Chapter 7- A Christ'mess' Affair(Part1)
First things , I wanted to clarify certain things to some of you readers. About the name Hadrian. If Harry was to be Dorea's son, do you think that his name will be something like a common name. I don't think so. She is a Black afterall.
And btw, Harry didn't become powerful overnight. I Am not disrespecting any of those that have written fics where he becomes super powerful after removing the horcrux. But personally, I don't think that's too good.
So I came up with the idea of him training for two months with very important trainers. I wanted to keep it a bit original.
As for squealing or blushing, if you seriously think that mature people wouldn't do or behave silly like that, I don't know what's wrong with you mate. Bellatrix is loud and obnoxious. Narcissa is a bit guarded. So what do you know of them if you have not even seen their childhood. Trust me when I say this, I have seen hell lot of people who behave silly in some matters. Just because a child has grown and become an adult, do you think a mother stops doting on him or her. I don't know about you bro but I don't think so.
And about the birthday, just because Harry's birthday was celebrated didn't mean that James wasn't celebrating.
Just because Harry's life is the only focus in the story, does Augusta Longbottom stop living???!!! I wrote on only Harry because he is celebrating his birthday the first time with his parents
And thanks for those reviews btw. It made me clarify some of my decisions for my readers…
&_&--
Life in Hogwarts was normal as usual. The group was very much occupied in their respective works. It was OWL year but Harry wasn't fazed like others.
Harry was way ahead in school level studies. He concentrated on spell creating. He was intrigued with the concept since he created certain spells. His spells were certainly impressive. But he made sure that it was added to the Grimoires.
Bellatrix and Narcissa were spending a hell lot of time with Harry. The girls were very well known for their intelligence. But Harry was a level above the others.
They were getting closer and closer to him with every passing day. They simply loved spending time with the green eyed wizard.
Harry too was relishing the duo's company. Cissy was a soft spoken intelligent girl. Her passion was into healing and potions. She was a very delicate and happy person.
Bella though, was a quick witted woman. She was very good with a wand. She was studious. And was good with Defence and Charms.
" Harry??", he was brought out of his thoughts when Cissy called his name.
He turned and smiled towards her. Her eyes give him a soothing feeling. Bella though gives him a sudden motivation to just do it . She lights a fire in him. They were really becoming close to him.
James and Sirius had teased him so much that he had transfigured them into girls' attire and style and stuck them to the great hall's ceiling.
Marlene McKinnon had returned a month back and Sirius was a bit awkward around her and Harry caught onto that. He also saw the longing in Marlene' s eyes whenever Sirius was near her. He thought that he had to do something. That will wait now.
"What is it, Cissy?", her heart fluttered. Harry calling her with her nickname gave butterflies to her.
" Could you help me with a bit of defence training Harry?? Bella is very good at it. But I don't have such luck. I want to be good."
" Alright love…." Harry realised what he said and blushed and so did Cissy.
"I will teach you Cissy. You don't need to ask me so much."
" Thank you Harry." She smiled though her cheeks were pink.
'Stupid!!! Stupid!!!! Harry. Why the hell did you say that out loud!!!'
"What do you want to know?" he asked. He too was interested.
" I face trouble starting with Harry. Once I get the spell right, I will do it with ease." she said, frowning slightly.
" Well that is not a surprise. I can feel magic around you. You sisters have very strong magical waves. Bella is undoubtedly very powerful, but you and Andi aren't very far off. With training you three will be unbeatable as the three of your magic is very much in sync."
"Oh!!!" she said deep in thought.
Harry liked to watch these small things about Cissy. The way her lips frown when in thought. The way her eyes light up in recognition. The happiness dancing in her eyes when she performs admirably.
He blushed and looked away. He was falling hard for the sisters and he didn't even know it.
" Can you teach me something Harry??" She asked him.
" Alright. I will teach you one today. It's a very good spell. It is one of the spells I created and is a best kept secret."
Narcissa was flabbergasted . Harry had created the spell and was teaching her. " Are you sure Harry?? Wouldn't you prefer to keep it safe." " I thought that I would teach it only to my family. You are my family Cissy. It won't be a problem. Don't worry about it."
" You trust me that much??" she questioned.
"I trust literally no one Cissy. I have been thought that. But if anyone ,I trust my family." He said in a serious tone.
" Alright then. Teach me Harry."
" Well this is a spell for multiplication of the spell. You can fire two or three spells. But this spell will split the spell you fired into the amount of times you want at the last minute. Get it. Look"
Harry conjured three dummies. He then waved his wand and spelled," Triplecto incarcerous" A blue beam left his wand and moved towards the dummies but at the last moment, the spell split into three and all three dummies were tied up in green ropes.
Narcissa looked on in awe." That was amazing Harry. Teach me please" she begged.
Harry spent twenty minutes teaching her. She was ecstatic when she got it. She was positively beaming.
" Thanks Harry." " No problem Cissy." He said. It's time to go, Harry . I will be leaving now. I'll see you later." " Bye," he replied.
She got up, came towards him, kissed his cheek and left blushing.
Harry touched the spot she kissed. He felt elated. He felt happy, though he was still trying to figure out why.
&&&&--
Lily Evans was deep in thought. For many days now, she had a boy in mind. But she didn't know how to approach him. The reason, James Potter. Yes she had developed feelings for him. He was an immature prat for the past years. But he was a good man. But this year, he had changed. He had become extremely good with his studies. He turned his pranks down.
He was studious. He spent most of his time studying with Harry.
He hadn't even approached her. To be frank he hadn't even looked at her.
' Does he have another girlfriend?' somehow the thought didn't sit well with Lily. Today she will have her say. She will talk her heart out.
&&&&&--
James and his friends were sitting in the common room and chatting. He and Harry were getting along very well. Since the arrival of his brother, he has been extremely happy. Harry was a great guy. One of a kind. He was a kind, considerate, lovable guy but boy did he have a temper.
Harry had thought many new things to him. He got along very well with his friends . He was particularly close to Bella and Cissy. He wondered how Harry would manage it.
He was bought out of his thoughts when Lily Evans approached him.
" Umm.. James, can I speak to you??"
The common room became quiet. No one expected Lily to approach James. Few of the girls were glaring daggers at her.
James looked towards his brother. He nodded his head and indicated outside.
"Of course, Miss Evans. Let's go somewhere quiet."
He led her to an empty room and cast a few privacy spells.
" What is the matter, Miss Evans?" he questioned.
" Why are you avoiding me James? Why are you not even speaking to me?
Have I done something wrong?"
James shook his head." You did nothing wrong Lily. It was me. Before, I was an immature prat who thought only about himself. I saw a beautiful girl for whom I fell at the first sight. I went out of my way to have her. But I didn't think she would have me. I didn't stop to behave properly with her. Harry made me clear about what I should do. I respected your wishes Lily. So I left you alone. I didn't want you to always think of me as a prat. I am sorry for making you thi….."
He was cut off when he felt the soft feel of her lips on his lips. He stood frozen on the spot. Lily grabbed his collar and pulled him down. Her hands were running through his nest like hair.
James responded finally and melted in her arms.
They finally broke the kiss and stared at each other.
"I wanted to do that to you for sometime now. You have changed James. You are different. You have become a very different human. One whom I am falling for."
James was broken out of his stupor.
He swallowed and finally smiled at the girl. " Well then, I must finally do the honors. Lily Evans, will you be my girlfriend??"
" Yes I will" she replied and took him by his collar and kissed him harder.
" Well we should go back to the tower." Lily said finally after some long snogging sessions.
" Yes. Let's go" he held her hand and left with her.
They entered the common room holding hands and smiling happily which went quiet and then exploded in cheers.
The Marauders were whistling and catcalling. James rushed towards his brother and hugged him hard. He pulled his sister who was there nearby and hugged her into the group.
" Thank you Harry." He said.
Harry just gave a thumbs up and left the common room.
James just looked to where he left through and shook his head.
" Congrats Lily. And you as well James," said a very excited Alice and Marlene.
" Well , if you aren't going to ask Marlene soon Sirius, then you are missing out too." James said.
Marlene and Sirius blushed bright red and looked away. The others snickered at their friends' plight.
James and Lily took each other's hand and smiled.
Things were looking good for them as well.
&&&&--
November had rolled out and December had arrived. The people of the castle were hit with extreme cold and all outside classes and activities were stopped temporarily. Harry too had stopped working outside and had moved his workouts to the RoR. He was currently using a sledge hammer to smash on the tyre he had conjured.
He was deep in thought.
Voldemort should have attacked by now. He should have made himself known. But he wasn't able to place his finger on certain matters. 'Why did Bella and Cissy get married to those prats? The family clearly can't stand them. Something big must have happened. I will have to change it. Why the hell am I becoming so possessive of them???!!!'
Harry stopped his workouts and moved out of the room. He freshened up and left the dorm to go to dinner. The others had already left.
He made his way into the great hall and moved towards his group.
" Ahh!! The hero returns . Make way for Hadrian the Brave!!!!! " Remus declares pompously. Peter, Frank and Sirius got into their knees and fell at his feet.
" What can we humble peasants do for you my lord??" questioned Peter dramatically.
" Shut up guys." Harry said and rolled his eyes at his friend's antics.
" My lord , we would like to serve you my lord. We will be your servants for eternity." Peter said and the other boys agreed with him with nods.
" If you don't stop right now , I will be telling Katie that you guys are not allowing me to have dinner", he said with a wicked smirk.
That had the desired effect. The boys went wide eyed and paled considerably. They had once kept on pestering Harry with something.
Katie, who was there at that moment, just blasted into the boys and chewed their heads out for disturbing Harry from dinner. The other boys looked like they had pissed all over themselves after her berating. The boys including Harry had learnt one thing. Katie is very scary!!!!
Harry went ahead with his dinner. There was a flash of light suddenly and everyone looked at the new arrival.
Hedwig appeared and took her seat on Harry.
The others looked on in awe at the phoenix and the enigma that was Harry Potter.
Harry rubbed his fingers against Hedwig's wings. " Hey girl. What brings you here??" " You bought something for me?" he asked. Hedwig shook her head. " You wanted to see me??", he asked with a smile. Hedwig trilled happily and nodded.
" Well I am doing extremely well my lady." He said with mock pompousness.
Their back and forth was being watched by the entire school. Most were still in awe at the fact that Harry had a phoenix. Many others were smiling at the interaction.
There was another burst of light and another red phoenix turned up.
He flew near Harry, then evaluated him. Then it looked towards Hedwig and suddenly gave a happy trill. Hedwig responded with her own beautiful trill as well.
Hogwarts watched with amazement at the two majestic birds.
At the staff table, the professors watched this spectacle with amazement. Dumbledore though was looking at it with a huge beaming smile and eyes twinkling madly at the scene before him.
Harry looked back and forth between the two of them.
He suddenly got up." Oh god no!!!!!"
" What happened Harry?" questioned Marlene. " Don't you see ?" he said. " See what Harry? What happened?" Alice questioned in confusion.
" Headmaster, I will not let this happen", Harry said aloud to Dumbledore." What will you not allow Mr Potter ??" Dumbledore asked with confusion.
" Your bloody bird is trying to flirt with my Hedwig. This is not possible. I will break his wings and cook a stew out of him", Harry said with anger.
" Hedwig is still too young to flirt with anyone. You better tell your bird to control himself headmaster or I will turn him into a chicken."
The great hall was silent for a few moments. It was a Slytherin first year who snorted.
The great hall burst into laughter. The students were laughing so hard that some had tears in their eyes. They were falling over each other and laughing, banging the tables and holding their stomachs due to laughing hard.
Up at the staff table, the professors were struggling to hold themselves together. Dumbledore though was not holding back. He was laughing uproariously. Flitwick too was leaning on the table, laughing hard.
McGonagall was trying to hold her laughter but her lips were curled upwards as well.
Harry looked around at the other students laughing and enjoying without any care. He smiled happily. It was wonderful to see people still smiling and being happy. Things will be changing soon. He could feel it in his nerves.
He stood up and gave a dramatic bow to the great hall and saluted to the staff table and left the great hall with his hands in his pockets and whistling a tune.
At the head table, Dumbledore watched the young man go out of the hall. He looked around and smiled at the sight in front of him. He gave a wistful sigh. Things were changing. He knew it. But this guy he thought will make something of this world, he mused internally.
&&&&--
Bellatrix and Narcissa were walking with Harry to the dungeons. They had potions now. They had spent the past hour in the library with Harry, completing their transfiguration assignment.
They were about to go down the stairs when they heard a faint voice. It sounded like crying.
Harry went into the room with his wand raised and on the alert. The other two followed him with caution.
Harry looked to the side to see a little girl crying and had pulled her knees into her chest.
He went forward. " Hey," he said.
The girl looked up and into his eyes.
" You are Harry Potter!!!" she exclaimed. Harry laughed in amusement. The girl blushed and looked down." Yes I am. And may I enquire who this beautiful young lady is??" he questioned. The girl blushed even more brightly. " I … am Dorothy McDonald sir." she said flustered.
" Now none of that sir stuff. You can call me Harry." She nodded." Well Dorothy, can you tell me why you were crying? " he questioned in a soothing tone.
The girl started to tremble. Harry just reached forward and hugged her to his chest. She clutched his midsection tightly and started to cry her eyes out. Harry just held her to his chest and rubbed her back in comfort.
" I was doing my homework in the library. Some boys came to me and started to tease and taunt me. They called me a mudblood. They even tore up my homework as they were leaving".
She started to sob more. Harry comforted the girl and held her while she cried." You know Dorothy. The reason they call you as such is because they are very jealous of people like you. People like you are very intelligent and talented, and some purebloods who are not as smart will like to degrade you by calling those names.
Did you know that our headmaster Dumbledore is a halfblood. But he is the most powerful wizard in the world.".
The girl looked wide eyed at that statement." Really!!??" she asked.
" Yes. He is an inspiration to all those wizards and witches who are not purebloods.
You know Dorothy, people talk about everything. They will hail you if you did something good and criticize you, if you do something bad.
But what matters is that you must be true to yourself. Your family and loved ones is all that matters. Don't take any other words into consideration. Those words of hate they show you must only be the fuel for you to go forward with what you are doing. They aren't worth your tears. You get it??"He asked her gently.
" Yes' ', she nodded her head. " If you have any problems, you can always approach me. Be it assignments or practicing magic or any sort of information or help you need, you can always come to me, alright??" He told her with a warm smile.
She smiled brilliantly for that and nodded her head rapidly.
She got up, gave him a tight hug and left with a skip in her step.
Harry looked at her, and shook his head with amusement and satisfaction.
He sighed and looked towards the other two occupants of the room who were smiling brightly at him.
" You were amazing with her, Harry," said Narcissa.
" You will make a great father someday. You were brilliant in handling her." said Bellatrix with a proud smile on her face.
Harry just nodded.
" She wanted someone to help her. To bring back her confidence. I only became a medium for her confidence. She is strong willed, I can see that. It's all new to her and that's why she was crying. I only hope my words have had a good impact on her", he said with a sigh.
" Come on, we are late for potions. Let's go before Slughorn realises we are too late for the class."
&&&&&&&--
He had decided that he would be taking measures for Tom's death soon. He didn't want to put up with the job for too long. He had a life to live and he would rather have Voldemort dead sooner than later.
That is what caused him to go to the Room of Requirement for the Horcrux.
He made his way towards the tapestry of the dancing trolls.
' I want to find a room of hidden things. I want to find a room of hidden things.
I want to find a room of hidden things.'
He paced across the door three times with the thought.
A huge door materialized out of nowhere. He took a deep breath and entered the room.
The first thing that came to his mind was that there were hell lots of things in this room.
There was all kinds of stuff in here. From old books to different kinds of robes to broomsticks to armour and dummies.
Harry closed his eyes. He felt for the magic in the room and felt a familiar magical presence. The magic of the person who will become one of the most dangerous dark lords to ever live.
The magic of the person who had cheated death by creating abominations.
Harry opened his eyes and moved towards the spot from where he could feel the foul presence. He finally reached it. He stood in front of an idol on whose head sat the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw.
"Such a beautiful thing spoiled by an abomination and a power hungry bastard." He retrieved the Diadem carefully. He brought it to the centre of the room.
He started to chant in Gaelic. The Diadem glowed bright yellow and started to shake violently.
Towards the end of his chant, a black substance erupted out of it. Harry took a deep breath.
"Avada Kedavra" he said. The killing curse hit the Diadem. The soul shard screamed disgustingly and blasted into nothing.
Harry let out a tired breath. It took some energy out of him,but not by much.
" Two down, two more to go," he said softly.
&&&&--
The screams of muggles brought joy to his ears. It was like soothing music to him. He enjoyed the fear in their eyes when he started to rain curse after curse onto the people. He and his cohorts were playing their favourite game. 'Muggle Hunting'
Lord Voldemort stood tall and proud looking at the destruction he had brought on to the muggle village.
" How is the recruitment going, Thomas?" He asked the man next to him.
Thomas Avery, one of the few who knew who his lord really is and a most loyal follower, smiled.
" It's going very well my lord. We were able to bring lots of new recruits especially after the last two displays of your power. They are in awe of your abilities my lord. When we also let slip that you are the heir of Slytherin they were ready to bend over their backs to join you. It's only the minor purebloods though my lord. Those who are sympathetic to your ideals. The bigger ones are starting to come over now.
The Notts, Dolohovs, Lestrange, Malfoy and Macnairs are in my lord.
It might take more effort to bring in Carrows, Jugsons, Rookwood, Selwyn, but they will join when you see them personally, my Lord."
" Good,"Tom nodded.
" But the Greengrass, Crouch, are difficult, my lord.
The remaining are firmly in the pockets of Dumbledore. They won't be changing factions. But the ones we are not able to convince, according to me, are the most important ones, my lord."
"Oh!! And which are those families Thomas??" He asked with curiosity in his voice.
" Potters ,Blacks, and Peverell my lord."
" There is a Peverell lord. I hadn't heard of that."
" There is my Lord. The first born of Charlus Potter. Hadrian.
And according to my sources, he is very powerful."
Tom turned thoughtful. " I think we can persuade them, Thomas. The Black family is a pro pureblood family. I think we can do it if I see the three of them personally. Set a meeting at Christmas.
If they do not agree, there is always the possibility of accidents during enjoyable occasions." he said with a smirk.
"Of course my Lord," Avery said with a bow.
&&&&&--
The atmosphere around Hogwarts was different today. The reason was the Gryffindor vs Slytherin quidditch match.
The stakes were high as usual between these two rivals, because of the house rivalry.
Harry had tried out for the spot of seeker of Gryffindor house.
The others watched him play once and decided that Harry is a definite player in the team.
Harry too was happy to make the team.
Quidditch was one thing that made Harry feel free. The feel of the fresh air hitting his face when he flies is exhilarating for him.
"Alright guys, it's time." The voice of Malcolm Smith, the captain of the team was heard. Harry looked around at the entire team.
Fabian and Gideon Prewitt, the beaters of the team. They were good guys to be around. Harry honestly enjoyed their witty remarks and used to constantly banter with them.
Jeremy Bale, James and Sirius as chasers. Malcolm was the keeper of the team.
" We will be facing Slytherin so the stakes are high. Just go out and give it your best guys."
The dressing room cheered with agreement and they moved towards the stadium.
Harry took a deep breath and flew out.
" And here comes the Gryffindor team.
Captain and keeper Malcolm Smith, Beaters the Prewitt twins. Chasers James Potter, Sirius Black, Jeremy Bale and seeker Hadrian Potter!!!!", the announcer Amos Diggory announced.
Harry looked towards the Slytherin side. He could see both the Lestrange brothers, Malfoy, One guy strangely resembles Flint and one looked oddly like Bole or somebody. There was another person but he didn't know who that guy was.
Madam Hooch blew the whistle and the match started.
James plucks the quaffle out of the air and moves towards the hoops.
" James Potter passes to Bale, who passes back to him. James evades Rudolphus' shot and moves towards the hoop."
James finally was covered by the Slytherin side. He didn't have an opening. The Slytherins were relieved that the goal was about to be blocked.
What they didn't expect was the next move.
" Potter is surrounded. What is he …..!!!!",he and the others were shocked when the quaffle flew to the person they expected the least.
" He passed to Potter, who took a shot at the outer post. The quaffle spins and he scores!!!!!!!". Harry had scored. He raised his thumb in an affirmation and the team flew back.
" Potter is playing a very risky game here. The interfering seeker. In this style, the seeker can assist the chasers by scoring goals as well. It's been ages since a seeker of all round abilities has played. "
The game started again. Harry received the quaffle and flew at a very high speed towards the hoops, at the last moment, he dropped the quaffle which was picked by Sirius who passed it to Bale for a simple tap in.
The chasers now we're playing high up overwhelming the Slytherins. They passed the quaffle in a triangular pattern,with single throws. James scored two consecutive times.
Sirius was playing the assisting role. He would set James, Harry and Jeremy for goals.
Harry suddenly flew down,with Lucius at his heel. At the last moment he pulled up,but Lucius wasn't so lucky.
He crashed face first to the ground.
" Potter just executed a perfect Wronski Feint. Malfoy has gone down. Why is Potter still….. oh he has seen the snitch. This is too easy for him. There is no opposition to him. And he gets it!!!! Potter catches the snitch. Gryffindor wins 220 to 40."
The Gryffindor stands erupted into cheers. The other houses too joined in applauding the performance of the Gryffindor team.
&_&&&&&--&&
At the Slytherin stands. Narcissa and Bellatrix watched as their cousins destroyed their house team. But both their eyes were on one singular wizard. Harry.
They had never seen another person like him. He was just like that. Perfect to the point.
They were spending a lot of time with him. He had everything a girl could wish for. Intelligent, caring, loving, powerful and handsome. He had wormed his way into their hearts.
They slowly made their way back to the dungeons.
Andromeda had observed the changes in her sisters. They were spending a lot of time with Harry. They were obviously smitten with him. She smiled discreetly at their behaviour. The both of them are falling and falling hard for her cousin.
"Sooo….!!??" She addressed her sister when they reached their dorm.
" So what Andi?" Bellatrix asked.
" What do you both think of Harry??"She questioned them.
" Why?" Asked Cissy.
" Well, considering that the both of you spent all the match watching him instead of the game, it's only right to ask if something is happening isn't it?"
She said with a smirk.
The both of them suddenly looked away though Andromeda could see a hint of pink on both their cheeks.
" Well? I am waiting." " What can we say Andi? He is just wow. He is brilliant, handsome, Powerful, and intelligent." Bella said with a sigh.
" He is very caring too. You should have seen the way he talked to that first year girl. He was too good." Said Cissy, with a wistful smile.
" You do know that, both of you are falling for him right????"she asked her sisters.
They blushed brilliantly for that." No...n, it's n..nn nothing like that" the both of them tried to deny it but weren't successful in it entirely.
Andromeda gave them a look.
" On fine. I like him very much alright?" Bella said with a sigh.
" Me too" , said Cissy " but I don't know how to talk to him."
" Both of you should talk to Aunt Dorea and mother. They might give you some advice" said Andromeda.
" Yeah we will. We decided that we will talk to them when we go home for the vacations." Said Bellatrix.
&&&&--
Bellatrix was sitting on a table in an abandoned classroom on the fourth floor. This was like her own personal room. She would come here and spend time studying and practicing magic.
She was no slouch with a wand and she knew it. Her father and grandfather had made sure that she was very good with a wand. She had also started to learn the family spells from the past two years.
She knew she could do anything if she kept up with her training.
She was firing spells at a very fast rate at the dummies present in the room. She was good but she wanted to be very good. She was nowhere close to beating her grandfather or uncle. They were very powerful wizards.
She would get there one day. She knew it.
She was brought out of her musings when she heard a clapping sound.
She turned around surprised.
" Excellent. You were wonderful Bella."
She turned towards the sound and Harry appeared out of nowhere.
" Harry!! What are you doing here??"She questioned, surprised.
" Oh I was passing by this room when I heard a noise. I came to inspect and imagine my surprise when I saw my brilliant cousin training her spell casting. I truly am impressed Bella. You are very good."
" I'm not that good, Harry." She said though her voice held a hint of pride.
" You really are joking Bella!!!", Harry said with disbelief. " You are good. I'll be honest with you Bella. There is room for improvement. But considering you are still a fifth year student, you are way better than most adults already."
Harry said with a smile.
Bellatrix tried to hide it but failed to stop the pink tinge appearing on her cheeks.
"Well if you could get silent casting down, you would be literally unbeatable." He said.
" I have practiced silent casting Harry. But most of my spells won't work. I can get a few first year spells silently but the rest I struggle."
" Don't feel bad Bella. Why don't you do as I say? Just take a deep breath and close your eyes. Now imagine turning the desk in here to give it a new appearance. Imagine the old desk changing into a new ebony desk. Imagine the process."
Harry saw her face scrunch cutely. He suddenly dispelled those thoughts.
' Concentrate on the job Potter!!!! Concentrate!!'
" Did you do it??" Harry asked.
She nodded." Now, point your wand towards the object and imagine the process that occurred."
She did as told and she felt something happening with her wand.
"Open your eyes and look, Bella", said Harry.
She did as told and gasped in surprise. It was like her dream becoming a reality. Even the smallest detail of her imagination was captured.
Her eyes shone brightly. She turned towards her cousin and gave him a beaming smile.
" It just takes proper concentration Bella. Visualization and intent are the two main factors of magic. You use them properly, you can do any and all kinds of magic."
Bella frowned thoughtfully.
" Duel me Harry." She said, with excitement
" Why??" Asked a confused Harry.
"I want to know how able I am right now."
Harry nodded finally.
" I will but you must give it your all. Don't hold back." He said with force.
Bella grinned. " Oh! If you think that I will hold back and let you play around, then you are sorely mistaken,Harry."
Harry grinned as well. This was the Bellatrix he loved. The one with a fire and confidence.
" So let's begin."
They both took the opposite ends of the class.
"3...2…..1…. Duel" Harry counted.
Bellatrix started on the offensive.
She fired a well placed stunner, disarmer.
Harry dodged the spells, but didn't fire.
Bella went again.
" Petrificus Totalus, Bombarda , confringo, Duro" she chanted again.
Harry nimbly sidestepped the curses.
He didn't fire anything.
Now Bellatrix was getting frustrated. She was casting continuously but he still didn't fight back.
' It's time for Black family spells' she thought with a grin.
She sent a black fog at him and started to fire hexes and curses.
The fog dissipated very quickly. She looked to see him still unharmed.
" You have to be better than . Show me why you are a force to be reckoned with. Show me what Bellatrix Black is capable of" he said in a hint of mocking tone.
Bellatrix was now angry.
She started firing borderline dark curses from the Black grimoire.
Harry was surprised thoroughly by the speed of her spells. He hastily erected a shield to escape from two spells.
He smiled. He liked Bellatrix this way.
Competitive. His favourite feature of the girl in front of him was her confidence.
Harry upped his game.
He swatted her spells away like hitting a tennis ball.
Bellatrix's eyes grew wide at that.
She sent more curses at him, which were downright dangerous.
What she didn't expect was for him to catch the curse and send it back to her.
She dodged the curse barely. But she didn't see the disarming and body-bind curse that followed after.
She had lost. She had lost badly.
She was released and she stood up.
Harry felt a little bad seeing her tired and disappointed face.
" Bella! You were brilliant." he said to her shock.
" Surely you're joking, Harry. I was pathetic. I couldn't land a single hit on you and you beat me with three spells."
" Bella. Don't pull yourself down. Like I said, your casting speed is amazing. Your spells pack a punch. You may not have huge power levels but you are very precise with your spells. You have great finesse. You will be an amazing duelist one day Bella, mark my words on that." Harry said confidently.
Bellatrix smiled. Any other man would have bragged and raved about what he did. But not Harry. Never Harry. My Harry has more confidence in me than myself.
' Wait!!! My Harry. Where the hell did that come from!!???' she thought internally.
But she couldn't stop the light blush, when he praised her so much.
" Just practice, Bella. You will become much better."
"Yes Harry. I will." She then remembered something.
" Teach me Harry." She said,
" Why?? You don't need teaching,Bella. You are very good." Harry said, confused.
" But I am not that good. Please Harry. I just want to be able to protect myself and my sisters and if need arises, others as well. Help me become better, Harry." She pleaded.
Harry sighed but nodded. She did make good points. Bellatrix launched herself at him and hugged him.
She realised what she had done and let go. She blushed bright red.
" Thanks Harry. I will see you later", she waved and left quickly.
Harry stood rooted to the spot. ' What the hell!!???'
&&&&&--
Harry sat down in a compartment with his friends. It was time to go home for Christmas.
"So, Harry."
" What is it, Sirius??"
" I wanted to ask if you are bringing anyone to the Ministry Ball this year??"
Harry looked confused.
" The ministry does a ball??" He asked.
Sirius smacked his forehead.
" You are a prat Harry!!!!" Sirius said with conviction.
" Sirius, be nice. Yes Harry. The ministry does have a ball every year and even your families attend it."replied Andromeda.
" We go to balls!!??" He questioned.
" Yes Harry we go to balls too. And Mum will make sure that you will go this year. You are a lord Harry, and you must go with your best appearance." Said Katie with an evil smirk.
Harry paled considerably. He groaned and banged his head to the side board.
" What's wrong Harry?" asked Cissy.
" I am running away from home. I swear you women are evil." He grumbled.
" What's wrong?" Bella asked Katie.
" Harry must go shopping for robes." She said with an evil smile.
Bellatrix's and Narcissa's smile became more pronounced.
"Don't worry Harry. It won't be that bad." Said Andromeda.
" You sisters aren't thinking of coming with us are you??" He questioned warily.
Their smiles were all that Harry needed to know his fate.
" I am running away from Potter Manor tomorrow. It was good to know you guys. We had fun. Hope you enjoy Hogwarts for the next two years." He said dramatically.
" It won't be that bad Harry." Said Remus with a smile.
" You don't know them like I do Remus. Those women are pure evil." Harry said softly.
" Did you say something Harry??"asked Narcissa in a sweet voice.
" Not a thing Cissy. I didn't say anything." He said paling a little with fear.
" I thought so," said Narcissa with a sweet smile.
" Well, whom are you guys going with??" Harry asked, a bit curious.
" Well I am taking Lily. Sirius is taking Marlene." " Ha, he finally got the nerve to ask her then?" Harry questioned looking at the pair they were talking about.
" Shut up Potter." Sirius said, turning bright red and the others started to laugh.
" Remus is taking Andromeda here and Peter is bringing a Hufflepuff in our year, Rosaline I think..??" Peter nodded to that.
" Hmm " Harry nodded.
The others were looking at Harry pointedly.
"What's wrong guys??"he asked, dreading what was coming next.
" Don't give us that Potter. Who are you taking to the ball??" asked Frank with interest mirrored by the rest.
" I don't know yet. I really don't have an idea." He said with a sigh.
Though his eyes moved very quickly towards two of the Black sisters that he liked very much.
The train ride continued as Harry took out a book and started to read. It was an advanced arithmancy book.
He felt a weight settle on his shoulder and lap.
Harry looked away from the book to see Cissy asleep with her head resting on his lap and Bellatrix asleep on his shoulder. He smiled at this arrangement and felt somewhat at ease.
He looked up from his musings to see the others with crazy grins and mischievous smiles.
Harry let a bit of magic flow and his eyes glowed eerily. " One word from any of you and I will neuter all of you" he said with a hint of warning.
The boys suddenly looked very interested in the compartment of the train. The girls smiled at Harry but still looked away. Katie though looked too happy for his liking.
Bellatrix snuggled closer to Harry and tightened her grip on his arm.
Harry stopped reading and sat back and slowly drifted off to sleep.
He was woken by a smiling Lily after they reached King's Cross station.
Harry slowly woke Narcissa and Bellatrix.
Narcissa opened her eyes and looked around. Her eyes widened and her face flushed in embarrassment. She woke up and said a hasty goodbye and left the compartment quickly.
Bellatrix though had tightened her grip on Harry. Harry smiled at her antics.
" Bella, we have arrived. Get up, it's time to go home."
Her eyes fluttered and she looked around in confusion. She realised that she was holding Harry's arm. She let it go and got up abruptly. " Harry… I … uhm… bye Harry." She said, flustered and escaped from the compartment.
&&&&&&--
Dorea, Charlus, Arcturus and Melania were waiting for their children to come home.
The Potter and Black lords had recently received a letter from Malfoy regarding a family matter and another issue and he was requesting an audience with them along with Lestrange and Yaxley and another person.
Since it involved the Peverell lord and Harry as well, they decided that they would answer it after Harry returns home.
Dorea and Melania were discussing the Christmas dinner that they used to hold when the train arrived at the station.
Hundreds of children got out and made their ways towards their families.
They were excited to see the youngsters after so long.
They made out, James and his friends making their way towards them with a few girls .
Dorea captured her son and daughter in a hug. " James, Katherine, how are the two of you??" She asked with a smile.
" Mum!! not in front of everyone!!" Grumbled James though he hugged his mother back.
Dorea released her son and looked towards the young lady who was standing next to him.
" And who is this young lady James??" Asked his father.
" Dad, Mom I would like you to meet my girlfriend, Lily Evans", he said although he was a bit scared of his mother's reaction.
Lily moved forward and curtsied. She had been drilled by Alice and Marlene with etiquette for the past month. She was a little worried about their reactions. They were from old pureblood families.
" Lord Potter, Lady Potter, it's an honor to meet you both in person. I have heard a lot about you from James and Harry and Katie as well."
Dorea looked between James and Lily.
She then smiled and held Lily's hands.
" So you are the one that James had been crushing on for the past five years. It's good to see you dear. And no need for all this lord and lady. You may call us Charlus and Dorea."
" Of course Lady.. uhm Dorea."
Dorea smiled and nodded. She turned towards the rest of the group.
" Well how are you doing boys? " She asked the remaining boys.
" We are doing well Mrs Potter,"the boys replied in unison.
" And who are these young ladies here??" Asked Arcturus.
It was James who spoke up. " Well this is Alice Prince, that git Frank's girlfriend. And this lady is Marlene McKinnon. She is the lady who stole Sirius's heart" he said with a dramatic gesture.
Sirius blushed and looked away, not daring to meet his grandfather's eyes.
His grandfather though had an amused gleam in his eyes.
" Well I am surprised. The mutt has balls, I will give him that."
" Arcturus!!" Said Melania with a hint of warning.
" Fine ,spoil my fun." He grumbled.
" I hope you bring some responsibility to Sirius, dear. He is too irresponsible for his own good" Melania said with a small smile.
" Oii!! I will have you know that I am the most responsible Black you will ever come across." He said with mock indignation.
" Yeah I know, from the Last" said Katie with a snicker. " You people are pure evil." He said with a sigh.
" Speaking of responsibility, where is Lord Peverell??" Arcturus asked with a grin.
" Oh!! Your nephew is in a very special position held captive by your granddaughters" said Andromeda with a small smirk.
" What are you talking about Andromeda??" Asked Melania.
" Ohh it's nothing. Nothing at all" came a new voice. They turned to see Narcissa arrive and she was glaring at Andromeda who was smirking evilly.
" Narcissa, where were you? Where are Bella and Harry??" Asked Dorea.
When Harry was mentioned her cheeks went pink and that didn't go unnoticed by the rest of them.
" I am here mum." Harry's voice was heard, and he arrived with Bella who for some reason was interested in her trunk too much.
Dorea went forward and hugged her son which he returned happily.
" Well let's get going then shall we??" She asked her husband.
He nodded.
" Bye guys. I guess I will see you all soon." He said to his friends.
" Bye Harry". They said and left.
" Bella, Cissy, I will see you guys soon."
" Bye Harry" they said and left with their grandparents and cousins.
&&&&_&--
The next day, Harry woke up as usual and left to do his workouts. It was a normal day for him as far as he was concerned.
Oh,how wrong he was.
He returned to his room and freshened up and returned to the dining room and stopped dead in his tracks.
He looked upon the scene in front of him.
At the table were his mother, his aunt, Druella and the Black sisters along with Katie.
At the far end of the table though were the male members of the family but judging by their expressions of glee, he knew he was in trouble.
He tried to remember what he did wrong but then something flashed to him.
His eyes widened in horror. He silently made his way back to the door and was about to run away when he heard Narcissa call him in a suspiciously sweet voice.
" Harry".
He gulped and turned around.
"Uhm.. Hello guys.", He said with a hint of fear in his voice.
" Now where were you going Harry??" Asked Bellatrix.
" Me… uhm, nowhere, uhm I was closing the door??" He said with uncertainty.
" Really! Harry. Just come and have your breakfast." Said his sister.
" We have a lot of shopping to do."
Harry tripped and went down to his knees.
" Uhm… I think that I have an assignment that I should submit to McGonagall tomorrow. You guys go ahead. I will catch up later."
He hastily tried to move out of the room.
" Harry!!", Said Bellatrix with a hint of warning. He stiffened and stopped in his tracks.
" Come here Harry." She ordered. He did as told. " Sit", he sat down.
" Eat." She ordered and he followed it.
" You will be coming with us to go shopping, Harry. "
" Yes mam," Harry said. He realised that he had been tricked.
He dug in grumbling about evil women.
" What about those guys??" Harry asked with desperation.
" They already have everything they need. It's only you that is short of robes."
He sighed and nodded.
&&&&&&--
It was official. Harry had finally figured out what his new boggart is.
It will be of himself going shopping.
The ladies used him as a doll for dressing up. They literally made him try out everything in the shop.
Harry was dead on his feet but they didn't show any signs of stopping.
Narcissa and Bellatrix were the most vocal ones regarding his clothes. They looked through each and everyone of his clothes making comments and telling him what he should wear. This wasn't unnoticed by Dorea and Druella who smiled at the scene.
When they returned back to Potter Manor, they made their way to the living room, while Harry headed straight for his room.
The ladies were left for their musings.
It was Dorea who broke the silence.
" Is there something going on that I should know about Cissy, Bella??"
" I don't …."
" Bella. We know. It's obvious. You both are smitten with him and he is taken with the both of you. Tell me the truth." Her mother said forcefully.
Bellatrix sighed. " Me and Cissy are falling for Harry. We just love spending time with him. He is different, you know. He is not like any others."
" Yes." Said Cissy." He can be so scary and dangerous in an instant, but so loving and caring in the very next instant. He is intelligent, handsome and fair." She said with a wistful smile.
" Why haven't the both of you spoken to him first?" Asked their Grandmother.
"Well this is new to us. But we don't want to pressure him into it or ruin what we have now. We will take this at our own pace." Cissy said looking at her elders.
Dorea just smiled and hugged her grand nieces.
" I am happy for you, dear. Don't worry. He will come around and talk to the both of you soon. He is a bit dense in such matters but he will get it as time passes. Just be patient with him will you??" She asked them to which they nodded.
Their mother smiled at the both of them and hugged the pair.
' Well, they have excellent tastes,' thought Druella.
TBC--
" Hey guys. It's been a while But I have posted a new one.
Keep the reviews coming guys. It means a lot.
This chapter will be divided into two parts. This is the first one.
Finally the sisters came clean about their feelings for Harry to their elders.
The next chapter focuses on Harry meeting Riddle.
It also brings out why the sisters married to the Lestrange and Malfoy families.
There may be some action coming in the next chapter.
Stay tuned!!!!!"