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The Six Million Galleon Man

Chapter 5

Harry grunted as he made his way down the small, musky-smelling tunnel. This was the first time since his procedure that he wished that he had his short stature returned. Constantly bending over was doing a number on his lower back. Even so, he proceeded.

Thanks to his upgraded body, he was able to make it to the exit in record time. He had received a message from Narcissa about meeting him in Hogsmeade. From there, she was to take him to the Black Cottage where he would open up the wards to her. Sneaking out after dark was easy enough with his Marauders' Map. He simply slipped out the front doors of the castle, and like the previous year, he took the passage underneath the Whomping Willow all the way to the Shrieking Shack. Once he reached the passage's end, he pushed open the wooden hatch and lifted himself out. Kicking the hatch closed again, he knocked the dust and dirt from his clothes. Not needing any light to see thanks to the DoM's operation, he easily found the front door and left the shack, bound for the Three Broomsticks. He wasn't going inside. There would be too much of a chance for him to get caught. Instead, Narcissa would be sitting inside by the front window waiting to spot him.

After a few minutes' walk, he arrived in front of the bar that was owned by the boys of Hogwarts's favorite busty barmaid. Seeing Narcissa sitting at her table daintily drinking a glass of wine, he stood in a position so that he could be easily spotted. Only a second later, she had seen him. Downing her wine, she stood up and left the establishment. Coming through the door, he saw that she had put on a cloak over her feminine-styled robes. Summer was over and it was beginning to grow cold, especially at night. He could see the small cloud that her warm breath created as she walked toward him. Suddenly at his side, she hooked her arm into his and led him down the street.

"Harry. Thank you for coming," she greeted him quietly, subtly looking around to make sure that they weren't spotted.

"It's not a problem. Shall we get going then?" he asked. Narcissa nodded and came to a halt. She concentrated for a second before Harry felt the crushing weight of Side-Along Apparation. When the sensation of being squeezed through a tight, rubber tube had dissipated, Harry found himself standing next to the sexy woman in an empty field somewhere that was quite windy. Immediately, his clothes were whipping violently in the wind. Narcissa had to grasp her cloak tightly so that it didn't fly off of her.

"Where are we?" Harry called out loudly so that he could be heard over the blowing wind.

"On the coast near Scarborough!" she called out over the wind. He could already see her shivering. Harry with his upgraded body wasn't as affected by the cold, howling wind as much as she was. She pulled him closer to share his body heat while she led him down a cobbled path that was lined on either side by very large trees. While he couldn't see or hear the ocean nearby, he could smell the salt in the air. He found it to be a pleasant smell. After a few minutes of walking, Narcissa suddenly stopped. "This is as far as I can go! You need to unlock the wards!" she called over the wind.

"How?" he called back. She pulled out a small, sharp-looking knife and handed it to him.

"At least seven drops of blood on that stone right there!" she told him, pointing to an ancient-looking stone on the ground next to the path. It was flat and weathered and appeared to be discolored. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to just go with it. He wanted out of this weather almost as much as Narcissa did. He could see that she was trying to shield her face from the harsh wind. Her pale cheeks were already pink from the cold.

He held the tip of the knife against his fingertip and made a puncture wound. He squeezed his finger until blood began pooling. Holding it over the stone, he watched as blood dripped over and over. He continued to let it drip until he felt a powerful, magical shiver go through his body.

"It's down! I felt it!" Narcissa cried out happily. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along the path. It was only another minute until they came upon a beautiful, stone cottage hidden amongst a garden. With his advanced eyes, he could tell that the garden had seen better days. That didn't matter now though. All he wanted was to get inside. Narcissa got the door open and pulled him in. She huffed and shivered once inside. She waved her wand and the lights ignited. Harry made a beeline for the fireplace and tossed some logs into it. Pointing his wand at it, it burst into flames, filling the area with warmth. Suddenly, Narcissa was at his side practically pushing him out of the way as she held her hands out and rubbed them together.

"A little chilly?" Harry asked, amused by her unladylike behavior.

"Shut it, Potter! I'm used to being treated better than this!" she shuddered as warmth washed over her. Harry chuckled and left her there to warm up. He looked around.

"Needs to be cleaned," he told her, waving his wand and cleaning what he could.

"It's been a while since anyone's been here. It will need a good going over, both inside and out. I was hoping that you would be willing to purchase a House-Elf to take care of this place," Narcissa told him.

"I don't even know where to get House-Elves from," he admitted while continuing to clean.

"Thankfully, I do," she said, finally removing her cloak and hanging it up.

"Find out how much it is and I'll send you the gold."

"Just set up a Mistress's account with Gringotts," Narcissa told him.

"Mistress's account?" he asked, confused. He had never heard of anything like that.

"It gives me partial access to your accounts. If any large amounts are taken out, Gringotts will report it to the principal account holder. It's mainly used for taking care of a second household since most Mistresses don't live with the main family," she explained.

"Makes sense I guess. I'll contact Gringotts and see about that."

Narcissa nodded. "In the meantime, I'll do what I can. Believe it or not, I do know a few cleaning charms," she told him. Checking the time, Harry realized that he needed to get going. Narcissa would be busy moving her stuff into the cottage, so Harry let her be and Apparated back to the Shrieking Shack. The trip back through the tunnel was just as annoying as the first time. When he finally made it back to Gryffindor Tower, he saw that most had already retired for the night. However, Hermione was still up and sitting by the fire reading a book twice as thick as her arm. Harry smiled and crept over to her. Leaning over the back of the chair, he poked her in both of her sides with his fingertips.

"EEK!" she squealed and the book went tumbling off of her lap when she jumped in surprise. Harry laughed at her reaction.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she glared, breathing heavily and clutching her chest.

"I'm not sure if magical people can have heart attacks. What are you doing up? You're usually in bed reading at this time," he said, sitting down on the arm of her cushy chair.

"I was waiting for you," she admitted, bending over and grabbing her giant book. She lifted it back onto her lap with great effort. "Where have you been?" she looked at him.

Harry thought about it for a second. He could lie or tell her the truth, or at least part of the truth. The fewer people that knew about the things that he was doing, the better it was. There were fewer chances to be betrayed … not that he ever expected her to betray him. On the flip side, he didn't have to tell her about the Department of Mysteries or what they did to him. He could just tell her that he was already planning for the eventual return of Voldemort. In the end, he decided to let her in on some of his secrets.

"I actually left the castle and met with someone," he told her quietly. Hermione looked around to make sure that they weren't being overheard.

"Who?"

"Narcissa Malfoy … Well, formerly Malfoy," he confessed.

"Draco's mum?" she asked, confused about what he could be meeting her for.

"Yeah. You know how his dad was killed during the World Cup?" Seeing her nod, he went on. "Apparently, Malfoy went mental and kicked his mum out of the family. She's no longer a Malfoy."

Hermione gasped. "Woah!"

"Not only that, but Sirius had thrown her out of the Black family whenever he became Head of House. Because of that, she was nameless and had nowhere to go. That's when she contacted me. Since I'm the Heir of the Black family, I could let her into an old cottage that she used to visit when she was young. It's owned by the Black family, but few actually know about it. The only thing is that for her to be able to live there, she would need to be a Black, or be connected to a Black in some way," Harry explained.

"The only way for that to happen is for Sirius to reinstate her, which I highly doubt has happened. Marrying you would do it, but I don't think you would agree to that," Hermione went through all of the ways that it could be accomplished.

"I'm definitely not getting married at fourteen," he snorted.

"The only other way is … Harry!" she gasped, looking at him with wide eyes. "Did you take her as a Mistress?" she asked. Harry couldn't help but blush slightly while nodding.

"I can't believe it," Hermione muttered quietly. "Have you gone mental?"

"There is a good reason, you know. I'm not just thinking with my penis," he told her.

"Well then tell me. I'd love to hear it." She was the one to snort this time.

"You know how Voldemort keeps popping up?" Hermione nodded.

"Eventually, he's going to come back in full form. Whenever that happens, I'm screwed. I'm just a fourteen-year-old kid, Hermione. What can I do against him?"

Hermione bit her lower lip, seeing his point.

"This summer I decided to come up with a plan. I'm going to do what I can to take away his advantages and make a few for myself. Part of that is gaining contacts. Having Narcissa on my side is a huge boon for me. She knows things. She knows people," he said.

"Well … I guess I see your point. But why didn't you come to me?! I'll help you, of course!" Hermione said, suddenly irritated about being left out of his plan. Harry smiled, already knowing that she would be willing to help him. Harry scooped her up and sat down on her chair. Hermione squeaked as he placed her on his lap. He hugged her close and kissed her cheek. Hermione blushed beet-red but was pleased nonetheless.

"Of course, I was going to come to you eventually. I just wanted to come up with a plan first."

"I could have helped you with that! Tomorrow we can make a list. We'll need things like backup plans and safe houses in case we ever need to run and hide. We can leave stashes around different parts of the country. We can research things like wards and whatnot … You know, things to keep us safe. Oh, there's so much to be done!" she kept going on. Harry rolled his eyes and listened to her talk. He didn't really care what she was saying at the moment. He was just enjoying her soft, warm body pressed against his. He especially liked it when she wiggled around to get comfortable.

Hermione was carrying on for so long that they soon found themselves completely alone in the darkened Common Room with only the fireplace producing a soft, dancing light. Since they were alone, Harry allowed his hands to do a little more exploring. At first, Hermione didn't notice since she was still making plans, but when his hand crept underneath her skirt, and his fingers caressed the highest point of her inner thigh, he felt her body shiver violently while the scent of her arousal became stronger.

She tried to play it off as if it didn't affect her, but Harry could feel how much she liked it. When his other hand slid underneath her blouse and began playing with her soft belly, Hermione accidentally let out a cute, little moan. Harry pretended as if he didn't hear it.

"Umm … Should we tell Ginny about our plan?" Hermione bit her lip as he tickled the area of skin that was closest to her panty-covered pussy. Harry smirked as he leaned in close to her neck. He could smell her wonderful scent the closer he got.

"We will eventually. Right now I think that it would be best to keep it between us until we have a more solid plan. Don't you think?" he asked, sensually rubbing her belly from the bottom of her bra-clad breasts, down to the waistband of her skirt. Hermione nodded which caused her bushy, brown hair to get in his face.

"Y-Yeah. That's probably for the best. When we decide on an objective, then we can tell her," Hermione shuddered as he moved her hair out of the way, exposing the side of her thin, graceful neck. Harry leaned in and brushed his lips against her smooth skin. At this point, Hermione was breathing deeply as wiggling her bottom against his raging erection. Unfortunately, just then they heard someone coming down the dormitory steps. Hermione squeaked in embarrassment and jumped from his lap. She just finished straightening herself when a seventh-year snuck out of the Common Room, probably for a late-night tryst with a young lady.

"I-I'll see you in the morning, Harry!" she blushed and scampered up the stairs. Harry looked at the bulge in his trousers and huffed. He'd find that seventh-year and make him pay, Harry promised as he stood up and went to bed.

The Six Million Galleon Man

Harry read and re-read the note multiple times. He had just received word from Croaker regarding his suspicions about the supposed Professor Moody. He was instructed to investigate, but to make sure that he wasn't caught. If something was going on, they wanted to know what it was. If they suspected that they were being watched, the plans could change or be aborted. After memorizing the note, he set fire to it. He watched as it burnt to ashes before he banished them. Now he just needed to think of a way to find out if Moody was legit.

Harry started by simply walking by his private quarters. Underneath his cloak, he waved his wand as he walked by, casting a Detection Charm. As he suspected, Moody's door was laced with dozens of Charms, Curses, and Wards. He'd never get through that undetected. It would probably take Dumbledore twenty-four hours straight to get through that mess. He definitely needed another way. He could always try to follow Moody when he walked in, or force him at wand point, but that would kind of defeat the purpose of his instructions. From what he knew, there was only one other way into his room.

Later that night, Harry was standing on top of the Astronomy Tower holding his broom. He didn't tell Hermione about his suspicions of Moody. He wasn't sure if she would start acting funny around the weird, grizzled old man. Having memorized where Moody's room was in relation to the area of the castle, he wasted no time in jumping off the tower and making a beeline for his destination. His invisibility cloak flapped in the wind as he flew through the cold, night air. It only took a minute or so to get to Moody's window. Quietly flying up to it, he looked in. The room was dark, but it was nothing that his enhanced eyesight couldn't overcome. The man asleep in the bed wasn't Moody! Taking a chance, Harry used the same Detection Charm on the window. There weren't any spells to be found! Harry smiled wickedly. His job just got easier.

Flying a bit to the side to stay out of sight, he opened his arm storage and pulled out a small, plastic case. Opening it, he took out one small vial. The vial contained a very powerful knockout gas that his group had developed for use in the upcoming conflict. Harry had a stash of a dozen vials to use at his discretion. Flying back to the window, he silenced it and used his wand to lift it up just slightly. Finding the special rune that was carved on the side of the vial, Harry pressed the tip of his wand against it and pushed some of his magic into it. When the rune began glowing blue, Harry flicked the small vial into the room and quietly closed the window. Once activated, the rune would detonate in five seconds, shattering the glass and releasing the liquid that would instantly turn into gas, filling the room within seconds. Harry kept track of the time that had passed. After two minutes, the gas would dissipate and it would be safe to go in.

Opening the window, he fired a stunner at the sleeping man just in case. Floating in, he waved his wand around looking for any booby-traps or wards that might harm him. He didn't find anything. It seemed that the only spells were on the door. Turning on the light, Harry saw that he was indeed correct. The man was definitely not Moody. Going into his storage again, this time he pulled out a small camera. He took pictures of the man, the room, and his belongings. He even took a sample of the stuff that he was drinking from his flask. Seeing a seven-room storage trunk, Harry went through each one until he reached the last lock. When opened, he peered down into the large, empty room and saw the real Moody alive but unconscious. He took another picture before closing the trunk. He'd report this immediately.

Harry covered his tracks and put everything back in its place. He made sure to vanish any small pieces of glass that he could see, which was probably overkill. The biggest piece was so small that it would easily be overlooked. Most of the vial was turned into dust from the detonation. Climbing back out the window, he flew straight for the Owlery so that he could send his report.