Chapter 34
Saturday found Daphne searching the school for her sister, she located her in the library, studying with another Slytherin. "Story, can I talk to you?"
"Sure." She said, getting up. "I'll be back shortly Stephanie. Keep an eye out for the others please."
"Alright," the other girl said, watching Daphne warily. She well knew her reputation and didn't want to get on her bad side.
Sequestered in a nook between two crooked book shelves, and behind two privacy wards, Daphne hugged her sister. "I'm worried about you."
"Nott's been watching me more than usual." Astoria said as she pulled back from the hug. "I always have Aunt M's bracelet on and I'm paying attention."
"Good." Daphne said with a nod. "Watch out for not only him, but Zabini too. Stay safe, and with your classmates if you can. Do I need to threaten them?"
Astoria shrugged her slight shoulders. "He hasn't done anything. But rumor is he's got a mission from You-Know-Who." She shivered at the thought that she might be that mission.
"Yeah." Daphne said and put her arm around her sister again. "That's what I'm worried about. You've not had the training I have. You run to Aunt M. or us if you get scared."
"Yes." She tried to prevent her tears, but they fell anyway. "Sorry." She said as she tried to dry her cheeks.
"We'll do everything we can. You know we will."
The younger sister nodded, but then looked up to meet her ice-grey eyes. "But that's probably what they're expecting. What if they kidnap me, just to lure you, or Aunt M., out of the castle?"
"Then we'll make them pay for thinking we're easy to deal with." Daphne said firmly, her eyes locked with her only sibling.
Buoyed by her sister's confidence, Astoria nodded. "Alright. I'll be careful, but you should too."
"Always Sis." She said and broke the privacy ward.
When they got back to the table Ginny and Luna had taken the empty chairs, but an oppressive silence lingered between the three girls.
"Gin, Luna!" Astoria said brightly, breaking the tension. "You came. Thank you."
"Of course." Ginny said with a cautious smile. She faltered when she noticed Daphne, but the smile didn't fall, instead she added a nod in the elder Greengrass sister's direction.
"Are all of you doing well?" Daphne asked, standing close to Luna who bore the Black family crest on her robe.
"Yes," they replied, but Luna seemed to be less enthusiastic than before so she knelt down.
"Luna. Do you need anything?"
The young girl slowly shook her head, tears threatening to fall. "I just miss my father. Thank you Lady Black."
Daphne lightly gripped her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I don't think there is anything we can do about that."
"I know, thanks."
With a gentle squeeze of the girl's shoulder, Daphne stood. "Have a good weekend girls. Stay safe." She added and walked to the table Harry, Hermione, and Pansy had claimed for their study session.
}-{
"Is she alright?" Harry asked as Daphne joined them at the table.
"Story is worried she'll be bait for a trap, to catch us, but is being cautious. Luna misses her father, otherwise seems to be doing well."
"Where do you think Tracey is?" Hermione asked, pulling her attention from the book in front of her.
"Probably in the common room."
"Do you want me to tell her to meet you?" Pansy offered.
"Not yet, let's not tip anyone off about that yet." Daphne said with a slow shake of her head.
"We'll keep an eye out for her." Harry said and put his hand on her thigh.
"Yeah, let's focus on this golem thing." Daphne said.
Harry moved a parchment in front of her with a diagram on it. "What do you think of this then?"
"A pit? But won't it just dig its way out?"
"Can it do that?"
Daphne shrugged. "What's the description say?"
Hermione pushed a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. "That they follow the instructions of their creator. So I assume if the creator gives it instructions for dealing with a pit, it will follow it."
"Wait." Harry said and sat back in his chair holding his hands up.
"What?" Pansy asked when he didn't immediately explain himself.
"We're thinking about this all wrong."
"How should we think about it?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
"First, who is programming this golem? Second, what are its instructions?"
"Oh." Hermione and Pansy said while Daphne snaked a quick hand behind his neck to pull him into a gentle kiss.
"Well done." She said when they parted, though Harry seemed to have lost his train of thought.
"So who created the golem?" Pansy asked, flipping back a page in Hermione's book.
"A Jewish Priest, in the fifteen hundreds." Hermione said before she could locate the passage.
"So do we need a priest to make this one?"
"Oh, good question."
"Does it say anything about non-priests making one?" Harry asked.
"No, not a word."
"And typically they are instructed to defend?" Pansy read from the book. "At least the two referenced here were, to guard a temple and a… What's a ghetto?"
"I think it's a section of a city where the Jewish people lived." Hermione said.
"We're off track." Daphne said. "Lady McKinnon said that it was running amuck and we had to stop it from reaching the castle."
"Yes, good point. So back to the pit idea?"
"No Harry." Hermione said. "I think we take our clues from the text here. What's it say about deactivating it Pansy?"
The Slytherin girl laughed nervously, having shifted Hermione's book in front of herself. "Um, well two things. Either there is a pendant or parchment in its mouth that makes it active, or there is a word written on its forehead. Remove the thing in its mouth or erase the first letter of the word."
"Yes." Hermione said with a nod, "I think we should try those first."
"And then the pit?" Harry asked enthusiastically.
"Only if those don't seem to be working." Daphne said and shared a look with the other girls that clearly said; 'men!'
"Wait!" Harry said brightly. "Won't I have my sword? They can't keep me from bringing it can they?"
"Harry, you're not going to attack the golem with your sword." Hermione said slowly.
"But why not?" he asked.
"Oh, stop it you three." Pansy said. "It's sickening how sweet you all are to one another. Even I can tell you're just doing this to get a rise out of your ladies Potter."
"Darn," he said while both of his ladies looked like they'd been caught out.
"So, for roles during this." Pansy said, ignoring the boy's goofy grin. "We need to each have a task, to get credit. How are we going to try to get the thing out of its mouth? Or erase the letter?"
"Well, typically golems are made of mud." Daphne said. "If it's a word, then fill the letter in with more mud, thus erasing it."
"Can we just summon it?" Harry asked. "I mean if it's something in its mouth."
"We need to know what it's called to summon it. Thing in the thing's mouth won't work." Hermione said.
"Got it!" Harry said brightly leaning back and gesturing broadly. "We make a pit…"
The three ladies groaned.
"No, wait, hear me out. Once it's in the pit, which gets it underground to the neck, we fill in the pit, then we can just walk up to the head and pull whatever it is out!"
Silence from his table companions greeted his proclamation.
"Perhaps a pit has merit." Daphne said softly a minute later, eliciting a slow nod from Hermione.
Pansy seemed to be trying to determine if they were joking around again.
}-{
"Damn it Blaise." Tracey cursed the boy.
"I'm trying." He said, rubbing his half-hard cock.
She wouldn't stand for this. The first boy she'd had sex with, her third cousin, was six years older than her, and had creamed himself when she touched him. She'd even still had her clothes on, where now she was nude and had tried to act sexy. This idiot had to be a poof! She found her wand and cast an engorgement spell on his tiny cock.
"Hey!" He said loudly. "That can cause permanent harm." He protested.
"Oh, shut it. If you were half-a-man I wouldn't have to do this." She cast a second spell on him and his, now enlarged cock, grew rock hard. "There, that's much better."
"Oh, Merlin. What is this?" Blaise protested.
"It's what I need you idiot. Now shove that into me and fuck me hard."
Blaise seemed to want to protest further, so she hit him with a compulsion charm.
"You want to fuck me, until you pass out." She said.
That seemed to do it, the boy finally reached for her and jammed his engorged cock roughly into her cunt. She'd have to be more careful choosing a boyfriend next time, Blaise was a pretty boy, but didn't deliver where it counted. He lacked both the hardware and the right attitude. Damn, how did Daph get so lucky? She wondered.
Even with spells, the boy failed at every turn. After barely an hour he was completely useless. She'd only gotten a pair of climaxes out of all her effort.
Several cleaning spells got his stench off of her body and clothes, then she dressed and left the unused classroom. Her one concession to the boy was a notice-me-not spell on the closed door. That should give him plenty of time to wake up and sort himself out, without anyone finding him nude.
She really needed an older boyfriend, preferably one on the Quidditch team. It was a good thing the Claws were having their try-outs today. She thought and headed down to the pitch to find herself a more manly boyfriend.
}-{
It was three more days before they were able to arrange another meeting with the Headmaster. Neville had been called away on Saturday by his gran, who'd made arrangements with Ollivander to see him on the weekend. He returned with a new, unicorn and yew wand that he was very eager to try out in class.
The Headmaster's office was arranged the same as the first attempt at the meeting, with a long table occupying most of the room. A small feast was promised prior to the business being addressed. For now several tea services were along the length of the table.
Harry settled first Hermione and then Daphne into a chair before taking the one between them for himself. Marlene and Valerie were across from them, the latter now looking fully recovered from her injuries. They wouldn't know for a bit over three weeks if she was infected or not.
The Flamels, now aware that Harry was not openly known as Marlene's consort, sat beside them looking well-pleased with themselves for some reason.
Susan was beside Hermione, with Neville beyond her.
Just as the group settled, the door opened again and Severus Snape strode in.
"Why is he here?" Harry asked sharply.
"Because I trust him." Dumbledore said and lifted his tea to his lips.
"Professor." Daphne said, looking coldly at her former Head of House. "Are your loyalties to your Godson?"
"Hold your tongue!" The Potions Master spat.
"Stop that, both of you." Marlene said loudly, half-rising from her seat across from Harry. She met her niece's eyes first and after she bowed her head the Hit Witch turned her attention to her fellow instructor. "Severus Tobias Snape, your magic reeks of that foul creature. You are but a breath from falling into the abyss."
"Lady McKinnon." Dumbledore said. "Since I am allowing your guests to participate in this meeting, you will allow mine."
"On your head then." Lady McKinnon said and sat without further protest.
Neither of the Flamels seemed to feel the conversation was worth their time, instead they poured one another a cup of tea, looking like a love-struck couple, instead of having been together for centuries.
The Headmaster cleared his throat, and then motioned for Professor Snape to have a seat at the table. Their food arrived moments later and each of them busied themselves with small talk and consuming the excellent offerings. Twenty minutes later the plates were being cleared away and fresh pots of tea and water appeared.
"I believe I'll start this." Hermione said and stood. "If that's alright with everyone?" she added nervously looking at the Headmaster.
"Proceed." He said, with a raised eyebrow.
"Very well. We are here to discuss how to permanently kill Tom Riddle." The brilliant one continued.
The Headmaster choked on his tea, leaning forward he quickly recovered, his ever-present twinkle had vanished from his eyes. Susan and Neville looked confused, and Snape looked constipated, she explained. "Tom Riddle was Head Boy in the fifties, he became Voldemort."
Snape looked like he was nearing the state of catatonic, in the vicinity of its capital, insanity.
Albus Dumbledore seemed not far behind him on his journey. He sat in silence, his jaw open, eyes unfocused.
Hermione ignored them to continue her explanation. "Tom Riddle, created multiple items in which a portion of his soul is kept. Three of them have been destroyed. I am aware of three more, one within this very castle."
"Miss know-it-all..." Professor Snape said in a breathless whisper.
"Where?" Marlene said in a rather demanding tone, completely unlike their previous night in bed. Though they had discussed these in the past, the Hit Witch had no idea one was within reach.
"Seventh floor, in the room of hidden things. The diadem of Ravenclaw." Hermione said. "We'll use the Sword of Hope to destroy it." She added, pointing to the blade on Harry's back.
"Miss Granger." Dumbledore said after closing his eyes a moment. "How are you aware of this?"
Instead of answering directly she shared a long look with Harry, and then a brief one with Daphne. "We uncovered one of them in the Black Manor in London. It led us to the fact that the diary, which Lucius Malfoy gave to Ginny, was also one. Then we learned that Harry's scar contained a fragment of Tom's soul."
Only Harry and his ladies maintained their calm at that declaration.
"Why does this magic still exist?" Perenelle asked her husband who gave a long-suffering-shrug.
"Harry is free of the fragment." Hermione continued firmly. "Daphne and I destroyed it."
"What?" Several voices asked.
Snape scoffed and leaned back in his chair. "Impossible." He added when they looked at him.
Marlene raised one thin, blonde eyebrow. "Are you aware that you make no sense? One minute you complain that Consort Potter knows too much, the next that she can't possibly know anything. I've found that one ignores her knowledge at your own peril."
Harry was quite surprised that his older witch managed to say the whole thing without blushing or seeming to brag.
"What do we need to do?" Susan asked in the silence that followed Marlene's words.
"We must locate these items, determine if any more have been created. Destroy them all, then kill him." Daphne said firmly in her utterly cold voice, looking directly at the Headmaster as if daring him to protest her statement.
"You think you can do that girl?" Snape said, looking down his hooked nose at the Ice Queen.
Harry put a comforting hand on Lady Black's thigh. This couldn't end well. He thought.
Daphne slowly turned her head to face her former Head of House, while her left hand found his under the table and tightly inter-laced their fingers. "Yes, I do." She replied without any additional emotion in her tone.
"Please." Dumbledore said, though his purpose was not quite clear in using that particular word.
Whew. Harry thought to himself. No one was going to get bloody just yet.
Why is Snape such an idiot? He heard Hermione's voice in his head and his eyebrows shot up. That was the first time he'd consciously heard an actual thought from one of his ladies.
"Personally," Valerie said, pulling everyone's attention to her. "I'd like to see this for myself. We should probably wait until the first Hogsmeade weekend so most of the students are out of the castle, but then let's look through this room of hidden things and see if we can locate and destroy it."
"I'd like to do it sooner." Harry said, but shrugged. "Though, I see the reason for waiting."
The Headmaster removed his half-moon spectacles and rubbed his eyes before replacing them and speaking. "Miss Granger, where are the other two items you know of?"
"The first, Hufflepuff's Chalice, was entrusted to Bellatrix Lestrange. The second should be in the Gaunt home in Little Hanglington, it's their family ring."
Dumbledore sat back in his chair, he seemed totally bewildered by the direction this conversation had gone. It took him almost a minute to focus on the conversation again. "I'm aware of the location of that home, though I would refer to it as a hovel or shack. Perhaps during the holiday break Lady McKinnon, Severus and Mrs. Norwood would accompany me there?"
Marlene slowly shook her head. "I'm afraid, I will be unable to participate."
"Why?" Dumbledore asked.
Marlene sighed. "Because I am with child, and cannot risk being near such evil at that point."
With a loud squeal, Valerie pounced on her friend and hugged her tightly. It was a few minutes later when the discussion resumed.
"Well, I'll be there." Valerie said, still smiling, "and Moody would love to join us."
"I shall make the inquiry." Dumbledore said, still a bit bemused by the woman's reaction to her friend's news.
"In the meanwhile we try to capture Bellatrix and see what she did with the Chalice." Marlene said.
"I'll call Madam Bones and make sure she knows we need information from her." Valerie said. "Hopefully she still remembers after all these years and won't be kissed on sight."
Harry could tell that both Dumbledore and Snape were deeply disturbed by the conversation, both were trying to hide it.
As the meeting broke up Nicholas cleared his throat. "If it's alright, Penny and I would like to meet briefly with Albus and Severus." Though it was delivered in the form of a request, the tone froze everyone in the room. Typically the immortal man was happy and his voice was warm and welcoming, this was utterly different and carried the weight of centuries.
"Of course." The Headmaster replied, as if he had a choice in the matter, he even managed a slight smile.
Snape was frozen, tea halfway to his lips, his dark eyes looked out from behind his greasy fringe.
"We will see you later then." Marlene said calmly and gestured for everyone to stand.
Harry quickly got to his feet and gave each of his ladies a hand with their chairs. Daphne seemed to be hiding her reaction behind a mask of indifference, while Hermione was clearly curious, but controlled enough not to speak out.
The teens, all in a suddenly somber mood, left the office and rode the moving stairs down and past the gargoyle.
}-{
"Bell?" Andromeda called as she knocked on the closed door. It was jerked open a moment later, revealing a young girl with jet-black tresses and violet eyes. "Merlin." She whispered and held her hand out.
"No." The girl croaked and tears flowed from her eyes.
"It's me Bell." Andromeda said and surged forward, encompassing her older sister in a warm hug.
"What's happened to you? You look like mum…" Bellatrix said a few minutes later when they managed to get themselves back under control.
"Nothing's happened to me, except for the passing of time. Let's sit." She said, gesturing into the room.
"Can we get out of here?" Bellatrix asked plaintively, looking at the ladder in the hall.
Andromeda shook her head slowly. "Not just yet Bell."
Reluctantly, the younger witch sat beside her sister on the bed, there not being a couch in the room for them to share.
"So, I've been told you don't remember anything since your betrothal. How true is that?"
"Mostly." Bellatrix said. "I remember a bit after that I think, maybe a day or so. But we were back at home. I think it all went blank after I slept."
"I've studied healing, but it seems like I should have studied the mind arts more for all the work my own family's been giving me." Andromeda said. "Well, that happened in 1968, it is currently 1995, which makes it about twenty seven years ago. That's a lot of memory to lose."
"But I can't look nearly as old as I should be, right?" Bellatrix said, beginning to panic. There was nothing worse for a teenager than to be old.
"No my darling sister." Andromeda said, smoothing her siblings beautiful hair back behind her ear and caressing her perfectly smooth cheek. "You're just like I remember. Absolutely breathtaking. The true prize of the Blacks."
Bellatrix blushed and looked away from her sister's glistening eyes.
"So, I've been told by Lord Black, that when he learned you had lost your memory, that he accepted an offer by the goblins for a potion of youth. Made by Nicholas Flamel, none-the-less. That's why you look how you did so long ago."
"What's happened in all this time? The first lady I met, Javona, said something about all of the terrible things I did. What have I done Andi?"
"Oh, my Bell." Andromeda said and pulled her crying sister into a hug before slowly letting them both fall to lie on the bed. "Cuddle with me, while I explain. It's not pleasant."
"But I… alright." Bellatrix said and scooted up further on the bed to get her legs atop it and lay beside her sister. "But first I need to know if I have any children."
"No," Andromeda said with a gentle shake of her head. "None that I'm aware of. I have a daughter, she's twenty-two. Cissy has a son, who is fifteen. That's it."
"Oh," Bellatrix said, looking lost and confused. "I thought I was required to bear at least three children in the first ten years of the contract. I know I remember that bit."
"Perhaps that explains some of what happened. You see about then you were no longer rational and tended to talk in a baby's voice when teasing others."
"Merlin, quit jumping around, tell it from the start." Bellatrix said in a harsh whisper.
"Alright Bell. After your wedding, you became a follower of the Dark Lord, known as Voldemort. Today we call him You-Know-Who, but you wouldn't remember that. Do you remember him recruiting those who wanted to preserve traditions?"
"Yes, I do. Most of Slytherin wanted to join him, their parents too. Ours donated a lot of money didn't they?"
"Yes. So, it got real bad. Not only the muggleborn or half-bloods were attacked, but the pure who opposed him. Including our great aunt Dorea and her husband Lord Potter. Well in '81 the Dark Lord tried to kill Dorea's grandson Harry Potter, who was only a toddler. He managed to kill Dorea's son James and his wife, a brilliant muggleborn girl named Lily. But when he tried to kill Harry, something happened and he was banished instead."
"Banished? Not killed?"
Andromeda shook her head. "He's back, went through a resurrection ritual about a year ago, before that apparently he was a wraith."
Bellatrix shivered and her arms tightened on her sister.
"Backing up a minute. Right after he was banished, you and your husband, along with his brother and little Crouch Junior, tried to kill the Longbottoms. You were all caught and sentenced to life in Azkaban."
"NO!" Bellatrix shouted in anger, but looking into her sister's eyes she deflated, knowing it was the truth.
Andromeda stroked her back gently and pulled her down beside her. "A few days later cousin Sirius was also sent to Azkaban for betraying the Potters, but he never got a trial. About a decade or so later he escaped, he's just now recovering and having an international trial to prove his innocence. He can't go back to England yet. But apparently he did sneak back into Azkaban and free you. Two days after that the Dark Lord razed the prison and freed all of the prisoners."
After a few minutes of silence Bellatrix found her voice. "And Sirius is Lord Black? Who is Lady Black? It wasn't that woman I spoke to, she said she hoped to be Consort Black.
"Alright, this gets a little convoluted. Siri can't make babies, so he appointed his godson, Harry Potter, as his heir. He also signed a betrothal contract for Harry to marry the oldest Greengrass girl, Daphne. She is Lady Black. The family magic has accepted her, Siri told me the ring is gone from the box, so she must be wearing it at Hogwarts."
"But the Potter boy would be Lord Potter wouldn't he?"
"Yes, and he has a Consort Potter, his best friend Hermione."
"What in Merlin's name happened to our family? How many Blacks are still around?"
"Perhaps a dozen, including mine and Cissy's children. As to what happened, that Dark Lord, tried to kill off everyone who opposed him. And those who were fighting back, were killing his followers too."
Bellatrix was nearly hyperventilating, but with Andromeda's soothing words she managed to come back to reality and have a long cry with her sibling.
}-{
Hermione had a problem, and it wasn't one she had anticipated. In all her myriad planning and preparing, she'd made a basic assumption that was now proven incorrect. The problem was Susan Bones, or more specifically, her innate grasp of healing.
The brilliant witch had placed that responsibility for their group upon her own shoulders. Harry and Daphne were both offensively focused, and had incredible reaction times. Neither seemed to hesitate to act when a threat presented itself. Currently Harry lagged behind the Ice Queen, she had years of tutelage under her aunt. Though he was rapidly making up for that deficit by exercising and practicing hard.
With the introduction of the three Artifacts of Light, their dynamics had changed, and would continue to as Harry and Susan learned more about their artifacts.
She let out a frustrated sigh and checked the time with a quick tempus spell. She still had two hours before curfew. The library was fairly crowded, with students from all houses working on homework. Daphne had gone searching for her friend Tracey a few hours ago. Harry was meeting with Neville in the front courtyard. Both would be back in their suite by curfew at the latest.
Well, if not healing she would have to focus more on defense and more exotic threats. The defense part, she was fairly well versed in, there wasn't a spell that she'd been unable to cast since her introduction to the wizarding world. The Patronus Charm had been the most difficult to master, but with all of the joy and happiness currently in her life she could now cast it with ease.
"There you are." Harry said from a dozen feet away. He quickly approached her table in the back of the library and knelt beside her. "Are you alright?" he asked, with a scary tremble in his voice that immediately got her attention.
"Harry, I'm fine. What's wrong? Did something happen with Daph or Lene?" she asked, half-standing.
His hand went to her forearm, he was cold and trembling. "No, they're fine."
"Then what's wrong Love?" she asked gently, shifting and re-seating herself, so she could face him and put her free hand on his cheek.
Harry was able to calm himself once their eyes met. "I love you more than Daphne or Marlene." He suddenly whispered and closed his eyes as though scared she would react badly to his statement.
"Love," Hermione said and rubbed her thumb across his cheek. "We need to get to our suite and discuss this. Give me a minute to pack." She stood and sent the reference books back to the stacks and quickly organized her noted and shouldered her bag. Less than a minute after making the statement she stood and interlocked her fingers with his.
Daphne had not made it back to their suite before them, so they had the privacy she felt they needed for this conversation.
She dropped her bag and unstrapped his sword, hanging it on the hook near the bed, and leading him to the couch. He followed her without protest, but also without much of his usual spark. To hopefully counteract that she sat him down and then straddled his lap, tucking her legs outside of his.
Harry definitely perked up at the position he suddenly found himself in. His hands went to her hips and she put hers together behind his neck.
"What caused your reaction love." She asked.
"Um, well I was talking to Neville. He asked how I manage with the two of you, you know Susan needs him to have a spouse for the Longbottom line before she can take him as Consort for Bones?"
"Yes, it's very similar to our situation."
"So anyway, I realized as we were talking that I've been slighting you."
She raised a curious eyebrow and waited for him to explain further.
"Well, anyway, I've been giving far more attention to Daphne in bed, and was suddenly terrified that you thought I loved her more than you."
"No, love." Hermione said and closed the distance between their torso's, now pressed firmly against him she claimed his mouth, not pushing him, but tenderly leading him back to her.
When they separated a few minutes later his grin was just as broad as her own.
"We discussed this love, with two of us, and now three, it's hard for us to receive equal attention. The last few times we all had sex with you, you were utterly exhausted. I don't want you to feel you have to do the same things with each of us, every night. Certainly not Harry."
"But you and Lene had to…"
"Love, when you went all caveman on Daph, I was right there with you. I came when she did, but I don't think I can handle the same treatment. She likes that, I'm not against trying it a few times, but I'm perfectly content. Not just with you, but with Marlene and Daphne sharing our bed."
"So it's alright?"
"Yes." She said, added a quick head-bob and threw in a kiss as well to reassure him. "Marlene and I were able to satisfy one another just fine. And if you want to spend tonight with me, or Lene, I'm certain the other pair will do the same."
"Oh,"
"And Harry, don't feel concerned about how much you love each of us. I'm both comfortable and confident that the four of us will be together for over a century. You're stuck with us."
"Thank you." He said and jumped when the door to their suite flew open.
It closed a second later with a loud bang and Daphne was on the couch, glomped onto them both, tears marring her porcelain cheeks.
"What happened?"
It took the pair of them several minutes to get Daphne calmed down enough for her to speak. "My gut's been twisted into knots for the last hour. The angst coming from you for the last hour or so, was terrible." She said into Harry's neck.
"Sorry." The ashamed Boy-Who-Lived said as his own tears dripped down his cheeks.
"Daph, it's alright." Hermione said calmly. "Harry was concerned that we wouldn't feel loved if he wasn't able to love each of us equally."
"What?" Daphne said, lifting her head and looking at him in confusion. "Didn't we discuss this? Was that what was twisting my guts so?"
"Yes," Hermione said and gently kissed Harry's cheek and then capturing his lips to reassure him once again that she was there and content.
"Oh." Daphne said and relaxed into the couch. "I couldn't tell, but I knew the emotions I was feeling were not mine, and that one of you was hurting. So I went to see Aunt M, she was fine, just working on grading papers. Then I rushed here."
"I'm sorry." Harry said once again.
"Oh, kiss some sense into him." Hermione said and nudged her blonde companion.
The Lady Black was quick to do so, and did it at an achingly tender pace that was far removed from their rough coupling the previous night.
"We love you Harry." Hermione said while they continued to kiss. "And we love one another, that's all we really need at the moment."
}-{