The headmaster waited for the first-year sorting to end before he stood up, gaining the attention of all students. "Another school year starts, and I'm glad to say that we have a welcome change in the staff. While Professor Moody refused my offer to teach another year, I believe you're going to like your new defence teacher much better. You've all seen her subduing a dragon and doing quite well during the Triwizard Tournament, last year. I'm now glad to present Lady Fleur Peverell as your defence professor. You may also notice that she's the youngest professor to ever teach at Hogwarts, and probably among the most beautiful and attractive ones as well. Don't let her delicate look mislead you, though. A lady who faced a dragon will not be easily impressed by a class of students. Stay on your best behaviour, or be ready to suffer the consequences."
He waited for the uproar to quiet down before speaking some more. "We're also very glad to reopen the student family lodging, after many generations it stayed unused, welcoming Lord Potter and his newly wedded wives to an apartment there."
The wave of gossip was even louder this time. Dumbledore waited for another moment before clapping his hands, making the food appear on the tables. "And now – tuck in!"
Ron looked a bit gloomy. He first filled his plate quite high and took a few bites before turning to Harry. "So, she's going to teach us defence? How good can she be if you beat her last year?"
Harry had already expected such questions and had his answer ready. "The tournament wasn't exactly fair and didn't allow her to show her knowledge. She did very well on the first task and was great in the second, as she was the only one attacked by Grindilows and yet she managed to escape only slightly harmed. I'm not sure I could have done any better in her place. Besides, water is not her element, making her particularly weaker, and she still managed. She was attacked by another champion during the third task, as you know, and she couldn't expect this. Otherwise, I believe she had just as good a chance to finish first as any of us. She's certainly more knowledgeable than me by far."
Ron shook his head. "Still, she has that effect on boys..."
Harry smiled. "You sat with us in the compartment for several hours and did fine. Of course, she may occasionally use her allure to teach or to punish, but that doesn't count."
It took Ron half the meal to come up with the next question. "So, are you really happy, being married to two?"
Harry's smile could have been more than answer enough, but he still spoke as well. "I'm very happy. Each of them complements me in a different way and I love them both dearly. I couldn't understand such feelings before, and I'm sure you still can't. Once you find the right girl for you, I think you will."
Ron stayed gloomy. "I thought Hermione was the right one. It turns out she isn't, being soul bound to you..."
Hermione intervened. "Ron, I don't think we had a chance at all. We're too different in our temperament and our interests. Even if we eventually dated, it would not have lasted, I'm sure. There must be somebody else who's the right one for you. It could be Lavender or Parvati. It could be someone from another house or another year. It may also be somebody from another country, one you've not yet seen. Only time will tell."
Ron looked around, scanning the hall, stopping his glance momentarily on some of the girls. "I suppose you're right," he finally said. "I should open my eyes and my heart to other girls."
Hermione smiled. "You may eventually make some girl very happy."
As they finished their meal, a house elf popped near them. "Master, Mistress, let Twinky lead you to your apartment."
Harry looked apologetically at Ron. "I guess I'll see you at breakfast. Good night." Ron only nodded.
By the time Harry lifted his eyes again, Fleur was joining them. "Let's go! It's been a long day and we all need some rest before tomorrow."
Harry smiled internally. He was sure that both his wives wanted something else before resting for the night, and he actually wanted it just the same.
The apartment they eventually went into was not too far from the Gryffindor tower, although not too close either. It contained a sitting room, or common room, similar in style to the Gryffindor one, but the colour scheme was red and green, making Harry wonder who had chosen the colours. It still looked very elegant, and after staying there for a few minutes, Harry found out that he liked it better than the red and gold he'd grown accustomed to. A short corridor led to the master bedroom that contained a very wide bed, more than suitable for three, along with two toilet tables, three dressers and some couches. A door on the side wall led to an elegant bathroom, that looked somewhat antique. An opposing door opened to a walk-in wardrobe, that already held their clothes. Their trunks were lined neatly at the corner.
There were two other doors in the corridor. Harry seemed surprised to find that each opened into a bedroom, quite similar to the master bedroom, only smaller. Fleur smiled at his confusion. "Old traditions dictated a separate bedroom, or even apartment, for each wife. They only came to the master bedroom if summoned. Some families also had such rooms for the concubines, though not so close to the master bedroom."
"Why would I want you to sleep in another room?" Harry wondered.
"Most nobles married by prearranged contracts. Love had not been considered and was often missing. I think you can deduce the rest."
Harry grimaced. "Well, I wouldn't like to sleep without any of you two in bed. We may save the other rooms for guests, if we ever need them."
The three enjoyed their new bedroom and the activities in it, yet made sure not to drag it too late and leave enough time for a good night's sleep. After their regular morning activities, they showered, got dressed for the day and made their way to the Great Hall. Fleur left the other two and moved to the head table, as expected. Harry and Hermione joined Ron at the Gryffindor table.
Their head of house was giving each student their schedule. Soon enough, all three were looking at their schedules. Ron grimaced. "We have DADA with the Slytherins, again."
Hermione smiled at that. "I'm confident that the new teacher will make sure they behave."
"I'm actually looking forward to it," Harry added.
They made their way to the DADA class and took their places on the front row, although Ron would have liked to sit a bit farther. The Slytherin students came soon enough, sitting as far away from the Gryffindor students as they could. All looked a bit subdued. Harry wondered what caused that. He couldn't see Malfoy, though.
When the bell rang, Fleur came in and closed the door. She looked at the class with a small smile and took her position at the front. "Welcome to the first lesson of Defense Against the Dark Arts of this term. I'm Professor Potter, and I'm going to teach this subject for the foreseeable future." It was evident that some of the Slytherins were not quite content with this, but none said anything.
"As I've spent a large part of last year at this school, I already know most of you, making the roster call unnecessary. You may have all noticed that only one student is missing, namely – Mr. Malfoy. Can anybody suggest what we can learn from his absence?"
There were some murmurs, but nobody raised a hand. Fleur smiled. "Well, maybe not everybody knows what happened to Mr. Malfoy. He tried to insult somebody. He was warned that that person was under House Protection. He tried it again. Does anybody know what happened next?"
Her glance at Harry and his friends made it clear that they were not supposed to answer. Fleur looked expectantly at the Slytherin side of the class. Eventually, Zabini raised a hand. "The House Protection was activated, as happens after the first warning. According to what I heard, his tongue was stuck to his mouth, making him unable to talk or to eat. He's still at the Hospital wing, I believe."
"Well said, Mr. Zabini. Five points to Slytherin. Now, can anybody tell me if this was a manifestation of Dark Magic?" She still looked at Hermione, as if trying to keep her from answering.
Parvati raised her hand. "It wasn't Dark Magic. Protection charms are just that – they protect by either preventing an action from affecting the protected or punishing the one attempting to harm them, normally causing only humiliation and possibly slight temporary pain, in order to pass the message. If one tries again, the punishment may become more severe."
"Quite right, Ms. Patil. Five points to Gryffindor. Now, let's go back to my original question. What can we learn from Mr. Malfoy's absence?"
Daphne answered this time. "I think you mean to show us that even magic that isn't dark can be harmful and that we should take warnings quite seriously."
"And...?" Fleur urged her.
"That we should treat everybody respectfully, no matter what one's ancestry is. Besides the protection that may be activated, it's simply wrong." Daphne looked a bit uncertain, though.
"Very well said, Ms. Greengrass. Not all protection schemes need a warning to put them in effect, so that one may never know if the protection would not respond. Even without protection, we shouldn't judge people by their ancestry but by themselves. Some very respectable families brought mediocre or worse wizards and witches, while some of what is considered by too many to be worthless ancestry proved to be very powerful and helped advance the magical community much more than others. Five points to Slytherin for a very good answer."
Fleur soon turned to the matters covered by the course books, proving herself to be very good at explaining and at passing information. She also made sure to give the same number of points to both houses, giving none any advantage over the other, although she didn't let Hermione answer more than once. By the end of the lesson, most students were quite impressed by the effectiveness of their young teacher.
"She's better than both professors Lupin and Moody, and much nicer to look at," Harry heard some Slytherin comment. He felt proud of his wife.
Ron was also impressed. "I didn't think she was so knowledgeable. And she made the lesson so interesting, that I barely noticed the time. I was almost surprised when it ended." He then grimaced. "I hope she'll be able to teach until we finish school, at least."
Harry knew what Ron was talking about. It had never been said by any figure of authority, yet everybody knew that the post was cursed, so nobody kept it for more than a year. Harry hoped the curse was now broken. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Fleur, nor wanted her to stay away from him.
\/\/\/
When Draco Malfoy was released from the hospital wing, a few days later, he kept his distance from the Potters and seemed quite subdued. Harry wasn't aware of this, but things were happening out of Hogwarts, gradually changing the British magical world.
As Peter's body had been found at the graveyard, missing a finger, It became clear that Sirius had not killed him. Fudge had to admit (only off-record, of course, and after considerable pressure by Dumbledore and Amelia Bones, among others) that he had acted in haste, after Sirius escaped Azkaban. The "kiss on sight" order was revoked and Sirius's status was changed from a prison fugitive to just one needed for interrogation. Large announcements were posted in magical communities and in the papers, asking Sirius to turn himself in for interrogation, promising him a just trial for the previous accusations.
With the Dark Mark fading again, most Death Eaters lost some of their confidence. Some were even smart enough to understand what the events at the graveyard at Little Hangelton, a few days before the end of the term, could mean.
Lucius Malfoy, being so well connected, had the information even before it reached the papers (although it only appeared as a small item on one of the middle pages). He understood that without the prospect of the Dark Lord returning, the pureblood bigotry would lead to a dead end, especially for him and his family. He tried to teach that to Draco, but his son wasn't smart enough to understand and too stubborn to change. Not even his encounter with Potter on the train helped teach him a lesson. Lucius was turning really worried.