Chapter 47 - Springing Surprises

The first Gryffindor-led party finally kicked off a couple of weeks after the Second Task, about midway through March, with Lavender and Parvati finally agreeing on a format. The overall theme would be on wizarding culture after they heard some of their Muggle-raised friends lamenting about the lack of it in their new society.

At first, those raised in the magical culture had instinctively denied it, pointing to the abundance of portraits around. However, all of them were just that, portraits rather than art for its own sake exploring and expanding minds, and most of the ones at Hogwarts weren't even beautiful as such.

So they cast their nets further afield when the Wizarding Wireless Network was shown to be a copy of the radio and about the only major example of the culture, as such, was Quidditch. The two girls seized on that for a party theme since it was something big and obviously magical from start to finish. They took some time having fun and working out how to make that into a party.

They couldn't hold the party in the air, not really, as no broom was really comfortable enough to stay astride for hours on end without a break. Besides, that relied on everyone keeping control of their rides the whole time which would distract from the fun they were trying to have.

Since that meant they would be on the ground for at least most of the time, and just sitting around listening to whatever match was on didn't appeal much to the girls when they could be talking instead, they opted to split it up. For the Ravenclaws and the more enthusiastic fans, there would be a quiz held. Harry had agreed to be the prize if one of the girls won. There would be Quidditch themed food too, with snacks and cakes modelled after the equipment or the teams.

Padma had been excited at the idea of a Holyhead Harpies cake, especially with Harry's usual attention to detail and great cooking.

Since the party itself wouldn't directly involve anything risqué, they invited all their friends, not just the Jewels, and Alicia, Angelina and Katie were quick to accept their invitations. It wasn't the high class affair that the Slytherin party had been, but it was right up their alley and they were hoping to use it to make amends for trying to crash the other one. Katie in particular had been very embarrassed when the girls had taken the trio to a private room and explained that the event they had tried to enter was a private affair for the girls and their Harry rather than a more general party.

At the end of that Saturday evening, with curfew quickly approaching, the assembled guests gave Lavender and Parvati rousing cheers for their efforts, and the two girls pronounced the evening a success. Once the last of their friends had gone, and they were alone with Harry and the other Jewels, Lav and Parv celebrated that fact with some serious kissing of Harry and his clone.

Pansy had finally received a letter that confirmed her worst fears. Her family didn't really care about her points since they were already firmly welded into Lucius' coalition. That made going after Potter completely unacceptable since the raven-haired wizard had become the champion of the great unwashed and the Mudbloods, no matter how good his connections or wealth may be.

Pansy was no friends of them herself but she was willing to overlook that in order to secure herself the wealth, position and power that being the Potter wife would bring. If Potter was out of the running, who did that leave who would be acceptable to her parents and yet not a total failure as a wizard and a man?

At least they had complimented her on getting closer to Greengrass. It was a rather paltry silver lining, though.

The Jewels had enjoyed more parties after the Gryffindor one, with both another Sexy Party and another Hufflepuff one. There was something about the combination of the two that worked great together. The first appealed to their vanity and their lust, the other two their love and affection, and between them they made the Jewels and especially Harry feeling whole and happy.

It wasn't all good news, unfortunately. The Wednesday following the Hufflepuff Party, Daphne and Astoria got letters at breakfast and left for their rooms on reading just the first couple of sentences. Harry had a clone shadow them back to Daphne's bed where he allowed himself to be seen. The Greengrass girls pulled him to Daphne's bed, holding on as they cried out their tears.

After a long battle with the disease, their uncle had finally lost. From what they made out through their crying, he had gone while at peace, leaving a request that his wife and son be taken care of by Harry's Potter Alliance if the Ministry tried to come after them or the family's meagre assets. The line from Shakespeare's play played through Harry's mind as he realised the date. "Beware the Ides of March, indeed." Harry whispered to himself, so softly neither girl were bothered in their time of grief.

Harry also put his finger on what had seemed odd about the situation. Mark hadn't showed up at breakfast at all, and without bothering with hand seals, he made another clone track down his friend. He found Mark on the Astronomy Tower, a thick cloak wrapped around him and sitting, looking out on the world. Harry's clone sat next to him after Mark just shrugged at his request, and they sat there for a time without measure.

Harry felt the silence growing oppressive between them and tried to fill it. He gave Mark the usual sorts of words people do, though he knew they wouldn't help much, before he fell silent and stood by Mark for as long as he wanted the younger boy there.

Mark and his cousins skipped classes that day, the teachers not even calling their names on the roll, taking the time to stay together as a family. Harry had offered to leave them to it until he received glares from both Mark and Astoria. "Stay." Mark ordered in a hoarse voice. "You're family too."

Astoria just curled up between Daphne and one of Harry's clones, another clone on Daphne's other side to hold his lover close. When Astoria recovered a bit from her initial crying, she straightened up enough to hug Harry properly, resting her head on his chest, feeling safety and peace in his arms.

The following day, they were back in class with their heads held high as their family position required. Inside, Daphne had told him, she just wanted to take a week away from everything. Thanks to her clone, she got to do it in a way. Her clone curled up with a book and one of his clones holding her as she read and escaped from the world.

Tracey and Sophie noticed almost as soon as Harry did that their roommate was in pain. The pair gave Harry a hurried education on how, as Greengrasses, they would be expected to keep their heads held high, to keep a stiff upper lip, and hide their pain from all who would use it against them.

Harry hated the idea that these people special to him would have to try to hide their pain. That kind of attitude would see them hating themselves if they weren't perfect about it all. He resolved to give each of them his support, however they wanted it, and assured them that he wouldn't abandon any of them or their family. He sent private messages to Mr and Mrs Greengrass, and to Diana Wilkinson, assuring them that the Potter Alliance would stand with them, and adding that if there was anything within his power he could do to help them, to let him know.

The others raised in the magical society were proud of him but Harry still felt inadequate, that he had failed them. In reaction, he turned to his parents and to his Jewels for their support.

Hinata-mum hugged him, and smiled. "What you're feeling is a very natural response, Harry. You will want to keep an eye on your emotions, however. It can easily turn to misplaced guilt. You know this is what he chose. If we had forced our medicine on him, we might have saved his life but at what cost? He could easily have come to hate it, and us, and ended his life anyway. No, it's true, we have seen it." Hinata cut him off, seeing his mild disbelief. Hinata's mind went elsewhere for a moment before returning to Harry.

"You are doing the right thing, Harry. Just keep doing that and you will have nothing to reproach yourself about."

He nodded slowly, accepting her unconditional love.

There was a formal funeral for the man, a highly choreographed affair that prescribed actions for the family throughout the afternoon, on the weekend. Harry recognised that by locking the family into their roles, it gave form and structure, allowing them to move according to a plan even if their minds were elsewhere.

When it ended and the family were alone at last, Diana made it clear that she wanted him to stay, just as the others did. The three Slytherin students had been given a special pass, allowed to leave Hogwarts a day early to take care of their duties. For once, their House had found itself unified in public, defending their own from all comers. Seeing the Weasley twins preparing to unleash another of their 'jokes', Harry had summarily removed all their prank items from all their stashes and stood ready with various barriers and illusions to stop them from trying to 'cheer up' people in their own way.

Under the surface, the students in green and silver had a more complex set of reactions. Some, especially those who were close to Mark or the Greengrass sisters, were sympathetic, although they were rather stilted and circumspect in how they offered it. They were carefully playing the Pureblood game they had been taught that allowed them to offer sympathy and support without offering offence by implying weakness. The majority were less forthcoming, though there were a few who remembered their own losses.

A very few whispered that this was what Blood Traitors deserved. They didn't dare to repeat it, however, after one of the most bigoted Seventh Years was found knocked out in his own bed, all his protections still in place and untouched, and a note stuck to his chest that just said "Silence is golden". Snape had checked the scene, of course, but not too hard. If it had been Lily's Boy, well, he was only doing what Snape would have liked to do after all.

Not even the densest of Slytherins failed to understand that warning. Whoever it was had left no trace of his magic or his person and they had ghosted past the various charms and hexes the legal adult wizard had cast on himself and his bed.

Harry was thanked by the Jewels for his restraint in how he responded to them. He shrugged off the compliment but accepted their love even as he gave his own loving care to Daphne, and his public support to all three of the ones who were hurting.

The winter term had ended. All the exams were completed and marks posted, including Draco's low scores put up by an angry Pansy. The students had now packed up, had their end of term feast and were getting on the train home. Draco was livid that his shame had been made public. Since McGonagall had stopped the Slytherins getting an easy ride in the school, most of the Snakes had taken the lesson the right way and applied themselves to their studies in an almost Ravenclaw manner. This worked to undo some of the damage done to their overall class standings. As always, though, some students refused to learn and a few seemed unable to learn the right lessons.

Draco was one of that minority. He felt entitled to respect far above his social station and in his mind that meant having people lie and cheat to win his favour. The staff did not agree and his poor standing, thirty-fifth in his year and beaten even by a Weasley, enraged him. Since he lacked power, range and creativity with his spells, he wasn't competent to pose a threat to his yearmates, let alone the teachers and they knew it. That left him with honest marks for everything except Potions.

Even there, Snape wasn't as much of a bastard to the students as normal since Lily's boy had led something of a renaissance in the art. Harry took his studies seriously and he had managed to get his friends to follow his lead to an extent. With fewer atrocious results in his classes, Snape was less disinclined to teach them, finally seeing some potential in them and cultivating these brewers.

To be fair to the Malfoy boy, he was partly correct to blame his misfortunes on Potter. If Harry hadn't grown up with the Clan, if he had continued to live with the abusive bastards where Dumbledore had dumped him, Harry wouldn't have been the same young man. In that case, it was less likely that McGonagall would have found the independence to put an end to Snape's bullying, or that nearly the entirety of his year would have done well in classes thanks to homework sessions that from the start were made to be engaging and still provide time and avenues for fun and relaxation. Since he was never included in those sessions of Potter's, really of the Hufflepuffs, he didn't get the extra push they did and had to rely more on his father's reputation and money.

By the time Snape had bothered to notice, the bad habit had set in and it was very hard to dislodge. While Draco was making progress, it was slow going still and he had a pronounced tendency to complain to his father despite the aversion training Lucius gave him.

This, too, he blamed on Potter.

Elsewhere on the train, Harry and his Jewels were enjoying a rare chance just to snuggle and catch up without interruptions. Weekdays had a variety of classes and schedule gaps, while on weekends they were expected to show their faces in the Great Hall. On the train, once the appropriate measures were taken, they could shut out the world for a time. They even had Daphne's clone with them, making it feel complete.

By the end of the ride, when they had to get off the train, there was a sense of resentment that their peace had to end.

The silver lining on the cloud was that, apart from Yvette and Fleur who weren't able yet, they would all create clones who would be staying at the Kitsune Compound so they would have more time together. Even then, the Veela had arranged with their families for all of them to spend much of the break there.

Fleur had grinned at Nym when she got confirmation right after the Gryffindor party, taunting her. "You will not win our leetle bet so easily, dear."

"I like it better when it's hard." Nym had hit back, waggling her eyebrows at her double entendre.

Some of the others groaned at her attempt at a joke, while the rest just nodded, snuggling close to Harry's clones and to each other. For Harry's part, he just smiled and remembered Sue Li's comment that the true winner of their competition would always be him.

During the week after the funeral, Harry was invited to spend time with Mark and his mother Diana to start going over the financial arrangements. Due to his parents' status as Muggles, it was Harry's name on a number of the papers involving various matters between their families. Mark was already of age and he had been worried by the confusing world of business.

Naruto and Ayame-mum had accompanied him, of course, guiding all involved to get it finished as painlessly as possible given the morass of parchment that accompanied any death of a Pureblood. They had, with Amelia Bones' help among others, learned much of the laws and procedures but they were still uncertain of the customs.

With the business finished for the moment, Diana insisted Harry's clone stay for the evening and tell her all about Mark and her nieces, much to Mark's feigned displeasure. Diana was wistful as Harry described how happy the girls were at Hogwarts with their friends, remembering her own happier days as a student, her dreams of romance that had faded away.

She had come to form a good partnership and fall in love with her husband after their marriage, but it was never the passionate and steamy thing she had wanted. The illness had started robbing her of her husband even before he died, starting her grieving early. None of that filled in the hole in her heart. She would still miss him terribly.

Over dinner, Harry raised Ayame-mum's suggestion that Mark might like to go for some extra education in other subjects to help prepare him for his chosen path. Mark was curious about this. "I know I want to get into business, at least, but there aren't any teachers for that in our world. It confuses me even as it excites me to make my own mark on the world."

"There are business courses in regular Britain," Harry replied, "I've heard that we can get you a place, despite a current lack of paperwork, if that's what you want to do. It would still be up to you to get the most out of it, though."

Diana wasn't sure she liked the idea too well, Mark had already spent the majority of seven years away from home.

"The schools that offer them don't have accommodation so you would still be back here each night," Harry added, catching Diana's frown. The easing of the expression told him he had hit the bullseye.

"I'll think about it, Harry. It would be good to know that I know what I'm doing." Mark smiled at their guest. 'It will also get me meeting more girls than Hogwarts, too.' Mark mused to himself.

After the train ride, there wasn't a party. It was felt that would be in bad taste. The Jewels did get to enjoy Clan cooking again, and to snuggle down with Harry after dinner before heading to their beds.

The real Daphne woke during the night from a nightmare she couldn't recall, Harry's arms already around her as he whispered soothing words, and she kissed him gratefully. After a time spent that way, she heated up and wanted Harry. She wanted to feel alive again, and Harry, as always, was up to the occasion.

In the morning, she needed another reminder after a hard night, before she made another clone to send to the Kitsune's. Her parents didn't mind as long as they could pretend that their little girl wasn't doing anything naughty, so to spare them Harry was as sneaky as possible. Ostensibly, the clone didn't need a bed at all, though a bedroom in their sprawling house had been provided anyway.

Back at the Kitsune Compound, the Jewels were waiting for Daphne to join them, completing the group in more ways than one. After she had received hugs from most of them, she smiled. "I'm not that fragile, you know." The girls ignored her half-hearted protest and finished what they had started.

It worked, Daphne giving a more open smile at the end and snuggling between Harry and Susan. They spent the morning in an impromptu Hufflepuff Party of sorts, just relaxing amid a lot of cuddling with Harry and each other. Back at her home, Daphne was likewise enjoying cuddling into Harry's side and Astoria was on his other one as they watched the Wizard of Oz with their parents.

Over the day, Daphne cheered up more. Her mourning and her grief weren't finished, but she was able to function much better, surrounded as she was by those who loved her. For Astoria, it was a little easier as she hadn't known her uncle as well as Daphne. To her, he had been an old man who had been polite but not as warm as aunt Diana was. By the time she got to Hogwarts, Astoria understood that was because he had to act that way in public but she hadn't had the chance to get close to the real him. As a result, she had questioned herself and her perceived lack of grief, until Harry had helped her put it in perspective and assured Astoria that there wasn't anything wrong with her.

"Different people grieve in different ways." Harry had told her, quoting his own parents. Daphne had nodded and held onto her little sister.

The following day, Yvette cheered up. "Tante Angelique!" she cried and chatted in French to her aunt, come to stay with the Clan in order to get more time with her niece. Like other Veela, Angelique Marquette had the silver-blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. Unlike Fleur, Yvette and her aunt wore sapphire earrings rather than diamond, and it was clear the relations had missed each other.

After a look around at the others to get permission, Harry offered to Angelique the same chance as the other two were allowed. "If you want to relax the Allure I mean. Certainly, this is not something you will be required to do during your stay, but I understand from your niece that maintaining that much control can be a drain in its own way."

Yvette laughed at her aunt's disbelief. "It's true, he really can withstand it."

Harry smiled. "Would you like to test me? You would need to avoid it affecting the others present, however."

"I believe I shall." Angelique replied, already putting words into action. She ramped it up slowly, unlike the teens, but by the end, she had reached the eighth level, all of it focussed on the Englishman, and while it was clear it had the regular effect on Angelique herself, all but throwing herself at Harry, the young wizard before her was only looking at her mildly.

For an instant, she thought she had been getting through to him but then he seemed to get himself under control. She relaxed the strength back to her natural level but kept the focus on Harry, restraining a groan as the strengthened Allure left her frustrated as always.

"It seems you are indeed just as good a find as my beautiful niece described in her letters. If you will excuse me?" she asked before retiring to her room, needing to deal with the side-effects of the experiment. And if she pictured Harry being the one to satisfy her, well she didn't think he would mind. A short time later, Angelique returned to the group and allowed her natural Allure out, just as the other two Veela were doing, and managed to get through the day without reaching for an aspirin.

She was a hit with the Jewels, too. For a start, she was able to give an adult perspective on magical France, something that time had yet to grant to the younger Veelas, as well as talking about her work in spell research.

It was almost a lost cause in magical Britain trying to get the right permits, and almost as bad in France but Angelique was nothing if not persistent. While Angelique was unable to become a registered teacher in Britain and thus couldn't tell if the teens were learning the spells correctly, she was gratified to see them following her explanations as well as adults a decade their senior.

Building on that base, she gave an impromptu lecture on magic, spells, the theory and practice of crafting new spells, and how frustrating it was to have to hunt for books after others used her library.

Over at the Rookery, home to Xeno and Luna Lovegood, the house was filled with laughter. Xeno had missed the presence of his dear daughter and any time he could hear her voice, her joy, was precious to him. That, he thought, was reason enough to allow her to be with Harry since the young man was happy to show illusions so real that Xeno had tried to touch them, showing his darling Luna learning her spells, doing homework and playing games. He had even asked to see her with Harry, they made such a cute couple when she cuddled with him, so happy.

Harry had cooked breakfast, indulging Xeno's desire for new tastes by cooking up some traditional Cantonese dish that whose name the older man couldn't remember. After washing up, Harry was taken by Luna on a walk around their home and the wood nearby. He had packed a picnic lunch for them and left a lunch for Xeno who had to get back to writing for the Quibbler.

Luna loved getting to show Harry all her favourite spots and getting to share the joy she took in nature. At times, she felt trapped in Hogwarts. So many people in proximity together for months on end caused what Harry had called 'cabin fever', though he had added that the castle wasn't the small environment that was usually meant by the term. Like her, Harry was more comfortable with fewer people around, though that had more to do with the training from the Clan making him see other people as threats. It explained why he was most happy just with his friends and family, beyond his good feelings for them, he trusted them.

They reached the small stream she loved and Harry spread out the blanket for them. Luna sat in front of him as he wrapped his arms around her. They chatted a little but mostly enjoyed the peace and quiet, only the sounds of nature to break the silence.

As she leaned back into him, Luna thought to herself that the day after tomorrow would be the day. She had cast the shield form of the Patronus on her second last day of term so she had reached that goal and already she felt confident enough to go ahead, but she didn't like the look of those clouds threatening rain. The forecast for the next day was warm and sunny and that's what she wanted for her first time.

Harry smiled as Luna hummed and snuggled close. Life was good.

That evening in Cranleigh, the girls were settling in. The days together had helped get them back into their groove, and Daphne had surprised herself when she took Harry into her bedroom at the Clan's sprawling home earlier, making love to him and loving every second of it. The biggest surprise to her was that she didn't feel any guilt afterwards for feeling good, and to celebrate that she took Harry for another ride.

"I'm catching up." That was all she said to him about it.

Overnight, Fleur and Yvette shared a bed with the real Harry, having beaten the others to making the request. If no one had, he would have gone with the flow unless he found one or another of the Jewels more appealing. It had happened that none of them asked since they started this and was happening more often as the Jewels became more comfortable with the clones as being as good as him.

The following morning, a lovely day as promised, started early for Fleur and Yvette with another passionate session with Harry and each other. Their racket woke Angelique who had stayed up late talking with Harry's parents after her niece yawned and went to her bedroom. It was a transparent ploy, of course, as Yvette had grabbed Harry's butt and pulled him with her, tossing Fleur a saucy wink as she walked away, a sexy sway to her hips and a touch of the Allure capturing many eyes.

Fleur had excused herself, claiming she, too, was tired all of a sudden and walked into Yvette's room rather than her own. A keen observer would have noted the "Woohoo!" and clothes flying as the door was slammed behind her and anyone with normal hearing caught a snatch of a moan before the Fleur's hasty privacy spells went up.

With the morning sun about to crest the horizon, Fleur reflected that waking up early could be a very good thing, indeed.

Even without the Allure to help things along, the green-eyed wizard never failed to get her fire stoked or to give her the kind of satisfaction she had dreamed of. From there, Harry did his very best to wear out the two girls, switching positions and employing clones to aid him in reaching his goal. Yvette gasped out to Fleur that it was times like this she didn't know if their heritage was a blessing or a curse as it meant they lasted longer and found it much harder to stop.

The threesome collapsed into a huddle, one silver-blonde head on each of his shoulders, as they came down. "Just a short rest, cher Harry, please." Fleur had requested, realising that her privacy spells had almost certainly failed by now. Yvette was already lightly asleep on his other shoulder, smiling as she held him close. Fleur joined her less than a minute later.

Harry had his own smile firmly in place, stroking Yvette's long hair gently as he said to himself, "They even snore prettily." Unfortunately, nature called not long after, demanding that Harry refuel his body after putting it to such work. He knew from experience that the older teens wouldn't rouse from their sleep as long as he was careful and he got out of bed fully hard again at the sight of the lovely ladies.

Angelique had heard the action in the room next door when the silencing spells wore off, heard the sudden conclusion to it, and assumed that Harry had fallen asleep afterwards, like so many other men were supposed to. She wanted to talk to her niece and saw no reason to wait. Shrugging on a light silk gown and not bothering to tie it closed, she padded her way to the girls' room for a chat and some good gossip. As Yvette had mentioned, Veela were far from prudes when it came to sex.

She had just opened the door to the girls' room, fully expecting to see them awake and even talking over a sleeping Harry, when instead she saw Harry getting up without a stitch of clothing on him. Her eyes darted to the king-sized bed where the two Veelas were snoring away, clearly exhausted, while Harry was awake, alert and grinning!

'Damn him!' she thought, not noticing the way she was pulling him behind her. 'This is impossible, no, I must test it. I must-' Angelique groaned deeply. Harry had been surprised by Angelique. He had been pulled by the beautiful older woman straight to her bed and then she just got down to business without a word. Harry, who was still reinstating his mental defences after he had deliberately lowered them for the two teens, had been about to stop her when the flare of her rapidly increasing Allure had flooded his mind.

That had given Angelique enough time to take him. Although she was rusty at the start she was quick to find what she liked best.

The Jewels had given Harry permission to add other girls subject to their own later evaluation and as Angelique swore in French about how long she had gone without, he learned that the lovely woman had been a lonely one, too. She had never found a man right for her, becoming that rarest of birds, a Veela who didn't have a partner for anything longer than the occasional fling. The dating scene for adult witches was rather sparsely populated at best and generally only the dregs of wizardkind, or those with no use for witches, failed to marry by their early twenties. Her last satisfying time had been a pre-marital fling with her dear friend Apolline and her beau Jacques Delacour before their marriage. Now, she wanted to make up for lost time with a wizard who could keep up with her Veela appetites and who was also a decent man out of the bedroom. She was basing her opinion of his good character on Yvette's letters, but right then, she felt too damned good to care if he had been the devil himself.

This was the gist of what she was screaming out finishing with a wail and "Je t'aime! I love you, 'Arry Potter!"

Harry, lost in the moment, did something he would later kick himself for doing. It was a stupid risk he took, making clones as he often did to drive the Jewels wild in bed but this time for the older Angelique. Unlike the Jewels, unlike his friends and their families in many cases, Angelique hadn't said anything about keeping his secrets let alone swearing an Oath as they had had to do before getting to see the ability.

Luck was with the young wizard, however, as Angelique didn't even question the presence of the clones, bending down at last to kiss him, peppering his face with kisses and repeating "Yes, yes, zis is Heaven!"

The clones took that as a good sign and moved in.

Naturally, such a great idea met their immediate approval and support.

The spinster, long denied the pleasures of another man's touch, went wild for Harry and his clones, until she finally blacked out, a quick check from Harry confirming that she was ok, he and his clones caressing her until she woke up still trapped between them. The Allure which she had been keeping at maximum dropped down to her normal level and started to release Harry's mind from its grip.

Angelique kept her eyes closed for a time as she could think clearly again, her Allure now firmly locked down. Unbidden memories of their wild sex went through her mind, but even amid that pleasant flood she felt guilty for what she had done.

"Mon Deux! Oh, Harry, Harry, what 'ave I done to you?" Even as she spoke, she had to bite back a moan. "I swear, I did not intend to 'urt you at all!"

Harry too was feeling guilty even as he slowly regained mental function, dimly aware that her Allure was still affecting him as he struggled to rebuild his besieged mental defences. Yes, she had used her Allure on him but if he had tried hard enough, he was sure he could have resisted just like any other time he tried. That morning, he felt like he hadn't even bothered.

After a quick examination of his own memories, he found that his desires had perverted his thoughts, providing a justification that his foggy mind had accepted even though he should have known better. He still felt more concerned about Angelique's feelings than he should have, under the circumstances, but the Allure rendered that thought unimportant.

"Angelique," he replied in French to make the conversation easier on them both, "you didn't technically hurt me, but you did try to take away my free will. You raped me when you came into the room and blasted me with the Allure."

She nodded fearfully, "Yes, that is all true. My only excuse is that my Allure had also affected me. I wasn't in my right mind because of that. When I saw you were awake instead of the two Veela, when by rights it should have been you knocked out from their dual attentions, and more surprising yet still erect, I wanted you for myself. I didn't choose, however, for my Allure to latch onto you like that. It just came over me, too. Oh, this is terrible! I have become a man stealer!"

Harry glared at her. "No, you are not stealing me away from the Jewels. I still love them and will stay with them, if they will have me after this." He sighed heavily. "Damn it, why didn't I restore the defences immediately? I got bloody sloppy, that's why. Fuck!"

"Harry, please don't say that to a naked Veela. I am already doing as much as I can to resist having you for another round. Besides, you are certainly not wholly to blame. If I had kept my Allure under control, I would never have assaulted you like this." Angelique was dripping tears, hating herself despite her body telling her she had never felt that good before.

"You're right, and you shouldn't have barged into someone else's bedroom like that without knocking either." Angelique nodded quickly, admitting more of the blame, making him feel unaccountably guilty at her pain. "Still, I had the strength to stop you at any time if I had only made that decision. Your Allure only added weight to the part of me that already finds you beautiful and sexy."

Angelique was pleased by that admission. "You are a most handsome young man, Harry." She felt another wave of guilt as she referred to his age. "Merde, you are so young. How could I have done this to you, you are young enough to be my own son."

Harry twitched at the naughty thought then controlled himself a little, still affected by the Allure-inspired emotions. "Yes, you have been alive longer in years elapsed, Angelique, but that isn't the full story. With the clones, I live each day more than once." When she nodded, he went on even while his ninja training was struggling to reassert itself and stop his foolish tongue and restore his emotions to normal. "And even without that, your age doesn't bother me. Oh, I'm sure we have our differences but that just means extra effort to communicate and adjust in a relationship. I already do that out of habit just to relate to anyone raised to magic. I mean, using owls or fireplaces instead of letters or phones is definitely odd to anyone raised in regular England.

"However, that doesn't mean we will have a relationship. While I can forgive you for what happened, and I may in time forgive myself for it, lust alone isn't a healthy basis for an ongoing relationship. There needs to be trust and communication."

"And something more, yes? You hadn't mentioned love or affection. I know it was in the heat of the moment as you made me cum harder than I ever had, but I meant it, Harry. I do think I love you. You are a very easy man to love. Kind and caring, fiercely protective, generous yet independent."

"You mean stubborn?"

"Yes, that too, you feel strongly about things. You have a good heart, a big one that can love freely. I know this from the letters and from what I saw of you. Please, let me love you? Let me do for you all of what a witch should do for her wizard."

"I will consider it, Angelique, but as you must understand, it is not all about me. If the others do not accept you, then I must accept their judgement, it is only right. Moreover, I will not hurt my ladies if I can help it. The way you went about this will already cause problems, you must see that."

"I do," she confirmed unhappily.

"I will have to ask for their forgiveness myself for all of this."

"Non! It was me, if I hadn't behaved so rudely, it wouldn't have happened. Though it was glorious, you fucked me better than I have ever dreamed..." she trailed off.

"Thank you, Angelique."

In response, she murmured "No. Thank you."

"I will still ask for it. I feel guilty for going along with what was at the time casual sex with a virtual stranger. I feel that because I am, and we both know it. I need to work to rebuild their trust in me which will be damaged as soon as they find out."

Harry didn't get any further, however, as the two Veela in the next room had woken up and were looking for him. They had knocked on Angelique's door, making the older woman blush again as she called for them to enter.

"Zut alors!" Fleur exclaimed, closing the door behind her by reflex. "Harry?!"

"Yes, Fleur, Yvette, come over," he replied wearily, sitting up and making Angelique groan. Fleur's Allure spiked slightly ahead of Yvette's but Harry was ready, this time. "Ladies!"

That got their attention. "That right there was what got Angelique and I into this mess, her Allure spiked and my mind's defences had been lowered for our own delights. I am not trying to claim I am blameless, however," he added quickly, "I should have restored my defences as soon as we had finished our rather, energetic, session."

Yvette was staring at the hot scene before her, but Fleur turned to Angelique, an elegant eyebrow raised in question.

Reverting to her native French, Angeline answered the unasked question. "It's true. I had barged into your room, not even considering that your man could have been awake or anything else, really. I wanted to gossip, so that's what I was going to do. Instead, I saw Harry standing naked and just as hard as a girl could wish, and I saw you both exhausted, and I knew that he was the one who had done it to you. I lusted for him, and that allowed my Allure to escape my control because I didn't really want to repress it. It overwhelmed my mind and Harry's. We were here, in my bed, before I had another thought. I was hooked, he is incredible!"

The girls nodded, continuing the conversation in French, "But how could you do that to us?"

Angelique hung her head sadly, "I know, I am terrible for giving in like that. It was such a surprise! No man I know of could have worn out both of you, not even close. While I regret how it started, how I took away Harry's choice to begin with, I do not regret my feelings for him. I love Harry, or at least I think I do," she amended conscientiously, "he is everything I have ever wanted in a man. If only I were younger. If only I hadn't wrecked things so completely right from the start!"

Yvette sat next to her aunt, putting an arm around her. "Do you want to join the group?" she asked, needing that clarified.

"Yes, Yvette, I do, with all my heart. I would strive to make amends for what I did whether or not I was allowed to join, but Merlin help me, I do want it. Not just for the amazing sex but for Harry. You told me true that he was a wonderful man. I want to see him happy, to support him and teach him, to still be with him when I am old." Angelique sighed sadly. "Even if my head knows it cannot be."

Fleur and Yvette exchanged looks. "You do sound sincere," Fleur allowed, "and I for one would be willing to welcome you to my bed any time, but you have to know that this will not be accepted easily, if at all."

"I know, Harry did tell me of that, reminding me that you were right about him seeing you as his equal."

Yvette offered quietly, "It would be a hardship to have experienced Harry then have to give him up."

Fleur nodded. "That is very true, Yvette, however she didn't do things the right way. Such a hardship would be the least of her punishments if this was taken to trial."

Angelique gasped then nodded. Yes, what she had done was that bad. Her honest acceptance of her guilt helped Fleur and Yvette to know that she did regret her crime.

Yvette gave Fleur a look, then hugged her aunt close. "I will accept you in our lives, Angelique. You will have to be serious about making amends, though, and about making this work."

"Me too, besides, I would feel guilty to deny any woman the chance to experience again Harry in bed who had already discovered just how talented he is."

"Spare my blushes." Harry laughed.

"If you hurt Harry again, however." Yvette growled, even starting to transform as her anger mounted.

"I won't, I swear it!" Angelique reached slowly for her wand without any sudden movements. In short order, she swore on her life that she would never hurt Harry that way again, that she had never intended to hurt him in the first place, then added that she would protect his secrets since it was obvious to her that he had been keeping knowledge of the duplicates from the world.

Yvette blinked and smiled, now fully returned to her normal beautiful form.

The trio of observers felt much better about the older woman now that she had gone some way towards rebuilding the shattered trust. When she handed over her wand to Harry, handle first, it went even further.

The small group got dressed and headed out to the kitchen table. A penitent Harry sent clones to gather his Jewels and silently he guided them into one of the comfortable lounges set up for their use. Harry's obvious signs of unhappiness and his demeanour told the girls that this would be serious, whatever it was.

Once everyone was seated, Angelique spoke first. "Ladies, I owe you all a grave apology. This morning, Fleur and my niece Yvette were in bed with Harry. It woke me up. After a time, their activities finished and the sounds ceased. I got out of bed and threw on a robe, not even bothering to tie it closed, before I let myself into their room to gossip with the girls. What I didn't expect was for both the girls to be exhausted, asleep, while Harry was awake and still ready for more. More than ready, he was still nude, not expecting my most rude entry into the bedroom.

"At that point, I wanted Harry. Such a gorgeous body, so well defined, yes? In such a state, ze Allure becomes hard to keep down. In truth, a part of me welcomed it, wanted to make Harry mine. To my shame, I empowered it, trying to make Harry want me as much as I wanted him. To my horror, I discovered only after the fact that he had deliberately lowered his resistance in order to enjoy his time with Fleur and Yvette. Zat meant he had no resistance to the lust and allowed me to pull him into my room.

"I only partially got a clear mind as I started. Merlin, it was glorious! 'Owever, it was still very wrong. A crime, yes? I have already apologised to 'Arry for what I did, and I would like to make amends to all of you for intruding onto your relationship without even a word."

The Jewels were shocked and incensed by these admissions. Fleur got their attention and added. "Angelique has given her Oath on her life that she will never hurt our Harry again like that, and that she will keep our secrets. She even swore on her life that she hadn't intended to do it to him, and as you see, she is still alive. We three witnessed it, and she 'as also surrendered her wand to Harry."

"She didn't need her wand to attack him before." Leanne pointed out in a waspish tone.

"No, but ze Oath forbids her using ze Allure. Without that, she would be helpless against anything that Harry chose to do." Fleur answered it calmly. She couldn't blame Leanne for being angry.

Leanne calmed down slightly. "Alright, that does make me feel a little better. But still, to attack her host like this, to attack our Harry!" Hermione looked like she was making a list of curses and Nym looked ready to start casting them.

Looking around, Harry hated what he was about to do to them but he didn't have a better choice. Every path led to hurting his Jewels. "I cannot lay all the blame on her. Yes, she should have knocked first, which would have stopped all this before it started. Yes, she should have had more self control.

"I have to accept some of the blame, though. I got sloppy and careless, forgetting the lessons my parents made me learn. I thought I was safe enough here in my own home that I could relax my defences and leave them that way after the reason to lower them was gone. With them down, well, you know my sex drive is a strong one. I hadn't expected just how strong it could be until I tried to fight it and lost. Worse, I used clones in front of her without any guarantee that she wouldn't use it against us, using them to get even more involved in the encounter."

Harry sighed, hating himself for this. "I am sorry for not fighting it off like I normally would. I am sorry for touching another woman like... that. I feel that I have betrayed you all. I feel dirty. I hope you can forgive me."

"Let me get this straight. After making love this morning to Fleur and Yvette, Angelique came barging in for some gossip on us. You and her were weak to her Allure and she dragged you into her room. You had sex with Angelique. You admitted that it's partly your own fault. And you want us to forgive you? Just like that?" Hermione took a breath, trying in vain to calm down.

"I don't know if we ever can. You're right. You did betray us. I know it was mostly Angelique's fault but it still hurts! How can we trust Fleur and Yvette now? How can we trust that their Allure won't cause problems in the future after Yvette's own aunt did this? How can I trust you that you won't hurt me again in the future?"

Looking around, Harry saw that the others were also affected and he nearly broke down himself seeing even little Luna in tears. There were some faces that should never cry, and he was seeing pain on all of his Jewels, if they were even 'his' any longer.

For once, Harry had no ready speeches, no plan or idea for how to make it all better. After an uncomfortable pause, Harry started to answer slowly. "I don't know how to make things between us all right again. I do know I will never willingly hurt any of you. I will be more careful in future. And I am so very sorry for hurting you."

Daphne nodded slowly. "We need time, Harry. Time to see if we even want to make this work." She took a breath and it was obvious she was holding onto the last shreds of her control. "I know up here that most of it wasn't your fault. Merlin, you are the victim, here. But! So are we. Please?" She hoped he wouldn't make her say it, make her tell him to leave them, and Harry stood up quietly. She didn't want to see him leave, either.

However, before he could leave the room, the Angels turned up, all of them, just inside the door that had been closed and locked an instant before.

"Harry," Tsunade-mum began, "sit back down."

Harry opened then closed his mouth and complied with her order, and it clearly was an order rather than a request.

"Good. Now, ladies, you need to think clearly. All of you. I will start with you, Mademoiselle Marquette." She waited until the older Veela nodded meekly. "You have betrayed our hospitality in a most grievous way. More than a breach of custom, you committed a crime against our son, our Clan. It is only Harry's capacity for forgiveness that has stopped us from handing you straight over to the DMLE. And you know just what they would do to you as a Veela and a foreign witch to boot for hurting their Boy-Who-Lived."

While Angelique cringed at that, Tsunade turned her eyes on Harry. "Harry, we're disappointed in you. You were utterly lax in your security and allowed a guest to see private Clan matters, someone who had no compelling reason to keep quiet about them seeing as she had already violated your hospitality, to say nothing of, well, needless to say, we are relieved that the security hole has been plugged but you can expect remedial training in your future."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Harry bowed formally and then kept still and quiet. He knew from experience that if he treated her with anything less than the full respects, that it would only go worse for him. He also knew she was right.

Next, Ino and Sakura stepped forward. Their sheer presence drew the eyes of Harry's Jewels to them. Sakura spoke first, aware that all present had sworn to keep their secrets now.

"Ladies, I know what it is like to be hurt. A long time ago, when Naruto and I were growing up, we hurt each other. He would try to be nice to me and constantly pursued me. He asked me on dates every day for years. I felt trapped by him and rejected him. I grew harsher each time, too. But then the Loops happened. While everyone else was stuck forgetting each time, Naruto was forced to remember and he grew up. Without warning, to my eyes, he had become what I wanted in a boy. However, we had all that pain between us. It took hard work, love and a lot of honesty to get past that much built up pain but we did."

"You are hurting." Ino added. "All of you are hurting, and it is still so very fresh. If you can deal with it now, it will be a lot easier for you to move on than if you let the pain fester and grow. Even if you decide that you can't move forward as a part of this, it's better to get it over with and move on rather than wallow in misery and pain.

"However, you all agreed to allow Angelique to stay in your private wing. In a real way, it was your own choice that enabled this to happen. This is far from the worst that could have happened. What if she had been an assassin or sent to spy on Harry or one of you? No, if this incident teaches you the importance of looking out for each other, then it was cheap."

"How can you say that?" Susan cried.

"Easily, Miss Bones." Ino replied. "I have been married to Naruto for over fifty years. If I had given up on him for doing something foolish, we would never have lasted a week. Love requires communication and forgiveness, and if you won't even talk to someone, can you really say you love them?"

None of them had an answer to that and lapsed into silence. The irony of that silence wasn't lost on Ino but she could tell they needed to think which was a good thing. And diverting some of their anger from Harry wasn't bad, either.

The ladies continued to be quiet through to lunch. While they were calmer than they were initially, they were still hurting, and so was Harry. Unfortunately, he couldn't comfort them with the normal things they would share. Eventually, he gave his apologies and left them in peace. When he left, some of the tension left them and Sally-Anne put her head in her hands, sobbing openly but quietly. Hannah immediately went to her to hug her which only made her louder than before, crying between sobs "I drove him away!" drawing tears from Hannah too.

For his part, Harry threw himself into his training, anything to distract him from his pain. His parents shook their heads when he went to return to his Jewels, moving to physically stop him and he stopped, shoulders slumping, and let himself be drawn into their hugs. He didn't even taste his lunch with his parents, not that they could blame him, but they were doing this for his own good. By giving the Jewels time to think things through, time to notice his absence, it would be a more effective argument than almost any Harry could come up with.

In the afternoon, Harry returned to his training, working shirtless in the summer sun. Tracey groaned when she looked out of the window of the sunroom and saw him there. She watched for a few minutes before leaving and finding the others. They drifted in and stood to watch him working hard. As they watched, the Jewels remembered some of the better times, times when Harry made them happy, making it seem effortless. Daphne remembered when he stood in front of a Mountain Troll for her. One by one, the girls found their pain easing, not vanishing but easing off. By the time dinner was ready, a smile or two had even been seen, though they disappeared quickly, a sign that things were starting to mend.

Over a very quiet meal, the Jewels continued to observe Harry who gave help where it was useful but otherwise stayed out of their way, following his parents' 'suggestions'. He smiled when Hermione thanked him for passing the butter, and cleaned up in silence. Without Harry to direct them, the Jewels felt off-balance. That evening, Harry went to his bed alone without a single clone around, the first time he had been without them in nearly a decade, and he spent a sleepless night going over his day, and hoping that his ladies would break their silence soon. He loved them and he needed them.

Though he didn't know it, the Jewels had their own troubles, tossing and turning, unable even to fall asleep as their minds raced faster than ever. For no reason they could explain, they were remembering every good time they had with Harry, the smiles and hugs, the talks and secrets shared, their friendship and their love, and none of the bad times.

The Angels retreated after performing the minor Illusion technique on their guests. Even as it stilled their movement, each girl would sense more time passing as they were guided to recall happy times with Harry and each other.

In the morning, the Jewels were looking a little worn down after their long nights and when Harry showed up, looking so nervous and asking if they were alright, Susan sighed, standing up and taking him into her arms.

"Oh, Harry!" Susan said, holding him close. "Yes, 'we' are alright now. Of course, we would prefer it if this hadn't happened at all, if you had been able to resist the beautiful older woman who was bewitching you." Harry looked even worse at that so she hastily continued. "But, Harry, you were the victim and what kind of people would we be if we blamed you for being attacked? You're not perfect, Harry. No one is. More important, though, you don't have to be perfect for me, for us to love you." The other Jewels were nodding, agreeing with that.

"You recognised what you did wrong, and you know how to correct it, Harry." Daphne added soothingly. "That already puts you most of the way towards making sure this doesn't happen again."

"And I won't let it!" Harry put in fervently. "I want you to be proud of me, not like this."

"We are proud of you. Yes, you made a mistake, but you came clean and admitted it, and you're going to be better prepared in the future to deal with your own emotions. We'll help you with that." She smiled at him, hugging Harry from the side.

Hermione had made her own way over, hugging from a third side. "We still love you, Harry. Yes, it will take some time but we can work through it all."

Fleur sighed as she hung back, watching the group hug grow larger. It broke up after a little while, Harry producing clones again to enjoy cuddling with each of the young ladies in his life. She noticed that they were all drifting into one of the lounge rooms in this wing of the Compound, taking couches and loveseats and settling in. She noted with approval that Harry had already anticipated what she was going to do.

"Zere is one last matter for us to consider, mes amis. During Angelique's confession, she revealed zat she would like to become like us, part of Harry's life." Fleur spoke clearly and slowly. "She has acknowledged her debt to us, Harry most of all, and understands that after what she did, we have no reason to accept her in. Nevertheless, that is what she would wish to do. I mention this because I have already decided to give her my own consent, as has Yvette." The other girl nodded at her mention. A few of the Jewels seemed alright with the request. The remainder looked quite upset. "Would you hear her out?"

Thank you for reading and for your support. My thanks also go to my hardworking betas, Cloud Zen and Daisy, for their extra work on this chapter.