Chapter 59 - The Shape of Things
A/N:Warning, this chapter firmly lives up to its M rating for adult themes. Some topics discussed, beginning with this chapter, are not comfortable topics for many cultures and were heavily debated before being included in the overall plan for the story. While not central to the overarching plot, they are not included idly. Please read or avoid at your discretion. If you find yourself getting offended, please just skip the section.
With the duel over, the students gossiped as expected. When Harry walked over to the Slytherin table to talk with his girls, they were already smiling at him.
"Well done, Harry." As always, Daphne was the spokeswoman in public for them.
Sophie, in a rare break of protocol, stood up and hugged her man. "Thank you, Harry, we can take it from here. Pansy needs to talk to us." She whispered to him as she took a moment to enjoy his presence. The other two did the same then Harry bowed and returned to the Gryffindor table.
Once they were as alone as they could get in a crowded hall, Pansy turned to the others. "Thank you. I know I don't say it often, but you really helped me there. I don't know how you managed to signal Potter but that was just perfect. You have him well trained."
While Pansy thought she was paying the girls a compliment, they saw it differently.
"Harry is not some kind of pet!" Tracey hissed.
"I- I am sorry. I didn't mean it that way, I just thought-"
"Oh, forget it. I just get sick of having to remind some people in our House that you don't need to be a Pureblood or to wear the green and silver to have a working brain or an ounce of cunning."
Pansy blushed. "I do forget it myself, at times."
"It is easier to forget that someone is cunning because they are cunning. In recent decades, it seems to have become expected that Slytherins will be immoral, deceitful and dishonest, as well as wedded to the Dark. In short, everything a true Slytherin would strive to avoid. After all, if you are going to deceive someone, you don't want a reputation for that to precede you." Tracey was derisive, wanting to sneer at her Dark-leaning and stupidly obvious Housemates, but controlled the urge handily. Not only would that have been just the kind of blatant behaviour she had decried, but Harry rewarded good behaviour. 'And such good rewards, too!' she reflected.
Sophie joined in, "I know some families seem to love the reputation our House has, but it does make it unnecessarily difficult for the rest of us to have a decent time in school. If not for Harry, I doubt we would have been able to make friends with anyone in the other Houses, let alone Gryffindors."
"And we would be stuck with Draco leading our House." Daphne added mournfully. "Can you imagine him being competent at anything beyond alienating people and complaining to his father?"
"Speaking of his father, I wouldn't want to be Draco when Mr Malfoy hears about this. Bad enough to be called out, worse to be humiliated like he was!" Tracey was positively gleeful at the prospect. Having to put up with Draco in all her classes had not endeared the boy to any of the girls.
"And wasn't Harry handsome?" To their surprise, it wasn't Daphne saying it but Pansy.
"Yes, he always is." The girls agreed, exchanging smiles.
"Ruthless, too." Pansy said, obviously distracted.
While in other circles, this would be considered a negative, among Slytherins the ability to go after your goals with any and every tool available was prized. Pansy also admired the power that Harry had displayed not six months before in the Triwizard Tournament and his political connections.
She would still deny it but she had dreamed of marrying Harry and using his wealth and power for her own ends. In her dreams, he gave up on those foolish Mudbloods and the other girls in his life, devoting his time and fortune to making her life perfect. In her waking moments, she knew there was no chance of that and didn't really want him to abandon Greengrass, Davis or Roper. She knew them well from their shared time in Slytherin and even liked them, and if they liked the other girls in Harry's harem then she guessed the others couldn't be all bad, not even the Mudbloods.
Unfortunately for her plans, the other Slytherin girls saw through her façade and refused to let her get closer to Harry while she meant harm towards the other Jewels or held such disgusting views.
The rest of the Jewels had also noted Harry's defeat of the blond ponce. They were glad he had come through unharmed, not that they really thought he would lose to Malfoy. As nasty as Malfoy was, he lacked the talent or creativity to make him as scary as he wanted to be.
They still used the duel as an excuse for hugs and kisses, though.
The student body as a whole liked seeing the notorious Malfoy scion fall. For the Gryffindors, he was a slimy Snake who gloried in his bad reputation. For the Ravenclaws, Harry had shown them a new way to do things as well as defended their own members from non-Pureblood backgrounds, which was a lot of them. The utility of Transfiguration in combat had been regarded as poor at best due to the difficulty. The Hufflepuffs supported Harry because he was one of them, and that only increased when the rumour reached them of what Malfoy had said about the late Lily Potter.
And the Slytherins were impressed by and terrified of Harry Potter. While Draco considered himself the leader of Slytherin, they knew better, and the real leader of their House had just destroyed the pretender. Above anything else, they respected power and those who wielded it. Even those who hated what he stood for could respect the way he took Malfoy down.
That evening, while the rest of the Jewels were 'checking Harry for injuries,' his Ravenclaw girls had something just as important on their minds.
"Harry, how did you know to challenge Malfoy like that?" Lisa asked as she cuddled into his side. On the other side, Cho looked up and nodded, clearly interested.
"Which part, Lisa?"
"All of it, of course." Lisa giggled.
"Well, I knew about the challenges from those Pureblood customs lessons that I have been getting from Mrs Tonks and from Sirius. Mrs Tonks concentrates more on the forms and their history while my godfather makes sure I know how to use it for my own benefit. He was Sorted into Gryffindor but the Marauders were devious enough for Slytherin, all of them." Harry's face darkened briefly at the memory of the rat, now on ice at the Clan Compound while they tried to find better ways to extract information from the traitor.
"Okay, that explains how you knew about the custom, but what about the rest of it?" Sue asked before he could go down the path of the Uchiha.
"Oh, that was fairly simple overall. I have clones around at all times for various things, one of which is looking after each of you girls. I do love to pamper you. Anyway, one of my clones was behind the Slytherin table, ready to switch at a moment's notice if they were in danger and he heard what that Malfoy said. He dispelled himself, letting me know what had happened. After that, the rest you know. I challenged him, he lost, and here we are."
"Indeed we are, Harry." Luna agreed. "That was a very thorough loss you handed him, too. Do you think it was risky?"
"I doubt it, Luna." Padma replied for him. "Harry didn't use any really powerful spells that anyone could see. Even the transfiguration was a simple and low level piece of magic when you look at it. I doubt many would have caught onto the fact that Madam Pomfrey needed help removing the tar or what it implies for our power levels. Any who did are the same people who will already respect Harry's abilities so there is no risk there. At worst, for us, they will realise that Harry put some power into the change while at best, they will ascribe it to an amateur mistake, overpowering the spell to compensate for poor skill."
"Thank you, Padma." Harry told the girl, kissing her too. "I considered going further but there was no need. If it had looked like I was in trouble, a clone would have had me out of there in under a second. That was the reason I felt safe allowing him the first shot."
Cho nodded but wasn't going to pass up a chance to kiss Harry. "I am glad you are alright, Harry," she said as she came up for air. Sue tapped Cho's shoulder and the older girl pulled back a little, making a three-way kiss. They heard Padma and Lisa giggling and came up for air.
Harry smiled at them, then got pulled down to kiss Luna who was laying across all their laps. Lisa had a grin on her face, kissing the other girls as soon as they finished with Harry, then the young man himself. The brainy girls shared Harry's appreciation for intelligent and sexy girls, and only kept it private due to their society's prejudices. When they were alone, the Ravenclaws were just as likely to cuddle with each other or other girls as with Harry but at night, it was always Harry holding and loving them, and that was how it would stay.
The morning broke cold and grey, a light cold rain falling over Hogwarts as most inhabitants snuggled further under their blankets. A minority were up and about, however, the more dedicated of Harry's friends and Harry himself, taking the opportunity to get in more physical training. The better the condition of their bodies, the better their magic. It was something that quickly hit diminishing returns in terms of added magical capacity. However, Malfoy had consistently shown them that there were students in the castle who were all too willing to attack them even in the back. Their experience told them that being able to dodge was one of the best ways to deal with their spells.
As students drifted in for breakfast, the usual flock of owls flew in bearing the mail. One flew to the Slytherin table with a letter for Draco. He had been cleaned up and released by Madam Pomfrey just before curfew and his Professor Snape had escorted him personally, wishing to avoid a repeat of the incident where he had another mark listed against his name.
Draco was confident as he opened the letter that his parents would be supportive and help him get revenge upon that upstart Halfblood Potter. His eyes scanned the letter three times, even checking the signatures, before he would begin to believe their contents.
The night before, Lucius and Narcissa had been sitting in bed, reading correspondence when Draco's owl arrived.
"Another complaint about the Mudbloods besting him, dear?" Narcissa asked suspiciously.
"Surprisingly enough, no."
"So what trouble has your son found this time?"
"I do wish you would reconsider the, oh never mind. You are correct, our son has again failed to heed the lesson of the iceberg." Lucius absently responded exactly as though he himself had, as he read the letter. "He was remonstrating with the Parkinson girl over her poor attention to him in public, defying her family, no less, when he appears to have... What?! Draco has managed to outdo himself this time. That foolish boy was overheard by that blasted Boy-Who-Lived as he was insulting the boy's Mudblood mother. Further, Potter challenged our son to a duel! Right in front of the whole school, too, and using the correct forms. I suspect your dear sister had a hand in teaching him that.
"By now, there is no way the neutrals won't find out that our son insulted one of the heroes of the common people. Our proposal to aid the right sort of witch and wizard to gain employment by calling for sponsors will never pass now! The neutrals may even go over to Bones on her bill to grant all witches and wizards the right to take their complaints to the Wizengamot on an equal basis. Gah!"
"Well, he is still your son and heir. I recall that you antagonised the Potter boy yourself two years ago over that dreadful business with the Basilisk. You put Draco at risk with that little ploy of yours, as well as Potter and his harem of Mudbloods and Blood Traitors. Little wonder then that the boy would treat you as an enemy, and that silly Tournament showed that the boy has talent to back him up.
"Does Draco describe the duel?" Narcissa asked idly, hiding her curiosity.
"He claims he was unfairly beaten, like that matters. Reading between the lines, despite being slower off the mark, he still cast the first spell which missed 'narrowly' according to his letter. In response, he was thrown onto.. tar? Interesting. It appears the Potter boy destroyed Draco's finest robes with the tar he Transfigured during the duel. Draco writes expecting that we will rush to replace them." Lucius was unsure if he should be amused or angered by the presumption.
"At a hundred and fifty Galleons, I don't see why we should when he lost these so foolishly. Those were supposed to last him past his completion of his education. We only bought them in August! No. He can survive with the half dozen sets he has left." Narcissa knew that they were already spending far more money than normal thanks to their permanent 'guest' in the so-called Lord Voldemort. The last thing they needed was to waste more money!
"After creating the tar, a couple of low-level spells and a Banishing Hex finished off the duel. Draco claims that was all that the Halfblood could accomplish but I do believe that to be another error on our son's part." Lucius resolved to have Severus give the boy another talk about perception, reality and the gap between them. Really, all this was taking far too much time away from carrying out the Dark Lord's many interweaving plots.
Narcissa reflected that her son was the combination of all his father's worst traits, the vanity, the overweening pride, the need to overdress for any occasion, and all the arrogance. Unfortunately he had missed out on any of Lucius' good traits, few though they were. There was no cunning in the boy and his only ambition seemed to be to become a perfect copy of his father, but he refused to work even at that low goal. It seemed rather than Lucius bringing the boy up to his standards, the boy had been pulling his father down to his own level, ever since the Potter boy had started at Hogwarts. Now there was a young man with talent, wealth, political connections and the will to use them to advance his family. If only it weren't for his deplorable taste, and he were five years older, she would make herself to accept his advances for surely no sensible young man could resist her charms.
Lucius went on about 'her' son's failures and Narcissa nodded absently. Oh, she had heard his excuses, that he was busy studying and training for Quidditch, but she didn't believe it any more. The boy was consistently near the bottom of his entire year, for Merlin's sake. Severus had tried to convince her that it was an unusually adept year, but that would mean that a dozen Mudbloods all had greater talent and drive than her son, something she knew was rubbish. His marks had never been anything special and his standing had fallen every single year.
Their marriage had only ever been an alliance of convenience, but it was becoming clear her best hope was to have an accident befall her husband and son, leaving her with the Malfoy fortune and a fresh start. It would be too much to hope to find a worthy partner in this country, but maybe on the Continent or in the Colonies. Best to start looking into making some arrangements, just in case.
She realised Lucius was still talking. "...and the boy writes, that he 'knows' we will want to help him out of all his problems again."
"As much as I hate to bail him out so often, our position would slip if we don't, dear. If he loses face, it reflects on you and I as parents and I will not have that Parkinson woman turn her nose up at me again. The pug nosed philistine can't tell the difference between a soup spoon and a dessert spoon but she had the cheek to gloat to me last week that her daughter beat your son on the last Potions test. Merlin knows what she would say if Draco failed to live up to your example so soon after the last time."
Lucius nodded angrily. While he wouldn't give two Knuts for the opinion of the Parkinsons, Draco's failures made him look bad before the other Death Eaters. The only consolation he had was that the others with children in school were doing as badly or worse. Not even getting on the House Quidditch team offset the disappointment he felt since Draco had lost again to a Weasley.
Really, these were trying times. That bitch Bones had survived the Dark Lord's attempt to remove her and become Minister. The only consolation there was that she was now locked in a bitter dispute with an intractable enemy, the Wizengamot and its corrupt members, ones who had been happy to accept all the bribes he and his associates had offered while the getting was good.
Lucius composed a reply to his son, refusing him the new robes in no uncertain terms and advising him that if he threatened the family's position again with words about Potter's family, that the punishment would be severe. For now, while Draco would receive some tips and support as their public position demanded, he would also discover he had lost all pocket money for the next two months. In addition, he was forbidden from staying at Hogwarts over Christmas, nor would he stay at Malfoy Manor, instead being sheltered by the Goyle family for the duration of the holiday.
Maybe that would teach him the cost of failure before he lost any further chance to learn. Dark times were coming and soon Draco would have to step up and be a man. "Speaking of failures, I have just thought of a delightful way to let Bones' failures to 'sweep the Ministry clean of corruption' hurt her more." Lucius then went on to detail his idea, surprising Narcissa by already having a plan that didn't require correction or action on her part. All it needed was money, which he had in large amounts, and a letter or two and a personal visit. Best of all, it was completely legal.
At Hogwarts, Draco did not take his new-found restrictions well.
Luckily for all concerned, he kept his snit quiet, staying sullen and silent even in Potions class with those idiotic Gryffindors who somehow beat him most unfairly. Since Professor McGonagall became the Headmistress, Draco had to get through the boring class without livening it up by throwing ingredients into other people's cauldrons and enjoying the explosions and other chaos. Severus had taken him aside before class to warn him that the vindictive witch would love to get something else to pin on him.
No, now he had to endure the fumes, the disgusting ingredients and Severus' cutting voice without any distractions to improve his mood. At least he got some joy from slicing the heads off various animals, picturing Mudbloods like Granger under his knife instead.
So intent was the Malfoy scion and current heir that he turned in a better than average potion to be graded at the end of the lesson, receiving an honest Outstanding as a result. He wasn't the only one, however. Naturally, Greengrass, Davis and Roper showed their good breeding, but he was baffled by how that idiotic, perky Mudblood 'Sally-Anne' got one.
Unfortunately for the bigots, the single biggest reason that Halfbloods and Muggleborns did poorly in Potions for the last fifteen years was the bigot in charge of the course. His atrocious bias, terrible teaching methods and intimidation and bullying, aimed at Gryffindors especially but really anyone outside his House, all combined to reduce the number of students who wanted to go on to NEWT Potions. The difference was telling. Before his arrival, the numbers were somewhat biased in favour of the Purebloods, reflecting the more moderate bias of his predecessor in Slughorn, and after, an eighty percent drop in Halfbloods and Muggleborns getting Exceeds Expectations on their NEWTs.
It was only the fact that Snape was literally on his last chance at the school that kept him from continuing his abuse, and Potions marks had improved in three Houses as a result and were still going up.
Draco finally perked up Sunday morning with the arrival of the Daily Prophet and an owl from his father. There was nothing he liked better than seeing someone else in trouble, especially when it was someone he didn't like.
That issue of the paper contained a number of disguised ads which resembled ordinary news articles, including one on the front page. The common theme which let Draco pick the dozen ads out from the real articles was their attack on the Minister's competence and integrity, painting her as just another politician who would say anything to get elected.
The fake articles pointed out how Bones had promised to wipe out corruption but had yet to replace even a single wizard at the Ministry (blatantly untrue) and accused her of lying to the good people (also untrue) and wanting to line her pockets at the public's expense (laughably untrue).
Looking up from his paper, Draco was pleased to see scores of angry glares from other people reading the paper. Many of them were from the Potter Alliance, angry either at the attack on their friend or at the betrayal by the Minister, depending on their judgement of the paper's accuracy. Greengrass had been trying his best to improve its reliability and this would sink those efforts if he didn't fix it straight away.
A noise to the side grabbed Draco's attention, Daphne kicking her chair over in her haste as she made her way to the Owlery, composing a note as she hurried. She had to inform him of the reactions within the school, as well as make sure he was aware of the travesty committed by the paper they supposedly controlled.
Around the Great Hall, however, there was chaos. It was clear that the honeymoon period for the new Minister was completely finished. Draco daydreamed of her resigning in disgrace, though he knew that wouldn't happen, not with her kneeling at his feet and apologising for the distress she caused him.
At last, however, Draco's dreamy smile faded when he noticed Potter was looking at him like something you would have an elf scrape off your shoe. At the Staff table, it was the same from Professor McGonagall (never Headmistress!) and Professors Vector and Sinistra. They knew who must have been responsible by the gormless expression on Draco's face.
At lunchtime at the Greengrass home, they had put up a temporary delaying ward on incoming mail and taken the phone off the hook. That was a matter of sheer necessity with the number of people trying to contact them regarding the foul up at the Daily Prophet.
David Greengrass had already paid the Chief Editor a visit.
"Ah, Mr Greengrass." The Chief rose to his feet for the owner. "What can I do for you?"
"You can explain what happened with this morning's issue," he replied flatly.
"Ah, yes. That. Well. I was called away this morning about twenty minutes before I normally check the final copy of the paper prior to it being sent out. Four in the morning and some villain had been setting off fireworks at my home and activating the anti-fire wards. By the time I got back from reporting the incident to the Ministry, there was no time for me to check personally and the Prophet went out as normal."
"That explains the How it got by you. What about the Who did it?"
"A cloaked wizard turned up at nine o'clock last Sunday evening wanting to place a number of ads in the paper. He was apparently disappointed that the soonest he could get slots was today but paid anyway, enough for a fortnight's run of ads, and said he would supply the ads to be displayed exactly as delivered. He didn't leave a name or contact details, sending in letters with the ads he wanted placed."
"Isn't that unusual?"
"It most certainly is. Normally, people want us to know exactly who is paying for the ads so we can keep in touch regarding any problems, advise them of new opportunities and so on. Besides, it's policy that if an ad claims to be from some wizard or business, that we at least check that they are who they say they are. That policy's been in place since before I started here. Not even Fudge messed with that one. I think he realised that without that, anyone could buy an ad and claim they were him, putting words in his mouth."
"So why wasn't that policy kept this time?"
"It was. That's the worst of it. This wizard, whoever they were, didn't claim to represent anyone so he wasn't asked to prove his identity."
David Greengrass nodded. It was a smart move, to be sure. "I want the policy changed. From now on, anyone who wants an ad has to be known to us. This move made it look like the paper has taken a stand against the Minister as well as lied wholesale to Magical Britain. That ends."
The Chief nodded angrily. He didn't like being made to look the fool nor to be raked over the coals. Whoever did this got both. "Yes, sir. I have already drawn up a new policy anticipating you and a draft of it is right here." He reached into his desk drawer, handing over the parchment. A quick nod and he was relieved that he got something that simple right.
"I have also spoken to our man in Advertising, making sure he knows of the changes and to tell me if we get any big orders. He claims he sent a memo but none arrived. I am wondering if he's been got at. He's up at St Mungo's now to be checked. At least the money was all real."
"Good!" And it was. "Since the customer didn't bother to establish his identity when he placed the ads, he cannot establish it should he wish to get his money back when we don't print the rest of the rubbish he was spewing."
The men shared a grin at that. Turning around someone's play on them was such sweet pleasure.
The next day, bright and early on a dismal Monday morning, the Daily Prophet was delivered to Hogwarts as usual. What was unusual was the reaction from two of the tables. On the Slytherin table, Draco Malfoy was desperately wishing he hadn't been sipping pumpkin juice when he spied the headline:
ALL LIES!
Right below the headline in large type, it explained that the previous day's edition had carried a number of advertisements created in a style to mimic the paper's own articles in an effort to confuse readers into thinking the worst of the Minister. Particularly galling for Malfoy was the portrayal of the effort as "...a cowardly attack made from the shadows by a wizard too spineless to show his face."
At the Hufflepuff table, there was a cheer for 'their' Minister's vindication in the press. Amelia was popular with her old House and they knew that the attack yesterday was untrue. For the First Years in the Potter Alliance, they took the news well enough. It seemed to show they had made the right decision after all, even if the going was rockier than they had expected.
Throughout the day, Malfoy had to hold himself back from hexing every Mudblood he saw. They loved their Minister, the Muggle loving witch, and somehow she had escaped the trap set for her. Some mud had stuck to the woman but most had been cleaned off by the massive story.
That night, Harry and the Jewels threw a big party in the castle for Amelia to celebrate the restoration of her reputation.
It was Diana's first as a Jewel and she was unsure of her reception. She need not have worried, all the ladies coming over and admiring her new clothes, tailored for her by Harry, of course. After that, Daphne guided her to a lounge to settle in next to Harry, or one of his clones, not that any of them could keep track which was the real wizard without searching for his wand and mostly they no longer cared.
Amelia took the Floo straight from the Ministry to Professor McGonagall's office. While the Headmistress was fond of the green-eyed son of her friends, she would not brook any liberties taken in her school, or not any that she knew about. It was for that reason that she and the Jewels had taken a "Don't ask, don't tell" approach. Minerva knew that things likely did happen between consenting individuals but as long as they acted appropriately in public, she wasn't forced to intervene.
As a result, when the Minister stepped through her Floo, she gave the younger woman a smile and greeting before allowing her to exit the office accompanied by one of Harry's clones. Once out of the office, he got out a blindfold. "Do you trust me, Amelia?"
"Yes, Harry." Amelia replied, pulling her hair back to allow him to put it on.
And so he led her through the corridors, other clones on watch to ensure no students saw her this vulnerable. A time later, he opened the door and removed the piece of cloth. As Amelia's eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a big banner: "Congratulations Amelia!" and Harry behind her created a clone, the pair picking her up and taking her to an ornate chair as guest of honour.
As she was sitting down, that was the signal and out of nowhere, more clones appeared, setting the table for a celebratory feast. Looking around, Amelia found that everyone was in very fine yet comfortable clothes, suitable for the relaxed atmosphere she enjoyed, and she leaned back, letting one of the Harry's feed her all her favourites.
Diana had a smile as she watched proceedings, another of Harry's clones sitting beside her and making light conversation over the meal. After the entree, she felt incredibly relaxed for a reason she couldn't quite work out. She soon put it out of her mind and snuggled closer to the Harry at her side, letting him feed her as he had fed Amelia earlier.
Harry, for his part, knew exactly why Diana was feeling more cuddly tonight. His lovely Veela ladies, all four of them, were present tonight and relaxed with their Allures. Most of the Jewels had made strides protecting their minds from the effects since they didn't want to do that sort of thing in public, well, some did but they knew they couldn't afford to. Diana was an exception. She had never even heard of the Yamanaka techniques until only weeks ago, since they were a very tightly held secret even within the Alliance. After all, it wasn't that they didn't trust their allies but that those techniques were restricted Clan-only knowledge.
As such, she had no defences other than whatever she had naturally, which weren't much. Harry resolved to keep an eye on her to make sure that she didn't go further than she really wanted. His resolve was put to the test as soon as dessert was served. Diana perched herself in his lap, eating the lemon sorbet and doing amazing things with the spoon. Her sexy moan as the confection slid down her throat went straight to his groin, exciting him almost painfully hard. Harry's fears that she would be offended by the evidence of his reaction were for naught as she smiled playfully at him and wriggled in his lap.
Looking around, Harry knew that she wasn't the only one with that in mind. Many of the other Jewels had been affected by the Allure, intentionally affected to be sure, and taken themselves and his clones off to the other side of the partition where they could enjoy getting their itch scratched. Soon, it was just Diana and him and she turned around, kissing him passionately as she sat on one of his legs, grinding between her own to get the delicious friction she needed.
Hating himself, Harry stopped the making out as gently as he could when she grabbed his left hand, guiding it to her breast and moaned into his mouth. He pulled his hand back and looked into her eyes. "Diana? Have you noticed that you're not acting like yourself?"
She looked back confused for a second then an array of emotions crossed her face in a handful of seconds. "Please explain, Harry." She wanted to believe that Harry hadn't done anything to the sanctity of her mind and gave him a chance, suspending judgement.
"The lovely French ladies are Veela, Diana. When it is just us, they like to relax their control on the Allure which means it gets a lot stronger than they keep it in public. The defences against it are automatic for most of us by now but I noticed earlier that you seemed to be affected, a little more in a loving mood than usual. I knew you wouldn't put my hand there normally so I had to make sure that this is what you really want." He sighed. "As much as we would enjoy it tonight, I won't do anything you will regret later."
Diana blew out the breath she had been holding, relieved. "Thank you, Harry, for protecting my virtue, even from myself," she added with a wink, "but you can stop protecting it now. The effect seems to have faded, leaving only us." At his nod confirming that, she leaned in and kissed him again, moving his hand back where it had been, melting into him.
While she did eventually decide against making love to him, they went a lot further than previous explorations, and Harry's hands weren't the only ones wandering that night before they fell asleep together, still clothed, and legs entwined.
Over the next few days, Diana sought out reports on Harry, a polite term for gossiping about her favourite man, finding out that she was hardly alone in finding Harry intoxicating.
Amelia and Angelique were the most vocal about him, the younger girls agreed but they lacked the experience of other men to compare him and they knew it. "Zese younger Jewels, zey 'ave no idea how lucky zey are never to have been found a disappointing lover! Sacrebleu, you 'ave heard of my first time with 'Arry, yes?" Angelique blushed in mixed arousal and shame at the memory of it, how she had loved every second of it but regretted forcing herself on him.
"My first morning, he had just finished wearing out two Veela teenagers at once and then did the same to me. Truly, I am extremely lucky that things have worked out for all of us. But getting back to your question, yes, Harry is most amazing. His kisses, the way he focuses all of his attention on one, his kisses, his touch, his love, and, well, everything he does to me in bed, or over a table, or.." she trailed off. "Sorry, I should not have said so much, I think."
Diana blushed, still not used to the openness that Angelique and the other Veela had about their sexuality. While she knew the rest of the Jewels enjoyed his attentions, they kept it quiet around her. "So we don't end up pressuring you." Susan had told her, taking her lead from Harry. Only the three French ladies let their tongues slip like this, and Diana was just as glad, both that someone did, and that it was no more than this. She had enough naughty dreams already but she wasn't yet prepared emotionally for that change.
'Soon,' she thought, 'soon I will make love to him but for now, I am enjoying the courtship too much to rush into it, no matter how good they say he is.'
That week also saw the Daily Prophet's star undercover reporter and former muckraker extraordinaire, Rita Skeeter, given the job of looking into the Ministry and the Wizengamot for an exposé on the real source of all the corruption and who was doing what to whom.
"Right, you know the kind of story I want, and if it leads you to writing an article on how Amelia Bones is in league with enemies of wizardry or part of the Rotfang Conspiracy, I still want to see it. Before you publish it, Rita."
She nodded, just happy to get this opportunity. It was her first major story since the Triwizard Tournament and she wanted to make sure that she didn't blow her chance.
"While I won't guarantee to publish any story you write, I promise you I will give you an honest chance to write an honest article."
Rita expected that. Her former tactics to splash everyone with mud had been a hard habit to break but she got there. Her reward was that she would get to splash a lot of people with mud, if she did her job right. She was sure there were plenty of sordid stories just waiting to be told. A pity that Fudge had resigned before she could get the dirt on him ready.
A few final words from the Chief and Rita was off, buzzing away happily on the way to her office where she spent a solid hour writing up notes in her personal code. Ever since she had attended Hogwarts, Rita had known the importance of being able to keep your secrets safe. After all, look what she did with other people's!
After that, Rita Apparated herself to a convenient alley nearby to the Ministry of Magic headquarters, before transforming into her Animagus form, a beetle, and flying up overhead while she waited for someone to use the entrance, landing on some nondescript fellow's shoulder and riding down with him. Once inside, she buzzed off and made her way past the security checkpoint. She was just as tempted as always to fly a loop around the wizard at the desk there to show what she thought of him but kept to the shadows, slipping past and beyond into the Ministry proper.
It was going to be a long day for the intrepid reporter, and her illegal form, but she loved her job.
Back at Hogwarts, following the success of the celebration for Amelia's vindication in the paper, Fleur and Yvette planned a Sexy Party to give everyone some fun. They had to sneak into the castle, since that was simpler than sneaking everyone out, but they ran into a snag. Professor Vector, their usual conduit, fell ill the night before and was unable to allow them to use the Floo, nor would Headmistress McGonagall break the rules for them.
Instead of losing out on their party, they turned to Harry who used his brain, and the services of an ecstatic and well-paid house-elf, to work transport. It was fast, safe and free of the bad feelings that normally accompanied magical travel engendered but they had to put up with a gushing and blushing Dobby going on about the Great Harry Potter.
It was for that last reason that Harry himself didn't call on Dobby often. Praise was all well and good when it was earned, but there was no end to Dobby's praises of him. Harry had put it to the test once, allowing the little fellow to talk to his heart's content about his favourite subject and hours later, Dobby was still going strong. After that, Harry had reluctantly ordered Dobby to keep an upper limit on the amount of praise then set aside a clone to talk to him each day.
As for the party, it started wonderfully. While Diana had declined taking part in most of the festivities, she enjoyed getting to chat with the girls over a lovely lunch before going out on a date with one of Harry's clones to the London Zoo. She had explained privately that she would feel like a wet blanket at the party despite their protests, and in any event there was so much in Great Britain to see that she had been denied for too long.
The other Jewels wished her well, missing her but getting into the spirit of the party soon enough. Fleur and Yvette had conjured a catwalk down which Jennifer took the lead, modelling for the rest a number of outfits including the raciest, sheerest lingerie she had.
Next, Sandra took a turn and it was obvious that, despite whatever her protests about not being interested in becoming one of the models, she had an innate talent for attracting and directing the eye, her easy movements simultaneously innocent and sexy.
The real star of the show was Amelia, however. A more mature woman who had taken to downplaying her looks for years, she had understood immediately lessons that took others days or weeks. She had a style and a grace from her Auror training, combining them into a poise that allowed them all to see how sexy she was even before she started to undress. She was unanimously voted into joining the ranks of the models of their new fashion label, curling into Harry's chest with a smile as the applause died down.
The other Jewels took their turns, although Fleur cheated by empowering her Allure. Harry chuckled at the attempt, knowing better than to think Fleur was seriously trying to win that way. Nym called her on it, grinning too, and then did her best to cheat when her turn came up, turning into a copy of an eighteen year old Liz Granger. There were a few wolf whistles from the gallery, including an especially loud one from Hermione which got a raised eyebrow from Nym along with a wink for her troubles, but the winner was never in doubt. Amelia chose for her reward to have the real Harry, and as many clones as needed, for the night.
From there, the real party began. A playful Harry ordered her to do a strip tease for him and, to his surprise, she got off his lap and started doing just that.
As the party wound up, Susan sensed a problem, coming over and pulling the slightly older witch into her arms, while Daphne, libido satisfied for the moment, came up behind them and cuddled with both, running her hand through Hermione's bushy locks.
"What's wrong, Hermione?" Daphne asked gently.
Hermione didn't answer for a minute, taking comfort in their reassuring caresses, then let out a breath. "You'll think it's silly or crazy or disgusting, I'm afraid."
After they both assured her nothing like that would happen, Hermione looked down and quietly said, "I'm sad because I didn't get to be with Nym at the party."
Confused, Susan pressed on. "Surely it can't be just that, Hermione. You know we wouldn't think that was crazy or disgusting, we aren't like those other girls."
Hermione nodded, blushing redder than their hair, and added in a small voice, "I wanted to be with Nym while she was copying my mother's body. She's so sexy." Hermione put her hand over her mouth as the last words slipped out, expecting some sort of rejection even as she hoped otherwise.
"Does that mean you want to have sex with your Mum?" Daphne asked, wanting to be clear before she decided how she felt about it. Susan had no such problem, hugging Hermione tighter. Loyalty to the Jewels came well ahead of caring about the taboo. She was breaking other rules of society every day.
The brunette nodded, Susan's red locks obscuring her face. "And I want her to have sex with Harry, too. I know it's taboo but that just makes it hotter for me. I know Mum and Dad are married and they love each other. It's just a dirty little fantasy of mine. I wouldn't dream of hurting either of them by trying to split them up and get her with Harry!"
"Shhh! We know you wouldn't, Hermione." Daphne responded, rubbing circles in the girl's back. "And having seen your Mum, or Nym's version of her, I can see why you think she is sexy. She is practically an older you, and you're hot yourself. Besides, if I can set up Harry to take Astoria's virginity, and Susan can put on a show for her aunt Amelia, why shouldn't you get to want to see Mrs Granger like that?"
"You mean it?" the voice drifted from the mass of hair, and both Susan and Daphne nodded, content to cuddle as Hermione let her tears escape at last, tears of relief and joy that she was accepted and loved despite her fears that she was crazy or immoral. The Jewels took care of their own, and Hermione was special in her own right.
Sensing that the crisis was over, Harry came over, adding his own strong arms to the group hug, drawing the trio back with him as he guided them to a couch, Susan on his left, Daphne on his right, and Hermione on his lap, all of them caressing and snuggling with each other, no person left out of their mutual love. After the girls recovered, Hermione being held by Harry from behind, Daphne behind him and Susan in front of her, she explained that Harry already knew of her naughty dreams but she had been afraid he would be the only one to accept all of her like he had.
That led to more kisses, both in thanks to Harry for being understanding and in support of their lover Hermione. With these three behind her, Hermione felt she could take on anything. In the following days, the trio were together constantly and Hermione was the better for it.
Thank you for reading and for your feedback. As stated above, the issue was not included lightly.