Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins
Written by J.C. Vascardi
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Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I'm not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone's copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver
Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex
Author's Note: I do apologize for the previous chapter. The classroom scenes got more than a little out of control and as such I went back and edited the chapter to remove the sections pertaining to the higher arcana and mage specializations. They'll be back at some point in the future, probably rewritten and split between two separate chapters to keep things from getting too crazy again. I apologize if this means you end up reading the material twice. I did consider cutting the entire afternoon class, but after some thought I decided to just shorten it instead. There is a point in a future chapter where events will occur that may require some potentially lengthy explanation, but I will try to keep it from reaching the same level of insanity that the original version of chapter 3 reached.
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Chapter Four
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Twenty minutes later, the test was finished. Walking over to Gavin, Rose said, "Mr. Wood, I have the test results."
"So, what are they?" Gavin asked. "Am I a hedgewizard or a walking bomb?"
"Well, Mr. Wood," Rose answered, "your core is blocked. So, at the moment, you are as you put it a walking bomb, however, we will begin unbinding your core shortly. There is, however, one issue that came up during your test. Quite frankly, I'm shocked your family healer hasn't picked up on this before now."
"What's that?" Gavin asked, genuinely curious.
"Terence said that you and Oliver are half-brothers?" Rose asked.
Oliver nodded at this. "That's right. We have the same father, but not the same mother. Bryce, Cameron's and my mother died twelve days after I was born. Faced with having to care for two five year olds and a newborn, our father remarried pretty quickly and then Gavin was born roughly a year and six months after me. Of course, Gavin's mother then died in childbirth and our father thought maybe the gods were punishing him for marrying again so quickly, so he waited several years before he remarried again and instead just hired a nanny to care for us while he was at work."
"Well, as I said, I don't know how your family healer missed this," Rose said, "because when I compared your test results side by side, it became blatantly obvious. Oliver, Gavin, you two are not half-brothers, you're identical twins."
"What?" Gavin asked. "How is that even possible? I mean, I know we look freakishly similar but, we can't be identical twins. We have different mothers for Merlin's sake."
"Actually, according to the test results you don't," Rose said. "That's why it took me twenty minutes to analyze the results. Usually that only takes five minutes at most, but I rechecked the results three times and they came back the same each time. You two are twins. Everything about the two of you is completely identical with the exception of three things."
"And what are those three things?" Terence asked, from where he was standing next to Oliver.
"Their age for one," Rose said. "Oliver is 18 to be 19 in July of next year, while Gavin is 16 to be 17 in January of next year. Another difference is that Oliver's core is not blocked, where Gavin's is. But, the most substantial difference is the power of your cores." At the questioning looks from everyone in the room, Rose elaborated. "Oliver, you're level fifteen on the power scale, that's an Archsorcerer. I determined that you were a Sorcerer before your inheritance, Oliver, so you gained three levels when you turned seventeen. Gavin, on the other hand, who has not yet undergone his inheritance, is already a level seventeen, making him a Mage. That places him among a very, very small group of people whose base power places them in the mage range."
"Wh... what?" Gavin stuttered out. "A Mage? How?"
"I think I can answer that," Emma said, speaking for the first time. "I'm a blood mage, so I've studied the subject extensively. In my research, I came across a very old and very obscure blood ritual that was a predecessor to the power increase ritual that's used now. This one never gained much acceptance, however, as it involved tying the mother's core to the unborn child's. Essentially, it called for the mother to sacrifice herself so that the child would be more powerful. At the moment of birth, the mother's core was ripped out of her body and merged with the baby's core, killing the mother in the process. Thus, the baby would essentially be getting an inheritance increase at the moment of birth."
"What does this have to do with us supposedly being twins?" Oliver asked.
"More than you might think," Emma answered. "In the information that I managed to dig up on it, there was one instance where a woman underwent a magically assisted pregnancy as she was incapable of having children normally. With the help of some extensive magic, she did manage to get pregnant, but since she couldn't produce viable eggs and her husband was dead, they magically obtained a sample from her stepson which was used to create the baby that she carried. She died in childbirth, obviously, but the important part is that when the mage who helped her with the ritual scanned the baby to see if it had worked, he realized the baby was identical to the stepson in every way, save for three key differences."
Looking over at Oliver and Gavin, she added, "Those three differences are the same ones that Rose has identified as existing between the two of you. Different ages, the stepson's core wasn't blocked while the baby's was, and their power levels were different. In that case, the mother was a Master Witch, so a level eight on the scale. Prior to the stepson's inheritance, the baby was exactly eight levels more powerful than him."
"So, you think this older ritual was used for Oliver and Gavin?" Cedric asked.
Emma nodded. "Yes, I do. The details of the test results fit with the details of the earlier instance. Now, I don't know if Gavin's mother's pregnancy was magically assisted or if she was capable of having children, but I do know that in the original case, it was determined that the reason the baby's core was blocked was because of the magical assistance during the pregnancy. The extensive spell work necessary to allow the mother to carry a child had a reaction with the baby's developing core and bound it. Much like Gavin, the baby was born a hedgewizard. The difference is that in that case the core block dissipated all on its own within a month, instead of remaining intact for nearly seventeen years."
"If a sample from Oliver was used to make Gavin wouldn't that mean that Oliver is Gavin's father?" Harry asked.
Shaking her head, Eudora said, "No, it wouldn't. For Oliver to be considered Gavin's father, a sample would have to be taken from Oliver and combined with a sample from someone else, thus making Gavin a combination of two people. Since, Rose has identified them as being identical twins, that means that if Emma is right, the sample obtained from Oliver was not combined with a sample from anybody else. Which would mean that Gavin is essentially Oliver's clone, not his son."
"Why choose me though?" Oliver asked. "Why not use a sample from my father or Bryce or Cameron? I was less than a year old when Gavin was conceived."
"I can't answer that question with certainty without testing them," Emma answered, "although I would hypothesize that of the four of you, Oliver, you're the strongest magically. Even being less than a year old, your base power level would have been determinable and was probably the highest. That being the case you were chosen as the donor in order to make sure Gavin would be as strong as possible when he was born and the magic from his mother's core was added to his."
"Another possible reason," Eudora interjected, "is because Bryce and Cameron were five years old at the time. As such, they could talk. It was possible that Gavin's mother was afraid they'd tell your father if she tried to get a sample from one of them and then she'd have to explain why she was harvesting genetic material from a five-year-old. Much easier to get it from a baby that was less than a year old who can't talk and possibly ruin her plans."
"But why would a woman sacrifice her own life to give life to a child that isn't even hers?" Roger asked. "I mean if Gavin's mother carried Oliver's clone, then she'd have no connection to the baby at all, other than carrying it. Not to downplay that role, but, I don't see why she'd be willing to die for a kid that's not her's. Had she raised and loved the child, I could maybe see it, but she would have died the second he was born. Unless you're suicidal I would think you'd never want to give birth at that rate."
"I doubt that is an answer we will ever know," Eudora commented. "Unless she kept a diary and actually laid out her reasons for doing as she did or we manage to find the blood mage that assisted her with the ritual, there's really no way for us to know."
After a few minutes during which nobody said anything, as they all tried to digest the information they'd just learned, Rose said, "Well, Mr. Wood, if you're ready, I will begin to remove the blockage on your core. Judging by the strength of the blockage, I would suggest that everyone but myself, Gavin, and the other trainers leave the room."
Shaking his head, Oliver walked over to Gavin and wrapped an arm around him. "I'm staying."
Rose looked about ready to object, when Athena raised a hand and said, "If you wish to stay, Mr. Wood, you may. Rose, I know you know how to unblock a core from your training as a healer, but you've never actually done it have you?"
"No, I haven't," Rose admitted. "St. Mungo's put me in the Janus Thickey ward when I worked there, so, I never had much to do other than regularly checking the vitals of the long-term patients."
Recognizing the name of the ward, Cedric asked, "Isn't that the ward where the Lord and Lady Longbottom are? I heard my father talking about it with Noah once, before he was disowned."
"Yes, Mr. Diggory, that's the ward they're in," Rose replied. "I never treated them, however, as I'd left St. Mungo's and gone to work at Hogwarts before they were driven mad by the Death Eaters."
"Lord and Lady Longbottom?" Harry asked. "Are they any relation to Neville?"
"Yes, they're his parents," Athena responded.
"His parents?" Harry asked, confused. "Neville lives with his grandmother, so I always assumed his parents were dead."
"Assumptions can be a dangerous thing, Mr. Potter," Athena said. "The truth is, Lord and Lady Longbottom are still alive, however, their minds are basically gone. During the first war, they were extensively tortured under the Cruciatus Curse until their minds broke beyond repair. However, because Frank Longbottom is still breathing, he's still Lord Longbottom, along with all the titles that go with the position, such as The Duke of Aldersey. As his only son and heir, Neville goes by Marquis of Claverton, and his grandmother, in her capacity as the Dowager Duchess of Aldersey, acts as a conservator, so to speak. She takes care of all of the Longbottom family business and votes in the Wizengamot and the Hogwarts Board in her son's place."
"There are no provisions in the letters patent that govern the passage of the title in the event of mental incapacity," Cedric said. "Basically, the only way that the title can pass to the heir, is for the current holder to die. So, as long as Lord Longbottom still lives, even though he can barely move or talk, he retains the title."
"Anyway, I've assisted in a core unblocking before," Athena said. "The healer who performed it had done it several times before and was of the mind that having a family member holding the patient during the process was beneficial. Not only to give the patient moral support, but also to help protect the people doing the unbinding, as there is usually some loss of motor control. Not as dramatic as during the inheritance if you're gaining a large amount of power, but some involuntary movement, such as the patient accidentally striking the healer."
Turning to Oliver, Athena said, "So, Mr. Wood, what I'd like you to do is hop up onto the exam table and sit behind your brother, so that his back is flush against your chest."
Oliver nodded. Rose was about to offer him a stool to assist him in straddling the exam table, but Oliver's years of Quidditch conditioning made it unnecessary, as he effortlessly swung his leg up over the table and moved into position behind Gavin.
"Now, wrap your arms around him as if you were hugging him," Athena said. "You don't need to hold on too tightly for now, but if you begin to feel any resistance from his arms, tighten your grip to ensure his arms stay at his sides."
"Okay," Oliver said, as he did just that. Some men had a problem with hugging or holding other men, but Oliver had no such problems. One reason, of course, was that he was gay and thus preferred hugging and holding other men, well, one in particular. Other than that, however, the Wood family was very tight-knit to begin with, so, they had no qualms about showing one another affection. Plus, as they were closer in age, Oliver and Gavin had always been closer to each other than they were to Bryce and Cameron. They still had a good relationship with them, but they were much closer to each other, just as Bryce and Cameron were closer to each other.
Wrapping his arms around Gavin, Oliver moved so that his head was resting on his brother's shoulder and he whispered, "It's gonna be okay, Gav. I'm here for you and hey, after this, you'll be able to do all the spells you've always wanted to do."
Gavin nodded, a happy smile on his face. Even though Athena had said they would have Obliviated him if it had turned out that his core wasn't blocked, Gavin had tried not to get his hopes up too much about the possibility that his core was blocked. Yes, the idea that it could have killed him on his next birthday had certainly scared him. He may have attempted suicide on three occasions, but he'd faced his demons and now dying was the absolute last thing he wanted to do. However, a blocked core would mean that once it was unblocked, he'd be able to learn and use all of those spells that he'd always wanted to use, but never could.
"Alright, as for the rest of you, out," Eudora said, as she made a shooing motion with her hands. "We'll let you know when we're done down here."
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Heading upstairs, the boys bypassed the formal parlor and headed upstairs to their more comfortable common room on the second floor. Once they had all taken seats in front of the fireplace, Roger asked, "So, I know Oliver will be sharing with Terence. Where do you think Gavin will be sleeping?"
"My room is plenty big enough," Harry commented. "Maybe they'll put him in with me."
"No, I rather doubt that," Cedric said. "They said the reason you and Liam were given your own rooms to begin with is because you're legally adults, while Roger and I are still underage."
"Not for that much longer though," Roger commented. "You'll be turning seventeen next month, Ric."
"True," Cedric said. "I don't think I'll be getting my own room though. Unless the trainers double up there's only three rooms up here."
Before anyone could comment further, there was a soft pop as Barin entered the room. He ignored the four boys, however, as he walked over to the fireplace and concentrated on the empty wall on the opposite side of the fireplace from where the door to Harry's room was. The boys all watched curiously for a moment and gasped slightly when a door appeared out of nowhere.
"Adding another door to my room?" Harry asked, when Barin was finished.
Shaking his head, Barin pointed and said, "No. Left door lead to Lord Potter's room. Right door lead to extra dormitory."
"Extra dormitory?" Terence asked, as he cocked his head in confusion. "Where, Barin?"
"Above barn," Barin answered. "Years past there be more studying to be mages. More space needed. Second floor of barn made into dormitory. New door is portal. Connects house to second floor of barn."
At this point, Barin snapped his fingers and to their amazement, right before their eyes, the common room seemed to get a bit larger, as a third partner's desk appeared, along with seating for two more people in front of the fireplace. Bowing slightly, Barin then disappeared with a pop.
"A portal?" Roger asked after a moment. "I didn't even think such a thing was possible."
"It usually isn't, Mr. Davies," Emma said, as she entered the room. Looking at Terence, she said, "Athena, Rose, and Eudora are still working on unblocking young Mr. Wood's core, however, everything is going according to plan. The blockage is very strong. They can't remove the blockage all at once, as the change in power level would likely be too much for him, but they've taken the first steps. Within about two weeks time, he should be completely unblocked. In the meantime, we'll begin giving him some remedial lessons to allow him to catch up on his education."
"I know Gavin studied the theory behind the more advanced work," Terence said. "So, I'd imagine that, at least, should make it a little easier for him."
Emma nodded. "Yes, that it will. Anyway, as to the portal - it is highly advanced mage-level magic. If you look closely around the door frame, you'll see several runes inscribed. Eudora is the one who created this passage about fifteen years ago when we had a larger than normal group of students and needed extra space. At that time, we had two students in each of the rooms here, plus two in each of the six rooms above the barn. We wanted the students housed in the barn to have easy access to the common room, however, in addition to making it so that they could enter the house in winter without having to go outside, so the portal was created."
At this, Emma walked over to the door and opened it, allowing the four boys to see that behind the door was a shimmering field of blue light. Turning back towards the room's occupants, she added, "One might also call this a causeway, as stepping through this door does not instantly transport you to the barn. You'll actually be walking through a magically created tunnel. Follow me and I'll show you what I mean."
As they were all curious, Harry, Cedric, Roger, and Terence all stood up and followed Emma through the shimmering field of light. Harry was slightly apprehensive, as he didn't particularly care for Floo travel and was worried this might be similar to that, but he needn't have worried. Upon stepping through the field, Harry and the others felt a light, refreshingly cool breeze, but nothing more. On the other side of the door they all couldn't help but be awed by the fact that it appeared as though they were standing amongst the clouds, which reached roughly two feet above the ground. The walls and ceiling of the tunnel were nearly translucent. You could see a shimmering field of magic, but unlike the one they'd passed through to get here, you could see through it to see the yard between the cottage and the barn.
"The floor is also translucent," Emma explained, "so that's the purpose of the cloud cover, in case anyone using the passage has a problem with heights. We're only about ten feet off the ground, but for some that would be more than enough to make them panic if they could see that fact."
Walking down the magical corridor to the shimmering field of magic at the opposite end, Emma raised a hand and said, "Recludo," before turning to her students and saying, "You'll want to remember that incantation. While the magic to create the portal itself is mage-level, Recludo isn't - it's the wizard-level Opening Charm. As there are doors on each side of the portal which are charmed to close after you step through it, you need to use it before leaving this passageway - unless of course the thought of walking into a closed door is appealing to you. I warn you, however, that your trainers and I will not be sympathetic about fixing your noses if you do so. If you hurt your nose by walking into a closed door, you have nobody to blame but yourself. True, in this case, you can't actually see the door as long as you're on this side of it, but that's beside the point."
Leading the group through the portal and into the barn, Emma said, "As I mentioned, there's an additional six bedrooms over here. Unlike the rooms in the main house, however, these don't have private bathrooms. Over here there's only three bathrooms shared between the six bedrooms. The younger Mr. Wood will be taking one of them and, Mr. Diggory or Mr. Davies, if one of you wishes it, you may move over here as well. We'd originally opted to place you together because we don't usually use these extra rooms unless at least two of them will be used."
"Athena said that Oliver and I could share a room," Terence said. "So, how about Oliver and I move into one of the rooms over here and then Cedric or Roger can have the room I'm currently using? It might make Gavin more comfortable, having two people he knows and trusts just on the other side of the wall. Cedric and Roger are nice, but Gavin doesn't really know them."
Emma was silent for a moment, a contemplative look on her face, before she nodded and said, "Yes, that sounds like a workable solution to me. I'll talk to Athena and the others. I don't foresee any problems with arranging the room assignments that way, however, so, Mr. Davies, Mr. Diggory, either way it looks like you'll both have your own rooms soon."
"Cool," Roger said. "I don't mind sharing with Cedric. I mean, I have four roommates at Hogwarts, so I'm used to sharing, but I do enjoy the summers when I have my own room back home."
"Same here," Cedric agreed.
"Well, then, let's get back over to the house," Emma said, as she led the group back through the causeway. "The others are probably done with as much of Gavin's unbinding as we can do today and dinner should be ready shortly."
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The next morning, Harry, Cedric, and the others, which now included Gavin and Oliver, came downstairs for breakfast to find Robert Higgs sitting at the table with Eudora.
"Hey Dad," Terence said with a smile.
"Good morning, Liam," Robert said, returning the smile. He knew all too well just how much his son hated being called Terry, so, even though he was relatively certain his son wouldn't hex his own father's bits off, he'd decided not to chance it. Turning to Harry, Robert said, "Lord Potter, I found the bank statements you wanted and have brought you the most recent to peruse at your leisure. I've also contacted Horace Slughorn and while he was initially reluctant to take up the Potions post, once I dropped your name, he rather quickly changed his mind, so if the Board approves, he's willing to take the job, so long as he can have Professor Merrythought's old office. I've got nothing to report on a replacement for Binns, however."
"Thank you, Robert," Harry said with a smile, as he took the sealed Gringotts' envelope. "I'll look at this after my morning class."
Robert nodded, as he took a sip of his coffee, before he said, "Oh and I almost forgot. Tilly reports that the harvesting of the basilisk is underway. She says it will take a few days, as there was apparently many more components there then she expected. She also added that there were several rooms behind the statue, including what was presumably the basilisk's lair, in addition to a suite of rooms which were presumably used by Slytherin, among them a large library full of very old books. She's assigned a pair of elves to catalog them for you."
"A basilisk?" Gavin asked, curious, since he and Oliver obviously hadn't been in class when Harry explained about the basilisk to the others.
"Yes, a basilisk," Terence said with a grin. "Harry here slew a basilisk in Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts when he was twelve."
"That wasn't just a wild rumor?" Oliver asked, clearly shocked.
"No, it wasn't a rumor," Harry answered. "However, most of the ways that I supposedly did it were nothing but wild and ridiculous rumors. For example, I did not strangle it to death with my bare hands while starring it directly in the eyes and somehow avoiding instant death. The bloody thing was over thirty feet long and at least five feet around. My hands wouldn't fit around something that big. Truth is I stabbed Godric Gryffindor's sword through the roof of its mouth and almost died in the process because I got one of its fangs in my forearm."
"Basilisk poison is deadly," Gavin said. "How'd you survive?"
"Professor Dumbledore's familiar," Cedric said. "Fawkes, a phoenix."
Harry nodded. "Their tears have healing powers. And before you ask, Fawkes is the one that brought me the sword, which is now on display in Dumbledore's office."
"A most impressive feat, Lord Potter," Robert said.
"Thanks," Harry said. "Anyway, Robert, I have something else for you to do."
"Yes, sir?" Robert asked. "I'm always pleased to be of service."
"I need you to contact His Majesty the King," Harry said.
"The King, sir?" Robert asked. "For what purpose?"
"I wish to setup a meeting with him at his earliest convenience," Harry answered. "I'm petitioning him for a pardon for my godfather, the Lord Sirius Black. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't kill Peter Pettigrew and it was Peter who killed those Muggles. He also didn't betray my parents, as Peter was their Secret Keeper, a fact which my parent's portrait will substantiate."
"Forgive me, but do you mean Peter Pettigrew is still alive?" Robert asked.
"Yes, Robert, he is," Harry confirmed. "As recently as my last school year. Sadly he escaped, but not before he admitted to everything, including betraying my parents to Voldemort. I'm told my memory of that event, along with the memories of my friends Ron, Hermione, our former Defense teacher Remus Lupin, and Sirius himself can be entered into evidence to prove his innocence."
Nodding, Robert said, "Yes, yes, that's true. Of course, Lord Potter, I will contact the palace and inform His Majesty of your request. I will let you know as soon as I hear something."
"Well, now, if you're done discussing business," Eudora said, "may I suggest that you all eat something? Terence, Cedric, Roger, Harry, you need to report to Classroom #1 in half-an-hour for your next lesson, with Rose. Oliver, you will report to Classroom #2 at the same time, where Emma and I will go over with you what the others have already learned to catch you up with them."
Oliver and the others nodded, as Gavin asked, "What about me, Eudora?"
"You will report to Athena's study," Eudora answered. "Just down the hallway there," she said, pointing towards the archway on the diagonal wall near the entrance to the library. "It's the first door on the right. She'll be testing you on various subjects to determine how much remedial training you will require and begin instructing you on some of the more advanced spells that you previously couldn't do."
"You going to be okay, Gav?" Oliver asked.
Gavin scowled at his brother and said, "Will, I'm going to be seventeen in a few months. I'm not a baby, so don't treat me like one. I'll be fine."
Once everyone was finished eating and Robert had left, Eudora stood and went over to the counter, grabbing a potion vial and saying, "Rose told me to give this to you after you ate, Harry. It's the first of the nutritional potions that she told you she'd brew."
"Great," Harry said as he accepted the vial. If it hadn't already been clear from his tone that he wasn't looking forward to drinking it, it would have been by the way he just stared at it silently for two minutes, before taking a deep breath, pulling out the cork, and downing it in one gulp. Or trying to, anyway. He quickly found himself closing his mouth as his cheeks swelled up from the liquid in his mouth, fighting the urge to spit it out. After a moment, he managed to swallow. "That was the most foul thing I've ever tasted in my life and that includes Skele-Gro."
Eudora nodded, her face sympathetic as she said, "Yes, Rose told me that it was foul tasting. But, most medicines are. Vitamin potions usually do taste terrible in my experience and Rose said this was a mixture of several different ones to help your body with the numerous deficiencies it has. So several mixed together is bound to taste terrible."
"And I have to take one of these every day for a month?" Harry asked, already feeling queasy at the thought.
"Unfortunately, yes," Eudora said. "However, I think you'll be glad you did in the end. Rose said you should expect an increase in appetite and that by the end of the month, you'll be nearly six feet tall and all of the damage done by the malnourishment you've suffered while at your relatives' home will have been reversed. Normally, these kinds of nutrition potions would take months to reverse the level of damage you've suffered, but there are advantages to having a mage-trained healer brew these types of potions for you, as they can be made more potent And no, before you ask, Harry, they can't be made any more potent than they already are so that you can take less of them. Rose made them as potent as she possibly can without the risk of addiction."
Harry nodded and from the look on his face, it was clear he was about to ask just that, but Eudora cut him to the quick. Oliver and Gavin had been filled in on the details of Harry's childhood after they'd both sworn oaths of silence to him the previous night, so, they weren't left wondering why Harry needed to take nutrition potions everyday for a month. They had both been quite shocked by what they'd heard, as nobody in the Wizarding world had ever thought for even a fraction of a second that the great Harry Potter, heir to one of the most powerful of the noble houses and defeater of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, would be living with abusive, magic-hating Muggles. It was thought that he'd grown up in the lap of luxury at Seacliff Castle and had simply chosen not to leave it until he started at Hogwarts.
Of course, some people did question why he looked so scrawny and just who the hell had dressed him, but for the most part, they continued to believe what they always had. In fact, the vast majority still thought Harry had lived in luxury all those years and honestly, Harry didn't really have an overwhelming desire to disabuse them of those notions. The last thing he wanted was pity, so, as far as he was concerned, the fewer people that knew the truth the better. He'd entrust it to friends and close associates that he'd be interacting with on a regular basis, such as his fellow trainee mages, and leave the rest of the masses to think whatever they wanted.
"Are the changes these potions make going to cause any issues with Harry's double?" Cedric asked.
Shaking her head, Eudora said, "No, as magical extensions, your doubles are linked to you and are self-updating. So any natural changes to your appearances will be reflected in your doubles, as if they're the ones who enacted the changes."
"Natural changes?" Roger asked.
"That means only your body's natural changes are reflected," Eudora said. "If, however, you were to disguise yourself with Glamour Charms or drink Polyjuice, your doubles would not reflect that."
"Can the doubles themselves enact any changes?" Gavin asked. "I mean, you said they had free will, so couldn't they decide to start lifting weights or something and bulk up?"
"A good question, Gavin," Eudora said. "You must remember that your doubles have your personalities and all of your memories, experiences, and knowledge up to the point of their creation. So, that all plays a part in what they decide to do. If, for example, you generally avoid physical activity, your double isn't likely to start lifting weights. It really all depends on whether or not that course of action is something you yourself might do. If it's not, then it's not likely they will choose that course of action either. And as I explained when Roger and Cedric were picking their NEWT classes, your doubles have limited access to your memories. Your choices take precedence over theirs, so if during the course of your training you find yourself making choices that you normally wouldn't have made, then your doubles will remember that and they will adjust accordingly."
Looking over at the clock, Eudora said, "Anyway, it's time all of you got going to where you need to be, so Oliver you can follow me, the rest of you know where you're supposed to be, so get moving."
-o-0-o-
Meanwhile, on a small, uncharted island in the Northern Atlantic that had been his home and sanctuary for the last fifteen years, a young man in his early thirties sat in his study. On his desk, was a letter that arrived the previous day from his mentor, urging him that it was time for him to return. After sleeping on it and then spending half the following day thinking about it some more, he finally made up his mind. His mentor was right - it was time. Pulling out a piece of blank parchment and dipping his quill into the inkpot on his desk, he scribbled out a quick note.
Athena,
I'll return for the Opening Ball. If I'm going to return from the dead, I may as well be splashy about it. I am nobility, after all. And as I'm sure you know, we nobles do so love our grand entrances. I, for one, can't wait to see the reactions.
-R.
-o-0-o-
Later that day at lunch, Athena walked into the kitchen to find her charges eating and discussing their days up to that point. She smiled, as she remembered all the students she'd trained over the years, both at Hogwarts and here at Forest Cottage. Clearing her throat to get their attention, she said, "Well, as I suspected, it's made the papers," as she held out a copy of the Daily Prophet to Harry.
Taking the paper, Harry took a deep breath before reading the article, which was accompanied by a large picture of him in his Hogwarts robes, talking with Ron and Hermione in the Gryffindor common room. Since he didn't remember posing for the picture, Harry had the sneaking suspicion that a certain camera-happy housemate had taken the picture. He'd gotten so used to Gryffindor's resident shutterbug snapping pictures, that he didn't even pay attention to it anymore.
THE BOY WHO LIVED INVOKES LAST OF THE LINE CLAUSE
CLAIMS HIS BIRTHRIGHT AS LORD POTTER
By Rita Skeeter, Staff Reporter
In a move that is considered to be long overdue by many people, Harrison Potter, 14, the only son of the late James and Lily Potter, has finally claimed his birthright and become His Grace The Lord Potter, Duke of Granston, Lord of Seacliff Castle, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. The move also makes him Marquis of Brynmoor and Earl of Mathry, in addition to being the youngest head of one of our country's ancient and prestigious Thirteen Houses.
For those of you not familiar with the Last of the Line clause, it's a centuries old provision in the letters patent of the Thirteen Houses, stating that if a minor heir under the age of seventeen is left as the last living member of their line, they shall immediately be emancipated and treated as a legal adult upon reaching their thirteenth birthday. Minor children are not usually allowed to hold titles in their own right, but the Last of the Line clause makes it possible for the last of a noble line to take up their title and all the duties and responsibilities that go along with it.
What kind of responsibilities, you may ask? Well, first and foremost, as Duke of Granston, Marquis of Brynmoor and Earl of Mathry, the new Lord Potter is in charge of the management of those lands and its people. On his own lands, he holds a great deal of power, including the ability to set the marriage laws, tax rates, and act as judge for any crime committed on his lands, for he now holds the rights of justice high, medium, and low over all inhabitants of his lands. In addition, he is expected to be officially installed as a Lord of the Wizengamot in the upcoming fall session and he also gains the interesting distinction of being the newest Governor of Hogwarts, while still being a student of the vaunted institution. Will he use any of the power he now holds at his fingertips?
Well, it seems like he is planning on doing just that, as this reporter has learned that Robert Higgs, seneschal to the Lord Potter, has been in contact with one Professor Horace E. F. Slughorn, who retired from his position as Hogwarts Potions Master in 1981, after holding the position for nearly sixty years. Professor Slughorn also held the position of Head of Slytherin House for just over forty of those years. According to sources inside Hogwarts, the Lord Potter does not enjoy a civil relationship with Hogwarts' current Potions Master, Professor Severus Snape. Could Lord Potter be planning on asking his fellow board members to sack his hated teacher and replace him with the professor who taught his parents?
It would seem, however, that the position of Hogwarts Potions Master is not the only position that the new Lord Potter has taken an interest in, however, as his seneschal has also been making discreet inquiries, looking for people who would be qualified and willing to take on the position of History of Magic professor at Hogwarts. This position has long been held by Professor Cuthbert Binns, whose ghost has continued to teach the subject following the Professor's death in April of 1920. My sources inside Hogwarts, who wish to remain nameless, tell me that replacing Professor Binns may not be a very popular move and will upset a majority of the Hogwarts student body, as the professor's classes are apparently a favorite of the students who eagerly look forward to the ghost's riveting history lectures.
Reading this, Harry couldn't help but burst out laughing. Cedric, who was sitting next to Harry and could see the paper, laughed as well. "A favorite class?" the Hufflepuff asked. "The only reason any student would think of Binns' classes as one of their favorites is because they can catch up on their sleep during it."
Getting control of himself, Harry nodded and said, "I wonder just who this woman's sources are? I mean, really? Sacking Binns would be a very popular move, despite what she says. True, there may be some lazy students who'd prefer to spend the class period sleeping, but to say that a majority of the students will be upset about it? I doubt that."
"And calling Binns' lectures riveting?" Cedric asked. "That's just crazy. There's nothing riveting about his lectures, unless his goal is to rivet his students' heads to their desks as they're lulled to sleep from the sheer boredom of listening to his monotone droning about the goblin wars."
Athena smiled. "Rita Skeeter is a notorious gossip monger. She's very much into sensationalism and isn't above embellishing the facts or even making them up. Actually, that article is rather tame compared to some of her others. I imagine Editor-in-Chief Barnabus Cuffe kept her on a leash for this article considering that Harry owns the Daily Prophet."
This was news to Harry. "I do?"
Deciding to make his presence known, James, who had been listening from the painting hanging over the kitchen fireplace, said, "Yes, Harry, you do. Your great-great-grandfather, Nathaniel Potter, provided the last bit of financing necessary to found the paper in 1850 in exchange for a 20% stake. Our family continued to be a minority and mostly silent shareholder until 1948 when it printed an article that didn't cast us in the best light. I don't know the exact details, as it was before I was born, but I do know that it had something to do with Grindelwald. Your grandfather, Julian Potter, didn't like what was printed and immediately went about buying out all the other partners, becoming sole owner of the paper in 1951. There have been some purchase offers made over the years, including a few by Barnabas Cuffe himself, but your grandfather and I always refused to sell."
"Well, I can't say as I blame you," Roger said. "Owning the paper is certainly the best way of keeping anything that might be in any way damaging to the family reputation out of the papers." Then, perhaps realizing that might sound different then he'd intended, he backtracked with, "Not that I'm trying to say there is anything potentially damaging, I'm sure their isn't."
"It's okay, Roger," James said with a smile. "I know what you meant and you're right. Owning the paper does have advantages in that we can keep things we'd rather not have printed out of it."
"Well, it's something to keep in mind, at least," Harry said, as he looked at the paper. "I may also have to consider doing something about this Rita Skeeter woman. I'm not sure I want a woman on staff who makes things up and then passes them off as fact."
"Yes, that could be a bad thing," Lily said, as she joined James in the painting. "At any rate, Harry, your father and I were talking and we think it would be prudent for you to pay a visit to my sister and her family."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"To make sure she doesn't talk," James said. "While I applaud Athena and Eudora on their most excellent prank of making Petunia think she was swearing an Unbreakable Vow, I'm afraid the fear of death is not going to be enough to protect her if Dumbledore is determined to find out what's going on."
"As a Muggle," Lily said, "my sister has no way of protecting herself against magic. Now, while she can try to avoid making eye contact with him, it would be child's play for a wizard of the Headmaster's power to compel her to make eye contact with him. Honestly, we're not all that worried about her after what she and her family did to you, but if Dumbledore compels her, it wouldn't take long at all for him to realize that the Fidelius was in effect. He wouldn't get the secret itself, since Petunia isn't the Keeper, but I think it's preferable that he not find out about the Fidelius if it can be avoided."
Athena nodded. "Yes, that's true. I don't really trust that man, even if I can't prove he's done anything wrong."
"Can't prove he's done anything wrong?" Harry asked, his tone incredulous. "What about him placing me with the Dursleys? Or that letter redirecting my mail?"
Athena shook her head and sighed. "Harry, none of that counts as tangible proof. Leaving you with the Dursleys against your parent's wishes, yes that would appear to be wrong. The problem, however, is that you were left with them less then twenty-four hours after your parents died. It's highly unlikely that in the chaos that followed the attack on Godric's Hollow, that your parents' will was accessed and read. So, Dumbledore can believably claim that he didn't know what was in it."
Lily nodded. "The only people who were present when James and I signed the will were Kendrick Pierce, who's now dead, Robert Higgs, and the Lord Diggory. Those three people were the only ones, other than James and myself, who physically saw the will before or after it was signed. James was the last one to see the original because once it was signed and sealed, he took it down to the vaults at Seacliff and locked it away. Only the Lord Potter can open Seacliff's vaults, as the Potter ring is the key. So, Dumbledore would not have had access to the original will."
"Kendrick would have had to file a copy of it with the Office of Estates and Inheritance at the Ministry," James added, "but wills are private matters, kept under high security, especially when it's the last will and testament of the head of one of the Thirteen Houses. Even as Chief Warlock, Dumbledore would not have been able to get access to the copy until after Lily and I were dead. So, it's conceivable that in the chaos following Voldemort's defeat, he never actually went to the Ministry and got our will, at which point he wouldn't know the terms."
"Well, obviously someone knew the terms," Roger said. "Robert, Katherine, and Tilly were all placed under the Imperius Curse and had their memories modified so that they wouldn't seek Harry out and Robert couldn't come forward about the will."
"And my parents never once mentioned the fact that they were supposed to raise Harry if his godparents couldn't," Cedric added. "That is extremely out of character for my parents. If they were supposed to raise a future Duke who also happened to be The-Boy-Who-Lived there's simply no way they would have kept quiet about it and never mentioned it to Noah, Aunt Caroline, Uncle Bruce, Cormac or me. So, I think my parents must be enchanted as well."
"Noah's your brother, right?" Harry asked, remembering a Noah Diggory being mentioned when he was in the Potter family vault.
"Yes, Harry," Cedric confirmed. "I have two siblings. Noah and Lucy."
"Lucy?" Harry asked.
Cedric sighed. "My younger sister, Harry. Her name is actually Lucinda, but we all call her Lucy. She's only two-years-old, so she obviously hasn't started Hogwarts yet. After they disowned Noah in 1991 and I became the heir, my father wanted another spare heir, just in case something were to happen to me. Mum did manage to get pregnant, but gave birth to a girl, Lucy, in July of 1992, instead of the hoped for boy. She couldn't have any more children after that, however, as she'd suffered complications which left her unable to do so. As for Noah, my father forbid him to have any further contact with us, so he's never even met our sister."
"That's just not right," Lily said with a sad shake of her head, as James nodded.
Cedric grinned and said, "Well, I found a way around that, actually."
"Oh?" Oliver asked, his eyebrow raised in curiosity. He did know Noah after all, since unlike Cedric, Noah Diggory had been a Gryffindor at Hogwarts and played chaser for the house Quidditch team until he finished school in June of 1991.
"Yes, well, you see while Father forbade Noah to contact us," Cedric said, "he never specifically told me not to have any further contact with him. Of course, I'm not stupid enough to openly remain in contact, as my father would surely find out and be furious with me. So, I've written letters to Noah and included pictures of Lucy, so he at least knows what she looks like, and Cormac has sent them on to Noah along with his own letters."
"My, my, Cedric," Terence said with a grin. "Sneaky, sneaky, that's almost Slytherin of you."
"I take it your Aunt and Uncle don't agree with Noah being disowned?" Gavin asked.
Shaking his head, Cedric said, "No, they don't. Cormac is straight, but, Uncle Bruce and Aunt Caroline both agree that they could never disown him over something like who he fell in love with. They've tried to convince my parents to contact Noah and reverse the disownment, but they refuse to budge so long as Noah remains in Romania with Charlie."
"Romania? Charlie?" Harry asked. "Are you talking about Charlie Weasley?"
Cedric nodded. "Yeah, Charlie Weasley is Noah's boyfriend. Actually, in his last letter, Noah said that they're engaged now. It's not legal in Romania, but they've been considering coming back home to visit Cormac, my aunt and uncle, and the Weasleys. At which point, Noah said they may very well stop in at the village hall in Gwaren and get married."
"Gwaren? Where's that?" Harry asked.
"It's the capital of the Duchy of Whitehaven," Cedric answered. "Lord Ollivander is the Duke of Whitehaven and he's legalized same-sex marriage on his lands, which also include the Marquisate of Coulderton and the Earldom of Eskett, presumably because Nick is gay. Nick told me he was terrified when he came out to his grandfather, and it didn't help when it appeared as though Lord Ollivander hadn't heard a word he said. Nick was worried that his grandfather hated him and decided that they simply wouldn't talk about it, as if doing so would make it not true. So, obviously, Nick was rather shocked when the very next day he found out that his grandfather had signed the order authorizing the immediate legalization of same-sex marriage throughout his lands. Nick says he and his grandfather still don't talk about it, but he figures the legalization counts as acceptance."
"Wow," Gavin said. "What about the Weasleys? What do they think of Noah and Charlie?"
"As near as I can tell from Noah's letters," Cedric answered, "the Weasleys are accepting of it. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley fully support Charlie and Noah says ever since he was disowned, Mrs. Weasley treats him like he's her son. It sounds like Bill, Fred, and George support them, as well. Noah mentioned in one of his letters that he thinks Percy, Ron, and Ginny aren't as accepting about his relationship with their brother or Charlie's sexuality, but chose to remain silent for fear of their mother's reaction."
After a few moments of silence, Athena said, "Well, at any rate, while we know that Terence's parents and Tilly were charmed and we assume that Lord and Lady Diggory have been as well, we have no proof that says it was Dumbledore who charmed them. All we know for sure is that it was a mage who charmed them and that Dumbledore is powerful enough that it could have been him if he's been lying about his true power level all these years. But, we can't go before the Wizengamot and charge him with a crime without proof. And suspicions don't count as proof."
"Well, what about the letter redirecting my mail?" Harry asked. "Interfering with the mail is a crime isn't it? Surely we've got him there?"
"No, Harry, we don't," James said. "King Edward's signature on that letter acts as a royal seal of approval of its contents. Unlike Muggle Britain, Albion is not a constitutional monarchy. As sovereign, Edward is Head of State and Government and holds ultimate executive, legislative, and judicial authority, so he is essentially above the law because he is the law. There isn't a single thing that he could do that would be considered illegal because he holds all the power in this country. He may be letting the Minister take care of the day to day minutia of running it, but the Ministry has no authority to do anything to Edward because all of their power comes from him."
Lily nodded and added, "Even though the position of Minister is an elected post, the King has to sign off on the person that's elected and he has the authority to dismiss them anytime he wants. He could then call for another election, or if he so chooses, he could even completely abolish the office of Minister. The same goes for the elected members of the Wizengamot. While they were elected by the people, they all serve at the pleasure of the King and can easily be dismissed at any time. Whether they're replaced or not is completely up to the King."
"And the people go along with that?" Harry asked.
"Of course they do," Terence said. "Why wouldn't they? Witches and wizards take tradition very seriously and one of the oldest and most sacred traditions here in Albion is that we are ruled first and foremost by the Pendragon dynasty, followed by the Lords of the Thirteen Houses. It's been that way for over a thousand years and isn't likely to change. If it did, the change would come in the form of a proclamation from the crown, in other words, Edward himself, and not the people."
"While King Edward is a rather unknown entity," Roger said, "with the whole not appearing in public in over twenty years thing, I doubt he would ever give up his power. Just like the people of Albion itself, I'm sure he views his family's rule as a sacred tradition and thus he is not going to simply dismiss over a thousand years of tradition, especially since he'd know that such a decision would make him extremely unpopular among the people. Well, all of the traditionalists, at least, which means pretty much every witch or wizard raised in the Wizarding world. I suppose the Muggle-borns and Muggle-raised would say such a decision was a good thing, but that's because most of them don't understand any of our longstanding traditions and as such have little or no respect for them."
"That's true," Lily said. "When I first entered the Wizarding world and began learning about it, I was almost appalled at how mired in tradition everyone was, because everything in the Wizarding world seemed so out of date compared to what I was used to. However, with time, especially after I married James and became Duchess of Granston, I grew to respect the traditions. Partly because I knew they were important to James, but also because once I really took the time to learn and understand them, I realized that they're really not as bad as I initially thought."
'Hmm, might be something to bring up to the governors,' Harry thought, but decided not to say anything aloud, because he had other things on his mind he wanted answers to. "So, even though I know I didn't sign it, we still have nothing? What if I were to swear an oath on my magic that I never signed it?"
"That's not a good idea, Harry," Cedric cautioned. At Harry's questioning look, he added, "You don't know how your signature got on that document. For all we know, you could have been put under the Imperius, ordered to sign it and then Obliviated. If that was the case, you'd lose your magic because you'd be swearing that you didn't do something when you actually did do it and don't remember it."
Looking at Athena, Harry said, "Emma was able to detect that Robert, Katherine, and Tilly were under the Imperius and had their memories modified. Has either been done to me?"
Taking out her wand, Athena mumbled something under her breath and said, "Not as far as I can tell, Harry, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. The reason Emma was able to pick up on the Imperius Curses on Robert, Katherine, and Tilly is because they'd all been placed under the Imperius several times over a period of many years. That causes a buildup of magical residue which becomes detectable. If you were only placed under the Imperius once it wouldn't be detectable. If you were scanned immediately after the event, there's a chance, but it's been over three years now. Any residue of the spell would have dissipated long ago."
"As for the memory modification," Lily said, "that would only be detectable if you were Obliviated and had a large number of memories removed. Basically, the more memories that are removed via the spell, the easier it becomes to detect that it's been used. If only a single memory was removed, it would be almost undetectable unless you managed to scan the person within minutes of them being Obliviated. So, until we can figure out how your signature ended up on that letter and we can say with certainty that you absolutely did not put it there, I have to agree with Cedric. It would be a very bad idea to swear an oath saying that you never signed it."
As the clock began chiming the hour, Athena said, "Well, finish up your food." Standing up, she said, "Try to be on time for your afternoon classes. Gavin, I'll be in my study to continue your testing when you finish eating."
-o-0-o-
The days passed and soon it was Saturday, August 6, 1994. The trainers had said that the boys would have the day off from classes and that they could go flying on the Quidditch pitch on the property. Unsurprisingly, Oliver was especially looking forward to it and immediately began putting together plans for a pickup game. Athena, Rose, and Eudora said they regrettably had things they had to do, so they wouldn't be able to play, but Emma said that she would act as referee. This left only six players, however, so the plan was to split into two teams and forego using the bludgers, since they wouldn't have any beaters. Cedric would play seeker for one team, with Terence chasing and Oliver as keeper, while Harry would play seeker for the other team, with Roger chasing and Gavin playing keeper. Cedric had suggested asking Cormac to join them, since he knew about their training, but as he was only one person and that would result in one team having more players than the other, they decided against it.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Mother Nature had decided to teach the boys a lesson about how even the best laid plans could fall through and the day dawned to be an especially gloomy day with the sun hidden behind several very large, dark clouds. Not long after breakfast, the skies opened up and it was soon pouring rain. Now, Oliver was enough of a Quidditch nut that he immediately said they shouldn't let a little rain stop them, but the others weren't so keen on playing in such inclement weather. Harry even more so than the rest, since he had rather bad memories from the last time he'd played Quidditch in bad weather. In the end, the trainers put an end to the discussion once the lightning started, saying it wouldn't be safe.
In order to give Oliver something else to concentrate on, Terence grabbed his hand and led him upstairs and through the portal to their new bedroom above the barn. Any complaints that Oliver had about not being able to play Quidditch that morning were quickly silenced when Terence pushed him down on their bed. With a grin on his face, because he knew what was coming, Oliver sat back and watched as Terence walked over to the door out to the hallway and locked it, with both the key and several locking spells. He then repeated that process on the bathroom door since it wasn't a private bath and connected their bedroom to Gavin's. Flashing Oliver with a lascivious grin, Terence said, "I know you're upset about missing Quidditch, but I've got something better in mind that we can do."
Oliver grinned. There was a time before he got together with Terence and subsequently lost his virginity that he would have said that nothing was better than Quidditch. A week after his first time, however, which saw Oliver and Terence doing it about ten times thanks to their raging teenage hormones, Oliver was willing to admit that he'd been wrong. Turns out there was something better than Quidditch, namely a certain Slytherin's very talented tongue. Kneeling on the floor in front of his Gryffindor boyfriend, Terence's hands were soon busy undoing Oliver's belt, as he said, "Put up the Silencing Charms would you?"
Nodding, Oliver pulled his new wand out from the holster on his left arm, both of which he'd bought from Nick when Eudora had taken him and Gavin to Cairo the night they arrived to buy new wands, since their doubles were now using their old ones. Considering how much he loved to be up in the air on a broom, it didn't come as much of a shock to anyone that Oliver's magic resonated the most with the air element, as Nick matched him with a griffin wing feather. When testing him for woods, Nick tried the zodiac woods first, so Cancer in Oliver's case, even though he knew that only one of them, ebony, actually resonated with air. Oliver did feel drawn to it, but Nick decided to then test the other air woods as well, since ebony actually resonated with all four elements and Nick wanted to see if the Scot would feel a bigger draw to something more specialized to the air element.
In the end, Oliver ended up with a twelve inch wand made of hawthorn, with the griffin wing feather as its core. Griffin feathers are the best core for Defense Against the Dark Arts and hawthorn works well with protective and defensive magic, so the pairing was a good one in Nick's mind. With Oliver matched, it was then time for Nick to begin matching Gavin. Almost immediately, however, it became clear that Gavin's magic did not resonate with air the way that Oliver's did, since all of the cores the younger Wood reported feeling drawn to were tied more strongly to water. This amused Nick when he found out that Oliver and Gavin were genetically identical twins, because it was always fun when he could prove his grandfather wrong. Whenever Lord Ollivander was matching wands for a pair of identical twins, he almost always matched them with wands that were nearly identical in every way, in the belief that their magic, like their appearances, would be identical.
After narrowing things down, Gavin ended up with a thirteen and a half inch wand made of apple wood with hair from what Nick described as a particularly handsome merman of the Greek Siren variety as its core. Now both apple wood and Siren hair were particularly good at love spells, but what made the pairing interesting is that male Sirens, much like their female counterparts, were very good at attracting men. Mythology described the Sirens as beautiful females who would sing and lure sailors to their deaths on the rocky shores of the island they inhabited.
Those in Wizarding Greece, however, knew that Sirens were not just a story, but real, living creatures. They also knew that despite what the ancient authors chose to write, the Sirens whose singing lured those sailors were just as often male as they were female. Their voices being so pure and melodic that it didn't matter if the male sailors were attracted to men or not, they were still enchanted and drawn in by the call of the Siren song.
Gavin couldn't help but find it strangely ironic that he would match well with a core from a male creature that was good at attracting men because the vast majority of date offers that Gavin received were from men. While Oliver never went out of his way to tell people that he preferred men, it had still gotten into the press following his signing with Puddlemere and became a relatively well known fact for those who had been reading Quidditch magazines and other publications, such as Witch Weekly, around the time that Oliver had been signed.
So, combined with the fact that he looked so much like Oliver, very few women asked Gavin out since they were mistaking him for his gay brother. Now, since Gavin considered himself to be straight, he obviously found this to be particularly annoying. Oliver, on the other hand, laughed his head off, before clapping his little brother on the shoulder and telling him that maybe the Fates were trying to tell him something. Slapping his brother's hand away, Gavin fixed Oliver with a clearly disgruntled and annoyed look that just made the older Wood laugh even harder.
Waving his wand and muttering a few words, Oliver put up several strong Silencing Charms that he'd had lots of practice with back at Hogwarts when he and Terence would alternately meet up for snogging and more in various places around the castle, including the Astronomy Tower, several empty classrooms, and even their own dorm rooms in Gryffindor Tower and the Slytherin dungeons. The fact that they were never overheard during these activities in three years and thus managed to keep their relationship a secret from anyone they hadn't told, proved just how good Oliver was at casting them.
With the spells in place, Terence grinned at his boyfriend, as he finished unbuckling Oliver's belt and quickly pulled down the zipper of his trousers. Lifting himself off the bed a bit, Oliver smiled as his boyfriend pulled his trousers down to his knees, before Terence leaned forward and planted several kisses on the tent that had formed in his red boxers. Terence's fingers soon moved upwards from Oliver's thighs, reaching under the older man's shirt and massaging the flesh as he continued to plant kisses all over the keeper's thighs and cotton-covered cock.
Oliver groaned slightly as he leaned back on his hands, palms flat on the bed behind him, and said, "Liam, please, stop torturing me."
Lifting his head, Terence grinned up at Oliver and asked, "Torturing you, am I? Well, if you don't like what I'm doing, I could stop."
"No, don't!" Oliver was quick to exclaim. "I just meant for you to speed things up a little, not stop."
"Oh," Terence said, drawing out the word. "You mean you want me to free Little Will from prison."
"So long as you then imprison him in your mouth, yes," Oliver said.
"My, Will, you don't want much, do you?" Terence asked.
"I could go back to complaining about the rain and not being able to play..."
"No, no, please, don't," Terence interrupted. "I suppose we could speed things up, just a little."
Before Oliver could comment, Terence grabbed the waistband of Oliver's boxers in his teeth and pulled. Taking the hint, Oliver pushed himself up from the bed for a second time. Once the red fabric joined the keeper's trousers at his knees, Terence let go of them and darted his tongue outward, touching Oliver's left knee, before proceeding to kiss and lick his way up to his thigh. Lifting his head, Terence then just hovered above his boyfriend's midsection for a moment, ogling the sight before him. Even after three years, Terence still couldn't get enough of drinking in every inch of Oliver's toned body, especially the section that his eyes were currently on.
After a minute or so, Oliver asked, "Are you going to do something or are you just going to look at it?"
"Oh I thought I'd just look but not touch," Terence said with a grin. He enjoyed drawing this out and building up Oliver's anticipation. And no matter how much Oliver complained about it, after all was said and done, he always admitted, albeit grudgingly, that the wait had been worth it.
"Liam!" Oliver whined in a piteous tone.
"Okay, okay, sheesh, you're so impatient," Terence said, as he leaned down and darted his tongue out of his mouth, very quickly licking the head of Oliver's throbbing manhood.
"I'm not impatient," Oliver argued, as Terence again darted his tongue outward, this time starting at the bottom of the shaft and licking upwards.
"No? Then what would you call it?" Terence asked.
Oliver groaned and answered, "Annoyed if you keep talking."
Planting an open-mouthed kiss on the head of Oliver's cock, Terence grinned as he looked upwards and said, "Oh, Will, you know you love it when I draw this out. Makes the main event so much more satisfying."
"Yeah that's easy for you to say," Oliver whined. "You're not the one whose balls are turning blue."
"Oh sweet Merlin, they are not," Terence said. "I think I'd notice if your balls started sporting Ravenclaw colors."
Oliver groaned and said, "Liam, if you're not going to do anything, maybe I'll go pay a visit to our resident Ravenclaw, who is purported to know the secrets of really great sex."
"You wouldn't dare," Terence said, as he again licked the underside of Oliver's cock at an agonizingly slow pace. "For one thing, you know better than to cheat on your oh so sexy, cunning and very sneaky Slytherin boyfriend. For another, Roger is straight, so you could ask him until you're blue in the face. Even then, it's not a good bet he'll give in and do something about your allegedly blue balls."
Pausing, Terence darted his tongue out between closed lips, looking almost like a snake, as he again ran his tongue up and down Oliver's shaft, teasing him, before adding, "Remember, it's the Slytherins who run all of the betting pools at Hogwarts, so we know a good bet when we see one and you being successful in getting the very straight Roger Davies to give you a blowjob without using Amortentia or the Imperius Curse is a bet I wouldn't touch for all the gold in Gringotts'."
"Liam, please," Oliver whined, as he looked down at his boyfriend and turned on the sad puppy eyes. Unfortunately, at least in Terence's mind, coming from Oliver, the Slytherin had no resistance to those blue eyes that he loved so much, but also hated in cases like this because he had a tendency to become putty in Oliver's hands.
"Fine, fine, ruin my fun," Terence said in a dejected tone, before he grinned and said, "Just know that your ass will be paying the price later."
"Not seeing the problem," Oliver commented, as Terence just shook his head, before opening his mouth and finally doing what Oliver had wanted him to do for the last few minutes. "Oh, Liam, yes," he moaned, as he put his weight on his left hand, while he used his right to play with his boyfriend's silky brown and blond locks.
-o-0-o-
By noon, the storm had still not let up, so the boys gathered together in their common room and Barin brought up a platter of sandwiches and a pitcher of pumpkin juice for their lunch. Of all of them, Oliver still seemed the most upset about not being able to go outside to play Quidditch, even though not doing so had led to a very enjoyable morning full of sex with his hot boyfriend. Taking pity on him, and to shut him up, Eudora and Emma came upstairs and delighted everyone with the use of some very complicated mage-level spells that transfigured one of the partners' desks into something similar to a Muggle foosball table. The only difference was, with magic, they were able to create a working tabletop version of Quidditch, enclosed under a glass dome so that the tiny golden snitch wouldn't go flying all over the room. This kept Oliver and Terence entertained, while Roger sat down at one of the other desks with Gavin and helped him with his remedial work. Harry and Cedric, meanwhile, opted to play wizard's chess, on a best of three basis.
Harry surprised himself by beating Cedric in the first game they played. He couldn't help but feel good about that because he so rarely won at chess. Of course, that was mainly because the only person he ever played with was Ron and despite the redhead's short temper and other faults, he was the undisputed chess champion of Gryffindor Tower. As such, Harry was one of the few people in the tower who was still willing to play against Ron. Harry's victory didn't last long, however, as Cedric learned from his mistakes during the first game and turned around and beat Harry in their second game.
Now in their third game, it was Cedric's move and as he studied the board, he grinned and directed his bishop to move to a spot two squares away from Harry's king, placing him in check. However, since a chess king can only move one square in any direction and there were no other squares Harry could move his king to without entering check with another of the Hufflepuff's pieces, Cedric grinned, as he looked up at Harry and said, "Checkmate."
Harry was used to losing at this game, but he still couldn't help the small groan as Cedric's bishop moved the rest of the way towards his king and used his staff to knock the other piece off his feet, sending his crown clattering to the board. Before Harry's king could right himself, however, Cedric's bishop pointed it's staff at the other piece and let a go a torrent of lightning on the other piece, causing it to disintegrate into a small pile of glowing silver dust.
"Fancy another game?" Cedric asked.
"No thank you. I've had my arse handed to me enough for right now," Harry answered with a grin, as he stood up from the small table that the chess board rested upon and stretched.
"Oh come on, Harry," Cedric said. "You did win one game."
"True," Harry agreed. "However, you easily beat me the other two times. You had a checkmate in what five moves the second game?"
"Four, actually," Cedric corrected.
"Yeah, thanks for making me feel bad," Harry said in a sarcastic voice. Cedric, however, actually appeared to have taken it to heart that he may have actually hurt Harry's feelings if the concerned look on his face was anything to go by. "It's okay, Cedric, I was joking. You really don't need to worry about making me feel bad by beating me in chess. Merlin knows I get beat plenty."
"By who?" Roger asked, as he looked up from his book.
"Ron Weasley," Harry answered. "He's Gryffindor's undisputed chess champion. Beat every single person in the tower. I think that's what led Professor Dumbledore to challenge him to a game last year."
"Who won?" Cedric asked.
"Ron," Harry replied. "It was the longest chess game I've ever watched. Dumbledore challenged him more than anyone else in the tower ever had, but in the end, he still won."
"I remember that day," Oliver commented as his Seeker caught the snitch to end the second game of tabletop Quidditch that he'd played with Terence. The Slytherin had won the first game. "I know some people were worried what would happen if Ron managed to beat him. Thought maybe the Headmaster would punish the house or something."
"And did he?" Gavin asked.
Shaking his head, Oliver sat down in one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace and promptly pulled Terence down into his before he answered, "Nope. Congratulated Ron on his victory and then awarded him twenty points for a well-played game."
"Which we lost later that afternoon," Harry said. At Cedric's raised eyebrow, Harry added, "Double potions with Snape."
"Ah, 'nough said," Cedric said as he sat down on the sofa. While Snape tended to be hard on Gryffindors and Harry in particular, that didn't mean that Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff had it any better. He might not punish them quite as badly as he did Gryffindor, but Snape still found ways to take points from any non-Slytherin he happened to have in class.
"Assuming the board goes along with it," Terence said, "I do wonder if the school's Master Brewer can take points or not. I know his favoritism works out well for me and my housemates, but I've seen him make plenty of unwarranted point deductions over the years."
Nodding, as he placed a bookmark in his book and set it aside, Roger said, "Did it to me during a class towards the end of last year. I was working with Adrian Pucey on a potion and he made it blow up by putting one of the ingredients in at the wrong time. Snape had even watched Adrian do it and yet I'm the one he yelled at, before taking twenty points from Ravenclaw for my failure to stop Adrian from ruining the potion." After a moment, Roger shook his head and added, "And then to make it even more unfair, he awarded Adrian ten points for having to deal with my obvious incompetence."
"That is so not fair," Cedric said.
"No, it isn't," Harry agreed. "Maybe I'll mention it to the other governors. Don't know if they can actually do anything about it, but something like that should not happen."
"Sounds like I haven't been missing much in not going to Hogwarts," Gavin commented.
"Well, don't let Snape's favoritism color your opinion, Gavin," Oliver said. "Hogwarts is a great place and Snape notwithstanding, I think you'd really enjoy it."
"Guess I'll never know," Gavin said. "Even if I can do magic at a higher level now, it's way too late for me to start going to Hogwarts."
Cedric grinned. "Yeah, I do think you would look just a little out of place with the rest of the first years."
Gavin snorted, before he said, "Knowing my luck, people would probably think I was Oliver. As obsessed with Quidditch as he is, everyone would probably think I somehow convinced the staff to let me repeat Hogwarts just so that I could play twice as much Quidditch by playing for Gryffindor and Puddlemere."
"I resemble that remark," Oliver said, at which point everyone burst out laughing.
After a minute, Harry said, "Well, at least you admit that you're obsessed."
A few minutes of silence passed before Cedric said, "Speaking of professors, we do have four of them right here in the house with us. Anyway have any clues as to just who they really are?"
"I've had a few thoughts," Terence said. "First off, we've seen Eudora's and Emma's mage's staffs. The colors of the staffs would suggest that Eudora is a Slytherin and that Emma is a Ravenclaw."
"That's true," Roger commented. "Of course, how do we know those are the actual colors of their staffs? They could be changing them with magic to throw us off."
"I hadn't thought of that," Terence said. "Of course, we also have Emma's admission that she played professional Quidditch. How many of our professors have done that in their pasts?"
"Not many of them, I should think," Harry replied. "Something else we have is that when I asked about attending the Wizengamot meetings after Hogwarts was back in session, Athena told me that she'd arrange for it to look like her son had come to Hogwarts to escort me to London. He's one of the common members apparently."
"Huh, that's interesting," Oliver said. "Did she tell you his name? If we had that, we might be able to find out who she is. I mean if Athena Gracey is just an alias, then her son would probably have her real surname."
"True, but no, she didn't," Harry said. "Just told me she had a son, that was it."
"Hmm, well, about this house?" Roger asked. "The trainers all refer to it as being Athena's house. I don't think the Ministry would let her put a fake name on the deed."
Cedric laughed at that. "You obviously don't have much experience with the Ministry then, Roger. With the right amount of grease, they'll let you do just about anything. Of course, this house is hardly a mansion, so it wouldn't appear that Athena is wealthy enough to be greasing palms."
"Looks can be deceiving," Gavin pointed out. "Just because she doesn't look rich doesn't mean that she isn't. And you said that Emma told you in class that she and Athena are Archmagisters. They'd certainly be powerful enough to use other means of persuasion that don't involve money."
"You mean like the Imperius?" Harry asked.
"Possibly," Gavin said. "Although I'm sure there's other spells that have a similar effect."
Nodding, Roger said, "Yeah, there are. The Compulsion Charm comes to mind. It's basically a weaker cousin to the Imperius. Doesn't last as long and it also doesn't completely remove the target's free will like the Imperius does."
"There's also a much stronger chance the target won't comply," Cedric added. "With the Imperius, you could order an over-protective mother who spends all her time trying to protect her children from even the smallest of dangers to kill them and she'd have to do it. If you tried to do that with the Compulsion Charm, however, it's unlikely to work. For Compulsion to work, you have to be suggesting the target do something that they'd be likely to do anyway."
"Anyway, do we have any other clues that we can examine?" Terence asked.
"I have noticed that Emma watches a program on the television downstairs every morning," Harry said. "I doubt it has anything to do with her identity though."
"Don't be so sure, Harry," Roger said. "You said Athena said there were lots of subtle hints. So, just about anything they do could be a hint. What is this program she watches, do you know?"
"I don't know the name of it," Harry answered. "Although I know I heard some of the characters mention Virginia. Honestly, I never really paid much attention to it, but the most recent time I saw her watching it, there were two elderly women talking about baking."
"Well, Virginia is in America," Cedric said. "Any clue what those women were baking?"
Shaking his head, Harry responded, "None. They just kept talking about the recipe. I assume they were cooking or baking something, as that is what one usually uses a recipe for."
"Hmm, well, there is one thing I've noticed," Oliver said. Once he had everyone's attention, he added, "I couldn't help but notice that I've never seen Rose without an apron on. She's also a trained healer. Who do we know at Hogwarts who is always wearing an apron and is a healer?"
"Madam Pomfrey," Roger, Cedric, and Harry all said at once.
"Question is did Madam Pomfrey ever work at St. Mungo's?" Terence asked. "Rose did say that she worked in the Janus Thickey Ward, but had left to teach at Hogwarts before Lord and Lady Longbottom were admitted."
"So, she worked at St. Mungo's sometime before the early 1980's," Cedric said. "Lord and Lady Longbottom were admitted in 1981 if memory serves. Is Madam Pomfrey the only person on staff at Hogwarts that's trained as a healer?"
"Well, I don't know if she has full training," Roger said, "but I do know that the Wizarding Home Economics elective covers basic first aid. So, I would assume that Professor O'Brien knows something about healing. Although, it's also possible that she knows enough to teach the subject and nothing more."
"They could be anyone, couldn't they?" Harry asked. "I mean, I assume we can eliminate all the male staff members, but Merlin, if that doesn't still leave us with quite a large group."
"True," Cedric said. "There's Madams Pince, Pomfrey, and Hooch and Professors McGonagall, Babbling, Vector, McLaughlin, Landolt, O'Brien, Sprout, Burbage, O'Casey, Sheldon, McIntosh, and Wynter."
"You left out Professors Trelawney and Sinistra," Roger commented.
"Oh yeah, them too," Cedric said. "So, that leaves us with seventeen female staff members. Would really help if we could eliminate a few of them."
"Personally, I think we can eliminate Trelawney," Harry said. "Every time Trelawney sees me she always predicts my imminent death. None of the trainers have done that."
"Well, she wouldn't do it if she's trying to hide her identity from you," Terence pointed out. "Although, honestly I agree with you. I was never in her class, but from what I've heard, Trelawney seems very scatter-brained. Convincing people you're someone else just doesn't seem like something she'd be capable of."
Before anyone else could say anything, Barin popped in and said, "Excuse me, sirs. Storm stopped. Athena doing spell to dry pitch, says yous can play now, if you still be wanting to."
Oliver was out of the chair and running towards the stairs almost as soon as the words were out of Barin's mouth. He was so eager to play that he apparently didn't hear the string of curses that left Terence's mouth, seeing as how he had still been sitting on Oliver's lap when he'd stood up and had just been rather unceremoniously dumped on the ground when Oliver got up. Standing up and rubbing his now sore ass, Terence said, "I think a change in teams is in order. Will needs his ass kicked and I want to be the one to do it."
The others just laughed and nodded, agreeing that Roger and Terence would switch teams so that Terence could play against Oliver. Giving Terence a high-five, Harry said, "Come on, Gavin, Liam - let's go grind them into the dust."
Terence grinned and nodded. He was going to enjoy this.
-o-0-o-
To be continued.
Well, there you have it, Chapter Four. Rather short in comparison to the other chapters, but hey, they can't all be long. I had originally planned on this story only being ten chapters long since I do plan on this being a series of stories. However, this has sort of taken on a mind of its own and I don't think ten chapters is going to be realistic. Anyway, any thoughts on the trainers? Or just who 'R' is? Well, stay tuned for future chapters and you'll find out.
In case you're wondering about all the unfamiliar names listed as staff members at Hogwarts, I wrote up an extended class list for one of my other stories and chose to use it in this story as well. So, the list adds a bunch of extra electives for third years and up: Wizarding Law, Magical Finance, Magical Languages, Wizarding Home Economics, Magical Literature, and Magical Games and Sports. There's also four more for 6th years and up, which have OWL requirements: Medical Magic, Specialized Charms, Spell Creation, and Magical Research and Archiving. The class descriptions aren't likely to appear in this story, but if you're interested in reading them, you can ask in a review and I'll give them to you.
Next Chapter: A disturbance at the Dursleys, King Edward weighs in on Sirius' case, Harry meets with the Governors and goes to a Ball.
