Chapter 34 - Truth and Justice

For one Peter Pettigrew, wizard, life had changed so much since his Hogwarts days. Since then, he had betrayed his friends. Peter was afraid of the power of the Dark Lord, and so he had joined with what he saw was the winning side. Only when the Dark Lord attacked the Potters with his aid, he lost! After that, he was hunted by Padfoot, managed to fake his death and get his hunter jailed for the crimes that Peter had committed, and hidden out as a rat with the Weasleys, getting an easy life while he laid low and waited for news.

The previous June, his erstwhile brother in pranking had managed to escape from the hellish Wizarding prison and Peter was on the verge of panic! He should never have let that damned photographer capture him on film. He decided that his unwitting hosts' holiday to Egypt would be the perfect time to escape and let his trail go cold rather than letting that hound find him. Peter knew well what Padfoot's Animagus form of a Grim could do to rats, and he never wanted to have it happen to him!

Unfortunately, since Peter had been declared dead for a dozen years, he had no money, no assets of his own. He had fairly easily taken up the life of a thief, sneaking money from all those careless wizards and witches, stealing food, and gradually building up his funds. He took a risk, Apparating into a forest in central Europe where he and the others had taken a holiday back at Hogwarts. Luck had been on Peter's side, with the forest still there and no tree to merge with at his destination. While Peter was never the greatest among the Marauders, he was still one of the greatest wizards of his year. Far better than that little snot Snivellus could ever dream.

Since that time, Peter had been looking for something to improve his situation when he found signs that his master wasn't as completely gone as he had thought. With his Dark Mark calling to him to aid the Dark Lord, Peter soon found himself tracking down Voldemort, then aiding him as the self-proclaimed greatest wizard sought to regain his strength.

Peter cursed that day he had taken the Dark Mark, cursed himself for accepting it without knowing how insidious the magic behind it was, without even checking what it would do to him. Now, with all the Dark Lord's focus on him, it was hard to remember that he didn't want Voldemort to get his body back. He was walking a fine line, feigning incompetence and delaying the day as long as he could, but he couldn't hold it back forever. It was already April, so he had already missed the spring equinox, perfect for most of the rituals he knew. If he could survive the summer solstice, he would be safe for another nine months.

Peter's one-time friends were in Cranleigh, toasting Prongs' son. Harry had again done well on his assignments, but that wasn't the reason for their joy, no, once again it was that Harry had fulfilled their own teenage dreams of a harem. Luckily for Padfoot, his girlfriend Mary was tolerant of his foibles, having secured an Oath from him that Sirius Black would not seek to form a harem of his own so long as he was in a relationship with her, nor would he cheat on her trust in him.

The girls in said harem were having problems, however. The enforced separation of the return to school had hit them harder than they thought. For Harry's Cranleigh ladies, while they could see him each day, no longer could they sleep with him, not that they had admitted to doing it in the first place to their parents.

The best they could do was sneak out one night a week to spend a night cuddling, any more and they felt too guilty at the deception, any less and they missed Harry too much.

Harry's witches had it both better and worse. Better in that they didn't have parents to worry about, or any other real impediments to spending time with Harry, but they also found that they were missing having each other close by. The separation by House meant that the free and easy talks they had at night they could have no longer.

Hermione's suggestion helped the Hufflegirls with their problem, pushing their beds together and sleeping with each other and some of Harry's clones. It was warmer and a lot friendlier, and a very Hufflepuff thing to do.

It didn't work for the other girls, though. Cho and Luna in particular were alone in their dorm rooms in being Harry's girls, and were soon sneaking into the 3rd Year Girls Dorm to sleep at night, trusting Harry's Illusions would keep them from being discovered. Cho was getting very proficient with the space expansion spells, and Harry had supplied beds for the extra girls to use while the five enjoyed their sleepovers. As much as Cho loved flying, the extra practice for the final Ravenclaw match of the year meant she got the least time to share with the others. Many nights found her the last to fall asleep, often wrapped around her Harry, just the way she wanted it.

Padma, Sue and Lisa knew of the older girl's activities, how could they not with her moans so close by, but weren't bothered. With Harry to keep their secrets safe, they indulged in their own desires for the emerald-eyed Potter. Lisa had even allowed Padma to join in when she made love to her Harry.

In the Lion's Den, Lavender, Parvati and Sally-Anne were taking to using silencing spells to allow them to talk on into the night as much as they wanted, or to unwind in other ways, before sleep claimed them, and similarly, Daphne, Tracey and Sophie enjoyed private discussions in the Slytherin dorms. There, at least, such habits were the norm rather than the exception. And while Pansy had started to tone down her bad language about the rest of humanity, her unthinking acceptance that Purebloods must always be the best meant that she wasn't included by the three girls in their talks.

Millicent Bulstrode, technically a Halfblood according to the Death Eater rules, was one of those wizards and witches who espoused the Pureblood dogma all the louder to make herself look trustworthy and safe. It was much like a certain greasy student had done during his own student days in order to fit in. Needless to say, that did nothing to endear her to Harry's friends at all.

As May opened with a burst of warmth, the students were getting keyed up for the fifth and penultimate Quidditch match of the year, to be played by Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Malfoy, despite his poor showing, was heard to boast that as an English Pureblood he would naturally show that foreigner Chang what he was made of.

Harry fingered his wand. "Do you need any help with that?" he asked the pale, sharp-faced hypocrite.

His question went over Draco's head until Pansy whispered in his ear. "He's talking about using a cutting curse to show us what you're made of!"

Draco paled and tried to bluster but only sputtered, wondering why his Head of House wasn't there to help him like he used to do. When he failed to respond with a cutting remark or with his magic, Harry actually turned his back on Malfoy, wondering if that would embolden the bully. Apparently it did. Draco's sneer and drawing of his wand was interrupted by Harry turning around and 'accidentally' breaking Draco's wand with a clumsy wave of his hand at one of his ladies approaching the scene.

"Oh dear, Malfoy! How will you ever manage to curse someone in the back without your wand?" Harry's voice oozed false sympathy, getting laughs from the students watching them. "I'm so sorry, that was really clumsy of me, I was just so pleased to see the arrival of Sophie. She's a real Slytherin, you know. Maybe you could ask her for tips. Later, though.

"Sophie? I have a surprise for you..." Harry trailed off as he walked away with his lady, waiting until they were alone before explaining what had happened.

"And my surprise, Harry?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"This." Harry produced a small bouquet of flowers, her favourites, offering them to her on one knee.

Sophie smiled, her true smile that she only showed to him, and accepted the flowers and a loving hug from her man.

When the other girls heard about the surprise, they went to confront Harry, only to find he had beat them to it, guiding each girl to somewhere private and offering them their own unique arrangements. Hermione, the first to find him, just gave a happy sigh and cuddled with him.

As for the ponce himself, well, he used up more of his father's influence with Snape in order to get a special trip escorted by the sour man to Ollivander's for a replacement that very day. He was lucky it was a Sunday rather than a weekday, or Snape's price would have been far higher. Despite his protests, Malfoy couldn't find anyone willing to back up his story that Harry had deliberately broken the wand. Harry had casually handed over some Galleons to Snape to pay for the replacement along with a polite nod to the Potions Master and there was nothing more that was done about the issue officially.

Unofficially, Snape indicated that he fully believed the destruction was intentional. However, since it was done by a true Slytherin, one supported by powerful friends, to one who was merely sorted into the House but refused to demonstrate cunning, he would not intervene. Better that the real Snake win. In Lily's boy's next Potions class, Snape saw fit to award Harry with an extra ten points above what his work had earned in recognition of his cunning and picking his battles correctly.

During the week before the match, most of the British Wizarding World had something far more juicy to keep their interest. At last, Amelia Bones had managed to secure a trial for that notorious Dark Wizard Sirius Black with live coverage on the Wizarding Wireless Network and various publications in attendance to get all the mileage they could wring from it. Witch Weekly and Teen Witch Weekly were there to report on the fashion triumphs and disasters of so many movers and shakers in their society. Oh, and they'd mention the trial at some point, too.

The other publications had their own slants on things, too, though they were at least more interested in reporting the trial itself. Contrary to expectations, The Quibbler wouldn't be turning this into the usual conspiracy theory or mythical creature article but reporting it straight. Real life was quite enough of a conspiracy for any article Xeno might write, thank you very much! As for the Daily Prophet, while the Minister would have loved to dictate their spin on the matter, Director Bones had been very firm that they were to write the truth, not any particular Ministry line.

As the Ministry Atrium flooded with spectators eager for their entertainment, time was ticking down until the trial was due to commence. With only half an hour remaining, Sirius Black stepped through the Floo behind one of Amelia's most trusted Aurors, with another coming through after him. After brushing themselves off, the pair escorted him through the practically bubbly crowd to the DMLE where he was formally charged.

The charges were as follows:

- twelve counts murder of Muggles with a small fine for each count,

- one count murder of a Wizard or Witch punishable by five years in Azkaban,

- two counts conspiracy to commit murder of a Wizard or Witch punishable by six months in Azkaban per count,

- one count conspiracy to commit murder of a wizard in good standing punishable by ten years in Azkaban,

- one count accessory to murder of a Wizard or Witch punishable by one year in Azkaban,

- one count accessory to murder of a Wizard in good standing punishable by life in Azkaban,

- one count conspiracy to commit treason against the Ministry punishable by ten years in Azkaban, and

- one count membership of a proscribed organisation punishable by only a small fine.

From there, he was escorted down to the largest courtroom the Ministry possessed and even that one had been considerably expanded for this day. Sirius knew the importance of appearances in keeping himself out of trouble from his school years and he objected to the indignity of the magical chains in their own right. Sirius had requested they be set aside, submitting to a full magical scan in its place to ensure he didn't have any magical items on him that could be used to assist in his escape from the courtroom nor to pose a threat to anyone present.

The bottle of Ogden's Finest Firewhiskey was duly removed from his person and stored in the locker with security charms to ensure no one removed or 'sampled' it before he reclaimed it. Sirius just grinned. He would never have wasted the magical drink on trying to escape, but he was glad they thought he could.

Walking ahead of the Aurors, Sirius took his seat, some of the crowd confused why he wasn't in chains like they had expected, but settling down at a signal from the judge's bench. With the high profile of this case, the Minister was forced to accept Augusta Longbottom and Amelia Bones on the bench though he did keep his own seat on the panel. Fudge would have liked to have one of his toadies but bucking the powerful women was beyond his political capital right then and he knew it.

Banging her gavel, Amelia Bones called the court to order before the court scribe read out the charges. When asked for his plea, Sirius Black replied clearly and confidently "Not guilty!"

The proceedings were a little strange to those used to the British court system. Multiple judges, a jury of fifty and the casting of spells and administering of drugs were all unlike their counterparts.

The calling of witnesses, at least, was common to both, and the wizards who had been called to the spellfire in London and found Sirius Black were called to testify under Veritaserum as to what they had seen and done. Veritaserum wasn't able to make the user tell the exact truth, only to tell the truth as the user believed it. While still vulnerable to memory charms and simple misunderstandings, the witnesses had been examined for the presence of such magics and pronounced ready to testify. The system was not perfect but it was better than nothing.

Under the influence of the truth drug, they repeated what they had heard but admitted that none of them had seen Black attack anyone or even cast a spell. He wasn't even trying to hurt anyone when they arrived, and yet they drove in, taking him away and calling in the Obliviators. When asked, they were surprised to realise that this also erased any firsthand testimony of the one crime they had been sure he committed, the murder of twelve Muggles and the wizard Peter Pettigrew.

Since they had also snapped his wand on the scene, they had no actual evidence that Sirius Black had done it, only a bunch of bodies and the finger of a Pureblood wizard.

Next, the Obliviators and other wizards and witches who had attended the crime scene were called. Their stories matched the picture emerging of a wizard, a Pureblood of an old line, sent straight to Azkaban and left to rot without anyone bothering to ask.

At last, however, it was time for the main event. Sirius was called to the stand. The questions had been chosen by Amelia Bones beforehand after consulting with the man himself. That was hardly standard, but as Harry and his parents were quick to point out, nothing about the case was, and she did get to ask all the questions she really wanted.

Firstly, Sirius stated for the record his name, that he wasn't a Death Eater and in fact had always opposed them, even getting kicked out of home for his dedication to opposing them. Next, that he wasn't the Secret Keeper as he had been leading people to believe when the Potters went into hiding. Instead, they had entrusted that to their mutual friend Peter Pettigrew with the intent of keeping the Secret Keeper hidden and adding another layer of safety to the Potters' protections.

After that, he described how he had been called to the property when the wards failed. He found the home wrecked and baby Harry alive in the ruins with an angry cut on his forehead exactly like that depicted in the Boy-Who-Lived books that somehow became popular during Sirius' false imprisonment.

Next, Rubeus Hagrid, known to be Dumbledore's man, showed up at the house in Godric's Hollow, demanding he hand over the only survivor to him. He admitted he wasn't in his right mind at the time and had agreed, intending to leave Harry in Dumbledore's care while he tracked down Peter, either to rescue or to kill him depending on his part in the deaths of the Potters. It was only supposed to be a temporary measure! Dumbledore knew he would never betray James and Lily, knew he had been fighting against the Death Eaters as part of the man's own Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore's attempt to interrupt that part of the testimony saw him censured and silenced.

Instead, when he finally tracked down Peter, well, it was as they had already heard. His supposed confession was Sirius believing himself responsible since he had suggested the switch of Secret Keeper to the rat that was already in the service of You-Know-Who. The Aurors on the scene didn't bother to question him, didn't keep his wand for examination, didn't even blink as they delivered him to the Dementors.

Inside Azkaban, he heard that others had been sent without trial, including the Lestranges and others, but all of them got one eventually. Even his mad bitch of a cousin Bellatrix had her day in court but never one for Sirius.

Roused from the drug's effects by the counteragent, Sirius looked around the courtroom. The gallery were finally coming out of their stupor, stunned by revelation upon revelation received here today, and they were out for blood. Most of them had expected that Sirius Black truly was guilty but had agreed that everyone should get a trial. For the conservatives among them, it was an atrocity for a Pureblood to be subjected to that, even if they wouldn't have cared so much about it happening to anyone else.

For the rest, they had wondered, would this be another Ministry whitewash? Had someone been paid off?

One and all, though, they had wanted to see someone pay for their crimes, and by Merlin they would get it!

Fudge had been known to boast that he had seen the notorious criminal on that fateful day, so his head was in a noose already. Bartemius Crouch, Director of the DMLE at the time until he had to resign in disgrace, was again in hot water. His position in the Department of International Magical Cooperation looked like only the least of the price he would pay. Former Minister Millicent Bagnold was set to lose her pension, and possibly her freedom for failing to ensure the trial despite ample opportunity. And one Albus Dumbledore, whose man had kidnapped Harry Potter from his rightful guardian and hidden away their hero for a decade, was about to lose something he considered even more vital: his reputation as a good man.

Though Dumbledore didn't know it, Harry and Sirius were already prepared to pay for articles in the Daily Prophet that cast doubt upon the man's actions and cause a lot of trouble. They would go ahead with those plans if he failed to make amends for what his actions had cost both of them. Slapped in the face with the truth of what he had done, they didn't need to commission the articles as the reporters at the paper were already fully prepared to write them anyway.

The trial of Sirius Black left just about everyone in power with egg on their face. The prominent exception was one Amelia Bones, Director of the DMLE and publicly proven to be right about insisting on a trial for the man some had called You-Know-Who's right hand. The result was that while Dumbledore did have his reputation indelibly stained, the articles soon tapered off, though he did agree to make some efforts to reconcile with Sirius.

Harry refused to forgive the old man, however. As far as he was concerned, by ruining a child's life and allowing one of his subordinates to be sent to Hell on Earth in order to control that child's life Dumbledore had put himself beyond redemption. Certainly forgiveness would not come before he felt Dumbledore had learned his lesson.

When the old wizard said that refusing to forgive was a sign of going Dark, Harry countered that by saying that "If I forgave you for ruining my childhood I would be seen as dismissing the abuse of children as unimportant, and what could be worse than that? If their precious Boy-Who-Lived condoned the abuse of children, you know others would take that as permission to do it themselves. And you are responsible for the consequences of your actions."

Albus looked into the cold eyes of his student, feeling that coldness wash over him as he realised that there was another perspective, however much he dismissed it, that people could take. He feared such a harsh attitude, feared that maybe Harry was right and that meant Albus could never deserve forgiveness for the folly of his youth however much he wished it, however much he had buried all evidence of it. That night as he prepared for bed, he thought back over this tumultuous week and dismissed Harry's words as the ignorant thoughts of the young, returning to his comfortable world.

The Quidditch match came on a sunny day, and the Ravenclaw and Slytherin teams lined up, waiting for Madam Hooch to blow her whistle to start the game. Flint was tapping his foot impatiently, eager to be about it so he could work out his aggression on the other team. He wasn't alone in that. Draco Malfoy had been smarting from the casual way Potter had threatened his life following his witty putdown of the wog Chang. Worse, no one was interested in helping him get back at either of them after his treacherous Head of House had made his own position clear.

Then with the trial of Sirius Black, the revulsion of the Death Eaters had resurged but not the fear of them that had so characterised those dark days. The children of Death Eaters were happy to see Dumbledore brought down a peg in the eyes of the unwashed masses and the removal of Crouch was amusing. However, the way it hampered Fudge from listening to Draco's father was infuriating.

Worse, despite all the Galleons thrown his way, Fudge was unlikely to survive as Minister for long. Not even the Malfoy family money would be able to buy the next Minister until they found out who it would be!

With the bad mood of its Captain and Seeker, none of the other players were exactly happy as the pair were only too happy to share their mood around, even if the others hadn't had similar leanings themselves. Besides, it was an excuse for violence and showing off that they could cheat in front of the whole school with no one to stop them. Why would they resist?

So, with the whistle blown, they shot into the air, trying to get into the way of the ascending Ravens. Cho just rolled her eyes and rolled her broom out of the way as the blue and bronze team peeled apart. The Ravens easily dodged the Snakes and reformed above them in turn before splitting to their positions with a cheeky flick of their broom tails.

The Ravenclaws had, as expected, studied for this game, and had put in practice for various counters to the usual cheats and dirty play of the Slytherins, as well as practice for their actual game skills. They had plans based on the Slytherins taking either route to victory.

Cedric had decided against loaning their better brooms to the Ravens for this match for two reasons, firstly, the Ravens were their main rivals for the Quidditch Cup, secondly, the Ravenclaw team had gotten two new brooms since their last match three months earlier and shouldn't need the help in order to win.

Harry had considered his own options for the game, namely, whether or not to cheat in order to counter the Slytherin team's cheating. After asking his girls, in particular Cho Chang, for their opinions, he agreed only to step in as little as possible, and only to protect Cho from any vicious fouls. Regular play, even the more normal kinds of fouls, she wanted him to allow so she could get a real game.

They could see the sense in that. She wanted a good game which would prepare her for going professional after Hogwarts if that's what she wanted to do then. It wouldn't do her much good if she was coddled all the way through school only to get a totally unrealistic idea of her abilities and of the game as it was played at that level.

For the Hufflepuffs in particular, even for Harry, the desire for fair play struck a chord, too.

And so, Harry was in the stands with the Ravenclaws to cheer on his lady, his other friends also welcomed among their numbers as long as they were going to support the Ravens over the Snakes. Daphne and Astoria, Tracey and Sophie got a few curious looks but when they too cheered on the raven-haired Raven, the House of the Wise accepted them with the rest.

Since the match was against Slytherin whose reputation was still bad though improving slowly, Gryffindor practically to a witch and wizard were loudly supporting Ravenclaw. While Hufflepuff wasn't quite as unified, having left the shadows of the Lions and Snakes, they too were supporting the Ravens as a rule as the Slytherin team just about always played a very dirty game which offended their values.

As the players settled into their roles, the Slytherins went to an early lead, the Ravens taking it easy while they got a feel for their opponents while the Snakes went hard from the start. Flint's team were finally being more cunning about things, saving their dirty play until the Ravens were catching up at 80-70. Unfortunately, it was against their Seeker who had been effectively distracting the Bludgers and luring them towards the Slytherin Chasers.

By trapping her then pelting both Bludgers her way, they were intending on taking Cho right out of the game, leaving them to win by default. Harry wasn't going to allow them to use that kind of tactic. Quidditch was a dangerous enough game already without deliberately trying to force players out by injury.

Instead, the Bludger was blown off-course from the start as Harry both amplified its speed and changed its trajectory right at Flint's centre of mass, he had made it a lot harder to dodge since Flint was in the centre of their formation that was aimed at trapping Cho. It was a harder shot, but turning the trap on the trapper appealed greatly to Harry.

As it turned out, Flint almost managed to escape but the Bludger hit the tail of his broom, sending the Slytherin into a spin and only narrowly pulling up in time. Harry's message was clear: Don't try to kill the opposition. Only, it turned out the Slytherins didn't understand the communication, instead blaming each other before trying again to catch the Seeker in their trap.

Of course, it wasn't that simple a second time, and Cho simply pulled a tighter turn than the heavier Slytherins, then turned back the way she came in a game of aerial chicken. Madam Hooch was quick to call her for dangerous play to the boos of the crowd who had seen her ignore the foul play to which Hooch had turned a blind eye.

Harry narrowed his own eyes. That was it. He was done allowing such blatant favouritism. Ten times, Hooch had 'missed' a dirty play from the Slytherins without calling them out, but the first time the Ravenclaws did anything and she was suddenly eagle-eyed? No, this would not stand. Harry fought down his first impulse which was to hurt the woman who was damaging the game and endangering the players. Instead, he would do something more fitting.

Casting a subtle Illusion, weaving it just for Hooch, was one of the more difficult tasks Harry had done. He needed to project it external to the witch lest her own magic interfere, needed to move it in time with her own movements, needed moreover to keep it subtle enough that she didn't see anything wrong.

Exchanging signals with his clones on top of the stadium gave them the message about what he wanted them to do while he took over more of the job of keeping Cho safe. Seconds later, Hooch's world shifted. Any time the Slytherins tried to foul a Ravenclaw, he made them appear completely obvious to the woman to the point where she knew she had to act or lose all respect. It worked. For the first time since Harry had started at Hogwarts, the Slytherins were being called out on every foul play, every dirty trick they tried. Harry didn't need to do the same to the Ravenclaws playing as Hooch was quite well aware of them already and was already penalising them for anything slightly dodgy.

With Hooch finally doing her job, with a little help from Harry, the students were treated to a game where the Slytherins actually had to play honestly. They did a little better than the last time that happened, but they relied too heavily on dirty play and it showed. The Snakes had not only lost their lead with the fouls they were conceding, but the Ravenclaw Chasers were demonstrating their superior skills and dominating the game.

The game was still fairly low-scoring overall, and with her teammates doing well, Cho expected and received the signal to let the Snitch go in favour of racking up the goals. Since her opponent was Malfoy, Cho was able to relax a little and enjoy her flying, performing stunts for the crowd before he cottoned on to what she was doing and returned to scanning for the Snitch.

When the lead had extended to one hundred and forty, the Slytherin Beaters were getting desperate, and turned to attacking Cho again, ganging up on her to try to stop her from getting the Snitch no matter the cost. It backfired as they were called out again, the Ravens happily taking the penalty shots.

With the lead now too great for the Snitch to win it for them, Flint signalled to Malfoy not to take the win. Either he didn't see it or simply ignored the instruction, both were possible in Harry's opinion, and he continued to try his meagre best to find the elusive golden ball. For once, he did just that but his darting away for the prize caught Cho's eye and she made to cut him off.

Barely clear of each other, they were neck and neck for thirty seconds as they zipped around the field before Cho edged out the arrogant blonde to the Snitch! The game was over, and Ravenclaw had humiliated Slytherin in one of the most honest games in the last decade.

In the aftermath, Harry spotted a curious thing, Marcus Flint angrily complaining about the unprecedented number of penalties called in the game as if Hooch had betrayed him personally. Hooch's reply was enlightening.

She said "I can't ignore blatant cheating and you know it. If you don't want to give away goals then you need to keep control of yourself and your team!" The stress on 'blatant' meant that both parties knew she would turn a blind eye to anything short of it.

When Harry passed on that information to his friends, the common reaction was disgust that she would pervert their beloved game like that. Not even the Slytherins were happy with the witch, and they got back at her via the house elves that made her meals, adding laxatives to them a few times and laughing between themselves when neither Snape nor Pomfrey detected the cause for her control problems.

Ernie had put it best if rather crudely when he was away from sensitive ears. "She gives us the shits, so we'll give her the shits."

Following the match, the only remaining events of note for the school were end of year exams and the final Quidditch match which would be Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. For Harry and his ladies, the time was a godsend, they could concentrate on each other more than before, getting to adjust to their new relationship better than before. It also saw Ginny blooming in their presence, losing her uncertainty about her identity, her beliefs, as her friends gave her their time and their support.

Still, she was drawn to Harry, like other girls before her, and was dreaming about him. Thanks to some frank discussions she had managed to overhear between Lavender, Sally-Anne and Parvati, she knew that he would treat her right if she did become one of his ladies. The trouble was, she had no idea how to approach him! She was afraid of asking Harry's ladies about it as she still felt the stigma of what happened the previous summer, and she was afraid of what would happen after she finished the term.

She didn't want to spend another two months doing stupid chores and listening to her mother's biased opinions on anything and everything. None of her brothers did, either. Worse for Ginny, however, she was afraid that her mother wasn't joking about condoning the use of mind-altering magics on unwilling victims so long as they were legal when she was young. Since she did want to be with Harry, the young man himself was confident that Molly wouldn't try anything on her daughter. Why bother to work at something that's already done? That was scant comfort for Ginny though, as she had a much stronger fear than the average witch of anyone messing with her mind.

Really, what else could anyone expect after she was possessed and nearly killed by young Tom Riddle's echo?

She only felt truly safe around Harry, and she was getting more anxious to prove to him that she was worthy of his love and protection.

For Harry's part, he was easily aware of the red-haired girl's feelings for him, and he could see himself loving her back, but that would only ever happen if it wouldn't hurt his current ladies. They were the most important people in his life. He had killed for them, and would do so again if needed. Unless Ginny talked to his ladies, and they consented, nothing would happen between Harry and Ginny, and one part of Harry was quite content if she never did. He already had love and happiness, ladies to pamper and adore and please, ladies who loved him every bit as much as he loved them. It would be churlish for him to feel anything less than happy with them. The other part of Harry, the part that was slowly falling for the girl, hoped she would talk to them soon so they could explore where their feelings were taking them.

Harry's conscious, on the third hand, was setting that longing to the back of his mind and keeping his actions honourable so he didn't betray the trust of his loves. It was up to Ginny to make a move, if she ever could.

The month between matches passed soon enough, and with the exams handed in and marked, all the school looked forward to the last game for the year and the Cup. On a rather warm morning with blue skies, after both sides had been preparing for the match with extra training, the students looked forward to a fairly friendly game.

In fact, the Gryffindor Chasers had got together with the Hufflepuff Chasers for a friendly afternoon flying the previous weekend in celebration of their last O.W.L's for Alicia and Angelina. The older girls were joking and talking about Harry's Hufflepuff Harem, almost finishing each other's sentences as they tried to tease blushes out of the Puffs, only for it to fail completely.

Even some of their most blatant innuendos were used, only getting smiles from Susan and Hermione while Harry hit back with his own once he made sure his ladies knew what he was doing.

The Weasleys and Captain of the team weren't as friendly, however, taking the game as seriously as Hufflepuff's own Captain Diggory. Ron and Ollie were ok if you didn't talk about Quidditch, but the instant the game was mentioned their fanaticism was clear. Ollie had been working Ron hard morning and night to get better with his broom. Ron was seen thanking his girlfriend, Ms Vane, for being his greatest support at breakfast before the match. Harry overheard her whispered promise to reward him as long as he tried his best. The reward was entirely innocent in nature. She would feed Ron at lunch and listen to him talk about the Chudley Cannons rather than talking about her own team.

As for the twins, the Human Bludgers as their Captain called them, well, they had started to tone down their cruel pranks since Professor McGonagall had noted their marks were slipping. She had explained to them that if they didn't maintain high grades, then obviously they had too much spare time on their hands, something she was ready, willing and able to fix by assigning detentions if necessary. After all, they earned them readily enough with their so-called jokes.

They got the message, bringing their marks back up and getting less time to laugh at other people. Though they didn't know it, this saved them from getting a Molly Weasley Howler Special delivered from three inches when they got their marks over the summer. For now, however, it meant they were more wound up than normal since Ollie Wood had gotten even more fanatical about the game thanks to Ron's support. That meant the stress relief they got from humiliating other people was cut as it was the only slack in their daily schedule.

They were meaner, keener and stronger than ever with their Beater's Bats. For the first time, Harry was getting worried about the Gryffindors cheating in a match.

As it happened, he had worried for nothing. Fred and George were happy enough just to whack the Bludgers around and their extra aggression was quickly worked off without anyone getting hurt. Ten minutes into the game, they were their normal insane selves and causing that special brand of chaos that followed them wherever they went.

The scoreboard reflected the extra practice the Hufflepuffs had put in compared to other years, their skills finely honed and their teamwork was great. With all their players except the Seeker in a relationship, they got extra practice at moving well together. The Flying Foxes were stunned the first time Hermione passed the Quaffle behind her in a blind throw to Susan, who made the catch and got a free shot on goal against an almost equally surprised Wood. When it quickly became apparent that all three Puff Chasers knew instinctively where the others were at all times, they knew that they would struggle. For the Hufflepuffs, their twin goals were to win the game and to do so with enough of a lead to win the Cup.

Cedric had made Harry his deputy, freeing Cedric up to seek out the Snitch and disrupt the other side while Harry kept operational control of the team. This sped up the control loop, allowing them to switch a lot faster from one play to another, and the Badgers flew to an early lead before the Lions adapted.

In the stands, Minerva found she was cheering on the Hufflepuffs at one point, seeing Harry Potter instead in Gryffindor colours like his father and pulling off insane moves even James never tried. Red-faced and glad none of her Lions had noticed the lapse, she sat back down and resumed cheering for her House while on the inside she felt that a win for Harry would still be a win she could enjoy.

Ron Weasley was engaged in the Seeker's Duel of his life, as he saw it. The last match of the year and against a skilled older opponent, he was confident that his extra training was paying off. He had no attention to spare for the scoreboard, doing his best to show that Gryffindor was the best just as he knew it was.

The Flying Foxes were getting tired, cursing the stamina of the Boy-Who-Lived. He was tireless and his two partners were almost as energetic, though they didn't have his skill yet. It was no shame to lose to the better player, but they wouldn't make it easy, giving their all. Their lack of fitness was the end of them, however, and the Hufflepuffs were piling on the points. When it was at last certain that they would get the win they wanted, with or without the Snitch, Harry signaled Cedric who eased back on the chase for the Snitch, letting Ron pull ahead and win.

They didn't need to break the Lions like they had with the Snakes, and Cedric earned admiration from the older girls by allowing the younger Seeker his moment in the sun.

With the game over, Hooch presented the Quidditch Cup to the Hufflepuff team, little signs showing that she hated giving it to anyone but the Snakes. That was ok with Harry, it drove home to her that despite her cheating she couldn't dictate the game, couldn't choose who won or who lost. Maybe next year, she would referee fairly without prompting, accepting that it wasn't her place to make that decision. Then again, maybe not.

Harry put such petty things from his mind, taking a victory lap around the pitch with his teammates and Cedric showing off the Cup to the whole school. This gave the Lions time to head in and get into their changing rooms first and ensured some separation between the teams in the hope that the losing team would have time to cool any bad tempers before the two teams next saw each other.

The Badgers put on a display of formation flying ending with line astern as Cedric was the first to take to the changing rooms as befit his status as team captain. Next were the Chasers, then the Beaters and last of all, Hannah Abbott their Keeper, receiving loud applause and cheers from her House. The crowd dispersed as usual, heading off to do whatever they wanted before Saturday's lunch was served. Inside the Puff locker room, Cedric asked for a quick massage from Harry then hit the showers, hoping to catch one of the Ravenclaw girls in his year to talk about a certain side-bet.

Once the older Puff had gone, Harry's Hufflegirls pulled him into the girls' shower room, kissing and caressing him and cheering when he produced a number of clones. One was stuck outside as lookout, cursing his fate, while the rest surrounded and undressed his lovely ladies.

When they had finished the first round, and while the girls were still catching their breath, Hannah started giggling. Curious about the cause, Hermione asked her. "I was just thinking we're Harry's loves. Then I was playing around with the word, like Harry did when he called us his Hufflegirls, and I came up with Hufflelove."

Susan loved the idea, "Hey, that's great! Harry's Hufflelovers!"

Hermione gave a wicked smile. "Harry's Hot and Horny Hufflelove Harem."

Leanne groaned, "Only on special occasions! And Hermione can't name things for a month."

Hermione would have complained about that but Harry kissed her. 'Kissing Harry: a much better use of my mouth, thank you very much!"

When Harry and his newly-named Hufflelovers returned to the castle a couple of hours later, they were just in time for lunch and some knowing looks from the other girls. There wasn't any jealousy in their looks, however. Harry had sent out extra clones after the first round to spend time with his other loves, too, and half of them sported that same satisfied expression.

The party that night was held in the Great Hall by arrangement with Professors Sprout and McGonagall, earning fifty points for each House when they approached together for permission for the celebration. Professor McGonagall was proud of her students, awarding the points "for continuing to break down barriers between the Houses." It was also made open to students from all Houses with the express condition that anyone starting trouble would be ejected and locked in their dorm room for the weekend. The measure was mostly aimed at the Slytherins and, sadly, at two of Minerva's Lions.

Normally, she would be confident that the opportunity to have a big party would be enough to keep them under control. However, the defeat they suffered at the hands of 'that bunch of duffers" could trigger her Lions' pride to act up, and she wasn't going to let sore egos or anything else trump her duties to her students again.

Wandering through the hall, she and Pomona kept an eye on their students as the butterbeers flowed. Their sharp eyes made the older students think better of trying to spike the punch with anything as they supervised the crowd of revellers. They still had a good time themselves and Filius was happy enough to take his own shift supervising the students. That gave their feet a rest and the two Professors a chance to gossip about their favourite topic, one Harry James Potter.

The subject of their musings was laughing with his friends and being assaulted by Daphne's little sister. Astoria was still in her adorably cute phase and set to transition smoothly into beauty if her older sister was any indication. "Astoria Cynthia Greengrass!" Daphne called, grabbing the little girl's attention. "Get down from there. You can talk with Harry perfectly well from the ground as I am sure you know."

Astoria reluctantly unwrapped her legs from around Harry and got down, still talking rapidly. Indeed, she had only barely stopped long enough for Daphne to admonish her, and she cuddled into Harry's side, making his ladies sigh at how cute she was. Their mood would change rapidly if Astoria had tried to do anything more, especially in public. It was hard enough keeping other girls from trying to sink their hooks into Harry. They couldn't afford to ignore Astoria encroaching on their clearly marked territory because they knew other girls, ones who didn't know or love the real Harry, would try it next.

Lavender whispered to Parvati and Padma, "I can't believe she wrapped her legs around him like that!"

"Yes, that's your job, right." Parvati teased her.

"Exactly!" Lavender smiled back at her best friend.

There was other flirting and teasing going on at the party, some of the couples in sixth and seventh year going a lot further when they thought the staff couldn't see them. Harry's ladies were patient, however. No furtive encounters in a broom closet for them when they could enjoy Harry all night every night to warm their beds and cuddle. Indeed, Tracey merely smirked at Tonks when the pink-haired girl teased her about not being seen around Harry lately.

While Tonks had received offers over the last couple of years, none of the boys, nor the single brave girl, had interested her half as much as Harry did. Thus, Tracey's response frustrated her, she knew that the younger girls were enjoying themselves with Harry, and Tonks was almost desperate enough to jump him. It was only the certain knowledge that with that many pissed off witches after her, that she would surely be in trouble, which had helped her fight off those urges.

Eventually, the party started to end as younger students were sent to their dorms with Prefects to escort them before each curfew. Harry and his ladies enjoyed each other's company until late in the night, though each Hufflelove used the extra time for snuggling.

In the morning, after a ravenous horde known as Harry's Jewels had descended upon the food provided, Hannah unveiled their new name for themselves to the rest of Harry's Jewels along with the tale of how they got it.

That warm Sunday was a great time for them all to relax, something all of them had needed, Harry especially.

Thank you to my betas for their hard work improving and fixing this story. Any problems left in this are my responsibility alone. Thank you for reading and for your feedback.