Harry Potter and the Bees
Rating: M for language and general nastiness
Disclaimer: I have not claim to characters or scenes from the Harry Potter series, which belongs to JK Rowling and associates. I get nothing from this except the enjoyment of imagining and writing the story. If I did own any of the Potterverse, I could stop having to work for a living.
Time frame – Post–DH except for the epilogue which I am ignoring, for reasons that should become obvious.
Author's Notes:
Sometimes it's the things you ignore which turn out to be the most important. And sometimes, those things are hidden in plain sight.
The film director Alfred Hitchcock often used this as a distraction, saying what you imagined was more frightening than what you saw.
It is said that the only person more dangerous than someone with everything to lose is someone who has nothing to lose.
It is a principle of toxicology that the dose makes the poison. Just because something may be a poison in large doses does not make it dangerous of itself. Consider salt, alcohol or oxygen.
Although there is no canonical reason for it, Hermione's parents are often labelled as Dan and Emma. I have developed my own back-story for them, and have named them accordingly. I have used the same names in some other stories as well. I have long been fascinated by how people end up where they finally get to, and the back-stories explore this.
The opinions and actions of some characters are not necessarily the opinions of the author. Sometimes, I like to explore alternate viewpoints.
Note to breeders – plot bunnies are very prolific.
Note to Readers – this story is not going to unfold in strictly chronological order. Life never happens that way, and there are some times when things happen and then the consequences occur sometime later, and other things have happened in between. So it goes.
Re-evaluations: Harry and Ginny
Harry Potter knew that something had changed significantly when, in the midst of a professional Quidditch match on a cold rainy Scottish late-December day where he, as the seeker for the Edinburgh Tartans playing against the Belfast Orange-and-Greens, thought to himself "This is a bloody stupid game!" It had just struck him that he loved the flying, but chasing a little gold sphere for the entertainment of a bunch of drunk sports fans was an incredible waste of time for a man who had spent his life being threatened with death around every corner, and had finally defeated and killed the most powerful and feared wizard in the world. He had died in the process, and come back to life afterwards, so the score in a weekly game was becoming totally irrelevant. He needed to do something more significant with his life.
All Harry had wanted was to live a normal life. He had absolutely no idea how to go about it, as he had never had what most people would regard as a normal life. To Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Live, The-Man-Who-Conquered, etc, etc, a normal life was being bullied by his relatives, then being bullied by his schoolmates, then almost getting killed, then being bullied (repeated ad infinitem, ad nauseum, et cetera).
He had managed to survive his childhood, making a couple of good friends, and a couple of very good friends. He was admired, and worshipped by the female magical community (perhaps "lusted after" being more accurate), had inherited wealth beyond his imagining, and was constantly aware that people around him were in a never-ending quest to use him and his fame and his wealth for their own ends. And he hated it, all of it, except for the part of having some good friends.
After the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry was at loose ends. In the back of his mind, and his heart of hearts, he had truly not expected to survive. Therefore, he had made no plans that had required any real commitment on his part.
He had received letters from Gringott's bank requesting meetings regarding his inheritances, both from his own family as well as from Sirius Black (his godfather). On his adulthood, he received his inherited wealth from both family line (as sole heir of both Sirius and his natural family) ending up with (as Ginny Weasley summarized it) "More money than God". This included an incredible amount of wealth, in cash, business investments, property (both land and buildings, and associated house elves), and incidentally he became the titular head of two "Noble and Ancient Houses", and as such held authority over a number of fiefdoms around the world, as well as ex officio positions on several official organizations such as the Wizengamot and the Ministry of International Wizarding Sports (the authority over quidditch and other magical activities). He was also expected, by Wizarding Law, to have a separate wife as the 'Lady of the House' for each of the two Noble Houses, and was allowed several concubines associated with each House.
Harry had taken the honorarium which came with his Order of Merlin (1st class) and had set up a trust fund for those who had lost so much during the war with Voldemort. Ron was stunned by this largesse until Harry pointed out that, given the size of his inheritances it made absolutely no difference to him personally, and he felt uncomfortable, even unclean, when he had inherited so much while others had lost so much. Harry added substantial money from his own inheritances, and directed that some of the funds be used to repair houses that had been damaged, as well as providing scholarships to both Hogwarts and top muggle schools (at the recipients' choice) for those who would otherwise not be able to afford it. When news of these actions hit the news, Harry received even more attention, and he hated that too, even if it was for 'good deeds'.
Harry's friends Hermione and Ron had each received the 1st class, and Ron's mother Molly had also received a 1st class for taking on, and taking out, the Death Eater Bellatrix LeStrange. Ginny, George and Fred Weasley had each received a 2nd class Order (Fred posthumously, and as he had no legal dependants, the honorarium due to him was given to his surviving family). The honoraria had changed things at the Weasley household substantially. The 1st class came with a donative of a hundred thousand galleons, while the 2nd class came with 50 thousand. Neither Ron nor Ginny would really have to work for a living, ever, but the lessons of being brought up in a poor family kept their heads on straight (neglecting the shopping trip where Ginny and Hermione indulged their whims for fancy clothing, and in Ginny's case, some rather fancy underwear which she had never been able to afford before).
Hermione knew she could afford to attend the best universities in the world, as money was no object (this, in addition to the fact her parents had been putting away money for her schooling for most of her life). However, she found that Hogwarts had not covered many topics considered standard for most schools, and that she would have to take some remedial lessons to cover the standard curriculum in order to be admitted to any non-magical university. Her enthusiasm for this task horrified Ron (more books, more school, arggh!).
Harry spent a good deal of the summer, following the battle, travelling to his various properties. He took Hermione, Ron and Ginny Weasley along on these trips. Ron and Hermione were at loose ends as well, and Ginny was invited both as a friend and possible future companion. As part of the property titles, Harry had the apparition coordinates, so that the three older folks could apparate to each, and one could do a side-along with Ginny (as she had not yet got her apparition license). Often one would go ahead to a property which had been unoccupied for some time, and activate its floo system, and then the others could arrive at will.
The travelling also gave Harry and Ginny time to see whether they could make up for lost time. Her parents were a bit reticent on the travelling arrangements, but as they had been dreaming of this match for a long time, and if nothing else, Ron and Hermione could be counted on as chaperones (to a degree) and Harry was the most honourable 'kid' they knew.
Harry found that Sirius's old home at Grimmauld Place was just too depressing to live in on a permanent basis, as the entire building reminded him of all that he had lost.
He discovered that he liked the location of his parent's house in Godric's Hollow, which had been destroyed when Voldemort murdered his father and mother when he was an infant. With unlimited funds at his disposal, he had arranged to have the house rebuilt as a manor house, with a swimming pool and hot tub, and a quidditch pitch – when the elves completed it four days later, (all the while apologising profusely for the delays needed to remove the burned-out portions of the old house), he moved in. The 'Boy-who-lived' was finally getting an opportunity to really live.
The estate that the house sat on had a working farm, and Harry found that it too was part of his inheritances. The steward and farm manager of the property had been there since the elder Potters had died, although the steward, Mr Witbread, had been training his son to take over as soon as 'The Squire' returned so that he could submit his resignation (being 75 years old and having honourably served for 40 years himself).
After a day around the grounds, spending some time flying, playing pickup quidditch with Ron and Ginny, finding out about the operations of the farm (having mostly magical creatures, but none he was familiar with), Harry liked to relax with a swim in the pool, and the others would join him there. All had swum in the pond at the Burrows, and Hermione had taken winter beach vacations with her parents, but this was the first indoor pool for any of them (Harry had to get over an initial fear of being attacked by merfolk, as had happened during the Tournament).
Hermione had introduced Ginny and Ron (and Mrs Weasley, to her initial shock) to muggle swimwear. The swimwear common in the magical world has gone out of date in the 'mundane' world by the late 1800's, and Molly could not bring herself to don a bikini (looking as she did, very fetching in a sleek white one-piece suit that made Arthur visibly drool and blush). Ginny, on the other hand, had alternated between a tight forest green one-piece, which set off her hair colour wonderfully, and a floral bikini which seemed to transfigure in coverage depending on how much she wanted Ron to gasp and Harry to blush.
There were days when, particularly if late in the evening after dinner and a couple of drinks, Harry would neglect to wear his swimming suit. One evening, Hermione and Ron left to go outside and look at the stars together (or so they said), Ginny suggested that their suits were unnecessary, and after removing hers, cuddled up to Harry. They found that being skin-to-skin felt very pleasant. Soon Ginny was sharing Harry's king-sized bed. Neither had 'lost' their virginity, as they both knew exactly where it had gone, and it had been given willingly as a gift, one to the other. A few days later, Harry presented her with a platinum ring with large ruby.
Come September, Ginny returned to Hogwarts for her final year. She had not been named Prefect or Head Girl, as Headmistress McGonagall (being a quidditch fanatic herself) explained that she feared that these administrative posts would interfere with Ginny's duties as the newly appointed Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, and also student assistant Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. Molly was thrilled with both of her daughter's appointments.
Harry stayed at the farm to help with the harvest (apples from the orchard, and barley from the fields) as well as learning about the magical breeds of livestock. He soon realized that Hagrid had had a fixation with very large dangerous creatures (other than Fang and baby dragons), and had largely neglected the smaller more domestic ones. The farm manager, Charles Brown ("call me Charlie", after Harry insisted of being called just 'Harry'), introduced him to the herd of cows (Swiss Browns) which produced chocolate milk, and the multi-legged and multi-winged chickens (the two breeds being in high demand for drumsticks and 'Buffalo' flavoured wings). When Harry first saw the eight-legged chickens, he asked how they tasted, and Charlie responded with the standard farmer-to-city-slicker joke, "Don't know, haven't managed to catch one yet."
As they laughed, Harry asked Charlie when he attended Hogwarts. Charlie scoffed and said "My kind would never get to go to that poncey school. I went to Agricola!"
Harry frowned. "Agricola? I've never heard of it."
Charlie nodded, and said "Harry, you come from one of the OLD families, so you wouldn't have heard of it. It's all a matter of class system. The old families or the rich, the so-called 'High-borns', all get sent to Hogwarts, while us working-class types who can't afford the hundred galleon tuition are 'offered' Agricola. Even some who showed enough promise to go to Hogwarts, but were too poor were also given the option of Agricola, where we could do work-study programs. I, meself, worked my way through, helping with the animals."
"And where is a lad like me going to get 50 galleons for a bloody quidditch broom. To us low-born magical, quidditch is as far from reality as polo is to poor muggles!"
"Tell me, Harry, how many of the plants you studied in Herbology actually produced food, instead of being for potions? None, right? 'Potions' is an upper class thing for healers and teachers. And how many of Hagrid's big creatures were of any use as food? Also none." Actually feeding the people is peasant work, not fit for the likes of the snotty offspring of the high-borns, even if we are as pure-blood as the any. Most graduates from Hogwarts would starve to death in a grocery store, because they wouldn't even recognise food if my kind or their house elves didn't put it in front of them ready to eat!
"Were any of your classmates from working-class or farming families? No. A lot of them were from the inbred upper crusts. Most of your friends were children of the professionals or civil servants. Your friend Hermione is the daughter of dentists, and your girlfriend's dad works at the Ministry. All, what they call 'white-collar' folks, none were 'blue-collar'."
"I have heard about that stupid hat that decides, as you walk into the castle as a child, where you are going to fit for the rest of your life. Well, the book of magical births does the same thing, only even younger. If you're from a family that gets its hands dirty, the book tells the Agricola people to send a letter, and if you're from the so-called 'quality', you get one from Hogwarts. The powers that be in the magical world make sure that, at least in the UK, the working classes are not going to get 'above themselves', by getting a top education."
"The Agricola school was set up by this Roman general who was one of the main guys in conquering Britain in the first century after Christ (his name actually means 'farmer', by the way). As a general, he knew that feeding his troops well was a key to good morale, so he set up a local school to teach the locals how to grow more and better food than they had been doing, and so in the Romanized areas, even the locals ate better. This helped the Romans pacify their holdings – word got out that if you accepted the Romans, you got better food, and tended to have a somewhat more comfortable life. A lot of the Roman officers were wizards, which was how they were so bloody successful."
"Over the years, the school became the place for wizards and witches who didn't mind getting their hands dirty with stuff besides the blood of their enemies. About a thousand years later, about the time the Normans took over, some of the upper class wizards decided they wanted something a bit more 'flash', and they set up Hogwarts for the fancy people."
"Now other countries don't have nearly the same class structure we have here in England. A lot of places, the magicals and the muggles mix pretty freely. For example, I hear you have an Irish friend who is a 'halfer', mother a pure-blood witch, dad a muggle. Here, the only pure-bloods who have any interaction with muggles are the lower castes like your friends the Weasleys. Usually, here, a halfer like your friend would be the product of a muggleborn magical, or a halfer themselves, or a low-caste purey."
"Harry, have you noticed how many of the high-caste kids at your school are the dumber ones?"
"Now, working on a farm, you see the effects of breeding in the livestock. You cross-breed animals for vitality and other traits, such as the milk production of cattle. Too much in-breeding weakens the stock. In my opinion, humble as it may be, that's what's happening to our so-called high-born folk, just as it happens to the muggle aristocracy. The only really bright ones are those who let a little muggle blood into the line every now and then!"
Harry thanked Charlie for this informative view on his world, which he had known nothing about, and said he would definitely have something to think on. After this chat, Harry continued exploring the estate.
He found himself becoming fascinated by the bees and butterflies which frequented the gardens. Growing up doing gardening at the Dursley house, he was familiar with the tiny insects, but had usually been too busy to really pay attention to them. As he loved flying himself, he found the little creatures interesting, and when Charlie told him about the life cycle of the insects, he found a sense of wonder for them. Although non-magical in the sense that Harry knew, the fact that an ugly worm-like thing could change into a beautiful flying creature was as magical as anything he had ever encountered, and certainly as marvellous as the large creatures that Hagrid had introduced him to.
At first, Harry attended Ginny's practices, and sometimes made suggestions, but he soon found that she had the team well in hand. He had been drafted by the Edinburgh Tartans professional team, and between the farm and the team, he just didn't have the time to attend her practices, and she really didn't need his help. He did attend the games when he could, given his own playing schedule. These occasions became fewer and fewer.
Ginny soon found that, in Harry's absence, she was no longer being seen as Harry's girlfriend, but as Ginny Weasley, star quidditch player, school beauty, and popular girl. She started to notice that she had a lot of friends for her own sake. She found that she loved the attention, and with her prankish nature, used the opportunity for flirt harmlessly, always in a joking manner. She also noticed that word had gotten around about her 'fortune', but as a girl coming from a poor family, she was on her guard against the predators and moochers. Ginny was becoming a self-confident, beautiful young woman who could look after herself, and did.
Coming up to a game in January, some of the team told Ginny that there were some professional quidditch players visiting the school, and wanting to attend the game. She though little of it, as there were always scouts showing up in the latter half of the year to eye out the prospects. Then she was called into McGonagall's office to be introduced to eight people, including two women from the Holyhead Harpies organization, one from the Chudley Cannons (the team that had drafted Ron) and a couple other teams from the English league. Scuttlebutt was that Hogwarts students were often taken into the English league before being tested for the international teams.
Ginny was asked which players she thought the scouts should keep their eyes on, as she was more familiar with the teams. She thought for a moment, and then suggested Michael Bulstrode of Slytherin (a beater with a very nasty aim – she had had a lot of trouble dodging bludgers that he had directed her way), Amy Forthness (an agile chaser from Hufflepuff), and a number of others. The scouts thanked her for her advice, and said they would certainly keep and eye out for these students.
As the scouts left, Minerva McGonagall asked why Ginny had not mentioned herself. Ginny said, "I've played with Ron on the Gryffindor team during the year a couple years ago, before the troubles, and I played pickup games with Harry, Ron George, Bill and Viktor Krum at home during the summers. I'm just not in their league." The professor shook her head, "Don't sell yourself short, girl. You're easily as good on your broom as your brothers, any of them – I've seen them all. You may not be the strategist that Ron is, but you're quick, agile and smart. And your eyesight is better than Harry's."
"Now, Krum. Well, that boy is remarkable. I don't know of any other player who made a national team while still in school. But then, Bulgaria is a small country that has had a lot of religious wars – our kind don't do so well in wars where both side think burning witches alive is the way to get to heaven."
"And Ginny, I have to say this, although it is a bit degrading to be judged on your appearance rather than your skills, but welcome to being a girl. You are a very attractive young woman, and the professional teams are always on the lookout for 'eye candy'. If you remember Millicent Bulstrode in Ron's year – she was easily as good as her younger brother, but she would never get picked for a pro team, poor thing. Don't be surprised if they ask you to 'go pro', and don't be astonished if part of the job is posing for pictures, and not in your quidditch gear. And I have to tell you that muggle swimwear and undergarments are a good deal more revealing than is typical in the wizarding world, although I suspect that with your friendship with Hermione Granger, you might already be aware of this."
"When I played for the Glasgow Kippers in the late 50's, the girls on the team all posed for a calendar – I still have one or two copies lying around. It was pretty innocent by today's standards, but very risqué at the time. Ah, I was a braw lass in those days." Ginny snickered and said, "It sound more like you were bra-less in those days." Ginny had never seen the professor burst into laughter before, and she saw the cheerful young girl still lurking inside the dour Scot.
The following day, after the game, Ginny was approached by the two Harpies who offered her a position as a reserve chaser and seeker on the all-female team; if she accepted, she would be expected at training camp in July after graduation. She was also offered similar positions on two other teams. She decided to join the Harpies, as they had been her favourite team since childhood.
Ginny had always been a bit of a slob when it came to housekeeping, so Harry 'loaned' her one of his female elves (Florrie) to help her out, knowing that as a professional player, she would not have as much free time for domestic chores.
That fall, Harry and Hermione went to Australia to retrieve her parents. Harry had asked for a couple months off from the team, for personal reasons, and the Tartans reluctantly granted it. Before he left, he and Ginny spent the weekend together, talking over plans. Both noticed later that their plans seemed to assume that the other would be by their side, but none of the plans really required the other to be there. Almost unnoticed, she and Harry were drifting apart.
The Harpies soon found their new recruit's skills as a chaser were good enough for second-string, but her skills as a seeker soon moved her up to the first line. Whether it was from watching and playing with Harry and Viktor Krum, or her innate abilities and smaller figure giving her a shorter turning radius, or her training in the DA and combat experience, she was found to be an exceptional addition to the team. At first, the sports press speculated that Harry had 'bought' his girlfriend her place on the team, but it quickly became apparent that she was a force to be reckoned with on her own. Ginny loved the attention the press gave her, and when the infamous calendar was published (with her broom held very careful and her chaser's gloves discretely positioned) she was thrilled with the reactions of the sporting public, and the fact that Ron was dragging his jaw on the ground for a week.
When PlayWizard magazine asked her to pose for them, minus the broom and gloves, Ron of course was horrified at what his baby sister was going to do. Harry looked unhappy, but said "If that's what you want to do, go ahead. You're a big girl." Ginny laughed and cupped her hands under her breasts, saying, "And don't you forget it!" She then smirked and prankishly said "You just don't want other guys seeing what had been your private view." Harry said softly and sadly, "That's not it at all, Gin, I just think they are using you. I have been 'used' all my life, and I hate it. I just don't want it to happen to you too." Ginny didn't see the sadness behind his eyes.
Harry was not thrilled with the press following them around everywhere, but was quite happy when the papers quit calling Ginny Harry's girlfriend and started referring to him as Ginny's boyfriend. Fortunately, unlike for other celebrities, the press was unable to come up with a hybrid name for the pair (Giaary, and Hinny just didn't work). The more attention she got, the less they had time to bother him.
As a seeker, Ginny needed to wear thinner gloves than as a chaser, as a snitch was harder to hold than a quaffle. It was only later that she thought about the irony, that putting on the seeker's gloves really moved her away from being under Harry's influence. It was also only later that she noticed the symbolism of having to remove Harry's ring when she put on her gloves.
The final break came when, in a game against the Tartans, Ginny outflew Harry and caught the snitch. A week before the game, Ginny had stayed over at Harry's manor, and he told her about his wanting to do something more significant with his life than play games in front of drunken fans. She was just starting to do something that she had dreamed of for most of her life. As they made love, both had a strange feeling that this would be their last time.
After the game, some of the sports reporters accused Harry of throwing the game in favour of his girlfriend. He became furious, saying "I finish what I start. She was better than me today, that's all."
One reporter asked if he and Ginny were having a falling out. When Harry glared at her, the reporter said "The public have a right to know!" Harry spun to stare at the reporter and yelled "In our world, the public have no rights! The powerful people give us games like this to keep us complacent, while they play their corrupt political power games." He knew this comment would never make it into the papers, as it was something sports reporters and fans were not interested in hearing.
The reporters then asked whether Harry thought his skills were deteriorating, due to his absence for a couple of months. Harry pulled off his team jersey, threw it at them, said "I guess they are!", and walked away from quidditch. Ginny was stunned by this action.
With reporter clamouring to talk to him about the departure from the game, Harry didn't attend any of Ginny's games for months, and then only in disguise. By the time he came out in the open again, they both had moved on.
In April, while the apple blossoms were being visited by the myriad bees and promising an abundant harvest, Florrie the elf arrived back at the Manor, saying that Molly Weasley had recovered enough that she had sent Ginny one of the Weasley elves (acquired as part of the war reparations and as part of the reward for Molly's Order of Merlin), and Ginny wouldn't be needing Florrie any more. On May Day, while the larks and blackbirds were busily feeding their newly hatched chicks, an owl arrived at the manor carrying a small box. It contained the ring he had given to Ginny.