HP Life after Hogwarts
Chapter 10
Aftermath
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Harry breaks the bad news to the others.
--
Hogwarts
Harry returned to the castle and his family immediately confronted him.
"WHERE ARE JAMES AND RORY?!" Lily grabbed him by the lapels of his leather jacket. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BABY?"
"Dad and Rory are at home." He rarely saw his mother this upset, but he knew not to sugar coat the details about his sister's condition. "She and another Auror, Mac Flamel, got caught unawares by an unusual yet ancient device. The result of that was Rory getting a face full of blinding dust. Master Chen treated her eyes, but it's going to take nearly a month for them to heal. Meantime, Rory is unable to see."
"Mum, you go to Rory." Dromi tried to remain calm and not focus on her twin's condition. "We'll take care of the twins."
Harry hugged his mother close. "It's going to be okay, Mum. Master Chen is going to make sure of that. Now do as Dromi says and go to her. We've got everything covered here."
"Dromi and Harry are right, Mum." Draco and Luna gave their mother a hug.
"I'll see you in a while then." Lily vanished.
"How bad is she Harry?" Dromi stared up into her brother's eyes.
"She can't see anything, because her eyes are pretty much swollen shut." Harry hugged his sister. "Dad and Master Chen say that she's going to be fine and just needs to heal. She'll be ornery as hell when it all sets in, but when I left she was more worried about Wills reaction, and defending Mac than being blind."
"Mac is a hotshot, but he would never put her in danger, unless he thought it would benefit the mission somehow." Logan frowned.
"Who were they doing surveillance on anyway?" Draco couldn't put his finger on what would cause blinding dust to blow up in ones face.
"The Mystical Warriors of the Far East," Harry was thinking about what this was gonna mean for all of them and if another big bad was on the horizon. "Rory described them as wearing clothing similar to that of what the muggles refer to as a ninja. They are famous for gadgets like the one that Rory and Mac came across. I just don't get why Uncle Max would send anyone to tangle with them. They never take sides unless someone hires them to assassinate someone. Why would headquarters want to mess with them?"
"If they were on that list, then they're now wanted witches or wizards. Dad doesn't care if they're neutral or not." Logan shrugged his shoulders. "Injuring your sister puts them on the top of the most wanted list."
"Logan, your Dad needs to think before he acts. I don't wish to find myself facing off with them anytime soon." Harry grumbled. "I'm taking a gap year or two."
"No one is expecting you to face off with anyone. Rory and Mac were sent there to see where their loyalties lied and clearly they have no interest in stirring anything up here with any of us." Max walked into the room with Mac.
"I really don't think that they were attacking us. They seem to be having ghoul problems and were trying to snuff them out." Mac was convinced that they hadn't been seen.
"They have a sixth sense when it comes to detecting wizards. I've no doubt that they were just toying with you. It's their favorite means of playing with an opponent. James and I tangled with the most notorious of their lot. He ended up like Rory and the other guy ended up dead." Sirius didn't have fond memories of that time. "Voldemort hired Xian Rai and James and I were sent to prevent him from carrying out what he was hired to do. James didn't very much care about anything during that time. This clash occurred nearly three years after Lily had left him and his precious baby girls had died. He was just out to make any Dark Wizard or Witch's life hell. He was hurting, so he wanted everyone else to do the same. Xian clashed with James and the result of that was him getting blinded by one of those gadgets, but besting Xian. Who, I guess in his culture, took his own life rather than be captured or imprisoned. It was a first for the two of us, even though Master Chen taught us about ancient honor and the like. The thing is if the bloke had gone to assassinate Uncle Stephen and not Uncle Albus…I truly think that James would have let him do it. He was that pissed at his dad at the time."
"James was out to make anyone associated with Voldemort's life a living hell. He wasn't about to let anyone take out another person of his family, so the hunter became the hunted." Max remembered that time all too well. "The outcome of that battle was your mother nursing him back to health again, the two of them reconciling, and Harry's birth."
"Damn it all! Did I ask either of you for details?!" Harry snarled at them. "This really bites! Now I have no choice, but to deal with this lot, because they hurt my sister!"
"Harry, no way! You are not dealing with them or going on any mission!" Hermione was standing in the doorway and she was not pleased.
"Rory was hurt and I have to pay this lot back in full!" Harry turned to glare at her. "I do not wish to have sinister wizards like that on the loose or as a threat to my family! I won't take that risk!"
"You promised me no missions and I am holding you to that promise!" Hermione got right in his face.
"Rory is blind, Hermione! I can't just sit on my hands when someone intentionally hurt my sister! It's clear that these wizards think that they're beyond the law and that needs to change!"
"Then put them on retainer, so they can't break the rules!" Hermione growled. "Hire them and make them fall into line! They follow a strict code of honor and will not cross it!"
"Hire them?" Harry thought about the idea and slowly a grin replaced his scowl. "That's a brilliant idea, my heart. Hire the assassins and by doing so leash them from doing foul deeds."
"It's insane to hire paid assassins! I mean we are the good guys for Merlin's sake!" Max scowled.
"We are also honor bound to prevent wrong doings when we can and this is a brilliant way to do that." Hermione countered.
"In an insane way Hermione does have a point." Logan liked the idea of knowing that they were in control of such a powerful potential threat.
"As usual she comes up with a brilliant but insane idea." Draco agreed.
"That's our Hermione, she'll do anything to keep Harry out of harms way." Sirius smirked.
"I'm just happy that she's on our side." Mac grinned.
"It does seem the least violent way to deal with them." Dromi agreed.
"I'll have a chat with Master Chen tonight and see how I go about arranging a meeting. If anyone would know how it's him." Harry's mind was set.
"We'll just see what Stephen and Dad have to say about this!" Max stalked out of the room.
"Let's pack it up and head for home. We have a sister that needs us." Harry changed his focus to Rory and getting back home.
--
Rory didn't feel much like being confined in bed. She felt caged in and helpless, two feelings that she absolutely loathed.
"Daddy, I'll be fine. You don't need to watch over me. Mum is worried sick about everything, so you need to go back to her." She instinctively knew that her father was still in her room. It hadn't been two hours since she had lost her sight and already her senses were beyond acute.
"No can do, princess. I know that it's frustrating, but you need someone to look after you." James got up from the LuvSac and went to go hold his daughter.
"I've been blinded like this before. I know that it blows not being able to see, knowing that you have to rely on others for assistance for even the most mundane of tasks, and all the while loathing every second of it." He got her situated in his arms, before continuing with his story. "Your mother and I reconciled after she took care of me during my month long blinding ordeal. I was monstrous towards her at first, because I thought she was taking care of me out of pity. The very idea that she was taking pity on me made my blood boil. You see I was so angry back then and it took time for me to realize that it was out of love and not pity that she was looking after me. The result of that was the two of us reconciling and your brother was born after that."
"I'm scared to tell Wills what happened…" She whimpered shakily. "I know that I have to tell him the truth…" She was fighting back tears. "He's going to be really cross with me for even agreeing to go on the mission and I don't think I can take that right now." She buried her face against her father's shoulder and gave into her tears.
"Not necessarily baby doll, he's in the army, and leave gets canceled all the time. I'll give Andrew a ring and see if we can't postpone their freedom until Friday of next week." James stroked her hair and let her cry.
"No you can't do that Daddy! Dromi and Henry don't deserve to suffer because of my cowardice." She was sobbing even harder now.
"Anyone home?" Two very familiar male voices called out from the front entryway.
"Dad and Granny got us sprung a day early." Wills used the intercom to see if anyone was home and his voice filtered into the bedroom.
"I'm doomed." Rory moaned miserably.
"News travels fast in any world…Dad must have contacted Andrew and Elizabeth." James used the remote control to activate the intercom in the room. "Welcome home, boys. Everyone is on their way back home from Hogwarts, after watching the twins win their first Quidditch match."
"Uncle James, is Rory with them? I've had this feeling that something is wrong with her, but I can't check on her. She's blocking me out and has been for the past two days." Wills answered back.
"He's been driving me crazy about it, an hour ago he came down with this brutal headache in his eyes, and he insists it's because Rory is hurt or sick." Henry commented in the background. "I say that nearly two months of hard training has finally made him crack that and he's sleep deprived."
"Rory was hurt this afternoon…" James didn't get to say anything else because Wills hit the roof.
"WHAT?! IS SHE BADLY HURT?! I'LL BE RIGHT UP!" Wills left the kitchen and rushed to their suite to see what had happened to his wife.
"Oh well, I can always raid the fridge later." Henry was hot on his heels.
"Nice going Daddy," Rory moaned miserably.
"Sorry princess. I forgot how high-strung he was."
"I'll be hiding in the horse barn, while you tell him what happened." She vanished from his arms, just before Wills came rushing into their suite.
"WHERE IS SHE?!" Wills wasn't at all pleased when he found only James and no Rory.
"Calm down, Wills. It can't be that bad if she's able to hide." Henry tried to calm him down.
"Yes, son, calm down. You spooked her into hiding and that really isn't what she needs right now." James narrowed his eyes at him.
"Why would Katherine Aurora wish to hide from me? She knows that I worship the ground she walks on and would never hurt her in a million years." He was at a loss about what was going on with his wife. She was still blocking him out and that worried him even more.
"Explain to me why her getting hurt would enrage me enough to…" He paused in midsentence, when he caught sight of her Auror robes draped carelessly over the divan, and his temper flared even more.
"SHE WENT ON A MISSION DIDN'T SHE!? THAT'S HOW SHE GOT HURT ISN'T IT!?"
When he still hadn't answered him he glared murderously at James.
"ANSWER ME DAMN IT!"
"I will when you calm down…"
"NO!! I BLOODY WELL WILL NOT, UNTIL I GET ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS! DID SHE OR DID SHE NOT GO ON A MISSION AND IS THAT WHERE SHE GOT HURT?! I WANT THE TRUTH AND NOT ONE OF BABY BROTHER'S WELL THOUGHTOUT LIES THAT HE USES ON THE PRESS!" Wills vented weeks of frustration on his father-in-law.
James decided that Wills had the right to know the truth. "Max sent her and another Auror on a routine reconnaissance mission this weekend and didn't bother to fill me or Dad in on his decision to send her off on her first field mission."
"Go on."
"The recon was on a group of wizards in the Far East. Max had no solid intel on them, so he thought it would be safe to send Rory and another field experienced Auror."
Wills reigned in the urge to tear something in half and managed to ask his next question. "Then how did the mission end up with my wife getting hurt?"
"These wizards don't play fair and like to teach interlopers to think twice before ever spying on them again…Damn it to hell! I don't need to sugar coat things for you, so here's what they came across! They ended up tangling with a lot who in the Muggle World are called Shadow Warrior's or ninja's. In our world they are known as the Mystical Warriors of The East." James raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.
Wills and Henry gaped opened mouthed at him.
"They have devices that aren't people friendly and tossed one at Rory's and Auror Flamel's feet. It blew up and rendered Rory temporarily sightless…"
Wills swore fluently for a good five minutes and slammed his fist into the wall.
"Neither of them had ever seen anything like the small silver ball, so Flamel decided to pick it up, which activated the device." James reached in his pocket and showed them the two halves of the silver ball. "It was a blinding ball. Flamel wears glasses, so he only ended up seeing spots. Rory got it full in the face, but the two of them made it safely back to Master Chen, who immediately started treatment for her eyes."
Wills sat down on the LuvSac and buried his face in his hands.
"No wonder we got sprung early. Rory needed you." Henry placed a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Where is she?" Wills looked up at James.
"She's hiding out in the horse barn, until you cool down." James walked over to him. "Chen's coming here to personally tend to Rory, so she'll be better in no time. It's going to take nearly a month for her eyes to heal, for most of it she'll be sightless, until the last few days when her eyes will slowly adjust to seeing again. I should know. I've been victim to one of these devices before."
"I'll leave tending Rory to you." Henry knew that Wills needed his space. "I'll be raiding the fridge if you need me."
"This Flamel character got curious and bungled their mission and her eyes. If you ask me he needs to go back for extensive training." Wills growled. "My Aurora is a rookie and I'd wager my crown that she didn't even think of touching that device."
"She really gave him a tongue-lashing for his screw up too." James grinned.
"Well, of course she gave him a tongue-lashing, that's my tigress we're talking about here. Did she have to get them out of the mess as well?" Now that his temper had ebbed Wills was able to think rationally.
"That's how they got into the enemies lair, using her natural ability to apparate soundlessly without a wand, so it's a given that she got them to Chen's in one piece." James nodded. "Mac Flamel is his name. Though, I seriously doubt he's as brilliant as Max claims him to be."
"If he's single, breathing, and male he was probably focusing on not leering at Rory." Wills got up to go get his wife. "You'd best feed Henry before he ransacks Harry's kitchen. Meantime, I'm going to see about taking care of my princess."
--
Rory decided to hide out in one of the empty stalls and curled up under a blanket. It was then that she continued to let herself have a good cry. William was going to hate her now, she was blind, and had failed miserably on her first mission. She was willing to bet that this bungle had probably cost her any chance of going on another mission anytime soon.
Ginger guarded over her mistress by sitting in front of the door to the empty stall. She looked up in surprise when her master walked into the barn, but did not leave her post.
"Hello sweetie. Is your Mum hiding around here somewhere?" Wills reached down to pick up the nearly full-grown kitten in his arms. "I missed you too girl. My word, have you grown." He scratched her behind her ears.
Ginger purred happily in his arms, delighting in being held by her master again, and was certain that seeing her master would put a smile on her mistress's face again.
"Sweetheart, I'm not mad at you. It's not your fault that Uncle Max paired you with a bloke that had the intelligence of a garden gnome." Wills looked into the stall and caught sight of Rory huddled under a blanket in the corner.
"You didn't bungle anything up and saved both yours and his skins. It's him that needs a stripe taken off him not you." He opened the door to the stall and walked over to kneel in front of her.
Ginger leaped from his arms onto Rory's lap.
Rory cuddled the cat in her arms. "I'm sorry that I bungled everything for us and now your stuck taking care of me during your first real taste of freedom in months." She buried her face against Gingers fur and continued to sob tears of utter misery.
Wills sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. "That's nonsense talk. You didn't bungle anything up." He rested his chin on top of her head. "I love you and it tears me up inside knowing that you got hurt and I wasn't there for you when you needed me. We take care of each other, it's a vow that we made to each other remember?"
Rory let Ginger go, so she could bury her face against the soft cashmere of his sweater. "I hate this Wills. I'm practically helpless like this and it's frustrating as hell!" She grumbled miserably.
"You helpless," Wills kissed the top of her head and cuddled her closer to him. "No way, it's not possible; it's just not in you to just give up on anything and being blind, well, that's just another challenge for you to conquer."
"I'm sorry to break it to you, but I'm a fraud. I only act sure of myself, because it's the only way to survive in both our worlds. The truth is when I get hurt or sick I like to whimper and moan just like anyone else." She sniffled miserably.
"Your secret is safe with me. Now let's get you back to our suite and I will hold you while you nap." He rose with her cradled in his arms.
"Can we go riding instead?" She tilted her face up towards his. "I'm blind not an invalid. I like the feel of the wind on my face." She pouted.
"I don't know, Aurora. What did Master Chen say for your Dad to do as soon as he got you home?"
"That I needed my rest, but really William I'm fine." She whimpered. "Not being able to see, I feel caged as it is."
"I know that your freedom has been taken away from you, but that's no reason to risk making your eyes worse by going riding until you're given the okay to do so." Wills let Ginger leap up into Rory's arms and then carried her out of the stall and out of the horse barn. "Don't even think of vanishing either or I promise you the outcome will be you spending the rest of this month at Windsor castle with Grams or at Clarence House, after I go back to Sandhurst. Which I know will make you have to behave until your eyes completely heal."
"This is so bloody unfair!" She glared angrily up at the sky. "I hate being helpless! Do you hear me those of you up there that are having a good chuckle over this!? I know that life is meant to have bumps and bruises along the road, but this is above and beyond any lesson that I needed to learn!" She was so upset with her situation that her temper called up a rain shower.
"Throwing a temper tantrum isn't going to make me change my mind either." Wills continued his way up to the main house then paused right by the guest cottage. "What if we get you settled in somewhere other than our suite?"
"I don't feel like going to Highgrove either."
Rain started gently falling on them, but he ignored it. "I figured as much, besides that's where the press is going to be swarming. So how about the guest cottage right here at Sanctuary?"
"I just need some space from the family, until I can come to terms with my temporary blindness. The guest cottage is a nice quiet spot where they can all know where I am and still allow me the space that I need." Rory liked his idea.
"Then it's settled, I'll get you settled in the guest cottage, and then have Dobby or Kreacher move some of our things in here as well." Wills opened the door to the cottage and got the two of them out of the rain.
"That's a brilliant plan dreamboat, but Dobby, Winky, and Kreacher are currently off doing things of their own, which means that you will have to move some of our stuff here by yourself." She filled him in on some of the things that he had missed while away at training.
"Dobby and Winky got hitched two weeks ago and a delighted Kreacher, who it turns out, is Dobby's grandfather, left on a holiday of his own. Dani is taking after her Daddy a little too well and so they used a binding charm to rein in her and her sisters budding magical abilities. I'm not so sure that it did a lot of good since a storm brews when she's mad. She can still use her link to talk to her parents; in fact all three of them can, and can bring a toy or her bottle to her when she wants them. Hermione joined Puddlemere United and they won yesterday against the Falmouth Falcons 1150 points to 300. The Beaters of the other team didn't fancy getting trounced by Harry and the others, so they sent a bludger at Harry's right arm, after he caught the snitch, and the result was a torn ligament in his right wrist."
Wills set her down on a divan in the bedroom. "The girl's now that's news, but as for the other the twins have found a way to keep Henry and I in the loop. We get The Quibbler early in the morning and after we finish reading it the paper disposes of itself. There was a short bit about Dobby and Winky's wedding, but the humorous bits are done by Kreacher himself. He's doing a column called Kreacher's Travels. Last, I read he was in Loch Ness in Scotland. I imagine it's to reel in new subscribers in the Elf population…"
He stopped rambling when she removed the wet bandages revealing her angry swollen eyelids that she still could not open. "Oh, Baby doll, are you in pain?" Wills sat down on a hassock in front of her, so he could get a closer look at her injury, and cradled her face between his hands.
"My eyes smart a little when I try to open them," She patiently sat there while he gently explored her face with the tips of his fingers. "I must look hideous to the eyes right now. But since I can't see right now all I can do is." She very nearly jumped off the divan when she felt Wills place soft kisses across her injured eyelids.
"I'm sorry, baby, I wasn't thinking. Did I hurt you?" Wills pulled back as if she'd physically slapped him.
"No…you didn't hurt me…it's just…my senses are so acute now and I wasn't…" Her voice trembled and tears of frustration streamed down her flushed cheeks.
"Oh, for the love of magic, save yourself a monumental headache and go spend your leave around people who aren't going to act like a startled doe when you touch them!! I mean, all that you did was place feather soft kisses on my face and I go and act like I've been stupefied or something!" She tried to stand up, but Wills had a firm hold on her shoulders and was keeping her right where she was sitting. "Go I tell you! You can come back when I'm me again!"
"Feel better now or do you need to holler at me some more? Nothing you say or do is going to make me go anywhere." Wills was speaking to her as if she were a toddler. "Just because you tarnished your perfect record doesn't mean you aren't my Katherine Aurora Lily Elizabeth. I hate to burst your bubble, angel. No one, not even our omni powerful family in Avalon, is perfect."
"I KNOW HOW IT WORKS, WILLIAM ARTHUR PHILLIP LOUIS! I GREW UP AROUND ALL OF IT!" Rory screamed at him in frustration. "I JUST NEVER THOUGH IN A MILLION YEARS, THAT THEY WOULD EVER ZERO IN ON ME!"
His eyebrows shot up in response to her assertion of her current situation. "I never knew how much of a snob you can be." He cut her off before she could scream anything at him. "Babe, like it or not, you are as much of a target as the rest of us now, and maybe this is their way of reminding you of that. Everything happens for a reason, sweetie. It just takes time to realize what that will eventually turn out to be."
He once again had her cradled in his arms. "The last thing either of us needs is to catch a chill, so a nice long soothing soak in the tub will do us both a world of good."
"Won't that aggravate the blisters on your feet?" Rory instantly became concerned about his tender feet.
He and Henry both hadn't thought about the consequences about not breaking in their boots, as was suggested two months before entering Sandhurst. The result was the two of them getting severely blistered feet, after the weeklong wilderness and survival exercise.
"My feet are nearly healed and hardly even bother me anymore." He set her down on her feet, so he could turn on the taps for their bath.
It didn't surprise him in the least when vials of potion appeared on the edge of the tub. He just added them to the water. "It taught Henry and me to never procrastinate about breaking in regulation boots."
"You do that and I'll remember to never follow along with situations that end badly." Rory rested her head against his shoulder. She wasn't feeling all that hot again, her head was hurting, and her eyes were sore.
"I second that completely." Wills had her sit on the edge of the tub, left her just long enough to lock the doors to the cottage, and then went to tend to his love.
--
"Where is she?!" Lily wasn't very pleased to find James with Henry in the kitchen eating Marauder sandwiches, instead of tending to their oldest daughter.
James winced in pain, when she grabbed a fist full of his hair, and yanked on it. "Oi Red, easy on the hair! Rory is with Wills in the guest cottage! She's grouchy as hell, but otherwise fine!"
"FINE?! FINE!? OUR DAUGHTER IS BLIND! SHE IS MOST CERTAINLY NOT FINE!" Lily seethed, yanking even harder still on his hair.
"Rory bolted as soon as they arrived. I told Wills the whole situation and he went to go see to his wife! He found her in the horse barn, so the two of them both compromised on retreating to the guest cottage for a while! She doesn't want to be fussed over, because like I said she is ornery as hell! Now let go of my bloody hair!" James reached up and pried her fingers off his hair.
"It's raining what if her bandages get wet?" Lily worried her lower lip with her teeth.
"WHAT IF HER BANDAGES GET WET?! LILY, HAVE YOU LOST ALL SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE?!" He was barely holding his temper in check and that last statement ended what little control that he had. "SHE'LL TAKE THEM OFF AND LET HER EYES BREATH FOR A WHILE, THEN WHEN CHEN GETS HERE HE CAN REBANDAGE THEM, BECAUSE YOU SURE AS HELL AREN'T MENTALLY ABLE TO DO SO! MY GOD WOMAN IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAVEN'T DONE THIS BEFORE!! I WAS BLINDED BY THE SAME SHIT OR DON'T YOU REMEMBER THAT?!" He roared at her.
Lily, white-faced with her eyes brimming with tears, stared at him as if he had slapped her. "I'm sorry...James..." She bit back a sob. "She's our baby and I hate it that she's suffering..." The first tear spilled down her flushed cheek. "Your eyes felt like they were on fire the first week or so and I cannot bear to see any of my babies in pain!" She found herself being comforted in the arms of her husband.
"Sweetheart, that was nearly nineteen years ago and Chen has mastered even more powerful remedies for this kind of injury. I was there when he was treating her eyes and what he put on them almost completely ended any of her discomfort." James was helpless when Lily cried and he tried his best to reassure her. "She was as I told you grouchy as hell, but not in pain like I was when it happened to me."
"Of course, she wasn't in any pain. I am a Master Healer am I not?" In a flash of blue lightning Chen appeared in the kitchen. "I have taken the guest quarters that remind me of home. Rory is being tended to by William and will return to the manor when she is ready and not before." He narrowed sea green eyes at what James and Henry had been eating and growled. "We will all be eating healthy meals unlike Marauder sandwich."
Henry finished off his chocolate milk shake. "Sorry Master teacher, but while on leave I intend to indulge myself. I get all the healthy meals that I can stomach at Sandhurst."
"One must not undo ones training. So tonight healthy you shall eat." Chen set about making dinner.
"Yeah, right whatever." Henry shrugged his shoulders as if in defeat. "I'm gonna check on the Griffs." He got up, gathered his dishes, put them in the dishwasher, and then beat a hasty retreat out of the kitchen.
"Discipline, that boy is sorely lacking in it." Chen muttered.
"On the contrary master, he's on leave. And that's the last thing on his mind." James settled both him and Lily at the breakfast nook and shared the rest of his sandwich with her.
--
Henry was nearly finished grooming Goldie, when he felt two very familiar arms wrap around his waist, and found himself hugged by them. "Fair warning, my lady…I am a married wizard prince who took a princess fairy witch for a wife." He didn't turn around and continued to groom Goldie.
"A Princess fairy witch is it…Oh my, is she the jealous type?" Dromi purred into his ear.
"Aye that she is my lady and very possessive of my body." He forced himself to finish grooming Goldie, as she continued to play the role of seductress.
"I can see why she would be. You are very well put together." She reached down and playfully patted his derrière.
Henry now finished grooming Goldie, sent her back to her mate with a playful slap on her flank. He then turned around to focus on his own mate. "Hello my beautiful wife." He growled softly.
Dromi wrapped her arms around his neck and beamed up at him. "Hello my hunky husband."
The two of them kissed and savored to feel being in each other's arms again.
"Gods, I missed you." He buried his face in her fragrant fiery red mane of hair. "Dreams just aren't enough." He growled hoarsely and kissed her again.
The two of them vanished from the Hippogriff barn.
--
Harry automatically went about tending to the girls, as his mind continued to dwell on the current situation that had arisen. Hermione's plan while brilliant continued to have one fatal flaw. How did one go about asking an honorable ancient like Chen to set up a meeting with very shady assassins? Uncle Max had no doubt spoken to his grandfather by now and it was only a matter of time before he would arrive and confront him about this latest insane brainstorm of Hermione's. "Your Mummy's plan is brilliant, but I'm afraid that it might not come to be." Harry kissed Dani's foot, as he dressed her in a sleeper.
"My plan is flawless." Hermione was tending to Mia on another changing table.
"Angel, I can't just walk over and ask Master Chen how I go about arranging a meeting with assassins. It wouldn't go over well with Mum, Dad, or Master teacher." Harry chuckled when Dani reached up to grab at his nose. "Yes princess, that's Daddy's nose." He kissed her fingers.
"No I suppose not, so we'll have to speak with Master Teacher alone." Hermione blew raspberries on Mia's tummy. The nearly nine-week-old infant kicked her feet and squealed happily up at her.
Chen appeared in the nursery. "Six hands are sometimes better than four." He walked over to Ally's baby carrier and picked her up in his arms. "Have each of them began to show their various personalities and traits?" He asked when Ally stared intently up at him before zeroing in on the shinny golden fastenings of his tunic.
"They may look identical, but they are very much their own individual persons. Mia takes after me, she's the content one, and hardly gives us any trouble at all. Ally also takes more after me than Harry; she tends to be the watcher and is a very good baby, who hardly fusses at all. Dani takes after her father in many ways, so much so we had Merlin perform the Magus Modestus charm on her. She is the most high-strung of the three and tends to demand the most attention." Hermione took on answering the question.
"Gee, thanks honey. I was beginning to think that all I did was lend a hand in their creation. It's nice to know that at least one of them takes after me." Harry decided that a little bit of correcting was in order.
"I would like to point out that Mia and Ally are very patient babies, a trait that they got from me." Harry walked over to Chen switching Ally for Dani, so he could get her ready for bed. "Dani is the only one so far that is showing off her magic. She brings her bottle or pacifier to her or her sisters. She can communicate quite well using her link to us. She has called up a storm or two and tends to be the hotter tempered of the three. It's a bit frightening to think that she can still do all of that with her magic binded, but other than that she is a very well-behaved baby."
"Harry, I wasn't saying anything to get you riled up. I was merely answering Master Teacher's question." Hermione tried to soothe his ruffled fur.
"I can solve this little argument with these words. The three of them take after you both equally. This little one just wishes to spread her wings. This shouldn't be a surprise, because Danielle has always seemed the strongest of the three." Chen conjured a colorful stuffed dragon for her to cuddle and Dani instantly fell in love with her new toy.
"From your mouth to her ears..." Harry muttered, as he got Ally ready for bed. "Daddy loves each of you for whom you are and it doesn't matter who got what from whom." Harry kissed Ally's feet.
Hermione put Mia down in her crib for the night then turned to focus on Harry. "You are acting like a child." She chided.
Harry carried Ally over to her crib and got her settled for the night. "Night princess sleep tight. I love you." He kissed her on her downy cap of reddish brown curls and then did the same with Mia.
Chen stood up with a sleeping Dani in his arms and handed her to Harry. "Just be proud of your offspring and let whatever else pass through you like the wind through the trees." He gave Harry some sound advice then conjured two more dragons for Ally and Mia to cuddle.
Harry nodded, but didn't say a word as he put Dani down for the night. "Sleep tight munchkin. I love you." He crooned softly before kissing her good night as he had with her sisters. "Master Chen, let's you and I go have a chat. There's something that I want to run by you." He growled softly as not to awaken the girls.
"I came up here to tell you both that dinner was ready. Our talk will have to wait until after we eat." Chen vanished from the nursery.
--
"Harry…" Hermione knew that he was upset over what she had said and wanted to make things right with him.
Harry on the other hand wasn't having any of it. "Just don't Hermione. I'm not happy with you right now." He narrowed his eyes to slits.
:I have half a mind to personally deal with this current situation head on. While you stay here tending to what you honestly believe to be your precious copies and my little misfit!: He used their link to let her know how hurt and angry he was by her words and then vanished.
:Now Harry, don't be that way, you know that I didn't mean it like that.: Hermione went after him.
:Save it Hermione! I know damn well that you meant what you said! Ally and Mia are the good babies and so take after you! Dani is what?! The misfit of the three for taking after me! Thanks a lot! Just so you know, since it has completely passed your attention, Dani is just as good a baby as her sisters. The two of them demand just as much attention as she does! I can't believe that you have them all in categories! The content one, the watcher, and my favorite the demanding one!: Harry decided to block her completely out for a while and focused on dinner.
"This looks delicious, Master Chen." He took his seat at the dinner table.
"Why thank you, young one." Chen bent to growl something in his ear. "She's just envious because Dani has taken more to you as well as after you. Now clear all of that temper out of your mind. If you cannot then take a run and then come back and eat dinner."
Lily could tell that Harry was in a temper, saw the way Hermione reluctantly took a seat at the table, and figured the two of them had rowed about something. "Your father is chatting with your grandfather about something and will join us in a few minutes."
"When did Gramps arrive?" Harry frowned.
"Just before you sat down for dinner and Mum went up to peek in on the twins and the girls. I just finished feeding the twins' dinner."
"It must be nice to be a Mum and be able to love your children equally, but then you're a pro at it aren't you." Harry commented softly.
"Harry, all Mothers love their children equally and it matters not if they're first time mothers." Lily could see that this must have something to do with why he was in a temper, because Hermione's face instantly flushed crimson in response to his comment to her, and refused to look up at anyone at the table. "Whatever made you think otherwise?"
"Oh, I don't know. You see I learned the hard way from Aunt Petunia and I never believed in a million years that I would hear those words of favoritism coming out of my own wife's mouth. I will not tolerate having any of our girls treated differently, because one happens to be showing their gifts earlier than her sisters are!" Harry glared accusingly at Hermione.
"Harry, that's not true, both of you loves the triplets equally. You must have heard wrong." Lily couldn't believe what he was accusing Hermione of; it had to be a misunderstanding.
"Ask her yourself!" Harry got up from the table. "You know what! I don't think that I can stomach eating dinner with her! I don't even know who she is right now! She certainly isn't the woman I married or have been best friends with since we were kids!" He was so furious that all the drinking glasses on the table shattered. "Reparo!" The glasses were back in perfect condition and he was gone.
"Hermione, what on earth did you say?" Lily got up and walked over to where she was still silently staring down at her empty plate.
She looked up at Lily, eyes brimming with tears. "I said that Ally was the content one and hardly gives us any trouble. Mia was the watcher, a very good baby who hardly fusses at all, and that they both took after me. That Dani takes after her father in so many ways, so much that we had to have her magic bound by the Magus Modestus charm. I also said that she is high strung and demands the most attention out of the three of them." She buried her face in her hands. "Oh goddess, it does sound like I resent one of my own babies…" She burst into tears.
"Hermione, we know that isn't true." Anna stood in the archway that led into the dining room. "You both love the girls equally." She went over to sit beside her.
"If that's true then why did I say that about Danielle? I'm a horrible mother! I resent my own daughter!" She was crying even harder now.
"No honey you don't, but I think you do resent the bond that is between Harry and Dani. You just hadn't realized it yet." Lily now had an idea as to what had happened and could hopefully fix it.
"Harry shares this untouchable bond with all three of the girls, but especially with Dani. Ally and Mia both love me, but I think Dani resents me somehow…" Hermione sobbed miserably. "She adores her father, but lately she only wants him to tend to her, and puts up a fuss near me!"
The monitor on the wall activated and a visual of the nursery appeared on the screen. It was clear by the wails coming from the speaker that one of the girls wasn't very happy.
Hermione instantly knew which one of her girls was miserable and it was Dani. "Something is wrong with Dani. She doesn't cry like that." Hermione vanished from her seat.
"Sounds to me like she's cutting her first tooth," James and his father stood in the archway. "Why's Junior so upset and where did he go off to?"
"He and Hermione had a misunderstanding of words about the girls." Lily sighed.
"What did she do? Single out two as her favorites and then snub the other…" Lily nodded and James swore under his breath. "No wonder Junior reacted that way, it must have brought back not so happy memories of his years with Petunia and the rest of that lot."
"In that case it's going to take a while for him to cool down." Stephen sighed. "So Chen, did Harry tell you about their latest brainstorm?"
"Not yet, but we were going to talk after dinner." Chen arched one silver brow at them. "Is it something that I won't approve of?"
"Have a seat old friend and I'll tell you about what their current plan of dealing with the ones that hurt Rory is." Stephen took a seat, as did James.
"Yes, do tell I am intrigued as to what the two of them thought up in less than a day's time." Chen smirked.
--
Hermione picked up her daughter and instantly knew that something wasn't right, her cheeks were flushed, and she looked miserable.
"Oh sweetie, you're burning up." Hermione felt her forehead and fought back the urge not to panic. The girls never so much as got the sniffles or colic, so this was a first for her. "Don't worry baby. Mama is here and she is going to make it all better I promise." She carried her into the bedroom, so she could get the baby thermometer from the bathroom.
Dani was miserable it felt like her mouth was on fire and she was hot. :I hurt.: She whimpered using her link to her mother.
"Oh baby. I wish that you could tell Mama what hurts." Hermione took her temperature the digital reading was a hundred and two. She barely fought off the urge to panic, her baby was hurting and burning up. "It's just you and me right now. You see your Daddy isn't speaking to me right now and went off to brood."
:Mouth hurts Mama. I's hot too.: Dani had the intelligence of both her parents and the ability to analyze things in her head, so it was easier for her to understand what it was her mother was asking.
Hermione gently stuck her finger in Dani's mouth and sure enough, she could feel the beginnings of a tooth trying to emerge from her gum. "You're cutting your first tooth. No wonder you've been so moody. Cutting teeth usually causes a baby to spike a high fever, so that explains that as well." Now that she knew what was wrong the bulk of her fears vanished and she could focus on what Dani needed.
She left the bathroom so she could use the intercom to talk to everyone in the dining room. "Dani is spiking a fever of a hundred and two and she's getting a tooth."
"I'll send up an Ever Freezing Teether and something to take down her fever." Lily answered back. "Meantime, just let her gum on a cool washcloth while you rock her in the rocker." She glanced over at Harry standing in the archway, but he motioned for her not to tell Hermione that he was back.
"Thanks Mum, I'll do that." Hermione had Dani cuddled against her shoulder.
"Kitten, you should pat yourself on the back for handling this so calmly, usually first time Mum's panic when their baby spikes their first fever." Stephen commended her for keeping calm.
"Yes, Hermione, you are doing a wonderful job with the girls." Anna seconded her husbands comment.
"Yes, sweetie, you're doing great." James echoed.
"Well, done young one." Chen smiled.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I had to force myself not to panic. I thank Mab for Dani's ability to link with Harry and me. She told me what was wrong." Hermione conjured an icy cool cloth and Dani eagerly began to gum it with her mouth.
"Did someone order Ever Freezing Teethers and some fever medicine?" Harry appeared beside her with the items in question in his hand. "Go ahead and have dinner. We'll eat as soon as we get our baby settled again." He told the others.
"We'll do that, but your grandmother and I are staying over. That way we'll eventually be able to have a talk about your latest brainstorm and how insane it is." Stephen growled.
"Well, there's always plenty of room at Sanctuary, so of course you're welcome to stay. Now as for the other, we'll talk about it later." Harry shut off the intercom and turned to focus on his girls.
"Wills, after Rory kicked him out of the guest cottage to deal with me, swore at me for five minutes about how asinine I was being over what was clearly a misunderstanding, and then kicked me back into play." He took away the cool cloth, so he could feed Dani the fever medicine.
Dani wasn't at all pleased the thing numbing her mouth had been taken away, so she angrily spit out the potion that her father was trying to get her to take. The result was staining her father's sweater with the shocking pink colored potion. :Yuck no want that!: Dani growled using her link and howled in outrage when he tried to do it again.
"It might not taste yummy, but you need it to feel better." Hermione crooned down at their very unhappy baby girl when she spit it all over Harry again.
"Now I know why Mum gave me more than one vial of the potion, this is gonna take a few tries." Harry finally managed to get her to swallow the potion after the fourth try. "There's a good girl and now you may have something to soothe those sore gums of yours." He kissed her on her head.
"Here munchkin, this should make it feel better." Hermione let her gum on the teether.
As if on cue, Ally awoke, just as miserable as her sister was. "This is gonna be a long night." Harry went to see to Ally.
"All three of them teething at once," Hermione carried Dani back into the nursery, so she could rocker her.
Harry set the medicine and other teethers on the changing table, so he could tend to Ally. "Come here angel. Does your mouth hurt and is it making you hot and miserable?" He picked her up in his arms, his mouth hurt, so he knew what the problem was, she too was teething. "Let's see if you'll take the medicine better than your sister." Harry gave Ally the medicine and this time it didn't end up spit all over him. "That's a good girl now here is something that might just make your mouth feel all better." He let her try out gumming the teether and her cries softened to a whimper.
Hermione had Dani asleep against her shoulder. "I think that potion soothes their mouth as well." She whispered softly.
"That's good to know because it looks like Mia is teething too." Harry sighed. "I thank my first-grandparents that we have Wizarding medicine to rely on and not traditional Muggle remedies or we would be pulling out our hair."
Hermione had Dani settled in her crib and was tending to Mia. "No we have each other and that's enough to see us through anything." Hermione smiled.
"That's right, sweets, there is nothing the two of us can't handle together." Harry smiled at her.
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Chapter 11
The deal
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I do not claim any of JKR's characters only that I love being able to create my own kind of mischief with her beloved characters. I do not claim any other things that are owned by other companies that I may mention once and a while in the stories...Although the original characters and ideas are mine and I loved creating them. So please review if you wish but try not to flame me too badly.
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Cindra 2004-2008