Disclaimer: see prologue
Guide: "Talk", Thoughts, ~letters and other written stuff~
Rating: M for sexual themes and language, slash in later chapters
Betas: jointheclub and Makoto Sagara
update of beta-ed version: 7th August
AN: As I mentioned in my last AN, this chapter contains the rest of Harry's day in Diagon Alley that I had taken out from chapter 3 because I had some trouble writing the Gringotts scene.
I am honoured that so many people have sign up for the story alert. Also, thanks to the ones who reviewed the last chapter and added Altair to their favourite story list. ^_^
-~-~- Altair -~-~-
-~-~-by Still waters are deep-~-~-
-~-~- chapter 4 – So, he is male -~-~-
Tuesday, 5th August, 1997, Diagon Alley, Gringotts
After Harry had paid for his new clothes without running into Draco Malfoy, he and his three female friends left the clothing shop to eat some ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour before moving on to Gringotts to finalize the inheritance papers.
"Good afternoon. I have an appointment with Rathúil Miodóg* today. Could you please inform him of my arrival?" Harry asked the goblin at one of the counters.
"If you would please wait here for a minute, sir," the goblin replied before disappearing.
"Good afternoon Mr. Potter," Miodóg greeted him when he arrived. "If you would please follow me back to my office so that we can complete the necessary paperwork?" When Miodóg noticed that Harry's friends wanted to follow them, he added, "Your companions may wait here or come back in about half an hour."
"It's alright, Harry. We will just go over to Flourish and Blotts in the meantime. I wanted to buy a new book or two anyway," Hermione said to Harry when he stopped to shoot a questioning look at them.
"Okay. I will meet you there later."
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After the signing of the papers was completed and he finally had access to his new vaults, Harry had asked Miodóg if it would be possible to transfer about 500 Galleons (AN: 2500 £) from the Potter family vault into his regular vault, number 687, because he had had to pay for the new clothes he had bought that morning with the money in his own personal which was rather empty right now. He would have preferred to pay for the clothes directly with the money from the Potter vault, but unfortunately he did not have access to the family vaults before he had signed any of the accompanying paperwork. Lucky for him, it turned out that money transfers between one's own vaults were not problematic at all. The money would simply "Apparate" between the two vaults in question without one having to carry the gold from one vault to the other.
At last, Miodóg handed the Black family ring over to Harry, ending the whole inheritance acceptance process. After he put the ring on his left hand for safekeeping, Miodóg asked him if he wanted to take a look at the family vaults to see what the unspecified objects in the vault listing were.
Hoping that in the Potter vault there would be some childhood pictures of his father or other similar things of sentimental value, Harry decided that a quick look into the two vaults could not hurt.
Better find out if I need to get rid of any Dark artefacts there are in the Black vault sooner rather than later.
When Harry noticed that the Potter family vault did not contain any sentimental objects but only some books, old furniture and jewellery beside the mountains of Galleons, he was disappointed but not sad. Most of the personal things would have been at Godric's Hollow where they were destroyed by Voldemort's attack all those years ago. Not very surprising, but one could still have hoped.
"Let's move on to the Black family vault," Harry said with no enthusiasm. He was still a bit disappointed at the outcome of his trip to the Potter family vault but nevertheless withdrew some money for the school-shopping in little over a week's time.
Upon entering the Black family vault, Harry noticed that it was not very different from the Potter vault. The only obvious difference was that instead of a book section, this vault had a portrait section at the left side of the vault.
Since the Black house does have a rather big library, they would not need to store their books here. I just hope that those portraits aren't as bad as Mrs. Black's portrait at Grimmauld Place.
Unconsciously, Harry noticed he had walked over to the portraits. When he became aware of his surroundings again, he was captivated by one portrait especially, since it was the only one which was not covered with some fabrics. The portrayed person was very young, most likely not even out of Hogwarts and resembled Sirius a lot, but it could also have been his younger brother Regulus, since both of them looked quite similar when they were young at least this was what Remus had told him once.
In the hope of finding out which one of the Black brothers was shown in the portrait, Harry knelt down by the oval portrait to look for a name. Unluckily, the nameplate at the front of the portrait was empty. Even more surprising was the fact that the figure in the portrait had his eyes closed like in sleep; however, contrary to the sleeping portraits in the headmaster's office, the portrayed person did not show any indication that he was breathing or alive at all.
It must be a Muggle portrait then. But what is something Muggle doing inside the Black family vault when they are known for despising anything non-magical and not pureblooded?
Intrigued, he turned it around and found an inscription, ~For my beloved nephew, Sirius, so that he may also receive the traditional Black portrait, Love Alphard Black*~, written on the back of the portrait.
So, it really is Sirius. But why is his portrait not alive like all the other Wizarding ones I have seen so far? Considering that his uncle Alphard was also a pureblood, it should be a Wizarding portrait, not a Muggle one. So, why isn't Sirius's image breathing, even if he is asleep? - It can't be because he fell through the veil, can it? This thought made Harry agitated.
But, it is the only explanation I can think of right now. The magic most likely isn't working because his body/spirit/whatever has left this plane, Harry thought with a mixture of longing, fury and sadness.
If Bellatrix was not already dead, I would gladly kill her again. Not only did she take Sirius away from me, but she also made sure that his portrait would not be able to come alive! Harry thought bitterly.
After taking some deep breaths, Harry looked up at the ceiling and decided that even if Sirius's portrait was not animated, it still did not deserve to simply gather dust inside the vault. So, he took out his wand to shrink the portrait of his young godfather to take it with him. He would later decide what to do with it. Pocketing the shrunken portrait, Harry turned to Miodóg, who had patiently waited outside for him to finish his look into the Black family vault, to inform the goblin that he was ready to leave the bank.
"As you wish, Mr. Potter" With that both of them entered the cart to ride up to the upper levels of the bank.
A short time later, Harry met up with his friends in Flourish and Blotts, but he did not mention the portrait to them.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"To a new life!" They all chorused, clinking their glasses together while happily watching Harry's old hand-me-downs burning in the campfire in the backyard of the Burrow.
The twins had decided that it would be good for Harry to properly part with his old life, and what would be better than burning Dudley's old clothes? Not only did they serve as a reminder for the bad treatment he had received from his relatives, but also in a metaphorical sense for Voldemort, who was the reason for him having to stay with his aunt's magic-hating family in the first place.
So when Harry and the girls came back from their shopping trip in the afternoon, the twins had taken it into their own hands to gather all of Harry's old clothes in the backyard. They even forced Harry out of the clothes he wore during his shopping trip, not wanting to leave behind any of Dudley's hand-me-downs. Harry quickly changed into some of his newly purchased clothes before he wound end up naked in the middle of the Weasleys' living room - especially since the girls were still there. The twins even confiscated his old glasses to burn them too, saying that he didn't need them now since he had had his vision corrected last Friday. (The twins had made an appointment for Harry for the day after his birthday).
Harry had to admit that looking at the burning clothes in the campfire was very therapeutic. Seeing the clothes burn felt like the conclusion to the book called "My life with Voldemort and the Dursleys" was finally happening. It was like he only now realised that Voldemort was dead for good and would never come back again so that meant he would never have to see his relatives either. In short, he felt like he could breathe easier now.
"Who wants to roast marshmallows over it?" One of the twins asked.
"No one," Ginny said harshly.
"It is unhygienic," Hermione added.
"Your loss," the twins said simultaneously with a shrug of their shoulders before they each took out a handful of marshmallows and put them on sticks to roast them over the burning clothes.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Later that evening, when everyone was watching the campfire burn down, Harry finally had the chance to ask Hermione his question about the meaning of the compatibility of the body. To not be overheard, the both of them walked away from the group and settled down by one of the oak trees surrounding the house.
"I was wondering, do you know what compatibility of the body entails? Magical compatibility I can imagine well enough since it must be similar to a wand choosing a wizard and how well someone else's wand works for you. But how can bodies be compatible?" Harry asked his best friend, hoping to finally solve the mystery from some days ago.
"I think the best and easiest example would be a female-female pair where their monthly period circle has a great influence on their compatibility since some sexual magic requires them to be at a certain state of their circle. But this is nothing which would apply to you."
"True, but it is a good example."
"Regarding a pair that has at least one male, I am not certain myself since this topic seems to be not fully understood and my own research on this isn't finished yet, but what I have found out so far says that the virginity or lack of it plays an important role in the compatibility of two persons. Since the claiming of virginities plays such an important role during the bonding.
"Also, if you have pubic hair or not seems to be a major aspect. However, I do not know how the fact that you permanently charmed of all of your pubic hair can influence your compatibility," she explained.
"Neither can I," Harry answered her.
"Some authors argue that also the amount of self-control and self-discipline someone has is important, as well as their own preference when it comes to the kinkier side of sex. Like their tendencies towards bondage or spanking." Here both of them blushed, Harry more than Hermione.
Nevertheless, Hermione talked on: "But most of it seems to be speculations based on experience the authors themselves made or the couples they studied."
"To me, it sounds more like they must be at the same level of experience and have the same sexual tendencies and preferences. So, it is more a psychologicall compatibility rather than a physical compatibility like the name suggest."
"I agree. Most of the other things mentioned in the books seem to be more psychological than physical in nature."
After a short pause Hermione asked Harry if he had found the time to take a look at the detailed description of the Shërim Mendjen*.
"Unfortunately, not yet. During the day, we are all outside together, and in the evening, Ron is always with me in our room. I don't want to start a fight by reading something related to Sexual magic when he obviously despises the topic. But I plan to read it as soon as we are back at Hogwarts."
"With the new rooming arrangement, you should easily find a secure reading place regardless of receiving a compatible partner or not."
"As long as we don't end up together, everything should work out fine."
"Hey, I am not a bad roommate," Hermione said aggrieved.
"No, you're not, but I still don't want to practice Sexual Magic with you. I wouldn't have a problem with sharing a regular Altair room with you though," Harry retorted.
"Sorry, I didn't think you meant it that way since I can't imagine us doing anything like that. It would be just weird."
"My thoughts exactly."
"By the way, do you have a certain preference regarding your partner?" Hermione asked curiously. Personally, she thought that Harry needed a partner who would take care of him and on whom Harry could rely. And since females tended to see him as their very own fairy-tale prince on a white horse, their hero who would save the day, a male partner who would take the role of the protector in Harry's stead would do him some good.
"Considering that the Shërim Mendjen requires two males to successfully brew it, I would prefer a male partner, but since the chances of being compatible enough to brew it are very small, I don't really care either way."
"Finally having someone who could brew the Shërim Mendjen would be welcomed with open arms these days. With your luck, I wouldn't be surprised if you would receive a partner who is compatible enough to brew the potion with you."
"You mean the same "luck" which "graced" me with a free access to a great amount of Basilisk skin in my second year?" Harry asked sarcastically. (AN: For those of you who have forgotten; Basilisk skin is a main ingredient of the Shërim Mendjen.)
"I was more thinking in the direction that both becoming an Auror and a Healer require the same NEWTs classes* or you would not be able to change between them so easily this late in your schooling," she answered him in a bantering undertone.
"There's the Hermione I know and love; always concerned about my education," Harry joked back. "But seriously, after having read most of the book Remus and Tonks gave me for my birthday, I have decided that I will apply to the Healer program instead of Auror training after school. Healing is even more interesting than I first thought it would be. So, yeah, I must be lucky that both require the same NEWTs."
"I am glad to hear you want to become a Healer. I always thought that you deserve some time away from dark wizards and life threatening situations. You had enough of that already."
"And a Healer doesn't get in contact with life threatening situations?" Harry asked jokingly.
"At least then you won't be the one whose life is on the line. Rather, you will be the one to save the patients, appeasing your saving-people-thing at the same time," she said with a smile.
"Very funny, Hermione. But we better go back to the others before they wonder where we are."
-~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Tuesday, 19th August, 1997, the Burrow
"Look; these must be your book lists for the new term," Mrs. Weasley said when she looked out of the window and saw 4 owls heading their way.
It was a good thing that Ron and Ginny were sitting opposite Harry and Hermione since the letters did also contain the information which Altair electives those two would be attending next term. Finally getting to know if he could learn more about Sexual Potions, Harry eagerly opened his own letter.
~Dear Mr. Potter,
I am glad to inform you that you have been assigned a compatible partner, and will be able to attend the following Altair electives in the upcoming school year:
*Basic Trance-sexual magic
*Sexual Potions
*Ritual Magic
The necessary equipment and books for those classes, which are mentioned in your book list, can be purchased at Timber and Bonker's*. They also take owl orders, if you should require additional equipment during the school year.
Please pay close attention to the specific title of your Altair course books because most of the volumes are available in three different editions (male, female and mixed pairings). Please buy the edition specified in your list for your assigned pairing.
Regards,
M. McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts~
Looking up from his own letter, Harry smiled at Hermione to communicate to her that he had received a partner and would be taking Sexual Potions. Hermione smiled right back at him, signalling that she too had gotten a compatible partner.
Let's see if my famous luck, which tends to get me in and out of troubles on countless times, also let me receive a male partner so that I'll be able to learn more about Sexual Potions.
Taking forth his book list he quickly skimmed it. His eyes came to a halt when the first sexual magic book title was mentioned.
~278 Sexual magic Rituals for the males~
So, my partner is male. Thank god I won't have to worry about my partner's period schedule or have her go all sentimental on me like Cho did. Now, I only will have to worry what the catch part of my luck will turn out to be. But at least I know for certain that I and Hermione did not end up being partners. It would have just been weird.
"Oh, I've been appointed Head Girl!" Hermione exclaimed joyously from his right side.
Ron was rather vocal in his congratulations because he shouted "I knew it" from across the table. The rest of the Weasleys present congratulated her in calmer manners than him.
"Congratulations!" Harry said, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, very happy for her. Seizing the opportunity, he whispered into her ear: "By the way, my partner is male".
"Thank god," she whispered back, relieved that their fear of ending up together for their Altair electives was for naught she smiled even more. Since the letters, did not give away the name of their partner, but only s hint at the gender through the book titles, she could not have been sure if her obvious male partner had not turned out to be Harry after all.
With that issue out of the way, Hermione and I now only need to abandon the rest of the group for about an hour so that we can take a trip to Timber and Bonker's to get our additional materials without Ron noticing where we went to. Maybe the twins will help us with finding a good excuse?
-~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Tuesday, 19th August, 1997, Malfoy Manor
At the same time, Draco Malfoy also received his latest Hogwarts' book list, together with his Altair acceptance letter that was identical to Harry's. Sitting down on his windowsill, he read the letter appointing him as Head Boy first.
Now, this is a surprise. I thought that after I resigned my prefect status last year that they would appoint Goldstein as the new Head Boy, he thought while shrugging his shoulder.
Not caring either way, he moved on to the more important Altair electives acceptance letter before finally taking a quick look at the book list to find out the gender of his partner.
No Warding, but at least the book list indicates that my partner is male. Thank Merlin for small courtesies! I would not have known what to do if I ended up with Pansy or some of the other annoying girls in my year. A male partner should make father rather happy too. And as much as I would have liked to learn Warding, it is more important for my goal to become a Potions master that I am able to learn about Sexual Potions.
The fact that I won't be able to take Warding means that my partner must be a male student who has not taken Arithmancy and/or Ancient Runes or did not receive the necessary grades in their OWLs to take up Warding because otherwise they would have included that my assigned partner is asked if he would consider taking another subject as well.
The chances of him being Potter therefore have risen greatly. Here, Draco unconsciously smiled. Let's just hope that it isn't Weasley. Redheads are so not my type. But as father said the other day, I will have to wait and see who my partner will turn out to be. With that thought, Draco left his room to meet his father downstairs so that they could go to Diagon Alley to get the school shopping done.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Rathúil Miodóg: irish for successful and dagger (according to Google translator)
Alphard Black: He is the uncle who supported Sirius with money after he had broken with his family. I thought it fitting that he would also be the one who "smuggled" a portrait of Sirius into the Black family vault. Let's just say (for the sake of the story) that for a family member it is possible to put something into the family vault without the current head of the family knowing about it. Withdrawing from the vault on the other hand is only possible if you are the current head of the family.
Shërim Mendjen: Albanian for healing/recovery of the mind, see chapter 1 for further information
Same NEWTs classes for Healera and Aurors: I was surprised when my research revealed that this fact is actually true. I thought that I would need to twist the subjects to my purposes, but it turned out that both careers require the following NEWTs: Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms, and Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Timber and Bonker's: A shop in Diagon Alley I made up by randomly pointing on words in my dictionary. It is surprising that they turned out to be sexually if you count "bonking" and give "wood" the meaning of cock. Lucky me, finding the perfect name in the first try. I just hope that I will have the same luck when it comes to finding names for their new teachers.
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Important Question: With whom should I pair up Hermione for the Altair electives? Right now I am undecided between Dean Thomas (no romance), Terry Boot romance and jealous Ron) and Blaise Zabini (maybe romance). You are free to suggest other people too. But it can't be Ron or Neville, because Ron obviously did not sign up for any of those classes and Neville will be Ron's room-mate.
It is not like I will be explicitly writing about Hermione but her chosen partner will influence the dynamic between her and Ron, and consequently Harry outside of classes. I would be grateful if you could tell me your opinion.
AN_2: The portrait will have another important appearance in a later chapter. Also, the Black's portrait tradition will be explained later on by Draco, who would know about it because of his mother being a Black by birth.
On an other note, the rather tiring but necessary explanation of Sexual Magic and co. is nearly over. Only some basics about bonds are left which I withheld for their lessons at Hogwarts.
Next: We will finally reach the part of the story which takes place at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, I won't be able to update next week since I will be rather busy with Easter approaching but then I only promised to update at least once a month not weekly and this is the longest chapter so far. The positive effect of this is that you have more time to inform me with whom I should pair up Hermione ;)