Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling, I am just playing in her world
Much ado about… something?
Previously
Allowing her current desires to rule, and knowing the house empty aside Kreacher and her dad reading two floors below, she left the towels hung up and strutted across the landing to Hermione's room, bare except for a pair of knickers and her fur. Within Hermione's wardrobe was the low backed dress she had worn momentarily on the Hogwarts Express trip home. Well she could always apologize if her sister didn't want her wearing it.
With fur covering her modesty that was not veiled by the dress it wasn't too daring and her orange marmalade fur accented the black with white piping extreme low backed dress. Looking in her floor length mirror, having returned to her room, she waved her tail and experimented facial expressions. Turned her back to the mirror twisted her head to look over her shoulder and see how she looked from the rear.
She was still admiring herself in the mirror when she heard Hermione call up the stairwell that they were back and was she coming down to the drawing room, where they all were? "Hermione, I borrowed one of your dresses, I hope you don't mind." Heather called out while heading downstairs the flight between fourth and third floors.
"This is the same girl, whom last night was declaring she had enough clothes to reach the moon and back." Hermione teased from the second floor below.
"I don't have one like this, and I suddenly thought if I didn't apply the glamour charm, it is not quite so daring." Heather responded finally coming into view of Hermione as she started down the flight of stairs from the third floor.
"Oh, my, god! Heather, well… just… wow…
"I'm jealous you chose to wear that for Luna. Why didn't you wear it for me? It's my freaking dress!"
Standing now on the same floor Heather replied. "I am wearing this for you, my best friend, also my hopefully to be other best friend Luna and myself. Well if you let me keep it on that is."
"So I could demand you come to my room and take it off?" Hermione asked wondering where the words came from the second after she said them. She then was mortified as she realized her mum had arrived to see what the fuss was about and obviously heard what she said.
Mrs. Granger just stopped herself from saying the first thing she thought, and slowly drew a breath in while looking at her two daughters. Well she hadn't seen this caveat to the burgeoning emotions her twins had been realizing for the same girl. She should have, and must have deliberately been ignoring this possibility. It also now made Dan's odd comment to her earlier this morning make sense. Her daughters were staring at her in abject embarrassment.
"Mum I'll go upstairs and change. I had thought the dress would work with my fur, as I am not showing an indecent amount of skin this way. I am sorry for causing trouble." Heather turned obviously to bolt upstairs.
"Stop! Heather you look very fetching and the dress works perfectly the way you chose. You are not indecent and even if you wore it with your glamour, you wouldn't be. You would need to be totally comfortable before wearing it that way, but I would never stop you wearing it that way after making sure you had completely thought out why you chose to wear it.
"You should have asked to borrow the dress from your sister before putting it on though. That way you also wouldn't have surprised her so badly. Did you get the reaction from Hermione that you had desired Heather?" Mum asked.
"I did want to get some shock from you all. I wanted to feel good while sharing the evening with my best friends. Hermione was teasing and you arrived and took it to mean something else. We are becoming close sisters that are comfortable in teasing each other, and spending time with our friend Luna. There is nothing but friendship between the three of us." Heather quickly stated wanting to derail her mum and find a way out of this embarrassment.
"Heather when you shock other people you have to think of their feelings too. Teasing is fun but it can cause you attention, and if you don't want that attention. Or are not ready for a friendship to shift into a different relationship it can cause another to get mixed signals…
"Mum, surely you are not proponing that the 'girl dressed that way and deserved the result' philosophy?" Hermione angrily demanded. "Heather is learning her new person and should not feel that she has restrictions holding her back. It is exactly as she said. We are close sisters. Sisters mum!
"We tease and are developing a strong bond of friendship. You bought this dress for me and never had this conversation with me about when I should wear the dress. I might add that when I wore it, I would be wearing with bared skin. The way she wears it currently is more modest thanks to her fur and it is dramatic and I think she should wear it."
"Now you are twisting what I was saying, Hermione. Can you truthfully tell me you have only sisterly and amicable feelings toward Heather? That your comment was a tease and not something else?"
"Mum, I am not going to lose my new sister and best friend. I am completely happy with the way Heather and my friendship is growing. We're in the middle of a war. I am seventeen and have not finished my education, or established a career. I am not currently looking for a deeper relationship.
"Now I want to get ready before we pick-up Luna, and there is not much time before we need to leave." Hermione then flounced up the stairs leaving her mum and sister behind.
"Can I help…
Dad had exited the drawing room to find out what the commotion was about and lost his words when he saw how his baby was dressed.
"I've got it dear. Heather and I are going to our bedroom to talk, while Hermione gets changed. Then we will pick up Luna. Enjoy your book for a bit." Heather's mum then took hold of her daughter's hand and dragged her up one flight of stairs to the guest suite she was sharing with dad.
"Take a seat on the end of the bed Heather and listen I have a lot to say. Now I know that Hermione has given you an out. You can carry on with your vacillating on how you feel toward Hermione and Luna. Or you can take responsibility for what you have done and we can clear the air. I love you and want you to grow but I love Hermione, my other daughter too. I know she attacked me to deflect and cover for you. That she will defend your choice because she loves you that much is a great thing, which you must not abuse.
"You can hurt Hermione and Luna. Luna openly declared she was interested in either or both of you. I thought until a few minutes ago that Hermione was interested in only Luna, and you were clueless. There comes a point when acting clueless is not nice. It can lead to cruelty. Someone can revel in their power playing with other people's feelings and hide behind an act of I am innocent and clueless.
Heather opened her mount to object but her mum cut her off.
"No Heather you can talk after I am done. Let me get it all out then you can tell me how I am completely wrong or what you think we should do if you decide you agree with some, or all of the conclusions I have drawn.
"Now your dad and I made some decisions based on the belief that we were going to have three girls living together. One of the girls, Luna, has completely declared her intentions of interest with either or both. The second, Hermione that we believed had opened her eyes to a possibility with Luna. Lastly, there was you, the third girl that didn't understand their feelings due to having a lot to work out with her new current situation.
"From these believed facts your dad and I decided how the rooms would be arranged in our house. We then mimicked the set up in this house. We asked you to have Kreature set up a guest suite for Luna on this floor. We wanted you three to work out your feelings without the distraction of lust getting in the way. However, based off what your dad told me this morning that now makes sense having seen what I just witnessed. It would appear I am trying to shut the barn door after the horse has bolted.
"Heather, you are not in trouble. I am not angry as long as you don't lie. So please answer me truthfully did you sleep with Hermione last night?"
Guilt was written clearly on Heather's face but Mrs. Granger was at least thankful that she didn't blatantly deny what she had done as she had feared might happen. Heather quietly whispered that yes she had.
"I know Hermione and I now understand that she has chosen instead of fighting against you for Luna, where one of you would lose. She decided the solution was to share Luna with you. She probably came to your room last night and told you in typical Hermione, everything clearly defined and nailed down, fashion. However, after she had talked with you she would then have asked to stay. As soon as you let her sleep with you, then you accepted the relationship. Even though it was initiated by one, both are equally culpable when the second goes along with the first's suggestion.
"Am I correct in guessing that Hermione asked and you accepted?" Her mum queried and she sheepishly nodded.
"Now you have two choices. You either have to come clean and say you made a mistake or actively work on the new relationship. You can't say you are just friends when it is convenient. Then turn around plan and create an extravagant dinner with Luna's favorite dessert and get dressed to the nine's. This is what I meant about taking responsibility in what you wear not how Hermione twisted it to attack me and defend you.
"So the horse has bolted from the barn. All three of you are accepting in seeing if a three way relationship would work. It is not fair for me to separate Luna on this floor. Either I separate you from each other or I let you have the same access to each other. My next question is if Hermione came back to your room asking to sleep with you again would you sleep with her?"
"Yes I would. I liked it Mum. It was the best night I have ever had." Heather replied.
"Heather, I am glad you are comfortable talking to me about your sexuality. I thought you would be shy and uncomfortable. I am glad you have shown me that you are this mature and comfortable in your body.
"To ensure no one is playing with the emotions of another I would ask you request Kreacher to make up two more bedrooms on the fourth floor, one for Luna and the second for you. The master suite that is currently yours would become jointly owned by the three of you. That way you can each have your own space if you want to be alone, or a space to sleep together and no one has power to say the room you sleep together in, is theirs. I know it is your house but are you willing to make sure the sleeping arrangements don't give you an unfair advantage over Hermione and Luna?" Heather meekly nodded.
"Now there are just a few last topics Heather and then I'll let you say whatever you want or allow you to escape if you prefer. No matter what you chose now, know you can talk with dad or me anytime with any questions or worries. So if you feel you need to escape now, don't think that stops you from being able to come back later with a question.
"Before you decided to enter this relationship the choice, if it became available, to return to being Harry was yours. Though it still is, you started into a relationship as Heather and the choice now to be fair to the other girls, belongs to the three of you. If you say 'it is my choice' and make it, without their input you are being selfish. Do you understand?"
As Heather once more meekly nodded there was a knock on the bedroom door. "I am ready and it is the time we said we would meet Luna at the Rookery." Hermione let them know.
"Hermione wait for us in the drawing room we are not yet done and we can be late if need be. This is important." Mum stated then turning back to Heather. After giving time for Hermione to have left, she then resumed. "We can't go until you completely understand that you are now in a relationship with two other girls. I will be angry if I ever hear you again try to say you are just friends in the future with either of them. Doing that is the sort of thing only a cruel and mean girl would do. I will not tolerate you hurting others to feel better about yourself. You will not play with their feelings. Do you understand, Heather?"
"Yes mum I will not play with their feelings." Totally cowed Heather replied.
Her mum beamed at her so she felt significantly better. She still felt only a few inches tall but at least she wasn't a piece of clod, scrapped off of a dirty shoe, anymore. "I don't have any questions. Can I leave?"
"Heather you will come with me and meet Hermione in the drawing room and think about what you need to say to Hermione now. Also think what you should say to Luna when we pick her up later." Her mum said, letting her know she couldn't run for her room as she had planned.
"You okay?" Hermione asked when they entered the drawing room grabbing onto Heather's arm, and searching to see if mum had hurt her in any way. She wasn't happy with the body language she was getting from Heather.
Heather looked and appreciated Hermione's outfit. She wouldn't be a cruel tease. She would express her emotions as soon as she felt them. She wouldn't be responsible for hurting Hermione again. So tightly hugging herself to Hermione and enjoying her girlfriend who was wearing a short camisole top and a pair of tight short pants and ankle boots. Heather declared, "You're beautiful Hermione. I'm sorry"
She saw the emotions crossing Hermione's eyes. She reveled in the safety she felt clinging to Hermione. She had escaped mum. As she saw Hermione tentatively dip her head asking for a kiss she gave herself to her. She was sharing her first kiss with Hermione in front of both their parents. The embarrassment was not as important as the security and safety she needed after being told she was a nasty girl that had been playing and hurting Hermione. She wouldn't hurt her ever again.
"Baby, Princess, is one of you going to explain that?" their dad asked.
"Not yet, it's okay honey. So Heather the rooms, what do you need ask Kreacher to do?" Mum reminded Heather.
"Kreacher can you ensure two more of the rooms are ready on the fourth floor. One is for Luna and one is for me."
"Mistress has master suite. You need another room?" Kreacher confusedly asked.
"Please just do it, Kreacher. We are running late in picking up Luna, but need to have her room ready for her." Heather resignedly stated, and Kreacher left to do as asked.
"Baby, I thought Luna was staying in the guest room on the third floor."
"We can give that one to our grandparents." Heather replied deferentially.
Hermione, still attached to Heather but wondering what her mum had said to her asked. "What is happening to the main suite on the fourth floor?"
Her mum answered her. "The three of you are sharing it. If you need your own space you will have your own room but the three of you need to be on the same footing if this relationship has a chance to work. There will be no power plays. Hermione; Heather admitted that the two of you slept together last night."
Hermione finally made sense of everything. She could keep quite. Enjoy the ménage a trios, her own mum had made for her or come clean on how mum had totally drawn the wrong conclusions. It was so tempting to just leave everything alone. "Mum that kiss right here; right now, was Heather and my first kiss. Probably brought about by you brow beating her into allowing me to do it. She is literally shaking in my arms, mum. You must have ripped into her and yet not found out what is really going on."
"Hermione, I don't want you lying to me. Heather told me she had the best night of her life ever with you, last night." Her mum interrupted, and drew breath to let her daughter know how disappointed she was in her lying.
"Mum we slept, as in sleeping and hugging each other last night. Heather has horrific night terrors. She has woken up with that curse scar opened up and bleeding because she can see what the dipshit evil wizard that murdered her parents and gave that scar to her and is always trying to kill her, is doing. She sees him torturing and killing people.
"Her own uncensored personal live news show beamed directly into her brain when she is asleep, whenever the wanker is most angry. In other words she gets to see when he is at his most evil. On her first morning in our home this summer she came the closest I have ever seen her to admitting the abuse her relatives did to her that she thinks she can hide from me." Heather tried to shrink behind Hermione.
"I wouldn't be surprised if last night was her best night of sleep she had ever had. However, the closest to sex was witnessed by dad this morning when he found where our hands had inadvertently ended up while we were sleeping. If you asked Heather did she sleep with me, she would reply yes.
"Did you ask her if we had sex? Because I will tell you straight we have unfortunately not had sex yet. I could have kept quiet and allowed you mum to force Heather to give me what I wanted. Thankfully before you became so high handed, opinioned and tried to tell Heather that her wearing an outfit meant she deserved what happened to her. Then actually provided a bedroom so I could have it, you raised me better and to not take advantage of a situation.
"Heather I loved the kiss you gave me and I really enjoy you hugging me, but you have every right to say you are not ready to see if there is more than friendship. I am more than willing to wait for you to decide what you want."
"So change of plans. We will go pick up Luna and you can talk with dad and decide who sleeps where."
"Heather please tell Kreacher to take the two of us to the Rookery," when Heather did, they left their parents in the drawing room.
Emma stared totally devastated looking at Dan, clueless what she should say.
Quickly moving to his wife and catching her in case she crumbled Dan started talking. "You are a great woman, Emma. The best mother and partner I could ask for. You weren't completely in left field. All you have done is jump started a relationship that was almost guaranteed to occur later anyway. You are so smart you saw where it was going but with a couple of miscues didn't realize it had not got there yet. Later they will joke and thank you for starting their relationship. Regardless of whether it is meant to be or not they will thank you. If it wasn't to be, then by it starting earlier it means it will be quicker to work out it had problems. If it is to be they will now have some of the possible hurdles and threats to it starting cleared out of the way of it.
"Even if until they calm down you momentarily, incorrectly become the wicked witch for them. You give them a common enemy that will enable them to build support for each other. And you will always be my smart sexy passionately wicked witch to me." Dan said while pulling his lovely wife into a tight hug holding her. "They will realize that you had their best interests at heart once they have time to calm down."
"Their bedrooms?" Emma tentatively ventured.
"Excuse my French, but the fourth floor is theirs and they can pick their bleepin' own. I wonder if magic could rig an equivalent of a rope pull and bell, so I don't have to venture above the third floor."
"Coward."
"Damn straight, did you hear our daughter?"
"We raised her well, didn't we? Does she no longer need us?" Emma asked both scared and hopefully.
"Both of our daughters will always need us. It's up to them to tell us when they want it. Not to tote my own horn, but I think we both did a damn good job raising Hermione."
"Luna would be our daughter too?"
"Yes she would, and we can be there for her as well."
"I want to tidy myself up. I am thinking we should dress up for dinner tonight, would you wear the suit you wore to the Boddington's party in May?" Emma asked.
"I would be honored to wear it for our date this evening my sexy witch."
Grinning like school kids the two ran for their bedroom.
They had just re-entered the drawing room in evening attire when their daughters returned with their date in the middle of them. Said date was wearing radish earrings, and the flimsiest thinnest nightie they had ever seen. Before either could say anything, Luna grabbed Heather and kissed her wildly right in front of them. Catching her breath she repeated the performance with Hermione. "Did I do the ritual right Hermione?" Luna asked, and after getting a nod carried on, "I really like trying out different culture's rituals, but I really think I enjoyed this one the most. Having me arrive in sleepwear shows your parents my intention to take you both as my mates, yes?" Both Heather and Hermione nodded while their parents tried to work out what to say.
"I really think I should have arrived nude. I told you that I sleep in the nude. I feel so over-dressed. Oh and Heather you said there would be pudding, yes?"
"Mum, dad where do you want Kreacher to put Luna's things?" Hermione asked, daring them to say something.
"Well first, Luna now that you have done the ritual. I think it would be best if you got dressed for dinner. Heather have Kreacher place Luna's things on the fourth floor. The fourth floor belongs to the three of you and after dinner you can decide who sleeps where." Mr. Granger valiantly told them.
"Mr. Granger I can actually sleep in the great big bed and ravish both your daughters? I thought they were pulling my leg?" Luna said.
"I better get started cooking dinner or it won't be ready."
"I will get your things into your bedroom Luna."
Both twins ran fleeing from the room.
"Might I suggest you get dressed?" Mrs. Granger told Luna.
"That's okay, I actually now see why people wear nighties. I will go help Hermione with my stuff then?"
"What will your parents think?" Dan asked, suddenly finding the drawing room contained just the two of them.
"We have some time to train her. Failing that we knockdown the stairs between the third and fourth floors while they're up there." Emma suggested.
"They can apparate and have a house elf." Dan reminded her.
"And it was such a good plan too." They both started laughing thinking what it would be like with Emma's parents here.
Though Luna had not changed clothes she had taken the polyjuice with a Siamese crossed half-kneazle, and the fur offered modesty where the clothing had offered none. She was currently pouting at Hermione whom had not taken the potion with her. "If you had taken it we could be identical twins from the cat side while Heather was your identical twin on the human side." Luna expounded, cute ash white tail with the top half dark black flicking vibrantly, and black tipped ears twitching.
"Why did you take the polyjuice potion, already Luna? Couldn't you have found out if the trace was still active and so find out if it was even needed?" Mrs. Granger asked.
"This halibut is the best fish I have ever eaten. That is why I was not waiting to take the polyjuice. One of my girlfriends cooks astoundingly the best fish ever cooked and I can eat it as a human or as a cat-girl. I'm eating it as a cat-girl."
Hermione part way through the main course leapt from the table and charged upstairs.
"Should I call Kreature to get the potion before she drinks it?" Heather asked.
"Thank you for the offer Heather, but it is her decision. I shouldn't have asked Luna." Mum said.
"I've lost count on the number of times I've said that to myself." Heather replied.
"Hey! Heather that was not nice," Luna pouted.
"There's pudding for dessert."
"Still's not a very nice thing to say."
Crookshanks followed a third female cat-girl that matched Luna's fur colouring, into the dining room and begged for some of the fish too.
Dan looked at his daughter. "You forgot about the hairballs didn't you?"
"Don't you ruin my dinner!" Hermione retorted.
With dinner finished, and all of the pudding was eaten. The Grangers stared a little perplexed at the waif of a girl as she polished off one after another. The topic of the war that had been shelved until after this meal could be opened up.
"So the task Dumbledore gave Heather?" Dan started the ball rolling. "Baby you're up."
"Before that mum, dad, I want to say something." Hermione interjected. "The whole deal when we arrived was staged. We felt we owed you the performance. We are exploring our possibility of a three way relationship but are currently teasing friends that are willing to experiment a bit. Because of earlier we want it known that we don't feel you have any right to disagree with how we handle our relationship as long as we are not hurting each other.
"Some of us are more eager to get the experiments over and get to the good stuff. Like lots of pudding." Luna added.
After a moment where it was obvious their parents were not planning to say something, Heather decided to change the subject. "Fine the reason Vo… You-Know-Who managed to survive and not die is because of a ritual that makes something called a horcrux or soul anchor." Heather began, looking at Luna to see if she knew about horcruxes, Luna didn't react though.
"Last year we gained information that let us know he had made six. The diary that caused the basilisk to attack Hermione in our second year was one that I luckily destroyed. Dumbledore destroyed a second last year, and the day he died we thought we had uncovered a third. Unfortunately," Heather pulled the locket off that she had put on just before serving dinner in preparation for this talk, "This one was replaced by someone else that was also hunting one of his soul anchors. It is unclear if they destroyed it as the note from someone with initials R. A. B. that was inside states they would have destroyed it by the time you-know-who found out.
Heather then gave the note to her dad that she had discovered within the locket she had accidently found when kneeling beside her headmaster's corpse a few days ago.
While the note was passed around the table Heather continued. "So one task is to work out who the person is and find out if it is destroyed and if not destroy it. The next is to search and find the other three items and destroy them too. Once that is done you-know-who is mortal and I can kill him.
"Hold on! I can possibly see that Dumbledore didn't want him making more so wanted the knowledge that they were being hunted kept known to a minimum number of people. I wish he would have chosen adults with experience to carry the task out though. However, why does he make you think that you have to kill him, Heather? You're sixteen, isn't there a magical military that should get rid of him?" Mr. Granger challenged.
Heather took a deep breath. "My parents were targeted because there was a prophecy made. Vol… you-know-who heard part of it that basically stated either Neville or I would be the one with the power to kill him. Due to him acting on the half of the prophecy that he knew, he killed my parents and gave me this scar that meant because of the second half of the prophesy, which he is unaware of, that I am the one that will either kill him or be killed by him.
A crash of breaking plates caused everyone to look at Kreacher that had been clearing the dinner table.
"Why Mistress Black's Luna has Master Reggie's note?" Kreacher asked staring at the note that had been handed around the table and Luna was currently holding.
