Author's Notes: Here again gang, and I feel pretty stupid at the moment. I reached the point where this chapter ends a couple weeks ago at least and I've been trying to continue the scene since. I just didn't like what I ended up writing no matter how I tried to redo it. Finally, I realized it's actually not a bad spot to end the chapter, just as it was. Little bit of a cliff hanger but not a terrible one, not like during the World Cup two chapter arc. I'll admit, I was a little cruel and evil with that cliff hanger.
So, I have decided to simply upload the chapter as is and then have just a tiny bit of a time skip with the next chapter to get to where I need things to be. Also, while it's been a little while, nowhere near as long as it was before my last update. Life really decided to kick my ass recently and it's been difficult getting the motivation to write but I'm still plugging away, still working so please don't worry and everyone's patience with me is so very much appreciated. On with the show!
Disclaimer: I still don't own anything of value, especially not the Harry Potter franchise or any of its characters.
Here be chapter 50 of Soul Scars.
Soul Scars Part Four:
Allegria.
by,
Rtnwriter
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and Professor of Transfiguration, found herself walking the corridors of Hogwarts in the early morning hours on Saturday with a very specific destination in mind. It had been some time since she had been shown this particular room, one many thought of with the same degree of skepticism as the fabled Chamber of Secrets. Another Hogwarts mystery solved by, arguably, one of her favorite, and most troublesome, students.
Not troublesome in the way that most educators would likely use the term, as he wasn't a poor student, nor did he act out in class or start fights with other students in the school, far from it. In fact, it could easily be argued that he had saved the lives of everyone in the school at least once, possibly twice, making him even more well known for his heroics, and it was those very heroics that made him so troublesome.
"Heading to check on our young warriors?"
Minerva turned her head, automatically looking down as she recognized the slightly squeaky voice of her friend and colleague, who had apparently just reached her as she passed an intersecting hall.
"Warriors, Filius? Really?"
The diminutive professor shrugged. "What else would you call them? Mister Potter is considered a Blooded Warrior amongst the Nation after his battle against the basilisk. His young ladies, and their friends, did help fight in a battle against hundreds of inferi. They have faced You-Know-Who multiple times, and they train as if they are preparing for war. What are they, if not warriors?"
Minerva couldn't really think of a response to that, so she didn't try and simply turned and continued walking with Professor Flitwick falling into well practiced step beside her, her much longer stride causing him to have to walk much faster in order to keep pace. Once, years ago, she had attempted to shorten her stride to make things easier on her friend, he had been most put out with her. She didn't try anymore, simply letting the smaller professor keep up as he would.
"You haven't been by to check on their progress recently, have you?" he asked and she pursed her lips.
"I have been keeping myself informed on all of their grades. My five have continued to take the top five spots in their year for the last two years.
"That doesn't actually give a fair accounting of their abilities, and you know it," Filius pointed out. "Mister Potter has been the driving force pushing them all forward, and I personally doubt that he is even aware at what level they are all at in their practical spell casting. He just learns new spells, teaches them to his friends, and repeats. It's astonishing to watch their practice duels."
Minerva hummed under her breath, but said nothing. It was entirely her fault that the closer than usual relationship she had been building with them was ruined. She hadn't fought to keep Harry out of the Dursleys beyond a few words of protest. She hadn't done anything to check on the lad over the years, either. When he'd found out… they still hadn't returned for one of their Saturday teas.
The door to the Room of Requirement came into view and the two professors entered quietly, only to step into the middle of a scene of complete chaos. The Room had become a battle ground, a large arena with rubble, walls, and barricades strewn randomly about. Their students were scattered about the space as a running battle appeared to be taking place. Spells flew through the air, fast and thick, and Minerva found herself shocked as she took in the nature of some of those spells.
Cutters, bone breakers, blasting curses, animated transfigurations… she flinched as the Head of House Longbottom ducked what she recognized as a blood boiling curse.
"Sweet Circe," she blurted out, unable to stop herself as a series of blasting curses struck throughout the room, the explosions tearing through the air so loudly as to almost feel like a solid presence pressing against her eardrums. Directly in front of the two professors, in the very center of the room, a figure shimmered into view as a disillusionment charm failed, revealing a panting, sweating, bruised, and shirtless Lord Potter.
His empty left hand was raised in the direction of where the last blasting curse had struck and in his right hand he held a length of wood shaped like a sword, his knuckles white due to his grip on the mock weapon.
Behind him, another shimmer hung in the air for a moment before Blaise Zabini came into view, a wooden sword in his own left hand and his wand held in his right. The wand snapped up, a chain of spells rattling off and Potter cursed, throwing himself into a roll to avoid the attack.
"They're going to kill each other!" Minerva gasped out, her wand already in hand as she started to stride forward, intent on ending the conflict.
"They're fine, Minerva," Filius told her, shocking the woman into silence. "Just watch."
"How can you say that?" she barked out, watching an orange colored curse fly from Harry's empty left hand toward Blaise, who sidestepped the attack. "That was an entrail expelling curse!"
To her continued befuddlement Filius only laughed at her declaration. "Yes, Lord Potter has gotten rather good at that one."
"That is dark magic!"
"'Know thy enemy', Minerva," Filius quoted. "How can someone be expected to counter something they've never seen before? They've all been learning dark magic in order to be able to recognize and counter it if they ever have it used against them."
"And what if one of those curses lands? Mister Zabini would be dead right now, there's no counter for the entrail expelling curse once it hits."
"The Room has taken care of that."
Minerva blinked several times in confusion and opened her mouth to question her colleague.
"Trust me, just watch. Do you honestly think I wouldn't make sure their safety was taken into account?" Filius asked in a slightly hurt tone of voice.
"Never. But you weren't here when all this started."
He bobbed his head in a nod. "True. But I helped them find the Room's capabilities, so I know that everything is fine. Just watch."
His firm resolve and confidence caught her attention more than the actual words chosen. After years of working together she knew that Filius would never intentionally endanger a student. If he was so certain that there was no danger… well, she would just have to give him the benefit of the doubt, as much as what she was watching absolutely terrified her.
A cry echoed from somewhere else in the room, the voice sounding much like Lord Longbottom.
"Sounds like Neville is out," Blaise commented as he and Harry circled each other in the center of the battlefield.
"Sounds like it."
"You know they're just going to team up against us, again," Blaise pointed out and Harry shrugged.
"Most likely."
"They always beat us, Harry," the Slytherin pointed out. "Why don't we team up ourselves, try to even things up a bit against those girls of yours?"
"That's true, they have beaten us nearly every time when the three of them have managed to work together. So you want us to set aside our fight and work together to beat the big bad girls?" Harry asked, a smirk present on his lips.
"Exactly. Because the longer we spend fighting here, the longer we give them to get into position to attack whoever it is that wins our little bout. If we call a truce now we cut that time to prepare out from under them."
Harry considered that for a moment before he shrugged, his smirk turning into a full blown grin. "Or, to save time, you could just surrender."
Blaise snorted out a laugh and raised his sword in a brief salute that Harry barely returned before he was forced to dodge a brace of stunners. While the two boys fought, Minerva could see the three girls slowly moving closer to the battle, taking up positions as close as they could get while still staying outside the range of the battle.
"Gah, you know better than that, Potter!"
Minerva had her attention drawn back to the battle as her colleague started berating their student. Potter was retreating, quickly backing away from a series of attacks from the larger Slytherin student, blocking or dodging spells as best he could while using the sword in his right hand to deflect swipes and jabs that Blaise made at him with his own sword.
He's on the back foot, Mister Zabini has the clear advantage in this fight… so why doesn't he look more concerned? she thought, studying Harry's face carefully as the retreat continued. There was a determined set to his expression, a calculating look in his eye that didn't fit the image of a person retreating and off balance.
He's planning something, she thought.
As she watched the fight progress, she started to notice something that seemed… off to her. The number of spells that flew from Harry's hand didn't seem to match up to the physical motio- There! Harry's left hand came up and flicked out, once, twice… three times in his opponent's direction, but only two brightly glowing hexes were deflected by the Slytherin.
He's setting a trap!
The thought bloomed into existence, fully formed within her mind a mere second before the trap was sprung.
Harry's intense look of concentration morphed into a sudden triumphant grin as he waved his hand, shouting a string of Latin at the top of his lungs. A series of bright flashes of light went off all around them and when it cleared the battlefield had changed.
Blaise blinked several times, his mouth dropping open in shock as he took in the dozens upon dozens of Luna Lovegoods that suddenly surrounded him. Some as tall as two feet, others no more than three inches high as Minerva realized that Harry had transfigured all of the accumulated rubble caused by their battle into miniature versions of the eccentric Ravenclaw.
All sides of the battle froze for the briefest of moments before the Lunas suddenly attacked, rushing forward in a swarm as Blaise let out a surprised yelp, wand and sword both wavering back and forth in a brief moment of indecision as he couldn't decide if he should attack the constructs or not. That moment was all it took as they suddenly swamped him, the entire small army reaching the boy only to leap at him, grabbing onto him wherever they could until he was dragged to the ground beneath their combined weight.
Harry straightened and waved his hand again and the army of Lunas blurred and melted, forming together into a new structure. In a matter of seconds Blaise Zabini found himself on his hands and knees, metal shackles at his wrists and ankles with short chains that were in turn connected to the floor, effectively trapping him in place. A quick disarming charm had both wand and sword ripped from the boy's hands, leaving him completely helpless.
Blaise struggled for a moment, pulling ineffectually at his bonds before giving up, turning his attention to a panting, yet grinning, Harry Potter.
"Really, Potter?" he asked, disbelief coloring his tone. "Do your girls know that you appear to have a thing for bondage? Might be something you want to inform them of before they find themselves at your tender mercies."
Beside her, Filius cracked up, cackling quietly as Harry gaped at his friend for a moment before flushing brightly. Before he could say anything, another voice floated over to them from behind a nearly demolished wall.
"Who says that we'd be the ones tied up and at his mercy?" Susan asked, stepping around the wall with her wand leveled in Harry's direction.
"That is rather presumptuous of you, Blaise," Hermione added as she appeared from behind another piece of rubble off to the left and across from Susan as Daphne stood up and climbed out of a small warded area she'd created near the floor, her back to the two Professors.
When she spoke her voice was a sultry purr that had a flush blooming in Hermione's cheeks. "Though the idea does offer all sorts of possibilities, doesn't it girls?" she asked, stepping closer to the two boys that were now caught in the crossfire between their three wands.
"Ready to surrender, love?" Daphne asked. "We promise… we'll be gentle."
With his face as red as she'd ever seen him, Minerva watched as Harry chose not to surrender. Instead, both hands came up and he dove to the side, calling out as he fell, "Morning Professor McGonagall!"
The moment he'd moved Hermione had already started the motions to a spell, the incantation on her lips and she spun, along with the other girls, as what he'd said registered. The spell was already cast, however, and Minerva couldn't reach her wand fast enough to even attempt to cast a shield as a cutting curse hissed through the air directly for Daphne's unprotected back.
#####
"I can't believe you cut my shirt," Daphne said some time later as the six students found themselves sitting in Professor McGonagall's office.
"I already said I'm sorry," Hermione told her, her face twisted into a worried expression. "At least it didn't hurt you at all, and we can repair or replace the shirt easily enough."
"It was my fault. I knew the professors were there but I shouldn't have tried to distract you like that," Harry muttered.
"Stop it, Harry. You know she was never in any real danger. A torn shirt is a small price to pay for us to learn to be more aware of our surroundings," Susan cut in.
"Would one of you like to explain what I saw in there?" Professor McGonagall cut in after Susan finished speaking. "Aside from some fairly inappropriate innuendo, you were all casting some very dangerous magic. Filius assures me that none of you were in any danger, but I would very much like to know how that was possible."
She had her stern expression and clipped tones out in full force, wanting little more than a solid explanation for what she'd seen. If that was how they were practicing dueling… well, she honestly wasn't certain her heart could take the strain.
"It's the Room, Professor," Harry told her, leaning forward in his seat in front of her desk. "I asked for a Dueling Arena for a six way free-for-all battle. Since I requested the Room, I also control what goes on inside the Room. When I requested it I wanted us to be able to practice the more dangerous spells we know but without real risk of injury. We're not sure how it does it, but the Room made it so that, even if one of us was hit with a deadly curse, the worst we'd suffer would be a really nasty bruise.
"None of us actually want to get hurt, so it lets us realistically practice but without the actual danger involved with some of the magic that we were using."
Remarkable, Minerva thought, more impressed with the Room of Requirement than she'd ever been as she took in her student's explanation. "And that is how Miss Greengrass wasn't injured by Miss Granger's cutter?"
"Eh… no. No that's a different story all together," Susan admitted.
Hermione spoke up at that point and Minerva bit back an exasperated sigh as she shifted her attention to yet another new speaker.
"We discovered it on Tuesday morning, actually. Madam Pomfrey believes that since we completed our bond our magical signatures now match up. The girls and I literally can't affect each other with our magic anymore, it'd be as if we cast the spell at ourselves. My cutter couldn't hurt Daphne, but it still cut her shirt."
"Professor Lupin demonstrated last year in class how a person's own magic can't affect them. As far as we can tell that's what's happened with us."
The professor considered that for a moment before a question occurred to her. "You said that only you girls can't affect each other?"
All four of the bonded teen's faces fell slightly at that as Blaise and Neville both cast sympathetic looks in their direction.
"For some reason their magic still has an effect on me, and mine on them," Harry said, his voice dropping into a bitter tone. "Madam Pomfrey is looking into it but we have no idea why at the moment. She says that our souls are completely bonded, so I should be the same, but for some reason I'm not."
"We will figure it out, Harry," Hermione said, reaching over to take hold of one of his hands. "It's not hurting us, whatever it is, so we have time to figure it out."
His only response was an inarticulate grunt but his posture relaxed slightly at the touch of her hand, and again when Susan and Daphne both reached for the opposite hand and shoulder.
"I am sure that Poppy is doing all she can to find an explanation," the professor stated calmly. "However if there is any way that I can be of assistance, please, do not hesitate to let me know." She paused as the teens murmured their assent before turning her attention to Blaise and Neville. "The two of you may head out," she said. "I have one last thing I would like to discuss with these four and they will be right along behind you. It isn't long now until breakfast will be served in the Great Hall and the Headmaster has an announcement for the school that you won't want to miss."
The two boys shared a quick look before they stood and said goodbye to their friends, making their way out of her office and closing the door quietly behind them as the four remaining teens regarded her with expressions of interest and curiosity on their faces.
"I was hoping that I might impose upon you for a small bit of assistance, Lord Potter," she said after taking a moment to organize her thoughts. This was the entire reason she'd been looking for them that morning and she wanted to get things out of the way quickly, as a decision needed to be made.
"In what way?" Harry asked warily.
"Nothing untoward, I assure you. The Headmaster's announcement this morning will be to inform the students that our visiting guests will be arriving this evening, just prior to the evening meal. Originally they were going to arrive the night before the champions for the Tournament were to be chosen, but it was decided that they should come early to have a better chance to get to know our students and for us to get to know them. The point of this Tournament is to foster better international relations, after all."
Harry blinked in surprise before shooting a look to the girls on either side of him, all three of whom looked as confused as he apparently felt before his attention shifted back to her.
"What does that have to do with us?" he asked.
"It was felt by some of the staff that it would not be a bad idea to have a student ambassador to the other schools. Someone who might offer them a tour of the grounds and perhaps answer questions about the school and life here at Hogwarts."
"Isn't that kind of thing something that the Head Boy and Girl would be better suited for?" Hermione asked. "I mean… these visiting students are all going to be older than Harry, aren't they? They have to be of age if they're going to be entering their names for the Tournament."
"True, and normally that would be precisely how we would arrange things. It was felt that there were some possible advantages to asking Lord Potter to represent us, and you three ladies as well. The four of you together would serve in this function."
"This doesn't have anything to do with the whole Boy-Who-Lived garbage does it?" Harry bit out in a suspicious tone and the professor let out a sigh.
"I would like to say that it serves absolutely no part of the decision but I can't truthfully say that. Whether you like it or not, you are a well known individual, and that might help you in at least gaining the visiting student's attention, if not their immediate respect. My primary motivation for considering you, however, is that I do believe you and your friends probably know this school better than almost anyone.
"Considering the adventures you've gotten into over the last three years, I've no doubt that you know more passages and secrets about this school than any other student, save perhaps the Weasley twins, and I couldn't possibly request the help of those two degenerates, not unless I wanted to set us up for an international incident."
The four of them chuckled at that, nodding knowingly for a moment before Harry sighed and straightened up in his seat. "What exactly would being a 'student ambassador' include?" he asked. "I'm happy to help if the girls are, but I wouldn't want all of our time taken up with this position."
"It really sounds more impressive than it is," she admitted, feeling slightly hopeful. "It mostly consists of the four of you greeting our guests after dinner this evening and arranging a time and place to meet tomorrow to offer those interested a tour of the grounds. I'm sure that you would be more than capable of managing a few short hours doing that and once that is complete you are free to return to your own activities."
"What do you think?" he asked, leaning back in his seat so he could glance at the girls on either side of him.
"It could be fun to meet the other students," Hermione admitted. "I haven't been able to find much information on Durmstrang and I'd love to speak with some of them about their lessons."
"Between Hermione and me, we know enough of the history behind the school to answer a fair number of questions they might have," Daphne added in a thoughtful tone. "Susan could give them a tour of the Hospital Wing, and you know so many secrets and interesting little out of the way corners of the school that I'm certain we could put together an engaging tour."
"So you think we should agree?"
The girls looked past him, exchanging a silent look for a moment before all three nodded in perfect unison.
Harry sighed and shrugged his shoulders, turning his eyes back to their Head of House. "Looks like you have a quartet of Student Ambassadors, Professor."
#####
"How are things going with getting your remote viewing under control?" Neville asked half an hour later as the four bonded joined him at the Gryffindor Table for breakfast.
Daphne and Hermione immediately started filling plates for all four of them while Harry merely gave Susan a bewildered look for a moment before turning his attention back to the once shy and unassuming boy seated across from him.
"Remote viewing?" he asked in a mildly bemused tone.
"Well what would you call it? That whole being able to see what the girls are seeing and vice versa?"
"We hadn't actually tried to name it," Hermione said as she handed Harry his plate, "but that's as good a name as any. As far as controlling it…" She trailed off with a grimace while beside her, Harry cast a slightly wistful look in the direction of the Hufflepuff table where the new Inter-House Team were having breakfast together.
"As far as controlling it goes, we've figured out how to do it on purpose," Harry said, turning firmly away from the team, placing his hand gently over Hermione's where it rested on the table by her plate. "Stopping it from happening when we don't mean it to hasn't had the same kind of success."
"How do you do it intentionally?" Neville asked curiously.
"I didn't mean to!" Susan burst out as Harry flashed her a grin, her cheeks flushing brightly.
"We know, love," Daphne reassured her, "don't worry about it."
"It turns out," Harry continued, "that vision can only be sent. I couldn't invade one of the girls' vision without their permission or something. But, if I wanted one, or all of them, to see something that I was looking at I would focus my thoughts on them, reach for them through our bond, and send them my sight. It's similar to how we can purposely send feelings, but slightly different."
"It's not exactly easy to explain," Daphne added, calmly rubbing Susan's arm in a soothing manner as the redhead sat hunched over her plate, her head down and face hidden as best she could manage. "It's really something that needs to be experienced to truly understand it."
Conversation became nearly impossible at that point as the air was suddenly filled with the sound of beating wings, signaling the arrival of the morning post. Students throughout the Hall looked up, searching for a familiar bird amongst the parliament of owls circling and wheeling through the air above their heads.
Hedwig stood out amongst the lot, her brilliant white plumage easily spotted amongst the various shades of black and brown as she led a beautiful eagle owl through the chaos and directly to Harry. The two birds settled on the table in front of him and he already had a piece of bacon in hand to offer to his familiar.
"How're you doing today, Hedwig?" he asked, gently stroking her feathers as she gobbled down her treat. "Making friends?"
Hedwig barked softly and bobbed her head.
"I don't need to give him the shovel speech, do I?" he asked, amusement spreading across the bond as his girls watched the always unusual interaction between wizard and bird for a few moments before turning their attention elsewhere.
Hedwig's response was an indignant sounding squawk and she nipped one of his fingers with her beak.
"Ouch! Okay, not that kind of a friend, I get the message."
That said, he turned his attention to the new owl, immediately spotting the harness the bird was wearing and, more importantly, the medallion with the Gringotts crest stamped on it affixed in the center of his chest. A search back through his memories reminded Harry that he'd already received his monthly update on his accounts. So why would I be getting a letter from the bank? he thought.
"Read it and find out, Harry," Daphne absently spoke up from Susan's other side, most of her focus devoted to the plate in front of her.
He nodded and removed the letter from the owl who flew off as soon as he was relieved of his burden. None of the bonded noted the way Neville looked back and forth between Harry and Daphne, a bewildered expression on his face.
Harry unrolled the letter and read it there at the table.
Warrior Potter-
I write to you today to remind you of a conversation that we had some years ago. As you know, we goblins attempt not to involve ourselves in wizarding matters, however the situation as it stands would mean changes to your accounts with us here at Gringotts, so I find myself moved to reach out to you on this matter.
Our records indicate that you completed the bond that you started with the three young ladies that we know to be your bond mates. We have spoken of them before. First, I would like to congratulate you on this. Goblins are not capable of bonding as you humans do, so I can only imagine how fulfilling such a bond can be.
Second, and the primary purpose behind this letter, is that our records do not indicate that you have claimed the ladies as your wives. I do not believe there is any particular rush needed in doing so, but, in case you have forgotten, I felt I needed to remind you. When we met during your first year, you and the young ladies were considered betrothed as far as Gringotts and Magic were concerned. Now that your bond is complete, all you need do is publicly claim the girls as your wives for magic to effectively make it so.
This declaration should be made before at least a hundred magical witnesses and the related documents will automatically be filed with both Gringotts and the appropriate departments within your Ministry of Magic. Once your marriage is official we will need to discuss what access your wives will have to your accounts, properties, and so on.
Do let me know when would be a good time for us to meet to discuss that.
Accounts Manager Sharpshard
Holy shite, I forgot about that!
"Forgot about what?" Susan asked, looking up at Harry.
"Language, Harry," Hermione admonished from his other side as Daphne also lifted her head, all three girls' attention now fixed solely on him while Neville swiveled his gaze back and forth between them, even more confused than ever.
Harry quickly folded up the letter, panic gripping him for a moment before he shoved it away and tried to think rationally about the situation.
"Ummm… I… Just a letter from Sharpshard," he said, flushing brightly and doing his best not to stammer, something that only served to worry the girls and focus their attention even more intently on him.
"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked in concern.
Harry let out a laugh, the sound bubbling up out of him before he could stop it. "Not… not 'wrong' exactly… just more…" He trailed off and closed his eyes, slamming his Occlumency shields as tight as he could and he took several deep breaths, trying to regain some manner of control over himself.
"It's… Sharpshard was just reminding me about something he told me back when we first met. I'd forgotten all about it but he says that it's something I should be aware of again and wants to know when we can meet to discuss it."
"Is it something we could help with?" Susan asked.
"Well… actually probably, yeah." He frowned at the folded over piece of parchment in his hand, his mind spinning rapidly for a few moments before he stuffed the letter into his pocket. "If you don't mind, I think I'd like to try and figure it out for myself first. Again, it's not a bad thing, and I'll definitely need to discuss it with you girls soon enough. I just feel like I should make an effort on my own first, if that makes any sense at all?"
They nodded slowly. "That's fine, Harry," Hermione told him, gently placing one hand on top of his where he'd placed it on the table.
"But don't feel like you can't talk to us if you need help, okay?" Susan added.
"Even if it's something embarrassing."
"Why would you think it was something embarrassing?" Harry asked Daphne.
"Are any of you ever going to remember that we can feel what each other is feeling at any given moment?" she asked, exasperated. "It's like you guys honestly forget that we all know how the others feel all the time."
Harry, Susan, and Hermione all flushed, looking properly chastised and Daphne grinned, pleased with herself.
"I'll be discussing it with all three of you sooner than later," Harry hastened to assure them. "I just really want to try and wrap my head around everything before that." He glanced down at his half empty plate and pushed it toward Hedwig. "Have at the rest of my bacon if you want, Hedwig," he told her while he pushed himself to his feet, turning his attention back to his girls. "I think I'm gonna go for a walk for a bit. I'll find you girls later?"
The three of them nodded and he gave a little wave to Neville before he left the Great Hall, fully intent on seeking out some advice.
#####
She looked up from the parchment work spread across her desk, eyeing the man sprawled comfortably in one of her wing back chairs, his brow creased as he read through a small pile of correspondence. She really wasn't entirely certain what to make of his presence, and the fact that she wasn't certain irritated her more than the mystery itself. Amelia leaned back in her seat after setting her quill down on her desk and took his distracted state as a chance to study Sirius Black in closer detail.
He looked better than ever, healthy, strong. His black hair was thick and shiny. His skin was clean and shone with health instead of being waxy and stretched over his skeleton. He was dressed immaculately in dark tones. Long sleeved dress shirt and slacks, leather loafers on his feet, and expensive robes draped over the back of a second chair. For a brief moment she was distracted by the realization that both of the dark men in her life, Sirius and Harry, tended to dress in dark colors, black being the predominant choice. Idly, she wondered if that had anything to do with the pain and trauma both had suffered over the years.
"Amy?"
She blinked in surprise, her eyes focusing on him again to realize that he'd lowered the letter he was reading and was giving her a curious look, dark eyes glittering in the light streaming through the window of her study.
"Something wrong? You seemed kind of out of it there."
"What are you going to do?" she blurted out, surprised at herself for getting distracted and for not noticing that he'd become aware of her scrutiny.
Sirius tilted his head to one side, curiosity giving way to confusion.
"About what?"
"I mean you've been out of the hospital for nearly two months. You escaped Azkaban more than a year ago now. Have you considered what you're going to do with your life? You're more than entitled to take your time deciding, but I remember you as a man that couldn't sit still if someone hit him with a stunner. I can't imagine you just want to laze around doing nothing all day."
He shrugged.
"I haven't really given it a lot of thought. Some. But not a lot. Mostly I've just been dealing with the Black accounts and trying to familiarize myself with what's been going on in the Wizengamot. Other than that and wanting to be around for Harry I haven't considered it."
"You were one hell of an Auror," she pointed out after a moment's hesitation.
He blanched at that, his face twisting into a grimace. "I honestly don't think I could ever work for the Ministry again," he told her quietly. "I understand, the vast majority of people there aren't to blame for what happened. They weren't a part of the decision that threw me in my little Island Paradise. Still… I was an Auror with a decorated file, and I was thrown out with the rubbish. I'm not holding any grudges, but I don't think I can just forget it either."
He suddenly quirked a roguish grin in her direction. "Or does this having something to do with you wanting to be able to order me around and I'd have to obey, Madam Director?"
She glared at him, half heartedly. "You already obey when I order you around," she sniffed haughtily. "You're ever such a good doggy."
Sirius barked out a laugh, quickly turning it into a groan and holding one hand to his chest. "You wound me, Amy."
Her lips turned up into a small smile but she said nothing.
"Sirius Black."
Sirius and Amy both sat up in their respective seats, heads swiveling about for a moment, trying to pinpoint the sound of the new voice that intruded on their discussion when they heard it again. "Sirius! Answer me you old mutt!"
Sirius jumped out of his seat, moving over to snatch up his robes, digging around in the pockets until he came up with a small round hand mirror, quickly tapping it with his wand as his face broke out into a huge grin.
"Pup!" he cried, staring into the mirror. "Gotta say it's good to hear from you but I didn't think you'd be calling so soon. Something on your mind?"
In the mirror, Sirius watched as Harry sighed and ran a hand back through his hair, causing it to stick up in all directions, even more than usual. The fact that his hair very nearly brushed his shoulders now only made the look even more ridiculous.
"I've… I've got a bit of a problem, Padfoot."
Waving his wand again, Sirius conjured a small stand on the edge of Amy's desk, setting the mirror on it before he dragged a straight backed chair over and straddled it, resting his forearms on the chair back and leveling a steady gaze at the mirror.
"Lay it on me, pup," he said. "I'm all ears."
Quickly, Harry gave Sirius an overview of what he'd learned from the letter he'd received from Sharpshard and then waited for several moments after he finished for some reaction from the wizard.
"I'm not sure I'm seeing the problem here, pup," Sirius admitted after a short silence. "You've got three beautiful girls that think the world of you and you get to skip the whole begging for a date and planning how to propose thing. You're living most men's dream kid!"
"Sirius!" Harry groaned and rubbed his free hand over his face for a moment before he glared into the mirror. "Where's Amelia?" he asked. "I should have asked to talk to her from the beginning."
Eyes wide Sirius waved both hands in front of him at the suggestion. "No!" he burst out. "No Amelia here. Just us old dogs."
"You're at the Boneyard, Sirius, I recognize the chairs," Harry responded dryly.
Sirius looked down at the chair he was straddling and cursed. Caught out, Sirius Black did what he did best when trying to get his own way, he resorted to begging. "Look, Pup... Harry, give me a shot here, please?"
Harry's expression was doubtful and Sirius pushed forward. "I screwed up, years ago. I screwed up and I wasn't there for you when I should have been. I hexed myself in the foot again a few weeks ago, pushing when I should have backed off. Please. I'm sorry if I was flippant, but I really want you to be able to come to me if you need to, and I promise I'll be as serious as you'll ever see me, no pun intended. And look!" Sirius snatched the mirror off the stand he'd conjured and turned it so Harry could see Amy where she was sitting, smirking at him, across her desk.
"Look, Amy is right there, she can hear the whole conversation. If I say something stupid you know she'll set me straight. And what about that day in the Hospital Wing after the Dementor attack? I had some decent advice then, didn't I? I'm not entirely hopeless." He set the mirror back on the stand and held both hands in front of him in supplication for a moment before suddenly shifting to Padfoot, front paws on the back of the chair as he gave his best puppy dog eyes and let out the most piteous, pathetic whine he could manage.
Yes, if it got him some brownie points with his godson, Sirius Black was not above begging in the slightest.
Harry burst out laughing at the sight. "Okay! All right already, just stop. It's embarrassing to watch a grown man beg!"
Changing back, Sirius let out a triumphant cheer, heedless of the way Harry and Amelia were both laughing at his behavior. He gave them some time before clearing his throat loudly to get their attention.
"If we could focus, please?" he asked. "Godfather trying to be helpful over here."
Once they had themselves under control Sirius leaned forward in his seat, his arms once again resting on the chair back and focused his attention on the small image of his godson.
"Okay, not being flippant, joking, or anything of the sort, but I honestly am not entirely certain what the problem is here, Harry. Do you think you could break this down a bit for me? Give me an idea of your concerns?"
Harry sighed and stroked the scar behind his jaw with the index finger of his right hand, something Sirius had noticed him do in the past and figured it was a nervous tick. He idly made a mental note to see about training that tick out of him, visual cues like that were not a weakness one needed once the lad was old enough to take his seat on the Wizengamot.
"It's just… Sirius, we're practically married! How… I mean, is there a girl in the world that wants to just be told 'oh, by the way you're married already'? What about the whole dating, getting proposed to, having an actual wedding? I understand the vast majority of women in the world kind of enjoy that whole process to a point, don't they?"
Sirius nodded thoughtfully while Harry talked. "Alright, I see what you're saying. Let's set that aside for just a second though, I'd like to get a quick question out of the way first. From what I understand you haven't always been sure that you were actually in love with your girls, or they with you. Are you sure? Are you confident that you love them? That you won't want to try being with someone else in the future?"
Harry immediately shook his head. "No, Padfoot. I've been a right idiot, I know it. It might not entirely be my fault, I kind of had it trained into me but I get it now. I was worried about a lot of things that really don't matter. The girls have been very clear that they want this, they want the four of us together and I can't imagine life without them in it. I get that fourteen is a bit young to be positive I've found the girls I'm going to spend the rest of my life with but… well, we're bonded.
"I can't picture trying to get close to anyone else. We understand each other better than I could ever understand another person. There's no way I could be with anyone but them. I finally understand and I'm done doubting. We'll take our relationship at our pace but I really only see one end point for us."
Sirius was beaming by the time he finished. "That's great, Harry," he said softly. "That's fantastic. So… moving back to your points. Dating, proposal, wedding, and so on. Well… have you considered the fact that you've technically been dating for three years now?"
Harry gave him a blank look through the mirror. "Padfoot? We've never been on a date."
"Maybe not technically in the get dressed up, go out to dinner, and such. But you four have spent nearly every waking moment together. You train together. Eat nearly every meal together. You study together. You do almost everything together. Dating is for getting to know someone, spending time with them and trying to decide if that person is someone you want to spend even more time with. I'm pretty sure you guys are kind of past the dating stage at this point.
"As far as a proposal goes. You could still do that. You could ask the girls to marry you and I'd bet anything that they'd all say yes in a heartbeat. As far as a wedding goes. If you make your declaration, and they legally become your wives, you could still hold a wedding ceremony. Have a party and invite your friends and families to celebrate with you. This situation… it doesn't mean that you can't still give them those things, if you, and they, want them."
Harry's expression was thoughtful, carefully turning over everything Sirius said in his mind before a hesitant sounding noise escaped the former convict and his eyes focused through the mirror on Sirius' face.
"Everything about what you want to do aside, I think you should be aware of how this change would impact your lives." Sirius fidgeted slightly in his seat, carefully keeping his gaze away from Amelia as he wasn't certain he wanted to see her expression when he asked the next question he had.
"Harry… I hate to, but I kind of have to ask, and you're welcome to tell me where to shove it, but it's somewhat important."
"Sirius…" Amelia trailed off, a warning note in her voice and he winced but pushed forward.
"I know you love your girls, and that they love you, but are they as in love with each other?"
The light in Harry's eyes brightened even as his expression hardened.
"Shove it up your ass, Padfoot."
"Not being a pervy old dog here, kid, I promise you. Look, you might have heard that wizarding society, in particular British wizarding society, isn't exactly accepting of same sex relationships, right?"
Warily, Harry nodded.
"Well there's actually a reason for that, it's not just prejudice. It doesn't make it right, and it's still stupid, but it's there."
"What?"
"The big thing, especially with Houses like yours, mine, Susan, and Daphne's, is the continuation of the bloodline. Say, as a hypothetical, if there was no bond and Susan and Daphne fell in love, the two of them would catch a lot of backlash from society because there's no way for two women to conceive and carry children. Now, if they were willing to get pregnant by some man, each of them marrying a different wizard but staying together… well society would mostly ignore it, even if it was something widely known, as long as they were doing their 'duty' of continuing their family lines and being discreet about their relationship.
"If this marriage is announced, your girls are going to catch a lot of scrutiny. People are going to ask questions. The worst sort of people but still, it's there and it'll get tongues wagging. They need to be certain they're ready and willing to weather that storm before you guys go public. And that's just one problem that could be facing you guys. There's potentially political ramifications of the union of those three Houses between you and Susan and Daphne. People in the political arena would start paying much closer attention to the four of you. Attention that you probably don't want.
"Actually," Sirius paused, frowning as a thought occurred to him. "Is there any immediate rush on this? Like, do you guys have to accept the marriage by a certain time or something to that effect?"
Harry frowned. "I don't think so. Sharpshard's letter said that he didn't feel there was any particular hurry on it but he still wanted to discuss how things would change with my accounts when it happened."
"Then if there's no hurry, why not just don't do it? Take the girls on some dates. Plan to propose to them at some point in the future. If you don't absolutely have to be married right now, take the time to just keep being a teenager and worry about the rest later when you're all ready for it. Also, first and foremost, above anything else," Sirius paused and leaned forward, keeping the most serious look on his face that he could muster in an attempt to drive home the importance of his point, "talk to the girls. Even if you have to ruin the surprise that you intend to ask them to marry you one day this is absolutely not something that you should be trying to decide without their input and opinions."
In the mirror, Harry was nodding his head. "Don't worry about that. I've already told them I'd discuss it with them soon, I just wanted to try and get some things straight in my head first. I hadn't considered the politics, or the way people would talk. I don't care if people talk about me, but I won't put up with them saying anything bad about my girls."
Harry's voice dropped into a low growl at the end and Sirius honestly didn't think he'd ever felt prouder of the pup. He could appreciate that mindset just as well as the next man.
His attention was brought back to the mirror when he heard his godson let out a long sigh.
"Well… I guess I should go find them. I'll talk to you later, Padfoot."
"No worries, Pup. Good luck."
"Thanks, and… Padfoot?"
"Yeah?" Sirius paused in the act of reaching for the mirror to focus on the intense green eyes shining through at him.
"Thanks for the advice. That was actually really helpful."
Sirius grinned. "I'm trying."
The last thing Sirius saw before the mirror shimmered and disconnected was a bright smile on his godson's face. Once his own mug stared back at him in the mirrors reflection he tucked it back into his pocket and made his way over to his original wingback chair to pick up the few letters he hadn't finished reading yet.
"Siri?"
He looked up from his letter to find Amelia leaning forward in her seat, her forearms resting on her desk and an inscrutable look in her deep blue eyes as she stared intently at him.
"Amy?" he replied warily, wondering just what he'd done wrong.
"That was… that was really good, Sirius. You handled that just as well as I might have."
His mouth dropped open in surprise for a moment before snapping shut and he shrugged self-consciously. "I'm pretty sure you would have done a much better job than me. But I meant it, I'm trying."
He was just about to turn his attention back to his letters when her voice saying his name stopped him again and he looked back up at her.
"If you're still on for dinner, I'm free tomorrow," she said, her own eyes directed at her work. As such she didn't see the broad smile that formed across his lips.
"Seven work for you?"
"Seven is fine."
Still smiling, Sirius tried to focus on his mail, already making plans in his head for where he wanted to take her.
#####
As the day progressed, Harry found himself feeling more and more annoyed. Maybe not annoyed. Mildly irritated, perhaps. No matter how he described the feeling, the fact remained that he wanted to speak to his girls, alone, but never seemed to find the opportunity. They had assignments to work on and with the Headmaster's announcement at breakfast about the early arrival of the visiting schools, the rest of the student body had been abuzz.
No matter where they went, people approached them to ask what they thought or to ask Hermione what she knew of the two foreign institutions. That probably accounted for the lion's share of his irritation, actually. Hermione wasn't used to being the object of so much direct attention and, combined with the frequent interruptions preventing her from studying, she was getting increasingly flustered as the day wore on.
It eventually took a few cutting remarks from Daphne, along with a heavy dose of glaring from Harry, before they were left, mostly, alone. By that time, however, Hermione was set on studying without interruption and Harry didn't think that cutting in would be a good idea. The rest of the afternoon was spent on their school work leading right up to the time when they needed to get ready for the Feast.
"Don't worry, Harry."
Harry turned his attention to Luna where she stood beside him with the rest of the Gryffindors on the front lawn outside the castle waiting for the visiting schools to arrive. Normally, she would have been with her House, but as she was under his protection, shown by the Potter crest that still decorated the left shoulder of her robes, he had decided to insist that she stand with him. He was fairly sure he saw Professor McGonagall smile when she spotted the tiny blond, but dismissed it as a figment of his imagination.
"What's that, Luna?" he asked and she smiled up at him.
"Don't worry," she said again. "You're not in a rush, so talk to them when you get a chance."
Harry quirked a brow at her and, not for the first time, considered the fact that Luna always seemed to know a lot more of what was going on than should be possible.
"What do you know, Luna?" he couldn't help but ask.
Luna favored him with a soft smile, her eyes shining brightly in the torchlight. "I know a lot of things, Harry. I am in Ravenclaw and we are known for our intelligence."
Before he could respond, the Heads of the Houses were moving amongst the assembled students, organizing them into lines.
"Weasley, straighten you hat," Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron where he was standing with Dean and Seamus. "Miss. Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."
Parvati scowled and removed a large decorative butterfly from the end of her plait.
The professor stood before the rows of her students and observed them for a moment in silence before giving a satisfied nod of her head. "Excellent," she stated calmly. "The delegations from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will be arriving shortly and I will be very put out if we do not put our best foot forward."
If you want the best, just let my girls meet them, Harry thought, casting a sidelong look at the girls standing in the row beside him.
Daphne and Susan had each braided their hair in such a way that it fell forward over their left and right shoulders respectively, while Hermione's wild mane had been tamed into soft ringlets that fell in waves to the small of her back. For three girls that he'd long said were some of the most beautiful he'd ever known, they had never looked more lovely, even in the simple school uniforms.
Susan and Hermione both flushed slightly and Daphne leaned toward him as he felt a stirring of gratitude through their bond.
"Thank you for that, Harry," Daphne whispered, all three of them smiling softly at him.
"Sorry," he muttered, flushing a bit himself. "I didn't realize I said that out loud."
Beside him, Luna giggled, lifting one hand to her mouth in a vain effort to stifle the small sound.
"And just what are you giggling about, little Luna?" he asked in a teasing manner.
Her sing-song response of 'nothing' struck Harry as very unconvincing, but he let it go, happy to see her enjoying herself. Nearby, he could hear a few of the other students talking amongst themselves as they waited.
"Almost six o'clock," Ron muttered, checking his watch. "How do you think they're going to get here? Portkey? Or they could Apparate? Maybe they're allowed to do it under seventeen where they're from."
Hermione made a scoffing sound.
It's impossible to Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds. Honestly!
"Harry? You okay?"
Harry turned his attention to Susan who was studying him curiously.
"I… I-I'm not exactly sure," he stammered, his eyes turning back to where he'd been watching Hermione.
I heard her voice, he thought. I'm sure I did, but… her mouth didn't move! She didn't actually say anything. Wait… maybe earlier I didn't actually speak out loud? Did they hear what I was thinking?
Another giggle caught his attention and he shot a look at Luna who was smiling broadly at him but before he could say anything a loud crash tore his attention away from her and toward the open lawn in front of the castle where a powder blue, horse-drawn carriage the size of a large house had just touched down. A dozen winged horses, each as large as an elephant were harnessed to the carriage.
Harry turned away from the carriage, and the people that began exiting it, to focus on Luna once again. She knew something, he was sure of it. She seemed awfully amused by it, too.
Or maybe she just thought it was funny that you didn't notice it before, Potter, he thought.
Absently, most of her attention focused on the carriage in front of them, Susan spoke up. "Didn't notice what, Harry?" she asked.
A snort behind him had Harry turning to look over his shoulder at Neville and the expression on the other boy's face told him that their friend had noticed the same thing Luna had. Harry glared at him slightly, but Neville simply smiled in return.
"Harry?" Hermione asked. He looked back to find all three of his girls now looking at him and he shook his head, giving them a reassuring smile.
"Later," he told them. "It's nothing that won't keep for now."
"Well, while you were distracted you missed the other schools arriving," Daphne pointed out.
Blinking in surprise he looked around only to find that she was right. On the surface of the lake, a large sailing ship floated, gangplank extended toward the shore, and the Hogwarts students had begun making their way back into the school.
"I had a good reason, I promise," he said by way of explanation. "Come on, let's go see what I missed."
Together, the four of them started toward the Great Hall, Neville and Luna falling into step with them. With what was left to come that evening, Harry realized he might not actually get a chance to talk to his girls as he'd planned. However, he also realized that he'd been correct with what he'd told them. Their needed conversation was nothing that wouldn't keep, for now. They could afford to wait.
#####
"I just don't understand why they wouldn't wear something warmer when they knew they would be coming to Northern Scotland," Hermione insisted some time later during the Feast. "I mean, even in mid-September it's not exactly warm around here."
Harry looked over at the students from Beauxbatons where they were sitting at the Ravenclaw table near Luna. She had, unfortunately, been required to sit with her House after they re-entered the school and was now engaged in conversation with one of the silk robed students of the French school. Most, if not all, of them were shivering slightly in their light weight, thin uniforms.
"Imagine how bad it would be if they'd actually arrived at the end of October as they were supposed to," he commented, turning back to the table and his friends. "They'd really be cold then."
There were general murmurs at that, as most of those in earshot continued eating or chatting with their neighbors, and Harry took the opportunity to look around the hall again at the new additions. The students from Durmstrang were seated at the Slytherin table and overall looked much more comfortable in their heavy cloaks then the lot from Beauxbatons. Harry noticed the scowling visage of Viktor Krum, looking particularly annoyed and seated next to Malfoy of all people. He could understand why the surly Quidditch star seemed irritated with his seating arrangement and felt a pang of sympathy for the older boy.
At the Head Table, the visiting Heads of the foreign schools were both talking with Dumbledore where he sat between them and on Madame Maxime's other side, Umbridge looked extremely uncomfortable, edging as far away from the large woman as she could while still remaining in her seat.
"Think we'll get lucky and Umbridge will have a coronary?" he asked, causing a few amused snorts amongst his friends.
"I don't know why that woman had to be put in charge of this," Susan muttered darkly, stabbing her fork into her steak and kidney pie.
"Well, it doesn't really matter to us, right?" Neville offered. "She's only here because of the tournament and none of us are going to be involved in that."
"Unless we want to participate in the dueling tournament," Daphne corrected him.
"I wouldn't put it past her to try to mess with Harry though, no matter what," Susan said. "He's humiliated her, twice, and she's very much the type to hold a grudge."
Seeing that a change in topic was in order, preferably before Susan completely murdered her dinner, Harry opened his mouth to bring up what he'd noticed outside when an accented, yet melodious voice cut him off.
"Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouilla- 'ARRY?!"
As Harry was turning to face the owner of the voice behind him, the softly spoken question changed mid-sentence into a startled shriek and the next thing he knew he appeared to be caught in a whirlwind of pale blond hair, blue silk, and a delicate, floral scent as a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders. Soft lips suddenly descended on his cheeks before they covered his own lips and he let out a yelp at the sudden attack.
Before he could even attempt to react in some way, the girl pulled away, blue eyes bright as she darted to the side and similarly attacked Daphne. Off balance as he was, even Harry noticed how the Great Hall had gone deathly silent and he imagined more than a few jaws were hanging open in shock as an absolutely gorgeous girl drew Daphne into a searing kiss, despite her muffled protests.
