Everything is Relative
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am merely borrowing the characters to play with them.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC.
Draco could not believe his luck. He had done it. He had managed the Animagus transformation.
Ever since he had been incarcerated into Azkaban exactly two years ago, he had recalled a conversation between Harry Potter and his sidekicks, in which he had told them that his godfather had been able to flee from Azkaban, because the Dementors did not care for animals or Animagi.
He had told his Aunt Bella, who was in the cell next to him, and the crazy witch had spread the news to the other Death Eaters, who then collectively decided to practise the Animagus transformation.
He did not know if any of the others had succeeded yet. 'I'd probably have heard about it,' he thought, as he closely inspected his small body, which was only possible due to his enlarged vision. 'With all the black feathers, it looks good,' he thought, 'and above all, it's practical.' He was glad that he had decided to become a raven, which was not only small enough to comfortable get out of the prison but was also fairly unobtrusive and above all able to fly. 'I wouldn't want to have to swim only to be caught by the Aurors,' he mused.
Only when the Dementors headed to the other side of the prison and the nightshift Auror had returned to his office, a ritual, which Draco had observed more than five hundred times, he transformed back into his human form and addressed his aunt.
"Bella, I've managed to transform. Do you know if any of the others can do it? I'm going to leave tonight," he whispered.
"I don't think so," Bella whispered back. "Please come back with some Portkeys for everyone and with fireworks to distract the Auror on duty. My husband will then see to it that the wards are lowered. Bring a couple of wands," she instructed him.
"I expect you to be back and rescue us by tomorrow," he heard his father growl from a few cells down the corridor.
"All right," Draco agreed and without a further glance around his cell, transformed into his raven form and left, glad that he was small enough to get through the bars that kept the Dementors at a small distance.
HP
In the morning after a long and jolly Halloween party at the school, Harry was still tired, when he entered the Great Hall for breakfast the following morning. However, he should soon feel fully awake, when Artemis strode into the Great Hall and called out, "Mr. Potter, please come here for a moment."
'Oh Merlin, what is it now?' Harry thought in annoyance, as he let out a large yawn on his way out of the Great Hall.
"Half of the Death Eaters have fled Azkaban," Artemis informed them. "The Unspeakables need us today; especially Team 5 will need assistance."
Harry nodded in understanding. "I'll just inform Minerva and Hermione that we'll both be away during the day," he replied, before he returned to the Great Hall and strode back to the high table.
"Whisker and I'll be gone today," he informed Minerva and Hermione, who was fortunately sitting next to the headmistress, in a small voice, only to add, "Death Eaters have fled Azkaban. Paul," he addressed his grandfather, "please teach my classes today until I'll be back."
HP
Hiding in one of the alcoves, Harry pulled out his Unspeakable robes, which he always carried in one of his robe pockets, as they automatically shrunk to be extremely small. Quickly covering himself, he popped right into Team room 5 in the Unspeakables' office.
"Paws, thanks for coming," Arcturus greeted him, who was hunched over a parchment.
"What happened?" Harry enquired, as he lowered his hood.
"Death Eaters fled Azkaban, apparently by Portkeys, after killing the Auror on duty during the night shift and lowering the wards. We neither know how they managed to leave their cells, nor how they could get a wand. We have a map though that indicates that the Portkeys took them all to Malfoy Manor," he added, pointing to the parchment in front of him. "Now, the others are working with Amelia, Moody and their team trying to get to the Death Eaters right now, and in the meantime, you and I will go and have a word with the Minister of Magic."
"All right, sir," Harry agreed in confusion.
"The Auror's death is Dumbledore's fault," his great uncle growled. "We've asked him to allow the Aurors to put re-captured Death Eaters right into the death chamber, which is part of the Department of Magical Mysteries…"
"I know about it," Harry confirmed.
"Anyway, Dumbledore always refused. Now, he's either going to agree, or he'll find himself out of his minister position fairly soon," Arcturus added, grimly.
HP
Together, Harry and Arcturus walked to the minister's office, both firmly keeping their hoods up, as they strode through the halls that were bustling with apparent excitement.
"Mr. Weasley, we need to speak with the minister NOW," Arcturus informed the young wizard in a firm voice that allowed no dispute.
Even if unaware of the Unspeakable's identity, Percy immediately nodded in confirmation.
"One moment, sir," he replied and knocked at the minister's door. "Two Unspeakables wish to see you, sir," he said and apparently receiving a positive response that Harry was unable to hear, stepped back and gave them a sharp nod.
"The Minister of Magic is ready to see you," he stated, unnecessarily.
'Thank Merlin Dumbledore doesn't know who I am,' Harry thought, as he followed Ra into the office.
"We are Unspeakables Ra and Paws," his colleague introduced themselves, declining the offered lemon drop with an impatient wave of his hand. "This is not a social visit, Minister," he continued to speak, only to drop the bomb at the equally old wizard. "We suppose that you're aware of the fact that the death of the Auror on duty at Azkaban is your fault."
"And why might that be?" Dumbledore enquired, seemingly shocked by the accusation.
"Moody, Bones and Croaker have discussed the matter of the re-captured Death Eaters with you for years. Had you agreed to have them put through the veil, the Auror on duty last night would still be alive," Ra informed the old wizard, matter-of-factly.
"While that may be, even if I believe that you don't have proof for your accusation, I still deem everyone eligible for a second chance," Dumbledore replied, letting out a deep sigh. "Is it even confirmed who killed the Auror?"
'He looks old,' Harry realised, looking up, startled, when Fawkes all of a sudden approached him and nestled onto his arm, turning the back of his head to him in clear request.
"No, but haven't all of the Death Eaters in Azkaban been sent there at least twice?"
A sudden thought struck Harry's mind. "No, they haven't," he said, slowly. "Draco Malfoy was only sent there for the first time. 2 years ago," he added as an afterthought.
"Well, he won't have killed a man," Dumbledore replied in his grandfatherly voice, causing Harry to scoff.
"Just so you know, old man," he replied in a firm voice, "he was sent to Azkaban because of casting the killing curse at Harry Potter."
Harry gently petted the phoenix' crown feathers, sensing that the phoenix relaxed under his touch.
"Don't reveal my identity," he whispered to the phoenix, who let out a series of comforting trills in apparent confirmation.
Due to being inattentive for a moment, he had missed part of the conversation and was surprised, when Ra suddenly rose from his chair. "You have two days to decide sir, otherwise, we shall have a Wizengamot meeting with the sole purpose of a vote of no confidence," he said, before he excused the two of them and left.
Harry quickly said good bye to his feathered friend and quietly followed his great uncle out of the office.
HP
Felina and Whisker conferred for a moment. On the one hand, hunting Death Eaters did not belong to the tasks of Team 13. However, on the other hand, both of them had lived with the consciousness of being from a dark family their whole lives. They quickly decided to use the advantage, which they had over Team 5 and the Aurors. Pulling up their hoods, Felina popped both of them right into the entrance hall of Lestrange Manor, from where they – invisibly and quietly under their robes – searched the hall for three of the most prominent Death Eaters, which they found in the kitchen.
The three were surrounding the table deeply engrossed in a conversation. Due to Rebecca's foresight, who had once travelled to Lestrange Manor and removed all wands from the house, they were completely unarmed and apparently not expecting any Aurors or other guests to arrive.
With a series of quickly cast sleeping charms, Felina made the heads of all three of them slump onto the table, noticing in amusement that Bella's hit her tea cup, before Whisker hurried to attach Portkeys to their right hands.
"Ministry holding cell," he uttered, activating all thee Portkeys at once.
"That was that," Felina stated, contentedly. "Thanks for your assistance, Whisker."
"You're welcome, dear," Whisker replied in a soft voice. "You'd have done the same for me if the idiot of my brother hadn't fought to his death two years ago."
"Sure," Felina agreed, smiling, when he carefully pulled her hood off and lowered his own to pull her into a passionate kiss.
"Very well," she said, smirking, once he released her. "I believe that we should return to the ministry and inform Team 5 that Team 13 has done their work once again."
"Let's go," Whisker agreed. "I can't wait to see Raros' face."
Felina glanced at her wrist watch. "All right, we need to hurry now, as I'll have to be back on time for the third morning class. I have the third-year Gryffindor and Slytherins to teach," she added in apparent annoyance.
HP
From the third morning class onwards, Harry taught his classes; however, his mind was elsewhere. 'I hope they'll be able to capture the other Death Eaters as fast, as Felina and Whisker got to the Lestranges,' he thought, knowing that Amelia, Moody and Croaker were just questioning the three captured Death Eaters under Veritaserum. 'Hopefully, Dumbledore will agree to send them through the veil, considering that they've been captured now for the third time.'
HP
In the evening, the extended family impatiently waited for Regulus to return from the ministry. Rebecca, who had gone back to the Unspeakables' office after the last afternoon class, had not been able to find out anything about the outcome of the questioning of her brothers and sister-in-law.
Amelia had returned in the early evening to fetch her daughter from the nursery and only knew that it had been Draco Malfoy who had killed the Auror, that he had managed to flee Azkaban in his Animagus from and that he had provided everyone with Portkeys. "Which leaves the Aurors to check all the known Death Eater hiding places and the dark families' manors," she added, sighing.
It was late in the evening, when Regulus returned home. "Croaker and Moody saw fit to take matters into their own hands and sent the three Lestranges right through the veil in spite of Dumbledore's protests," he informed them.
"They what?" Amelia asked, incredulously. "Did they at least speak with Dumbledore beforehand?"
"No," Regulus replied in apparent amusement. "Anyway, I'm sorry to say this, as it was your brothers, Rebecca, but you should go to see Buckbean and accept the ladyship over the Lestrange family."
"How did Dumbledore react?" Harry enquired, causing Regulus to groan.
"Dumbledore, Croaker and Moody have spent hours verbally fighting each other. Dumbledore even wanted to call Amelia, accusing Moody of being a dunderhead and…"
"He must have spent too much time with me," Severus quipped, causing Lily to shake her head in apparent exasperation, smiling at her friend.
"Oh well, that might be, but anyway, it was stupid. While the Aurors went looking for the Death Eaters, the Minister of Magic had nothing better to do than to fight the Unspeakables and the deputy head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?" Regulus moaned in apparent annoyance. "Oh well, it was quite ridiculous to say the least."
HP
To the extended family's relief, the Aurors managed to re-capture most of the Death Eaters during the next few days, while they were still recovering from their stay in Azkaban and seemed to be lacking the energy to cause trouble.
After almost a whole day of fighting with several Unspeakables and about half of the Auror office, Dumbledore finally agreed that they did not have to put the Death Eaters into Azkaban for a third or even fourth time.
"Otherwise, you would have faced a vote of no confidence at the next Wizengamot meeting," Amelia told him in a no-nonsense voice.
"Yes, I understand that now," the old wizard replied, before he retreated into his office in apparent annoyance.
'Thank Merlin,' Amelia thought, before she returned to the task at hand, arranging a trial for Draco Malfoy. Considering that he had only been sentenced to a five-year stay at the prison, he now needed a life-long sentence for the murder of an Auror.
'I'll be glad when this is all over,' she thought. 'I hope the next year will be more pleasant with our second baby going to be born and Susan going to be married.' She smiled at the idea of Susan, who was like her own daughter to her, become married to Harry. 'I couldn't have wished for a better husband for my first baby,' she thought, happily, 'even if she'll have to share him with Hermione and Luna. At least they're both really pleasant girls.'
HP
At the beginning of April, with just a few days in between, Amelia's and Sirius' second child Edgar as well as Regina's and Severus' son Alexander and Rebecca's and Artemis' daughter Annette were born.
Lily felt ecstatic, not only because she was asked to become the godmother for all three babies, but also knowing that the three would be in the same year as her own daughter Dorea once they were ready to attend primary school classes and of course Hogwarts later on.
'I hope they're going to be as good friends as Harry and his friends are,' she thought, feeling extremely happy.
When the young mothers returned to work in the early summer, Poppy and Rolanda looked after the babies in the nursery, enlisting the assistance of Lily Sophia, who was a big girl now and soon going to have primary school lessons.
HP
Shortly later, Hagrid shocked the extended family, when he handed in his resignation, stating that he was going to leave for Beauxbatons to marry Madame Maxime.
"Hagrid, while I'm very happy for you and Madame Maxime, you're really going to be badly missed here," Harry told him, when he observed the large man pack his belongings.
"Who's goin' te look afte' the lil' ones now?" Hagrid worried, large tears running down his face, as he pointed his umbrella at a large box in the corner.
"Luna will take over your position," Harry replied in a soft voice, knowing that his youngest fiancée had been ecstatic to become the Care of Magical Creatures professor. 'As sad as it is that Hagrid leaves, he couldn't have resigned at a better time,' he thought, inwardly grinning.
"Ah, tha's good. "She's a goo' girl," Hagrid beamed, tears forgotten now that he knew his animals in good hands.
HP
On July 7, 1999, Hogwarts saw the largest wedding of all times, when Harry married Hermione, Susan and Luna.
Unlike any other wedding, the story of Harry Potter marrying three wives for the Potter, the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw and the Slytherin-Hufflepuff family had made its way into the Daily Prophet, so that on the day of the wedding, which Lily and James had organised and with a feeling of foreboding decided to hold on the Hogwarts grounds instead of Hogwarts Manor, not only their family, their colleagues from Hogwarts and Unspeakable teams 5 and 13 but also almost two third of the student body of Hogwarts travelled to the school.
"Thank Merlin Eric has set up the Hogwarts Bus system a few years ago," Minerva said to Lily in apparent amusement. "Otherwise, we'd have most of the students here overnight, as they would not have been able to be on time with the Hogwarts Express."
"That's true, and it was indeed a brilliant invention," Lily acknowledged. "By Merlin, Sev and I would have appreciated if we could have used it in our own time as students here."
"If I remember correctly, it was Regina's idea, and Eric, one of the Squibs, whom Harry and Severus cured, was able to set it up," Minerva replied, seemingly pensive.
HP
Somehow, Harry felt happy, however, at the same time, overwhelmed by the presence of three wives, whom he had to kiss, preferably at the same time. 'Oh well, they know the situation, and we'll just have it work, so I'll always begin with Luna as the youngest and finish with Hermione as the oldest,' he decided for himself.
The newlyweds decided to forego a honeymoon with four and just remain at Hogwarts Manor. However, they were going to spend a whole week together without working or doing anything but relax on the beach or go for small trips with the boat, and Harry was looking forward to it.
'Unfortunately, before we can retire to privacy, we'll have to go through all these guests and greet them,' he thought, glad that his wives loved to speak to people, so that he did not have to say much. 'They complement each other perfectly,' he thought, happily.
One of the last persons in the line was Sybill Trelawney, the retired professor for Divination, and Harry inwardly groaned at her sight.
"The two prophesied ones won't be able to live while the other is alive for more than seven years," Trelawney informed him instead of any congratulation, wearing a strange expression.
HP
During the following summer, just a few months after Hannah gave birth to Frederic Dursley, Harry became the father of four new-borns.
Hermione gave birth to Godric Potter, a few days before Susan gave birth to Salazar Slytherin. Luna's twins Rowena and Helga Gryffindor were only born at the end of July.
"Oh well, all these millennium kids," Sirius quipped, causing Harry to growl at his godfather.
"Don't call them that," he demanded, glaring at the older wizard.
"Why? At least they're all going to be in the same year at Hogwarts," James spoke up, smirking. "Well Siri and Remi, we'll make sure that they're going to be worthy heirs of the Marauders, won't we?"
"Dad," Harry said, glaring at his father, "please remember that they're your grandchildren."
James gulped in apparent shock, causing the extended family to laugh at his stunned expression. "I don't feel that old," he replied. "Couldn't you have waited a few more years?"
"No," Luna replied, nonchalantly, giving her twin daughters a dreamy look.
HP
"Harry, I've thought about something," Minerva suddenly caught his attention. "As Poppy and Rolanda won't be able to look after all of your children at once, I will retire as well and work together with them – however, under one condition."
"And what might that be?" Harry asked in confusion, as his mind was occupied by the idea of suddenly being the father of four children.
"You must become the headmaster," Minerva stated, matter-of-factly. "I've already spoken with Paul, and he's ready to become your successor as the professor for Technology. If he needs an assistant in the future, we can still hire one of the new seventh-years."
Knowing that he would not be able to convince Minerva otherwise and that it was only reasonable for him as the owner of the school to become the headmaster, Harry grudgingly agreed.
"Sorry Minerva, but would you perhaps agree to return to being the deputy headmistress?" he asked, hesitantly. "You have so much experience, and my wives will probably be busy with the children, so…" He slowly trailed off, only to sigh in relief, when Minerva agreed.
HP
The following weeks were a very busy time for the new-born father, who at the same time had to get used to being the headmaster of Hogwarts. However, he was outright happy to have four cute children beside his three lovely wives and also thoroughly enjoyed his new position. To his relief, there were no big problems, especially compared to his own years as a student with Voldemort and multiple Death Eaters around.
tbc...
Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter. My muse really appreicates the feedback.
Next chapter: "The strangest relative".