24 Third Year – part 1

Their new Defence teacher gave them a nice surprise. Unlike the previous ones, he was competent, spoke clearly and knew his subject well. Harry was actually surprised to admit that he liked these lessons. Ron said he was 'mental' for liking any lessons, but Harry didn't feel so close to him any longer. He found that he liked Neville's company much better.

Neville was still very shy and quite forgetful, but as he started studying more with the Potters, it seemed to have a good influence on him. Ron also joined them occasionally, not wanting to give up his position as "Harry Potter's best mate" but not doing much to tighten the friendship either.

Had it not been for the looming presence of the Dementors, Harry could consider it a very pleasant year. Even Snape became more tolerable, aware of Lord Potter being much higher on the social ladder than himself. Still, Harry liked Professor Lupin best.

It was after their defence lesson in the second week, when the professor said, "Lord Potter, I'd like you and your ladies to stay after the lesson. There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

They waited for everybody else to leave, before approaching the teacher's desk. He smiled at them, letting them know that he meant only well.

"I was wondering about your Patronus. Care to tell me how you learned it?"

Harry didn't know how much to tell. Elsa didn't hesitate, though. "My father taught us. Once he learned about the Ministry positioning Dementors near Hogwarts, he insisted that we learn to protect ourselves."

"Didn't he know that this spell is difficult even for adult wizards, and ones as young as you are certainly not expected to master it?"

Elsa smiled. "Oh, he knew all this, but he thought that we're all powerful enough to have a chance, and we only needed to repel the Dementors for a few seconds at most, he was sure."

Lupin was intrigued. "Do you know how powerful you are?"

"Dad couldn't use the standard spell on either Harry or Hermione, because it can't measure that high, and I will probably pass that limit in a few months, I believe." She sounded quite proud of that.

The professor seemed reluctant to believe her. Elsa looked at both other teens and then the three of them cast "Lumos," not holding their wands.

Lupin was almost blinded. He covered his eyes with his hands, realizing that the girl hadn't just bragged. The three finished the spell and waited for him to regain his sight.

"You three are formidably powerful, and I'm very impressed by the way you handle yourselves. Others would have bragged endlessly, had they been even half as powerful as you are." He thought silently for a bit and then added, "I believe you should perfect your Patronus first, and then learn to use your magic in other ways. Lord Potter still has many enemies, and if the Headmaster is correct, his greatest enemy is not yet vanquished. I hope he's wrong, but it's safer to be prepared, just in case."

Elsa smiled again. "That's what my father usually says."

The professor smiled and then turned serious again. "I'd like you to come here every Wednesday, after dinner, and train with me for about an hour. Do you agree?"

Harry looked at both girls who smiled reassuringly at him. "We'll be here every week, if you think we should. Just protecting ourselves from Dementors is certainly worth the extra effort."

"Fine, and don't advertise this, please."

"But why are you offering this private tutoring for us?" Harry asked.

Lupin seemed to reminisce. "Let's say that I do it for the memory of a long-lost friend. I'll tell you more some other time. Now, off for dinner. It looks like we can all benefit from a meal."

Yet Lupin wasn't the only one who wanted to help. Dumbledore asked to meet them a few days later. "I've given thorough consideration to your new position, Lord Potter. Your bond, your marriages, and your emancipation created a whole new situation that I think you may use to make some long overdue changes in our society."

"What do you mean, Headmaster?" Harry asked cautiously. He didn't want to become someone's puppet.

Dumbledore sat back and seemed to gear himself for a lecture. "You may not know, but the politics of wizarding Britain is very dynamic, probably due to the small size of its population. There are roughly a hundred members in the Wizengamot, an institution that serves as our legislative body and also as our supreme court. Most of the seats are hereditary, so mostly old families are represented, sometimes holding more than one vote, while newer ones have no voice in there. Your family holds at least one seat – the Potter one, which is currently manned by a ministry employee. I suspect you can also claim a few additional seats, at least the Gryffindor, being a direct descendant of that line, and the Slytherin, by right of conquest, having defeated its last known scion. Yet even taking only your Potter seat can have a great impact, forcing others to reconsider their alliances. I think that I know you and Lady Potter well enough to feel quite safe that you would oppose any injustice and try your best to represent those who have no vote in there."

Harry was not really surprised. Elsa's parents had already told him some of this, yet he didn't think he could do much, being so young. Dumbledore was evidently thinking differently.

"I'm sure your parents-in-law can teach you quite a bit about politics, and I'm ready to teach and advise you as much as you'd like me to, yet I strongly suggest that you take your position and start asserting your influence, before Malfoy and his ilk become unstoppable. I have a hunch you wouldn't like that."

Harry glanced at Elsa, who nodded slightly. He didn't need to look at Hermione. He could feel her encouragement in his mind. "How can we proceed, then?" he asked.

"You should first take your Lord ring, that is the key to gaining your seat in the Wizengamot," Dumbledore said.

Harry let his ring become visible. "You mean this ring?" he asked.

Dumbledore barely managed to hide his surprise. "Indeed, this one. I believe that you may also ask for the rings pertaining to any additional lordships that you have. Not every one of them may give you an additional vote, but they will make your position more secure and give you more influence. It's up to you to make good use of it."

Harry seemed a bit overwhelmed by the additional responsibilities his lordships seemed to bring. Dumbledore understood this immediately. "I thought, and I still think so, that burdening such a young person with so much responsibility is not wise. I hoped you could have an as normal childhood and adolescence as possible and then, just before reaching adulthood, to teach you about your position and its meanings. This decision has been taken out of my hand by you gaining your lordship so early and by your marriages, so now I'd like to help you as much as I can, in order to make you really able to take the burden and not let it crush you."

Harry didn't feel like it was completely true. He had a feeling that Dumbledore had some additional motives, ones he was not yet willing to disclose. Despite that feeling, he considered the old man's words and came to the conclusion that he should take the help offered. He felt Hermione supporting his decision and Elsa just nodded, although somewhat reluctantly.

"Thank you, headmaster. We may really need some advice and more than a bit of tutoring if we want to make a change. Do you have a suggestion about how we may proceed?"

Dumbledore felt some new hope rising inside. He would need to act carefully, to give much more credit to this boy and his two wives, and then they would be able to make a better future possible. "I think I can meet you once a week for about two hours, Would Friday evening, a bit after dinner, be fine with you?"

Harry nodded. "Sure. It will still leave our weekends free for other studies and for spending time with our friends."

Dumbledore smiled. "That's the spirit! You shouldn't neglect your friends as you may never know when you might need them."

\/\/\/

Life at school seemed to return to its normal pace for a few weeks, except for the sleeping arrangements and the entertainment they brought to the young family. Yet it couldn't stay that way for long. Come Halloween, Sirius Black seemed to have made his way to the Gryffindor tower, where he attacked the Fat Lady painting. Many felt sure this attack was intended at Harry.

"I don't think so. I'm quite sure that he'd also heard about me getting married, as that was not a secret," Harry commented. The news of him getting married appeared in The Prophet, although, quite surprisingly, it only made it to the back page, along with the news about the birth of a three-headed cat and some minor gossip. He was quite relieved to not attract more attention than that, although it brought the girls some hate mail, quickly disposed of by the house elves.

Ron's rat was frightened by all the excitement and fled, hiding somewhere in the dorms. Helping Ron find his rat after the incident made Harry aware of another phenomenon, which he later discussed with his wives. "My ring seemed to sense Scabbers. Whenever it came near him, it heated a bit. This helped me find where it burrowed its way into the mattress, yet I don't think the ring intended me to find that rat. What could it mean?"

Hermione had no idea, but Elsa considered the new information. "Lord and Lady rings are usually including many enchantments to protect their owners. If I remember correctly, they turn warmer when there's a danger. Maybe that rat is dangerous to you?"

Harry shrugged. "How can it be? The most it can do is bite my hand. It may be painful and may even cause infection, but nothing that the healer can't promptly handle."

"We don't yet know what this means," Hermione agreed, "but I think we should pay attention to that rat whenever it is nearby. If all our rings get warmer, it may be more than mere coincidence."

That was as far as they could get on this subject. As Harry was no longer sleeping near Ron, and Ron was rarely taking his rat out, this was not something they bothered about.

\/\/\/

Although they were taking the tutoring in Politics very seriously, none of them felt ready before Christmas break, which they spent mostly in France, along with both pairs of in-laws. Gerard took advantage of the vacation to also teach the youngsters some more about Politics, things that the Headmaster had not spoken of yet, but he considered quite important.

The winter break was also time for fun, though. As Harry was the only one who had never tried to ski, everybody else made it their task to teach him. It cost him a few embarrassing falls and a few painful incidents, but Harry soon proved to be almost as good on his skis as on his broom. Despite the cold, they also enjoyed the pool, which was protected from the weather, giving them all the opportunity to enjoy some nude fun for a while.

It was Harry's first Christmas with a loving family, and he enjoyed it tremendously. His wives loved him, of that there could be no doubt, but he was actually surprised time and again to find that his in-laws loved him too. And then, there was Christmas morning, with all the presents. Harry had brought some very nice jewels from his vault to give as presents to his wives, and some simpler jewels for his mothers-in-law and Elsa's sisters. He let the girls choose presents for their fathers, as he had no idea what he could bring them. It never occurred to him that he would also get some presents. After overcoming his initial shock at receiving presents, he found he really enjoyed it, almost as much as giving presents. The girls didn't surprise him, as each gave him a book, yet none would allow him to open it in front of their parents. The Granger couple gave him a set of formal clothes, to be used at the New-year party. Elsa's parents gave him a long package, that made him wonder, until he opened it to find a brand new broom. "This is the best French broom, supposedly better than the new British Firebolt. Elsa was fascinated by the way you play Quidditch and I thought that you may benefit from such a broom. It would have been a waste to give it to any other member of the family," Gerrard told him.

They returned to England in time to join the elder Granger for the New Year Ball, given by the Dentist Association. Although this was Harry's first Ball, he found that he liked it very much, especially since it meant hugging his wives for most of the evening, which made them very horny by the time they returned home, also giving him a very enjoyable night.