the stalemate Harry and Sirius had on each other, shielding with one hand and casting offensive strings from the other hand at the same time. Harry returned to his start position, smiling for the first time in a week. Moody groaned. "And now you're having sex again. That's going to play hobb with your training, lad."
Harry's stunned face confirmed it to all the men in the room. Harry blushed. "Never stopped, really. Now we're just back at normal--well, normal for the Coven--levels. I don't think it will bother me too much, for the training I mean. I'm much more relaxed and better able to pay attention now."
Moody grimaced while Dan smiled, then frowned, then smiled and frowned some more in alternating cycles. James, on the tie that hung loosely around Sirius's neck, was BUSY coaching Sirius. "We can use that against him. A few illusions of the Coven members will distract him. Might not ought to make them naked like we used to do in school, though, he might get angry. Maybe have them stripping, or messing about with wizards."
Sirius started, "James, this is your son, remember, so those are your daughters-in-law--erh, or something--and hey, are you trying to get me flayed?"
James snorted. "I'm trying to keep you in the fight. You know as well as I do that if he was using lethal spells you'd be dead now."
Sirius nodded. "I would have thought my years of experience would matter more, but I think he may be able to shield against anything and what he can't shield from he dodges. And those curses! His Stunners might be lethal."
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Albus, sitting down to a light breakfast on the top of the turret his office occupied looked at the paper. Gah! Now they'd gone too far! How dare they accuse him of being a homosexual in public like this? He would sue this time! Elphias's objections notwithstanding, this was going too far. It just wasn't done!
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Andromeda spewed a fine orange pekoe all over Ted. Ted raised a dripping brow. "Something in the paper, dear?"
"Ted, I'm so sorry." Andromeda was on her feet in a flash and around the table with a tea towel, dabbing at Ted as he grinned. She smiled. "I do love you, you know, and I appreciate that glacial calm of yours."
Ted pulled her down and kissed her and then grinned. "So?"
Andromeda looked confused for an instant, then, "Oh, the op ed piece in the Prophet this morning flat-out accuses Dumbledore of being homosexual and posits that if that's true, he shouldn't be allowed to be the Headmaster."
Ted frowned. "Uh, that doesn't make any sense. There are witches and wizards at the school, and no one was complaining when he was apparently heterosexual. He could have been bothering the witches all these years."
Andromeda smiled. "I know, dear, but you know how wizards are, or rather how they act like they are."
"Ouch! Too early, Andi, I've not had me tea yet." Ted grimaced.
Andromeda grinned, Ted did like to put on that he didn't understand put he was even more a political animal than she was.
H "What?" Harry frowned in confusion.
"You Turn with the Harpies, Harry, but to do that you have to Turn now, then we wait a few moments and turn again but only for a moment or two and then your last Turned self Turns with them and the real you stays here with us. Or with the us that are here, as we'll be Turning with you when we all come back up time, well not all of us but the group that turned short. We wouldn't dream of missing the babies!" Hermione smiled at Harry.
"What?" Hermione sighed. "Should I draw you a picture, Harry?"
Gwenog put up her hand like she was in class. "Erm, can I have one of those pictures too, Hermione?"
Hermione put her head in her hands for a moment, then raised her head. "You all trust me, right?" The Harpies and Harry all nodded. "Fine. Hold still, then."
The Coven passed the Time-Turner? chain around, pressed close together, and Hermione wound it once and released it. She looked at it intently as the group moved to a different wing of the castle, waited for some signal known only to Hermione, regrouped tightly and passed the chain around again, and then Hermione nodded and wound it all the way up and released it again. They turned for a second and stopped and Hermione looked at the heat shimmering off the Time-Turner?. "Good thing we brought more of these. I don't think this one will last." Now everyone remember
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we stay in this wing." They moved off as another group of them appeared behind them, that Hermione looked at them and smiled and led her group back to the castle proper.
I still don't understand the first short hop, Hermione.
It's fine, Harry. Now the other Us's will carry on with the summer while we're here. It will look a little odd, though, as the Harpies are going to be suddenly hugely pregnant for the birthday parties and the weddings. Oh, and don't mind doing this again in an hour or so.
Harry shrugged and then squawked as the Harpies, led by Gwenog, dragged him down on the very nice silk oriental carpet. Hermione blinked. Daphne laughed. "There's no one here but us, Hermione, at least in this wing. Remember we warded the place like Tintagel."
"Yippee!" Luna's clothes disappeared with a wave of her hand, not to be seen again until after the births and recoveries--well, except for on the Luna in the other parts of the castle. Some crafty smiles followed and Harry was suddenly doing support charm after support charm on naked witches.
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Ginny looked at Clementine Malfoi. A week to Neville's birthday and there was no doubt what she intended to give Neville, the slapper. Morgana, why doesn't she just suck his cock right here? Ginny stood up from her seat beside the standing Neville, took Clementine's hand, and led her away. Clementine was smirking and thinking, So she will show me her power, fine.
Ginny spun Clementine into a smaller sitting room and glared at her. "As this is my liege's house I hesitate to destroy anything, but don't think I won't. What do you intend with my lord?"
Clementine braced herself and released her compulsion. "Is he really yours?" Ginny laughed. "You'll have to do better."
Clementine recoiled from the red eyes and the floating hair, then froze. Ginny's chuckle had stopped her. Ginny walked over to Clementine, who was impressed with the predatory glide the girl employed, and examined the older girl with eyes and hands. Clementine found the experience not unpleasant.
Neville sat down in the other sitting room with a gamut of expressions playing across his face until he suddenly paled and leapt to his feet. Lester shook his head. Kids! Did they never learn? Oi! "Melba, what was that for?" Lester rubbed his triceps where Melba had given him a pinch..
"Taking all the romance out of it, you big oaf!" Lester grunted and rose. "Harry has to have some work needs doing. Where is he?" Melba frowned. "Coward." Lester accelerated his gentle wander to a purposeful walk. Melba smiled and the other wives shook their heads. Griselda Marchbanks cleared her throat. "As I was saying before we were interrupted by the
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romance--" a nod to Melba-- "I want to increase the standing of Hogwarts, particularly in the areas of recognition of the Dark Arts, the History of the Wizarding World, Muggle Studies, which will be expanded to a whole department covering all the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) required subjects to prepare our children to take their A-levels and then attend Merlin's College at Oxford, which will be re-staffed. Its endowments still run, as do those at Morgana's College at Cambridge, which will also be re-staffed. The students will be required to be Squibs or full witches and wizards as always, who are capable of passing first the GCSE and then the A- levels, a new requirement from Her Majesties government, then NEWTs--for the wizard folk taking advanced wizarding courses, of course. We, that is the staffs of the Colleges, will set the other admission requirements over and above the standard of Oxford and Cambridge for both the mundane and wizarding courses."
Emma blinked. "There are universities? Wait--there are colleges at the universities? The universities know?"
Griselda flushed. "They haven't been attended in, well, since the end of the first great mundane war and the war with Grindlewald, but they're still endowed and propertied. The students always had to meet the Muggle standards of the universities in order to attend. Somehow we just never got back to them. First there was the recovery after Grindlewald, then the immediate or near-immediate rise of an even more powerful Dark Lord as we really just wanted to be happy and, well, things just got away from us. The population had dropped and then Riddle turned it insular. We, the light-side pure-bloods, helped him with our prejudices. Now the last of the staffs are retiring and have died and we have no students." Griselda shrugged.
The room fell silent as the mothers contemplated how this had happened and what it meant now. Lily frowned from her landscape. "Albus went to which College?"
Griselda's head snapped up and she growled. She hadn't even thought of that. The old bastard knew about the colleges and had let interest in them wane on purpose. She would have to get herself and the others checked for compulsions.
Emma frowned "Dumbledore keeps going on about Hogwarts being the preeminent school of magic in Britain."
Griselda nodded "It was, is but at a lower state." Emma nodded "So how did the colleges work then?"
Griselda beamed "Oh well you don't want your young men and women with your children and we are wizards. The students took lectures at Cambridge or Oxford along with having their quarters there and they took labs and did purely theoretical magical research at Hogwarts. They traveled back and forth using magical means. Squibs can floo after all. The restricted section of the Hogwarts Library is full of university level and higher books, Madam Pince has served us very well. We do still have the best publicly available magical library in the world. The labs are scattered over the school now but if in use again I believe Hogwarts would move them back together to suit the departments as she used to."
"Haven't any of you wondered at the size of Hogwarts versus her low population? Why in my day the staff quarters were five times the size they are now. If they aren't occupied they shrink you know. It was a favorite of the charms department in my day, figuring out the null space charms the founders used. Salazar and Rowena applied such elegant solutions but it took Godric to deal with the heat, never one to waste Godric apparently, he directed it into the bedrock under the lake keeps
the lake slightly warm and unfrozen and improves the climate around the school just enough to keep it tolerable."
Charlotte Greengrass blinked "You mean all these years there were... He...Merlin!" H
If you paid strict attention to life around the Potter Coven you could easily become very confused or paranoid as the Coven members appeared and disappeared in different clothes at nearly simultaneous times and the Harpies kept changing sizes of bumps. Barring that the build-up to the now combined birthday bash for Neville and Harry was proceeding apace with Ginny and Clementine firmly anchored in time and Hermione using that anchor to her advantage.
Of course, paying strict attention to the Potter Coven was precluded by the tumultuous, apparently burgeoning Longbottom Coven forming up and deciding who was actually in charge. Sometimes it was even Neville. Truthfully it was fully Neville, but he had a distinctly different style of command than Harry. Ginny and Clementine were both happy with a softer hand, while they made a few mistakes that the Malfoi, Weasley, Longbottom, and other assorted matriarchs were only to happy to point out to them.
Anyway, the thirty-first of July 1993, a Saturday, rolled around and the party took off in a big way for Harry--all the Harrys. The Harry attending the party, though, he got rushed out of bed and into the shower and then dressed and towed out the door to the main part of Potter Castle. He was already well satisfied, goofy even, it had been a fun night with the Potter Coven playing up outrageously a slumber party with one male member.
Harry and Neville, having stood at the head of a receiving line and greeted their guests, skived off for a moment. Neville looked at Harry. "So Clementine wants to, uh, well, uh...."
Harry looked at Neville and laughed. "Shag you rotten and get contracted, hopefully to be one of a very few?"
Neville flushed crimson. "Errh, yes." "Good, have fun." Harry frowned. "This isn't just about her compulsion, is it?"
"Gah! No, Harry!" Neville looked around then leaned in and confided. "That compulsion thing the Veela do freaks me out a little. I mean, I feel it, but apparently not like Ron. He's completely useless when a Veela is around."
Harry grinned and nodded. "Me too Nev, on the freaks-me-out part. It has no effect on me and seems to piss them off no end when it doesn't. Ron is useless when any girl with breast is around, a little gross really, glad you aren't that way."
Neville smiled and nodded then turned serious suddenly. "Harry, you know we can't keep getting lucky. Someone's going to get hurt if this thing with Riddle keeps on. I want to talk to Dumbledore and reach some kind of accommodation with him. We can use him."
Harry rolled his eyes. "You waited for the party to bring this up, Nev? Come on, let's get through today and then we'll talk about this some more. I think it's a lost cause though. He's a million years old and will never listen to us. The others, the Death Eaters, they're just bullies. I'll not have them around when it's DONE, one way or the other, and you need to stop falling into Dumbledore's little
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manipulations." Neville eyed Harry and blushed slightly. "You'll not, Harry? You're thirteen, remember."
Harry looked up at Neville and grinned. "I know. It's fantastic, isn't it? Come on, we have witches to mess about with!"
Harry took off running, leading Neville into a day full of the pleasures and pratfalls of youth. H
Another Harry goggled and groaned as in another part of the Castle the full No Secrets line was modeled for him. Lavender was curled into one side of him under an arm in a bra and panty set and Parvati, in the same style and color bra and panty set, black satin with a white lace trim, formal somehow, curled into the other side with his other arm across her shoulders. They described the products, by whispering into his ears, as the Coven modeled. Harry lasted through the misses' lines before the whole thing dissolved into--well, into Harry really; a sticky, tired, satiated mess of Harry with a side of well lathered Lavender and Parvati.
Hermione shook her head "How does he get so sweaty?"
Susan snorted "Him? Lav and Parvati are dissolving like that hag with the flying monkeys after she was hit the water on that show on the telly." She wrinkled her nose and the others giggled.
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Friday the sixth of August found Harry in Diagon Alley directly across from the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Cornelius Fudge eyed his quarry. This young wizard was dreadfully difficult to contact, but here he was at long last. One of the two stocks around his neck. How hard could it be to manipulate a child, after all? And no Blacks here to support young Potter. Now if this meeting could just be made to go the correct way. "Aha! Duke Potter, you shouldn't be out alone, especially here. Let me accompany you!"
Harry eyed Cornelius and managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes or sighing. The Coven inner circle praised and coached. Harry nodded. "Certainly, Minister. Thank you."
Cornelius smiled. "So, out school shopping?"
Harry nodded. "After a fashion. Checking on some properties that I apparently own in the area. Not on Diagon, but in the area." Harry had been watching Dark-side full-bloods he hadn't taken as liegemen fight against the compulsion a hundred yards down Knockturn, lose, and turn back. They knew there used to be more to Knockturn but they couldn't quite remember what. It didn't matter really, all they needed was still here or could be gotten owl order.
Cornelius blinked, then chuckled. "Beg pardon, Your Grace. I forget when I look at you."
Harry stopped and turned to Cornelius. "An easy mistake to make. Why are you so interested in me?" Harry asked bluntly.
Cornelius looked around the alley and waved. Harry smiled. It was really a very good silencing dome. "Let's not be insulting, Duke Potter. You know exactly what interests me: my continued career. To that end I would rather work with you than the other alternatives."
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Harry frowned. "There are more options for you than the one other? As far as I can tell it's the Black or me."
"Don't be naïve, Your Grace. There is the Black's faction, which I believe includes you. Then there is Dumbledore, a powerful wizard steeped in tradition with powerful friends. And last but not least there are those wizards who followed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?; they are still a coherent group," Cornelius rejoined.
Harry shrugged. "None of whom, aside from the Black and me, have any true power, at least as far as you're concerned, Minister. You need to see Sirius. I wouldn't get involved with Dumbledore and Riddle's followers if I were in your position. I would hold the Ministry strictly neutral. You won't want to be involved in what I'm going to do to the rest of them, well the Death Eaters . What happened to Dawlish will be a pleasant afternoon by comparison. I am not the Black--I lack his sense of humor." Harry waved Cornelius's silencing dome down and walked away.
Cornelius stood lost in thought. So Duke Potter had no ties to Dumbledore or the other faction. That put him firmly in the Black's camp. Good. Fine, as a matter of fact. It simplified the field. He shuddered, remembering the glowing green eyes he had just looked into. Which would be worse: Riddle or Potter?
H "No, Harry, you can't just kill him now," Hermione huffed at Harry. "It'll save time and Angst later, Ne." "Dawlish. That's all I'll say, Harry."
"Exactly what I'm talking about, Ne. If I do Fudge now, he won't have a chance to make me mad and we won't have to go through another one of those."
Hermione stopped and thought about it. Daphne rolled her eyes. "Harry, you can't kill the Minister of Magic just because he irritates you. Well, you probably could, but you may not. Hermione, what's wrong with you? You're letting him win you with these morning sessions. Sirius and Narcissa will reel Fudge in if he can be, then we'll have to wait and see. Ne, stop thinking with your whatever instead of your brain. Morgana! All in love and you'll let him use any old kind of logic on you."
Harry pouted. The Coven dragged him away. H
Clementine eased through the door to the guest bedroom and slid into the bed on the eleventh of August. Ginny smiled at her and pulled her down into a kiss. Their experimentation had made them a fast couple; slightly daunting for Neville but very comforting for the witches. Hermione was massively relieved as now Ginny had someone to focus on besides her. Ginny and Clementine hadn't gone past the oral stage with Neville, and while Clementine was fully capable physically she and Ginny were building to it slowly. Neville was grateful. "Ginny, you'll be gone two weeks!"
Ginny snorted. "Clementine, really it's only two weeks and you'll be here with Harry and the Coven. You'll be fine."
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"Stupid contest. I can go with you, Ginny!"
"Ron, Clem."
"Ugh! What is wrong with him? He is always looking at me or you. That's just strange. He knows we are taken. I have seen him look at some of the Jones and Potter witches the same way. Merde, you are his sister!"
Ginny nodded and shrugged. "I don't know really. I thought us being claimed was supposed to make us unattractive to him--and I am his sister. It's creepy."
Clementine nodded. "You are going to have to talk to your mother about it, Ginny." Ginny sighed. "I'll think about that later." H "So what do you think, Harry?"
Harry shook his head. "I think you should have dumped him the first time around, and certainly after you became the Dark Wizard Longbottom this past year."
Neville grunted. "Easy for you to say. He won't be your brother-in-law."
Harry nodded sympathetically. "Still, it's no excuse, Neville. She's his sister, for Merlin's sake. Sure, I laughed about it too, but it's sick when you think about it. The same with the other girls--he shouldn't even be interested in them. Something isn't right with him. You need to be careful down there in Egypt."
Neville nodded. "Thanks, Harry, but you need to be careful up here. I'll be having fun!"
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It was really a marvelous snake; so powerful, muscles contracting and relaxing smoothly in great bundles as they crushed the life from the rabbit. Life was good. She was malleable and intelligent too. Yes, this could work out well.
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It's amazing, really. How is it that the blood doesn't rush to my head? Oh well, never mind. Into the forest and away from this dock before they notice.
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Saturday the fourteenth of August was a bright blue clear summer day in the south of France. Harry lay beside the pool at the Malfoi chateau, brown as a nut, lean and hard-muscled. The Veela tittered about him and Hermione lay there rolling her eyes. "Harry, go shag some of these so they'll shut up."
"Hermione!"
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"What, Beatrice? They all want it. Mmmph!"
Beatrice smiled. "Thank you, Harry." Harry waved above Hermione as he kissed her into a puddle on her towel. The young Veela watching slipped into the pool; some cooling was in order, and now. Fleur Delacour couldn't believe she was here, even. Sure, it was a social event, the social event of the season, but really! He was so young, as was she! Phhht! Like that mattered obviously. Who was the one in the pool trying to get images of those hard, tanned young bodies out of her mind, after all? Still, an honor to be invited, and oh my, wasn't he fun to look at! Fleur smirked. Marie Posey swam up next to her and whispered, "So would you?"
Fleur blinked. "Would I what, Marie?"
"Let him have you right here, Fleur. The matriarch, she is not joking, she will set him on some of us in a moment or two, to distract him if nothing else."
"Marie!" "You are interested, Fleur, don't try to deny it. You want more than this modeling contract."
Fleur said nothing. Marie was dead on the money. Sure the contract was nice and a way into the world of modeling with what was reputedly the safest agency MMM (Malfoi's Magical Models) but father would go insane. That was exactly why he had allowed her to come here. Duke Potter was so young and yet ultimately responsible. That he was very very taken was the key. Who had known that the Potter Matriarch could be a complete, well a complete Dominatrix?
Marie looked at her smugly and chuckled. "You should go home after lunch Fleur. Hermione will pick his entertainment for this evening then."
H George looked at Fred. "He'll never survive." Fred nodded sadly. "She'll kill him the next time he monopolizes Neville." George thought about it. "Why does Neville put up with him, I wonder?"
"Compulsion, maybe? We should ask Bill." Fred rose to go do just that.
Bill looked at the twins working themselves back along the center line of the Nile ferry they were on. "Here they come, Ginny."
Ginny looked forward and smiled. "Not all my brothers are prats, then." Bill sighed. "Nope, just the two, Percy and Ron. You know I like your Neville."
Ginny leant up and slapped Bill on the arm. "Mine--get your own! Morgana, what is it with you all?" She glared at him fiercely. Bill looked surprised and Ginny laughed and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him and sitting down in his lap. Bill's blush was epic. The Egyptians on the ferry watched and laughed.
Neville looked toward the laughter and smiled. The Weasley brothers were so thrown by his paying attention to Ron while being excruciatingly polite and obviously wanting to spend more
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time with Ginny. They didn't even bother to check Neville or Ginny at night, just like Ginny had said they wouldn't. It had been a great trip so far; the trunks were great.
Bill thought he would call a Weasley Brothers meeting and talk to the boys about all of this soon. Something was wrong with Ron, very wrong. Percy wasn't exactly right either. No charms or curses he could find but still.
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Harry beamed in the front row of the enormous crowd gathered on the lawn of Potter Castle for the weddings of Remus and Evangeline, then Sirius and Magda. Sirius had elected to go last as the elder house, which meant he could preside over Remus's wedding, and then Harry in his Duke Potter mien would officiate for Sirius.
The summer was flying by and things were going fine. Gwenog, Marilyn, Julia, and the rest of the Harpies were super fun and the Coven was getting great training in healing from the trainers and in Quidditch from the players. Sure, there had been a few moments, but everyone was trying to get along, which to Harry made all the difference.
Hermione looked at Harry and smiled. Time, Harry. Go on.
Harry rose nervously, moved to the front of the crowd, and flawlessly handfasted his godfather to Magda. Cheers went up all around and the event of the decade got underway. Sirius was in his element. Harry watched and shook his head. His father nodded from the tie Harry was wearing today. "I know, son. Hard to believe really."
Lily looked over from her brooch on Hermione. "Hard? I still don't believe it. I think it's all a dream." Lily looked at Harry. "Speaking of dreams, how are my grandchildren, and are you making more?"
"Gaaack! Mother!" Harry glared. Lily was nonplussed. "Well?" H
As Harry and the Coven spent a glorious summer--or two, perhaps even three--playing, working and gestating (it was a little hard to tell with all the groups Turning), the wizarding and mundane worlds continued to spin and players moved through them with less than the best of intentions, or perhaps intentions that would in the end not be best for the Coven.
Andromeda continued to visit Bellatrix, now with a mind Healer, who flatly stated that Bellatrix was curable and proceeded to attempt a cure to prove her point. She seemed to be making headway. Andromeda watched for the tricks Bella used to pull but they were absent. She was left unsure.
Dumbledore was neither making headway nor sure, either. While there were plenty of non-aligned Light-side pure-bloods out there, they remembered the last rise of Riddle. They were loathe to commit to a course. A bright spot on his horizon would make the papers tomorrow. Severus Snape had escaped from Azkaban somehow.
Neville, Ginny, and the other Weasleys returned, amidst Harry's golden summer and the hullabaloo surrounding Snape's escape, with tales from the trip that kept the Coven in stitches. Ron,
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unfortunately, was a cautionary example in most of them, but Percy debuted as a idiot in several as well. Hermione was severely disappointed in the process that would let the young man portrayed in those stories rise to Head Boy.
Minerva got all hard-eyed about it after hearing some of the stories. Augusta sighed. "We'll fix that too. Meanwhile we have to get theses GCSE requirements lined up and the instructors hired."
One thorny problem haunted Daphne and Victoria. Daphne flopped on the leather couch in the penthouse office "Victoria, it's fifteen million, six hundred eighty thousand grains per ton, right?"
Victoria nodded. "UK long ton."
Daphne huffed. "So do we charge our divisions market rate for Basilisk parts by weight in grains avoirdupois or do we give ourselves a break and make it up in the marketplace and on the price of the finished goods?"
Victoria sighed. "Only the research and development division uses Basilisk parts right now. The eyes are a curiosity and have use, but no one on the planet could afford them as they're over a hundred pounds in weight apiece and sell by the grain for thousands of Galleons. They'll have to be prepared for use--dried, ground, sliced, whatever. They, all the beast really is useful in several Dark rituals and some obscure healing rituals with dark elements that Harry wants to be prepared for in case we need to do them. The healings are already being bruited about, and that's why we don't have the eye's on display but stored with the rest of the Basilisk in that high-security vault. I believe we charge R&D full rate and they charge it against the projects, to be added to the per-unit cost later."
"The real advantage to us is that we'll never have to buy Basilisk on the open market as we have essentially an unlimited supply. Harry will vet those seeking the ingredients from the outside for the above mentioned healing rituals, yes there have been enquiries, and we will charge them full market rate. Meanwhile the girls find substitutes for the Basilisk ingredients on the industrial scale potions as fast as we find uses for the bloody thing. Apparently that gas chromatograph and all that other stuff Suzanne wanted comes in handy."
Daphne nodded. "You have to help me with Hermione, Padma, Su, and the other 'Claws. They are brilliant but they just aren't getting the macro economics of it all somehow."
Victoria smiled. "Now?" Daphne chuckled. "Again with the shagging in the office, Ms Jones?"
"Or the car that was fun! I'll have the Bentley brought round." Victoria reached for the phone as Daphne blushed, remembering a few days ago when she was literally ridden round London in the back of that Bentley with her feet tied to the hand-hold straps and Harry straddling the drive shaft tunnel.
"Yes, the Bentley," Daphne nodded flushing slightly. H Sirius looked over the room and snorted. "Sirius! Sit up," Narcissa sighed. "I interrupted my honeymoon for this, Cissy. They'd better get on with it." Sirius was more than a
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little upset. Magda Ivanova Black was responding very very well to being married.
Dumbledore stood in the raised box at the front of the room. "Members of the Wizengamot, I would like to point out the deplorable conduct of one of our members in the recent past. I speak, of course, of the senseless killing of Auror Dale Dawlish in a grotesque, even medieval manner in full view of the public in broad daylight in Diagon Alley." Dumbledore paused for effect.
Sirius grinned and rose. "I too would like to add my voice to those condemning the member responsible for this heinous crime, and enquire of the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as to why the moronic miscreant hasn't been brought to justice but instead still stands at the head of this body despite his proven ineptitude. Albus Dumbledore caused the death of the former Auror Dale Dawlish by releasing him prior to his trial and conviction despite warnings from the DMLE and his Grace Harry Potter. For this act I propose that he be censured for a period of ninety days while the DMLE looks into criminal charges.
"Furthermore, it has been noted by the DMLE that prisoner abuse at Azkaban, especially of the witch prisoners, has become so common as to be accepted and expected. I myself can confirm this to be true. As the prison is the direct charge of the Chief Warlock, I propose that Albus Dumbledore be removed from the possibility of control of the prison while the abuse charges are investigated; and that this newest disaster--the escape of the convicted Death Eater, murderer, rapist, pedophile Severus Snape--be resolved and the criminal scum Snape immediately apprehended and executed."
Sirius had not even sat back down when Aidan Greengrass sprang to his feet. "Second! Call the question!"
The Wizengamot exploded. Narcissa looked at Sirius, who smirked. "That'll teach the old bastard to interrupt people's honeymoons."
Narcissa sighed. "So what are you really after, Sirius?"
"Oh, that's easy: money for the DMLE to buy all the Aurors that Harry vets a set of Nym's gear, Cissy--contacts, vest, forensics stuff, all of that. Well, that and tarring Albus with his own brush. He really should have left me alone on my honeymoon."
Narcissa chuckled. "Apparently. You could give someone a proxy and not come, you know."
"Bite your tongue, Cissy. This is the only fun I get. I'm too old to run around impaling people or crushing idiots' nuts like Harry gets to, I can only stand by and sell popcorn. I have to do it figuratively, in here."
Narcissa leaned over and kissed Sirius on the cheek. "I have only ever been prouder of Harry." Sirius blushed heavily. H
While this was going on Harry sat amongst a garden of green-eyed babies. Leyland was with him. The Coven watched as he played with his children. Thankfully he had calmed from the deliveries. The new mothers sat watching, smiling. Harry was great with children.
Harry had been amusing during the deliveries and then had collapsed after the last baby was
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delivered and her mum well and resting. He had been in a frothing frenzy for fifty-two hours by that point. Now he, his children, and the mums were rested and just getting to know each other and their aunts, the rest of the Coven.
The Coven parents and families sat around the periphery of this group watching and smiling. Emma shook her head. "It's like a young pride of lions, really."
Melba chuckled. "More than you know, Emma, or perhaps not. You do realize he has about the same moral code as a young pride lion? The only sure way to be safe around him is to leave him completely alone and not make any sudden moves within, oh, say fifty miles of his lionesses or the children. It's a phase. He'll settle, but everyone should be made aware."
Emma nodded. "Which after careful review of the pure-blood world may be the wisest thing I've heard. I mean, they're essentially crazy, the ones we haven't captured as vassals anyway. We should just put the word out in the paper or something and kill the idiots who come challenge Harry."
Melba laughed. "Now you sound like Lester. He loathes them, Light and Dark."
Louisa Parkinson snorted. "He's not alone, either. Peter and I will never be able to repay Harry for the opportunity to stay out of the coming struggle, or at least be able to pick our own side."
Sheryl Davis nodded, then smirked. "Though apparently our daughters are enjoying working off the debt."
The mums looked at each other and giggled. H
September first closed in on Harry and the Coven with an oddly doppler-affected speed. Fast one moment as more projects, Invisibility Cloaks for the Werewolf security squads, the Werewolf security squads, the lycanthrope vaccine, more forensics devices, magical biometrics and others continued to be worked on or were added to research schedules; then slowly, as the Coven was forced to take meeting after meeting with all kind and manner of beings before school took fully half of them away again.
Kristen Thomas, fully matured into a brunette, blue eyed English rose of a Ravenclaw, being named Head Girl opposite Percy Weasley as Head Boy finally got the attention it deserved and Kristen woke with a goofy smile for the whole week preceding September first. Harry and Hermione both congratulated her whenever they thought of it. Eliza, Ella, and Emma, fully matured seventh years with Kristen finally stepped in and took some of the congratulations so Kristen would be conscious for the train ride.
Cho Chang surfaced as a separate entity again after spending the summer so subbed to Harry that she appeared to be furniture unless Lester had her working on a project for him. She was a happier witch now, joyful even, a pleasure to be around. She would grow more and more outwardly independent and strong and forever be welcomed back to Harry and the Coven. Melba counseled Hermione over the phenomenon and introduced a few of the independent subordinate witches that orbited Lester in the same way. They never orbited to far or for long Hermione noticed. She sighed, apparently Cho would be with them for a while. Oh well she was pretty and smart and a very pleasant witch now. Luna smiled and nodded.
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All in all a spectacular summer for the Coven and its supporters. H
Minerva looked out at the new staff. She sat patiently waiting for Dumbledore to show up. Augusta was nowhere near that patient. "Minerva, start the programme. Dumbledore obviously couldn't be bothered."
Minerva sighed and nodded. "Welcome to Hogwarts, one and all."
H
"There will be no nonsense this year, Albus. You are skating on very thin ice. I wish you would come to your senses and pick either the Wizengamot or the school. You cannot do both well, as has been evidenced by the last few years." Griselda relayed this in a sharp but not hostile tone.
"The Black has set upon me in the Wizengamot, Griselda, and Augusta has somehow turned the school. It is all related to the return of Voldemort. You shall all see in the end."
"Be that as it may--and I do not agree--the Black merely capitalizes on opportunities you provide him; and Augusta could not care less other than for Hogwarts to be the preeminent institution of magical learning in the world that it was in her first days there. Voldemort cannot be your concern when you are running the school, other than keeping him away from the children. These ploys of yours have allowed him into the school twice in two years. To what end, Albus?
"You were a good boy once, Albus, a boy with friends. Seek the counsel of those friends again and heed what they tell you. I can't believe someone hasn't pointed out the madness of that plan with the Stone, and a group of children found the Chamber.
"As Chief of the WEA and Chief of the Board of Governors I am cautioning you, Albus. As your friend I'm telling you that I'm concerned for you." Griselda looked at Albus with obvious concern.
Dumbledore sighed, nodded, and left at the obvious dismissal. He would have to be devilishly careful here. He needed control of Severus and Longbottom, but he would have to tread very, very carefully. Griselda was right. The Board and Sirius were laying for him. How had the Board gone so Dark so swiftly? Sirius--well, he was a Black. They always ended up Dark. Too bad about the Potter lad, but he might be saved yet. He would no doubt hang around Longbottom again.
This new curriculum, what a boon that was. The Professors would be frightfully BUSY teaching that monster and the students would have six full periods a day minimum, Monday through Friday. No more free time for the kiddies now; they would be exhausted, too. Yes, definite possibilities.