I know, I know, I'm late. Really late. But, hey, I managed to get the chapter out today! I've excuses, of course… Anyway, tomorrow's might be late, too, since I'm just starting in on the final walkthrough now. This has been read by both betas, so hopefully no mistakes. Let me know if you catch anything.
I added a few things. I got a number of people saying they missed this or that. I wasn't exactly trying to rush the last chapter or three. I just thought (wrongly, it seems) that everyone would be getting impatient for the mating and babies and that if I had added in all the little things I thought about that people would get bored. (shrug) I added some things here (part of why I'm late today) but with other things I think the opportunity has been missed to add them in a reasonable spot. Do still feel free to ask questions, though. There isn't much time left, but maybe a mention will be possible. If nothing else, I will add a Q&A at the end of the last chapter.
March is for all those who asked about Remus. I'm rather mean to him, but I hope that I've been mean to him in a realistic way.
PMs from Sakya and Zikarn Krais – I responded, but I used the e-mail address I got from fanfiction. So, if it's not current…well, let me know and I'll resend.
PMs from everyone else – I just realized a couple days ago that I was getting these (filters on the e-mail for "desperate" you see). I promise to read them and respond should it be appropriate.
Cookies for taysh075 whose review of chapter 9 inspired the bit about Ron.
Cookies for StarsInHerHair for inspiration on additions in this chapter (so many kids not being on the agenda).
Cookies for Lady PhoenixFyre who reminded me about addressing whether everyone will know if Draco is the mate.
Cookies for Nagamoon for reminding me to address the affects of the broken bond on Voldemort.
Cookies for RRW for reminding me about the Weasleys and the fact that Harry doesn't actually hate them all, just Ron.
Mpreg warning: Mentions of Harry's pregnancy are peppered throughout this chapter. There's no serious talk about it, e.g. morning sickness, appointments, etc. So, yeah, I still think it's pretty mild. But read at your own risk and all that if the concept squicks you.
Chapter 30 – 2nd Term
--January 5--
Pansy entered Draco's rooms eager to share her newest information. She stopped short, though, at the site of Draco pacing agitatedly. She closed the door then took her customary seat on Draco's bed and watched for several minutes. When it appeared that Draco was too far gone in whatever was upsetting him to think clearly, she interrupted. "What is it?"
Draco glanced at Pansy but gave a short hysterical laugh and continued pacing.
"Draco?"
"Harry's pregnant," Draco said tightly and continued pacing.
Pansy sucked in a shocked breath. "That's…," she couldn't determine how to voice her mixture of congratulations and dismay.
Draco gave another short hysterical laugh. "Isn't it?"
"How did you find out?" Pansy asked after a pause. "It's awfully early. He can't have realized yet."
"Luna gave Harry a journal yesterday on the Express," Draco said as he ran a hand through his hair. "It was full of spells detailing how to hide and protect a pregnancy. We thought it might be a hint."
It was Pansy's turn to give a short hysterical laugh. "Good thought," she choked out. Luna was one very scary girl. Only Hermione Granger seemed to be able to handle the girl's shocking revelations with any kind of aplomb.
Draco nodded absently. "So we cast the detection spell so conveniently included on the first page of the journal and guess what?"
"Babies," Pansy answered softly.
"Babies," Draco confirmed. "This is….this is…"
Pansy opened her mouth then closed it and bit her lip. "Inconvenient," she eventually suggested.
Draco snorted and flopped into a chair. "What a good word," he said sardonically.
"I…well…this will give you a lot of status within Veela society," Pansy said hesitantly.
Draco stared in disbelief.
"A conception pregnancy, of a twinning mate, in wartime," Pansy elaborated. "It's really…"
"Do you think I care about that?" Draco asked loudly. "I have enough status! We wanted to take a couple years to get settled before we started having children!"
"Well, it wasn't exactly your decision, now was it?" Pansy asked peevishly. She wasn't happy either; she wasn't pleased with the danger her new siblings were in just by virtue of being in Hogwarts and close to members of two warring factions.
Draco merely groaned and put his head in his hands.
"And, really, it's your own fault," Pansy accused. "If you hadn't proven yourself as such a good mate then this wouldn't have happened."
Draco snorted but couldn't argue the point. It was true that he'd done everything he could think of to show Harry that he would be protected and provided for. And now they were reaping the consequences. Draco dropped his hands and said with a sigh, "It's not that I'm unhappy about the babies."
"I know," Pansy said with her own sigh. "It's good news. Really. Congratulations. I'm looking forward to when they're born. May I be the godmother?"
Draco smiled slightly. "Sure. You and Neville can be this set's godparents."
"Thanks," Pansy said with a sincere smile.
They were both silent for several minutes as they thought through the consequences.
"Do you know if the babies are human or Veela?" Pansy asked.
Draco huffed another short laugh. "Veela, of course," he said. "We couldn't be lucky and have human boys that would take a full nine months to mature. No, we have to have Veela boys who will only take six. Veela biology is not helping us right now. We figure his due date must be June 20, give or take."
"Twins are usually a couple weeks early," Pansy said softly.
"Don't remind me," Draco groaned. "We're hoping that he makes it all the way to the end of school. The graduation ceremony is the evening of the 19th, you know."
Pansy didn't say anything. They both knew the odds of the babies waiting that long were pretty slim. "He'll have to hide it," Pansy said firmly. "Or leave school."
"He doesn't want to leave school," Draco said as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "He wants to stay as long as possible."
"You could put your foot down," Pansy suggested.
Draco shrugged slightly. "I could, yes, and I know he would obey me. But I think he would always regret not finishing school. Plus, I think he wants to help protect his friends as much as he can and he can do that better by staying here. As much as I hate to say this, I think we'll be safe enough here unless Lovegood does…something."
Pansy nodded. "You're probably right. She seems to have an inordinate interest in Harry and helping him. So what are your plans? Where is this journal?"
"Harry kept it," Draco answered. "He and Granger are going to study the spells and cast them as soon as they can."
"You know, she is technically your sister-in-law," Pansy said in amusement. "You should really call her by her given name."
Draco snorted. "Just as soon as she calls me Draco," he said.
Pansy laughed. Hermione had said something very similar about Draco. She wondered who would give in first.
--January 16--
"Ooh, Harry, there's a survey in Teen Witch about who your mate is," Lavender said from her place at the table.
Harry stared at Lavender in surprise. "There is?"
Lavender and Parvati both nodded and giggled. Hermione rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath. Neville shook his head and continued eating. Harry finally sighed in annoyance and resignation and asked, "How bad is it?"
"It's very nice," Lavender said. "Just write in your guess and send it in. If it's confirmed that you're right within the next year then you'll get a year's subscription for free!"
"Lovely," Harry said with a grimace.
"I suppose that's better than all the Prophet articles," Neville said.
"I hate that paper," Harry said darkly.
"Well, maybe they'll stop now that you're suing them," Lavender said. "I'm glad you asked Liam to go after them. They deserve it."
"He did such a good job last year that I thought he'd like to have some more fun," Harry said with a vindictive smirk.
"It's about time you got some recompense from that paper," Neville said strongly. "I hope you own it by the time Liam is done with them."
"I'll be happy if they're just forbidden to ever write about me again," Harry said with a scowl. "I can't believe the headlines lately. So what if I don't want to reveal my mate? Every new article that comes out just proves my point that revealing him would be detrimental to his health. I mean, really, what was yesterday's? My mate was an exiled century-old half-vampire?"
"No, Harry, that was the day before yesterday," Hermione said.
"Whatever. It's just stupid," Harry said and stabbed a bite of pancake more forcefully than necessary.
"People are just disappointed," Lavender said. "They've been following the courtships and now they just want to know how they ended. They thought you would tell them who won. It's like not knowing the ending to a good book."
"It's none of their business," Harry hissed. "They should be glad I told them anything instead of whining for more."
Lavender leaned over and patted Harry's clenched fist. "I know. Don't worry, Liam will take care of the paper and people will stop bothering you eventually."
Harry snorted in disbelief but went back to eating. He didn't think anyone would stop harassing him for his mate's identity. Dumbledore, especially, was interested. Harry had told the man to mind his own business but was sure that he wouldn't. Not that he would get anything out of Harry or his friends. Harry's guards had, with permission, spelled silent both Lavender and Neville. Hermione's entry into the Unspeakables protected her from revealing secrets she didn't want to reveal. And Harry was confident of keeping his own secrets against anything Dumbledore could pull.
Still, he kept a small charm with him at all times that he could activate to warn Draco should Draco's identity be revealed unexpectedly.
--February 7--
"What did you think you were doing?" Draco yelled, waving his arms about.
Harry winced at his mate's fury but kept his silence. Draco had every right to be furious.
"If you had been injured you would have been taken to Pomfrey and Merlin knows what could have happened then!" Draco continued heatedly. "What if she discovered the babies? What then?"
"I'm sorry," Harry said softly. "But I couldn't just refuse."
"Why not?" Draco demanded angrily.
"Everyone knows how much I like to fly," Harry answered. "What kind of suspicions would have been raised if I'd refused to play in a weekend pickup game?"
"That bludger almost knocked you off your broom!" Draco protested. "What if it had hit you? What if it had hit your belly?"
Harry paled at the thought. "I just wanted to fly," he said miserably. "I haven't in so long."
Draco groaned and fell silent. He took several deep breaths and forced his panic back down. "I don't object to you flying," he said calmly. "I just object to you flying when there're great iron balls after your hide. No more quidditch."
"But if I stop, people will know something is up," Harry protested. "I don't want anybody getting suspicious; it would endanger all of us. I can't stop playing now that they've invited me."
"Then you will go home," Draco said flatly.
Harry looked up in shock then quickly looked away as he saw the implacable expression on Draco's face. He knew then that he would have to make a decision. He would either quit playing with the pickup team or he would go home; Draco would accept no other course of action. "I'll quit tomorrow," he said in resignation. "I don't want to go home yet."
Draco sighed and pulled Harry into an embrace. "Maybe you could tell them that you realized how much time it took away from your studying to catch up from last year," he suggested quietly. "That's a pretty reasonable excuse and shouldn't garner too many raised eyebrows."
"As long as I do study," Harry mumbled as he savored Draco's warmth.
"Get Granger to help you," Draco said. "She's sure to be able to pull off a convincing but-you-need-to-study-for-N.E.W.T.s speech."
Harry laughed and nodded. "I'll do that."
They stayed like that for several minutes before Draco pulled away and drew his wand. He cast a diagnostic spell to check on Harry's health.
"I already did that," Harry said. "Everything's fine." Draco merely glared at him and Harry shut up.
Draco cast several more spells they'd learned from Luna's gift journal before stowing his wand. "Your energy is running a little low," he said with a frown. "We should try to meet more often so I can help support you."
"Neville has offered to help me," Harry said tentatively.
Draco was quiet for several moments. "You will take him up on the offer," he said eventually.
Harry's eyes widened in surprise. He was shocked that Draco would allow another to provide magical support. He knew that Draco respected Neville, but this was really personal.
"I understand that you want to stay here at Hogwarts and graduate," Draco said with a small grimace. "I wish you would reconsider but I do realize that it's important to you. Nevertheless, whether we wanted it or not, you are pregnant and I will not risk the health of you or the babies. You will either go home so you can be tended to by family or you will get all the support you can while you remain here. And if that means Neville Longbottom, then so be it. He's going to be the godfather anyway, so a little more influence on the babies won't make that much difference."
Harry nodded. "Thank you," he said. He was glad that Draco was being so reasonable. He did want to graduate. It seemed a shame to get so far and have to quit with just months left before attaining his certificate.
"You talk to Granger and I'll talk to Pansy," Draco continued. "Maybe the girls can come up with a way for us to spend more time together so it's easier for you to draw on my magic."
"If anyone could, it would be them," Harry agreed. "They're scary together."
Draco chuckled. "That they are. I'm still waiting for an explanation as to just what happened to Granger to change her so drastically."
Harry just shrugged and gave a small smile. "Ask her."
"Maybe I will," Draco said then turned back to the matter at hand. "Do you think you will have any problems hiding Neville's assistance?"
Harry shook his head. "No. We often are in the dorm by ourselves. We'll just…hold hands or something while we're up there so I can draw on his magic."
Draco nodded. "Has your grandfather arranged a healer yet?" he asked abruptly.
"Yes," Harry said. "My first appointment is this Friday right after I leave to satisfy the tether."
"Who's it with?" Draco asked curiously.
Harry paused. "The healer that delivered my cousin's baby last year has agreed to take me as a patient."
Draco blinked. "Cousin?"
"You didn't think my grandfather was it, did you?" Harry asked in amusement.
Actually, he'd never thought about it. It made sense, though, that there were other relatives floating about. "I see. Who is it?"
Harry paused again. "I can't say."
Draco narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "This does not make me happy."
Harry grimaced and fidgeted but kept his silence.
"This has something to do with the full identity of your grandfather, doesn't it?" Draco asked sharply.
Harry nodded reluctantly.
Draco grit his teeth and sighed. "Fine. You'll tell me the results of your appointments."
Harry nodded again immediately.
"Make sure and ask the healer if you need to be on a special diet at all," Draco said. "I can have Bitzy make extras for you, if necessary, so that the Hogwarts house-elves don't have anything odd to report if anybody asks. Also, anything that the healer recommends, you will do. If there is something they want you to do that cannot be sufficiently hidden to ward off suspicion, you will go home."
Harry shifted nervously but nodded his compliance. Ever since they'd discovered his pregnancy, he knew he was lucky to be allowed to stay at Hogwarts. Better to agree to a few reasonable restrictions than risk being sent away.
Draco sighed again and pulled his mate into another embrace. "I just worry about you," he admitted softly.
"I know," Harry replied as he returned the embrace. "We're playing with fire by staying here so close to Dumbledore and Voldemort."
"Here's hoping we don't get burned," Draco murmured and held Harry tighter.
--February 21--
"It was nice of your guards to glamour themselves like us and walk around Hogsmeade so we could spend the day together," Draco murmured as he lay with Harry in a cozy bed in a room on the top floor of Madam Puddifoot's.
"They're good men," Harry murmured back.
They basked in each other's presence for another couple quiet minutes before Draco spoke again. "I can't wait to see the paper tomorrow. I bet no one expected you to still have guards after you mated."
Harry chuckled a little. "I bet you're right. What do you think the headlines will be? Potter Hiding Behind Guards! No, that's too tame."
"How about Potter Mates to Chaperone – Proof Positive in Pictures Below!" Draco said dramatically.
"Eww, gross!" Harry said and sat up to glare down at his mate with a disgusted look on his face.
Draco merely grinned and cupped his hands behind his head. "You have to admit it would be more their style."
Harry grimaced but nodded. "True. I can't wait for Liam to nail them to the wall."
Draco freed an arm and stroked Harry's knee. "Pretty soon," he said comfortingly.
"You're sure you don't mind waiting to reveal your identity?" Harry asked abruptly.
"No," Draco said emphatically. "You know it's the only way we can all finish school in relative peace. We've talked about this."
"I know," Harry said with a nod. He gave a teasing smile then and said, "But I know how much you like to brag."
Draco sat up quickly and grabbed Harry then twisted them as he fell back so that Harry was now lying beneath him. "Are you taunting me again, my mate?" Draco asked with fake supercilious expression.
Harry laughed then pushed Draco up and over so that the blond was now on the bottom. Harry waggled his eyebrows comically and said, "I would never."
Draco just chuckled and caressed Harry's arms. Harry's assertiveness in bed surprised Draco sometimes. He didn't mind, in fact he rather liked it, but he did find it a bit odd. All submissive Veelas were quite fierce when it came to protecting themselves or their family – that was the hawk influence – but otherwise were generally more content with taking a more, well, submissive, role. He'd never expected Harry to be compliant, however, and was rather pleased with the added spice of Harry's boldness. Still, it was odd.
"What are you thinking about?" Harry asked curiously of Draco's bemused expression.
Draco shook his head slightly and smiled. "Just how much I'm glad I won your affections," he said.
Harry grinned his pleasure. "So, have you thought of names?"
"Names?" Draco asked blankly.
"For the babies," Harry said with a roll of his eyes.
Draco smiled and ran a hand briefly across Harry's belly. "I'd like to follow the Malfoy tradition of Roman names, if you don't mind."
Harry shrugged. "All right. I don't really have a preference. I think the Potters used British king names and I don't really want to do that."
"Then how about…Caesar?" Draco asked.
"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "That's a title, anyway, isn't it?"
Draco shrugged. "Aemilius?"
"That sounds like a girl's name," Harry said doubtfully.
"Well, how about…"
--March 6--
"Fred, George, I'm glad you could make it," Harry said with a grin.
The twins grinned back. "Glad to come!" they both chimed in unison.
Harry chuckled. "I've missed you," he said. He approached George and tentatively held out a hand. He sighed in relief when George's magic didn't bother him and again when Fred's didn't either. It wasn't as bad as it had been when he'd been dating, but because of what he'd had to do he would always be more sensitive to other's magic.
"So what can we do for you this fine evening?" Fred said expansively as he took a seat in one of the upholstered chairs. Given they were upstairs in Madam Puddifoot's, he was surprised the thing wasn't covered in frilly lace.
Harry glanced out the window then back to Fred with a disbelieving look. "It's raining."
George snickered and took another surprisingly non-frilly chair. "But we're meeting you. How can it not be fine?"
Harry rolled his eyes but smiled at his friends. "Well, you won't think it fine after I tell you what I have to tell you," he said.
The twins glanced at each other then looked back at Harry. "And what do you have to tell us?" George asked.
Harry picked up a small rolled parchment from off the coffee table, ignoring the book that was also there. "This," he said. "It's actually sort of illegal for me to give this to you, but, well, I don't really care. I think you deserve it."
"Well, now, illegal you say? Our curiosity's piqued, isn't it, Fred?" George said brightly and took the scroll and began unrolling it. A minute later George passed the scroll to his brother and sat back in his chair, silent.
Fred looked worriedly at his brother and friend, but also read the scroll. When he was done reading, Fred rolled up the parchment and put it back on the coffee table next to the book.
"I think you can figure out most of it, like I did," Harry said softly.
"Why is it illegal?" George asked thoughtfully, delaying the heavier conversation for a bit.
Harry shrugged. "The law says a prophecy is the property of the one to whom it is spoken. Only they are legally allowed to share it. Supposedly, it has something to do with screwing things up if everybody knows. I don't know if I agree with that. I do think that as its subject, I should get equal say as to who knows it and I want you to know it."
"It seems pretty dire," George said with a grimace. "Why not publish it and let everybody know?"
"I thought about that," Harry admitted. "I really did. I was advised not to, however, because, well…"
"If there are no wizards in Britain to attack, You-Know-Who will just go elsewhere," Fred said thoughtfully. "That's it, isn't it? Better to contain the destruction to just one country than all over the world."
"I…yes," Harry said miserably. "In a way, it's like Dumbledore and his greater good, which I hate. At least I'm not completely like him. I'm not sitting back and doing nothing while I wait for someone else to do something."
"What are you doing? Besides leaving?" George asked seriously.
"Just planning at the moment," Harry said with a grimace. "I have to wait for a while until the people I need are available. Unfortunately, that's not going to be for several years."
"What do you need from us?" Fred asked.
"Watch out for your family," Harry said immediately. "Maybe get the Burrow under the fidelius, or at least really heavy wards. I don't think you'd be able to convince anybody to leave, even if you show them the prophecy. Your family seems pretty dedicated to fighting Voldemort."
The twins shared a look and nodded. "All right," Fred agreed.
"I know you're, uh, Unspeakables," Harry said uncomfortably, knowing that that wasn't exactly true. "And before you worry about a spy, I know the head of the Unspeakables and they told me. I know that you're assigned to potions and spell-crafting right now, too. I just want to say, well, Voldemort may be bringing destruction, but nothing says that you can't give him a rough time of it."
"You want us to prank the Death Eaters?" George asked with smirk.
"Yes," Harry said firmly and watched in satisfaction as the twins eyes widened. He gestured to the book that was on the coffee table. "That's a copy of Sirius' journals. His Marauder name was Padfoot."
"Padfoot!" the twins exclaimed.
"There's a lot of personal stuff in there," Harry said, ignoring the outburst. "I'd prefer if you kept the stuff about me confidential. It's also a bit scattered because his mind was really affected by Azkaban. But there's a lot, and I do mean a lot, of information in there about pranks. Some of them are really mean and nasty, too. I thought you could use it for inspiration."
"Harry…" Fred started.
"I thought that you could name whatever you end up using on the Death Eaters after him," Harry said. "I was thinking "Sirius Setbacks" would be funny. He'd have liked it."
Fred and George grinned, and it wasn't nicely. "Consider a new line of products born."
--March 22--
"Well, hello, Lupin. Fancy seeing you here at a time like this," Harry said coolly as he stared at the one man he had grown to hate just that little bit less than Voldemort and just as much as Pettigrew. Dumbledore had any number of semi-reasonable excuses for his actions and so while Harry pitied the old headmaster, he didn't hate him. But this man… Oh, yes, he hated this man. It had been so hard to be civil once he'd learned of Lupin's betrayal. Now, though, he no longer needed to hide his feelings. He had only agreed to the meeting so as to attempt to make some kind of peace with himself before he left Britain forever.
"Hello, Harry," Remus said softly, confused at the boy's demeanor. "How have you been?"
"Fine," Harry said, not bothering to reciprocate the pleasantries.
Remus paused for a moment. "How's school?"
"Fine," Harry said again. "No more Potions and Snape is still avoiding me. Smart of him, really. Sinistra has been perfectly happy to help me catch up in Astronomy. The same for Sprout and herbology. I'm studying history on my own and should pass the N.E.W.T. McGonagall is still mad over me skipping a year of school but can't deny that I'm able to keep up and Flitwick is as enthusiastic as ever."
"You're only taking five subjects?" Remus asked. "That's the minimum."
"I know that," Harry said irritably. "I want to graduate, but I don't have the time to catch up in a lot of subjects. I did miss a year of school, you know, and wasn't too attentive during first term, either. Or were you unaware?"
"I was told," Remus said hesitantly, still puzzled as to why Harry seemed angry. "Is that why you dropped Defense?"
"That and the fact that I couldn't trust the headmaster to find a decent teacher," Harry said. "From what I'm hearing about Botts, I was right to drop it."
"I thought you wanted to become an auror," Remus said. "Are you going to study Potions and Defense once you graduate?"
"Why don't you just tell me why you're here, Lupin," Harry said sharply, getting tired of the meaningless conversation. "Maybe to talk about Voldemort's attacks?"
"Not specifically," Remus said mildly. "I am curious what you think of them, though."
"Of course you are," Harry said with a snort. Lupin was a horrible liar. "Just so we don't have to beat around any bushes, I'll tell you. It's a shame, of course, that so many people are dead, and in such high places, too. What was the count? Five hundred or so, wasn't it?"
"You don't sound like you think it's much of a shame," Remus said, both in confusion and worry. Why was Harry so antagonistic? He'd been told that now that Harry was mated, he shouldn't be so agitated.
"I also think Voldemort must have a new General; a man, or woman, with quite a bit of a brain, too," Harry said with vague admiration. "My guess, even before that awful paper started rumors, was that every last muggle in a position of power that knew of the magical world was eliminated in that one month murder spree. It's bound to make things more complicated later on, not even counting the havoc it's causing right now."
"Harry…"
"So are you here to guilt me, Lupin?" Harry asked with cool contempt. "To tell me that if I wasn't so rebellious that all those people might not have died? Do spare me."
Remus paused. "They weren't you fault, Harry," he said softly.
"Of course they weren't," Harry said with a huff. "I bet it would take me less than an hour to find a dozen people that disagree, though, and without even leaving this school. After all, didn't the Prophet say that this was a result of Voldemort's anger over not revealing the identity of my mate? I don't think they're right, but I wouldn't discount the possibility given Voldemort's overall lack of sanity. Personally, I think it's more likely because I gave Voldemort a horrible month-long migraine when I bonded with my mate, but when has the Order ever listened to my opinion?"
"Harry…" Remus paused, uncertain what to say, then tried again, "You seem angry with me."
"No, no, no," Harry said condescendingly. "I'm way beyond merely angry with you."
"But…why?" Remus asked in confusion. "I can't recall having done anything."
Harry laughed mirthlessly. "And that would be why, my dear, dear executor," Harry spat sharply.
Remus paled.
"Did you think I would never find out?" Harry asked scornfully. "It was one of my cornerstones of hope, you know, growing up in that hateful house. As soon as I understood the concept of wills, which was actually pretty young due to a neighbor's death, I always imagined that my parents never had one. I just knew they loved me and would never, ever, ever have wanted me to grow up there so they must not have had one and I was placed with the nearest relative per convention. Do imagine my surprise."
"How… Where…did you see it?" Remus asked. This was bad. If Harry knew the full text of his parents' wills then, well, he didn't know, but it could be nothing but bad.
"Sirius gave me a lot of things," Harry said coldly. "I'm sure you're aware that it was from my mother's journals that I learned of my heritage."
Remus nodded. "Yes," he admitted softly. "I was shown your interviews recently."
Harry snorted at how out-of-date the man was but didn't comment. "Well, I got Dad's journals, too. He didn't write as much, though. Only a few times were there more than half a dozen entries in an entire month."
"That must have been interesting," Remus said, trying to be encouraging.
"I got several heirlooms, too," Harry continued without response. "Nothing of importance burned with the house."
"I'm glad to hear that," Remus said in surprise. He'd thought, as had everyone, that all had been lost.
"And the last thing he gave me was a nice, neat, bundled package of legal papers," Harry finished. "The wills weren't the only things there, but they were the most…interesting."
Remus closed his eyes in defeat. He was well aware of what was in the wills and knew he would never be forgiven.
"Did you know that I was never supposed to go to the Dursley's? Oh, wait, of course you knew, you were the executor," Harry said spitefully. "Let's forget about the dozen different bequeaths that are still unprocessed and just focus on me. You know, as soon as I read the list of names of the people who I was supposed to go to – and most of them are alive even now, I've checked – I really, really hated Dumbledore. I thought he had used his position to bypass my parents' wills. But then I read the signatures and guess what I found?"
"Me," Remus said with sorrow and regret.
"You," Harry ground out. "The nice, sensible, good friend of my parents who gave me so much help. I practically idolized you, you know. The betrayal was more than I could handle. And Dumbledore thinks I wreaked havoc in his office? That was nothing compared to my reaction when I found out what you had done. Or, more accurately, didn't do."
Harry remembered when he'd been told. He'd given the whole stack of legal papers sight unseen to his grandfather to sort and review one morning and so had no idea why the man was so grim that evening. His grandfather had taken him to a safe-room, told him the highlights, and then told him to feel free to destroy everything in the room – that's what it was for. And he had. Nothing had been left when he was through venting his anger; the very wards had had to be redone from the strength of his magic's assault.
"I'm sorry," Remus said helplessly.
"That will never be good enough, Lupin," Harry said with quiet intensity. "Dumbledore left me with people he should never have and put his faith in some stupid wards. But you? You could have prevented that. You could have presented the will to be executed and I would have been moved to a better environment. Dumbledore might not have liked it, but I don't actually think he would have prevented it. Voldemort and Pettigrew cost me my parents. Dumbledore, through his laziness, cost me my extended family. But it was you who sentenced me to Hell."
Remus put his head in his hands and didn't say anything. There really wasn't anything to say.
"Instead of fulfilling your responsibilities – important responsibilities, too, not like ditching your agreement to walk the neighbor's dog or something – you ran away," Harry continued relentlessly. "You were missing for a dozen years! After Sirius died I was completely unsurprised when you ran away yet again. Honestly, I didn't expect to hear from you for another dozen years. Precedent, you know. I was shocked when Dumbledore asked me to meet you."
"I'm sorry," Remus said again, knowing it meant little.
"And it only gets worse," Harry said with sarcastic cheerfulness. "You knew my mother wasn't her father's child. You could smell it. You confronted my mother about it, even."
"She told me to mind my own business," Remus mumbled, head still down.
"And so you should have," Harry agreed. "To a point. I know you knew about the blood wards and how much importance Dumbledore placed on them. But you also knew how unhappy I was and what a complete and utter disgrace Petunia was, is, whatever. You should have spoken up, revealed your knowledge that my mother might have other family through her real father. I do forgive you for not knowing she was a Veela; I know you weren't told and I'm sure you weren't familiar with their scent when you were in school, if you are even now."
Remus nodded. "You don't smell of anything. Did you hide your scent?"
Harry snorted. "So like you to completely avoid the items of real importance, but, yes, I've hidden my scent. I've no interest in revealing my mate's identity at this time," he said, leaving out that the primary reason was that he didn't want anyone scenting the fact that he was pregnant.
"So this is it," Remus said miserably. He was a coward and he knew it. How he'd actually gotten into Gryffindor was anybody's guess. He knew he'd be leaving tonight for…anywhere. Running again. It probably would be a dozen years before he returned, just as Harry had said.
"Yes, Lupin, this is it," Harry replied, a small amount of pity entering his voice. "I've no interest in meeting you again. I likely will never forgive you, though I'm told it's good for the soul. And tell Dumbledore that guilt trips no longer work on me."
Harry watched as Remus slowly stood and shuffled off, the absolute picture of dejection. He hadn't told the man about the journals he'd received from Sirius after his death. Sirius had written nothing during school but had more than made up for lost time once he was cooped up at Grimmauld Place. One of the things revealed in those journals was that Sirius, despite what he'd told everyone, had never forgiven anyone, and especially not Lupin, for having ended up in prison – he was merely keeping up appearances so that he could have as much contact as possible with his godson. Harry kept his silence even as Lupin reached the door. He couldn't forgive, but he would give the man this one mercy of ignorance.
--April 4--
Harry stared at Ron, completely and utterly speechless.
He wasn't the only one.
"Well?" Ron said impatiently.
Harry opened his mouth, closed it, opened it, closed it again. What to say? What to think, for all that.
"You…Are you serious?" Neville asked, still too stunned for his utter disbelief to actually shine through into his tone.
"Of course," Ron said indignantly.
"You'll forgive us for being surprised, I hope," Hermione said slowly. "This is a bit…" She paused. What was it exactly? "Sudden," she finished lamely.
"Sure," Ron said, nodding his understanding. He was apparently oblivious to the continued looks of shock and disbelief that surrounded him.
"I…," Harry started only to stop, still unable to put together a coherent thought.
"Really, mate, I'm sorry for everything," Ron said. And he did look apologetic.
"Merlin," Ginny whispered as she recognized her brother's mistake.
Hermione sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
Neville closed his eyes and shook his head.
Several other eavesdroppers winced at Ron's ill-chosen word.
Harry abruptly lost his stupefaction at Ron's earlier apology. He slowly rose and glared at Ron coldly. "You're sorry?" he asked softly.
"Uh, yeah, mate," Ron said uncertainly.
"Don't you call me that," Harry said, his voice still soft. "You are not my mate and do not have the right."
"Oh, right, sorry," Ron said and shifted back a bit from the unnerving sight of a calmly enraged Harry Potter.
"How dare you stand there and ask for forgiveness? After everything you've said, how dare you?" Harry asked, not raising his voice.
"I know I've been a prat," Ron said irritably. "That's why I'm apologizing."
"A prat?" Harry repeated dangerously. "Oh, no, Ron, you haven't been a prat. That implies behavior that's forgivable. What you have been is a complete, unremitting bastard."
"Hey, now…," Ron started to protest.
"You were the first one to start insulting me and the last one to stop," Harry said, overriding his former friend. "Other than that stupid Hufflepuff, who I still don't know the name of, you were the single most offensive person in this castle."
"I said I'm sorry!" Ron said angrily.
"You ignored me when I needed my friends and insulted me when I needed support," Harry continued. "You snubbed me to my face and started rumors behind my back."
"Look, I know I was wrong!" Ron said plaintively. "I want to be friends again. I miss my best mate."
"Don't you call me that," Harry said again, his voice still calmly furious. "You came back from Christmas holidays last year and spent ten minutes screaming at me about how I was corrupting your family because your brothers had entered the courtships, completely disregarding that three of them had already been eliminated. And when we came back for seventh year you spent another ten minutes complaining that I'd eliminated the last, accusing me of believing your family wasn't good enough. What? Couldn't make up your mind?"
"I had some good talks with Bill and Charlie recently," Ron admitted with an embarrassed shrug. "I understand things better now."
"You understand things better now," Harry repeated, his still soft voice carrying to every corner of the otherwise utterly silent common room. "With a little bit of effort you could have understood things better a year and a half ago."
"I'm sorry! What more do you want me to say?" Ron asked, getting angry at Harry's continued detailing of sore points.
"Nothing," Harry said coldly. "I don't want you to say anything. I want you to stay away from me."
Ron gaped in astonishment for several moments before he protested indignantly, "What! That's not fair! I apologized!"
"Actions speak louder than words, Ron," Harry said with a disgusted look. "Your actions for the last year and a half cannot be offset by a simple apology. I do not forgive you."
"But…but…you have to," Ron sputtered.
"No, I don't. I don't have to do anything," Harry said softly and turned to leave. "Take that back to your master," he muttered, though no one heard him. As he walked away, ignoring the ruckus behind him, he wondered what Dumbledore would try next to encourage him to stay and fight.
--April 19--
"He's finally tried something," Harry said as he lay against Draco on their standard cushy couch in the Room of Requirement. "That's why Lavender's here today when she usually isn't."
"What did he do?" Draco asked as he glanced at the three girls huddled together about ten feet away. Greg and Vin were farther off working on…something. Neville was absent from today's gathering.
"Some spell. She got hit with it in an empty hallway so we're not absolutely certain it was cast by Dumbledore, but we think it probably was," Harry said. "Hermione and Pansy will find out and fix it. And if they can't fix it, they'll teach me how to fix it."
"You could overcome Dumbledore's spells?" Draco asked in surprise.
Harry snorted and turned to stare at his mate in annoyance. "Don't tell me you buy into all that "Greatest and Most Powerful Wizard" propaganda."
"Pardon?" Draco said in surprise.
Harry snorted again as he turned back around and got comfortable once more. "I don't see him falling flat on his arse every time he takes a portkey. Maybe his power has lessened over the years. Hermione says that happens sometimes. All I know is that right now I'm more powerful than him and if they need power to break the spell he put on Lavender then I'll give it to them."
"Well…good," Draco said uncertainly. What was there to say? He hugged his mate and placed a light kiss on the nearby ear.
Harry relaxed slightly and sighed. "I'm worried about her," he confessed softly. "Dumbledore's been around a long time, long enough to know some pretty esoteric and/or rare spells. What if the girls don't figure it out?"
"Then we'll send her to a curse-breaker," Draco said firmly. "And another and another until we find out what he did."
"What if it can't be reversed?" Harry asked worriedly. "What if…"
"Harry!" Draco said sharply and squeezed his mate slightly. "For one, dark spells are the ones most likely to be irreversible. I don't think that Dumbledore really dabbles in dark magic, do you?"
"Well, no," Harry admitted.
"And, two, whatever he did to her was probably meant to be used against you," Draco said. "Therefore, whatever he cast was meant to be reversed once you started being a good little boy again."
"He would hold it over me, wouldn't he?" Harry mused.
"Of course he would," Draco said. "So stop worrying."
"Plus, Luna didn't say anything and I think she would have," Harry said thoughtfully.
Draco grimaced. "True."
"So, what do you think of putting up a privacy shield?" Harry asked, turning his head to give Draco a suggestive look.
Draco raised an eyebrow at the complete change in topic but obligingly pulled out his wand and cast a few spells.
--May 16--
"What are you doing, Harry?" Lavender asked curiously.
Harry looked up from his curled up position on the common room couch. "I'm re-reading the letters from my mate," he said with a smile.
"The ones that came by Nichol?" Lavender asked as she sat down next to Harry. She was polite and didn't try to peer at the letter.
"Yes," Harry said then flushed slightly. "I miss him and this was the next best thing." Nearly five months of only occasional meetings was really starting to take its toll on his patience.
Lavender smiled kindly. "It must be hard to work on your relationship when you don't get to see each other."
"Very hard," Harry agreed with a small, frustrated laugh. "I'm sure you understand perfectly, what with being away from Liam."
Lavender nodded. "How many letters do you have?" she asked, tilting her head to peer at the box that was beside her friend.
"Well, there's forty-one from before and seventy-one from after," Harry said, gesturing to the letters in front of and behind the divider in the box.
"After?" Lavender asked in confusion. Her face cleared just a moment later. "Oh! After."
Harry chuckled. "Exactly," he said.
"What did he say? You know, then," Lavender asked curiously.
Harry gave a small shrug and smile. "It was actually pretty funny," he said. "Oh, the letter was nice. He managed to make all his arguments convincing without being begging. I was impressed. But it was amusing to read because I already knew. He talked a lot about," he paused and leaned in to whisper, "his father and how he had to act and why."
"Because of her, right?" Lavender whispered back. "He told you about her?"
Harry sat back and nodded. "All about it," he confirmed in a normal tone. "It was a bit of shock, I'll tell you. I got over it, though, and I think, had I really needed convincing, that that one incident would have done it."
"It's a good one," Lavender agreed.
"Well, that and all the chocolate," Harry said with a smirk. "I was there for thirty days and I had a new box of chocolates every day. Do you know how many international cards I got while I was in Mycenae? Almost a thousand!"
Lavender giggled. "Shouldn't you have gotten over a thousand? That's fifteen hundred chocolates you had."
"Well, I kept some," Harry said. "A couple hundred for the two sets I made. And the rest, well, some people drove some hard bargains and I had to trade two cards for one."
Lavender giggled again.
"You didn't really come to ask about my letters, did you?" Harry asked quietly as he leaned forward.
Lavender's face became unusually solemn as she shook her head. "No. You think… you're sure?" she asked quietly, a bit of her prior hysteria slipping in
"I'm sure," Harry confirmed emphatically, if just as quietly. "As soon as you know what happens, then I'll pull it off you. He doesn't want me to use so much power right now because of…you know."
Lavender nodded. "He's right," she said softly. "It could hurt…them. I'm just…"
"Worried," Harry finished softly and clasped one of his friend's hands. "Well, don't. Hermione says as long as the sterility curse is on you less than a year that it won't harm your chances of conceiving once it's off. Just think of it as, uh, extra-special birth control. That's what it used to be used for anyway."
"I know," Lavender said and fluttered her free hand. "I just…I don't know."
"You know she's never wrong about these things," Harry said with a snort.
Lavender giggled, though it was slightly strained. "That's true," she said. "What about Neville?"
"He's already on the cleansing regimen to get that potion out of his system," Harry said. "It'll be gone by the time school's out. It's annoying, but not dangerous."
"Thank Merlin for Hermione," Lavender said with a sigh.
Harry squeezed Lavender's hand then released it. "Definitely," he said. "No one better to research old stuff."
Lavender giggled again. She scooted a little closer to Harry and leaned her head in to whisper conspiratorially. "Now, tell me more about him. I want to know some juicy stuff!"
Harry grinned and whispered back, "Did I tell you he's got a real sensitive neck?"
--May 31--
Draco was lying comfortably against some pillows on their regular couch in the Room of Requirement. Harry was lying against him and napping. Just a month away from his due date, he often got tired and enjoyed an afternoon nap as often as he could arrange them without raising suspicion. He turned his gaze from Harry to the Room's other occupants.
Greg and Vin were off together working on mastering a new spell. Draco didn't know what it was and didn't really care either. It had been quite the shock to him last summer to find out that his two friends were actually bound to him through vassal oaths as his bodyguards. It had been even more of a shock when he found out that he wouldn't have been told about those oaths until he graduated Hogwarts. The only reason he had been told was because he'd needed Greg's and Vin's help to keep from attacking Harry through the months of teasing. Once he hadn't had to hide his activities from them, they had become even closer friends. He'd been promised the rest of the story this summer.
Pansy and Neville were also off together. They, however, were doing something much more domestic: looking through catalogs. The two of them looked how he imagined he and Harry had looked over Christmas holidays when they had done the same thing. Pansy and Neville had written dozens of letters to each other from the time of their betrothal until Christmas. He didn't know what was in those letters, but he knew that they had shared a great deal of themselves and their time together at Christmas had brought them quite close. These clandestine meetings were just as much for Pansy and Neville, when they could make it, as they were for Harry and himself. He was immensely pleased that Pansy was so happy with her choice of future husband.
The last person with them, Hermione Granger, was flipping through what looked to him like reports. Given what he now knew about her occupation, he thought they probably were. He was still shocked that she was the leader of the Unspeakables. There was more to that story, too, he'd been told. It was another tale he'd been promised this coming summer. At least he knew why she had changed so much.
They still had another half hour of their illicit gathering when the door to the Room opened. The door that should have been sealed until they were ready to leave. Five wands were immediately trained on the door. A sixth one joined them soon after – Draco did have an armful of mate, after all.
Luna stepped into the room and closed the door. She smiled enigmatically, apparently completely unconcerned with all the wands pointed at her, and said, simply, "Hello."
Hermione sighed and shook her head as she put away her wand. "Hello, Luna," she said in exasperation. "What can we do for you today?" She waved the others to stand down.
Luna stood in place and watched as Harry finished waking from the jostling of Draco's sudden movement. "Hello, Harry."
Harry gave the blonde girl a wary look as he replied, "Hello, Luna."
"Do you want to know why there are twelve?" Luna said dreamily as she finally walked forward towards the group.
"Twelve what, Luna?" Hermione asked with practiced patience. Of course, her own seers had nothing on Luna.
"Three is for all that is heaven," Luna said as she knelt before the coffee table that held Hermione's stacks of papers. "Four is for all that is earth. When they multiply together they make all that is possible in heaven and earth. Completeness. That is why there are twelve."
Everyone watched silently as Luna put down her schoolbag and starting pulling out what were obviously wrapped presents. There were six medium-sized gift boxes on the short table before anyone spoke.
"Twelve muggle-borns each year?" Harry asked eventually. "Is that what you mean?"
"That, too," Luna said unconcernedly as she pulled out more boxes.
"Twelve possible fertilized eggs," Draco said, not understanding the reference to muggle-borns. He was pretty sure there wasn't a single class at Hogwarts right now that had twelve muggle-borns.
"That, too," Luna said as she calmly closed her schoolbag. There were now twelve wrapped presents on the table. She turned her head and locked gazes with Draco. "You shall join the few to sire twelve."
Everybody other than Luna drew in a surprised breath. It was common enough to conceive all twelve possible babies during the initial mating, but birthing them? No. That happened perhaps once every hundred years. Even Harry and Draco had thought they'd only have eight – seven sons to satisfy Fate plus another child that they hoped would be a girl, since Harry would always twin. Nobody disbelieved the girl, though.
Luna turned her gaze to Harry. "Hell comes," she said softly. "Hell comes. Death and destruction."
"Luna…" Harry started then closed his mouth and shivered as the girl's eyes rolled into the back of her head.
"The one touched by fate shall leave one mother for another…
And bear children in completeness under the aegis of the hawks…
Muses nine, mother, father, and leader shall claim a child each…"
"A son for Melpomene to perform the great tragedies…
A son for Thalia to write of the lands…
A son for Clio to see into the past…
A son for Urania to search the stars…
A son for Calliope to speak of heroes…
A son for Terpsichore to dance in joy…
A son for Zeus the father to be King of his people…
A daughter for Erato to inspire love…
A daughter for Mnemosyne the mother to remember the present…
A daughter for Apollo the leader to know the future…
A daughter for Euterpe to compose songs…
A daughter for Polymnia to sing to the heavens…"
"Adored shall be the Chosen One…
Revered shall be the Mate…
And successful shall be the children…
As a new era dawns…"
Luna blinked several times and her eyes came down and into focus. She smiled dreamily, not noticing, or perhaps not choosing to notice, the others gaping at her. "We won't see each other for a long, long time, Harry. These are for the babies."
Luna rose then and leaned down to kiss Harry once on each cheek then left without another word.
"Well…seems your children are going to revitalize the Veela arts," Pansy said wanly.
Harry made a strangled sound and clung to Draco. Draco clung back just as tightly and did his desperate best to control his breathing; now would not be a good time to freak out.
Hermione cleared her throat and opened her mouth then snapped it shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. Damn it but seers drove her nuts. "Congratulations," she said eventually.
Harry and Draco weren't the only ones to release bouts of hysterical laughter.
--June 10--
The day of June 10th came like any other. Harry dragged himself out of bed with the help of Neville and went down to breakfast. He ate. He took that morning's test. He went to lunch and loaded his plate. He started eating, then stopped after a couple bites and simply picked at his food.
The people around him were irritating him this afternoon. They weren't doing or saying anything offensive, but they were aggravating him anyway. He wished school was over and he was back home with Draco.
Somebody touched him and he turned and hissed at them, not caring when he realized it was Ginny. Ginny withdrew quickly and Harry returned to fiddling with his lunch, completely ignoring the stuttered apology. He also ignored the subsequent speculation about what was wrong with him this afternoon. In fact, he ignored everybody. He grimaced and put his arm over his belly. The babies were definitely giving him problems today.
Neville watched his friend suspiciously. This…didn't look good.
Lunch was mostly over and they were leaving the table when somebody, quite innocently, bumped into Harry. Harry hissed again. The nearby students quieted and eyed Harry warily. Then, for no apparent reason, Harry shifted form and shrieked.
"Merlin," Neville swore then yelled, "Malfoy! Get over here!" He might have been able to approach Harry in Veela form before, but if Harry was just about ready to lay…well, he'd better not if he wanted to keep those claws from ripping him apart.
Draco heard the call and knew that Neville would never have done so if Harry wasn't ready to lay. Time would be of the essence right now and they couldn't afford to be circumspect about getting Harry out of Hogwarts. They would have less than an hour before the chicks came. Thank Merlin Veela weren't completely like birds or else they'd have minutes at most.
Another loud screech was heard and Draco immediately rose to his feet and raced to the other end of the hall, pushing people out of his way as necessary and ignoring the subsequent commotion engendered by his actions. He made it to Harry's side just as Harry let out another shriek. Draco reached for his mate but Harry was having none of it and turned to swipe his claws across the offending party who dared approach him.
Unfortunately for Harry, Draco was ready for him. Draco twisted away then shifted to his own bird form and grabbed Harry's wrist on its way past and pulled Harry to him back to chest. Harry let out a furious screech at being captured and struggled against Draco's hold. Draco started cooing in an effort to calm Harry as much as possible.
There were a lot of exclamations about just what was going on and people were starting to gather to watch the scene. Neville got fed up with everybody and sent a blast of sparks through his wand and said loudly, "Get back! Are you all stupid?" He then turned his head slightly and said over his shoulder, "Come on, Malfoy, I'll help you to the door."
Draco dragged his angrily twittering mate towards the entrance of the Great Hall, trusting Neville, and now the rest of their friends, to protect them as they left. Harry chattered in agitation before letting loose another screech. Draco continued to coo.
Minerva McGonagall made her way through the massed students until she was close to the scene. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.
"Harry's in labor and needs to leave," Neville said grimly. "That's the meaning of this. His mate will take him somewhere safe to birth the chicks. Now everybody stay back! You're bothering Harry." The party of eight continued to move back steadily towards the entranceway.
The headmaster finished pushing through the student crowd and joined McGonagall. "If that is indeed the case, then Madame Pomfrey can tend to him," he said.
Both Harry and Draco screeched in fury at that and Neville said, "That's not going to happen, Headmaster. For one, Harry doesn't trust Pomfrey and I doubt she's even qualified to assist in Veela births. For another, Draco has arranged a safe place for Harry to birth the chicks and that is where we are going."
The headmaster waved his wand and the doors to the Great Hall closed. "It's obvious that Mr. Potter is having difficulties," he said sternly. "Taking him away from competent medical help will most certainly be detrimental to his health. You will take him to Madame Pomfrey."
Two fireballs flew from Harry and Draco and impacted the shield the headmaster erected in barely enough time. Three repelling jinxes were sent immediately after and the headmaster, his shield only protecting against magical fire, went flying into the congregated students. There were cries of fear and surprise, not to mention a few screams.
Neville set off more sparks and a loud bang from his wand. "Shut up! Are you all idiots?" He turned to Minerva, "Harry is not staying here. Now either open the doors, or we will do it for you."
Minerva opened the doors, seeing no other choice that wouldn't endanger the students, and everybody watched as Harry was dragged through the entranceway, still chattering angrily. "Mr. Longbottom, you will come to my office immediately to discuss your involvement in what is going on!"
Neville merely sneered and continued his chosen role. Eventually the party got outside and away from the throngs of non-trusted people and Harry calmed somewhat. Draco continued to coo and pull a now cooperative Harry towards the gates.
All of them could hear a whooshing sound in the distance and when they finally approached the main Hogwarts gates they could see the cause: an uncountable number of fireballs were hitting the gates every second, making them glow dangerously. Draco and Harry joined in with their own desperate fireballs and less than a minute later the gates abruptly lost their magic and melted to slag.
Neville ignored the amazing feat of destruction and simply stared at the two dozen people on the other side of the gates. Nearly half of them had the Malfoy signature platinum-blond hair. "You managed to call your family here, Malfoy?" Neville asked in shock.
"I did," Pansy said as she grabbed Neville and tugged. "I have an alert charm that I set off, same as Hermione did for Harry's people. Come on. We've already wasted too much time."
Draco gave an affirmative tweet and guided Harry out the gates.
Most of the guards immediately started checking the student contingent for tracking charms and dispelling what they found with more vigor and haste than finesse. Hermione removed a bracelet from her wrist and gave it an odd twist then several flips. Whatever she had done, it became apparent that what had looked like a multi-stranded bracelet was, in actuality, one long thin metallic circular rope. The rope was a good ten feet in diameter, plenty large enough for the nearly two dozen people invited to the birth to grab hold.
Two of the Veela guards took up positions between the gates, where no one had yet appeared, and the travelers, protecting them until they were able to leave. Neville was quick to grasp the rope, presuming correctly that the chain was their untraceable portkey to Draco's manor. Draco wrapped a piece of the chain around Harry's wrist and grabbed a portion himself. Everyone else followed suit as quickly as possible.
Hermione did a quick check to make sure everybody was touching the portkey then waited for the confirming nod of the guard captain before very clearly speaking the activation phrase. "Deliverance." Harry, Draco, and their guests immediately disappeared. The Veela guards left a moment after. The slag of the former gate was all that met the gaze of several Hogwarts staff when they arrived less than a minute later.
--end chapter--
I was going to post the birth along with this chapter, but, honestly? I need the extra day to finish the last chapter, so that will be tomorrow. Besides, this is a pretty long chapter, yes? (grin)
--The Muses--
I'm mixing the time periods here a bit, but anyway… Copied straight from Wikipedia…
The canonical nine Muses, with their fields of patronage, as established since the Renaissance, are:
Calliope (the 'beautiful of speech'): chief of the muses and muse of epic or heroic poetry
Clio (the 'glorious one'): muse of history
Erato (the 'amorous one'): muse of love or erotic poetry, lyrics, and marriage songs
Euterpe (the 'well-pleasing'): muse of music and lyric poetry
Melpomene (the 'chanting one'): muse of tragedy
Polyhymnia or Polymnia (the 'singer of many hymns'): muse of sacred song, oratory, lyric, singing and rhetoric
Terpsichore (the 'one who delights in dance'): muse of choral song and dance
Thalia (the 'blossoming one'): muse of comedy and bucolic poetry
Urania (the 'celestial one'): muse of astronomy
According to Hesiod's Theogony (seventh century BC), they are the daughters of Zeus, king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, goddess of memory. In Hesiod's Theogony, kings and poets receive their powers of authoritative speech from their possession of Mnemosyne.
The Olympian system set Apollo as their leader