…Great Hall, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Albus Dumbledore sat at the head table with a benevolent smile on his face. Everything had worked exactly as he had hoped. The presence of giants had been leaked to the right people and each side had quickly found someone to represent their cause in the media and in the Wizengamot. The two men chosen were exactly who Dumbledore had intended and so fit his plans perfectly.

Lord Foster Barton was obsessed with magical sentients. He regularly frequented the bordellos and strip clubs in Grimmauld Commons and rumor had it that he had, in his youth, tried to be turned into both a vampire and a werewolf before being stopped by his family and friends. He was a nutcase but he was perfect for Dumbledore's needs because the man was otherwise intelligent and well regarded.

Before the giant issue, his primary goal had been to close all the dragon reserves. He believed dragons to be sentient and was convinced that they would respect the Statute of Secrecy. He and the people that supported him would not allow the "rights" of the giants to be "violated" no matter the consequences to witches and wizards.

Of course for every extreme, there is the opposite and Lord Abraham Rosier represented that side. The man hated all "creatures", as he called them. Albus knew he considered the membership of Remus and Professor Flitwick on the Wizengamot to be an affront and the giant issue would be something in which he could pore all his angst.

Amelia Bones was about to be attacked on all sides. The fact that her boyfriend was a relative of one of the refugees would call her integrity into question, or at least Justin would make sure that it called her integrity into question. And through it all he would play the caring headmaster looking after the welfare of the individuals. Justin's job would be to make sure that at every opportunity, he sabotaged any attempt at compromise.

Albus knew it was imperative that he wrestled the Ministry back into acting for the greater good and not just the naïve whims of people who do not truly know any better. Tom was going to come back and he needed Britain to be ready. More importantly he needed Harry Potter to accept that his fate was sealed the night his parents were killed.

As far as Albus Dumbledore was concerned, Harry Potter died with his parents and all that was left was a tool to be used to advance the greater good for the wizarding world. His only regret regarding his decisions surrounding the boy was that he had not been more extreme and simply locked the boy in a Hogwarts basement and raised the child himself to fulfill his duty. He cursed his sympathetic desire to grant the child a childhood.

Instead he was forced to deal with a re-emerged Potter family. One that was falling to the dark. He had to somehow guide that family properly in the light. Young Harry had already made some troubling decisions and with the amount of power and influence he controlled, the light could not afford to lose him. Justin's plan to use Rubeus to help repair Hogwarts' reputation had been expanded by the headmaster and now he wanted to use the man to undermine Harry's support and lead the boy to him for proper guidance.

Harry Potter must be made ready to do his duty. Tom was still lingering and working to come back, and there was now a former follower of Tom's that had acquired the philosopher's stone and was likely building up his own dark aspirations. In addition the Bones, Longbottoms and a few other formerly light families had fallen to the dark and eliminated the old Dark families so they could take their place.

He had already formed a coalition of likeminded Lords that could see the dangers of running magical Britain the way Amelia seemed to be. The fact that she was regularly intimate with a Vampire was evidence enough for most of them. He put that to the back of his mind to focus. Hogwarts would be in the headlines again and it wouldn't be because of tragedy, incompetence or Harry Potter. He rose to address his students. He waved his hand and all the lights in the hall flickered. The students all calmed and looked at him.

He sighed. No one looked particularly impressed, afraid or enamored with him and it was irritating that he had lost that position in so many of their eyes. The truth about Fawkes, and his own scandals had destroyed his image as uber-powerful. "Good Evening Students" he started with his best grandfatherly smile. "I am pleased to inform you that Hogwarts has become home to Giants."

He smiled at the shocked and excited faces. He gave a brief explanation of the events that brought the giants to the school. He embellished his own benevolent actions and the greatness of the school that it could offer protection to the refugee giants. Finally he said "the giants outside the school wards are dangerous. I am disappointed that the Ministry is putting you at risk in this way but what is important is that we keep you all safe."

Minerva looked at the man while he spoke and shook her head. She wasn't sure if he had lost his ability to be subtle or if her eyes had just been opened and saw through his bullshit easier. He was obviously trying to sew discontent within the student body and their parents. Trying to position himself as benevolent and the Ministry as incompetent. It fit with what she knew about his new political faction.

The Potter group had met the previous night using their mirrors and Osirus had given a presentation on the new Dumbledore political block. It was humorous that he thought his group was clandestine. It was a traditionalist block made up of mostly historically light families but included a disturbing amount of the dark ones as well. It was being led by Justin Dumbledore though everything was being done to make it seem as if he was merely a naïve young follower.

The group, according to Osirus, seemed focused on increasing the prestige of Hogwarts generally and Albus Dumbledore, specifically. Osirus' intelligence group had been able to determine that the new group would not affect their plans but thought the group should be watched since it had a conservative bent which went against The Potter Group's liberal views.

Of greater concern for the group was Dumbledore's plans to re-instate the Tri-wizard tournament. It was meant to be a way for the three preeminent European wizarding schools to foster good relationships between its students through healthy competition. By the time it was discontinued it had only accomplished a few grizzly deaths of wizards and witches with a great deal of potential. They knew he was behind it restarting but they were concerned about why.

She wasn't sure if this latest episode with giants fit into his broader plans or if he was just trying to take advantage of the opportunity, but it was obvious he was milking it to show himself as the Light Lord he purported to be. She didn't think he had planned the arrival of the giants and that would be later confirmed by Vector Securities and the Lycans.

Albus finished his speech and got excited applause. He smiled as it was the first time he had been able to get such an excited response from the students in a long time. "What a difference a day makes" he thought to himself happily. He imagined that his news had trumped the previous day's appointment of Lavender Brown as the Guardian of Hogwarts. His thought was wrong.

If he had checked he would have been disappointed. Most of the excitement he thought was directed at his benevolence was actually over whether the giants represented the reason the school had called a guardian. Also it was a grand discussion about whether Lavender could beat a giant.

…Private Quarters of the Deputy Headmistress, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Minerva relaxed in the large pool of water. She had asked the Hogwarts house elves to expand her bath while her and her family were away for the summer and they had, as usual, outdone themselves. Her new bath was not as big as the prefect's baths but it was large enough and could easily fit all the members of her family comfortably.

Currently it was only her and Kathleen in the water. Kathleen was currently drawing a wet sponge over Minerva's naked body as it was her turn to provide the service to their mistress. Over the summer Minerva had become more and more comfortable with allowing her hand maidens to fulfill the duty they had chosen for themselves.

Minerva's eyes roamed over the tanned skin of the young woman who had become so many things to her. She was definitely a willing servant, sometimes a willing slave. Definitely a lover and friend. Sometimes Minerva even saw the woman as a surrogate daughter. In all cases, what was always true was that Minerva loved her and Samantha with the same intensity she loved Poppy and Pomona and she loved all her girls as much as she loved "her boys"

They had run into some snags, but by the end of the summer had found a pleasant balance between serving her and being a member of her family. Truthfully, while Minerva had always cared for them and them for her, the summer had nurtured that care into love and Minerva now accepted her hand maidens' service as an expression of that love.

Love had blossomed in all directions within Minerva's family. An example of that love was put on display when Kyler entered the room with Samantha trailing him. They were both naked and they moved to sit in the tub as well.

Once settled Samantha began to bath Kyler in the same way Kathleen was washing Minerva. Minerva had to fight against the growing arousal within her. The sponge in Kathleen's hands felt fantastic and the worshipful way the tall girl used it on her was calling her to use the girl in deviant ways.

Before long Pomona and Poppy joined them in the bath with Kerstan and Koenraad providing the bathing services respectively. The four members of the family that were employed during the school year relaxed under the caring attention of their lovers. Minerva was cleaned many time over and was just enjoying the soft massaging caresses she was receiving, when Kathleen kissed her.

…Great Hall, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (the Next Morning)

Albus Dumbledore's mood had not diminished since the previous evening. Both the Wizarding Daily and the Daily Prophet sat before him and both papers had responded to the giants as he had come to expect. Neither paper had editorialized about the decisions made, but he expected that those types of articles would be coming soon enough.

The two papers instead just reported on the events. Albus still could not track down the new owners of the Daily Prophet though he was coming to the conclusion it was the Notts. The headline for that paper read "Giants at the Gates". The story was factually accurate and tried hard to not offer an opinion but it was obvious to Albus that the writer had concerns about possibly aggressive giants camping so close to the school.

The Wizarding Daily, who Albus believed was owned by Osirus Vector, focused on Rubeus's brother and his companions. The article was titled "Flight to Freedom". The story was the same as in the Daily Prophet but focused more on the plight of the refugee giants. Albus was mildly surprised to see himself hailed as a hero in both publications for offering sanctuary for the three giants behind Hogwarts' wards.

The wards, themselves, also got coverage as they had proven themselves against 30 giants. It was believed that since the mass availability of Potter wards, most homes covered could withstand a similar attack. The notion that giants were once again active in England had meant additional business for the Potter Securities division of Potter Enterprises.

Both papers had also presented factual articles about the political issue surrounding the presence of the giants. Albus was a bit surprised and honestly irritated at the lack of sensationalism in the article, even though he had expected it to a degree. He did not expect the facts of the situation to be presented and both sides of the issue given such a fair presentation of their views.

The Wizarding Daily went so far as to do a profile on Lord Barton. Presenting him as an advocate for human and sentient magical cooperation. They attributed a rather politically astute quote to him as well. "I, like any other sensible wizard or witch, am concerned that this particular issue had to manifest so close to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but we must not forget that the school is protected by the most impressive wards known and has a great wizard at its head in Albus Dumbledore. With both protections I have total faith in the safety of the children at the school."

He put down the second paper. He had hoped the fireworks would have started already but he was not worried. His son had written to him in their paired journals that morning and despite the calm being projected in the papers, he had been assured that the arguments were becoming heated behind closed doors.

In a fortunate twist, he had also received an official complaint against Professor Rubeus Hagrid. The Nott family was charging that the professor had acted with "gross negligence" while teaching his class and that it led to the Heir to the Prima Potentia House of Nott to be "severely" injured by a class XXX magical creature.

After the "defeat" of the House of Malfoy, it seemed as if the Nott family was trying to reclaim its status in the Wizarding world. They had taken over the Parkinson family and completely humiliated the former Narcissa Malfoy and chased Draco out of the country. Now it seemed they wanted to gain some influence at Hogwarts.

In any previous year, the headmaster would have not fought particularly hard for the half giant. He would have likely seeded some power to the Notts and allowed them to take whatever petty revenge they had in mind. His hope being that it would allow him to try and influence the powerful family when the stakes were more important.

But Rubeus was a part if his own plans and making this fight very public as well as his support of his professor equally public would go a long way to reestablishing himself with his professor. He had already cosigned the medical release ordered by Mediwitch Pomphrey that cleared the young man to return to class and sent a strongly worded letter to the Board of Governors in defense of Rubeus.

His mind was constantly juggling multiple plans and ideas at various stages and his eyes drifted across the student body and landed on Lavender Brown, Guardian of Hogwarts and he saw an opportunity to set another of his plans into motion. He smiled to himself. It was time that he had a conversation with the young woman about what he expected from her in her new position. Once he had her under control he would be able use her to influence Harry Potter.

He leaned over to Septima Vector and told her to bring the girl to his office after breakfast. He didn't notice his head of Gryffindor House give him a frown before she nodded, nor would he have cared. Things were once gain on track. He was sure that her position as guardian was under his authority and he wondered if that was why Harry Potter had not accepted it.

…Office of the Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Albus Dumbledore was actually surprised that only Lavender appeared at his office. He had prepared reasons to exclude any of the staff, especially Septima Vector, who might have expected to participate as the girl's head of house, and Minerva McGonagall, who had no connection to the girl except tentatively through the Potter alliances. He was disappointed he hadn't had the opportunity to dismiss her from the meeting.

He was also surprised that neither Harry Potter nor any of the large group of Potter friends and associates had accompanied her either. He had at the very least expected her "boyfriend" Ronald Weasley to insist on being present. He had planned to "compromise" with the large group of people he thought would arrive and allow only the boy to stay. Getting control of Harry's two closest friends would have been ideal.

Instead he was faced only with Lavender Brown, Guardian of Hogwarts. As he had been forced to do often in recent years, he had to admit that the young teenager was strikingly beautiful and carried herself with a self-assuredness and maturity that surpassed her age. Her hair was long and reached down to her back. She had it in a pony tail that started at the top her head and hung down her back in a tight braid with a wide gold cap at the end. Based on how it moved, the metal cap was obviously heavy.

Everything about her was outside the normal range he thought as he looked at her. She was only 13 but was already at least 5'8". Her breasts were bigger than expected as well and she had a very athletic build. That he could tell so much about her body's dimensions was part of what he would speak to her about.

She was wearing an inappropriately tight version of the Hogwarts uniform. Her V-neck button down white shirt she wore was so tight it looked painted on. It was also made of silk so he could see her breasts through the material, if only barely, since magicals did not wear bras. Her skirt did not even reach mid-thigh and strapped to each leg, above her knee was the latest Hogwarts trend of a silk garter being used as a wand holster.

The entire ensemble was technically within the dress code of Hogwarts. The board of governors having refused to address the loopholes exploited by the students over the previous two years. Albus Dumbledore offered the young woman a seat and she sat demurely and crossed her legs. He looked her in her eyes for moment, hoping to cower her a bit but was disappointed that she returned his gaze with a steady, unintimidated one of her own.

"Lavender, thank you for coming. With your appointment as the Guardian of Hogwarts, I thought that we should meet and discuss what is expected of you." he declared a bit haughtily. "Certainly, Albus, where would you like to start?" She replied seriously. Albus Dumbledore stared at her with disapproval. In all his years of using familiar terms with students, no one had ever done so back to him in such a way. They might insist he be more formal, but never had any student simply taken it as an invitation to do the same. Few adults had dared, honestly.

Unlike the verbal trap Rubeus had set, Albus knew this one was purposeful. If he reverted to using her formal name, she would probably do the same but she would have won the confrontation. He decided to trip the trap in the other direction and stand firm on his authority. "I think it would be proper for you to call me Professor Dumbledore or headmaster, young lady" he said with a stern but amused voice.

As expected she reposted "I think that it would be best if you called me Ms. Brown" He looked at her for a moment and said "I think you overstep your bounds" with the same firmness but minus the amusement. Typically children would crumble at this point but Lavender was made of sterner stuff.

"I think we disagree then" she said simply and with an air of finality. Dumbledore's gamble had failed and either he called her by her name as she wished or she would continue to treat him with the same disregard he wished to treat her. He had hoped that by herself she would be less willing to take such liberties but he was disappointed.

He gave her his best "disappointed grandfather" look and said. "That is not why I called you here" he waited a full five minutes to speak again and the entire time she looked at him unwaveringly. He was disappointed again that she didn't show her youth by demanding he tell her. It would have showed that he was the adult and gained him a point in the previous battle of wills.

When he began to speak she smirked at him and he suppressed the frown he wanted to shoot at her. "As the headmaster of Hogwarts, I wanted to speak to you about my expectations of you as the Guardian of Hogwarts." She did not even blink at him as her face remained impassive.

It unnerved him slightly but he continued. "After this meeting, I will be contacting Severus Snape and hiring him to be your personal tutor." Still her face did not change. He was surprised at that as he had decided to use Severus Snape in the same way he originally planned to use the man against Harry. Carrot and stick. Severus would be abrasive and he would be understanding.

After a term or so, he would dismiss Severus and announce he would teach her himself. And her gratitude would be the first step to ingratiating himself with her as a mentor. For now he would be a stern headmaster, and the change in his attitude would also be seen as a sign of trust.

"Also, he continued, as a representative of the school, you will start dressing more appropriately. I realize that your clothing technically breaks none of the Hogwarts rule, but it violates the spirit of the rule and you will represent the school at its best not at its technicalities. Guardian of Hogwarts should not look like a …a scarlet woman."

He paused to take a breath and was about to continue on his long list of behavioral changes he would be enforcing with her when she interrupted. "Before you continue…" he could see she was trying to decide what to call him when she just skipped it and moved on.

Her voice took on a hard edge and she said "If I refuse to do any of these things you request, including meeting with Severus Snape." His eyes widened at the beginning of her question, never imagining she would question his authority. He was the headmaster, she could not simply refuse him. "Would you have the authority to remove me as Guardian of Hogwarts?"

The actual question was more surprising. He had never stopped to consider if he had such a power. She continued in the middle of his musings. "Because if you have no ability to discipline the Guardian of Hogwarts and we've already established through the rule book that you cannot punish me as a student, how will you get me to do any of the things you demand?"

As if to irritate him personally the hat came alive and said "No Guardian, he cannot remove you from your position as guardian of Hogwarts. Even if you were to be expelled, as long as it was not due to betraying the school or its charter, you would still hold the title and have access to the school."

"But I am the headmaster" Albus said incredulously. "And I am the Guardian." Lavender replied earnestly. Then she rose nodded at him, gave a curtsy to the hat, looked around for Fawkes, who was missing, and then exited the office. It went without saying the headmaster was angry, but he did not explode as he had before. Instead he just brooded till lunch. By the end of lunch he would be ready to have that explosion.

…D.A.D.A. Classroom, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Professor Capstonson had once again started the year off in an interesting fashion. The goal of the year was to become familiar with the various dark creatures that existed in the magical world as well as the various ways to combat them.

The class sat enraptured as the Professor gave a lecture about the nature of light and dark magic and how various creatures got that title. His basic point was that light and dark magic had become politicized through the centuries with some magics deemed dark merely because it was inconvenient to those in power. "However" he stressed "Dark magic exists. There is magic that by its very nature is self-corrupting. Those seduced by it try to avoid that corruption through the sacrifice of others in place of themselves. But even though the worst can be passed on to an innocent victim, it still takes a toll on the castor."

"The creatures we will discuss this year are not all necessarily dark in that sense but all of them prey on humans. The fact that we are their preferred victims does not make them evil or dark any more than the fact that lions eat gazelle, make the lion evil." He paused then finished "though the gazelle would probably disagree."

The class chuckled. He then waved his wand with a flourish and a trunk floated into the classroom. It was jumping about as if something was trapped inside and all the students reflexively took a step back. "The first creature we will discuss is in many ways the most important and we are fortunate to have one for you to face. It is called a boggart. Does anyone know what they are?" Professor Capstonson spoke seriously.

Lavender had made it to class by the end of his lecture on light and dark magic and the Professor called on her when she raised her hand. "Yes, professor, it is a wraith like creature with telepathic abilities that can change form into its victims worst fear." The Professor awarded her 5 points for her answer and said "It is considered a dark creature because of the dark emotion it preys on and the pain and sorry it can cause. Can anyone tell me why I don't consider it a dark creature?"

This time it was Padma that was called on. "Yes, Professor. Is it because the creature doesn't attack you physically" The man nodded and awarded points. "That is part of it" then he leapt at a Ravenclaw student and the student raised their wand and jumped back into a defensive stance, as they had been taught the previous year. "Notice that Mr. Macmillan has taken a defensive posture in response to my startling him. He is not dark, he is merely protecting himself. Similarly, the boggart does not attack and simply uses its ability to project your fear as a defense mechanism."

"Thank you Mr. Macmillan, 5 points for being an example and 10 for excellent form and reaction time." The boy smiled at the praise and took his seat. Harry, Neville and their friends were clearly the most powerful and magically talented students in the school but they were an inspiration, and especially their classmates and the third year Hogwarts students were turning out to be the most magically capable generation in a century.

"I am starting with the boggart because knowing what your greatest fear is and having an opportunity to face it will help you face all the other creatures we will discuss this year. Most of them have evolved to elicit a primal fear in their victims and managing fear will be as important as magical skill" The professor concluded the lecture and then taught the magical incantation to chase away a boggart. He then had the students line up outside the classroom. Each student was allowed to enter the class with the professor and face their worst fear.

Harry was the first of his group to enter the room. Ron and Lavender had insisted they join him. They knew he would be able to handle it but it was their duty to at least be close when he was facing dangers. Even if it was just a boggart. The two stood on either side of the door. They were both curious about what their friend would fear as they thought him to be fearless. Professor Capstonson stood behind the chest and then opened it. Out of the chest stepped an odd version of Harry Potter.

The "boy" didn't look scary or ugly. He was just a shorter skinnier version of Harry Potter and he was dressed like a muggle in brown corduroy pants and a plane looking blue jumper. "He looks so…" Lavender started and Ron completed her thought "…boring?" That was when Lavender figured out Harry's fear. "No, Ron, not boring. Normal"

That was when a surprisingly shaken Harry waved his and said "Riddikulus". The three magicals in the room not named Potter were amazed when the simple looking boy started to go through the werewolf change. None of them had thought of werewolves since the Lycans had emerged and were a little surprised that Harry as a werewolf didn't frighten the boy. The boggart recognizing its defeat, retreated back into the trunk.

Harry turned to the surprised faces and said "I'd rather be a werewolf, than normal". He actually shivered when he said the word normal. It took everything inside of Lavender not to laugh at the absurdity of that statement. Especially when she saw Ron nodding seriously in agreement. Ron was next and he stepped up to the trunk, Harry took his place by the door in support of his friend. Out of the trunk came another doppelganger. This time it looked like Ron. A very odd version of Ron. He was translucent and his face seemed featureless except for the red hair and freckles.

Ron seemed a bit shaken but he did not run from it. "What is it? Ron" Lavender asked a bit concerned. He sighed and said "It's me if I was nobody. Ignored and unwanted" Lavender and Harry looked at each other. They both knew about how unwanted he had felt when he was younger and were a little worried that it persisted as a fear within him.

Then Ron waved his wand and said "Riddikulus". The shade grew a smirk and its clothes changed. It now looked like a cat burglar and around its waist was different colored pairs of panties. The creature screamed "You'll never catch me" before it retreated into the trunk. Harry laughed out loud and Lavender looked at her boyfriend incredulously. He met her eyes and said "What? If no one is going to pay attention to me, I'm going to steel panties."

As they passed each other they shared a kiss. Lavender made sure she conveyed how much she loved him in that kiss. He rubbed her side in acknowledgement of her unsaid words. Then she moved to in front of the trunk.

Out of the trunk rose the third doppelganger. The professor noted that these student seemed to all fear what they could have been. For Lavender she was faced with a bubbly air-headed version of herself. The clone giggled every 2 seconds and was talking none stop about hair, clothes, make-up, boys and oddly, divination. Then the moronic version of the blonde started pining for "Won-Won"

"Riddikulus" Lavender growled and the Werewolf Harry from earlier appeared and attacked the ditsy blonde. After the werewolf dragged a bloodied Lavender back into the trunk she turned and growled "better to be dead". Harry said "I don't know 'Won-Won' sounded cute." He was quickly hit by two stinging hexes, one from each of his friends.

…Great Hall, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Septima Vector was a happy woman. At only 24 she was head of house for Gryffindor, she was well respected within her chosen field and she was practically married to the love her life. She was an official mistress of the Lord Marauder which offered her a host of political protections but more importantly she was with a man she adored.

Her happy mood was helped by the fact that since she could not leave the castle, due to her position as a head of house, Remus could come and visit her. He had done so the previous night and left her body happily sore.

…Flashback

Most students, magical or otherwise, typically preferred to ignore the personal lives of their teachers. However, when one of their teachers was the mistress and lover of the king of the Lycans, that preference was the polar opposite. Even after a few years, the Lycans remained one of the most interesting additions to the magical world ever and having their king casually arrive at the school to visit one of the teachers was met with great awe and supreme interest.

Remus arrived with two of his guards. Since his other ladies were able to be with him regularly he had decided to give Septima some private attention. Since they were currently on a mission to constantly irritate the headmaster, he had made his arrival completely official. He arrived at the front gates of the school in a black magicar Siren and was dressed in his Lycan military uniform. His rank embroidery showing him to be the Alpha of Alphas of the Lycan clans.

He arrived after classes had ended for the day but before dinner. With most of the students hanging out around the castle and grounds, news of his arrival spread faster than it took for him to reach the front door. Septima met him in the entrance hall along with a crowd of female students. He gave his admirers a charming smile that caused a lot of swooning and giggling before giving her a deep but still appropriate (if barely) kiss.

The kiss ended with applause from the crowd of teenagers before Septima wrapped her arms around him and led him off toward to her quarters. The sultry walk she used made it clear what they were heading off to do and many a boy had to adjust himself because of the sexy teacher. In truth, many a girl had to change their underthings before dinner because of the presence of the uber masculine Lycan king and his equally rugged guards. Septima was not seen at dinner.

…End Flashback

She had sent off Lavender for her confrontation with the headmaster and had been happy to see her return looking smug. A quick bout of girl talk on the way to the young woman's DADA class and Septima was trying hard not to cackle with glee as she returned to her office.

Now she was in the lunch room anxiously awaiting the arrival of all the players for the next bit of mischief that the Potter group intended to execute. She had not been a prankster in her own time at Hogwarts, thinking the line between pranking and bullying was too thin for her liking. The line was still very thin, but the pranks Harry Potter were playing were targeted at people who deserved it and also had the benefit of helping the world in most cases.

The prank that she had been included in, to her mind, was not world changing. In addition the victim was only going to be a victim because of his own hubris and not because of the prank itself. Remus had chosen to use her in the perfect type of prank. One that left her own morality intact. It was even better because her part was the smallest but she would have the best seat to watch the aftermath.

While her anxious thoughts were running through her head, everyone had arrived for lunch. She watched the headmaster and using the advice Remus had given her the previous night, she waited for the perfect moment to strike. She noticed that Albus had started to stare at the Gryffindor table. She followed his eyes and saw that Lavender was sitting in Ron's lap rather suggestively and giving the other boys at the table teasing views between her legs, much to the delight of the boy's girlfriends who would "catch" them peaking.

With his failed meeting with the "Guardian of Hogwarts", she could see his lips tightening and could almost hear his teeth grinding. It was time. "Headmaster" she spoke from next to him. He barely looked at her as he continued to fume at Lavender's antics. "Minerva already knows, but she asked me to tell you." That got his attention. "Harry Potter and his entire circle will be leaving the castle tomorrow." She did not flinch despite the intensity of the eyes that snapped to hers.

Pretending that she did not notice his intensity, she went on tapping into her own actual excitement at the news. "I will be escorting them to the Ministry to register. They've become animagi!" It took all of her will not to cackle when she saw his eyes widen or when he bellowed "WHAT?" Instead she, again pretended, that his reaction was not what it obviously appeared to be.

She looked at him with joy and said "I know, isn't it exciting? And their magical animagi too. All of them." She watched in glee as his face turned every color. She was disappointed for Remus when he started spluttering as he had bet Sirius that Albus would be able to keep his composure. She was wondering if the confrontation with Lavender should negate the bet and almost missed the headmaster saying "No, I will not approve them leaving the castle."

She clapped internally as Remus won his bet with Minerva that the old man would try to prevent them from going. She heard Minerva sigh in disappointment on the other side of the headmaster before saying in her patented "McGonagall Stern Voice"; "Albus, calm yourself, the children are staring. And if the children are animagi, you cannot prevent them from going to register. It's the law."

…Grounds, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Harry and all his friends stood in large area of manicured grass that stood In front of the main doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All the professors stood in front of the doors, including a still fuming headmaster. His displeasure was obvious when compared with the palpable happiness of the rest of the professors.

The entire student body were also in attendance. Every window had multiple students in it and the battlements were packed. As a last bit of petulance he had forbidden the students from coming outside to watch; "due to the unknown danger". He had almost spelled the windows closed and black but even in his frustration and anger he knew that would only reflect poorly on him. His current hope was that Harry Potter was exaggerating, even though he knew it was a futile one.

Harry looked at the excited people before him and had to admit that this plan was a good one. His first instinct when Minerva, Sirius and Remus brought it to him, had been to keep their forms all secret but his advisors had convinced him that there was no point and that there were benefits of revealing this secret.

The first and most obvious point they made was that they would only be revealing the magical forms each of them possessed, not the second non-magic one all of his friends had. Since it was considered absolute fact that people only had one form, knowledge of one form would mean no one would ever suspect them when in the alternative one.

The second point was that, as amazing as their magical forms were, they weren't particularly useful, especially in the case of Ron and Lavender, whose forms were monstrous. Neither the giant bull nor the giant horse could be inconspicuous really and they didn't need to transform to access the most useful powers. The non-magical forms had more use as they could be inconspicuous.

That led to the last point, the known magical forms would allow for a handy excuse. Sirius had been discovering many useful rituals during the cleanup of his library and any physical changes the rituals caused could be blamed on the magical forms they had. Sirius had already found the secret to his personal sexual stamina in a ritual one of his many times great grandfather performed on the family line.

It and a few others were joining a list that the Potter group would be completing the following summer. It was already obvious to anyone paying attention that Harry and his friends were bigger, faster, stronger and more powerful that they were supposed to be. The revelation that they had discovered the secret to achieving powerful magical forms that no one truly understood would make for a convenient cover, when necessary and would answer the question and stop people from looking for other reasons.

That was especially important for Harry as it would make it less likely that people discovered his true secret. That he was an Animorphmagus. All of those reasons had been valid but Harry had mostly agreed because it would be an amazing feat of legendary magic he could share publically with his friends. He was committed to his goal of achieving greatness but that didn't mean he didn't appreciate seeing his friends elevated and viewed as extraordinary as well. The announcement had already had the Weasley twins looking at their younger brother and sister with renewed respect.

Harry had been using his actual magical animagus form of a Nemean Lion to bring positive attention to his properties and family in much the same way Albus had used Fawkes to bolster his reputation. The magical lion had not been seen frequently but was regularly spotted all over the lands that made up the Potter holdings. The residents had started erecting posts at each siting location. It held a banner with the image of the Nemean Lion in profile.

He looked over to Romilda and smiled at her. She would not be participating in the day's activities. The official story was to be that Harry had found the book "The Animal Within" while restoring his family and he and his friends had spent almost two years developing the mental skills necessary to find their spirit animal, tame it and then complete the animagus transformation process.

All that would have been true had Harry not been able to cheat with his powerful form of legimency. Unfortunately, that meant that Romilda could not show off her form until the following year since it was well known she had just joined the group in the summer. Harry thought it especially disappointing since he considered her form to be the most interesting of all of them.

…Flashback

…Potter Castle, Ottery St. Catchpole

Harry wondered if any of friends truly appreciated the extent of his genius. He supposed that from their perspective he had always been beyond expectation if not supernatural. It was his fault as he becoming a legend was point one of his life goals. Looking at the boiling potion though he had to pause to appreciate his own greatness. Feeling a bit arrogant he resolved that perhaps it was best that his friends took him for granted a bit. Hopefully it would keep him balanced.

The potion was an improved version of the animagus potion he had developed two years earlier. It did not change any of the effects but he was able to reduce the brewing time drastically. From the moment he had asked, Romilda had been anxiously awaiting her ability to change into an animal. The ability to bring her desire to fruition so quickly was not just a reflection of his own genius but the availability of much more potent ingredients. He would have to thank Neville one day.

He presented the potion to his friends and as expected, they were suitably impressed. As if sensing his early thoughts, Lavender needled him with "OK, so you are a genius, but you're still just a pretty boy." That caused some snickering and Harry decided he liked his life and friendships as they were.

They all took seats in his living room. Harry took Romilda's hand and slipped into her mind. She had let him in but he was able to be very impressed with her mental shields. He doubted she could keep him out if he truly wanted to get in but her mind was very well guarded. Looking around the representation of her mind he smiled.

The area looked like a military barracks that had been decorated by a hyper 4 year old girl. Deadly weapons hung on the walls, painted pink or lavender and covered in glitter. The mental representation of Romilda was a fully armored knight wearing a ball gown. He liked it. He led the happy girl to the part of her mind that held her spirit animal and was surprised to find that it was a semi-sentient creature. With his own powers, he had become very knowledgeable of magical creatures and was curious as to what would happen when he bit the transformed girl.

Her spirit animal was an Empusa. Harry thought the fact that all of Ron's lovers continued to be fire creatures seemed odd but wondered if perhaps that was simply a reflection of the type of women he liked. More interesting was that the Empusa, like the acromantula were semi-sentient. Also like the giant spiders, they were known to prey on humans.

He pulled himself from Romilda's mind and allowed her to announce what she was. Everyone, including the stunned girl looked to him for an explanation. Harry slipped into his lecture mode and said "The Empusa are a magical creature that are all female. They reproduce by seducing human men and then consuming them after they are impregnated."

Harry looked at Romilda and asked her what secondary animal she wanted to be and was unsurprised when she kept with the pattern and chose to join the "chipettes" as a squirrel. After preparing the potion, they all watched as she drank it and turned into the Empusa.

She was indeed very stunning in her new form. Everyone stared at her a long moment and then everyone jumped when she said "How do I look?" Her voice was melodious but also slightly sinister and seemed have a wailing quality to it. No one else had an animagus form that could speak so it was definitely odd.

Deciding to help her answer here own question, Harry conjured a mirror. When she saw herself she made a startled sound and said "I'm naked". She calmed after everyone looked at her. Everyone in the room had already seen her naked multiple times and doing much more interesting things than just looking at herself in a mirror.

She looked back at herself and examined the most striking thing about herself. Instead of hair she had fire. The fire seemed to match the pixie cut hairstyle that she had as a human and she thought it made her head look like a lit match stick. What was interesting was that the landing strip of hair she kept over her pussy was also a fire.

She looked up into her own face. It looked similar to her human one, except her nose had flattened till it looked like it belonged on a snake with narrow almost imperceptible nostril slits. Her eyes had no pupils and were black and her canine teeth had extended into deadly fangs

She lifted her hands and examined the deadly claws her fingers had become. On her back were two leathery bat-like wings. She extended them as well. Nothing much hand changed about the rest of her except that her skin looked more snakelike. Something she confirmed when she touched herself and felt soft scales.

Her shape had remained the same until her legs. From her knees down she had what looked like donkey feet, hooves and all. She reasoned that donkey legs normally have hair on them because her feet had flames dancing up and down them.

She felt a surge of pleasure and looked over her shoulder to see that she had a 2 foot long scaled lizard tail and that Ron had grabbed it and was rubbing his hands up and down its length. She moaned in pleasure and then in frustration when her moan caused Ron to stop.

Her frustration must have triggered something instinctually because smoke coalesced around her and formed into a black sleeveless bustier top and a matching loincloth skirt that was only wide enough to cover her sexy and the crack of her ass and fell to her ankles.

Ron thought it was sexier than when she was naked. The "material" looked like a shadow and if any one tried to grasp it, their hands would past through the immaterial substance. Smoke started to slowly curl from Ron's nose and it was obvious where this was heading so Harry stepped up and bit the girl to claim the form for himself. She let out a powerfully erotic sound that seemed to affect everyone in the room.

Ron's nose started to blow thicker smoke and all of his girls' hair lit on fire. He grabbed the Empusa and carried her out the room with his three remaining ladies trailing after him. Harry would have found it funny if not for the looks of lust he was receiving as well. Deciding to test his new form later he apparated his entire harem to his bedroom.

…End Flashback

Luna and Ginny changed first. They stepped forward holding hands and then Ginny turned into an Ashwinder followed by Luna that turned into a Quetzalcoatl. The population of the school and most of the teachers cheered the two girls now slithering around one another.

Ginny's Ashwinder looked like a 20' long anaconda with color changing scales. They had started out red and had changed to blue which matched the color of the magical fire that danced up and down the length of her body. Also amazing was that the width of her body had not changed that much as the snake circumference matched the waist dimension of the girl at 20"

Next to her, a similar snake like creature danced and played. The Quetzalcoatl was a magical creature from South America and was once thought of as a dragon breed. Its head and mouth looked like a cross between a crocodile and a snake with a long snake body and feathered bird wings. Luna's form, like Ginny's was as thick as the girl had been, 22", but was shorter than Ginny, only 10'. Luna's form was also very colorful. Blues, reds and yellows dominated the color scheme but people could see purples, greens and a bit of orange when the sun reflected differently against her iridescent feathers and scales.

No one would notice but the fact that two of Harry Potter's girlfriends were snake animagi and no one seemed to care struck another blow within Slytherin. It was hard to believe the self-delusion that the world only hated you because your house symbol was a snake when the hero of the wizarding world spoke parseltongue and two of the cutest and most cared about girls in the school could turn into magical snakes.

The Ravenclaws were especially pleased that the girl that they considered their champion and the spiritual successor to Rowena Ravenclaw had such an awesome form. Many also pointed out that she had bird wings, "like a raven, get what I'm sayin? Huh? Huh? You get it?" While that particular first year Ravenclaw was ignored Hermione and Tracey stepped forward holding hands.

Hermione transformed into her Kitsune form, now with three tails and Tracey turned into an Ifrit. The two fire canines started to chase each other nipping at each other's tails. Hermione looked like a normal fox, except for the multiple tails that seemed to be made of blue fire. Similarly, Tracey's Ifrit form looked like an English bulldog except that her paws looked like dragon claws, she was made of magma and her tail was long and arrow tipped.

Daphne and Susan stepped forward next into the growing menagerie of playing magical animals and the eyes of the entire school turned from the four playing animals to them. What little doubt had existed about the groups boasting had long since vanished and was replaced by excitement about what new magical creatures would appear. Only the fact that he had been able to examine them all during the summer kept Rubeus from storming them. He especially wanted to pet the form Susan was about to take as he loved large dogs.

As if called by Rubeus thought, Susan turned into a Grim and the student body let out an audible gasp. One of the Grimm's magical abilities was to sense doom and seeing one generally meant that bad luck or misfortune might follow. They were also classed as semi-dark, which made sense looking at the giant black dog with swirling shadows dancing around it despite being in the noontime sun.

She looked like a giant Black Pit Bull with pointed ears. She stood about 6' to the top of her head and was another 10' long. It wasn't until the other animals got close to her that people truly appreciated her size. Then Daphne transformed into a creature practically the same height as the dog now reclining on its haunches. The crowd was awed. Not because it was any more amazing than the rest but simply because no one could imagine the Slytherin princess turning into a gryfon.

Albus Dumbledore was a true believer in destiny and had a pedantic view of light and dark. He had been sure that a Weasley as a snake and a Bones as a Grim had validated his belief about what Potter was doing to the light side. He could not fathom, however, how a Greengrass could be a creature as light as a gryfon. Daphne extended her wings and bellowed a screech-like growl (or a growl-like screech) and all of Gryffindor House cheered in response. Daphne sat on her haunches next to Susan and despite her form and the fact she had no lips, she still managed to smirk at the headmaster.