Chapter 48 - A Real Education
The Jewels weren't really disposed to be friendly towards Angelique, but most of them were curious just what she could say that she thought could change their minds. Mindful that Harry had agreed to give Angelique the chance to speak, there weren't any sufficiently strong objections and one by one they quietened down and listened.
Angelique was hesitant to face so many disapproving and armed teenagers without her wand by her side, but this was her chance. It might very well be her only chance. She got up, smoothed out her light dress and moved to where they could all see her clearly. This much was reminiscent of the occasional talk she had given over the years. It was the subject that was so very different.
"Thank you for letting me speak to you all like this. First of all, I hate to remind you of what transpired but I must. During it, I told Harry something of just how special he is. He has a well-developed mind and body, and these are rare enough, but it is his goodness, his strength of character, that truly sets him apart from every man I have ever known.
"Yvette was good enough to send me letters about her beau and through them I got to know something of the real Harry Potter rather than the ridiculous English tale of the Boy-Who-Lived. I was happy to congratulate her for finding such a man, Harry is the goal, the dream of many Veela. Our Allure makes getting a man's interest easy, but the ones most interested by it are the ones who least interest us, at least for anything beyond a bit of fun.
"So many men around, but so few who see us beyond the Allure or beyond the bird form, yes? While we still fall in love, still admire men, there is always the doubt that they do not love us, only our Allure, our beauty."
"Yes, you make it sound so tragic." Tracey offered dryly. "Oh woe is me for I am too beautiful."
Angelique blushed, "Oh, it is not so bad, no, but like most Veela, I am still woman enough to want a man who wants the real me, rather than 'the Veela'. That dream is what made the legend of a man who can ignore the Allure so appealing, so enduring for us. Occasionally, some lucky Veela claims to have found such a man, but while there are ones who are rather resistant, we haven't found one who is totally immune, like Harry here. Add in that he can completely satisfy our desires, and that dream is real.
"But all that doesn't matter half as much as who Harry is, not what he is." She looked around more seriously. "I hope you will all consent to allowing me to share in your lives, your loves. I swear I will not let you down. In fact-" Angelique patted her pockets and pulled her wand slowly, "I would swear it 'ere and now!"
Fleur put her hand on the older woman's arm, pushing it down. "Wait, Angelique. Let us talk about zis first." She got nods from the others and looked back at Angelique.
"I want to hear more about you before I will feel comfortable having you become part of our lives in any way." Tracey's point was well received by the others, though Sue's stomach rumbled and she added, "Can we get some food before we do anything else?"
There was agreement with that and while the Jewels talked, Harry's clones brought in their meal. They did the superb breakfast justice, demolishing the array of foods before they moved into the next room. There they settled down onto the couches, cuddling and relaxing for a minute before they got into the discussion that Angelique hoped and feared.
Taking the lead, Sophie invited Angelique to get back out before them and talk about herself so that they could make a better judgement. Angelique took the unusual step of swearing first that she would tell the truth, as far as she knew, about herself then started to describe her life. She grew up in France with her sister, Yvette's mother, but much like Yvette she had been something of a recluse by Veela standards. After failing to find anyone for her at Beauxbatons, she had eventually moved into becoming a Spell Researcher, something that was simultaneously loved and feared in the Wizarding World. They were loved, a source of pride for their families since they harked back to a mythical golden age of magic when all wizards and witches would invent their own spells in the days before the Great Magical Schools were founded.
At the same time, however, the more conservative societies in modern times feared the destabilising effects of their studies and inventions.
The work was hard, involved and immensely satisfying but the long hours spent chasing odd avenues came at the cost of time to spend chasing men, she explained. "It's not that I didn't want a man, but I wanted a good man and my work made that even harder than it was for any other witch my age after she had finished her schooling."
The Jewels nodded reluctantly. The small magical populations and their general isolation from their regular neighbours, as well as from other nations, made the schools practically the only real venue to meet a future husband or wife. However, they were all young enough to want a good man, and each for their own reasons were sure they had found the man for them in Harry.
After half an hour, Angelique came to a stop, unsure what else she could tell them. She had answered a few questions, mostly to expand on a couple of points about her job, and now, the moment had come. She left the room and was escorted to her room, taking out a book and attempting to read it though she found it beyond her.
Without her presence, the others felt more relaxed. "I still don't like this," Leanne said, "then again, it's clear none of us wanted it, did we?"
"Of course not. However, I am still wanting to know just why Fleur has obviously given her vote in favour of Angelique. Is it because she's a Veela like you?" Cho asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of her tone.
"No, not really." Fleur replied calmly, making the effort to reduce her accent. "Maybe in part," she allowed, "because I have experienced the same self-doubt, would someone ever love me for me, not the Allure, so there is a degree of understanding and sympathy. I don't think I am supporting her only for that. The truth is that she does care for him, at least as much as I did when I first became one of Harry's Jewels, and I feel confident that her feelings will only grow as she knows him better. Harry is almost exactly what she has been searching for in a man for years, and he is very easy to love." She gave the black-haired wizard a smile.
"I don't know that I would be able to look myself in the mirror if I didn't allow her the same chance at love that I have been given." Fleur sat down having said her piece.
"It is the same for me." Yvette added quietly but seriously. "I know her well, and I know she is falling for our Harry. To deny her that seems so cruel to me after she has finally got a taste of what she has been missing in her life."
"Ladies, please," Harry spoke up, "I understand your points but please do not couch them in those terms that would make anyone who voted against Angelique look like a cruel woman. There is no place for emotional blackmail among us."
The two French teens nodded and gave quick apologies.
Over the next while, each young lady got her chance to speak. In general, while they were forced by the evidence to accept that the 'incident' had not been intentional, it still hurt. Tracey, surprisingly, spoke in favour of Angelique, reminding them that they had their own problems at times. "I hate to remember how jealous I was after Harry first made love to Hermione, but you each forgave me because I didn't mean to hurt him. I just didn't know what I was feeling at the time. I think that there was an element of that at work here, too. As much as I hate to admit it, I do see parallels between her and my past."
One by one, they gave Harry and his clones their votes secretly from the others and he gave them a final check. "Are you all sure of your votes?" Each of them gave their assent. "Okay, I admit I am surprised that the votes all went that way." One of his clones brought in a whiteboard and he stuck each of their votes up for them all to see.
Hermione echoed his surprise while Daphne just smiled sadly. "Go on, Harry, bring the poor woman in to face the music."
Harry used the Body Flicker to dart to Angelique's door. Having been in a similar position of waiting for others to decide his fate, he had resolved not to make anyone else wait longer than he had to. Knocking on the door, he startled Angelique who dropped her book on the desk and looked up. "Yes?" she called out.
"We're ready for you." Harry replied gently.
She opened the door and tried to hold herself to a dignified walk. The slight trembling gave away the nerves she was feeling and she took the spot in front of them, waiting while they ratcheted up the pressure further before Harry gave them a look, about to break the silence.
Sandra got his message loud and clear and smiled. "We have decided to accept you, Angelique. On a probationary basis."
The older lady gave a disbelieving look around then a smile grew on her face, the joy pushing away everything else as Angelique went around, thanking each of them before sitting next to Harry. "Oh, zank you! I was so afraid. I promise, I will make sure you never regret this." Her babble continued until Fleur stood up and silenced her with a kiss.
When Fleur unhurriedly broke it, Meaghan spoke up. "You're welcome, Angelique. On the other hand, the events of the last couple of days make it absolutely clear that we need to establish some proper procedures for who we admit and how. We don't regret our decision, Angelique," she added with a reassuring look, "but it was in many ways only by luck that it worked out this way."
"And we don't want to risk another incident." Cho nodded, finishing the thought.
"Right," the brunette agreed. "What if it had been someone else, someone with Mrs Weasley's morals who had got into Harry's bed?"
"Obviously, we wouldn't want to add someone like that." Ginny replied with a shudder thinking of her Mum in that way. "Ok, I can see your point, Meaghan." She was grateful to change the subject.
The other girl smiled, and over a laid back morning, together they came up with a number of ideas, before winnowing out the ones they liked least and talking over how to combine the remainder into a workable solution.
First of all, they would not allow any girls, or guys, who hadn't sworn to protect their secrets to stay in their private wing. That lack of proximity would put a simple barrier of distance between the Jewels' more pleasurable activities and any houseguests, cutting down on the opportunities for other such accidental introductions.
Secondly, they would discuss the women they knew as a group, working out who they would accept and who they would reject in advance, and letting Harry know as soon as they had made their choices. before anything went too far, as well as hearing his opinions. The thinking was that if they planned ahead, they would lessen the odds of being blind-sided and could save everyone pain.
Thirdly, they put up the possibility of approaching the girls themselves for some kind of probationary membership, or being approached for same, where the hopeful would get an opportunity to see if it was the life for them and if they were a good fit. One of the qualities they were looking for was someone who wouldn't be jealous of the others or seek to cause trouble in their home.
The last thing was that they would revisit the guidelines each year or as one of them had another idea. It was very much 'subject to change', something Harry had encouraged them to adopt since his training emphasised adaptability so heavily.
At the family home, Diana was mostly going on autopilot. 'I have to be strong,' that was one of the few thoughts that made it through the fog.
Her sister had visited, of course, but it didn't help that she still had her husband while Diana was alone now. Even Mark was staying elsewhere. She couldn't really blame him, their whole house was filled with reminders of Him. She didn't have the heart to get rid of them, either. In her haze, she barely noticed that the Clan's elf kept the house tidy and put meals before her which she dutifully ate. What was the little one's name? Oh, Dobby.
"Missus Wilkinson?" Dobby asked nervously. It was scary having to order the witch instead of the other way around but that's what he had to do for her. Right now it looked like she had forgotten about her visitor. "Madam Bones is here to see you, Missus Wilkinson."
Diana looked up a little to see her auburn-haired friend had arrived with some treacle tart that Dobby was already putting on plates, efficient little guy that he was. She gave a brief smile at the bemused look on Amelia's face when the cake sailed out of her palm.
Amelia smiled back and took the neighbouring seat to hers. Once Dobby had served up their treats, he retreated and waited invisible in the next room. With their privacy restored, Amelia got up and hugged Diana, feeling the slightly older woman tremble in her arm. The show of friendship tore down some of the wall around Diana, allowing her to feel both the care and concern from Amelia and the pain of her loss.
When she pulled back, Amelia gave her friend a gentle look, a look that said she had experienced the same loss of family. This was the real reason Amelia's visits were precious to Diana. Amelia was someone who knew what it was like, who was willing to reopen her own old wounds to help Diana.
The pair sat down again, idly eating the dish that was obviously prepared by Harry. It was a little sweeter than Amelia would have liked but perfect for Diana's tastebuds and she saw his style in the decorations on the dessert. Visiting with Amelia was good for her spirits as before her was living proof that she could still have a life and maybe even feel happy again sometime in the future.
It was a more boisterous scene at the Johnson home, where Angelina was playing hostess to her friends and fellow Chasers on the Gryffindor team, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell who was a year younger than the other two. Angelina was singing along to the song as it was playing on the radio.
When it ended, she turned down the volume to a background level and sat back down on her bed. "So what did you think of the matches this weekend?"
"Well, I loved how the Chasers for the Harpies tossed the Quaffle right in the face of the Wasps' Seeker and got away with it," Alicia smugly replied, "even if the guy is hot." Her grin was infectious.
"You and guys," Katie protested with a smile, "is that the only thing on your mind?"
"No, there's also s-"
"Enough!" Angelina laughed, "I don't want to know what you were going to say, Alicia, and I shall pretend it was something safe."
Alicia just poked her tongue out then joined her friends in laughing, and they settled down, talking more about the various teams, their players and form, and their male players' forms. The conversation swung back around to the boys at school. Naturally, the last Potter was one of the first to be mentioned given how unusual his relationship was.
"Well, I must admit he's quite a dish." Alicia started them off.
"And rich, don't forget that." Angelina added. "The Lily Potter Foundation is still expanding and they pay well, but my parents weren't sure about joining at first. Now, they say it was the best idea they had since they rejoined the regular world." She wasn't sure why her parents hadn't joined the Potter Alliance as well but they were happy enough with their new lives. Even the honesty Oath made good sense and she wondered whether other businesses used similar ones.
"Please, money isn't everything," Katie said, "or would you sleep with Malfoy? Urgh!"
The other girls looked green. "Oh that was low, Katie." Alicia groaned.
"I learned from the best." Katie smiled sweetly.
"Oh thank you." Angelina smiled at her mollified.
"Not you, the twins." Katie shot back, chuckling.
Alicia laughed when Angelina glowered at both of them. "What? She's got a point, you know."
"True," she allowed, "still, I'm not sure I'm ready to settle down with just one wizard, however handsome."
"You know his Harem are never seen with other boys," Katie pointed out, "they go around as a big group, too."
Alicia sighed. "That's right, and they all seem happy to be with Harry."
"You don't think they're..?" Angelina asked with a frown.
"No, well, I don't know. If they are, they're certainly good at covering it up, I'll give them that. I reckon those Snakes have been giving them lessons on that score."
"What, at covering up or at..?" Angelina trailed off with a laugh.
Alicia was properly scandalized by that thought but Katie was intrigued. "Why is it such a big deal, anyway? I never did understand that bit."
"Katie?!" Alicia gasped but Angelina ignored her.
"Katie, 'every witch is needed to help rebuild our numbers'," she recited. "Merlin, I've heard that often enough from your parents."
"And any witch who does that is lost to her family," Alicia added. "If she... if she... well, that, then she won't have a wizard to have a family of her own."
Katie sighed. Alicia couldn't bring herself even to name the kind of love between two witches but the others knew what she meant. She'd heard it all before, but it still didn't make sense. And what about a witch who liked both? It was for this reason that she wondered if she should have tried for Ravenclaw instead. When the Hat offered Hufflepuff, she had been insulted and begged it to put her somewhere else, somewhere she could prove she was better than that.
"Besides, with the Boy-Who-Lived taking up so many girls into his Harem, there are a lot of boys on the market for a more discerning girl." Angelina preened, grinning as the others rolled their eyes at her.
"Some of whom are old enough and wise enough for more recreational activities." Alicia pointed out salaciously.
"Really?" Katie asked incredulously, "I've seen the smile N- Tonks wears these days. There's no way she's not getting all the 'recreation' she needs."
"Maybe, maybe not. Still, I wouldn't share like that. Imagine the waiting for his attention! No thanks. I want all of a wizard's attention, not the leavings." Alicia was very certain of that.
"I'm sure I could get his attention." Angelina winked and ran her hands over her body, laughing in delight as Alicia was again torn between laughing and horror.
"With a body like that, you could get anyone's attention, even Snape's." Katie deadpanned.
The full-body shudder from the others told her she had gone too far and she quickly apologised. They shifted to safer topics and just enjoyed a day without boys to intrude on their conversations, especially not the Weasley twins who had a habit of turning innocent comments around on you.
At the Kitsune Compound, other girls were engaging in gossip too. It wasn't that they didn't have other things to do but since they were having to take a break from the chakra training while their bodies recovered, they might as well get to have some fun.
To one side, Astoria was listening in as her sister Daphne was letting her hair down with Hermione and Susan while they enjoyed the spa. Like the Flying Foxes, they talked about boys. Unsurprisingly, Harry was the focus of much of their discussion.
The primary difference, of course, was that the three girls were his girlfriends and they did know the truth behind what was going on behind closed doors. If they had heard what the Gryffindors had said about them, they would have been pleased that their caution was working and at least Hermione annoyed that it was necessary.
"You know," Susan started, "we've already seen a lot of changes in our world since Harry returned. I wonder what will change next?"
"Yes, Snape may even try to teach! Ok, that may be going too far," Daphne grinned unrepentantly, "and I doubt anything can get Binns to teach properly. He's still on about the Goblins and getting their names wrong."
"Maybe we can convince someone to banish his ghost," Susan replied. "At least that would stop him getting Hermione's name mangled."
Hermione blushed. Her dislike for that was famous. "But then Dumbledore would have to find a replacement teacher. Just look at who he's hired since we got there. A guy with Riddle in the back of his skull, that bastard Lockhart," the other girls got angry at his name, "Moony who was supposed to ignore Harry, and now his old friend Moody who used the bloody Imperius! I don't know how Dumbledore could find someone worse to teach History, but I'm not going to bet against his ingenuity."
"He also hired Hagrid, his trusting follower, to teach Care of Magical Creatures." Daphne pointed out.
"True, and I shudder to think how bad he would still be if he hadn't gotten lessons himself in teaching. He's nice enough but..." Hermione trailed off unsure how to express herself. Despite her opinions of his initial competence and good sense, she did like the big guy.
"...but nice alone isn't enough to make a good teacher, which he has become." Susan finished for her.
"Exactly." Hermione nodded gratefully.
"Do you think Harry will be able to get rid of the Statute?" Daphne asked more generally. All of Harry's friends knew he wanted to remove the veil of secrecy and the idea had been on her mind more of late. Since her uncle's death, Daphne had joined him more fully in that drive. Maybe then her uncle would have been cured.
"Harry can do anything he likes." Astoria put in, blushing at the knowing looks from the other girls.
"He can do quite a few things," her sister allowed and blushed in turn, "but there are some things he'll never be good at."
Astoria bristled before Hermione added, "Like not caring about his friends and family."
Astoria subsided and they decided not to tease her further. "There are lots of things he does get right, though."
"True, 'Story, but he had to start somewhere. We're learning from the same people who taught Harry, both here and at school, so we're getting to catch up." Daphne was most pleased about that. Being pampered was all well and good, but a girl liked to feel needed, too.
"I like giving him a massage in the morning." Hermione added out of nowhere.
"Before or after?" Susan asked.
"Oh, after, definitely. No better way to wake up, is there?" The other two girlfriends agreed with her.
"What way is that?" Astoria was curious and maybe this time they'd let her in on the secret.
"You'll see." Daphne smiled at her. "Oh, no need to pout at me, you'll find out for yourself soon enough. Trust me, you'll like this surprise."
Astoria sighed. "Alright, but it better be good." She glared at her older sister.
"It is." The three responded in unison then laughing at themselves.
Astoria huffed in frustration prompting Hermione and Susan to give her a close hug. Daphne raised an eyebrow which her sister couldn't see, and the others blushed at Daphne's implication. They didn't disagree, however. Astoria would be one of them soon enough.
"...and in a move that has shocked politicians worldwide, a number of Columbian drug lords turned themselves over to the local police, saying only, and I quote 'It's better than the alternative.' When asked what that meant, they refused to reply, instead confessing to a number of crimes that have the automatic death penalty. Lawyers for the group have gone on record, expressing their own opinions of the sudden turnaround by the notorious men as the result of a religious experience."
Matt Granger snorted to himself. "I doubt it's the fear of God that got into them after all these years. More like the fear of Anko."
"Are you saying Anko isn't a god?" Liz teased.
"I'm not saying anything of the sort." Matt ostentatiously looked around for signs of the ninja. "I'm only looking to give credit where credit is due."
Liz laughed, just like he wanted. He loved the sound of her laughter, he still loved his wife after over a decade together, even if they had their problems.
"So you think they're doing the right thing, then?" she asked more seriously.
"They're cleaning things up that have waited too long for someone to act. They're getting out there and helping people."
"And in the process, some people are dying." Liz pressed, wanting to hear what he really thought.
"I trust the Clan. The deaths we hear about in the Middle East are a good example. Before they showed up, there were bombs and attacks and lots of innocents killed on the streets. Now, they're talking about how a lot of the old guard are suffering from heart attacks, weird accidents or simply being turfed out by the more moderate rivals. Here at home, the streets are a lot safer and cleaner. We've heard that they're only going for organised crime, the career types at all levels, working to change their minds so they don't cause more trouble. They're even ploughing their own money into education campaigns, Liz, as well as encouraging other parents to do the same. Great Britain is becoming great again."
Liz nodded thoughtfully. "Even the political parties are noticing it and, of course, trying to claim credit. However, they don't seem as petty as normal. It's a little weird."
"But good." Matt replied firmly.
"Very good." she agreed. "We might even get to trust politicians at this rate." They laughed.
Matt nodded. "It is a bit of a shock how both sides are promoting some decent people at last."
"It's good, though. The hardliners were the ones who took us to the brink. Without them sticking their noses in, both the Americans and the Russians are cleaning house." She smiled. "At last, a real end to the Cold War."
As it happened, that was one of the goals for the Clan. They were nothing if not ambitious. Reshaping an entire world with billions of people was something else. At least they had had practice with their own.
With all the changes going on, Luna had had to postpone her decision again. She didn't hate Angelique but that situation had cost her the chance to make love to Harry on the perfect day for it.
Finally, though, finally, she was going to get Harry to herself. She woke his clone up with a kiss then went to take a shower, paying extra attention to make sure she was perfect.
Harry's clone used the grooming techniques his father had invented, ignoring the slightly uncomfortable dryness of his skin. It would pass soon enough and he wanted to get the picnic ready for their date. When Luna finished her shower, she used some of the wonderfully fluffy towels to dry off and completed her preparations with some of the other grooming techniques the Clan had taught.
Coming downstairs from her room in the top of the Rookery, she gave a grateful smile to Harry who had prepared a breakfast spread with some of her favourites, even "Pudding!" she cheered and smiled at Harry's pleased expression. The excited girl knew that pudding wasn't supposed to be a breakfast dish but she could eat it happily for any meal of the day.
Harry loved making her happy and knew as well as Luna what she wanted to do. He was eager to give her all of that and was working hard to cheer her up after failing to get things started earlier.
After breakfast where Harry chatted with Xeno and Luna as they ate the breakfast which he, a clone, didn't need to eat, Xeno kissed his daughter goodbye and gave Harry a look before work that said "If she gets hurt, you will be hurt." Oh, he trusted Harry wouldn't deliberately hurt her, this was more about keeping her safe from any enemies.
Now that they were alone, Luna's heart raced and Harry picked up one hand, brushing a soft kiss on the back of it. "There's no rush, Luna, no rush at all."
Luna beamed back at him, already feeling her stress melting into a pleasant excitement. As she led the way to her favorite meadow, she took in the scents of wildflowers and grasses, the colours and shapes of nature's beauty, finding again the peace that she loved so.
Turning around when she noticed Harry had stopped following her, she smiled at seeing he had already spread out the picnic blanket and had the bottles of butterbeer ready, passing one to her. They sat and talked for a little while, Luna curled up into his side, until Luna looked up at him and kissed him seriously. When he kissed back the same way, she melted into him and somehow found herself on her back, pillows under her and supporting her as she bore his weight, kissing and holding him tight.
A warm breeze drifted in, filling her nose with the scent of the flowers again and her ears with the gentle sounds of the brook nearby. She felt perfect here with Harry. Without asking, she knew he would have a clone on sentry to keep them safe, and that's how she always felt with him.
Hours later, the pair of lovers walked slowly back to the Rookery where Harry carried her over the threshold and Luna kissed his cheek sweetly.
They had a casual lunch, Luna sitting in her man's lap as she hummed content, then greeting her father when he returned for his own meal. Xeno studied his little girl closely. She was happy. All was right with his world.
The following day, Luna got her chance to thank Padma for all those sexy stories, surprising the dusky-skinned girl with a kiss and then holding her hands as Harry gave Padma the perfect reward.
The three French witches had been watching, shocked after the blonde had kissed all three of them, ending with Angelique and saying "I forgive you for earlier." Angelique had blushed at the reminder and thanked the girl quietly.
The Jewels broke off into their own little worlds. Ella gave him a searing look and he picked her up, carrying her in his arms to one of the bedrooms set aside permanently for his Cranleigh ladies. He knew that seeing Padma being held down like that would set Ella off and Harry had no problem giving her what she wanted.
Once across the threshold, he set her down and kissed her briefly before moving over to the bed. Ella left the door open as she made to walk over to him but a shake of his head stopped her. "Crawl," he ordered curtly, having put himself into the mindset needed for the roleplaying she craved.
Ella didn't hesitate for a second, dropping to her hands and knees as his commanding voice washed over her. She heard a commotion behind her but that was irrelevant. Only her master mattered.
Harry though had noticed what was going on behind her. His clone had been carrying Meaghan to her own room, next to Ella's. Meaghan's lusty haze was effortlessly penetrated by Harry's voice and despite herself she almost wanted to obey that order. She turned her head sharply, watching in shock as Ella was doing just as he had ordered.
"What is going on here?" she asked of Harry. Her voice broke Ella out of the scene slightly and the thinner girl curled up at Harry's feet, her choker now on display. Meaghan had to admit to herself that Ella did look comfortable, but she was not! She got down and the clone who had been carrying her followed her into Ella's room.
"Well," Harry began, "it's..." he broke off, at a loss on how to explain it, looked down to Ella for help.
"M- Harry and I discovered that I enjoy pleasing him, submitting to him, but only when we're private." Ella shivered a little at the thought of being seen like that. "I trust Harry, completely. I- I feel free when I submit like this. It's so relaxing..." Ella tried more to explain just what the appeal was, but it was clear Meaghan wasn't getting it.
"The point is," Harry broke in, "that Ella likes it, it's her choice, and most of all, she can end it at any time." Ella nodded emphatically at that.
Meaghan was an independent young woman. She could never picture herself doing that but she did feel better knowing that it was only a form of role playing.
At the end of the evening, Harry looked around at all his unconscious Jewels; Sandra had a deliriously happy grin on her face and Luna was cuddled between his clone and Daphne as the redhead held her as they slept. Hermione was cuddling with her clone and one of Harry's. Lavender had fallen asleep on top of a clone, holding hands with an unconscious Padma who mirrored her situation. Hannah and Susan were laying facing each other with more of his clones on the outside of the Puff sandwich. Cho was laying with his clone on top, while Sue and Lisa were back to back on their sides, facing more of Harry's clones, all of them sleeping with smiles that only surgery could remove.
Continuing to look around, he noticed Anko-mum walking around, covering Harry and the girls with blankets, before Sakura-mum and Ino-mum each kissed him on the forehead and softly whispered how proud they were. He whispered back his love and thanks quietly then looked again at Fleur and Yvette. The Veelas were snuggling into his sides with their heads on his shoulders. He looked up again and was met with Anko-mum grinning at him before Sealing her clothes into her ring, spanking her own butt and swaying her hips as she glided naked out of the room, her soft laugh in his ears. "Mmm, maybe when you're older, Baby." The shameless ninja's whisper was just loud enough that he would hear her.
Ignoring Sakura's squeak at Anko's statement, Ino just rolled her eyes and picked up the other woman, carrying Anko out over her shoulder and emulated Sakura's squeaking when the crazy woman pinched her bum. As Anko looked back into the bedroom, she saw a flushed Harry stealing a peek at his mums. She grinned at her successful teasing.
While the Jewels were playing, Amelia Bones was attending the scene of a crime. That much was clear since the home was burnt to ashes and smoke was still rising. While there had been some organic remains, they weren't human. According to what she could see and what her people could find, the remains were from a Spring Feast and the smoking meat was pork, not burnt people.
That was the good news. The bad news was that some fool had put up the Dark Mark over the site and all the usual suspects had a suspiciously good alibi. Dining with Fudge at Malfoy Manor was not only that oily Lucius Malfoy but also most of the other 'Imperius victims'. It was simple enough to fake such sightings, the difficulty lay in having to go against the Minister himself again. She would be calling into question the credibility, intelligence and integrity of Fudge if she tried to arrest Malfoy or any of his crowd.
While Amelia did question those qualities of Fudge, announcing it in such a way would simply not work. Still, she could, and had, given instructions to a few of her trusted Aurors to cause trouble for the bastard. Any time he went through a security check, any time something suspicious happened nearby, he would be treated the same as any career criminal. She may not be able to prove he was involved yet, but they both knew he was and maybe this would make him crack. Even if it didn't, she would be chipping away at his supposed 'pillar of society' image.
Additional instructions saw to it that if someone in her department failed to follow this procedure, then she would be informed so she could reassign them as appropriate. With the clean up and investigation underway, for whatever good it would do, Amelia Apparated away to the Kitsune Compound. A proper massage from Harry was just what she needed.
After their two weeks together, it was time for the students to return to Hogwarts. Angelique had accepted an invitation to stay at the Compound with Harry's clones. It gave her more time with the new man in her life and some of the new ladies who lived close by. In the long run, it also improved her chances of getting a bloodline transfer and the ability to use clones herself, something that would be very useful in her work. While the real her was casting the spells, her clones could be reading up on the next day's work. The clones' utility in her personal life was obvious and something she looked forward to experimenting with, in-depth and often.
The other invitation was a standing one to the various parties. That one she would be happy to accept every time. A probationary member of the unusual group, she would take any opportunity to help them make up their minds in her favour.
On the train back to Hogwarts, the presence of the Veela had a predictable effect on the unattached guys and girls in their alliance, inspiring lust and jealousy even with it at minimum. They understood that it wasn't intentional but it was still a chance to relax when the pair headed into the private compartment for the Jewels. The renewed distance allowed the teens to regain their composure and enjoy catching up after their school break.
Before she left, Fleur wished Cedric luck in the final task of the Triwizard Tournament, a gesture he returned with an easy smile before returning to his chat with his other friends.
In their compartment, Fleur's words prompted a discussion about the coming task. While none of the girls believed it would be a real danger to Harry after he had acquitted himself so well in the first two, there was still a current of concern for him. Dumbledore's warning about the Tournament's dangers had already been borne out with the lethal creatures and conditions the Champions had faced. For all that his parents' training had helped him, there were unknown dangers ahead.
Back at Hogwarts once more, the ladies again had to adjust to the problems that gave them. The first they encountered was the enforced separation at the Feast, then on their way back to their dormitories, Draco decided to be his usual charming self. That is to say, he spouted vile and uncreative insults at the ladies which were grounds for calling for a duel. Doing that, however, would give the ignorant ponce more respect than he deserved. Instead, Daphne repeated Harry's trick on Draco and his goons, spreading a Sticky Capture Field under them while Tracey used a minor Earth technique to trip them up.
The girls were careful to have their backs to Draco while carrying out their response, leaving Sophie to look out behind the pair and she was glad to have the front row seat for the show. Tracey's follow-up had left the trio in a compromising position, Draco's head in Crabbe's lap while Goyle was behind him, and Snape stalked out of the shadows with his usual timing for trouble. The disgust on Snape's face eclipsed that time someone had suggested he should wash his hair.
By the time he had recovered from the reaction, the girls were nowhere in sight and he still had to deal with the unsightly scene before him. Without a word, he cleaned them up and they scrambled to their feet. While Malfoy was tempted to protest what had happened to him, Snape had turned around with his cloak billowing and stalked away.
Luckily for Draco, he managed to keep his mouth shut more often, the humiliation finally was teaching him the discretion all Slytherins were supposed to possess.
As the students settled back into their classes, the Champions stepped up their training. For Harry, this particularly meant more physical training. By this point, he was confident that he could keep his workouts hidden, his monitoring of various people bore that out. Most of the students and staff were lazy enough that simply getting out of sight of the castle by the lake was sufficient to keep his activities secret in winter. Now that the sun was making an occasional appearance, he had shifted his workout to the forest.
Oh, the centaurs had objected at first but that had stopped soon after on two grounds. First, Harry had shown himself better with a bow than any of them. Second, they could never find him unless he wanted to be found. If they had pushed the issue, Harry was prepared to push back. Their poor treatment by other wizards would gain them no sympathy if they threatened him or his.
Fleur, much to her dismay, had to cut back on her time in Harry's arms in order to improve her showing for the final task. Cedric had also pulled away a little in order to concentrate on learning a few more spells. Viktor just glowered more intensely and spent most of his time in the Durmstrang ship. Harry had looked over the list of spells his friends were studying. He had offered his own suggestions as had the others in their brainstorming sessions, but he didn't find any more appealing than the rest.
One last change was noted by a pair of Fourth Year Lions. Neville watched with a confused expression on his face as Angelina Johnson sauntered over to the Ravenclaw table where the Boy-Who-Lived and his friends were eating their lunch since it was Wednesday. She was followed by Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, the famed Chaser trio were now chasing a different prize in the star Chaser for Hufflepuff and current fourth Champion in the Triwizard Tournament.
For one thing, Neville was tempted to sigh that more girls were looking to join Harry's unusual relationship. It was already bad enough for a guy looking for a girl, even if Neville still didn't have the confidence to ask one out himself. If the Chasers took themselves off the market like that, he'd have to compete with Fifth and Sixth Year boys to get the attentions of any girls he might like. Merlin, they already were trying with zero success to get some of Harry's girls away from him.
Fay Dunbar was sitting by the other pureblood and deliberately scraped her plate just enough to capture his attention. "Well you won't catch me acting like that," Fay said under her breath but loud enough for Neville to overhear. "I don't want to be just one of many. Besides, green eyes just don't work for me."
She almost smiled when she saw Neville's expression change out of the corner of her eyes. Yes, she was glad she had talked that silly Hat out of placing her with the Snakes. After all, if it could place the Weasley twins anywhere other than Slytherin, it could do the same for her. Really, who would want to advertise they were a sneaky little devil? Fay rewarded herself with a casual brush of Neville's arm as she reached for a plate that he was quick to fetch for her.
Neville blushed at the contact though Fay didn't call him on it. He was liking the girl more and more. Maybe he would ask her over to visit during the summer. If he had continued to look over towards the Chaser Trio, he would have seen Angelina and the others were welcomed as acquaintances not as friends or potential lovers. This had surprised the older girl who had thought that it would be easy to gain entrance into the club since to her mind it obviously was not very selective. If she had bothered to ask Katie, the brunette would have told her it wasn't so easy. Most of the girls had been close friends with Harry for months or years before taking that step, something they could not claim.
Despite appearances, there were certain important characteristics any girl needed to become part of their group. These included a willingness and capacity to set aside jealousy or fights for dominance, however subtle, and a genuine affection for Harry Potter. He didn't care how much a girl was in love with the Boy-Who-Lived. That simply didn't matter to him since that other person was only a myth. If the girl liked him, though, that was important to the young wizard, and a good start to getting him to like her back. If she loved him, that was almost a guarantee of their future together. The situation where Angelique moved so fast was an anomaly, something that was never to be repeated.
While Angelina was unhappy with the rebuff, she did settle down and enjoyed flirting with Harry. She found that he was able to meet her at every step and come out on top, making her blush seemingly whenever he wanted to. That was a first for her, and she found herself wanting to experience it more. There was a line he wouldn't cross, however, no matter how she tried. That was fine. She had patience.
The weeks passed relatively peacefully with only a few incidents at Hogwarts. At the end of April, Minerva called him to stay back at the end of her class. She gave his girls a stern look, sending them out so that the proprieties could be observed. "Harry, you are to go down to the Quidditch field tonight at nine o'clock. Mr Bagman will be there to tell the Champions about the third task."
"I'm guessing it has something to do with the maze they're growing down there."
Minerva looked at him sharply then smiled, "Yes, I do believe it does, Harry. I had forgotten just how observant you are."
That evening as expected, the four students were told by a grinning Ludo Bagman that the third task was to make their way through the maze that he cheerfully expected would be twenty feet high by the time of the Tournament. "The Triwizard Cup will be placed in the centre of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks."
"Are there any rules about what we're allowed to do to get to the Cup?" Cedric asked for all of them.
"Well, no attacking each other, for one. The rule states no impairing or aiding the other Champions' performance in the task." Krum looked unhappy at that pronouncement though the others were just relieved. With twenty-foot hedges around them, though, who would be able to see let alone stop an attack? "They altered the rule after the Second Task, as it happens. Also, no brooms or flying carpets. The only magical objects you can take with you are your wands. No dragonhide armour, for example."
"What about making our own paths?" Harry asked and Krum perked up again at the prospect of destruction. Cedric and Fleur did too, both of them liking a nice fire.
Bagman considered the question for a moment. "There is nothing that springs to mind one way or the other in the rules, however with the sheer size of the maze, and the way you'll need to keep the fires under control, you may not want to try that method after all."
Krum looked like he was seriously considering it despite the warnings. He hadn't had a good excuse to burn something in months and here was one served up to him on a platter. About the only thing that would stop him was if the maze was indeed large enough that he would run out of magic before he ran out of maze.
"What about tracking and navigation, Monsieur Bagman?" Fleur asked.
"The Cup is untrackable magically. Professor Dumbledore has seen to that. Navigation spells will also be useless in there." Bagman smiled wider.
Again, Harry noted the emphasis was all on magic this, magic that with Bagman and indeed with the whole Ministry of Magic. That collective blind spot made things almost too easy for Harry. The meeting ended quickly after that as Bagman wanted to get in out of the cold. Fleur had used one of the cloaks made for her by Harry to keep warm, while Cedric just used a Warming Charm and Krum didn't seem to be bothered the temperature, much like Harry.
The girls enjoyed more parties together and especially with their Harry. The second Slytherin party was a real hit with more of the dancing and fine dining the girls loved, and best of all, a chance to look their best without regard to the concealing fashions of the Wizarding World.
The rumours that the girls may have enjoyed each other's company as more than just friends were ruthlessly silenced by Harry's use of Wind techniques, silencing techniques or actual magic if the real Harry was on hand, making sure that such scandalous thoughts failed to be passed along. When Harry mentioned what he had done, he received a passionate kiss from Sophie in thanks.
That was the state of things as they worked through May and only a week remained before the final task of the Triwizard Tournament.
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