Chapter 21 – Chance in the Garden
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Paulus Brown hated what he was about to do; hated it with a passion. Yet, at the same time, he knew it was for the best.
Creamy popped in a few minutes early. "Master Harry and Master Harry's ladies have arrived," she announced.
"Thank you, Creamy," Paulus said and took her hand. A moment and an elf-pop later he was standing in the foyer of his manor house and noted that, instead of just the three girls he had been expecting to accompany Harry, there were eight.
"Harry, I see there has been a change in plans," Paulus said, holding his hand out for Harry to shake.
Harry stepped forward and gripped Paulus's forearm with a look of relief on his face. "Yes, Paulus. We've just come from Gringott's. As it happens, the Horcrux which had affected Ginny had not been entirely exorcised from her even though its container was destroyed. Gringott's is taking good care of her," Harry explained.
"I see," he replied. While he was aware Gringott's could be trusted to do what they were paid to do, unlike Harry, he had no faith in their abilities beyond financial and legal matters.
"And," Harry explained further, "I didn't want to leave any of them behind. Besides," he said, looking behind him at Lavender, who appeared to be wound tighter than a lute string, "I believe your great granddaughter wanted to see you."
Paulus looked at Lavender with a wry smile and opened his arms. He caught her and spun her around. "How is my favourite great granddaughter?" he asked.
"Grand-papa!" Lavender cried, tears of happiness running down her cheeks and getting absorbed by his robes.
Paulus closed his eyes and held her tightly. Of all of his great grandchildren, he loved Lavender the most and would do practically anything he could to bring out the happiness that lurked within her.
Of the pureblood girls looking on, only Padma, Parvati, Pansy, and Daphne still had grandparents who were alive. Only Padma and Parvati were used to this level of affection from their grandparents. Pansy and Daphne were shocked, as their grandfathers, when they had been alive, had been more interested in them as family assets rather than caring, feeling beings.
"What brings these tears on, My Littlest Flower?" he asked.
Lavender squeezed her great grandfather tightly before pushing back from him. She wiped her eyes and met his gaze. "You make me so happy!" she exclaimed and pulled herself back into a hug with him.
He drew her back in and looked at Harry with a smile. "Ah," he said. "I see you heard about the betrothal agreement."
She nodded against him.
"Well, since you owe me some great-great grandchildren, I expect you won't be terribly happy with me once that starts," he said loudly with a smile. He thoroughly enjoyed the room full of blushing children.
Lavender pushed out of the hug again. "Grand-papa!" she exclaimed scandalously, "We're not nearly old enough to do anything like that yet!"
"Well, don't disappoint Grand mama. She is visiting your Aunt Ruth and Uncle Liam at the moment, so I am sure she'll be sorry she missed you," he said, rubbing her arms and extracting himself from her embrace.
He looked at Harry. "We should go. We're expected and do not want to be late."
Harry nodded and held his hands out to the girls, noting the nervousness radiating from Hermione.
Creamy took hold of Harry and the girls in one hand and Paulus and Lavender in the other hand and popped them into the middle of a breathtaking garden.
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Steelgrip listened to the Great Old One and only believed what he was being told because from whom the information was coming. It was rare for a Great Old One to come up to the ruling levels of Gringott's in one's lifetime. For him to see a Great Old One, much less be summoned by one, and at the higher levels where the healers dwelled, was inconceivable. For it to happen twice was historical.
At Harry's request due to his stated suspicions, Ginevra Molly Weasley's lineage had now been verified as the biological daughter of Molly Weasley and Albus Dumbledore, and likely unknowingly magically claimed into the Weasley family by Arthur Weasley. While she had been dramatically affected by the Horcrux of Tom Riddle through an external object, her body had also contained a soul fragment from another, and it would have lain dormant until the currently active soul fragment container had died, were it not for Tom's Horcrux.
And, while the Horcrux Harry had been infected with was merely below the boy's scalp, somehow the Horcrux in Ginny had been inserted into the Medula Oblongata, a core component of the human brainstem.
Basajaunik, as a race, were extremely protective of children, believing them to be profound gifts from the Goddess herself. This is the reason Steelgrip had difficulty believing Ginevra's own father, Albus Dumbledore, would do such a thing to his own daughter. That Dumbledore had been manipulating events to bring this girl and Lord Potter together was so far beyond revolting that it had taken all of his considerable constitution to prevent himself from regurgitating on the hem of the Great Old One's robes. This brought his thoughts back to that morning.
-o-o-o-
The healers had been unable to remove the Horcrux from the girl using their normal methods due to its location. They had begged for and, surprisingly, received an audience with the Elders over the matter. That the Elders had acquiesced was largely due to the treatment Lord Potter and his growing entourage had given the Basajaunik. That the Great Old One had then been moved enough by the Elders' arguments to come examine the girl had surprised even them. That Steelgrip's name had been called out, specifically by the Great Old One who had answered their call, had shocked both the elders and the healers.
Steelgrip had rushed to the Healer level and practically skidded to a halt on his knees.
"Steelgrip, reporting as ordered, Great Old One!" he had whispered loudly as respectfully as possible.
"Arise, Steelgrip of the Ripping Steel tribe, and attend me," the Great Old One had said.
When he stood, "I was once known as Aurelia Halcyon before I descended. While we are alone, please call me Aurelia. I have not heard my name spoken aloud by another in almost an age," she explained.
Steelgrip's surprise and shock were evident in his ears, nose, and eyes. He looked up and noticed the Great Old One's eyes were grey and sightless and the wisps of hair from her cowl were white and nearly translucent.
"Come now, Steelgrip. Let us attend this child," Aurelia said softly, "and tell me of this human magical who speaks to us with genuine courtesy and honour."
As they walked to the room where Ginny was resting, Steelgrip spoke, haltingly at first, of his interactions with Harry as well as Harry's parents, explaining that, while treated with respect, even James and Lily had not treated him with the level of respect Harry had, nor had he ever met another magical, not even the Centaurs, who knew of their code of honour or the basajaunik warrior dialect.
Never had he walked through the halls or caverns of the Underground and had the experience of all those they approached or passed stopping and kneeling down. It was quite overwhelming, though he understood they were doing so out of respect for Aurelia and their behaviour, or so he thought, had nothing to do with him.
"He is a curiosity, without a doubt," Aurelia said as an attendant opened the door to the room for them. "I do wonder how he actually managed to acquire The Blade of The Great Elders," she mused.
"He claimed he saw it used by one of the wizarding scientists, known as Unspeakables in a ritual, but he claimed the Unspeakable died, either as a result of the ritual or as a sacrifice for the ritual," Steelgrip explained.
They entered the room where Ginny was staying and Steelgrip drew back the curtains around her bed and flinched when he heard Aurelia growl gutturally.
"What evil is this?!" She hissed and closed her eyes and gently set the butt of her staff on the floor before lifting it and striking the floor hard.
Steelgrip watched her and wondered how a basajaunilk female could be both so old and, at the same time, have the strength to hammer the floor with such power. He was startled out of his reflective mood by her staff striking the floor again, this time hard enough to cause sparks to fly as the echo of the impact reverberated around the small cavern they were in.
Aurelia raised her staff in her hand so it was over her head and parallel to the ground. Her head was tilted back, but she slowly lowered it down. Her eyes flared wide open and she began chanting in a language Steelgrip was not familiar with; it was not a wizarding language, nor a dialect of any of the known languages of The Tribes. He was left to presume it was one of the ancient languages of power. His presumption was all too accurate.
What happened next had him wide-eyed and, though he would deny it if asked, terrified. He now knew how she could appear to be so young and yet be a Great Old One.
The white cowl she had worn simply disappeared into mist, as did the robes it was attached to as the Great Old One transformed into a Great Wyrm. The cavern they were in seemed to stretch and grow to accommodate the size of the great creature. Steelgrip was struck speechless as his sight was filled with the reflection of the torchlight from hundreds of thousands of bright, golden scales.
The dragon's enormous head rose on its long, serpentine neck and looked at the bed where Ginny lay. "Do not fear, Steelgrip of the Ripping Steel tribe.Neither you nor this young wizardling will be harmed," he heard in his mind. He felt his body go rigid and saw as a golden glow surrounded Ginny, though he was uncertain in the moment if it was a magical glow or merely diffusion from the reflection of the dragon's scales.
Without warning, a howling, unrelenting wind blew through the cavern as the ancient Great Wyrm deeply inhaled. From the angle he was at, Steelgrip watched a bright white glow form in the dragon's mouth before she seemed to ignite in a sun-hot inferno. While the brightness of the white flame from her was blindingly intense, a wave of cool, comfortable air flowed over him. It was clear that the magic the dragon was using was preventing him from being incinerated, though the clothing he was wearing burned off in a fraction of a second and the white ash blew away like dust upon the wind.
Ginny, completely oblivious to what was happening around her, was likewise stripped of her clothing; the plinth upon which she lay and a growing pool of liquefied rock beneath her were vaporised in but a moment.
Within the first seconds, Steelgrip would swear on the Goddess' health that he heard a terrorising scream coming from the girl and a black, demonic smoke rose from her before that, too, turned white and seemed to melt and flow before turning to ash and, even that, disappeared in the maelstrom of the wyrm-wrought inferno.
The tumultuous vortex caused by the residual radiant heat of the wyrm's fire lessened and, to Steelgrip, now felt like a cool, spring mist as Aurelia closed her mouth and looked down at Ginny, now entirely surrounded by a white sphere of magic and modestly covered in a white, hooded robe. Without incantation, Ginny and the sphere of magic faded from view.
Steelgrip found he could move once more and discovered that he, too, was covered in a white robe and that, as he looked down, glowing white runes upon his skin began to fade and disappear. He looked up and saw the dragon was shrinking and, once more, a nude goblin woman stood before him. Even as he gazed on her perfect and utterly enthralling beauty, mist coalesced about her and she was once more dressed in her pure white robes and cowl.
She looked at him, her eyes still grey with age, but with an underlying ethereal golden glow. "We shall go now," she said simply, looking expectantly at him.
Steelgrip had a flash of insight and held his arm out for her.
She took his arm and heard, once more in his mind, "You shall speak of this to no one, Candidate Steelgrip of The People.Only the wizardling He-Who-Works-With-Clay-And-Time, may you tell concerning the fate of the young wizardling here and the fragment ofthe grey wizard's soul being sent to its just and tortured prison.He must take on the mantle of responsibility for freeing the other pieces for this shall be another test for him.Our price for this service shall be the return of The Blade Of The Great Elders to our laire."
-o-o-o-
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Paulus, Harry, and the girls appeared in the centre of a veranda much to Hermione's surprise.
"What have you done?!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise, seeing the parapets of her house above the tops of the hedge maze.
Harry pulled her into a tight embrace. "You told me your Mum and Dad hadn't put in the garden they wanted because of the upkeep. I asked Gringott's to do something about it and bought two elves from them to maintain the grounds and buildings," Harry explained quietly.
Hermione looked up at him with unshed tears in her eyes and a look of awe on her face. "You did this for them?" she asked, her voice echoing her expression.
"I did, Beloved," Harry confirmed and kissed her chastely.
Hermione hugged him tightly, her eyes closed and a look of utter bliss on her face.
All heard a double pop of elf apparition, but Harry was focusing on Hermione and knew Paulus would alert him if anything required his attention.
"Harry," Paulus said calmly, but then realised Harry's attention was otherwise occupied. He looked at Lavender who nodded and approached the two Gryffindors.
She squeezed his arm and whispered into his ear, "Harry, you need to pay attention."
Harry gently pushed out of Hermione's hug and kissed her once more before he looked up to see two house elves and two other adults. Judging by their appearance, these were a younger version of Hermione's parents. Judging by her father's expression, he was not entirely pleased with his daughter being kissed by a boy.
Hermione felt his nervousness and looked up. "Mum! Daddy!" she exclaimed and ran to them to hug them. Hermione's mother warmly greeted and hugged her daughter. Her father also greeted her warmly, but the look he gave Harry while he had her in an embrace was anything but friendly.
Being a trained Legilimens, Harry looked into her father's eyes and was only mildly surprised at the hyper-protective nature of the thoughts running through Dan's mind. Harry was not at all surprised by the torturous aspects of Dan's thoughts towards Harry. Harry was fairly certain the dental procedure Dan was thinking of would be excruciatingly painful and would leave a lasting memory if he were foolish enough to actually sit in Dan's dental chair.
Dan released his hug and stood back up to his full height of six feet, four inches. "Why don't you introduce all of your friends, Kitten?" Dan said, never breaking eye contact with Harry. "Impressive.No fear.No concern.Not even a twitch of a flinch.I may still let him live," Dan thought.
Hermione introduced Paulus and the girls and saved Harry for last. "...and this is Harry Potter."
Both Dan and Emma recognised Harry from the pictures they had been shown. While Harry was familiar with both of her parents, he had only interacted with them on a handful of occasions before Hermione had sent them off to Australia where they had died in an automobile accident that all too eerily mirrored the accident in which Vernon and Petunia had claimed his own parents had died.
Based on Hermione's earlier letters, Emma was pleasantly surprised when Harry returned her hug just as enthusiastically as she hugged him. "Harry, it's so good to finally meet you," Emma said and then kissed his cheek.
Dan then approached and extended his hand, which Harry took. "Good to finally meet you, Harry," Dan said while he resisted his desire to crush this boy's hand into paste.
Harry was rather surprised and pleased that Dan's grip was relaxed, but shaking his hand felt like he was shaking an iron block. Dan's hand was unyielding to his grip.
"It is good to meet both of you as well," Harry gushed in a hopefully genuine-sounding voice. "Hermione has told me so much about you, I practically feel as if I have known you both for years."
Dan and Emma then turned to Paulus. "Lord Brown, we appreciate both your ensuring Hermione has been safe and we would also like to thank you for this lovely garden," Emma said brightly.
Paulus, while quick on the uptake, made one small mistake. He briefly looked at Harry before returning his gaze to Dan and Emma. "Yes, well, considering she is a friend of my favourite great granddaughter, she is practically family. As to the garden, I do hope you enjoy it."
Harry's eyes had not left Dan's face and he realised Dan knew Paulus was lying. A quick glance at Emma and he knew that she, too, knew as well.
"Paulus," Harry said, surprising the older man who looked at him, "I believe we need to be completely honest with Dan and Emma," he explained. He then gestured to the two house elves. "Little friends, would you please give Lord Brown and the Ladies a tour of the gardens while I speak with Dan and Emma?" Harry asked. The elves, however, knew an order when they heard one.
"We would be happy to do so, Master Harry," Popper replied.
As the group was about to walk away, Harry called out, without looking away from the two Granger adults. "Hermione, Luna, Padma, would you please remain here."
While Hermione had been nervous to leave Harry by himself with her parents, she was more than happy to comply with his request. Luna smiled at being included. Padma was certain she was being asked to remain as a stabilising factor and to prevent emotions from running too high.
Harry waited until the remainder of the group wash out of hearing distance before speaking.
"I am Lord Harry James Potter, the head of The Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, heir to The Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, and am responsible for the changes here at your home," Harry said formally, gesturing to the surrounding gardens, "as well as being responsible for the safety of your daughter, Hermione Jane."
Dan and Emma looked at one another briefly. Having been married to one another and having worked with one another every day since they'd met at university, they had learned to hold entire conversations with small looks, cues, and gestures. Their silent conversation ended with Dan's shoulders slumping slightly before they both turned back to Harry and the girls.
"This is all a bit overwhelming for us, Har...Lord Potter," Emma began but stopped when Harry held up his hand.
"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, please call me Harry. While technically I am also responsible for your safety," Harry said, ignoring Dan's sudden and angry exclamation of "What?!" and continued. "Like you, Hermione's safety, along with the safety of all of the young ladies we arrived with, is my utmost duty. I believe we need to sit and have a quiet, yet honest, discussion regarding what that actually means."
"Perhaps we should retire to the sitting room, Mum? Daddy?" Hermione asked meekly from behind Harry.
Emma nodded, noting Harry's defensive stature, as if he were protecting all three girls from physical attack. "That's a good idea, Honey. I think you'll love the changes that have been made," Emma said. She gestured towards the door and entered the house.
The girls followed behind, but Harry held back after catching Dan's eye. The two of them walked slowly and Harry stopped just inside the door. Dan looked at the boy and noted Harry still showed no fear or deference to him the way he would expect from a normal twelve-year-old boy entering his house after kissing his daughter.
"Mr. Granger," Harry said, meeting Dan's eyes, "I realise I am a guest in your house and in your home. The changes I asked to be made were not an attempt to purchase your acceptance of me, nor do I expect it to ever have an effect on how you treat me. I did not have these changes made for yours nor Mrs. Granger's benefit."
He held up his hand for silence as Dan appeared to speak. "These changes serve two purposes: to provide Hermione with a truly safe sanctuary from the inconsistent, whimsical, and impulsive nature of those currently holding the reins of power in the magical world; and to actually improve the security and safety of you, her parents, in the wholly unlikely event someone should actually break through the wards currently in place. I will not hold this over your head, I do not expect compensation for them, and they are by no means my attempt to curry favour from the two of you," Harry explained.
Dan didn't understand the reasons he felt the need to not interrupt the boy when he held his hand up, but he remained silent until Harry finished talking.
Instead of following the path through the house Emma and the girls had taken, Dan led Harry into the dining room on the ground floor.
"Harry," Dan began as he opened the door and gestured for the boy to precede him into the room, "I want to explain something to you and have a few questions for you before we join the girls and I expect you to be honest with me in the answers."
Harry entered the room and sat in the overstuffed chair Dan gestured to. He watched Dan as he sat behind the rather impressive desk, as he suppressed the smirk at Dan's attempt at psychological posturing of superiority.
"Mr. Granger, I will answer your questions honestly unless I choose to not answer a question, in which case I will tell you," Harry replied.
Dan smiled and leaned forward. "I have been waiting for you."
For the first time, Harry displayed some nervousness. "You have?"
Dan nodded, the smile growing feral. "Since before Hermione's birth, before the spark ignited in her mother's womb to bring her forth, I have been training to kill you."
"What?" Harry asked, his voice only slightly quivering.
Dan continued. "When you took your first steps, I was prepared to make sure you never walked again. When you played at war, I was perfecting head shots."
"I have never had an opportunity to 'play war', Mr. Granger," Harry replied, quelling the concern he had. He realised Dan was simply being a protective father, though considering his record with the Royal Marines, Dan likely had been perfecting headshots while Harry was being hunted by Dudley and his gang.
Dan's almost psychotic smile transformed into a stern expression. "I saw you kissing Hermione. What are your intentions for my daughter?" Dan growled across the desk.
"Sir, Hermione is a Lady, first and foremost, and I intend to treat her with the respect and grace she expects and deserves. I am well aware of your service record and have no intentions now or in the future of ever hurting her," Harry explained as he maintained eye contact with Dan.
"How, exactly, are you aware of my service record?" Dan asked mildly, hiding well his discomfort with a mere boy knowing that much about him.
"Gringott's performed complete background investigations on the parents of the children for whom I am responsible in the event those adults were unfit. And, if it would help to put your mind at rest, I have not told Hermione anything concerning your endeavours in Her Majesty's service and have no intention of ever doing so. They are not my secrets to share," Harry stated.
"Harry. You're what? Twelve?" Dan asked mildly.
Harry paused a moment before nodding.
Dan noticed the pause, the tightening of the corners of Harry's eyes. He then asked the question he really wanted the answer to. "Are you fucking my daughter?"
Dan had to focus to suppress his smile at Harry's reaction. "Thank Goodness for that!" he thought.
Harry was utterly shocked. It was not merely due to the bluntness of the question, nor was it simply from the fact this was Hermione's rather mild-mannered father. While these certainly contributed to his surprise, what surprised him the most was that Dan seemed to be using some form of Legilimency that he could not feel hitting his Occlumency barriers.
As he had watched Dan's eyes and been gently probing him with Legilimency, he sensed happiness and relief from Dan. He realised his mouth was open at the audacity of the question and schooled his features.
"Mr. Granger, while I can understand the father of a thirteen-year-old girl asking that question, I cannot imagine her boyfriend answering it honestly if said boyfriend was, in fact, doing what you asked," Harry explained honestly, "and while I am not having carnal relations with your daughter, or anyone else's daughter, in defence of their honour and feelings I would not admit to doing so. If, however, it would make you feel better, I can, in all honesty, say that I am not having sexual relations with your daughter."
Harry's explanation only made Dan's internal smile grow wider, only to be crushed to a frown at the knock on the door and the door opening.
"Are you boys doing okay?" Emma asked, looking at Harry with a smile before turning to look at Dan and, for a moment, provided him with a glare indicating there would be repercussions.
Harry stood and turned to look at Emma.
"We're fine, Mrs. Granger. Mr. Granger just had some questions.
Emma watched as Harry stood and seemed to shift to a protective and defensive stance between her and Dan before he answered her unspoken question.
"Is that so?" Emma asked and looked at Dan with an arched eyebrow. "Perhaps, if his questions have been sufficiently answered, the two of you could join me and the other girls in the sitting room," she said in a tone that communicated this was not a request.
"A spectacular idea, Em," Dan said and stood. Emma turned around and exited the room.
Harry turned to face Dan again. "I presume we're done for now, Sir?"
Dan smiled. "Definitely for now. One piece of advice I will give you for free, today, Harry: Never, ever irritate a Granger girl. " Dan's voice dropped to a whisper he was certain Emma could not hear but Harry could. "Never break her heart, Harry. Emma is a better shot than I am." He clapped Harry on the shoulder and guided him out of the room and to the sitting room where Emma, Hermione, Luna, and Padma were waiting.
Harry was immediately on edge when he saw the guilty expressions on the girls' faces. While he had been talking with Dan, he had been unconsciously keeping his bonds closed down. Now that he was in their presence, he unclenched his emotions and was suddenly flooded by feelings of guilt and fear.
"What's happened?" Dan and Harry asked in near unison.
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Albus Dumbledore had long delved into magics of all kinds: white, dark, light, black, soul, death, and the culturally-significant magics of every European and African country. If he cared to share his knowledge on the different types of magic he could be considered a scholar of, he could have dozens, if not hundreds, of tomes ascribed to his name.
But Albus did not share his knowledge.
He hoarded it.
He was, in his mind, the only person trustworthy and mentally resilient enough to use the knowledge for the greater good.
Over time, however, Albus fell into the traps of perspective and power. As he had long ago added himself to the equation of the greater good, and continued to elevate his importance in it, his vision of the greater good transitioned from being the idealistic greater good of the intelligent magical species he'd had in his early twenties to where it was today: the greater good of Albus Dumbledore.
While Albus knew he could not emulate nor learn to speak Parseltongue, he could use a magically imbued crystal to record sounds for a brief few minutes. It was considered dark magic because it required the crystal be soaked in the blood of the listener. The more blood and the larger the crystal, the more time could be recorded.
Albus only needed to hear the Parseltongue phrase used to open the chamber, so only a small amount of blood had been needed – no more than a tablespoon of blood had been required and a crystal the size of his thumb.
He had placed one such crystal in the girls' loo on the second floor where Ginevra had disappeared from his map of the castle. He'd known the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets had to be in there, but when Tom had released the basilisk when he was but a student, Albus had not had the knowledge to create a recording crystal nor had he any means at the time to subdue the basilisk.
"Since Harry killed the basilisk and he is out of the castle until Monday, now is the best time to confiscate Slytherin's library," he thought to himself, trying to not outwardly appear like a hyperactive child with a sugar rush.
He set the crystal down on the edge of the sink where he had detected the greatest level of magic and activated the crystal.
The sinks began to make a grinding sound as they moved and lifted out of the way. He spryly grabbed the crystal from the sink as the sinks moved away and formed a tube downward. He cast detection spells on the tube and determined it was just that: a tube headed deeper into the ground beneath the castle. He cast a scourgify spell on the tube and held it as he sailed down. When he came to the end, there had been no warning as to the end of the ride, but as the tube ended, a featherweight spell sequence activated at the end of the tube and dissipated again once he was standing.
"Impressive," he whispered, as he looked at the tube and cast several diagnostic spells, none of which showed him any trace of the spell sequence.
He cast a torch spell and looked down at the floor. It gave him a view of the dried corporeal remains of thousands of small animals as well as a trail of footprints to follow. He smirked somewhat and began following the trail.
In the distance, he saw the tunnel ahead loomed into darkness. He came to the first antechamber and saw the size of the snake's shed skin. The shed skin and the attached scales were the thickness of his thumb and was so long that the end of it disappeared into the darkness. He walked around it in its entirety and estimated that, when it had shed its skin, the basilisk had been nearly sixty feet.
Albus was surprised that, somehow, Harry had managed to subdue and kill a monster this large. "The only reason he would have come down here and faced such a beast was because he was in love with Ginevra.This is wonderful!" he thought.
He looked down, found the trail once more, and followed it. This led him to a much larger antechamber that had an enormous iron door held shut by bars formed in the shape of snakes. Once again, he removed the crystal from the pocket of his robes then activated it next to the door, allowing the parseltongue recording to play.
The door made an odd sound that seemed to be a combination of grinding and the soft, irregular hissing of steam. "This is truly amazing!" Albus softly exclaimed as the door, the size of which the Knight's Bus could drive through with ease, opened.
The room beyond was dark.
Within the room, Albus saw there was a raised dais. Upon closer inspection, the dais had an irregularly shaped piece of metal and what were obviously the pieces of Ginevra's wand Harry had snapped. Albus picked up the two pieces, and noticed the dragon heartstring between the two broken pieces of ebony wood was still intact. He drew the Elder wand and touched its tip to the tip of Ginny's wand and whispered, "Cure te ipsum." He watched as yellow tendrils of smoke reached out from the two pieces of ebony and seemed to draw them together. The hairline fracture then slowly faded as the magic within the wand itself coalesced and made it whole once more. When the fracture was finally healed and the wand once more complete, the yellow smoke seemed to be drawn back into the wand.
"There we are. I am sure Ginevra would prefer her original wand," Albus said to himself. He looked around on the dais and saw the edge of the irregularly shaped disc of metal and moved closer to examine it.
As he approached, he heard a sound directly in front of him and his eyes caught sight of large golden eyes reflected in the metal on the floor and as the pain of the petrifaction overtook his senses, anger overtook reason. "NO!" was his first rational thought when he realised he could not move and he was not dead, as he looked down at his body from above.
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Emma led the girls into the sitting room and held the door for them, not at all surprised Dan was holding the dining room double doors open for Harry. He caught her eye for a moment and entered behind Harry.
Emma smiled and entered the sitting room, closing the door behind her.
The girls had sat on a long couch facing a floor-to-ceiling window which looked out on the newly-installed butterfly garden.
"This view is quite breath-taking, Mrs. Granger," Padma said, genuinely impressed with the view.
Emma sat down on the loveseat set at a right angle to both the window and the couch upon which the girls sat. "It is quite breath-taking, I agree. The first time Mr. Granger and I saw it yesterday morning, we were both quite surprised," Emma said, never taking her eyes from the girls. All of them showed surprise, but Hermione also seemed to be worried about something.
"The Aurinia saxatilis and the Agastache foeniculum are quite spectacular," Luna expressed. She stood and walked to the window. "Oh! And Look! Reseda odorata and Heliotropium cultivars! How magnificent!" Luna exclaimed with a tone of wonder.
"You seem exceedingly familiar with plants, Luna?" Emma asked, somewhat surprised at the girl's knowledge.
Luna turned around with pink cheeks and sat demurely. "Why is she being so self-conscious?" Emma wondered.
"No. Not really. It's only a hobby, really," Luna said, intently staring at her shoes.
"How did you two girls meet Hermione?" Emma asked.
Padma, slightly distracted by Luna's actions, answered a bit too honestly. "Well, after he rescued Luna, Harry...um...I mean we met in the Infirmary when she was recuperating from her ordeal."
Emma noted that Luna looked up at Padma in a panic when her being rescued was mentioned.
"And what were you rescued from, exactly, Luna?" Emma asked.
Padma was about to say something but the glare Emma directed at her kept her silent.
Luna looked at Emma and reached out with her hand to hold Padma's hand. "Some of my housemates had been playing tricks on me. Harry found me in the corridor without my cloak and gave me his cloak then escorted me to breakfast. I introduced him to Padma and he asked if we would like to meet and visit with Hermione," she responded. Butter would not melt in her mouth.
Emma thought it strange that, instead of showing signs of deception or honesty, none of Luna's indicators moved even a hair. "Can she somehow prevent her face from moving?Some sort of external petrifaction?Some magical paralytic, perhaps?" Emma wondered.
Emma looked at Hermione. "I imagine it is wonderful to have such nice friends, Honey?" she asked. Emma could read Hermione like a proverbial book. "She'd be horrible at card games," Emma thought as Hermione's face showed she was about to lie her arse off. As Emma didn't want Hermione to start lying to her about important things, she cut off her daughter.
"Honey. Whatever it was you were about to say, please stop and rethink it. I think we both know what is going on here so why don't you just tell me what you think is happening," Emma said.
Hermione deflated. "What the hell do I do now?" she asked herself.
"Harry is my boyfriend, Mum," Hermione practically blurted out.
Emma looked fiercely at her daughter but remained silent; a trick she had learned from her own mother.
Hermione fidgeted in her seat, as did Padma. Luna had looked up at the two girls and silently directed Padma to take Hermione's hand.
Hermione was a bit shocked when Padma reached over and took her hand. Emma missed nothing. Not Luna's gesture of solidarity, not Padma's taking her daughter's hand, nor the overly fond sign of affection Padma gave Hermione as the Indian girl gently rubbed her thumb over the back of Hermione's hand while her index finger stroked soft circles within Hermione's palm.
"He asked me before we came home today," Hermione explained.
"Not a lie, but not really the truth either," Emma thought. "How long ago did he ask that, Pumpkin?" she asked.
Hermione looked at Padma, who had not stopped looking at Hermione since she took her hand.
"About a week ago," Hermione confessed.
"So he asked you in the infirmary?" Emma asked in her attempt to dig deeper.
Hermione nodded and looked at the floor.
"Where are Harry and Mr. Granger," Luna asked.
Emma looked away from her daughter to look at Luna. "How odd," Emma thought. Luna was projecting the same intense level of protectiveness Harry had demonstrated earlier.
"I don't know. Maybe they got lost on their way here. Let me check," Emma said, very concerned about what was going on between Hermione and this Lord Harry Potter.
She left the sitting room, but left the door open.
"Shite! What do I do?!" Hermione whispered loudly to Padma and Luna.
"Tell them the truth," Luna said simply.
"What?! " Padma exclaimed but Hermione hushed her. "She can't tell her parents the whole truth. They would never understand!" Padma whispered emphatically.
"Not that we're all betrothed to Harry, Silly," Luna explained, "Just that because of magic and the way it works, Harry and Hermione have a magical bond."
"But that isn't true," Hermione said softly.
"No. It is not the entire truth, but it IS completely truthful," Padma said, quickly giving Hermione a chaste kiss.
Hermione was briefly surprised by blushed at the kiss and smiled shyly. "Okay," she said, but her cheeks were still pink. Emma had quietly re-entered the room just in time to see Padma kiss Hermione and the happily embarrassed smile.
"I'm sorry, girls, but apparently they did get lost but will be here in a moment," Emma said as she sat down once more.
The three girls smiled and looked brightly at Emma.
"So, Honey, Harry's your boyfiend and Padma's your girlfriend?" Emma asked candidly.
All three girls looked startled.
Dan and Harry walked in at that moment and looked at the three clearly-nervous girls.
"What's happened?" Dan and Harry asked in near unison.
"Hermione was just telling us about you being her boyfriend, Harry," Emma said and watched him to see his expression.
Dan looked at Harry. Harry looked at all three girls. "Ladies, perhaps Hermione can show you her bedroom. I need to have a conversation with your parents, Hermione, and you being here will be counterproductive," Harry explained bluntly.
Hermione looked at her parents. Both of them were focused almost entirely on Harry.
"Come on, Padma, Luna," Hermione said. The three girls stood and were almost out of the room when Emma called after them.
"No closing the door, Honey, until we talk further," Emma said and briefly turned her attention to the retreating girls, who paused for a moment before Hermione nodded at her mother's words and continued walking towards the central staircases.
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Hermione began leading Padma and Luna towards the central stairs. The moment they were out of sight of the doors to the sitting room, however, Hermione motioned them to stop and remain quiet.
"I want to hear what's going on," she said and motioned for the two girls to follow her stealthily.
They stood just outside the door and listened.
What they heard shocked Hermione to her very core.
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"Please, Harry. Sit. Explain to us what is going on, exactly," Dan said, directing Harry to the lone chair across from the loveseat where Dan and Emma now sat.
Harry sat down and looked across the low table at the two Grangers. "How would I feel if this were happening to..." but he squashed that thought as a memory of his own Lily Luna for a moment.
Dan and Emma looked at him expectantly.
"Things are not what they seem," Harry began. "Recently, a law was passed in the Wizengamot, the magical equivalent of the House of Lords. There is no House of Commons so the average witch or wizard really has no say in the laws which are presented or passed."
Emma looked pensive, reminding Harry that Hermione loved to take notes.
"Chopper," Harry called. The elf familiar to the Grangers walked into the room. "Could you please bring Mrs. Granger one of her notepads and a pen, please?"
"Yes, Master Harry," Chopper said then walked out of the room. Chopper immediately walked back into the room with the requested items and handed them to Emma.
"Chopper, can you tell me the reason you're not simply popping into the room?" Harry asked, curious to know if the Basajaunik wards were preventing elf popping.
"Mister Dan and Missus Emma don't like elves popping in and out in their presence," Chopper explained.
"Very well. Thank you, Chopper," Harry replied. Chopper walked out of the room again as Harry looked back at Dan and Emma and repeated his comments about the Wizengamot.
"Recently, the Muggle Protection Act was heard and voted upon in the Wizengamot chambers. While its name sounds like it is designed to protect those without magic it, in fact, gives complete control of the non-magical family to the magical guardian of any child found to be magical," Harry explained.
"But that would mean you..." Emma said and trailed off at the slightly angry expression on Harry's face.
"Precisely. And, while I would not hold it over you or actually force you to do anything, I cannot say the same about Albus Dumbledore. This is one of the reasons I seized the magical guardianship of all of the students born to non-magical parents from him when he was suspended as headmaster," Harry continued.
"But we signed her guardianship over. I now presume it was to you," Dan said with an edge of anger.
"What do we need to do to gain control over our daughter again?" Emma asked, also with an underlying tone of anger.
"The short answer is, you can't. When you..." Harry said but was cut off by an irate Dan.
"The hell we can't! You've worn out your welcome here, young man. You may leave now and you can take your entourage with you, but Hermione will be staying here. She will not be returning to Hogwarts," Dan said slightly louder than necessary but intended to cow Harry into submission.
His tactics did not work.
Harry continued to sit calmly on the exterior while in his mind he continued his calming mental exercises.
"She will have to go back..." Harry began but was again cut off.
"She won't be going back!" Dan roared from less than a foot away from Harry.
Harry had learned in his life to be patient, to be understanding, and to forget the horrible treatment by his aunt and uncle. When he had changed his plans, he knew Hermione's parents might become upset. He knew they might even yell at him and could accept that possibility. What he had not anticipated and would not tolerate was an angry father yelling at him who appeared to be on the verge of pummelling him.
"Enough of this!" Harry roared back as he stood. The wave of magic that rode upon his anger tossed Dan over the table and caused him to land in a somewhat sprawled condition across the available half of the loveseat.
"Tell me, Dan, Emma. Do you love your daughter?" Harry asked heatedly.
Dan, still sprawled on the loveseat, was trying to understand what happened as he was a bit dishevelled at his predicament, so it was left to Emma to answer.
Emma, too, was a bit awed by so casual a display of power. "Yes, Harry, we love Hermione with all our hearts and are trying to protect her," she answered with a calm tone in an effort to keep the boy in front of her from escalating his angry response.
"I had my advisors have you transfer the magical guardianship for Hermione from Dumbledore to me because nothing in this world is as important to me as protecting her and ensuring she is happy. Do you understand?" Harry asked while he looked intently into Emma's eyes.
Emma felt as if she was a mouse being stared at by a cat that was about to eat her. She could feel a sense of malevolent rage filling the room yet, at the same time, she felt a wave of lust wash over her, making her react in an embarrassing way.
"We do," was all she managed to squeak out.
Dan looked at Emma and straightened himself into his seat before he looked up into the glowing green eyes of the young man who stood before them. But he had a question he needed answered because, for him, Harry's intensity did not match anything he'd ever seen before.
"Why, Harry? Why do you feel so protective over her?" Dan asked.
"I doubt you would believe me if I told you," Harry explained, "but regardless, due to this law being passed and in order to ensure her long-term safety, as the magical guardian of Hermione, I became betrothed to her."
"Married?!" Dan shouted once more. He suddenly felt a crushing weight holding him on the loveseat. A crushing weight that made breathing difficult.
"Not quite, Dan. Are you prepared to moderate your voice and let me finish?" Harry asked mildly.
Emma, too, felt herself held to the chair, but not any sensation of an elephant sitting on her stomach.
Dan felt the pressure release him, though he seemed pinned to the chair.
Dan was about to speak when the tone of Harry's voice froze his words in his throat.
"It was either accept a betrothal with me or the alternative: she could be fed potions, starting in August when you allow her to visit The Burrow, which turn her into a warm, willing, sexual toy and be repeatedly raped by a bastard who cannot or will not learn to keep his mouth closed as he chews, or his manhood in his pants and frolicks with every willing woman, before he tires of her and murders her by tossing her down three flights of stairs."
Harry paused for a moment before adding one more piece. "Did I forget to mention that, over the summer, he shares her as his willing little rape slave with his brothers and his friends?"
Harry's gaze took in both parents' shocked expressions.
"So, Daniel," Harry said, looking at Hermione's father then turning to her mother and pinned her with a glare, "Emma. Considering my choices, what would you have had me do differently?"
Both Dan and Emma were stunned into silence.
"At my side, as my equal, she will have every opportunity to meet her potential and become the brilliant woman we all know she can be," Harry stated then paused before once more meeting their eyes. "Like both of you, Hermione means the world to me. Because of the betrothal, and the magics involved, we are bound to one another. That I love her deeply has only allowed the energies involved to flow more easily and, should anyone attempt to harm her, I will react without hesitation and without mercy."
Both Dan and Emma now felt their ability to move once more. Emma made some notes and showed it to Dan, who shook his head in the negative.
"You're certain?" Emma asked aloud before turning to Harry.
Harry had not intended to read her thoughts, but she was projecting them so loudly he couldn't help but see them.
"No, Emma. As Dan well knows, I am not, as he put it, fucking your daughter. Neither am I fucking anyone else's daughter. I am well aware of the relationship Hermione has with Padma. She has the same relationship with me as well," Harry explained.
Dan looked curious, but Harry could see Emma's thoughts churning and waited. After a few moments, Emma's eyes opened wide and she looked at Harry.
"All of them?" she asked.
"Yes," Harry responded, "all of them."
Emma turned to Dan, who looked at her questioningly. Before she could say anything, Harry looked at Dan.
"Mr. Granger," he said and waited for Dan to look at him. "I ask you to remain as calm as possible and to not raise your voice. We are all actually striving for the same thing here," Harry explained. Dan looked at him questioningly then looked to Emma as Harry looked meaningfully at her.
Emma took both of Dan's hands while looking down at their interwoven fingers. "Dan, the girls that Hermione brought home aren't merely just her friends," she said intensely before looking up at him. "She has the same relationship with them as you and I have with Lisa."
"What?" Dan asked quietly at the same time a shriller "What?!" came from the corridor outside.
All three occupants of the room turned towards the open door.
"Honey, why don't you come on in with your friends?" Emma ordered more than asked.
Hermione, Luna, and Padma sheepishly entered the room.
As she entered, Hermione looked almost accusingly at her mother before she suddenly rushed over, threw her arms around Emma's neck and sat on her lap.
Emma held her gently and rubbed comforting circles on her back, all the while looking at Dan in concern.
Without warning, Popper appeared in the room along with Parvati and Lavender. Both girls had their wands drawn. Though they weren't yet skilled beyond the spells they'd learned to date, Harry was proud to see them appear to be ready for anything.
"What happened? We felt Hermione was upset and afraid not moments after Harry was seriously cheesed," Lavender explained, once she'd ensured there were no apparent threats in the room.
"It's okay, Lavender," Padma said as she walked over to the two girls and hugged them.
Much to Harry's surprise and pleasure, Luna sat on the couch next to Emma and leaned her head on Emma's shoulder.
"What is wrong, 'Mione?" Luna asked pleadingly.
Hermione drew back from the hug with her mother and looked Emma in the eyes. "So Aunt Lisa, Daddy, and you are a couple? I mean a triple? I mean...oh! Together?" she asked, somewhat frustrated and still a bit frightened at her parents judging her harshly.
"Yes, Honey. We had planned on explaining it to you this summer," Emma explained. "Not many people are accepting of plural relationships and we thought it best to not tell you until we felt you were mature enough to understand."
Hermione's thoughts were jumbled as she considered her mother's words. She stood, as she found it difficult to think on difficult topics while sitting. Luna had sensed her confusion, which cleared the moment she stood from Emma's lap and sniggered for a moment.
Emma turned to look at Luna and raised a perfect eyebrow at her.
Hermione, too, gave Luna a look, but then faced her mother. "Do you know how I've felt for the past two years? Do you know I have felt like some kind of freak, not understanding why I was attracted to both boys and girls? I thought you would be upset when you found out the truth! When I first kissed Daphne I thought how perfect and wonderful it was and hoped it would be the same the first time I kissed Harry!" she ranted loudly.
"And was it?" Emma asked calmly.
That stopped Hermione's rant short and her face transformed to have a beatific smile.
"It was amazing, Mum! It was everything I expected and more!" Hermione said, before she looked down at her mother again. "I cannot tell her I had to change my knickers when Harry and Daphne kissed me the first time!" she thought.
"We're truly sorry, Kitten, that you had to deal with your confusion and didn't feel you could trust us. We're not upset. We don't think you're a freak. We love you with all our hearts!" Dan explained vociferously.
"It wasn't about trust, Daddy," Hermione said as she seemed to have found the floor interesting. "I just didn't understand what was going on or why I could feel that way about Daphne, Harry, then Luna," Hermione explained, as she leaned down a moment and gave Luna a chaste peck on the lips, "and then, in less than five minutes, I felt the same way about Lavender, Parvati, and Padma. If I can feel this way about these five girls and a boy and there is no jealousy, what does that make me? Some kind of...am I being promiscuous or some kind of harlot?" she asked.
"Hermione!" Harry and Emma exclaimed simultaneously then looked at one another. Harry held his hand up before turning to Hermione.
He walked up to her and took her face in his hands. As he spoke, she looked into his ethereally glowing eyes.
"You, My Beautiful Beloved, are not a harlot, a whore, a slut, or a scarlet woman," Harry said tenderly. "You may be precocious, but not promiscuous. You don't play with someone's feelings or body and then move on, do you?" he asked.
"No, but..." Hermione replied but Harry put his finger to her lips, which she kissed.
"Something a very wise woman told me, who knows far more about love than anyone else I know told me that, 'Love is, Love grows, Love endures.'," Harry recited from memory something that Fleur had told him in the past. "You have a big heart, Princess. The magics of the bond and the coven are likely helping to make you more flexible and less self-conscious, but you had to have the desire there beforehand or the magics would have had nothing to help."
"But I like you and girls, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed in an attempt to allow him to understand her confusion.
He pulled her close, spun her around, and hugged her from behind. This caused her to face Padma.
"My Little Rati, do you like kissing boys and girls?" Harry asked Padma.
Padma blushed every time he called her his "Little Rati," knowing it was a reference to the Hindu goddess of love, carnal desire, passion, and sexual pleasure.
"Only you and my sister-wives, Husband," Padma answered with her cheeks a deep rose colour.
Both Dan and Emma heard Padma. Dan placed his face in his hands and groaned as he made every effort to not yell or kill Harry.
"Oh God! You're married to all of them, too? How big is your harem, exactly, Harry?" Emma asked with a hint of anger.
"It is not a harem, Mrs. Granger," Luna explained, "it is a coven. Unlike a harem, where the women are treated as property, slaves, or worse, a coven is a group of witches who are gather around a central man, but all are equal parties. With the magics involved in our coven, no one may enter the coven without the unanimous acceptance of the other witches, and when the witches decide to add a new member, the warlock must either accept the new woman or end the pact of the coven," she finished.
"Wait!" Dan exclaimed. "You mean all of you, with the exception of Hermione it would seem, formed this coven and, in order for more witches to join, all the witches in this plural marriage have to accept the new witch or witches?" he asked.
"That is the only way it can grow in size, yes," Padma affirmed.
"But if Hermione didn't approve of this because she was unconscious..." Dan began but Luna cut him off.
"The magics would have prevented the formation of the pact and the coven's magics would not have been enabled or enforced," Luna replied.
"And what about another boy...sorry...wizard?" Dan asked, hoping it wasn't possible.
"The magics of the coven will not allow it because members of the coven would not allow it. I will never lay with another man but Harry," Padma said, "and so I will never allow another wizard to join."
"Harry will be the only man I ever allow to touch me in that way," Luna said as she looked at Dan, "because I know that when the time comes, he will be loving, gentle, tender, thoughtful, caring, and all the other aspects of this relationship that I desire and crave. There will be no other man for me."
Lavender looked at Dan. "I would never want any other man but Harry to pleasure me or touch me. For Harry, those two would always be the same. That I find every current and tentative member of the coven to be of a like mind, and that I find them all to be irresistibly attractive, I need never look outside the coven for physical, emotional, or mental comfort." Lavender looked at Harry and the other girls in the room before she once more looked at Dan. "Besides," she explained, "it is all I can do most of the time to not simply cuddle and touch them every time we are in our quarters."
"What keeps you from doing so?" Emma asked curiously, in the hope she had hidden her concern well.
All five girls said "Harry" simultaneously and each looked at the others somewhat in surprise. Dan and Emma looked to Harry for an explanation, but it was Parvati who answered.
"Harry doesn't want to disappoint us," she explained which caused him to begin to blush. "And, likewise, we don't want to disappoint Harry. Let me relate to you a story..." Lavender said, then told of their first time in bed together with Harry and how it had been Harry who stopped himself rather forcefully from claiming Padma's innocence when Padma had been not only willing, but wanting him to take her so much that when he stopped, it had left her panting with desire.
"Even though he has now taken the contraceptive potion for wizards, and there is no risk of offspring, he waits. If I am not mistaken, he waits for us all to be completely comfortable with the idea of us all enjoying the experience of it. It is so amazingly different from any other boy I have ever met that it astonishes and awes me every time I think about it," Lavender explained.
"I love him, Mum," Hermione said as she looked at Emma. She turned to Dan, "I love him, Daddy. There will never be another man for me."
"But you're only thirteen, Kitten," Dan said earnestly.
"Yes, and I can actually feel his love and concern for me. If you could feel what I feel, you would understand unquestioningly," Hermione expressed fervently.
Emma stood just as Chopper popped Paulus and the other girls into the room.
Paulus looked around the room. He had been in Wizengamot discussions with less tension in the air. It was Pansy who brought the discomfort out into the open.
"Did we miss something?" she asked.
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