Author's Note:
Happy Labour Day!
The message in the last author's note was for a friend of mine who lost someone, not me. But thank you for your kind words and please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Reviews and Comments: To LifeonEarth: Neville is definitely calling him out. He's tired of watching him pine for Ginny lol. Thanks for saying the Theo plot is horribly interesting and yet terrible for him. Yes, we should feel sad for him. Ginny is definitely going to own the pitch and Harry is going to be in even more trouble lol. Thank you! To mirielzoldrick: I cannot tell you that, but Theo is going to struggle. I am so sorry for your friend and I am happy you found my message helpful. Thank you! To midnitewanderer: Theo is starting to grow on you? I'm glad. He has a soft spot in my heart. Nope, Neville is not afraid to voice his opinion. Yes, I think it will go to seventh year. Lots more story to come! Thank you! To scrappy8: Thank you! To Wolf's scream: Yes, Abraxas Malfoy isn't well liked. Glad you found the Bill and Fleur scene amusing. Yes, Will is procrastinating a bit. Thank you! To purplevictory: Thanks for saying Theo became one of your favourite characters soon after introducing him! I love him quite a lot. Theo sees that he has no other choice at the moment and finds himself trapped in what he sees as an impossible situation. We'll see how it plays out! Yes, Ginny will get her chance and yes, Sirius and Zee went on an actual date! LOL! Thank you!
To christyannb94: Thank you for your kind words! Male rape is a real thing and should definitely be addressed and it is not just penetration that constitutes rape. Yes, I know everyone is frustrated with my slow burn of Hinny, but all I can say is soon! Thank you! To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you! Yes, we would all like to kill that prick Ernie! Thank you! To Saz J: I love being jetagged as an excuse to read! Yes, poor Theo! Ginny has plans! Thank you! To Steelcode: Ernie is definitely a giant ass hat. If Ron and Ginny both make the team, yes, it would be overrun with Weasleys lol. Thank you! To alix33: Thank you! To Moony The Sheep: Thank you saying my Order meeting was fascinating! Yes, I never much liked Ernie in the books and decided to make him a little more of an ass. Yes, Bill and Fleur kissed! Now we just wait for Hinny! Thank you! To hellishrose: Yes, everyone seems to see Harry's feeling towards Ginny except Harry or Ginny lol. Thank you! To Leaf Ranger: Thank you! To speedsONEandONLY: Poor Theo indeed! He does need some help and yes, castrating Ernie would be a good start lol. I love that you're too worked up over Theo, thank you! To Menna Taha: Thank you! To Blue Luver5000: Thank you!
To Savageness321: Theo is too stunned and scared right now. He needs to figure things out. Thank you! To xXQueenofDragonsXx: I know, poor Theo! He needs a hug! Thank you! To Laedari: Yes, Alicia is stepping down which means Ginny will be even more in Harry's sights. Thanks for being excited to see the Order and Ministry actively working. Yes, things will get worse before they get better. Thank you! To jcmglynn522: Ginny will find out about Theo, but not yet. Yes, no one thought about Theo, everyone was too concerned about Dean. You think Narcissa is pregnant? Interesting. LMAO, you're sure Mandy is nice or a spawn of Satan? Haha, Harry will get there! Thank you! To Soveliss: Yes, I do like to show some more serious sides of Sirius. I agree, Colin deserves more love than to just be seen as an overzealous fanboy. Writing him as Ginny's friend gives me the chance to show that. Poor Theo, he is very lost. Thank you! To Matt71478: Thank you!
Thank you to Annerb for insight on my wording here.
Thank you to Brandon, a guy I work for his full on political knowledge in helping me draft this. Much appreciated future Prime Minister (I seriously wouldn't doubt it).
Thanks to Steel for the name of the chalice.
Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!
My posting schedule: Once a week and sometimes on weekends.
As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY:
The One With the War Council
Harry took a seat next to Ron that afternoon looking up in mild interest at Delta Carthaginian. He had heard nothing but good things about her teaching, but as he had never taken her Life in the Magical World course, she was new to him. She was very attractive he thought mildly, and she was sitting on her desk in a black knee length a-line skirt with her legs crossed showcasing calves wearing tall black high heels. She was in a light pink blouse with ruffles tucked into her skirt and her hair was pinned up in a French knot. She was smiling widely at them.
"Ciao, buon giorno," she exclaimed, her smile widening. "Some of you I know and some of you we are meeting for the first time. I look forward to teaching you all this year and I welcome you to join me on this new adventure. I am Professor Carthaginian and this is the first ever class of International Magical Relations taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A new course that I hold vicino e caro al mio cuore. I can see most of you are staring up at me thinking, what did she say? This is one of the many reasons why this course is so important."
She looked around the room before she pointed to where Justin was sitting next to Ernie at the front of the classroom. "Mr Finch-Fletchley, can you tell me something that is happening in the world right now?"
"Er," Justin said, looking around at the class. "You Know Who broke his Death Eaters out of Azkaban."
Carthaginian nodded solemnly. "He did, five points to Hufflepuff. Miss Granger, what does that mean for us?"
"That a war is here," Hermione said matter of factly. "And the Ministry of Magic is trying to get other countries to assist as needed."
"Correct, five points to Gryffindor," Carthaginian said with a smile. "Who can tell me who the Minster of Magic is right now? Miss Monroe?"
"Amelia Bones."
"Five points to Gryffindor," she said as she hopped off the desk. "But International Magical Relations is not just about the war we know is coming, it's about how we as a community, as a country, and as a culture intermingle and interact with people of different cultures, societies, and magical abilities. It's not about blood purity or supremacy and prejudice it's the people in our world, both magical and non-magical. It's about how we work together for the… greater good."
Carthaginian smiled warmly, taking a drink from her ceramic water bottle on the desk before she continued. "In this class, I want to study not only what it means to be a British Magical Citizen, but how the government works compared to other magical countries and how we should act and speak to people of different cultures. In this course, we will be studying the cultural, political, and economic factors that play a role in our global society. We will focus on how to protect our domestic interests when travelling abroad. We'll look into international trade and commerce. For example, in the Mediterranean and in parts of Eastern Europe, the most common used type of travel is a flying carpet. Those are banned in Britain in favour of Floo because it attracts less attention from the Muggles, yet is not a problem for Muggles in other parts of the world. Why? We'll talk about that and other similar questions. We'll concentrate on diplomatic relations and how to use what we learn to provide a positive dialogue with other nations and to help impact change."
She hopped off the desk and her heels clicked as she walked between the rows as she spoke. "I can see many of you looking at me like, this is too much information. Don't worry. I'm not going to throw it all at you at once. We're going to focus mainly on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but we will look back at history, economics, political philosophy, and folklore to see how those events have impacted what is happening in the world today. To do this we will examine literature and art, laws and global security. The language that you choose will help influence your own realm of study as starting in January you will each be working on an individual study unit, or an ISU, about a specific international event that transpired in either the Muggle or the Magical world and how both worlds were affected. But we'll discuss more on that later."
Carthaginian leaned back against her desk as she spoke. "But international relations can also be discussed among our own local societies and communities. For example, if I was calling upon a friend of mine who is a vampire, what kinds of things should I know about his culture? Mr Entwshistle?"
Kevin looked taken aback to have been asked a question and swallowed slowly. "To not disturb them during the day because that's when they sleep?"
"Two points to Hufflepuff. That is a common courtesy, but I was thinking more along the lines of culturally. Anyone else have any ideas? Miss Roper?"
Sophie tucked her hair behind her ear. "Well, to maybe wear a scarf to protect your neck since they, you know, like to suck blood?"
Carthaginian smiled. "They do, yes, but most won't attack you for no reason. Those are the kinds of stereotypes that we need to try to stop. Vampires are human beings with lives just the same as us. Would you go around attacking people for no reason? I was thinking more along the lines of the fact being that I was invited over so being a guest, I would bring something like a bottle of wine as a gift. Just because vampires drink blood to sustain themselves doesn't mean that they can't appreciate other types of food and drink. Food is more of a construct, but a nice cabernet sauvignon goes a long way in polite circles. We are a friendly society and we should be as such to every person we come into contact with. Person meaning anyone who has the ability to communicate any form of language with you. Language is what makes us human. Okay, so keeping that in mind, how about if we were speaking to a Merperson, what kind of things are important for us to keep in mind when we are communicating with them? Miss Granger?"
"We should always talk directly to them as they have the ability to read our lips which helps us better communicate."
"Excellent, five points to Gryffindor," Carthaginian said with a bright smile. "That is the kind of stuff that I want to address this year. I want to study beings and creatures, cultures and communities, and twist in a bit of politics to tie it all together. I want you to learn why we are not as different from each other as we may think. We are a community at heart and that is the most important part of magical relations — community. I did not assign a textbook for this class, but I will be supplying supplementary reading when I can. The second half that is being taught by Professor Babbling will tie in to what you learn from me and as I mentioned before, will be a large part of your ISU which we will talk more about before Yule. Consider them a part one and part two as opposed to two separate classes."
She pointed her wand at the blackboard.
"Today, I want to start with the building of our own magical hierarchy. Who controls what and why? To make it easy, we'll use Hogwarts as an example and compare it to the Ministry of Magic hierarchy. So using this comparison, Professor Dumbledore is to Hogwarts what Madam Bones is to the Ministry of Magic, which would make Professor McGonagall equal to who in the Ministry? Who has power second after our Minister of Magic?"
Harry raised his hand. "The Deputy Minister of Magic."
"Correct, five points to Gryffindor and do you know who currently holds that position, Mr Potter?"
"I think my father said that Madam Bones appointed Lady Whitney Dashwood," Harry said.
"Another five points," Carthaginian said with a smile. "Lady Whitney Dashwood had currently been working as the Head of the International Magical Office of Law before she took on the post as Deputy Minister. Below her is the Junior Assistant to the Minister of Magic which would be equivalent at Hogwarts to Professor Flitwick as he has been here the longest after Professor McGonagall."
The positions and names branched out into two columns on the board like a tree diagram and she smiled at them.
"Magical relations are everything. How we treat people we meet in different countries reflects not only on us personally, but on how those people then see our country," she said sternly. "I am going to show you how to understand the world and how to make the world understand you. And we're going to start by going back through history and detailing the growing governments and the people who have influenced or changed them. The legacy of Grindelwald still echoes and it is that legacy that is being followed by a certain dark lord as war begins. We're going to look at that legacy and how it affected not only Britain, but the world."
She waved her wand and textbooks floated off the back table and moved across to each student.
"If each of you could please turn to chapter six, we'll get started."
Harry opened the book as it landed in front of him and read the chapter title of "The Trouble with Authority" and he smiled. He thought that the class was going to be pretty interesting overall.
Two hours later, he hadn't been disappointed.
After the overview of the course from Professor Carthaginian, Professor Babbling had come in to discuss the language component. Fifth years were being given a choice of three languages to learn with more options available in sixth and seventh year. His choices for this year were Mermish, Gobbledegook, and ancient Greek. They had two weeks to make their selection and then the class would be divided up accordingly from there. In the meantime, Professor Babbling would be providing snippets of the three to help them make the choice that they thought would be the most interesting to learn.
He was intrigued and a little intimidated. Hermione was beside herself. She wanted to learn all three languages and didn't understand why they could only choose one.
Ron only rolled his eyes at her. "Mione, you can always learn the other ones later, but starting with one is a good idea."
"But what if next year there are different options and these ones aren't available to me?" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes wide.
Harry put his arm around her shoulders. "You learned Bulgarian last year. You can learn any language that you want. Why don't you talk to Professor Babbling and see what she thinks?"
Hermione nodded and hurried off to do just that.
Ron only shook his head. "I don't even want to learn a new language at all, like what good is it going to be unless I plan on working in international relations?"
Harry shrugged. "Well, doesn't Bill speak Gobbledegook and he's a Curse Breaker?"
"Yeah, but he works with the goblins all the time," Ron said. "I suppose anything that involved contact with them maybe…" He shrugged. "I don't know, I think Gobbledegook would potentially be the most useful."
Harry nodded, he tended to agree, but he definitely wanted to think more on it. Ancient Greek had potential as well and Mermish would be interesting, but he wasn't sure what he would use it for. Overall, he had to admit the introduction to the new class had been quite interesting and he was curious to see where it would go next.
~ ASC ~
Sirius sat in the Office of the Minister of Magic for the second table discussion meeting of the War Council. After getting most of the business with the Order out of the way on Saturday and Sunday following the first table discussion, Sirius felt that he could establish the Ministry plans a little more clearly.
He was running the discussion along with Adrian Roberts and Echo Simpson from the wolves, Brigit from the court of Tara, Alice Langdon from the Vampire Confederation of Europe (VCE-England), Jericho Jones from the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW), Katherine Thomas from the International Magical Office of Law (IMOL), and Kingsley Shacklebolt from the Aurors. They had made a bullet list on the white board and so far, Sirius was liking where they were taking their ideas.
They had agreed to break up the War Council into coalitions among each community in case someone was infiltrated or taken out of the mix then there would be a back-up unit ready to help. It would be volunteer based as they had no plans of forcing anyone to fight for them. Sirius agreed that when it came down to it, they needed people willing to protect others and to lead the charge against Voldemort and his Death Eaters when the time came.
"King, would you be willing to run a Spook Squad with a diverse group of individuals from all of our allies who would report to you on any potential threats or suspicious behaviour?" Sirius asked.
Kingsley nodded. "The goal would be to get spies in where we could and to try to figure out what You Know Who's ultimate goal is. Other than murder and mayhem, he has to have a plan of some sort. He must want something and we need to find out what that is. I think if we formed a Spook Squad, which is a great name by the way — it would go a long way towards helping us discover that. In the meantime, the different coalitions can practice and train as necessary to be prepared for anything."
"I think that it sounds like a great idea," Brigit said, leaning back in her seat. "I will gladly help lead the training."
"It's not just about magical ability," Adrian said. "Not all of my wolves are even capable of using their magical skills in the way trained witches and wizards are, but we have strength."
"Magic is only part of the weapon," Brigit said sharply. "Fae warriors are taught to fight with magic as well as bow and arrows and broadswords. I'd be happy to teach any of it to those who feel that they don't have enough magical strength to assist."
"Each person will work with what their strength is and how they want to help. Brigit, I agree with giving them an option at additional training as anything we do in terms of battle-ready plans, duelling will only be part of it," Kingsley said. "But we need to focus on having an expeditionary force. Our Aurors and Hit Wizards are amazing; some of them the best trained in the world actually, but they are first and foremost law enforcers, and not available to both enforce the law and defend the country; that's what the MIA is for. But we can't wait for them to find time to help us. The ICW has its own concerns and we, as a country, need to be prepared to defend ourselves against a civil war. I want to have contingencies in place if You Know Who does decide to launch some form of full scale attack. We still aren't sure what it is that he wants and that is part of the problem. He hasn't made his intentions clear."
Sirius nodded. "I agree with, King, an expeditionary force is exactly what's needed here. Someone would need to be the head of the unit and we would have to figure out how to organize it."
Katherine Thomas smiled at them raising her wand into the air. "Muggles have a full defence system in place. They have an army, an air force, and a navy, often with other specialized units. Our specialized unit would be the so-called Spook Squad, but we need other specialized units. We could technically follow their example by setting up a Ministry of Defence and organizing three defence squads based on land, air, and sea. Land would be our witches, wizards, vampires, and wolves who could all work together to form infantry units and defend as necessary. We can leave the air to the fae, to the Veela, and potentially even have another unit of witches and wizards on broomsticks to attack from the air. Dragon tamers could also be brought in depending on the level of emergency declared. The same could be said about the sea. We could discuss speaking to the Merpeople about helping us form a sea defence and I know that there's a few Magizoologists who have the touch with creatures like Kelpies and they could potentially ride them into battle if necessary."
Sirius grinned at her. "Katherine, that's rather brilliant."
She smiled. "It's my job to know the law and Muggle politics is just as fascinating to me."
Sirius grinned at Kingsley. "Four potential squads or units. I know someone who works in Romania with dragonologists there; we could definitely bring some of the people on board." He jotted down notes and grinned widely. "This is honestly a brilliant idea, Katherine. Thank you for bringing it to our attention."
"If we do form these we will have to recruit people to join them. They will have to be trained and ideally, paid by the Ministry, though some of them may be volunteers," Katherine said, her eyes on the group. "The men and women who fight for the Muggles are given a wage as well as a promised benefit of financial support to their families if they are killed in action, much like we supply for our law enforcement officers."
Kingsley nodded, making notes himself. "I have quite a few Aurors in my department who would excel at training and potentially leading all of these units. Rufus Scrimgeour would be an ideal choice to lead the unit on the ground. He has an excellent mind for strategy and tactical. He's one of our best trainers in the Academy."
Sirius was nodding as he made notes on his page. "This is looking great. I think we are actually ready to start drafting the legislation. Does anyone disagree?"
Everyone nodded so he smiled.
"Let's get to work and by next week, we can present this to the Wizengamot. In the meantime, if you all could reach out and talk to people who may be interested or could be of help in forming this defence, that would be a great start. The more people we have on board before we present our legislation draft, the more prepared we are for anything," Sirius said.
Adrian nodded. "I know that Echo and I both have many men and women in our packs who would be willing to be on call for a good fight."
Langdon nodded. "There are a few in the VCE who would also be on board with it. Let's get writing."
Sirius nodded at Katherine Thomas who immediately grabbed a quill and a piece of parchment. It was going to be a long afternoon, but it was going to be worth it.
~ ASC ~
Draco was lying in his bed, his breathing still heavy as Ophelia's hand continued to fondle him gently. She was getting damn good with her hands, he thought, leaning over to kiss her.
She grinned widely. "That was nice."
"It was better than nice. Thanks," he said, kissing her on the lips before he used his wand to clean up the mess. He felt incredibly relaxed now and thought that he might drift off to sleep.
Ophelia kissed him softly again and stood up, adjusting her own robes. "I have homework to do so I'm going to get going before you fall asleep. Come find me later?"
Draco grinned at her. "Sure thing, love."
He heard the door close a moment later and sighed, putting his arms behind his head. She was great and he enjoyed her, but he was starting to think that their relationship had gotten a bit stale. He kept his arms behind his head as his eyes closed and not a second later heard the dormitory door open and Blaise tugged his curtain aside and sat on the edge of his bed.
"Well, Draco, isn't that a rather lovely and well spent cock."
Draco rolled his eyes and shoved his goods back into his pants. "If you had the decency to check if I was dressed before making yourself comfortable in my bed, you wouldn't be forced to look at it."
Blaise smirked at him. "Where's the fun in that? Ophelia getting better with her hands?"
"She's really great with her hands," he said with a grin. "And she's been letting me go down on her, which I quite like."
"Mouth?" Blaise asked.
Draco smirked, letting his tongue trail across his bottom lip. "You know I don't kiss and tell. What do you want?"
"I got a letter from Mamma today."
Draco's eyebrow rose at that as he sat up in the bed, his shirt still unbuttoned. "I'm taking it's not the usual 'how's the term going' then?"
Blaise shook his head. "My stepfather went out for a walk and was attacked by a werewolf. Apparently it was quite violent and he was, I'm quoting here, 'torn to shreds.'"
Draco winced. "So, he's dead?"
"She's absolute poison, mate. This makes five dead husbands in sixteen years."
"You think that she called the werewolf attack?"
Blaise shrugged. "Probably. The thing with her, Draco, no one can ever prove it. I knew before I came to school that he was running out of time. She was hinting to me that Jason was flirting a little too much with other women and she felt like he was neglecting her. But I think it was more than that. There's this bloke who owns a winery in Tuscany who she's been flirting with a lot. To be honest, I'm pretty sure they might be shagging already and she and Jason weren't doing great. They were arguing about her Dark Mark last I heard. Jason didn't agree with it and he wanted to know why she had allowed that evil man to brand her in the first place."
"What did Bellarosa say?"
Blaise snorted. "Something along the lines of a branding coming in many forms."
Draco nodded, scratching his stomach. "I haven't heard anything new either. Mother wrote to me and said that all was quiet on the western front and I told her about how school's been going. Father did send word that he's somewhere safe, but obviously he couldn't say more in case the letter was intercepted by the Ministry. I assume he's with Grandfather."
"I've been thinking about Theo meeting him… it can't be too much longer for us, Draco."
"What could he want from us? We're only fifteen, what could we even offer him?"
Blaise stared at his friend. "Mamma wants to meet me for lunch at the first Hogsmeade trip in October."
"She's left Italy, then?"
"Or at least she will be," Blaise confirmed. "If she leaves Italy she's going to get herself into trouble. The Ministry of Magic knows her name as she was revealed in Potter's memory. If she's caught, it will be her own bloody fault. But if she's coming here, it's not just to see me. She has a reason and I imagine that the Dark Lord is part of that. She worships him."
Draco paled slightly and his long fingers tapped along his knees. "We both know that she does more than worship him. My mother alluded to that fact."
Blaise shrugged indifferently. "Mamma whoring herself out is hardly a surprise to me, but trust me, it's not to him."
Draco stared at his friend for a long moment. "You think that she's going to ask you to meet the Dark Lord?"
Blaise nodded. "I do and if she asks me, Draco, we both know that means your grandfather can't be too far behind in insisting that you do the same."
The door to the dorm opened and Theo stepped in, his eyes downcast. His dark brown hair was a bit messier than usual and his cheeks were flushed.
Theo headed straight into the bathroom and closed the door behind him without saying a word to either of them.
Draco raised an eyebrow at Blaise. "I know that he said meeting the Dark Lord was awful, but he seemed okay with it considering. Now it's like he's… there's something off with him."
Blaise nodded, his eyes on the closed bathroom door. "Any idea who he's been fooling around with?"
"No clue, he's been oddly closed lipped about it," Draco admitted. "You know how Theo is, he mopes about for a bit before he finally comes forward."
"Maybe Weaslette will have better luck," Blaise supplied. "Have you asked her?"
Draco shook his head. "Hardly."
Blaise grinned and licked his lips. "I'd be willing to ask her. She filled out this summer, Draco, even you must have noticed. I saw a picture of her and Theo on the beach in Anguilla, and Merlin, she was wearing this turquoise bikini and her milky tits looked like ripe ample oranges. I bet her nipples are brown like her freckles or maybe a soft delicate pink. And I know that you've noticed her arse."
Draco shrugged. "I've looked, sure. She's not my type, but yeah, she blossomed, I'll give you that."
Blaise grinned. "That nice tight arse, I'd love to bend her over and just mmm," he groaned making Draco snort.
"I'd be careful there, Zabini. I heard she made bogeys the size of bats come out of the end of Corner's prick last year. Apparently he screamed like a little girl."
Blaise winced. "I'd still like to tap that."
"Well, ask her about Theo and you can flirt away."
He grinned. "I just might do that. But first I'm going to go meet Roper."
"The Gryffindor?" Draco asked, his eyebrows up. "You going after red instead of green now?"
Blaise grinned widely, rocking on the balls of his feet. "Well, I've already worked my way through some green and Roper likes to spend time on her knees. Who am I to refuse her?" At his friend's look, he grinned. "You see if you can talk to Theo, I'll see if I can get the scoop from Red."
Draco nodded as Blaise hurried out of the dorm to meet his date. Once his friend was gone, he simply moved into the bathroom. He could hear the shower running so he just waited by the counter for his friend to finish. Theo came out five minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Hey," Draco said, hopping up onto the bathroom counter.
Theo nodded. "Hey. What were you and Blaise gossiping about?"
Draco grinned. "Gossip? Us? Never." When Theo grinned, he smiled back. "Bellarosa's a widow again."
Theo stared at him. "Are you kidding?"
Draco shook his head as he filled his friend in on what had happened. "We're starting to think that we might be meeting the Dark Lord soon ourselves. Bellarosa wants to meet Blaise for lunch during the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. He's feeling a bit uneasy on her returning to England."
Theo nodded, gently moisturizing his face with a soft, fresh smelling shaving lotion. "He should be. The Ministry is searching for her, but I think that with all of the safe houses they have set up everywhere, they won't be found until they are ready to be found which isn't exactly reassuring either."
"No, it's not," Draco admitted. "I've been thinking about maybe breaking with up Ophelia."
Theo's eyebrow rose. "Why? I thought you really liked her."
"I do. I mean, of course I do. She's gorgeous and sexy and nice, but like it just feels almost stale and mechanical between us anymore. Before Blaise came in we had been fooling around some and well, it was great, but it was also just… I don't know. You seeing anyone right now?"
"No," Theo said quickly. "Just… fooling around."
"Who's the bloke?"
"No one."
Draco stared at him as he watched his friend start to shave. "You've been acting kind of off since just before school started up. Since the news about Azkaban actually. Everything okay?"
"I'm fine, Draco," Theo said as he shaved. "Obviously I'm a bit off about the whole Azkaban thing. Father always talks about some of the people that were in there and the things they had done. Dolohov particularly… it's not a good thing that those men and women have escaped."
"I agree. I'm not pleased with it either, but that's not what's really bothering you."
"It's nothing, Draco, just something that I have to work out for myself. Don't worry, I can take care of myself."
Draco didn't doubt that, but he knew that there was something else going on here as well. He just wasn't sure what that was. "I know. I'm just checking in."
"And I love you for that. Now go away."
Draco snorted and hopped off of the counter. "Fine. I'll be in the common room once you're decent. I'd like to get started on Potions, if you're up for it."
Theo nodded as Draco left the bathroom and he leaned forward onto the counter and closed his eyes.
He had planned on coming straight to the common room to work on his homework, but Macmillan had cornered him. He'd been punched in the cheek again and thrown to his knees. The taste of his own blood had smeared across the hard cock Macmillan had shoved into his mouth. When he'd finished, Theo had gagged and the prefect had simply gripped his hair tighter and held him in place, milking himself in his mouth before he pulled away.
Theo had made to stand, but Macmillan had shoved him back to his knees.
"Whores don't stand until I've left the room," he said, shoving his cock back into his trousers. He stared at Theo for a moment, at the blood and semen on his lips and he'd grinned. "Saturday, half past two, broom closet on the second floor. Nott, you are going to beg for it this time or you'll regret it."
Theo made to stand again and the prefect's fist shot out, punching him straight in the jaw. He groaned in pain.
Macmillan grinned. "Remember who's in charge here, cocksucker. Stay on your knees until I've left."
And then he turned and left the room, leaving Theo holding his jaw on the floor of the empty dungeon room.
He had to find a way out of this, he thought. He had to find a way to stop Macmillan from blackmailing him. It wasn't just about the money and the Nott estate, he thought, if the Dark Lord or his followers got wind of who he was… it would be a hell of a lot more than his pride at stake.
And that's what scared him.
~ ASC ~
By the time the Wizengamot session came to meet, Sirius was feeling very good about the drafts of legislation that they had written. By the time they had finally formed the bill, the whole cabinet felt confident about it. September was already into its third week and there hadn't been any news since the prison break nor had any of the prisoners been caught. However, four bodies of former prisoners had been found.
The first one had been on the Dorset coast. His body looked like he had been beaten and torn to shreds before being killed. Tonks had told him that the man had been sentenced to ten years in Azkaban and had been in his last three months. He had been illegally manufacturing and selling cursed objects to Muggles. Whatever he had done, his refusal to follow Voldemort and his followers had gotten him killed.
The last three were found huddled together in a ditch outside of Hampshire. As all three of them were fairly elderly, the Aurors had concluded that they hadn't been worth the effort to try to convert to his side.
Sirius stifled a yawn as he took his seat in the Wizengamot. He had barely slept the night before, nervous about today and anxious to get something in place. The more time that passed since the breakout meant that the more ready Voldemort and his followers were going to be and they needed to get this into action as soon as possible. The big discussion had been on the new bill that they were planning to discuss today and he could see that word had gotten around. It was the largest assembly of the Wizengamot that he had seen yet as he noted that very few chairs were empty. Usually no more than a few dozen members showed up on a weekly basis. Seeing so many people turn up made him feel a bit more positive for what was coming.
Dumbledore stepped up to the podium and started the session, addressing the assembly. He explained about the proposal for the Phoenix Initiative again and the work that they had been putting into it.
"There are four components to it and with every part we have done our best to accommodate everyone," he explained with a smile. "Our Minister formed a new cabinet called the Crann Bethadh Cabinet otherwise known as the CBC, which has been working diligently on making this project into a bill. Along with the help of a second cabinet, known as the War Room, which has been led by Lord Black and myself. Lord Black, would you be so kind as to present the bill to the assembly."
Sirius nodded and stood up, the parchment in his hand as he made his way to the podium at the front. "As our Chief Warlock has explained, this is the bill of the Phoenix Initiative Project, some of which we have already started to put into motion. We wrote multiple drafts of this before we came to our final bill. I will read the bill aloud to you now, copies have all been provided at your seats. The bill is being drafted as Bill E72-WD9, but we are informally calling it the Phoenix Initiative. Before I go forward, I just want to state the new changes that were made to the British Magical Citizenship Law."
British Magical Citizenship:
A British Magical Citizenship will be provided for all subjects of the realm under the protection of the Ministry of Magic. All Witches and Wizards, no matter the status of their blood, and every British Magical Citizen, no matter which "being" or "beast" they had previously been classified as under the British Magical Citizen Bill of 1589, will have the protection of the Ministry of Magic. Altered to include any magical being with human-like abilities capable of performing magic, September 1995.
"Everyone clear on those changes? We voted them in last week?" At everyone's nod, Sirius continued.
The Ministry of Magic plans to enact the following laws under the Phoenix Initiative Project, Bill E72-WD9. The legislation contains four major categories and each one will be drafted under a separate Ministry department and broken into four sections:
i. Department of Education
ii. Wizengamot Assembly
iii. Sub-Government
iv. War Council
I. Department of Education:
Every British Magical Citizen has the right to earn a magical education by attending a magic school in the United Kingdom. The Ministry of Magic's Department of Education strives to provide world-class education, training, and care for every British Magical Citizen. We strive to ensure the following principles are met by our educators as well as our Board of Governors:
Article 1:
1. Ensuring our academic standards match and keep pace with key comparative nations.
2. Strive to bring our innovative education standards in line with leading international systems.
3. Ensure that education builds character, resilience, and well-being.
4. Strive for every single student to reach their potential to live a more fulfilled life whilst providing a productive economy so that our British Wizarding World is fit for the future.
Article 2:
1. A British Magical Citizen is a subject of the realm under the protection of the Ministry of Magic.
2. All Witches and Wizards no matter the status of their blood and every British Magical Citizen no matter which "being" or "beast" they had previously been classified as, will be granted equal opportunities under the law.
3. Any British Magical Citizen with the ability to perform magic of any kind must be given an equal opportunity in accordance with the educational provisions of the Ministry of Magic's Department of Education's rules and regulations.
4. Those British Magical Citizens formerly known as "beings" or "beasts" including but not limited to anyone with magical blood such as: Werewolves, Shapeshifters, Vampires, Fae, Veela, Merpeople, Elves of every caliber, Goblins, Centaurs, or any other British Magical Citizen with magical capabilities. The status of the subject of the realm is acquired in accordance with the provisions of the Ministry of Magic and with the British Magical Citizenship Laws.
Article 3:
1. In the provision of Werewolves attending magic school, families who do not support the use of the Wolfsbane Potion (due to them being minors and not adults undergoing the transformation), will be permitted to remove their children from the school during the full moon if they wish it.
2. The Ministry of Magic has the power to remove, arrest, or sentence any British Magical Citizen from any establishment if they have become a threat to the well being of the community or to the general public. This includes any Werewolf who is not using the Wolfsbane Potion and maims or injures an individual during the full moon. There is a zero tolerance policy for Werewolf-related attacks that may occur during the full moon or otherwise.
3. Vampires or part-Vampires attending educational facilities will be allocated the proper dietary needs.
4. Fae will be given the opportunity to show their own powers and magical skills while still following curriculum based magical teachings. All students, no matter blood, beast, or being, will be given the chance to learn both wandless and wand magic accordingly.
5. Any British Magical Citizen with magical capabilities interested in providing their children with a Ministry sanctioned magical education has the right to discuss terms and responsibilities with the School Board, the Department of Education, and the Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in question.
Article 4:
1. The Head of the Department of Education of the Ministry of Magic and the Hogwarts Board of Governors, in coordination with the Office of the Minister of Magic, will issue the legal and administrative orders required to implement and complete this law.
II. Wizengamot Assembly
The Ministry of Magic's Wizengamot Assembly is an elected and hereditary assembly for Witches and Wizards to draft legislation, vote, and otherwise assist the Minister of Magic in governing the British Wizarding World. Hereditary seats are given to members of old families interested in sitting in the Wizengamot under the House of Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot. Members must still be voted in publicly and magically before being allowed to sit on the Wizengamot. The House of Common Wizengamot Members can be formed by any Witch or Wizard interested in joining and must still be voted in publicly and magically before being allowed to sit on the Wizengamot.
Article 1:
1. The Wizengamot strives to expand the current mandatory number of official seats from 53 to 73 seats; allowing the Wizengamot in full capacity to hold 475 seats.
2. The House of Lords and Ladies will be increased to 257 seats from the previous 211; only mandatory for 41 of those seats to be in attendance in order to call forth a session of the Wizengamot Assembly.
3. The House of the Common Wizengamot Members will be increased to 218 from the previous 188; only mandatory for 32 of those seats to be in attendance in order to call forth a session of the Wizengamot Assembly.
4. The Wizengamot will officially elect and vote in new members of the House of Lords and Ladies and the House of the Common Wizengamot Members from all local municipalities including but not limited to: Alphas of the Wolf Packs, members of the Vampire Confederacy of Europe specifically those from the Vampire Confederacy of England (only British Magical Citizens who are members may sit on the Wizengamot), members of the Royal Court of Tara, and any other British Magical Citizen who shows an interest in joining the Wizengamot Assembly.
Article 2:
1. Every single member of the Wizengamot must be voted in by the Wizengamot Assembly and swear an oath of magic and blood, adding it to the Sovereign Chalice.
2. Once blood is mixed into the Sovereign Chalice the British Magical Citizen is both magically and legally bound to serve in the Assembly for a minimum of six months out of the year.
3. If the member has missed more than six months of Wizengamot meetings, they can be voted out of the Wizengamot and a new election must take place to replace their seat. The Chief Warlock/Witch has the right to decide upon this decision.
4. Special guests may sit in and view Wizengamot Assembly sessions only when they are made open to the public or for a reason stated by the Chief Warlock/Witch.
Article 3:
1. All Wizengamot Members must come in formal assembly robes at all times even during emergency meeting sessions.
2. Any member of the Wizengamot has the right to declare an emergency assembly for any reason that they seem fit, but the Chief Warlock/Witch has the right to deny the meeting if they do not deem it a state of emergency.
3. The Wizengamot has the ability to declare a state of emergency for any reason they see fit, but it must be voted on by the assembly before being formerly passed.
Article 4:
1. The Chief Warlock/Witch in coordination with the Minister of Magic, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the Wizengamot, will issue all legal and administrative regulations required to implement and complete all laws and legislations.
III. Sub-Government
The Ministry of Magic is the law of the British Wizarding World and all British Magical Citizens are held accountable to follow the laws and regulations implemented by the Ministry of Magic.
Article 1:
1. Each unitary authority among districts and counties reports directly to the Ministry of Magic.
2. Each unitary authority has the right to be responsible for their own state of government including but not limited to: Tax collection, social care, and general governing as long as the laws implemented by the Ministry of Magic are followed.
Article 2:
1. A Sub-Government may be allowed to form under the law of the Ministry of Magic provided that at least three members of the Sub-Government sit on the Wizengamot Assembly.
2. A Sub-Government may include the Royal Court of Tara whereas the King and/or Queen are solely responsible for their court and people including law and order, but any crime committed within the Sub-Government against a British Magical Citizen that does not reside in the Sub-Government of the accused, will be held accountable by the Ministry of Magic for their crimes. If said crime occurs within the Sub-Government against a British Magical Citizen who does reside in the same Sub-Government, the Ministry will allow criminal action to be taken by the Sub-Government provided that the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement is brought in to oversee the sentencing.
3. A Sub-Government may include the four Wolf Packs of Britain run under the Council of Elders: Southwestern, Northwestern, Southeastern, and Northeastern whereas each Alpha is solely responsible for their pack and people including law and order, but any crime committed within the Sub-Government against a British Magical Citizen that does not reside in the Sub-Government of the accused, will be held accountable by the Ministry of Magic for their crimes. If said crime occurs within the Sub-Government against a British Magical Citizen who does reside in the same Sub-Government, the Ministry will allow criminal action to be taken by the Sub-Government provided that the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement is brought in to oversee the sentencing.
4. A Sub-Government may include the Vampire Confederacy of Europe, specifically the Vampire Confederacy of England whereas the Minister of the Vampire Confederacy of England is solely responsible for their people including law and order, but any crime committed within the Sub-Government against a British Magical Citizen that does not reside in the Sub-Government of the accused, will be held accountable by the Ministry of Magic for their crimes. If said crime occurs within the Sub-Government against a British Magical Citizen who does reside in the same Sub-Government, the Ministry will allow criminal action to be taken by the Sub-Government provided that the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement is brought in to oversee the sentencing.
5. A Sub-Government may be added accordingly if asked only after a vote and discussion by the Wizengamot Assembly on necessity and requirements for said Sub-Government to exist outside of the Ministry of Magic's unitary authority and jurisdiction.
IV. War Council
A sub-committee of the Ministry of Magic established to decide a course of action and to make decisions concerning the defence and national security of the British Wizarding World. The Warlock/Witch Commander of the War Council has the ability to make defence and national security decisions when the Minister of Magic is unavailable to do so.
Article 1:
1. In time of national security or a state of emergency, the War Council has decided to establish a Department of Defence under the Office of the Minister of Magic.
2. The Department of Defence will be run by the Warlock/Witch Commander elected who will then elect four commanding officers to lead the expeditionary forces during times of war.
Article 2:
1. The first force will be called Terra Troops, representing our Earth element and protecting the land from those who wish to see it harm.
2. Terra Troops will be a land-based force including trained Witches, Wizards, Wolves, Shape-shifters, Vampires, and any other land creature willing to assist the infantry phalanx.
3. This will be the biggest of the four units and there will be a minimum of one hundred Troops in the unit.
Article 3:
1. The second force will be called the Aqua Protectors, representing our Water element and protecting the oceans, lakes, and rivers from those who wish to see it harm.
2. Aqua Protectors will be a water-based force including Magizoologists, sea creatures, and any Merperson willing to assist in protecting the shores during a battle.
3. There will be a minimum of eighty Protectors in the unit.
Article 4:
1. The third force will be called the Wing Guards, representing our Air element and protecting the skies as well as guarding our Aqua Protectors and Terra Troops from above.
2. Wing Guards will be an air-based force including Witches and Wizards on broomsticks, Fae, Veela, Dragonologists, and dragons or any other flying creatures or beings willing to assist in protecting the British Wizarding World.
3. There will be a minimum of eighty Guards in the unit.
Article 5:
1. The fourth and final force will be called the Spook Squad, representing the Fire element and protecting our intelligence and element of surprise.
2. The Spook Squad will be an intelligence gathering operation of highly trained Witches and Wizards (including members of the Magical Intelligence Agency) along with any other British Magical Citizen willing to assist in protecting the British Wizarding World.
3. The Spook Squad will be responsible for providing as much detail as possible on potential threats and attacks from Dark Witches and Wizards or from creatures or beings looking to harm the British Wizarding World.
4. The Spook Squad will be highly trained and sworn to secrecy and the smallest of the four forces with only thirty Spooks.
Article 6:
1. The goal of the War Council is to coordinate allies and forces to defend the British Wizarding World when an attack occurs; to protect the lives of our people.
2. The War Council will call forth all forces when necessary and coordinate with any Sub-Governments within the Ministry of Magic as needed.
Moved by the understanding that safety and the protection of our British Magical Citizens and our magical community as a whole is the essential condition for the continued existence of the safety and protection of the Magical World, and inspired by the inflexible determination to ensure that the existence of the British Wizarding World for all time, the Ministry of Magic has unanimously adopted the following Phoenix Initiative Project otherwise known as Bill E72-WD9 to be brought into law starting the 1st of October, 1995.
Discussion immediately broke out among everyone as Sirius finished reading the bill and Dumbledore stood up. "It's a lot of changes, we are aware of that, but they are changes that we need for our government. Madam Minister?"
Minister Bones stood up and made her way over to the podium. "I was elected by all of you only a few short months ago. I didn't ask for this job; yet here I am doing my best to lead our community into a safer world. This legislation has been drafted by over a sixty people. Our Education department, the Hogwarts Board of Governors, members of the Office of the Minister of Magic, our Sub-Government leaders from our new allies, as well as members of the International Confederation of Wizards, lawyers from the International Magical Office of Law, members of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, members of the Wizengamot, and Aurors and/or officers from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We are not taking this lightly. We are striving to move forward on a note of positive change and on the tail of this change, defending ourselves from the dark witches and wizards following He Who Must Not Be Named and the war that they are ultimately bringing with him. We need to make change now and we need to be ready to follow through on it so that we can all have safe lives and provide safety for the future of our children."
Applause broke out and Bones smiled. "Are they any questions about the new legislation before we bring it to a vote?"
"In terms of wandless magic, will our children be taught that immediately after we've been telling them to wait for their wands?"
"No," Bones said with a smile. "Lord Ogden, the new Wandless Magic course is only offered to those students who have already written their OWLs. We want our children to learn how to centre and focus their magic first before we teach them how to expand it. We all know how powerful our children are before they have wands. When one is learning, the wand is an essential tool, but once they've learned how to focus their magic, expanding its use to wandless will be an easy switch for them. Our new professor at Hogwarts is a former mage in the Royal Court of Tara and she will be teaching them how to do so now that they are older and have better control over their own powers."
"For the War Council," CWM Marchbanks declared, "How will members be chosen? Will there be restrictions and contingencies?"
Sirius smiled at her. "Age limits for sure. No one under the age of seventeen will be allowed to join a unit and my dear, Griselda, I know that you're as strong as a horse, but I think anyone over the age of seventy-five should also be restricted."
CWM Marchbanks glared at him. "I could out duel you any day, young man!"
Sirius grinned wider. "I don't doubt it."
Kingsley stood up. "We are choosing commanders from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to run the new units and from there we will open it to the DMLE and to the public along with our allies from the French and Bulgarian Ministries to assist in joining the units if interested. We will begin training immediately and move on from there. We want to be ready for whatever surprises He Who Must Not Be Named throws at us next."
Bones smiled warmly at them. "CWM Shacklebolt, we also need to discuss a new location for prisoners since Azkaban has been destroyed."
Kingsley nodded. "We are working on potential locations now, Madam Minister. I will make sure that you are kept informed."
"Thank you. Any other questions on Bill E72-WD9 or can we put it to a vote?" Bones asked.
Dumbledore stood up when everyone quieted down. "I am honoured to bring the Phoenix Initiative to the voting table today. Those in favour of passing Bill E72-WD9 into circulation, please raise your wand."
Three hundred wands immediately rose into the air.
Dumbledore smiled widely, adding his own wand as Bones did the same putting them at three hundred and two. "Three hundred and two is more than half which means Bill E72-WD9 passes into law."
Sirius grinned widely, turning to smile at Augusta Longbottom. "It's a great day to be here today."
She smiled back at him. "You, boy, are as smart as a whip and I look forward to seeing what else you can handle with the War Council."
"Oh, I won't be running that," he said with a shake of his head. "Not my area of expertise, but I do plan on joining the Terra Troops Unit, if I pass the requirements that is. I want to be ready for this war in any way that I can be."
"We're off to a great start and Griselda and I will be joining the Terra Troops right alongside you. I'd like to see you try to stop us," Augusta Longbottom declared.
Sirius grinned at the two women. He knew that they were powerful and he knew that they were more than capable of handling themselves, but allowing the two elderly women to go off and fight seemed ridiculous to him. He opened his mouth to say something on it and the look in her eye made him promptly close it.
He wasn't going to have to make the decision on who joined the units so whoever King elected to run the Terra Troops could tell them no.
He was just glad that it wasn't him, he thought.
~ ASC ~
By the end of the second week of school, Harry was looking forward to Quidditch practice. Every single professor had been drilling into their heads the importance of this year being their OWLs and just the thought of the Ministry run tests he would be required to take at the end of the year gave him a headache. He looked around at his team, he felt a little sad that it wasn't the same six people that he had become accustomed to. Wood was gone; finishing school over a year ago now, and the thought of Alicia leaving as well made him feel sad and a bit nostalgic. He cleared his throat, leaning over the top of his broom as he stood on the pitch.
"Oi! Attention over here, please!"
Everyone quieted down to look at him and he smiled.
"Thanks. So, um, as you know, I was chosen to be Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year."
"And the badge looks right dashing on you, Harry," Fred said, batting his eyelashes dramatically.
Harry grinned at him, puffing out his chest to show off the badge. "I pulled a Percy and polished it this morning."
Fred snorted and gave him a thumbs up sign.
"Anyway," Harry said, grinning at his team. "I've asked Angelina to help me co-captain for the year. She deserves to be up here and even though she turned it down, I'd really like her help. She also informed me that our amazing Chaser Alicia has decided to quit."
"What?" Fred and George exclaimed simultaneously.
"Leesh, you can't leave us! It's our final year!" Fred exclaimed.
George nodded. "No one can ever replace you!"
Alicia smiled at them. "That means a lot, guys, honestly, but I have to do this for me. I really want to have my spare time to work on this Arithmancy project and to do that, something has to give. But I promise to be on reserve if for any reason you become a Chaser down and no, Fred, me leaving does not qualify me filling in for being a Chaser down."
Fred closed his mouth as he frowned. "Spoilsport."
Katie elbowed her lightly. "We'll miss you, Leesh. I better hear you cheering us on."
"I won't miss a game," she vowed, grinning widely. "And I plan on helping you find a qualified Chaser first."
Harry grinned at them. "A Keeper and a Chaser. The tryouts will be on Saturday afternoon. I already put a notice up in the Gryffindor common room. Does this work for everyone?"
Everyone nodded and he grinned.
"Excellent. Tonight, I just want to get some flying practice in. See how well everyone remembers how to fly after our hiatus last year."
"Well, give us a break, Potter, not all of us got to practice on a dragon," George said as he hopped onto his broom.
"Yeah, some of us had to do boring old normal flying," Fred added.
Harry stuck his tongue at them and hopped onto his broom. "I'll lead laps around the pitch. Let's go!"
His team grinned as they all followed him.
Harry flew down the pitch, looping around the goal posts, flying through and around them, diving down and back up before zooming back towards the other end and repeating the process. He was pleased to see his team following him in almost perfect harmony.
They hadn't lost anything at all, he thought with a grin.
He just hoped the tryouts on Saturday went just as well.
This year that Cup was staying with Gryffindor House, he thought.
~ ASC ~
When Harry stepped into the common room that night after practice he was surprised to see Ginny sitting next to Dean chatting. He knew that Dean was determined to get with some girls this year, but even he had to know better than to go after the youngest Weasley. He had really thought that he had made his thoughts clear on it and he had thought maybe Ron had gotten his point across as well, but obviously Dean wasn't willing to be deterred. When Ginny laughed at something he said, Harry found himself scowling.
He walked over and sat down on the couch next to Ginny, shifting a bit closer to her than was necessary so that his knee bumped hers.
"Hi, Ginny. Dean."
"Hey, Harry," Dean said brightly, shifting a bit towards Ginny's other side. "Ginny and I were just talking about your Quidditch tryouts tomorrow. It would be great to be on the Gryffindor team."
Harry stared at them in surprise. "You're both going to try out for the team?"
"Don't know if I'm good enough," Dean admitted. "But I make a fair goalie in football so I figured why not. I was seeing if Ginny wanted to help me practice?" he asked. "I heard that she likes to fly."
Ginny opened her mouth to answer and Harry spoke first.
"Sorry, Dean, she's much too busy to do that. You'll have to just try your luck by yourself." He grabbed her arm and tugged her to her feet.
"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed in surprise as he tugged her out of the common room and down the five steps to the little private study rooms just below the common room. "That was rude! Maybe I would like to help Dean."
Harry ignored her. "No, you wouldn't. Dean's a nice bloke, Ginny, but he's not good enough for you."
Ginny glared at him, pulling her arm from his grasp and crossing them in front of her. "Oh, really? And why do you get to dictate who may or may not be good enough for me?"
Her voice held a dangerous lilt to it, but he didn't care. He was staring at her soft moist lips. They seemed to be shimmering in some clear gloss that made them look more pink and more full than usual. His eyes trailed over her untucked dress shirt, a little tight over her breasts, loose tie and short skirt before he took step closer to her.
"I know what you need, Ginny."
Ginny swallowed, her brown eyes on his green ones. "Harry… what are you…?"
He moved closer, his hands on either side of the wall next to her head. He was so close that he could count every freckle on her face, but he didn't touch her.
"Don't — flirt — with — Dean."
Ginny's breath hitched and her eyes narrowed. "I will flirt with whomever I want to flirt with, Harry. I've snogged boys before. You can't control who I decide to date — and I swear, if you ever pull a stunt like this again, I'll hex you so badly that you won't be able to walk for a week. No, a month!"
He smirked when she tried to push him away and found him immovable. "Might be worth it."
And then he bent his head and crushed his lips to hers.
It was everything that he had ever imagined it would be, but it was a hundred times better. Her tight, lithe little body pushed against his as he tugged her up against him. His hands splayed in her gorgeous hair. His lips were greedy on hers and he barely took a breath before he urged her mouth open wider with his tongue and she moaned against him. The sound of her moan shot straight to his cock.
Because she was kissing him back.
She assaulted his mouth, deep long kisses that he met eagerly and when he finally pulled back, their mouths were both swollen. She was staring at him in shock.
"What… Harry… you… what about Mandy?"
He flushed red. "She's not you," he whispered, framing her face in his hands. "I tried to say it didn't matter, Ginny. I tried to convince myself that we could only ever be friends, but I still want you. It's you that I dream about, Ginny. It's you that I imagine on her knees, doing naughty things to me. It's you that I want. No one else. Just you. Always."
Ginny stared at him and then she stood on her toes and kissed him softly. "I'm yours. I always have been."
His mouth found hers again and soon his hands were under her shirt, unbuttoning it and his mouth lowered over her breasts, tugging them free from her bra as his mouth took her pink nipple. Ginny moaned and her hands slid down to cup him, slipping into his trousers. Her small hands gripped him tightly and he woke up in his dorm, his hand holding his hard cock and his heart pounding.
It was the third time since school had started, he thought, stroking his cock. He had to get her off his mind. But as he touched himself, he imagined her pink lips wrapped around him. He imagined those brown eyes on his as she sucked him; imagined touching those round breasts, kissing them… and he came hard, gasping slightly as his hand slid over his stomach.
He had to stop this, he thought. It was getting wildly out of hand. His dreams of her were coming almost as frequently as his bad dreams. Thank Merlin he used a silencing charm every night because if Ron knew what his dreams entailed about his sister he'd be a dead man.
Dean flirting with Ginny again today had obviously made him more angry than he had realized. Ginny couldn't date Dean, he thought. He wasn't good enough for her and there was also the point that he wasn't entirely sure that Dean wasn't into Seamus. Not that his friend would admit to such a thing.
He let out a slow sigh. He had to stop thinking about Ginny. Quidditch tryouts were in two days… that's what he needed to focus on. Ginny was going to be there, he thought. She was coming to try out for the team, Dean had told him. He scowled again at the thought. Dean needed to stay away from her.
Mandy, he thought, Mandy not Ginny, Mandy.
But when his eyes closed and he drifted off again, there was a familiar laugh and dancing red hair.
End Author's Notes:
(Italian) Ciao buon giorno - Hello, good day!
(Italian) vicino e caro al mio cuore - near and dear to my heart
My friend Brandon, that I work with, is super into politics to the point that if he ended up being PM in 20 years it wouldn't shock me. I bounced questions off of him for parliament and seats and whatnot to help me work out my numbers. I thought if there are 850 House of Lords seats and 600 House of Common seats, the magical world would be a lot less so I figured 200ish seemed like a good number. I spent days doing research on how the British government works and compared it to my own local government to write the bill and am proud of how it turned out. In terms of the unit names — thanks to the many people on Hinny Discord who tossed out ideas. Much appreciated.
As to the course description at the beginning, one of my favourite classes in university was International Relations in the Twentieth Century and I implemented parts of that class description to help explain the new course.
And I know — that was mean! I couldn't resist!
Thanks for reading and please review!