Authors Note: Once again, Rotten Writer here with Chapter Nine of Soul Scars.

A thought occurred to me the other day as I was working on this and other parts of the story. I was looking back at chapter eight and I said to myself 'Self, I think you did something stupid there.' So I looked at it and I believe I've located the issue. The Goblin Sharpshard. I'm pretty sure I read that name in another story somewhere.

He wasn't an accounts manager in that story, if I'm remembering correctly. But if anyone knows where it might have come from, do please let me know so I can give proper credit for the name.

UPDATE: I have been informed on the origin of Sharpshard. He was a goblin combat master in the wonderful fic Harry Crow by Robst. I totally forgot about that since it's been a minute since I read that fic.

Here be linkage. s/8186071/1/Harry-Crow

Check it out, it's a great read.

I also missed one word at the very end of the chapter when Sharpshard calls Harry Mister Potter after he'd accepted his Head of House Status. It really should have been Lord Potter. I've made an adjustment to the chapter to fix that and apologize for my mistake.

Disclaimer: I really seriously don't own anything of value except my computer and my PS4. Please don't sue me, I'm just having fun with these characters and mean no harm.

On with the show!

Soul Scars

By,

Rtnwriter

Harry smiled. He laughed. He talked and interacted with the people around him just as he always had, even when the girls dragged him, protesting quite vehemently, to Madam Malkins to procure him an entirely new wardrobe. But Amelia Bones hadn't chosen her profession on a lark. She was good at what she did. She was good at noticing the small details that other people tended to miss or disregard as unimportant.

Something was bothering Harry Potter.

After leaving Gringotts he had acted just as always but she noticed that his eyes lingered on the girls at times when he thought no one else was looking. Other times he seemed to have a pensive expression on his face, as if weighed down by serious matters only he was privy to. It concerned her that such a change happened in him when he was only talking to his accounts manager at the bank.

After a full day in Diagon Alley, they made their way back to the Boneyard, the girls by Floo and Amelia, once again, Apparating there with Harry. He didn't flinch as badly at the sound or look of the fire, but she felt it wasn't because he was getting used to it, it was because he was distracted and probably hadn't even really noticed.

"All right, girls," she said once they were all back at Bones Manor. "Susan and Daphne, take your things up to your rooms and Hermione," she smiled at the third girl in their group, "we'll see you and your parents on Christmas day."

"I wouldn't miss it," she said, smiling. She hugged Daphne and Susan before coming over and folding Harry into another rib creaking hug then she flashed them all a smile and vanished into the Floo in a whoosh of green fire. Daphne and Susan made their way up the stairs leaving Harry and Amelia standing alone in the hall outside the Floo access room.

"Want to join me for a cup, Harry?" she asked.

He shrugged and nodded. "Sure."

Minutes later they were seated at the kitchen table again, a cup of tea and a cup of coffee in front of them, respectively. Amelia sipped quietly at her tea, watching Harry over the rim of her cup as he fiddled with the mug in front of him. He'd yet to take a drink of his coffee.

"So," she said, breaking into his musings, "what's bothering you?"

He started and cursed suddenly as he spilled coffee on the table. His face was flushed and he kept his eyes down as he wiped up the mess that he'd made while Amelia did her best to hide the amused grin that turned her lips. Wouldn't do to upset the boy.

Once he'd cleaned up he sat back down, still averting his eyes and cleared his throat. "Wh-what do you mean?" he asked.

"Don't try to avoid the question, young man," she said, firmly but not unkindly. "I haven't gotten to where I am by being blind or oblivious. Something has been on your mind since we left Gringotts. I'm not ordering you to talk to me, but… well I don't know that you've got a lot of adults in your life you might be able to go to for advice, so I'm offering an ear if you'd like to talk." She took another sip of her tea and sat back, waiting for him to talk, or not, as he would.

He considered that for a moment. She wasn't wrong. And Sharpshard had suggested he speak to an adult witch or wizard. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, sitting to his right at the head of the table while he sat just on the corner across from her. But this situation involved her niece. Could he really talk to her about the fact that they were technically engaged already?

Making a decision, he stretched out his hand, laying it flat on the table and wished that Amelia Bones could see. He wasn't sure if that would work but the quiet gasp that escaped her a moment later told him she'd seen it.

"But… you're not…" She trailed off, brow furrowed as her mind raced through the possibilities. "You aren't old enough to accept status as Head of House yet," she said, working through the situation in her mind as she spoke. "So the only explanation is being emancipated under Goblin and Wizarding law. The only way for that to happen is if…" she trailed off again, her eyes moving from the ring on his finger to his face.

He nodded, looking distraught by the entire situation.

"As far as Gringotts is concerned, I'm engaged to three different girls with the intention of continuing my family line," he muttered, flushing brilliantly at the admission. "My accounts manager did also say that because I'm the last of the family line I could accept the Head of House status earlier than normal."

Things just kept getting more and more complicated around Harry Potter. "You don't seem to be happy to hear that," she mused.

"Why would I be?" he muttered.

"Do you not care for the girls?"

Harry stared at her, his mouth hanging open. "Of course I do!" he snapped. "But I'm only eleven! I'm too young for any of this. I'm too young to be looking at getting married one day or who the bride would be. I'm too fucked up for anyone. What the hell do I know about being a husband or- or…" he waved his arm wildly for a moment, "or any of this!" he burst out.

"Do they know? And how is that fair to them? I'm only one person, they shouldn't be forced into this situation. And I can't be with all three of them even if that's what they or I wanted-" His mouth snapped shut and he placed his elbows on the table, head dropping heavily into his hands.

"You are young," she said after several minutes of tense silence. "You're all so very young. And with this bond that you share… it's an unusual situation to be certain. But what are you most worried about, Harry?"

"I can't be married to three girls at one time. That's not fair to them and what the hell right do I have to force them into something like this when there's probably someone out there that they can love and be happy with?"

"So you forced a bit of your soul on them ten years ago, did you?" she muttered dryly.

Harry gaped at her, lifting his head in surprise. "What? Of course not."

"Then you didn't do this, did you?"

"I- I guess not." He didn't sound convinced but she figured it was a start, at least.

"Then the answer is rather simple, really." She finished off her tea and set the cup aside. "Harry. I know we haven't known each other long. Barely a day, really. But I can tell you're a good kid. You've got more than your share of issues and problems to work through, but you're still a good kid. That much is obvious. You didn't want this. You didn't ask for it and you didn't cause it. But the situation exists. So the question is, what do you want to do about it?"

"What can I do?"

"As I see it you've got a handful of options. I think only two really need to be considered though."

"What are they?" he asked, desperate for some direction.

"Number one, you can tell them about it and the four of you can sit down and discuss the situation. Decide what you all want to do as a group."

He nodded. "At which point they'll most likely hate me for dragging them into this."

He jumped when her hand suddenly slapped the table sharply. "I won't have any of that, Harry," she snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously for a moment before they softened again as he cringed away from her. "I'm sorry," she said. "But I'm serious. There is no way those girls could ever hate you. You're innocent in this situation, just as they are."

He nodded. "What's option number two then?"

"Your second option is to ignore it, for now."

He blinked. "Just ignore it?"

"For now," she repeated. "Let me ask you a question. If you hadn't found out about this today, that you were betrothed. What would you do in regards to Susan, Daphne, and Hermione?"

He considered that. "Well, we're in school together," he said. "So, we'd go to school still. Do our homework together, and spend time together as friends."

"And even given this new facet of your situation, would you do anything differently?"

"Nooooo," he said, dragging out the word uncertainly.

"Then what does it really change?" He didn't answer that, just stared into his mug, brow furrowed in thought. "Harry, you're eleven. So just… be eleven. Be a kid. Go to school. Do your classwork. Spend time with your friends. Get to know the girls and let them get to know you. Work on building yourself up to where you need to be. You're too young to be a husband and all that entails, right now." He flushed brighter than ever at that but she pretended not to notice and continued talking, "you have years before any of you are old enough to have to worry about what this all means for all of you. So, just wait. Just be their friend, be with them, and when you're all older, you'll be able to handle the situation and decide for yourselves what you want and how you want it."

Harry nodded. "I think that would probably be best, for now," he admitted. "I just don't know how to face all this."

"And you don't have to right at the moment. Worry about it later. I'll offer you one word of warning though, and a piece of advice."

He cocked his head to the side and looked at her curiously, waiting for her to continue.

"Did anyone explain to you that what you and the girls have is an initial bond?"

"I think the hat mentioned those words but I don't get what it means."

Amelia sighed. "It means that the bond is just formed but not complete yet." She hesitated for a moment, sure this was going to embarrass the kid to no end but took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "To complete the bond requires an act of physical intimacy. Which," she added as he flushed brilliantly, "can be done with a simple kiss as long as it is given and received with the intention of expressing a deep and true love. From what I understand completing the bond would do it. You would be married for all intents and purposes, so just… keep that in mind, okay?"

He nodded, his eyes wide. "Sharpshard did say something about completing the bond and that the marriages wouldn't technically go into effect until I did something like publicly claiming them as my w-wife."

"Then you don't have anything to be concerned about right now. That was the warning, ready for the advice?"

He nodded, though he really didn't look like he was ready for anything more on top of everything else he'd experienced that day.

"You might want to tell the girls that you've taken up your Head of House."

"I'd really rather no one know it that doesn't have to," he admitted. "It's just one more thing to make me different, and Sharpshard said that it really wouldn't make much difference in my life right now overall."

She nodded. "True enough," Amelia admitted. "But you know they're going to feel that ring on your finger. The girls grab your hand randomly all the time, so they're going to wonder. And, even if it makes no difference at all, it's still a good idea to get it out of the way. Daphne and Susan could help you as well. As Lord Potter, once that information get's out, because it will eventually, there will be higher expectations of you in how you behave and carry yourself around certain members of our society."

"Wouldn't they guess about the betrothals like you did?" he asked and Amelia shook her head.

"I would be extremely surprised if one of them guessed that much. I only did because I had a friend at Hogwarts who took his Head status early because of a marriage contract. If you explain that as the last member of your House the goblins said you could accept your Lordship, that should be explanation enough."

Harry frowned, starting to second guess his decision to accept the Head of House Ring.

"One other question that just occurred to me," she said causing him to look back up to her from where he had been contemplating the surface of the table. "I would like to ask your permission to explain to the Grangers about your Head of House status and the betrothals. I've invited them to join us for Christmas dinner and I wanted to sit down with them afterwards and discuss this bond you and the girls have. I'm sure they have a lot of questions and are worried about the whole thing and I'd like to be as upfront with them as possible."

Harry paled and swallowed reflexively at that. "Oh crap," he muttered. "Dan's gonna kill me."

Amelia wanted to laugh. She really, really, did. But that wouldn't be a good idea, she felt, so she pushed it down and fought to keep from grinning at the young man.

"Trust me, I will explain that you all had no control over any of this and make sure they understand the situation."

Harry hesitated for a moment longer as he considered it before sighing. "Well, barring anything else, we're all going to be a part of each other lives for a very long time, aren't we? I mean, I can't imagine not being friends with any of those girls so, no matter what, we're going to be around each other and the various parents and guardians in the future."

"True."

"Fine. Go ahead and let them know and… I'll think about what you said, about telling the girls about…" he trailed off and wiggled his fingers making the ring glimmer and flash in the light.

"Thank you, Harry. I think that will help. For now, though, I think you have Christmas presents to wrap don't you?"

He gave her a weak smile and knocked back his coffee. "Thank you, Amelia," he said. "I appreciate the advice," he said and scurried off, leaving the mug behind on the table.

Amelia sighed and leaned back in her chair. Yes. Life was never going to be boring with Harry Potter around.

#####

Christmas day dawned clear and bright and Susan and Daphne had bounded into Harry's room, happily shouting 'happy Christmas' as they woke him. They day sped by with Harry feeling like he was caught in a whirlwind. Hermione arrived promptly at seven and they sat down to open presents.

For Harry it was quite the experience. To actually be a part of Christmas with people that wanted him as opposed to looking through a crack in his cupboard door as his cousin opened a mountain of presents from his parents while Harry was left to wonder if they would give him anything to eat that day.

He had spent a long time deciding on presents. For giving gifts for the first time, and to people that meant something to him, he wanted them to be perfect. He gave each girl a small bracelet of twisted white gold with a simple charm dangling from it. For Hermione it was a tiny book, for Susan a broom and she'd almost glared at him for the reminder of their first flying lesson. Daphne's bracelet held a small snake and while she loved the gift she had given him a slightly confused look.

"I know you're not in Slytherin," he said. "But the hat thought both of us could have done well there. So this is for the most cunning and crafty among us," he whispered to her when he helped clasp the bracelet around her right wrist. She flushed brightly and gave him a tight hug.

Amelia was examining a set of mystery novels by a muggle author that she'd received from Harry when something caught her attention.

"Harry," Hermione said in a slightly admonishing tone and the older witch looked up to see that all three girls had a wrapped package in their laps. "You already got us a present, you didn't have to do anything more."

Harry shrugged, somewhat self consciously. "I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to." He flushed and stared down at his lap. "I've never had anyone to give presents to," he muttered. "I just wanted to do something special for you."

The girls exchanged a look, all four children oblivious to Amelia's careful observations. The bracelets he'd gotten them had been beautiful and tasteful, but with each girl getting the same thing, except for the charm, they weren't exactly special. Based on the packages each girl was holding, they weren't all getting the same thing from him again.

"You really didn't have to," Susan said, "but thank you, Harry."

He shifted nervously in his seat. "Don't thank me yet," he said. "Wait till you open them. I'm reasonably certain you'll like them, but…" he shrugged again and fell silent.

They exchanged another look and Daphne and Susan gestured to Hermione to go first so she lowered her eyes to the large-ish package sitting in her lap. It was somewhat inexpertly wrapped and was an odd shape, somewhat lumpy, which might have explained the wrapping.

Or, Amelia admitted to herself, it might just have been because he had no experience in wrapping presents.

Hermione tore into the present and as she pulled away the paper a flash of color was revealed before she set aside the wrapping and looked at the book bag sitting in her lap, turning it over in her hands.

"It's made from dragon hide," Harry explained and moved over to sit beside Hermione on the love seat she'd commandeered. "A young Chinese Fireball. The guy that sold it to me explained that the dragon got injured somehow and couldn't be saved. Since it was young, the coloring of the hide hadn't turned to that bright red you see on the adults and instead you get this kind of burnt orange with these streaks of black in it."

Hermione ran her hands over the extremely soft and supple material for a moment before Harry gently took it from her and continued to tell her about her gift. "Even as young as the dragon was, it's still incredibly magic resistant and really, really tough, so it should last you an incredibly long time." He pulled the drawstring and opened the top flap. "The inside is lined with acromantula silk and spelled with expansion charms and feather light charms so the bag can hold easily fifty books without getting significantly heavier. There's outer pockets, also with expansion charms, for your quills and parchment, and ink. And I thought this was the best part."

He closed the top flap again and pointed to a glossy window on the front of the bag. "See, this bit here is like a directory." He pulled out his wand and tapped it once and lines of text appeared scrolling across the little window. "Every book you put in the bag will appear listed here by title and author with a tap of your wand. You scroll through, and when you find the book you want, you tap it with your wand again." He proceeded to follow word with deed and tapped the window a second time before he reached into the bag and pulled out their defense text. "When you do that, the bag will push the selected book to the top so that you're not wasting time trying to feel your way through dozens of books looking for one in particular."

He handed the bag back to Hermione who hadn't been able to tear her eyes from it while he'd been talking. When she remained silent for some time, slowly turning the bag over in her hands, he shifted nervously in his seat.

"It's not a very personal present," he admitted, nervously stroking the scar behind his jaw. "I just thought it was better than the one you have and you always carry so many books, this way it'd be lighter for you and-"

"It's perfect," she said, cutting him off before he could really start to ramble. She set the bag aside and leaned over, pulling him into a fierce hug. "Really, Harry, I love it," she whispered in his ear. "Thank, you." She pulled back, but not before pressing a quick kiss to hiss cheek which sent both of them to blushing brightly and she returned her focus to her present, carefully not looking at anyone else in the room.

"That really is a beautiful gift, Harry," Amelia said, hiding a smirk at the blushing children. "Practical, but elegant."

Harry nodded and shifted back over to his original seat as Daphne started ripping into her own present. The paper wrapped around the long box in her lap didn't stand a chance. Once the wrapping was removed, she unveiled a box, two feet long and a foot wide made from a deep cherry wood with silver accents at the corners and a sturdy handle with a latch in the middle of the side facing her.

Harry stood and gently took the box from her and set it on the floor in front of them. "Open it," he urged her, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet.

With a curious look at him she knelt down and did as he instructed. The latch clicked open and she lifted the lid and her mouth dropped open in surprise. She pushed the lid further, then it fall over until the entire box laid completely flat, doubling the open space.

In the lower part of the box lay several leather bound books, each with a different color of leather. In the top was a rack filled with pencils, charcoal, tubes of paint, brushes, and other less easily identifiable tools. Harry reached down and grabbed a knob sticking up from amongst the racks of drawing utensils and pulled. The entire thing expanded up and out of the box until it was three feet high and showed four separate levels, each filled with more and more art supplies.

"Each of the notebooks is meant for you to use with a different medium," he said. "So you could use one for charcoal drawings, one for painting, one for pencil sketches and so on. The clerk at the store said that each sketch pad is supposed to have charms on it so that they'll never run out of parchment and can be expanded or shrunk, depending on how large a project you want to work on. Of course, if you expand it for one page then shrink it for another, I'm not really sure how that'd work when looking back through them but she assured me that it wouldn't be a problem. There's apparently a bunch of runes on the inside of each cover along with instructions on which ones to tap for the shrinking and expanding."

Daphne's eyes were wide and her mouth worked up and down several times, but no words escaped her. Harry didn't think he'd yet to see her so shocked before and thought she looked kind of cute when she was at a loss for words.

"How?" she asked, finally, turning to stare at him intently. "How did you know? I've never told any of you so how could you have possibly known?"

Harry grinned. "Well, I wanted to be certain that I got you three a good present, something you would really value and wasn't just a pretty bauble or something." He indicated the bracelets adorning each girls wrist. "I loved those and thought they would look good on you three, but I wanted to get you each something special too. I thought about writing to your parents for some help, but wasn't sure how that would go over. So I pumped the only other source of information I had available to me in the castle."

She gave him a confused look for a moment before realization struck and she was stuck between wanting to scowl and smile broadly. "I'm going to kiss Tracey when I see her," she declared, "right before I strangle her." She leaned close and drew Harry into a hug, following Hermione's example and followed it up with a kiss pressed to his cheek.

"Thank, you, Harry. This is absolutely incredible."

He gave her a small smile and a nod and shuffled away from her, moving toward Susan who was looking at the small package that she held in her hands with a sense of growing excitement and trepidation. The gifts he'd given Daphne and Hermione had just been so… perfect for them. Susan couldn't think of anything that meant as much to her as learning did to Hermione or art obviously did to Daphne.

"Oh boy," she sighed and turned the package in her hands over and over slowly. "Just tell me, am I going to have to kill Hannah?" she asked him.

He grinned, his eyes flicking toward Amelia, but shook his head. "Nope, Hannah is perfectly safe."

Susan turned her head to stare at her aunt. "Really?" she demanded and Amelia's face split into a broad grin.

"He made a compelling argument," she said with no sign of remorse.

Her hands shaking now, Susan turned her attention back to her present. The wrapping fell away to reveal black jewelry box which she slowly opened. She gasped when she saw what lay within, echoed by Hermione and Daphne as Susan's emotions rushed through them in a torrent. They abandoned their own gifts and their seats and rushed to Susan's side. They stood on either side of the chair she'd taken, each with a hand on her shoulder in support as all three girls examined the item nestled inside the box on a bed of black velvet.

At first, Hermione and Daphne were confused. It was a beautiful locket, to be sure, but they couldn't understand the rush of conflicting joy and deep melancholy that accompanied the sight of it. Suspended from a delicate chain of white gold, the locket wasn't overly large but was simple and tasteful, with the Bones Family Crest etched into it's smooth surface.

"It looks just like the one my mother used to wear," Susan murmured, trembling fingers gently stroking the locket. "Father gave it to her as a wedding present."

Harry shook his head and reached in to remove the locket from the box. He closed the box and set it aside, holding the locket so that it dangled across the backs of his fingers, facing the girls.

"It isn't like the one your mother wore," he whispered. "It is the one your mother wore."

Susan's head snapped up, her eyes wide in shock and disbelief as behind her Hermione and Daphne both felt a lump form in their throats as tears prickled at their eyes.

"Your Aunt helped me with this one, a lot. She said that she'd been holding this for you for a long time. She was planning on giving it to you when you reached your majority after she had some repair work done to it. But said that, given that the two of us have that in common, missing our parents, she felt it might mean more for me to give it to you now. I suggested a few changes that she helped me figure out."

Susan's gaze showed her confusion and he went on to explain.

"The original locket was damaged in the attack that took your parents," he said. "So I had to organize for some fast repair work. The chain is new, and it's been enchanted to be unbreakable, so even though it's such a delicate chain, it won't accidentally break. But it's also charmed to intentionally break so, if it does seriously catch on something it won't choke you."

He flipped over the locket. On the back were a series of tiny runes, so delicately engraved that they were almost invisible at first glance. "Have you ever heard of a pensieve?" he asked. The girls all shook their heads. "From what I've been told it's an item, usually something like a large stone bowl, where memories can be viewed."

"Most lockets hold a photograph, but Amelia tells me there aren't any surviving photographs after… well, after." He nervously cleared his throat before he continued. "This isn't big enough, and won't take all the runes needed to make it a true pensieve, but it could do one thing." He held the locket flat on his open palm and opened it showing that in one side there was a tiny pool of a glimmering silvery liquid. "Touch it with your finger," he told her and, hesitantly, Susan reached out and dipped the index finger of her right hand into the tiny pool.

Her eyes went distant for a moment, as if she was looking at something far away from them and she became very still. Seconds later she jerked her hand back and burst into tears. Harry quickly closed the locket, panic gripping him for a moment as he began to feel he'd made a terrible mistake when Susan suddenly launched herself from her chair, slamming into him full force.

The two tumbled backwards from Harry's awkward position crouching in front of her to sprawl out on the rug. Harry felt panic and terror tear through him, but those feelings that he knew so well were overwhelmed by the sensations flowing from Susan into him. Sorrow and joy mixed with pain and loss and elation.

Harry awkwardly wrapped his arms around the shaking girl as she laid sprawled across him and attempted to comfort her the best he could. "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. "I didn't mean to upset you." She shook her head, violently, her red hair swishing back and forth with her motion. His eyes were covered by the deep red strands so he closed them and just held her until she was able to gather herself and she sat up.

After helping him to his feet she went back to her seat, taking the locket from him.

"What was it?" Hermione finally asked, no longer able to contain her curiosity.

"My parents," Susan said, a bright smile on her face despite the tears that still stained her cheeks. She wiped them away with one hand and held up the locket. "There are no images with the memory," she explained. "But I could hear them, when I touched it. My mum and dad, telling me that they loved me." She stared at the locket. "I'd completely forgotten what their voices sounded like," she added, lovingly stroking the locket.

Hermione and Daphne folded the red head into a deep hug, wrapping their arms tightly around their bond mate as Susan slowly got herself more under control.

"Please, put it on me?" she asked Harry, almost pleadingly as she held the locket out to him. He took it and stepped around her chair as she gather her long hair in one hand and lifted it out of his way. He unlocked the clasp and carefully placed it around her neck before closing it again. Once it was on it hung just below her collar bones and she touched her fingers to it for a moment, smiling softly.

Hermione and Daphne both pulled Harry into a hug, their arms wrapping tightly around him.

"That, is probably one of the sweetest things I've ever seen anyone do," Hermione whispered in his ear.

While they were hugging him Susan rose and met her aunt in the middle of the room, the two of them sharing a tearful hug as Susan whispered her thanks over and over to her Aunt.

When they pulled apart, Harry was standing there, another small package in his hands that he'd pulled from his pocket.

"Madam Bones," he said with a short bow. "I wanted to do something special for you, too, since you were kind enough to invite me into your home even though you'd only met me once before, and we barely spoke that first day at the train station. So while the shop was working on Susan's locket, I had them make this as well."

A part of her wanted to protest the gift, but she could tell by his formal tone and wording that he wasn't going to accept any protests. With a smile she took the package and unwrapped it, opening the jewelry box to find a replica of the locket Susan now wore.

"You mentioned that Susan's father was your brother," Harry said. "The shop that made the lockets told me that they couldn't find anything in the memory you submitted for use that seemed appropriate for the audio memory, like with Susan's locket. But they mentioned that they could take photographs from penseive memories, so…" he trailed off and she opened the locket to find a small, simple photograph of her brother and sister-in-law tucked into one of the spaces within the locket. He was standing behind his wife, his arms wrapped around her waist, and in her arms was a tiny bundle with a shock of bright red hair peeking out from within the blankets.

"Harry James Potter," she breathed, peering closely at the picture. It wasn't moving, as most wizarding photographs did, but one could easily see the great love the two held for each other and for the tiny baby held so carefully in her mothers arms. Without a word she reached out and pulled a startled Harry into a hug. All the hugging was seriously throwing him for a loop.

One part of him feared and still hated any sort of physical contact, but another, larger part, was growing to love these displays of affection that he had so long been starved of.

Amelia pulled back, leaving one hand on his shoulder as she carefully closed the locket. "You are entirely too good of a person," she murmured quietly to him, "for all the horror you've experienced in your life. I can't imagine how you've managed to remain so… pure, and kind. It was no imposition at all to have you with us for the holidays, Harry. You… just keep being you, understand?"

Harry gave her a bright smile, and even though he wasn't sure he truly did understand what she meant, he still nodded and moved back to his seat so they could finish opening their presents.

"Harry how did you manage to do all of this?" Daphne asked after they had all returned to their seats. "I mean, there's no way you could have gotten that locket ready just from the shopping trip the other day. That alone would have taken weeks at best to prepare."

Harry grinned. "Have you ever really talked to Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil in our year?" he asked and the girls, somewhat guiltily, shook their heads.

"Between the two of them, they've got more owl order catalogues than you can shake a wand at," he explained. "I exchanged several letters with Amelia, asking for her help with Susan's present. And with you and Daphne, it was just a matter of looking through some of the catalogues at night and writing to the shops with my questions and what I would need to arrange. After that, I just paid and picked them up when we were at Diagon Alley."

"I think you should have kept this," Daphne said with a quiet laugh as she shook her wrist slightly, drawing attention to the little serpent charm hanging from her bracelet. "You're obviously far more Slytherin than I am."

There were many ooo's and ahhh's as they went through the last of the presents they had to open, but few created the same response as the gifts Harry had presented to them. Just as they'd felt they'd opened all of them Susan noticed one last package tucked away beneath their Christmas tree.

"Harry? This one has your name on it," she said as she handed him the simple, lumpy package with a note but no signature. He quickly ripped it open and Daphne practically screamed as a silvery, almost liquid material flowed out across his hands.

"That's an invisibility cloak!" she cried.

"The note says 'Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well. A very Merry Christmas to you'." Hermione glanced up from the note. "There's no signature."

Debate was been long and fruitless. There was nothing to indicate where the cloak had come from but knowing it had belonged to his father… Harry regarded the item with a sense of awe and longing that he felt was overwhelming and he started to understand how Susan must have felt when he explained her locket to her. Regretfully, he packed the cloak away, resolving to consider it another time.

He received one other gift, with a note informing him that it was from Hagrid. A photo album. When he opened it tears welled up in his eyes and he was dimly aware of the girls moving to sit near him, comforting him with their presence as he turned page after page, looking at moving wizarding photos of his parents throughout their time at Hogwarts.

They spent the afternoon after that, relaxing in the parlor. Cups of hot cocoa seemed to be the drink of choice and Christmas music filled the air from a wireless in one corner. Harry and Hermione spent much of the time with their noses buried in various books they'd received as Christmas gifts while Daphne was quick to make use of Harry's gift to her and sat with one of her sketch pads open on her lap with a pencil in hand as she drew while Susan sat and talked quietly with her aunt.

By the time early evening rolled around they were shipped off to their rooms to change for dinner and by five o'clock they had all gathered at the Floo access room to greet the guests. Harry couldn't easily describe how he felt, dressed for the first time in good clothes that actually fit him and that were not part of a school uniform. He'd chosen an entirely black ensemble of slacks and a button down, long sleeved shirt with a new park of black shoes on his feet that he still needed to break in, but figured they would do for the evening. Something as simple as wearing a new set of clothes had him feeling better about himself, and more confident than he could ever remember feeling. Something the girls noticed right away as they congratulated each other in getting him to buy the clothes in the first place.

Harry broke into a smile when Dan and Emma Granger tumbled from the fire with Hermione, who had gone back to the house to collect them, and quietly greeted Amelia. He'd seen it enough times that he was convinced the Floo was safe, just the idea of trying to take it himself still filled him with terror and he quickly shoved it aside and focused on the new arrivals.

"That is a bit of a ride, isn't it?" Dan commented and Amelia laughed.

"Most wizarding forms of transport are similar. I have a friend that never quite got used to portkeys. Violently ill ever time, the poor dear," Amelia said.

"Having a good holiday, Harry?" Emma asked as she folded him into a quick hug.

"It's been brilliant." He hadn't been able to stop smiling all day and she gave him a bright smile of her own.

"A smile looks good on you," she said and his smile grew even broader if that was possible.

"It feels good, too," he said.

"And the new clothes." She gave him a bright smile. "You're looking quite handsome tonight, Harry."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

"Emma, please."

Harry nodded, grin still firmly in place as the fireplace flared again and two more people stepped out.

He couldn't see her. Wasn't standing near her at that moment. But immediately, Harry felt Daphne tense and a wary apprehension flooded through her body and across their link into Harry, Susan, and Hermione.

Harry turned, the grin that hadn't left his face all morning falling away to be replaced by a stony expression as he took in the two people that stood brushing soot from their shoulders in front of the fireplace.

Cyril Greengrass was an imposing figure of a man. He towered over Harry at just a hair under two meters tall and easily outweighed the younger wizard by more than a hundred pounds. He was broad shouldered with shoulder length raven locks. Eyes an even colder blue than his daughters, peered out of a face that appeared to be carved from granite for all the emotion it showed.

"Mister Potter," he said in a smooth, deep voice that perfectly matched his broad frame. He strode forward, his wife following with him as he extended a hand toward Harry. "Cyril Greengrass," he said. "It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. This is my wife Danyella." Harry shook the man's hand as briefly as he could before accepting his wife's and repeating the process. Harry saw where Daphne got her looks. Her mother was just as slender and with the same beautiful blond hair though hers was twisted into a complicated braid that fell over one shoulder nearly to her waist.

"I haven't yet determined that I agree, but I hope to be proven wrong," Harry bit out in a cold voice that had the entire room freezing in their conversation to look toward the confrontation happening near the fireplace. Susan, Daphne, and Hermione stared at him, mouths hanging open while Dan and Emma shifted nervously, aware that something was happening outside the realm of their understanding.

Amelia watched the proceedings like a hawk, her sharp gaze taking in everything and her hand never straying far from her wand. She was beginning to understand what Susan and Daphne had meant when they talked about Harry when he was angry. There was a presence that surrounded the boy that made him seem larger than he actually was.

"And what, precisely, is that supposed to mean?" Cyril asked, his own tone dropping to frigid levels.

"It means precisely what it sounded like. I haven't yet decided if it is a pleasure to meet you. Hopefully you'll change my mind before the end of the night."

Cyril's jaw tensed as he ground his teeth but no emotion reached his eyes and for a moment the two stood, still as statues, staring each other down. Finally, Cyril nodded and turned to extend his arm to his wife who gracefully accepted it and strode forward with her husband.

"Amelia," Danyella called out as they approached. "Thank you so much for having us, and for inviting Daphne to stay with you. I know she was looking forward to this holiday for some time."

"She's been a delight to have," Amelia said, easily falling into the pattern of compliment and politics. There was never a simple conversation to be had when the Greengrass parents were involved. Every word, every look, every sound had a double meaning or perhaps a triple, depending on how hard one looked. The adults slowly left the room leaving Harry still standing exactly as he'd been when speaking to Cyril.

"Harry?" Daphne asked, reaching out to take his hand. She quirked a brow as she felt the ring on his finger but decided that it wasn't the time to ask.

"I have the distinct feeling that I should apologize to your aunt, Susan," he said, suddenly.

"You haven't done anything to apologize for, Harry."

"No," he agreed nodding his head slowly. He turned and gave them a tight grin, the anger still visible in the hard chips of emerald his eyes had become. "But I think I might before the nights over."

#####

Dinner was a friendly, cheerful affair. Conversation flowed naturally about most of the table with the girls discussing classes and most of the adults talking about various bits of news and matters of government.

"… no I don't think it's too harsh, Cyril. Muggle baiting is a crime and these idiots that go out and cause trouble should be slapped down to the fullest extent of the law."

"You can't really consider this a serous crime, Amelia."

"I can, and I do. It's a risk to the statute of secrecy and it's just cruel."

"…I'll show you the wand movement after dinner," Hermione told Daphne. "It's really a rather simple charm, just the wand work is tricky and that's what Professor Flitwick said trips most people up."

Of the people at the table only Harry and the Grangers ate in relative silence.

"Not having a good time, Harry?" Emma asked, leaning closer to him as they moved onto desert.

"I'm having a great time," he assured her. "I'm just… observing. I've never had a Christmas dinner before." The smile her gave her was wide and infectious and she couldn't help smiling in return even as she felt a stab of pain in her chest thinking of what the polite and unassuming child seated next to her had been denied.

"It's fantastic to be a part of this," he added. "Almost like having a family." With that, he turned away and tucked into his treacle tart, ignorant of the sad looks that several people turned in his direction.

After dinner the nine of them made their way to the parlor where Harry stared, once again, at the black grand piano for a moment before he tore his eyes away and grabbed himself a butterbeer and a book on defense spells that he'd received as a Christmas gift from Hermione. He dropped into a plush armchair and made himself comfortable before he cracked open his book and quickly lost himself in it.

"What do you think of him?" Cyril asked Amelia in a quiet tone as the adults sat and watched their respective children. Susan and Daphne were sitting together on a small love seat, their heads together as they conversed quietly while Harry and Hermione both had their noses buried in a book.

"From what I've seen, he's an amazing and powerful kid. He's definitely got his share of demons, but I think, with the right support, he'll be more than able to overcome them." She absently fingered the locket that hung from its chain around her neck and smiled. "And for a kid, he's an extremely smooth operator." She laughed at the expressions the other parents gave her. "Ask your daughters about the gifts he got them," was all she would say.

After a few moments Cyril decided to press forward. "And what of this… relationship? I mean, three girls? Is that not going to cause trouble of its own?"

"I was wondering about that, too," Dan muttered and he leaned closer to join in the conversation. "I'm really not sure I like the idea of my daughter being stuck in this… whatever it is."

"You wouldn't be able to understand," Cyril snapped before Amelia could say anything. "You're just a muggle."

"I may be 'just a muggle'," Dan snapped back, not giving an inch, "but Emma and I are pretty damn smart. Instead of judging why don't you try explaining? Since its outside our experience we'd love to learn more about it."

"Cyril, I think you should stop," Amelia murmured as the air around them started to feel heavy.

"Mister Granger, you do not understand magic. You have no frame of reference and little ability to comprehend its intricacies. Kindly keep your nose out of this and leave it to your betters to discuss the situation."

"Really, Cyril. Anytime you want to stop talking would be good." A low crackling sound started to hum through the air.

"Our betters? You really think you're better than us just because you can do magic?"

"One cannot deny facts."

"Cyril Greengrass, shut up!"

Cyril finally turned his attention from the growing argument he'd been having with Dan to look to Amelia on his other side. He only made it half way there since the moment his gaze swept across the room he found his attention riveted by a dark figure sitting in an overstuffed armchair directly across from him.

Glowing green eyes seemed to pierce him from across the room as Harry Potter peered over the top of his book.

"Daphne told me that the Greengrass family never supported Voldemort in the war," he said in a cool, even tone. Harry ignored the various flinches from those raised in the wizarding world and slowly closed his book, setting it on a table next to his chair. "I'm not certain, now, if she was lying to me or if she was fooled into thinking that."

"You have no idea what you're talking about, boy," Cyril ground out, almost seeming to bite off the words.

The girl's winced as a white hot needle of rage tore across their bond and Harry's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Do not, ever, call me 'boy '," he snarled. "The only people that call me that I would gladly see lying dead in a ditch somewhere." Cyril felt his mouth grow dry as the feeling of raw magic in the room slowly increased.

"Be that as it may, you still know nothing of my House," he sniffed, disdainfully.

Harry cocked his head to the side slightly, considering the older wizard carefully for a moment. "I know what Daphne, Susan, and Neville have told me. House Greengrass has long been considered a grey or neutral family. Never actively giving support to one side of a conflict or another. You run an import/export business that you grew from your fathers modest company to one of the largest in the muggle world and the absolute largest in the wizarding. Your contacts overseas and with customs agents makes you a sought after individual for some of the less reputable members of society and a lot of pressure was placed on your family, and by extension you in the last war. Even though you were relatively young at the time, you'd networked well while at Hogwarts.

"You also held a seat on the Wizengemont, giving you influence to block or support laws that could help or hinder people of muggle birth. I know that Voldemort's supporters pushed a lot of the anti-muggleborn laws that we have now. I know Voldemort's sick dogma. I read, Mister Greengrass. Finding out I'm famous for defeating some powerful dark wizard was a shock and I've read everything I could find on him since being reintroduced to the wizarding world."

Amelia, Danyella, and Cyril all stared at Harry in open mouthed shock even as the three girls regarded him carefully. He was remarkably well informed, something in direct counterpoint to the knowledge that he had only been a part of the wizarding world for less than half a year after being raised by muggles.

"The drivel you were just spouting sounds to me a lot like the crap that Voldemort was selling. Muggles are inferior to wizards. Purity of blood is all important. Blah, blah, blah," Harry sneered, the contempt and disgust clear in his voice. "Here you are, telling the Grangers that they couldn't possibly understand something because they're 'just muggles' and to 'leave it to your betters'. That is precisely the crap Voldemort spewed. So which is it, Mister Greengrass? Are you a good man, as your daughter says you are? Or did you really support the last Dark Lord's ideals even if you didn't do so publicly?"

Cyril glowered at the slip of a boy in front of him and his fingers twitched but he resisted the urge to reach for his wand. It wouldn't do to be seen attacking the Boy-Who-Lived in front of the Head of the DMLE, plus, he was only a boy. It really wouldn't be charitable to attack him despite his unfounded accusations.

"Amelia," he said in a clipped tone, his face impassive. "I would like to thank you for your gracious hospitality and a lovely meal this evening. Your home, as always, is as lovely and welcoming as I've come to expect. Since it was previously agreed that Daphne would spend the entirety of the holiday here, is it safe to assume this is still true, or is the daughter of a Greengrass no longer welcome in this house?"

"Don't you take that tone with me, Cyril. I'm not the one you insulted. That being said, Daphne is always welcome here, even if it were not for the presence of Mister Potter. She and Susan have become good friends and I would love to see them continue that relationship."

"Danyella, let's go."

He said nothing more and simply stood and strode from the room. His wife quickly said her goodbyes and gave her daughter a quick kiss on the cheek before she followed her husband from the room. A minute later they heard a small bell ring, signaling that the Floo had been used.

All eyes turned back to Harry who had, once again, buried his nose in his new defense book and was ignorant of their stares. The eerie light was gone from his eyes and the air felt almost cool after the oppressive weight of magic that had so recently filled the room.

It wasn't much longer after that when the children were sent off to bed. Hugs and kisses were the norm as Hermione and Susan said good night to their respective guardians and Harry and Daphne slipped away, neither having such people present at the time.

"I'm sorry about that," Harry muttered as the two of them made their way to the stairs. "I didn't mean to ruin everything."

"You didn't ruin anything, Harry. He did." She sighed disconsolately. "I feel I should apologize. He really is a good man. He's just…" she sighed again and shrugged. "I don't know."

"You shouldn't apologize for other peoples actions. You don't control him and you have no responsibility for how he chooses to behave." Harry shrugged.

"He's my father," she said, as if that explained everything.

Harry shrugged again. "I wouldn't know anything about that," he muttered. "I've never known my father." Daphne came to an abrupt halt, a stricken expression on her face.

After a dozen more steps, Harry stopped and sighed, his head falling back so he was looking up at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice barely reaching her. "That must have sounded terrible. Do you… do you love your father, Daphne?"

"Of course I do."

"The only male parental figure I've ever known is my Uncle. I used to make apologies for his behavior all the time. Not to other people of course. No, keep the freak hidden, that was the standard. But I made apologies to myself. Lying in the dark in my cu- in my room. I'd make apologies. I'd try to explain away his behavior. Make excuses. I messed up. I did something wrong. I ruined something."

He lowered his head and turned slightly to look at her out of the corner of one eye. "I don't make excuses for him anymore. I don't apologize for him. Happy Christmas, everyone." He opened the door to his room and slipped inside as Daphne turned to find Susan and Hermione standing behind her, pained expressions on both their faces as well.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," she muttered.

#####

After the children left, Dan, Emma, and Amelia sat for a few minutes, sipping their drinks and otherwise experiencing an awkward silence that none seemed to quite know how to break.

"I'm very glad that you accepted my invitation to join us this evening," Amelia finally said. "I apologize for the unpleasantness, but I'd like to assure you that no one in my family feels as Cyril apparently does. I thought I knew him better than that, to be honest." She was playing nervously with her mug of hot chocolate, spinning it on the table in front of her.

"It's not your fault he decided to act like a git," Dan assured her. "We don't blame you in the slightest."

"I am curious, though," Emma said. "Is that kind of thinking common in your world?"

Amelia winced and sighed. "Unfortunately it is far more common than I'd like. And his behavior was honestly rather tame in comparison to some." She leaned back in her chair and called for Binky. "Binky, could you bring us a bottle of Ogden's?" she asked. "I think we're going to need it."

"Of course, Mistress Bonesy," he squeaked and popped away leaving a gobsmacked pair of Grangers behind, staring at the space he had just occupied.

"What was that?" Dan asked.

"Hmmm? Oh, that was Binky, the Bones family house elf."

"And what, exactly, is a house elf?" Emma prodded.

"They're an interesting race of magical creatures," Amelia explained. "No one really knows how many there are or where they came from or anything like that. But an elf binds him or herself to a family and serves them. Binky cleans and cooks and basically looks after the house and Susan and I."

"Binds?"

"Yes. A house elf is bound to serve the family they are bound to. Yes, it's a form of slavery that I find rather distasteful for the most part," she added when she saw the looks on the Grangers faces. "The thing is though, that house elves are symbiotic to witches and wizards. They need to either, live in a place with a lot of residual magic, like at Hogwarts, or they need to be bound to a family or they'll lose their magic and die. The more powerful the witch or wizard they're bound to, the more powerful the elf is.

"Some families treat their house elves abhorrently, but there's no laws to prevent it. The Bones family and many others I know of, have always tried to treat our house elves with respect and courtesy, and not as property."

"You knew what we were going to ask?" Emma noted and Amelia smiled.

"When Hermione met Binky the other day it ended up starting a rather interesting conversation," she said with a grin that was mirrored by the Grangers. Indeed, Hermione had been incensed when she'd learned that house elves were basically slaves to the family they worked for. It had taken a bit of fast talking to get the girl to understand the symbiotic nature of the relationship between a house elf and their family, but Amelia had eventually gotten through to her, with Daphne and Susan helping.

There was a quiet pop and a bottle filled with an amber colored liquid and three glasses appeared on the table. She quickly poured a reasonable measure into the three glasses and handed each Granger one with a brief warning. "This is fire whiskey," she said. "It has some unusual effects but it's harmless, other than being strongly alcoholic. The first few sips you'll probably breathe a bit of fire, but it's nothing to worry about, I assure you."

They sipped their drinks for a moment, and indeed, both Grangers breathed out small tongues of flames with the first couple of gulps which Emma found fascinating. Eventually they settled in and Amelia prepared herself for an unpleasant discussion.

"So, I think we need to get a better grounding on things," Dan finally said. "We only got a very brief explanation from Dumbledore, years ago, about the wizarding world and this situation with Hermione appears to have become a lot more complicated than we were originally told."

"True, complicated is one word for it," Amelia muttered and took another sip of her drink. "What did you want to know first?"

"Why don't we start with that Cyril bloke?" Dan suggested. "I'd really like to get a better idea of what we're likely to expect from other witches and wizards if he's a not uncommon example."

Amelia nodded. "Fair enough. The important thing to remember is that in reality the wizarding world is probably a century or two behind the muggle world as far as societal and technological advancement. We still use candles and quills and parchment, as you've no doubt noticed. Aside from that, the laws and rules are very Victorian in a lot of regards as well. Status and family lineage plays a large part in many aspects of our society.

"There are three main classifications that people fall under. Pureblood, meaning the witch or wizard has magical parents, usually going back at least a handful of generations with no muggle or non-magical family. Susan, Daphne and I are all pureblood. Then there's halfbloods, like Harry. His father was from a very old pureblood family, but his mother was a first generation which, like Hermione. Both her parents were muggles with no magic of their own."

Dan and Emma nodded, showing that they were following along.

"Then there's muggleborn, like Hermione. You're already aware of that classification as just a witch or wizard born to muggle parents. The problem becomes with how our government is set up and how power and wealth in our society is distributed. Harry's family is what is known as a Most Ancient and Nobel House. That means that his family has been entirely magical going back more than a hundred generations. Harry is, in fact, known as Lord Potter due to his family titles.

"Most of the Wizengamont are made up of old families like his and a lot of them have a very strict idea of how things should be run and who is acceptable in polite society." She said 'polite society' with a touch of disgust in her tone and paused to take another sip of her drink. "There are many old purebloods with some extremely bigoted and stupid views. Halfbloods and muggleborn are seen as being inferior somehow. Particularly muggleborn. Some even have presented the absolutely ridiculous idea that muggleborns must somehow be stealing magic from purebloods since in the last couple of centuries the number of squibs born to pureblood families has been rising just as there has been an increase in muggleborn witches and wizards."

"Squib?" Dan asked, unfamiliar with the word.

"The opposite of a muggleborn. A person born without magic but who has magical parents," she explained.

"So there are a lot of people, even people in charge of the government, that are going to be looking down on our daughter just because her parents don't have magic?" Dan growled.

"I'm afraid so. A lot of muggleborns tend to leave the magical world after school since it's difficult for them here."

"This is all sounding less and less like something we would like Hermione being involved with," Emma admitted.

"Which I completely agree with," Amelia hastened to say. "But I'm sorry to tell you that there really isn't much you can do about it."

"And why is that? We could just pull her out of school. There's no reason for her to have to deal with that kind of crap."

"It's not that simple, unfortunately. First of all, before fifth year if a muggleborn wants to leave school the laws are written so that they would have their magic bound and have their and their families memories modified so that they won't remember that magic actually exists. The problem with that is that a lot of them still can feel that there's something missing in their lives and they go on to live a rather miserable existence. Some have even committed suicide."

Dan and Emma stared at her in absolute horror at that thought.

"Aside from that, she's bound, magic and soul to Harry, Daphne, and Susan. Taking her away from them would hurt all four of them in ways we can't even begin to predict."

"And you're fine with this? Some kid has three girls magically tied to him like that slave of an elf is to your family and you're just okay with it all?"

Amelia glared at Daniel Granger and he met her gaze without flinching. "I'm beginning to understand some of what Cyril was ranting about," she muttered. "Don't get me wrong, he was a git and incredibly rude, but he wasn't entirely wrong in that you lack the frame of reference here so please, try to do me a favor and not jump to conclusions until I have a chance to explain."

"Daniel, sit back and take a breath," Emma snapped. "This all seems pretty awful, yes, but can you honestly picture Amelia being happy with what you described? She obviously loves her niece and I'm sure wouldn't react favorably to what you think is happening. Obviously there's more to the story, so let her finish."

The glare she directed at her husband promised retribution if he didn't cooperate and he sank back in his seat, taking a large gulp of his drink as he did.

Amelia took a deep breath and let it out slowly, taking a moment to organize her thoughts. "Look, I can understand how strange and frightening this all must be. I don't think less of you but you are muggles with little experience with magic, More experience, more exposure to it might help you understand better. For right now I'm just going to explain, as much as I can, and try to give you a better understanding of this situation with Harry and your daughter, as well as Daphne and Susan. Please, ask questions if you need, but try not to jump to conclusions, all right?"

Dan and Emma nodded, Dan seeming properly chastised for his reaction but he still didn't like it and hoped for a damn good explanation.

Amelia took another sip of her drink, trying to figure out where to start. "Okay," she said, finally. "Let's start at the beginning here. Do you have any idea how Hermione ended up bonded to Harry?"

"No. When that Dumbledore fellow came and explained it to us he said he had no idea how it could have happened since she didn't have any friends really and was far too young, according to him."

Amelia nodded. "Normally that would be true, but things around Harry seem to have a tendency to lean toward the strange and unusual." She refilled their glasses and leaned back in her chair. "This really all starts long before the kids were born. About twenty years ago, give or take, there was a wizard. An incredibly powerful, dark, and evil wizard that went by the name, Lord Voldemort."

"That's the name Harry mentioned, when he was ripping that berk a new one," Emma interrupted and Amelia nodded, grinning at her description.

"Right. Voldemort terrorized the wizarding and muggle worlds, killing and destroying, basically unchecked. His power was immense, and terrible, and he gathered an army of like minded sycophants as followers that he called Death Eaters. We were in a full blown civil war, fighting against Voldemort and with no idea who his followers were, since they wore masks. He had people placed in our government and in other high positions of power that further hindered efforts to fight him. We were losing, badly. On Halloween night, in 1981, Voldemort went to kill some people that had fought and defied him multiple times, something he couldn't allow to stand. Those people were James and Lilly Potter."

The Grangers both started at the names and Amelia nodded, a grim expression on her face.

"Yes, Harry's parents were targeted for death by Voldemort himself. He was so powerful, so terrifying that, even today, most people in wizarding society are afraid to say his name. They call him You-Know-Who, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. When he decided to kill you, there was usually no escape from him.

"So, on Halloween night, Voldemort went to the home where the Potters were staying in hiding. The house was hidden by a charm that should have made it impossible for him to find, but they were betrayed and the secret of their location was given to Voldemort. No one truly knows what happened that night, but in the end Lilly and James Potter were dead but Harry was still alive and Voldemort was destroyed.

"When children go to Hogwarts they are sorted into one of the four houses by an old hat. The sorting hat explained to the children what happened in a little more detail that night so here's what Susan told me about it. According to the hat, after killing his parents, Voldemort turned his wand on baby Harry. He cast a curse, one of three that are collectively known as Unforgivables in our world. Using even one on another human carries with it an immediate life sentence in Azkaban, the wizarding prison. The killing curse struck Harry on the forehead, causing that lightning bolt shaped scar, but for some reason no one understands, it failed to kill him. Something no one has ever survived, failed to kill a fifteen month old child. The curse rebounded and destroyed Voldemort and, according to the hat, it tore Harry's soul apart.

"The curse ripped three pieces of his soul from his body but the pieces couldn't rejoin him for some reason. Instead they went searching for someone that could house and protect them, keeping his soul alive, if not intact. They found what they were looking for in those three girls. Since that night, Harry has become known as the Boy-Who-Lived, and is probably one of the most famous wizards in the world because of what happened."

"That seems like quite a burden to place on a childs shoulders," Emma pointed out. "I mean, he wouldn't even be able to remember something that happened when he was that young. He wouldn't have any better of an idea what actually happened than anyone else would but people… what, idolize him for something he has no memory of?"

Amelia grimaced and nodded. "Yes, I've tried to teach Susan not to pay attention to that type of thing. Most people in the wizarding world have no idea who Harry really is. They see him as a symbol, rather than a person."

"Wait," Emma held up a hand, her brow furrowed in thought. "You said that the only one to survive was Harry, and he was just a baby back then?"

Amelia nodded.

"Then how did this hat know about the curse and how his soul split and all that?"

Amelia nodded, again. "That's a good, legitimate question. The hat does the sorting by sifting through the students minds. Basically looking over their life and examining their personality to decide what House they would be best suited for. Harry may not consciously remember what happened that night. But he was there, and he saw it. I can only imagine that is how the hat was able to piece together what it told them."

"That's all awful, and I'm sorry the poor kid has to deal with that, but what does it have to do with this situation?" Dan asked, carefully keeping his tone calm.

"Not a lot, really, other than explaining how this all got started. Now, when the kids arrived at Hogwarts back in September, they went through their sorting, as I mentioned previously. Susan tells me that the sorting hat refused to sort the girls as their names were called and waited until Harry was called up. When he did, it told him that it needed to sort all four of them at once, and when they were all under the hat it instructed them to touch Harry's skin. Susan and Hermione each held one of his hands and Daphne touched the back of his neck.

"When all four of them were connected, with Harry in the center, their souls mingled together, further enhancing their bond. Up until that point all three girls had a piece of Harry's soul, but he didn't have a part of theirs. So right now, Harry has a piece of all three girls souls inside him, and the girls all have a piece of the other three. Your daughter holds a part of her own soul as well as Harry's Daphne's, and Susan's.

"When you said that Harry had three girls bound to him, that's not entirely true. They're all four, equally bound to each other. Harry is just as tied to them as they are to him. Yes, it's strange, and it's unusual and frightening for us as their parents or guardians, but I assure you, keeping the four of them together is only ever going to be a good thing, for them."

The Grangers considered that, sipping their drinks in silence as they thought over everything they'd been told.

"Okay," Dan said finally. "Long run, what does this all mean for them, for all four of them?"

Amelia sighed. "No one can really say, to be honest. The bond gives them a few things that can help them with their relationship to each other. They can feel each others pain and emotions, as I'm sure you noticed over the years with Hermione. Did you notice earlier, when Cyril called Harry 'boy', all three girls reacted rather sharply?"

Emma nodded, her eyes thoughtful as she looked back over her memories of the night. "Yes, all three of them kind of winced. I thought they just new that he said something wrong, do you mean there was more to it?"

"Much more. I don't entirely understand how this all works, but from what Susan has told me over the years, I'd be willing to bet that in that moment, they felt Harry's anger toward Cyril. That's what made them wince. Not the words, but the feeling that bled over to them from him through the bond that they share."

"So if one of them is ever hurt, or in trouble, the others will be able to feel it?"

"Exactly. As the bond grows and strengthens they may even be able to find each other using it. There are many stories of gifts or special abilities that develop in bonded couples, though little factual investigation, so we really are only guessing how things could progress for them."

Dan blew out his breath in an explosive sigh and muttered quietly, "okay, I apologize for my earlier statement. I understand they're not slaves or being forced into this, really. But seriously, how is this all supposed to work? Harry and three girls?"

Amelia shifted a bit in her seat. "Again, I'm not sure. I have some ideas, but nothing grounded in fact."

"We'll take theories over no idea at all," Emma pleaded. "Ever since we found out about magic life has been insane for us. Hermione spent years focusing on this boy that she didn't even know. She never made any friends at school. She was teased and harassed constantly because of her single minded approach to learning. Our daughter hasn't had a horrible life, not like what we suspect Harry has been through, but it hasn't been easy for her either. We just want to be sure that she's not going to be hurt here."

Amelia leaned forward and squeezed Emma's hand where it rested on the table in front of her. "I can understand that entirely. Susan is my only living family. I adopted her after her parents, my brother and his wife were murdered after the war. She's all I have so believe me when I say that I am just as concerned as you are. I just have a better grounding in magic to help me come to terms with everything."

She leaned back again and took up her drink. "I see two possibilities in the future for them. The first strikes me as the least likely but it's still possible so I'll include it. Option one: Nothing really happens with them. They remain close friends for the rest of their lives. The girls have been working on helping Harry to heal and grow from the traumas he's experienced and he has become fiercely protective of them. In fact, he's already saved both Susan's and Daphne's lives since they started school."

"Wait, what?" Dan interrupted. "We haven't heard about any of this."

"During an early flying lesson, Susan slipped from one of the decrepit old brooms they use in the class. She was fifty feet in the air and is normally an extremely good flyer, I made sure she learned early on. But she fell, and Harry caught her, injuring himself in the process." She leaned forward, again, and fixed an intense stare on the Granger parents. "He did that after barely knowing the girls for a few weeks. And on Halloween, apparently, a mountain troll got into the school somehow, that's still being investigated, but Daphne was placed in danger. Harry ran in with no concern for his own safety and jumped onto the thing's back to try and distract it from crushing Daphne.

"Twelve feet tall, dumb as a box of rocks, and filled with rage and the urge to destroy, and that kid physically attacked it. Harry has shown that he's willing to place himself in danger to keep those girls safe. He was even injured somewhat seriously when he fought the troll. He actually managed to kill the thing, something most fully matured wizards or witches would have some difficulty with, and he ended up receiving several broken bones and even bruised internal organs in the process. He very likely could have died, but he didn't hesitate to leap into danger to protect one of the girls."

Dan and Emma hadn't heard about that, and really didn't know what to think. They did feel they were going to have to have a serious discussion with their daughter thought about what she left out of her letters home.

"Wait, is it normal for there to be so many dangerous situations at that school? I mean, in the first two months he had to save two peoples lives?"

"No, it's not that normal, to be honest. But you also have to consider that, aside from the unusual circumstances, even in a normal year, a school full of children, working with magic is sometimes a volatile situation. That's why the school Healer is a fully licensed and accredited Healer as opposed to just a simple nurse as it is with most muggle schools. Madam Pomfrey is actually one of the most skilled Healers in all of Britain, and would normally be working at St. Mungos Hospital. In fact, they've tried to poach her away from the school several times, but she loves working with the children and refuses to leave."

"Okay," Dan muttered. "Okay, all right, so that's option one, they're going to be the absolute best of friends for the rest of their lives. There's no escaping that, no matter what, so what's option two in this?"

"For that, I need to give a little more backstory, and again, please keep an open mind, try not to jump to conclusions, and stay calm."

Dan and Emma exchanged another look. "You're really not filling us with confidence here, Madam Bones," Emma sighed.

"I don't mean to worry you, but like I said, this whole situation is unique and I do not use that word lightly. A Soul Bond between two people, that's happened. Little is written about it really, since all those couples that have been a part of one of these bonds find that they have difficultly explaining it or talking about it to others. It's an extremely private and personal experience for them. In the children's case here, there are four of them, all bonded to each other. That has, quite literally, never happened in the whole of human history, as far as we are aware.

"Did Dumbledore explain the difference between soul mates and a Soul Bond?"

"There's more? Seriously?" Dan lifted his drink, and, in dumbfounded silence, gulped down the remainder.

"I'll take that as a 'no' and add that to my list of reasons to strangle that old man with his own bloody beard," Amelia growled under her breath. "Okay. The soul mate connection is a lesser thing than a Soul Bond. Soul mates are two people who's magic and souls are perfectly attuned to each other, I'm sure he mentioned that much?" They nodded. "That's good at least. The problem is that soul mates do not always end up romantically entangled. More often than not, they do, but not always by any means. Whether they do or not, once they've met they still always end up being a part of each others lives until they die."

"Right, Dumbledore said there was no reason to think they would be in a romantic relationship by default."

"That's for soul mates, though," Amelia pointed out, emphasizing the word 'mates'. "What these four have is a Soul Bond. That is a much closer relationship, and as far as any records indicate not one case of a Soul Bond has ended in anything other than the couple being quite happily married until the day they died."

Dan took several deep breaths, his fists clenched on the table in front of him. "I think I need another drink," he muttered and Amelia reached out and poured for him.

"Look, we really just need a simple explanation here," Emma practically pleaded.

Amelia gave them a sympathetic look before she continued. "As far as I can tell, option one isn't going to happen. I seriously doubt those girls have any intention whatsoever of simply remaining friends forever with Harry. So option two is they do end up involved romantically. And that's were the nature of this bond comes in. If it was just the three girls bonded to Harry, well it'd still be likely they'd all want to be with him. But the nature of the relationship would be different.

"Harry went to Gringotts the other day to ask about his family accounts. While speaking with his family accounts manager Harry took up his status as Head of House Potter making him a legally emancipated minor in the wizarding world. Part of the reason he was able to take up that status was because as far as Magic itself is concerned, and as far as their bond is concerned, Harry is betrothed to the three girls. It's a magically and legally binding betrothal." Amelia poured again and let that sink in for a moment. "Dumbledore explained how the bond is finalized?"

They nodded, but said nothing. Emma's hand was shaking slightly and Amelia was glad she hadn't filled the glass very high.

"They could complete the bond with a simple kiss. Sealing their bond and stabilizing it. As soon as they do, documents will appear through Gringotts and the Ministry to signify that they are legally married. Those documents won't go into affect, though until the marriage is recognized by them. Specifically by Harry acknowledging them as his wives in front of witnesses."

"And what about the girls?" Dan demanded. "They're supposed to share one man? How would that even work? Is that even legal?" He groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. He propped his elbows o n the table in front of him and let his head drop into his hands. "I'm really trying not to jump to conclusions here. And I'm really trying not to think about my twelve-year-old daughter being married. But the more I hear, the more it sounds like she's heading for a loveless marriage to a guy that won't be able to appreciate her, or the other girls, as they should be. Please, tell me you have some good news?"

"Believe me, I've had all of those same thoughts," she told them, sympathetically, "and I think I've worked out what is most likely to happen."

"Which is?" Emma prompted.

"Well, once again it comes down to the nature of the bond itself. Keep in mind this is all conjecture on my part, but if it was simply the three girls bonded to Harry, they would eventually fall in love with him and he with them. They would likely see each other as sisters or something close to that."

"But?" Dan prompted.

"But since they're all bonded to each other… I find it very likely that in the future the girls are going to end up having romantic feelings for each other as well as Harry. They're not just soul mates bonded to him, they're soul mates and bonded to each other as well." Amelia's tone was hesitant and she tried to break the news as gently as she could. She was well aware that the muggle world had some archaic views on same sex relationships and had no idea what the Granger parents thought of such things.

Dan and Emma both blinked, surprised and leaned back in their seats.

"That never even occurred to me," Emma admitted. "I suppose it should have when you said they were all bonded together in the same way instead of just the girls bonded to Harry alone."

Amelia began to feel hopeful. Emma didn't sound terribly upset by the concept.

"That doesn't bother you?" she asked.

Dan waved a hand as if batting away a pesky fly. "No, we don't have any prejudices over that kind of thing. It's not something either of us ever considered but we've always been of the mindset that what two people want to do together is no ones business but their own, as long as everyone's happy and no one is being forced or hurt in the process."

Amelia wasn't able to contain the sigh of relief she let out when she heard that. "Thank Merlin," she muttered. "Honestly, I think that was the part I was most worried about here," she admitted.

Emma arched a brow, or tried to, the whiskey was really starting to hit and she realized that she couldn't feel her face. "Girls being together worries you but one man marrying multiple girls doesn't?"

Amelia shrugged. "I don't mind same sex couples in the slightest. Again, it all goes back to the old pureblood laws in our society." She swirled the inch or so of liquid that remained in her glass. "Harry is the Head of an Ancient and Nobel house," she said. "Since he's the last living member of that House, in our society, for him, the continuing of his family line is paramount. I'm sure he doesn't know anything about that yet, and is obviously too young to give it much consideration, really. But it will eventually become something he'll need to consider.

"Since he needs to continue his line, wizarding law has it that legally he can have at least two wives, in order to increase the chances of siring a male heir to continue the family name." She almost laughed at the dumbstruck expressions on the Grangers faces. "But that's not anything to worry about any time soon." She drained her glass and set it down. "We can discuss this more another time, and I was thinking, since I managed to get a waiver to get your house attached to the Floo network just to my home here, you are welcome to come over any time. Even when the kids return to school. I think it might do you some good to get yourself a little more exposure to the wizarding world and to magic in general. It requires a magical person to operate though, but if you call for Binky whenever you'd like to come over he'll hear you and can inform me so Ican pop over and bring you through.

"I can only imagine it feels like you're losing your daughter to a world you know nothing about and can't join her in, but I want to assure you that I won't let that happen. Whatever happens with those four, whether they remain friends, Harry marries the girls or they all marry each other, I've the feeling we're going to be around each other for a very long time, and I'd like it if we could build a friendship of our own. Besides," she added with a smirk, "it'll be nice to have some people to talk to that aren't pre-pubescent."

Dan and Emma chuckled quietly and readily agreed to coming over to visit with Amelia as often as their schedules would permit. Considering the amount they'd had to drink, Amelia decided to invite them to stay the night, which they also happily agreed to.

Before turning in for the night she turned to them one last time.

"This whole situation isn't going to become something simple and manageable overnight, but I assure you, that as far as the relationship between your daughter and the rest of her bonded is concerned, there's no reason for worry. They'll work things out on their own, eventually, and decide how they all fit together. The only caution I can think of is that you might not want to discuss any of this with the children themselves."

"Why's that?" Emma asked as Dan leaned against the wall next to the door to the room they would be sleeping in.

Amelia shrugged, annoyed that she couldn't really explain the thought, but she'd learned to trust her instincts. "I just feel like, if they know ahead of time that they're already betrothed and going to be married as soon as they finalize their bond, that may color how they look at the bond itself and their relationship. I think that they should come to whatever realizations await them naturally, on their own without maybe trying to force or pull back from it. That could potentially cause it's own damage.

"When Harry met with his accounts manager he found out about the betrothals. I admit that I talked him out of telling the girls about it right now because I didn't want any of them feeling pressured and told him to put it from his mind and just worry about school and being with them and with his friends as he worked on getting himself right."

"I'm not certain I agree with that," Emma muttered as the floor tilted crazily under her and she reached out to place one hand on the door jam. "But right now I'm not in any condition to argue. We'll talk about it another time?"

Amelia nodded and wished them a good night as Emma grabbed her husband and dragged him into the room. Feeling immensely better about herself, Amelia went on to her own room, changed quickly, and slipped into bed.

Just before she drifted off her fingers found the locket around her neck and a melancholy smile curved her lips as sleep claimed her.

Authors Note the 2: Yes, I know. Giving Hermione a book bag is terribly cliched, but honestly I couldn't think of something more for her this early in the game. They're still getting to know each other and there are going to be plenty of shared secrets and experiences moving forward that will help shape future gifts and their interactions with each other.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and please, feel free to leave a review if you've got something to say.

Adios gang.