22 Dementors

The Potter trio arrived early to the train station and found a suitable compartment. Neville found them first. "Hello, Harry, Hermione. Who is the girl sitting with you?"

Harry made his Lord ring visible. "Scion Longbottom, allow me to present Lady Hermione Potter and Lady Elsa Peverell to you. We were magically wed at the beginning of the summer vacation."

Neville could barely contain his surprise. "You're married? And to both of them?" He then caught himself and turned formal. "Lady Potter, Lady Peverell, I'd like to congratulate you for marrying my friend and my ally, Lord Harry Potter. I'm sure he'll try his best to make you happy." He then turned to Harry. "I didn't even know you've taken your Lordship, and now you're married. I must say you chose them well, though. I've known Hermione since the first day of school and she's kind and smart and you also know how beautiful she is. I'm looking forward to getting to know Lady Peverell." He still blushed terribly.

Harry smiled at him, inviting the shy boy to sit down. "I've taken my Lordship last summer, but I didn't need any of the privileges that come with it, so I kept it secret. Now I need accommodation for my family."

Neville stayed to talk with the girls. He soon realized that Elsa was just as smart as Hermione, although that was not a surprise at all.

Ron arrived seconds before the train started moving. "You've not come to the Burrow," he said accusingly.

"I had quite a busy summer, you see. I first got married and then I had to stay with both pairs of my parents in law."

Ron wouldn't accept it. "Come-on! We're too young to get married. What's the deal?"

Hermione revealed her ring and shoved her hand in front of him. "Don't you recognize this? It's the Lady Potter ring, not a cheap replica."

Ron paled at the sight and then got angry again. "You stole my girl! You know I had feelings for her," he said accusingly to Harry.

"I didn't steal her – she came to me willingly. Besides, for her to be your girl, she must also have some feelings for you, don't you think?" Harry wasn't sure if he was more angered or more amused by Ron's behaviour.

"But she has! Why do we argue all the time?" Ron insisted.

"Ron, the only feelings I have for you are a slight friendship and a lot of annoyance. I've never been your girl and never will be. The sooner you let go of that notion, the better for you." Hermione sounded quite fierce and Ron felt properly intimidated.

"But… my mother said..." he mumbled.

"Whatever your mother may have said is no longer relevant," Hermione insisted.

Ron finally got the notion. He sat down and looked around, noticing Elsa cuddling into Harry the same as Hermione. "If you're married to Hermione, then who is this?" he asked.

"This is my beloved wife, Lady Elsa Peverell. She's going to join us at school. Elsa, this is Ron, of whom I've already told you."

"Nice to meet you, Ron," Elsa said politely. She didn't give him her hand to press or to kiss, though.

Ron huffed for a bit and then asked, "So, where are you going to sleep?"

"According to 'Hogwarts, a History,' there are special family rooms and Lord apartments. One of them will do," Hermione answered.

"You'll sleep together?" he asked.

"That's what married people normally do, you know," Hermione said.

Ron only stayed a few more minutes, his disposition turning sourer, and then left to look for his brothers.

They all felt relieved to be rid of him.

Once the news started spreading out, they had many visitors, though. Parvati and Lavender came first, gushing over the elegant rings and trying to find out as much as possible about the new girl. The Weasley twins came to congratulate, and Harry was glad to introduce Elsa to them.

Of course, it would not be complete without Draco Malfoy trying his usual tricks. The door opened when they were about halfway through the ride and the blond ponce strode in. "I didn't expect even you, Potter, to stoop so low as to marry a Mudblood," he started saying.

"Be careful how you talk about Lady Potter, Draco. The next time you try to say that word you may find it to cost you dearly. The Potter House Magic will protect her," Harry warned him.

"Why? What can you do to me if I call her Mmmmm..." Draco's lips seemed to fuse together, making him unable to speak any longer. He didn't seem to understand what had happened. Harry didn't wait, though. He waved his hand at them and banished Draco and his bodyguards out of the compartment. Although silent and wandless, the banishing was so hard that the three knocked their heads on the corridor's wall and fell in a heap. Another wave of Harry's hand closed the door.

They only had about ten more minutes to reach Hogsmeade station when the lights flickered and the train came abruptly to a stop. The lights flickered a bit longer and then turned off, leaving the train in the dark.

"I don't like it," Harry said. "We should better keep our wands handy."

He didn't need to bother, as both girls held their wands tightly even before he did. The air became suddenly cold, making their breathing show as faint fog in front of them. Although there was no light in the train, the moon was quite bright, as it had been a full moon only a day or two previously.

Harry felt colder by the second. He then started hearing his mother's last moments as the door slid open, revealing a bony hand and a black cloak. Harry tried to concentrate enough to cast a Patronus, as did his wives. His mother's voice in his mind became clearer, yet two silvery apparitions sprang out of the two wands at his sides. They only lasted a second or two, but that was enough for Harry to be able to cast his Patronus, making the Dementor fly away. Another silvery apparition soon came along the corridor, banishing the Dementors and pushing them away.

The lamps flickered back to life almost immediately and the train started moving again. A man came into their compartment a moment later. "Is everybody alright?" he asked, looking worried.

"We're all fine, thank you," Hermione answered, still looking pale.

"Here, take some chocolate. It's very useful after being close to Dementors." He gave each a few bars of chocolate before asking, "Were you the ones who cast the Patronus charm?"

Both Elsa and Hermione nodded.

"That was very impressive for such young girls. If you like, I can train you for better results once we are at school."

The girls seemed delighted, but Harry was still suspicious. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself. I'm Remus Lupin. I'm going to be your defence teacher this term. Who are you?"

Hermione answered for them all. "This is Lord Harry Potter, and we are his wives, Lady Elsa Peverell," she pointed at Elsa, "and Lady Hermione Potter."

He looked a bit shocked at hearing this but overcame his surprise nicely. "I'm glad to meet you, Lord and Ladies Potter. Now, if you don't mind, I need to check the remaining compartments."

Harry looked pensively at the departing man. "I hope he's a better teacher than we had until now."

"He can't be any worse," Hermione noted.

\/\/\/

Professor McGonagall was excited. Two days earlier she got the letter informing her of Harry's marriages, emancipation, and lordship. Although not allowed to show preferences, deep in her heart she had a soft spot for Harry Potter, if only due to his parents.

Close to it was another soft spot for Hermione, now Lady Potter. In a way, this girl was a lot like her, at that age, trying to learn everything. And then there was also the new girl, Lady Elsa Peverell. Knowing both her cubs, she felt quite sure that this new addition would end up in Gryffindor, and prove to be just as smart and as beautiful as Hermione.

Just thinking of Harry and Hermione becoming a couple was warming her heart. They were evidently good for each other, with Harry taking Hermione out of her sometimes excessive studies, while Hermione was keeping Harry safer and helping him improve his scores. She felt sure that without Ron's influence, Harry could have done much better in practically all the subject. This new girl, Elsa, may be a welcome addition to the 'golden trio', or may even replace Ron in it. That would surely be beneficial.

She couldn't dwell on that. She had to make sure everything was in order for the welcome feast and that the Potter apartment was ready.

\/\/\/

Dumbledore was furious. Maybe even beyond furious. His prized weapon, Harry Potter, had just slipped from under his control. Not only that, but the brat had the audacity to gain his Lordship and marry two witches, one of whom was way too smart to allow the headmaster to control her husband, while the other was still an enigma. All he knew about Elsa was her name and that she was joining the other two for school. And to top it all – they only informed him two days before the start of term, making it impossible for him to make any contingency plans for the boy. Now he had to reign his feelings, resume his grandfatherly expression and hope for the best. He still wondered where he went wrong with the boy. Didn't Harry understand that he needed Dumbledore's help to even survive? Why should the boy doubt him, when so many wizards and witches accepted his words without a second thought?

Dumbledore had been the leader of the light for more years than he cared to count. As a leader, he had sometimes faced very difficult decisions, when no choice was good and the best one could do was to choose the lesser evil. That had been the reason he let Snape escape with a partial prophecy, so that Voldemort would not feel above any threat; that had been why he advised the Potters to stay in Britain and not go to one of their continental houses, where they could be safer, the same advice he had given the Longbottoms. For the prophecy to be fulfilled, one child had to be "marked as his equal". Although he hadn't believed Sirius would betray his friends – he had thought Peter was more likely to do so – he had to agree to his punishment with great sorrow, after Sirius had practically confessed.

At least, so he hoped, Harry would grow up to become the great leader Magical Britain needed. Raising a boy to become a leader was no easy task, and he made sure to let the boy face enough hardships to strengthen him, so he would be strong enough when he finally needed to face his destiny, and hopefully win. Had he overdone it? He had never had a child of his own. How could he know? And yet, after making plans and tweaking them to perfection over the years, he was sure he had done the right thing. He couldn't have known that the boy would befriend a girl that proved to be smarter than Lily Evans had been; he couldn't foresee that the boy's family would send him to a summer camp just to keep him away; he couldn't foresee how that would affect his plans. Yet the boy's strength was Love, he knew that from the beginning, and that love made him married to two at such a young age. Maybe it wasn't so bad, really. Maybe he had just put too much confidence in the plans that were deemed to fail.

Dumbledore felt his fury replaced by new determination. He could still help the boy become the weapon to finish Voldemort and then become the next leader of the light. He would need to make new plans, give more credit to the boy and his girls, regain their trust, and then – hopefully – it would all end well.

\/\/\/

When the train reached Hogsmeade, Harry descended first and then gave a hand to each of his wives, helping them on the steep descent. He looked around, noticing Hagrid calling the first year students, the older students walking in groups to the carriages and the laughter of youth, sounding all over. In a way, this was like returning home.

Well, Hogwarts had always felt more like home than the Dursley house, but now he had his own family and he knew he had some other places they could make their home. Still, for the next ten months, Hogwarts would be their home. He kind of liked the idea. He let his wives hold his arms, feeling himself sandwiched with love, and they all walked towards the carriages. Smiling internally, he thought, 'Hogwarts, here we come!'