Chapter 37 - Surprise!

In the final week of July, a number of Harry's friends and allies stayed at the Kitsune Compound. While his ladies stayed in the same wing that had been dedicated to their use before, the others were generally staying in other buildings on the extensive property, hidden from overhead view by a healthy canopy of trees. Since it was his birthday, he had invited them over as a present to himself, getting to have all his special people around at once.

His house-elf, Dobby, was in his element, popping all over the compound to fill requests for this or that from guests. He was under strict orders not to overwork himself, and to let his family know if he needed help. They were still trying to convince him that he shouldn't be a slave, but at least they weren't forcing him to be free.

The night before his birthday, he received some looks from Nym when she thought no one was looking. She should have remembered that was impossible, but he thought she might have been a little drunk. She was seventeen and an adult according to the Ministry of Magic, as she made sure to remind her parents who were concerned at her drinking. Her mother, Andromeda, had tried to keep her from overdoing it and mostly succeeded.

When Nym went to sleep that night, it was to another dream of Harry kissing her. She woke up just after 11:30, hugging her pillow to her, and made her decision. She stretched and got up out of bed, looking at herself in the mirror. A loose white t-shirt and short blue shorts greeted her glance and she considered her body, flaring out her hips wider, adjusting bits and pieces thanks to her magical talent as a metamorphmagus before giving a final adjustment and looking at the clock. Only fifteen minutes before midnight. She smirked at the mirror. "Makeup is a breeze when you can just adjust your looks directly!"

She suited action to words, her cheeks getting pinker, skin already flawless, and the appearance of having used eyeliner and all the rest of the tools that women use to make themselves look good.

Nym stopped dead as she remembered that Harry had so many clones, he could be anywhere. How would she know which was the real one? And that definitely mattered to her.

"I could ask the first Harry I find. Well, the first one who's alone." She corrected herself. "Or if he's using magic, I'll know it's him."

She snuck out of her room, heading first to Harry's bedroom. She knocked quietly on the door, her heart pounding in her chest. A quiet "Come in!" came from inside and Nym opened the door, seeing Harry setting down his wand as he faced his late night visitor.

Harry waved her in, putting the wand away as he set aside his practice of Silencing wards and noting obvious Nym's relief at finding the real him.

His welcome helped settle her nerves and she walked over without tripping, quite a feat by her standards given how clumsy she could be when nervous. Taking the offered seat, she smiled and gave Harry a big hug. "Happy Birthday, Harry!"

"Thanks, Nym, it's only barely midnight, too." Harry's smile was genuine, he was happy she wanted to be the first.

"I've got a present for you, Harry, if you will accept it."

Harry allowed some of his confusion to show on his face. "Why wouldn't I accept a present, especially from someone special to me?"

"I was hoping you would say that." Nym whispered then leaned forward, kissing Harry firmly. He kissed back for a second before he pulled away.

"Does this mean-?"

"Harry, please, don't keep me waiting," Nym interrupted, growling. "I have held back and I don't want to wait any longer. I know, I haven't talked to your other ladies, I will do it in the morning, just don't make me sleep alone tonight."

As she spoke, Harry ran fingers through her pink hair, grinning. When she finished, Harry smiled and pulled her in for another short kiss. "They already gave their permission, Nym, and my answer is Yes."

He pushed her to lay down, kissing her as she started to relax again, letting herself go as she kissed him more.

In the small hours of the morning, Nym finally fell asleep with Harry spooning behind her and her hands over his, keeping them on her breasts. She woke up sore and stiff, having wanted the natural way to remind her the night before, but that was then. Now she just wanted the pain to be gone. She woke Harry up ten seconds later and groaned in bliss when he fixed her pains. "Better." She groaned then ground back against him as she thanked him another way.

When she walked out of his room an hour later, wrapped around his arm, she was smiling, relaxed and carefree.

That came to a halt when she was found by her parents on the way to the kitchen. "Young lady," Andromeda began, "you will come with us right now. You too, Mr Potter. Explanations are in order."

Harry could understand their reaction, however much he didn't want to do anything of the sort.

"This way, then, Mrs Tonks. I believe somewhere private is what you have in mind?" He turned his statement into a question by his tone, allowing her to confirm his judgement and get her to agree with him, something that may help to get her to agree with him again later.

He took them to a warm and welcoming room where the seating was almost sinfully comfortable and at the same height. His training from Ayame-mum had pointed out the use of furniture to adjust a meeting in your favour so he was using that knowledge to encourage a more peaceful discussion with Nym's parents placed on the same physical level as their daughter and Harry.

After the others were inside and had sat down, Harry finished activating the privacy seals on the room then took his seat "We are now secure, Mrs Tonks." Harry explained politely at her questioning expression.

"Thank you, Mr Potter. Now, Nymphadora, you will tell us just what is going on." Andromeda brooked no disagreement, and her daughter knew it. Harry squeezed her hand and she relaxed fractionally in response.

"Last night, I am sure you will recall that I had been drinking. I am also sure that you suspect that had something to do with Harry and I getting together. You might be right about that, though it wasn't what you would think.

"I've loved Harry as my favourite cousin and a great friend for a while now, and I had fun teasing him and his ladies about what they have, but a few months ago, I realised that just how sexy this young man is. I saw him in a new light, you could say, and I had already fallen for him." Nym paused, taking slow breaths to keep control of her powers and keep her blushing suppressed.

"Last night, after I went to bed, I had another dream about kissing Harry, then I woke up not long before midnight. I made my own decision, going to his room just after midnight and wishing him a happy birthday, before asking if he would be mine. He said yes, and I celebrated that with him." Nym muttered, "I celebrated it for hours." Back in a normal voice, she continued, "I was completely awake and sober before anything happened, and nothing happened that I didn't want to happen."

While her mother was taking the lead on this, Nym knew she needed to convince her father to accept this. She knew he was completely capable of making an issue out of his daughter being touched by any boy. Nym fought down another flush as unbidden memories flooded her mind of just how well Harry touched her.

Andy sat back, she was satisfied that at the least, Nymphadora was convinced it was all her idea and was still happy with what happened. While she knew that it could have been someone else who planted the idea in her mind, with Nymphadora happy about the outcome and legally an adult, legally they couldn't forbid her from seeing Harry again. A part of her wanted to do just that, and she was shocked when she examined why. Some part of Andromeda was envious of her own daughter's satisfaction but a greater part was happy for her. The rest refused to be the kind of petty and vindictive woman her own mother Druella had been or worse her Aunt Walburga, willing to throw any Black daughter out of the family over who she had fallen in love with.

Her marriage to Ted had been a good one overall. They had built successful careers and raised a beautiful daughter together with a good head on her shoulders, mostly. They didn't scream or argue all that much, either. While the passion had fallen off lately, she knew from other married women that this wasn't uncommon, dearly though she wished their passion had remained just as strong. They were great partners, at least, and she wouldn't trade that for some fling, even without the stigma of a married woman sleeping around.

No, she was going to be better than her mother had been. If that meant supporting Nymphadora's decision, then so be it. But if Harry harmed one hair on her head!

For Ted's part, while he could never term what he was feeling as 'happy', he knew just how stubborn his girl could be. 'Just like her mother, really. It must be a Black thing. While I'm glad she didn't choose someone like that third Weasley son, let alone the twin Weasleys, I could have happily gone another ten years without having to think about my little girl doing that! Why did she have to grow up so fast. The worst of it is that I actually like Harry. Smart, hardworking and loyal, brave and even, damn him, noble.' Ted grumbled a bit, then surprised the others by standing abruptly, walking over to Harry and glaring down at him for a moment before sticking out his hand for Harry to shake.

Harry reacted quickly, shaking the man's hand firmly enough but exerting only enough of his strength for the task. There was every reason not to turn it into a contest of strength or will.

"You will keep my daughter happy. Dora is very important to both of us, Harry, and we are trusting you not to hurt her."

"You have my word, Mr Tonks." Harry replied seriously.

The firm handshake and the firm reply were enough for Ted, he nodded once and sat down again, with Harry waiting to take his own seat next.

Nym had to fight down an inappropriate urge to crack a joke at this point. Luckily for all concerned, Harry took her hand again and squeezed it, distracting and comforting her.

Ted looked on, then sighed. "Dromeda, dear, are you ready for breakfast now?"

Andy nodded, and all four stood up. "Let's go, Nymphadora."

Nym shook her head, "I will be along soon, Mother."

Andy was about to insist when Ted's hand on her waist pulled her closer and she relaxed. "Very well, we will see you at the table."

Opening the door broke the security seals Harry had put up, and once her parents had gone, Nym turned to Harry and pushed him back onto the couch, straddling him and hugging tight as he rubbed her back.

"That went a lot better than I expected, Nym."

"Me too! I was expecting them to try to lay down the law and ban me from seeing you again. Not that it would have worked!" she grinned wickedly. "Although, it might have added some spice when we did shag."

Harry shook his head, grinning back. "You're insatiable. For now, I'm afraid, we don't have time. You did promise them we would be there soon."

"Fine, after breakfast then, I can get another good session in, okay?"

"Okay, Nym, I should hope you never have to twist my arm for that." Harry escorted Nym to the table, holding an arm out for her to take again as she had before, and he sat her down in her chair before sitting next to her. Nym's and Harry's behaviour told the others that they were now together faster than any words could have done. Susan was the first to say something though, smiling, "Congratulations, Nym, and welcome to the party."

A chorus of congratulations followed and with it finished and before normal conversation resumed, Sirius decided that was the perfect opportunity for him to drop his bombshell.

"Harry, Happy Birthday! And I decided I liked giving you extra presents so much at Christmas, that I would do it again for your birthday. Though this one is something of a shared gift, I'm sure you won't complain."

Harry laughed, "Thanks, Padfoot, but you know you don't have to do anything of the sort. Besides, wasn't the Firebolt dear enough to make up for any missed birthdays?"

"Ah, but you see, this present didn't do a thing to drain the family vaults." Sirius' good mood was made even better when Remus played along.

"So what did the great and wise Padfoot do this time?"

"I have been braving the horrors of bureaucracy and their never-ending parchment on the quest to right an injustice, and return to someone their rightful place." Sirius watched Harry but he kept a look out of the corner of his eyes at the Tonks family, especially his cousin Andromeda. "As of ten a.m. tomorrow morning, the banishment of Mrs Andromeda Tonks née Black is completely and utterly rescinded, with the Black vault reimbursing her for the moneys denied her unjustly in the interim. In addition," here he turned to look a stunned Andromeda in the eyes, "I have made you my heir, Andy. Merlin knows you are the best choice in our generation, though with our family, that's not saying as much as I would like. You managed to build your own business and raised an amazing daughter. Maybe you might like to see if you can do a better job next time." He grinned as he caught Nym sticking her tongue out at him.

Andy got up from the table and hurried to Sirius' place where she hugged her cousin dearly, tears streaming down her face. Ted had got up more slowly, following his wife and hugged her, adding his own thanks to the profusion from his wife. Nym was holding on Harry, watching and smiling.

When breakfast finished, Andy was back to her usual happy self, completely comfortable with Nym sitting on Harry's lap and cuddling as they sat and talked. Hermione, Daphne and Susan were exchanging satisfied looks of their own, glad their friend had finally made her choice.

Nym was snuggling close and feeling even closer to Harry right then. She knew that, however much her mother and grandmother had fought, being banished from the family had been a wound for over twenty years. She was grateful to Sirius for allowing that wound to start to heal, and to Harry for helping to make it all possible. His push for Sirius' freedom was part of the chain of events that allowed for this day to come.

The rest of their morning was more peaceful, for which Harry and his guests were grateful, and the party for the birthday boy began after a light lunch. Sirius put in his usual grumbling about eating salad to the laughter of his listeners but ate with just as much gusto as anyone. They all knew by now that he was only fooling around and with the Clan laughing too, they were free to enjoy his antics.

Speaking of fooling around, Hermione had taken the chance to make a clone when she had to use the facilities. While the real girl went back out to her parents, her clone just smiled as she went off and found one of Harry's clones, taking the opportunity to fool around with her man.

The party got livelier as time passed. The parents, the supposedly responsible adults, were drinking more than they should, relaxing their boundaries as they knew they were completely safe and among friends. The kids, magical and natural both, took advantage of this lapse in surveillance, getting to watch some movies their parents wouldn't approve.

The guys also appreciated that Harry's girlfriends had invited along some of their own (single) friends to the party and thanks to their lessons, they were able to socialise with the girls without causing the girls to leave in disgust or contempt. For Harry's ladies, it meant more opportunity to have fun with their man, as Daphne and Tracey put to the test. Happily for all concerned, Harry was already very, very good at covering up the hidden things in his life so no one saw anything they shouldn't.

After dinner was mostly over, only some desserts still to finish for a few of the slower guests, the two girls ducked into the bathroom, creating a Shadow Clone each which went back to the party while they tracked and kissed a clone Harry, taking him back to Tracey's room where the pair of them pushed him onto her bed, kissing and undressing him.

As their guests went back to their own lives, Daphne mentioned to Harry that she would be playing hostess to Pansy from school. "I'm still hopeful that somewhere inside her, there's a working brain, Harry. It would be too horrible to contemplate if she was as stupid as Draco!"

Harry had commiserated with her and cheered her up with some snuggling and kisses. Pansy's presence meant that Harry couldn't leave a clone at the Greengrass home. Daphne wasn't the only one to find that unwelcome, little Astoria loved having Harry over, and their parents enjoyed the improved quality of meals they enjoyed when he was present.

Nevertheless, they had been trapped into issuing an invitation to Pansy by her parents under the rules of Pureblood etiquette. With the increasing wealth of the Greengrass family, they had greater social obligations and the Parkinsons had traded on that.

In an effort to cheer up their Daphne, her parents had allowed her to leave a clone with the Clan for a day. One day turned into a few, a new clone left there each day, as it also meant Daphne could cheer up Astoria with news from Harry.

For Pansy, however, the visit was worrying in a few ways. First of all, she saw first hand evidence that the Greengrasses, known to be in decline financially, were now significantly better off than they had been before she started at Hogwarts. A small reversal of fortune was to be expected when Daphne and Mark became publicly linked with the Boy-Who-Lived, of course. People became more willing to do business on favourable terms to the resurgent family in order to gain favour in turn.

Thus the re-planted gardens were expected, as was the higher quality of maintenance she saw. The abundance of new furniture, not just newly upholstered, spoke of a higher degree of improvement that would scare her parents. Blood Traitors shouldn't be doing so well! Not that people were yet calling them that out loud, of course. Their social position was still too secure for that, however much they deserved it for associating with those filthy Muggles.

With the tour finished, Daphne guided Pansy to a pavillion where they sat and Daphne had to pretend to like the other girl.

"Well this is impressive, I suppose." Pansy conceded with ill grace.

"And just what would you have to compare to it?" Daphne asked silkily.

Pansy felt herself flush and cursed at such a blatant display of emotion.

Before she could answer, Daphne pre-empted her. "I suppose you are thinking of that brash blonde in our House and his father's 'ancestral home'. Oh, they have acquired enough gold, but they never did work out how to behave themselves..." she trailed off. "No wonder they were kicked out of France."

"Better that than consorting with Mudbloods." Pansy hissed.

"One would think that for someone so devoted to the House of the Cunning, a witch would take the time to be sure of her facts." Daphne retorted.

"We all know you're friends with Granger and Finch-Fletchley and-"

"Yes, yes, but what do you know of them, their families, their circumstances?" Daphne interrupted, trying to get Pansy to think.

"They're Mudbloods! Their families are filthy, dirty Muggles. Who cares about their circumstances?"

"Not a one of them are filthy or dirty, unlike Goyle and Crabbe who I don't think ever learned to bathe. The Grangers are professional healers, respectable and fairly well to do. About even with your own situation, on balance, though that was before they got involved in the Foundation. They are much better off now, naturally.

"The Finch-Fletchleys are an old English family, older than the Malfoys and with a minor title in their own right, not one self-appointed like 'Lord' Malfoy, and very much in the upper crust. Justin, if he hadn't received his Hogwarts letter, was down for the best school in the country and had been since he was born. He would have been associating with royalty if not for his magic.

"Do I need to go on? By allying ourselves with Harry Potter, we also got an in with his other friends. There are dozens of families in his alliance. All those connections available, all those opportunities, and you can't see past the surface to the real meaning underneath. Some Slytherin!"

During their argument, Daphne's mother had come out to look for them. Some subtle listening charms had let her hear their conversation, and a silencing spell on her footwear allowed her to approach unheard. She was disappointed that Daphne had slipped and allowed herself to argue with a guest, especially with one that had been foisted upon them. Still, she would ask her later and give her daughter a chance to explain her actions.

Pansy was surprised but still angry. "When those connections are with Muggles they are worthless and tainted! Or have you forgotten the Statute of Secrecy in your worship of the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"The Statute only stops us from revealing magic to their world. It doesn't stop us from doing business with anyone."

"They're still filthy Muggles!" Pansy insisted.

"They're a damned sight cleaner than Crabbe and Goyle who are just as pureblooded as you could find these days. And while Malfoy is cleaner than his minions, that is only because he spends so long in the shower working on his hair!"

"I still hate them."

"How?" Mrs Greengrass interrupted their argument.

"What?" Pansy asked, spinning around to look at the new speaker.

"How can you hate all Muggles?" Mrs Greengrass asked. "How many have you known? Have you even met a single one in your life?"

"Why should I bother?"

"For a start because you look silly making these childish claims without a shred of evidence." Mrs Greengrass added, "Further, you don't seem to understand that one doesn't have to like one's associates or allies. Merlin knows no one would associate with the Malfoys if that were true!

"Now, you also need to realise that if you limit yourself to too narrow a group of associates, you will never get anywhere in business. As my brilliant daughter pointed out, we have made contacts with a wider range of wizards and witches as a direct result of her actions, and she has shown herself to be the pride of her generation in Slytherin. Rather than turn her cute little nose up at them, she has befriended them and placed herself at the centre of a large network of connections and aligned herself with the most powerful student at the school. The benefits of her alignment with that Potter are obviously too great to pass up whatever his mother was. Even Malfoy instructed his own son to get close to him.

"You have poor marks, a poor reputation and only a few weak connections with some less than savory families. If you were really a Slytherin witch, you would have been using this visit to do everything you could to get into our good graces while keeping your opinions to yourself, until you got a position where you could enact your own plans.

"Do you know who has the greatest claim to ruling your House? Who has the biggest following of Slytherins?"

"Not your daughter!" Pansy protested.

"No, of course not, nor is it my nephew Mark. Another smart one, he already has good prospects with the Ministry should he choose to go with them. No, the student with the greatest impact over your own House is a Hufflepuff and a Halfblood, but he has shown himself to be better at the game than any of you. Yes, we allied ourselves with Harry Potter. He has the power to change our world and he has the will to use it.

"That is how you get ahead, that is what it means to be a Slytherin. Here endeth the lesson."

Pansy was speechless at last, which was probably a good thing. It gave her time to start using her brain rather than simply regurgitating the beliefs her parents had made sure to instill in her. As much as her conditioning rebelled against it, she concluded that there was nothing inherently wrong in what they had told her.

She truly didn't know any Muggles. Her parents had made sure of that, just as their own parents had done for them. And if an idea, an invention, a stratagem was useful to her, that should be reason enough to take it for her own. No one would have to know what had inspired her, after all.

Suddenly, the Quidditch matches came to mind. With the Slytherin team somehow now getting penalised for cheating each time, the weakness in their team was glaring. If they couldn't cheat, they couldn't win. She didn't want to be the same way, forced to cheat and breaking the rules to get what she wanted, because just like the team, someday she might be forced to compete fairly.

She realised this might be why Daphne and the others consistently performed well in class. Daphne was always off with Harry but that also meant she was off with the Ravenclaws, and Merlin knows they all studied!

Pansy's epiphany didn't last too long, unfortunately for her. She did make an effort to becoming more open to new ideas, but the bad habits had sunk in deeply and it was already hard to fight them. When she reverted, she also became far more annoying.

Daphne had explained to her mother how the argument had begun, repeating verbatim Pansy insulting their home and then insulting them for their choice of friends and allies. Her mother had agreed that the breach was thus on Pansy's head and could be reported as such. That, she had added, would also help to discredit any rumours Pansy might start, if they could support their side of the story with offers of Oaths of truth. Daphne understood her mother's thinking, even as she reflected that she much preferred the cooperative atmosphere at Harry's home to the competitive one in the Slytherin Dungeons.

When her clone popped next, she was in the middle of talking to her little sister Astoria before bed. Unfortunately, she noticed the distraction as Daphne started trying to sort through the hours of memories.

"What's wrong, Daphne?"

"Nothing is wrong. I just received my clone's memories." Daphne replied absently.

"Oh, what have you and Harry been doing?" Astoria asked excitedly.

Daphne was still delving through the memories. "Talking, studying our textbooks for the year, much easier with those learning techniques!" She smiled, then it changed slightly. "Then we made out and.. never mind, Astoria." Daphne purred, "Harry was very good to me, very good indeed, and I don't think Mother would be pleased if I gave you details." 'Not without her there to explain what was going on, and to ensure Astoria didn't do the same until she was old enough.'

Unknown to the girls, Mrs Greengrass had been passing Daphne's room and overheard everything. Daphne was quite right that she didn't want her little girl to find out that sort of thing, as Astoria was just as likely as not to demand to do the same. She was curious as to just what had gone on, but so long as he didn't harm her little girl and didn't force or trick her into anything, she wouldn't intervene. As she had told Pansy, it wouldn't be very Slytherin to break up her daughter's relationship with such a politically and financially important wizard, not unless the benefit outweighed the cost to her family. That young man had already come through for her family, and he was making her daughter happy.

For that, she would allow him some leeway, especially as their relationship seemed like it would become permanent as soon as the law permits. Her husband was much the same, grateful that his daughter was happy and that their family were regaining their financial security, though he did keep himself at a distance from any knowledge of what his little princess was doing. Maybe she should reward him for being a good husband and father. Yes, she would.

Following his birthday, Harry and his girls were taking the chance to enjoy the hot weather, swimming in a pool on the Clan's property. Harry had made it to demonstrate some of the higher chakra techniques for his students to inspire them and to show practical uses. First, he used a couple of Earth techniques, one to create the basin and another to smooth it off. He then released water from a fuinjutsu storage scroll, unleashing a torrent that his clone made sure flowed solely into the basin, filling it as desired. A Fire technique to heat the water to a comfortable temperature finished the demonstration.

They had just finished applauding the demonstration when some of his local friends turned up at his home. After a quick discussion, Harry agreed to bring them on back to enjoy the pool as well.

"You're such a Hufflepuff, Susan." Harry told his redhead girl as he rubbed her shoulders. She smiled and leaned back against him, enjoying the amused looks from the other girls.

One of Harry's clones escorted each of his new guests back to the pool, Jennifer, Nicole, Jessica, Amanda and Lauren.

"Welcome to the Harry Potter Outdoor Heated Pool." Stephanie joked.

"Yep!" Michelle bubbled. "He made it just for us, you know. Are you going to join us?"

Jennifer looked torn. "It does look good, but I don't have a thing to wear." The other girls nodded.

"If you like, I can take you each home to get your swimming costumes," the Harry by her side offered, "or there are some spares here that I can adjust to your sizes."

"If the spares were made by you, then I'll go for those." Lauren replied. Jennifer echoed her agreement. His clothes were perfect for her!

"Why don't I bring them out for you each to look at? Oh, I forgot to add a changing room." Harry slapped his forehead, then put his hands together to show the seals for the Earth technique as he created a small building that would serve the purpose. While the girls were watching that, another clone had darted inside to retrieve the swimsuits in question.

When all the girls wandered in, they shot questioning looks at Harry, finding that there were a variety of clothes already piled up for each of them to pick from. Harry grinned and walked out to give them their privacy.

Harry and his clones were already in the pool, enjoying the way the water leached away the tension from his body. He also got to admire the view as the ladies, beautiful one and all in his eyes, walked out in their one- and two-piece suits. While he knew his godfather would have given a wolf whistle in appreciation, Harry had been raised better than that, though his eyes did track and memorise every delightful curve on display. He was abruptly glad to have been in the water as they were very sexy indeed to Harry, including the five girls who hadn't become his girlfriends.

Parvati was the first out, and when she walked into the pool and over to her Harry, she wrapped her legs around him, moaning in his ear. "Is that a staff in your pocket or are you just happy to see me, Harry?"

While she ground against him, Harry managed to get out "No pockets on this, and you know I'm happy to see you, Parvati."

They had a fun afternoon, splashing and playing around, and Harry's ladies getting in some kissing time, too, which the other girls politely pretended to ignore, before they were called in for dinner. Hermione got a spank for saying she had worked up an appetite, grinning when she added in a whisper, "But I can sate that after dinner, Harry."

She was as good as her word, too. "Let's invite in all your Hufflelovers, Harry." Hermione purred when she rubbed against him once the meal was over.

When he agreed, she created a Shadow Clone and invited in Susan, Hannah, Leanne, Megan and Nym too. Harry raised an eyebrow when the older girl turned up, but Nym grinned. "You know I'm just as much one of your Hufflepuffs, and I love any chance I get to show my appreciation. If that means becoming your Hufflelove, count me in!"

With a thought, Harry created a group of clones and the orgy began in earnest.

Harry's other ladies also enjoyed time with their man in their own ways, with only Cho, Lisa and Padma having joint celebrations.

At the Roper household, Harry was also getting ready for dinner. This was an important occasion for them and Harry was honoured that they had included him as it was the fifteenth wedding anniversary for Sophie's parents.

"Of course they want you here, my Harry." Sophie had told him warmly. "After all, if you weren't, they'd have to go out to get a dinner that was even half as good."

That had earned her a glare from her mother who corrected Sophie. "One quarter, my dear. Harry really is an excellent chef." Sophie smiled at the praise for her man.

Turning to him, Mrs Roper added sincerely, "Thank you again for helping out, Harry. Please, don't let my daughter's teasing give you the wrong impression. You are here because you are important to us. Not for business, but for the way you are making our Sophie happy." 'And because in time, you may be a part of the family, too.' While she would much prefer for Harry to have fallen in love only with her daughter rather than having a large group of girls, she was willing to tolerate it. Financially, Sophie would be very well off with Harry as head of the Lily Potter Foundation, even with the wealth split up, as the company was still expanding and increasing in wealth and influence. Politically, the match was already doing good things for their own position. And most of all, he made her happy. While her husband was a little more practical about such matters than she could be, that also meant he was solidly in support too.

When her parents arrived, Sophie's father seated her mother at the table, then turned to her daughter and smiled. "I'm sure you two would rather study in your room than have to listen to our boring conversation, Sophie. Harry, thank you for the dinner, but I believe I can handle it from here."

Mrs Roper was surprised by the abrupt change in plans but recognised the hungry look in his eyes and was pleased by its return. She looked at her daughter and nodded. "You may go, Sophie. Harry, may I second my husbands thanks for the delightful meal?"

"It was a pleasure." He replied and bowed as he escorted Sophie out and closed the door behind him. He too had spotted Mr Roper's mood and was happy to give them the chance to enjoy themselves. Luckily, Harry was still able to get a plate for Sophie from the kitchen and as they cuddled on the couch, she leaned up against him and let him feed her while they talked. Unlike her friends Daphne and Tracey, Sophie was taking her time before she gave herself to Harry, taking to heart Harry's assurance that he wouldn't push her and would wait until she was ready. Still, she felt it wouldn't be too long before she was ready, and she was looking forward to it.

Just not yet.

Luna was excited, soon her very first friend would be coming to stay for a sleepover for the first time in years. She was bouncing as she waited for Ginny to arrive. While the original plan had been for Ginny to have come over before lunch, Molly had wanted to share more meals as a family and Arthur had caved to her demands. Truthfully, he wanted to enjoy more time with his princess, too, so Molly hadn't had to press terribly hard to get him on her side.

Arthur did notice that Ginny was acting differently and had been since the previous summer and Harry's aborted visit. She seemed to go out of her way not to be alone with Molly, and this summer he had noticed she was making sure to check any food that Molly prepared. He sighed to himself. He hated to see his darling daughter distrusting her own mother of all people. Surely she knew Molly only wanted what was best. Then again, after the reports of the cooking in the Muggle world, maybe she was less enthused about eating his wife's cooking? Merlin knew Arthur was always trying to sneak in Muggle cooking at work. Those eleven herbs and spices were amazing, and so cheap.

As soon as the main meal was over, Ginny asked to be excused and Molly was about to refuse her when Arthur nodded. "Very well, Ginny. Give our regards to Mr Lovegood, won't you?"

"Thank you, Dad!" Ginny ran out of the kitchen before her mother could stop her, picking up her bag from her room and walking as quickly as she could down the stairs without giving her mother an excuse to delay her over her 'imitating a stampede'. She was out the door with a hurried "Bye!" and only slowing down when she reached the edge of the property, walking over to her friend's house.

Her hair was a little messed up by her hurry and the breeze so she quickly ran a brush through it as she approached the Rookery where the Lovegood's made their home.

Luna had been keeping an eye out and raced out to meet Ginny. "Come on in!" Ginny was nearly pulled off her feet by Luna grabbing her hand before she was running along, watching Luna's dirty blonde hair floating next to her.

They went up to Luna's room and closed the door, both talking rapidly as they tried to catch up on everything that had happened.

Downstairs, Xeno was sitting on his couch, relaxing his barriers. He knew he wasn't fit to be a father to his little girl, despite how much he loved her. The pain from the loss of his wife was unending, and with Ginny here to keep Luna company, Xeno was able to stop putting up a strong front to the world, at least for a while. Upstairs, Luna knew her Dad was hurting, but he had explained to her it wasn't her fault and she believed him. She had also learned from Harry's parents that the best thing she could do for him was to live a good, happy life. It seemed to work as he wasn't so tired and had even given her a real smile from time to time.

Luna threw herself into the conversation with extra effort, determined to do what little she could to help her father.

With the summer waning, the Quidditch World Cup was coming up fast, and the Wizarding World was abuzz with it. Indeed, it seemed like every wizard and witch on Earth was coming for the final, though it wasn't anything like that. For a start, they could never hide anywhere near that many magicals, but more than that, the Ministry were unable to build a stadium any bigger than what they had.

Wizards and witches from all over the world had begun arriving in the country, hitting the shops in Diagon Alley and providing a welcome boost to the Ministry coffers. They streamed in their hundreds to the campsite set up to house the tens of thousands of foreign guests. The campsite was the lesser half of the most massive construction project in the last twenty years for the Ministry, the stadium itself.

Of course, that was another way of saying it was really the only construction project the Ministry had undertaken in the same time period. It should come as no surprise that the lack of government projects for so long meant that the relevant department had no actual experience running one. Likewise, the firm picked for the juicy contract was chosen more on connections and kickbacks. This was almost entirely the same government that, not fifteen years earlier, had allowed murderers, rapists, terrorists and outright traitors walk free as long as a big enough bribe was paid. Since then, while a very few had worked against the corruption, the culture at the Ministry had experienced no real change, nor any pressure to do so.

Thus, money that would have been rather generous for putting up a stadium for a hundred thousand was barely enough to cover the inflated costs. The stadium they got only seated barely two fifths that number once all the bribes, kickbacks and fees for special services were taken out. Tickets that should have been just about free to all British wizards and witches were suddenly in short supply as the Ministry was forced to earmark most for their visitors.

Harry heard from Tracey that her parents overheard a rumour that Arthur Weasley had been given tickets for all his family in order to maintain the Ministry's standing. Apparently, someone had mentioned to Fudge that it would make them look bad if one of their own high-ranking officials was unable to attend due to the cost or scarcity of tickets for British wizards. In reality, Harry doubted any of the foreigners would notice the absence but it was a good excuse that one of the man's friends had found.

All this and more was going through Harry's mind as he waited with his Cranleigh ladies, not a clone in sight, and his parents off to the side, talking with other parents. As scarce as free tickets had become for the Ministry's own people compared to the original plan, there were still thousands available. Not every witch or wizard was willing and able to spend that much money, not with the backlash over the price hikes and reduced numbers on offer.

The Clan was making money faster than expected and they knew that signals would be sent whether or not the Boy-Who-Lived attended their circus. In a move that surprised the Wizarding World, they decided to go all out and bought enough tickets for all their friends and allies, as well as tickets for their employees at the Foundation. They got the biggest block of tickets in Quidditch World Cup history. A solid thousand seats meant they would also be able to throw their own celebrations with little regard for the rest of the visitors.

As Madam Bones pointed out, it also meant they would have their own Auror escort.

While they were a growing political bloc with a number of high-status members, they were also made up in the main of people with low social and blood status. That their people were rapidly improving their financial standing was already a cause for jealousy and resentments from poorer purebloods who couldn't seem to match their rising fortunes. Adding alcohol and other wizarding entertainments to the mix was a recipe for an international incident.

The Aurors knew this. They also knew that it was Harry Potter who had actually stepped up and done something to fix the funding for their department by getting them the dragonhide vests they needed to keep them safe on the job and working hard for justice.

Anyone attacking him or his people would face a motivated force.

It was in this mindset that they took Portkeys in small groups to the designated location and encountered another problem. Bureaucrats.

Thank you for reading, and my thanks to my betas for their help!