Harry Potter and the Bees Chapter 11: Attack of the Bees, a harry potter fanfic

Attack of the Bees

Disclaimer: I have not claim to characters or scenes from the Harry Potter series, which belongs to JK Rowling and associates. I get nothing from this except the enjoyment of imagining and writing the story. If I did own any of the Potterverse, I could stop having to work for a living.

Time frame – Post–DH except for the epilogue which I am ignoring, for reasons that should become obvious.

Avona Daneford woke up in her dorm room at Hogwarts. The third year Slytherin knew she had the world by the tail, as her family was now one of the most important old families, ever since that abomination Potter had killed the Dark Lord and perverted the natural course of the universe by corrupting the Ministry and making them arrest a lot of the Ancient and Noble family people, confiscating money that they had no right to have.

Her family had followed the Dark Lord's lead, although in order to remain out of the attention of the aurors and other misguided wizards, her father had been allowed to remain unmarked, and so he (and they) had survived the traitorous round-up after the so-called Battle of Hogwarts.

She was going to make sure she followed the old ways, as her family would want, and perhaps even bring Slytherin House back to its rightful prominence.

She reached over to her side table for her wand, and found a couple pieces of parchment, being held down by two pieces of wood which did not feel right. Where her wand should be, there were two sticks which had no magic in them at all.

She opened her eyes fully, to see the two sticks were what remained of her beautiful maple wand. Her scream of anger woke her roommates, who rushed over to her. Avona looked at them with what she felt was justified anger (they seemed content with the 'new order', and so were beneath contempt) and said "Okay, which one of you blood-traitorous bitches broke my wand. You will pay for this!"

Marjorie Greengrass looked at the parchments. "'Von, you had better look at these", and handed the parchments to the irate blonde.

Avona looked at two of the parchments and saw that they were just copies of the letters she had sent to the blood-traitor Weasley, and the uppity mudblood Granger. She discarded these for the worthless trash they were. Her roommates picked them up and read them, going ghostly pale as they did.

She read the longer piece of parchment, which had these words:

Miss Daneford,

The two letters, which I have attached to this document, have been brought to my attention. They serve to demonstrate that the blood-purist agenda of the late and unlamented Tom Riddle is still active. Riddle, a half-blood who styled himself Lord Voldemort, succeeded in convincing many of the Ancient Families to follow him in his murderous quest for power and personal immortality.

Riddle's program consisted of terror, murder and torture, not only of non-magical people, but all magical folk who did not accept his agenda.

Voldemort tried to kill me for most of my life, having murdered my parents when I was an infant. His followers and his agenda nearly destroyed our world. I will not let this happen again.

I do not wish to presume that a girl of your age could come up with the hatred expressed in your letter, all by yourself, and therefore must conclude that you are following the teachings of your family.

This letter is to inform you that I had broken your wand, and the wands of the rest of your immediate family. You and your family are now under continuous surveillance by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as well as my own security teams.

Should you send any further letters of the kind my associates and friends have received, and I will be forced to take more direct action.

Harry Potter

P.S. A copy of this letter, and the letters you sent to my friend, is sitting on the dining room table at your family's house, held down by the remains of their wands. This will be their only notice of my serious displeasure.

Avona through down the letter, which Marjorie picked up. While Avona ranted , the rest of the girls blanched. Emily Davis ran for the washroom and they could hear her retching.

Avona looked at her roommates in disgust. They seemed to think this letter was more than just the ravings of an egotistical fool who thought he ruled the world.

She laughed at her roommates, saying "So what's the big deal?"

Marjorie picked up the pieces of Avona's wand, and quietly asked "Von, do you know the meaning of a broken wand?"

Avona scoffed, "So my wand is broken. So what, I'll just get a new one. Daddy has some influence and will get me the best wand there is."

Emily came back from the lavatory. She said "In a full-scale serious duel, the winner kills the loser. Breaking the loser's wand means that the winner thinks that the loser is so pathetic that they don't deserve to have magic, and that they are not even worth killing. It is a statement of utter contempt."

The proud girl scoffed again. "So what if Potter wants to send me a signal that he doesn't think much of me. He is so full of himself. He'll learn who is really in charge."

Marjorie shook her head. "You stupid pathetic bitch. According to the bullshit propaganda your father sends you, Voldemort was supposed to be one of the three most powerful wizards that ever lived, and the treacherous Potter killed him by sneaking up on him. How the hell do you think, if Potter was so overrated like you claim, that he could sneak up on someone that powerful surrounded by all of his top Death Eaters? Tell me that!"

"My cousin Daphne was at the battle and saw it - Potter duelled with the Dark Lord publicly, one-on-one and Potter beat him! Potter killed the most powerful Dark Lord in the last five hundred years! That makes him even more powerful than the most powerful Dark Lords. And you have seriously pissed him off!"

"I have heard rumours that he has a special intelligence network that nobody seems able to find out anything about. And he has just told you that not only the DMLE, but his special force, will be watching you and your family from now on.""

"Think about it, Avona Daneford! Since the Battle, the wards around Hogwarts have been increase tenfold from what they were before, and it was considered the safest place in the UK even then. The only way that Death Eaters got in was by the treachery of Draco Malfoy, who personally let them in. On top of that, boys are not supposed to be able to get into the girl's dorms under any conditions. The fact that this note was sitting on your night-table says that Potter got into Hogwarts, and into our room, without setting off any of the sirens and alarms."

"After the battle, the DMLE rounded up all of the marked Death Eaters and executed them. Any who were found to support Voldemort, but hadn't taken the Dark Mark, had their property confiscated. Voldemort's plan is over!"

"Avona, you just lost any companions you ever had. If you get hit by lightning, no-one is going to believe it was not Potter coming after you."

Marjorie looked at her roommate, and in a quiet voice said, "Avona, what were you wearing last night?"

Avona said, "My forest green silk Slytherin nightgown. Why?"

Marjorie said, "Look down."

Avona looked down at the blood-covered T-shirt and transparent knickers she was now wearing, instead of her long silk gown. The T-shirt bore the message 'Don't Stand Too Close'. As she screamed in anger and tore off the T-shirt, the other girls could see that a target pattern was neatly tattooed onto her bare chest.

She screamed, "He can't threaten me!" Marjorie and Emily looked at each other and said together, "Avona, he just did."

In the seventh year Slytherin dormitory, Andrew MacNair woke to find a letter on his night-table. As had been found in the third year girls' dorm, it was accompanied by copies of the threatening letters he had sent to Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Hermione Granger, and weighed down by the pieces of his broken wand.

The document he received stated:

Mr MacNair,

I had the pleasure of helping end your uncle's life at the Battle of Hogwarts a couple of years ago. He was one of Voldemort's inner circle, who had been trying unsuccessfully to kill me for most of my life. You will note that he is not still here, but I am. He will not be missed.

The letters you sent to my friends indicate to me that you are trying to follow in your uncle's footsteps, and follow the program of the late and unlamented Tom Riddle, a half-blood who convinced a lot of misguided pure-blood racists and bigots that he was the way to ultimate power. He was using them in a bid for personal power and immortality. I am afraid, as it affects your future comfort, that I was the one who proved to him that he was not immortal.

You are almost ready to graduate from Hogwarts and head out into the world. You expected that your family's connections would aid you in your quest of a life of luxury, which you seem to believe is your right as the son of an Ancient and Noble House. You are mistaken.

I have purchased the debts and mortgages on property your family has used as collateral for many of their operations. I have called these debts and now own most of what your family considered its own. You will have to make your way in the world by your own efforts. From my associates' review of your academic record, I would recommend you work on developing a very small appetite.

You and your family are now under surveillance by the DMLE and my own security agency. This will last until we all are satisfied that you and the attitudes expressed in your letters do not constitute a public threat. Don't hold your breath.

The leading wand suppliers in the United Kingdom have been advised by the DMLE that any wand sold for your use must be equipped with monitoring charms. Any misuse of such a new wand, such as the casting of Unforgivable curses, or the abuse of any creature whether sentient or not, will result in instant arrest.

Harry Potter

P.P.S. Your wardrobe has been charmed to refuse to accept clean laundry, and any clean laundry placed in it will immediately reacquire its soiled state. Get used to the smell.

On the breakfast tables of four of the oldest families in the British Wizarding world, there were pieces of parchment, held down by the pieces of a broken wand. In each case, the houses had been heavily warded against intrusion, but the parchments were there all the same. Each bore the message:

Your son has been apprehended in the act of casting an Unforgivable curse on a pure-blood witch, apparently with the intent of rape, and there is recorded evidence that they had participated in, or been party to, similar casting of unforgivable curses, torture and murder. These crimes were committed against magical persons, both pure-blood and mixed, and non-magical persons as well.

He and his associates are currently in the custody of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, awaiting trial for their capital crimes, which they freely admitted. They were under the impression that they had been given Veritaserum, but what had been administered was pure water.

The DMLE had to take some time locating your son, as he was found naked and without his wand or any identification, in a location where his language was not commonly spoken. As your family philosophy maintains that it is a unseemly to have anything to do with the muggle world, when your son did manage to communicate their desire for contact with British authorities, the consulate could find no records of his existence, and so disregarded his claim, until an enquiry was received from the DMLE for information on certain missing persons.

Your son spent this time in a holding cell, as the local authorities assumed that the raving naked foreigner was drunk. Some of my staff were in attendance, and prevented any real harm being done, although your son was under the impression, on numerous occasions, that he was going to suffer the same ignoble and illegal, not to mention uncomfortable, treatment which he inflicted on women who were caught up in his illegal activities.

In view that two of the women placed under the Imperius curse were acquaintances of mine, I have taken a personal interest in the case. Although some of the evidence indicates that your son and some of his associates believed in the superiority of pure-blood wizards and witches, I have found no evidence that their actions followed the agenda of the late Lord Voldemort. Therefore, I have not instituted a long-term surveillance of your family either by the DMLE or by my staff, nor have I broken the wands of other members of your family, as I have done for other families whose crimes did indicate such a political agenda.

However, I must inform you that I had directed my financial staff to purchase the mortgage on your family residence, and you may have noticed the consequent increased value of your Gringott's deposits. Until my intensive investigations were completed and your family was cleared of the suspicion of collaboration with the purist agenda as promoted by Voldemort and his Death Eaters, I had thought to evict you, and break your family as I did the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself personally. Our findings show that your son is just a normal racist bigot, but without political implications.

My apologies for this misunderstanding, and I am quite prepared to sell you back your mortgage, so that you can return to your previous indebted state. However, in the interim, being muggle-raised and comfortable with muggle technology, I had my elves wire the house to the current electrical code.

As you know, during the period that Lord Voldemort's cronies were in charge of the Ministry, several new laws were passed. One of these affects your family, as it forbids any Ancient and Noble House from having any muggle artefacts or technology in their possession, except where they were acquired as what they called 'spoils of war'. Any House found to have such artefacts in their residences would be stripped of their rank, their hereditary seats in the Wizengamot, all assets, and their standing as an Ancient and Noble House. In effect, the entire family would be disinherited and their assets seized by the Death Eater controlled Ministry. The new wire, which is warded to prevent fires or other harm including removal, qualifies as such muggle artefacts.

It is my desire to get these laws overturned and the influence of the Voldemort years stricken from our society. As there are many older families who resist any reduction in the rights of pure-bloods, who generally hate me and anything I might propose for the betterment of our world, and are currently suspected of collaboration with the Dark Lord during his reign of terror, I will require your assistance to strike these laws. Once done, you will be free to resume ownership of your family home, without the threat of confiscation – the new wiring, I donate to you gratis.

Again, my apologies for my initial over-reactions.

Harry Potter

On the breakfast table in a fifth house was a parchment, held down by the pieces of several broken wands. The house had been heavily warded against intrusion, with the best wards and spells that the Death Eaters could cast, but the parchment was there all the same. It bore the message:

Lord and Lady Fingle-Bury

Your son has been apprehended in the act of casting an Unforgivable curse on a pure-blood witch, apparently with the intent of rape, and there is recorded evidence that he and his associates had participated in, or been party to, similar casting of unforgivable curses, torture and murder. These crimes were committed against magical persons, both pure-blood and mixed, and non-magical persons as well.

The DMLE had to take some time locating your son, as he was found naked and without his wand or any identification, in a location where his language was not commonly spoken. As your family philosophy maintains that it is a unseemly to have anything to do with the muggle world, when your son did manage to communicate their desire for contact with British authorities, the consulate could find no records of his existence, and so disregarded his claim, until an inquiry was received from the DMLE for information on certain missing persons.

In view that two of the women placed under the Imperius curse were acquaintances of mine, I have taken a personal interest in the case. The evidence indicates that your son and his associates believed in the superiority of pure-blood wizards and witches, and the evidence also clearly shows that his own actions followed the agenda of the late Lord Voldemort. Further investigations by the DMLE and my own staff have clearly shown that your family also contributed financially to the support of the Death Eaters and Voldemort's program of racial purity. Charges of crimes against the wizarding society are pending.

Further, I have recommended that the DMLE maintain a long-term surveillance of your family, and I have ordered similar surveillance by my staff. I broken the wands of all members of your immediate family, as I have done for other families whose crimes did indicate such a political agenda.

However, I must inform you that I directed my financial staff to purchase the mortgage on your family residence, and the funds have been put against other debts. I have also purchased many of your family's debts from the holders of those loans, who were very glad have finally received overdue payment. Therefore, you will not have noticed any increased value of your Gringott's deposits.

I had my elves wire the house to the current electrical code, as I, being muggle-raised, am very comfortable with muggle technology. However, I have examined your house and decided that I do not like it. I therefore intend to return it to your ownership, for the price of one hundred galleons. These funds will be subtracted from the payment of your debt to a company I now own, so you will owe the moneys to the original holder, but you will regain ownership of the house. I have not yet put this intent into action, for reasons I will explain.

However, I will retain ownership of the contents of your wine cellar and of your house elves, in lieu of the outstanding value of your house for which I will not demand compensation.

While I was examining your (well, formerly your) house for occupancy, I had delivered to your pantry and cellars sufficient provisions for a large family. I also had delivered the best food-processors and kitchen equipment money can buy, as I like to cook and want the best tools for the tasks. As I doubt that you are familiar with the preparation of food, or even the location of your pantry, I will have one of your former house elves check on your condition in a week or so. If you need it, I will have her or him prepare a meal for you. I would not want you to starve.

As you know, during the period that Lord Voldemort's cronies were in charge of the Ministry, several new laws were passed. One of these (Ministry Statute 1996-7423) affects your family, as it forbids any Ancient and Noble House from having any muggle artefacts or technology in their possession, except where they were acquired as what they called 'spoils of war'. Any House found to have such artefacts in their residences would be stripped of their rank, their hereditary seats in the Wizengamot, all assets, and their standing as an Ancient and Noble House. In effect, the entire family would be disinherited and their assets seized by the Ministry. The new wire, which is warded to prevent fires or other harm including removal, qualifies as such muggle artefacts.

It is my desire to get these laws overturned and the influence of the Voldemort years stricken from our society. As yours is one of many older families who resist any reduction in the rights of pure-bloods, who generally hate me and anything I might propose for the betterment of our world, I expect you will oppose the repeal of these laws.

If you do so, I will insist on the application of Statute 1996-7423, and you will lose everything. If you will assist me, you will regain ownership of your house, and maintain your standing as an Ancient and Noble House. Your choice. I must remind that this is not a choice your Lord Voldemort would have given you if he suspected you were standing in his way.

Harry Potter

On the first Saturday in July, Hermione and Harry travelled to a chateau in the south of France to meet with Fleur's parents. When they arrived and greeted the elder Delacours, they were re-introduced to Fleur younger sister Gabrielle, and her younger sisters Angeline (15 years old), Marielle (11 years) and Roxanne (9), all of whom they had met at Fleur's wedding.

Gabriele, who was now an adult witch of eighteen, was now also a ravishing blonde beauty. Being Veelas, she and her younger sisters were all beautiful blondes, but Gabrielle even outshone her mother and older sister.

Harry and Hermione were surprised, as they had thought Gabrielle had been younger than eleven when she and Fleur came to Hogwarts for the tournament. Madame Delacour explained that Gabrielle had been in her first year at Beauxbatons, which is why she was allowed along on the trip, and that for Veela, the 'blessings and curses of womanhood' came on suddenly at the age of thirteen

Harry noticed Hermione was a bit on edge, and thought that he must talk to her about it later. He suspected that it was her long-standing insecurity that every other woman was more attractive than she, and as much as he (and Ron before him) had tried to reassure her of their appreciation of her as a beautiful woman, she still felt uncomfortable among other women. She had come to terms with Fleur, but even there Hermione had nerves when they were in a situation where Fleur let loose with the Veela allure, or where they were dressed in their finery, or dressed only in swimwear.

As the day was quite hot, Monsieur Delacour suggested a swim before having their talk. When all the women, including Hermione and Mrs Delcaour, appeared at the pool clad only in the bottom half of bikinis, Harry's paranoia suggested that there might be an ulterior motive to the swim. However, Michel sat beside Harry at the side of the pool looking at the ladies, and sighed, "Ah, some days, it is good to be a man, is it not."

After the swim and a light lunch, the elder and younger couples sat on the terrace, sipping wine mixed with cold soda water to lighten the impact and cool the throat.

Hermione complimented the Delacours on their house and lands, which held a large vineyard and a small forest. They chatted briefly about Harry's farm and house, and his castle in the Highlands, and compared the elegance of Beauxbatons school with the austerity of Hogwarts.

After discussing the inconsequential for an hour or so, the purpose of the meeting came up for review. The Delacours had a problem, or rather Mademoiselle Gabrielle Madeleine Delacour had a problem.

As Françoise Delacour explained, Veelas only produced daughters, so there were no half-Veelas. Therefore, any Veela wishing to have children had to marry a human male. All Veelas were fully magical, so there were no Veela 'squibs'.

She reminded Harry and Hermione that in magic, words had power, and the intent was a major part of any spell. Harry remembered how he could not cast an effective Cruciatus curse, because he could not put enough hate into it. Although this had been a problem at the time in the middle of the fight, later Harry had found some pride in the fact he could not cast the Unforgivable Curse.

Then she came to the crux of the matter. During the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Harry had saved Gabrielle from the lake. In doing some, Gabrielle became bound by a life-debt to Harry. Although it became apparent later that none of the 'hostages' were in real danger, as all would have been retrieved by the tournament organizers, Harry had not known this. The fact that he had gone out of his way to 'rescue' Gabrielle was the 'intent' part of the magic, and had sealed the spell of the life-debt.

Hermione, with a nervousness that caused Harry to worry that there was something more to this, asked, "How many women are under a life-debt to Harry? Is there any way of knowing that? I mean, in the war, he saved a lot of girls at Hogwarts by killing Voldemort."

Michel asked her "Do you know about the 'concept of 'karma'?"

Having roomed with Parvati Patel for several years, Hermione nodded, but Harry shook his head, so Michel explained, "The mainly eastern religious concept of karma is that all actions have consequences, either in this life or the next, good and bad. Most eastern religions believe that we are reincarnated over and over, so the debts and credits from one life carry over into the next. I have heard it summed up that 'Karma means never getting away with anything'."

"Harry's actions of saving people generated a lot of good karma. If you believe it, his next life should be very good. For a Christian like myself, I believe that his credit will stand well in heaven."

"Franni and I have looked at the records, when it became apparent that Gabi had a life-debt to Harry. There are only three women with life-debts to Harry, and two are with us. Hermione, you are one and Ginny Weasley is the other."

Hermione asked (because she knew Harry would not), "But what about Ron and Arthur Weasley? Ron got poisoned, and Arthur got attacked by the Voldemort's snake. Harry's actions saved them too."

Françoise nodded. She said, "That generated a lot of good karma, but not a life-debt. To create a life-debt, the person has to, by a voluntary personal choice, save the life of someone, but it must be at the risk of their own life, as it was for your and the troll, Ginny and the Book, and Gabi and the merfolk (or so Harry thought at the time). For Arthur and Ron, Harry was not himself in jeopardy. In a similar way, the girls he saved during the war were sort of anonymous – it was not a personally specific action, so no life-debt. Ma chère, you need not worry about thousands of girls coming after your Harry."

Hermione then asked, "Where did you look all of this up? Who keeps such records?"

Michel laughed. "This, you will not likely believe. There is a very old wizard, about the oldest, or maybe it is his son or grandson. I did not ask. Anyway, the original man keeping the records had been a bishop in Turkey early in the Christian era. He was a very good man, and was recognised as a saint. Nowadays, he is called 'Père Noël' in France, or Father Christmas or Santa Claus in English speaking countries."

At Hermione's gasp, he added with a broad smile, "The book of karma is how he keeps track of who is 'naughty and nice'."

"Now", Françoise said, "here is the problem. A Veela under a life-debt to a man cannot have children by any other man. If Gabrielle is to have children, and all will be daughters, she must have them with Harry, or not at all. Now, this does not mean that Gabi could not marry and have a happy life. But to be Veela is to be a creature of love, and to be fulfilled as a Veela, we must have children. So Gabi could have a reasonably happy life, but not a full life.

"Harry and Hermione, we do not wish to cause either of you undue pressure. We know that Harry, by law, can have many wives. For Gabrielle's sake, please consider her as a possibility."

Harry sat there stunned. His hostess had just handed him her daughter in marriage, at his discretion. He looked at Hermione, who looked equally stunned, but even more distressed than before.

He turned to Michel and Francoise and asked, "May I think about it, please? This is somewhat of a surprise, as you can understand. I also need to discuss it with Hermione. I promised her and her parents that I would not make any such arrangements without their approval. Anyone I marry must meet her parents, and the lady must be someone they can respect. It may sound silly sitting here, but that is the promise I made to them in order to them to grant me permission to marry Hermione, and I intend to live by it."

Michel looked at Harry, and nodded. "Harry, you have all the time you need. We have spoken of this with Gabrielle, and she has told us that, in her opinion, the man who freed her and saved our world from Voldemort is the only man she will marry. She said she would prefer that you accept her, but recognises that there may be impediments. If and when you agree to accept her, however long that may be, she will be available."

Harry smiled with a bit of a grimace, "And you say you do not want to give undue pressure. I would hate to see it when you do."

Michel smiled. "Harry, you are correct. You know what I do for work. You would hate it if I decided to apply pressure."

As Harry and Hermione returned home, Harry escorted Hermione back to her flat in London, before heading back to his house. He attempted to reassure her that he loved her, and that in his eyes, she was the most beautiful person on earth

At her door, Harry noticed Hermione take a deep breath and straighten her back. Until then, he had not noticed that she was stooping, as if the weight of the world was on her.

Hermione turned to face her fiancé. "She started to cry, and said "Harry, it's not that Gabrielle is knock-dead gorgeous. She is, yes, but that's not it."

"Harry, just how many women am I going to have to share your bed with? My whole upbringing says it's wrong! It's wrong to hold slaves, and it's wrong to take advantage of women like that."

"I talked with Ginny about what you did to those men. You gave the man a controlled substance, illegally, and sent them off to be abused. Ginny said you had a cold hatred in your eyes. What kind of a monster are you turning into? What kind of a monster am I turning into, if I go along with this?"

"Harry, you have made me part of this plan, and you wouldn't tell me exactly what you are planning really. I can't be responsible for something I have no control over. If I do, then I'm on the way to being the next Dark Lady. I can't let that happen. "

She slipped the ring off her finger and handed to him. "I'm sorry, Harry, I'm so sorry, but I can't marry a man like that. Goodbye."