Chapter 73 - Past and Future Tense
Albus Dumbledore was a powerful wizard. No one alive disputed that and most would also acknowledge that he was a learned one as well. Certainly his reputation as a scholar of magic was well earned and his words were heeded far and wide for nearly fifty years, even if these days he had taken a hit in that regard.
However, it was his understanding of the Wizarding World and some of its more notable players that had led Dumbledore and his associate, the erstwhile Professor Snape, to a small cave by the sea. Thanks to his own research and some hints by his acerbic companion, he believed they had an excellent chance to acquire another of the artefacts needed to make Lord Voldemort mortal once more.
"Severus." The word brought his companion's attention and he directed the younger man to start draining the alert ward while he worked to identify the other protections on the place. After a few minutes, Severus had completed his task and Albus had identified and neutralized all but one of the rest of the defences.
Grimacing, Albus flicked his wand, aiming a shallow cutting spell at the palm of his hand then smearing the blood on an otherwise unremarkable rock. The rock faded away and the pair moved cautiously inside the archway that was revealed.
With a flourish, Albus cast a spell that lit up the darkness inside the cave. In the light, both wizards saw a large lake with an island in the centre under an impossibly high ceiling. Severus sneered at his former Master's sense of style while Albus led off in a walk around the lake, looking for a way across.
He stopped abruptly when he found a concentration of magic, reaching out with detection spells that guided his hand to an invisible chain. Another spell and the chain was moving, pulling in a rickety boat that was revealed when it touched the shore. He stepped forward as if to get in when Severus cleared his throat.
"Albus, should we not be a little more cautious? I hardly think the Dark Lord would leave the way unguarded like this."
"Quite right, Severus." Chagrined, he cast additional spells on the boat and chain. "Indeed, there is an alert when the boat is used." A spell removed that. "There are also spells that tie to the inferi in the lake. If the item is removed without the correct counter, they will attack."
"Then why don't we use brooms?"
"An excellent suggestion." Albus was annoyed he hadn't thought of it himself. The pair hopped onto a broom he produced from his pocket and restored to its full size. When they reached the island in the centre, the two found a large stone basin atop a pedestal. A luminescent emerald liquid filled the basin with a small locket submerged at the bottom. Tests on the liquid and the stone basin showed that they were defended from magical alteration or removal.
Severus withdrew his wand and aimed a cutting curse at the base of the pedestal but it was absorbed without visible effect. "I had to try the obvious."
"Indeed." A similar effort to alter the ground under the basin likewise failed. "It appears this potion was meant to be drunk."
Severus snorted. "Please, Albus. I am adept with potions. Despite your knowledge of alchemy, I am far better versed in potions. We both know that this potion is nothing either of us want to drink."
"I do not see another way." An absent wave of the Elder Wand conjured a fine crystal goblet and Dumbledore dipped it into the liquid, filling it to the brim. Just before he brought it to his lips, Snape's Banishing spell threw the goblet and liquid into a crude wooden bucket he had conjured. Dumbledore picked up his goblet.
"You keep trying to drink that."
And Dumbledore did just that. Each time, Snape spilled the potion into the bucket before Dumbledore drank a drop, until they had transferred enough of the green liquid to expose the locket at the bottom. Dumbledore picked it up and examined it closely.
"Slytherin's Locket!" Snape cried, avarice in his veins.
"Alas, no. This is a fake." Albus opened it absently and found himself chuckling at the message inside. "It seems someone got here before us."
Severus snatched the note and read it impatiently.
"Black's younger brother!" Severus snarled. "He disappeared after he was chosen by Voldemort for a special mission. No one ever saw him again and the Dark Lord was upset by the loss, to the confusion of his Inner Circle. Since no explanation was ever given, this was put down to the loss of influence on the Black family."
"It appears there was a different explanation."
Snape rolled his eyes. "What do we do now?"
"We must find the Locket."
"Obviously. However, where should we look?"
"Wherever we must. In the interim, though, I suppose we shall depart this dreary locale. Ignoring the fact that our search must continue, perhaps this discovery will ingratiate us with young Sirius and the remainder of Harry's family a bit, making them more willing to cooperate with us in this endeavour."
Severus snorted in disgust as the two mounted their brooms.
While a pair of wizards were enduring dank and dreary conditions on the coast, Narcissa Malfoy was enjoying herself in the backroom at Bewitched. As she lay face down with those wondrous hands working her over, she heard the girls who worked there moving around.
Unnoticed, Narcissa already thought better of them than she did of her husband's associates. The staff had done more to convince her that her childhood indoctrination was wrong than the Light had achieved in decades of trying. Rather than platitudes and empty words, it was their actions that had done the job, proving that these Muggleborns and their Muggle families were civilized and had good ideas.
In contrast, the 'cream' of Pureblood society were proving themselves to be terrible house-guests. They were rude, crude and dirty, disdaining in their adult years the frequent bathing they were forced to do at Hogwarts.
"You always become the thing you hate the most." She wasn't sure where she heard the quote but she found it was true in the Dark Lord's forces. Her oh so clever husband hated the poor and the stupid yet his actions proved he was rapidly becoming both. The Inner Circle as a whole hated the Muggles and Muggleborns for being dirty and for the way they disrespected Pureblood traditions. Now, those same Pureblood traditions of respect for family and life were thrown away.
Narcissa's mind blanked as Harry took the massage up a notch, working on the muscles she had unconsciously tensed in her reflections. He also adjusted the music, switching to another song that talked about hope for a better future through understanding.
'Soon.' Harry thought to himself. 'Soon, this witch will willingly join our cause.'
A more relaxed witch left the shop an hour later, lighter of purse and mien. She returned home to a scowling husband.
"And just where were you? At that blasted Bewitched again, weren't you?"
"Why do you persist in asking me questions when you already know the answer?" Narcissa asked haughtily.
"Don't you know the place is filled with Mudbloods and half-breed scum?"
"Of course I know who is there. In these Dark times, our public appearances are more important than ever, dear."
"Exactly! That's why-"
"That's why I go there. It helps you appear innocent of all those dirty deeds if your own wife is seen and accepted in such a place. Do I really have to explain that to you?"
Lucius flushed with rage which was even more visible on his normally pale face. "Of course not!"
"Then you should be grateful for my sacrifice, my dear husband. Our guest understands the necessity of the subterfuge."
"Yes, dear." Lucius ground his teeth as he answered. He knew that he still needed his wife to agree to the ritual, something that appeared less likely by the day. He needed a replacement heir now more than ever with recent events causing him to lose face and money. Also, his Master would have his head if he harmed his wife and cost his Master the valuable advice she gave.
There was happier news at Hogwarts, for some at least. Justin Finch-Fletchley had gathered his courage and asked Megan to accompany him to the next Hogsmeade weekend.
"Yes, Justin."
"..Yes?" Justin couldn't believe his ears.
"Yes, I will go with you." Megan smiled at the young man. "I have been hoping you would ask for a couple of weeks now."
"Why didn't you ask me then?"
Megan stuck her tongue out at him. Justin grinned and pulled his new girlfriend in close for a hug. He felt right, holding her there. Megan enjoyed it too. It had been too long since someone held her like she was special. A traitorous part of her mind told her that Harry always did that for her but she squelched it, closing her eyes in bliss.
At breakfast, Justin held her chair for her under the watchful eyes of the Jewels, painfully aware that if he hurt Megan, they wouldn't leave enough of him to bury. Megan's smile made his day, and he managed to ignore their stares as the new couple chatted before class.
Across the Great Hall, Daphne turned away from Megan, looking at her beau sitting next to her. "Are you ok with this, Harry?"
Harry hugged her close. "I will be fine, Daphne. Justin is a good man. He wouldn't mistreat her and he does respect her as well as he likes her."
"But you're not fine yet, are you?" Daphne had noticed the tense he used.
"I am mostly ok with it already." Harry shrugged slightly. "I just wish I could be the one making her smile."
"You mean that we could be the ones making her happy, don't you?" Daphne replied with a bittersweet smile.
"I do." He squeezed her hand then changed the subject. "So what do you think of the recent movements on the London Stock Exchange? Do you think the specialty clothing retailers are really taking a hit or is it just part of the normal fluctuations?"
Daphne gave him a look then answered, getting into the new topic. "I think it is too soon to call it as anything more than normal trading..."
The rest of the students watched the new romance, seeing how Harry didn't make any problems for the couple and taking their own lessons from their observations. Most concluded that Harry was doing the right thing. There were always a few who took the wrong lesson however.
Draco, naturally enough, was one of them, seeing it as a sign of weakness in Harry. He missed the way that Justin was a good friend and ally of the Potter. He also missed the fact that Harry genuinely wanted her to be happy as Draco had never been in love himself.
That evening in the Slytherin Common Room, he crowed about the development and its obvious meaning to a mixed crowd of students, most of whom wouldn't give two Knuts for the strutting Sixth Year.
A few spoke in support, starting with Crabbe and Goyle.
"We have a chance to retake the school! A chance to remake the Golden Age when the Mudbloods were our servants, seen and not heard! A chance to advance the Dark Lord's cause and take our place as the masters of this school."
"A chance to show the Blood Traitors that their days are numbered, them and their Mudblood pets. We can show them they're not so smart as they think." Crabbe gave a stupid grin.
"They aren't that tough, neither." Goyle cracked his knuckles.
Tracey gave a slow, mocking clap. "Did you come up with that show all by yourselves?"
"Shut up, Davis. You have no right to speak that way to your betters, you Halfblood. You're one of Potter's-"
"Be very careful, little boy." Daphne and Sophie were behind Tracey, wands in hand and the tips were glowing, though the wands were carefully pointed down at the ground. "You don't want to complete that sentence. You have a tendency to spout verbal diarrhoea. We won't have it in Harry's true House. Just be silent and maybe you will be permitted to last out the year here."
"Are you threatening me?"
"I am warning you, Malfoy. If you cause trouble, you will be gone from Hogwarts. Cause too much and they will lock you up and throw away the key."
Malfoy wanted to attack the three witches in front of him, confident he could take them. When he went for his wand, however, he felt the tip of a wand behind his ear, pressing into his skull. Astoria's voice froze the blood in his veins.
"Now, Malfoy, do you really want to do that? I could 'slip' and cast that cutting spell the teachers have been making us practice all week."
Hiding his fear as best he could, which wasn't too well, Draco put his wand back and moved his hand well away from it. Feeling the derision from his House, Draco slipped down to his room in the dorms, plotting vengeance on both Greengrass sisters and on Davis and Roper for his humiliating defeat.
Up in the Common Room he left behind, Daphne congratulated her little sister and whispered to her during a hug that Harry was proud of her too. Though the students from Dark families were unhappy about yet another defeat for one of their own, they also recognized that for now they would have to accept it. There was always next time, of course. Unlike the brattish Malfoy, they knew subtlety.
For most of their House, seeing the would-be prince Malfoy ambushed by a girl two years his junior was a stark lesson in power and cunning. Whatever their leanings, the incident showed that Potter and his girls were people to watch. It also showed once again that the Malfoy heir was unfit to look after a crup much less take his father's place in Wizarding Britain. Most of the observers wanted to get closer to the girls, whether for their power and influence or for more earthy reasons. All of them, however, knew they needed to be watched.
November passed without much incident. The Dark Lord was quiet and that reduced the pressure on Amelia to move to outright war against him, something she feared would only increase the body count without materially improving their prospects of ending the threat.
Where the Clan and the Lifeguards wanted to push for open war, the majority of their allies were against the whole thing. They remembered the last time around when Crouch's Aurors were using the Unforgivables themselves on people and they had no wish to see that happen again. So long as the Death Eaters were quiet, so long as they didn't find out about new victims, they wouldn't support a call to open warfare. Pushing the matter any harder would only have alienated them and risked fracturing the Potter Alliance.
In the middle of it all, Harry could see their point but he agreed with his parents and so did most of the Jewels.
Until the Clan or the Ministry discovered a new threat, they were stuck with peacetime measures against their enemies. For now, they had to wait.
Winter made itself felt with a bang at Hogwarts. A thunderstorm deposited inches of snow overnight. In these terrible conditions, the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams found their available time for training curtailed to just a few hours a week.
Nevertheless, they were required to play as normal and a dozen shivering teens mounted their brooms early on the first Saturday of December, getting warmed up before the match began.
Madam Hooch's yellow eyes watched the players like a hawk before she called them down as the time drew near. She blew her whistle to start the match and the two teams ascended to their positions. Ravenclaw got the Quaffle first but Hannah was quick to prove that her position as Keeper was well earned. She blocked the shot easily and passed it to Susan who passed to Hermione then Harry and back to Susan for the first attempt from Hufflepuff on goal at the other end of the Quidditch pitch less than a minute later.
Both teams found their rhythm over the first ten minutes, fumbling less as Warming Charms did their work in a rare example of the teams permitting magic to be cast on their opponents.
When Cho thought about it, she liked the friendlier aspect to the games against Hufflepuff. The Slytherin and Gryffindor teams were too cutthroat, too competitive, to really enjoy herself. Here, Cho knew that win or lose, she would get a wonderful after-game massage and a kiss from the opposing team's captain.
While she was distracted, the Snitch passed in front of her eyes. Cursing her inattention, Cho raced off after the tiny golden ball but lost it soon after to the boo's from the Ravenclaw crowd. She returned to flying a figure-eight pattern through the air as she looked for the elusive object, seeing her opposing number do the same. Athena had such a determined expression on her face that Cho couldn't help but smile.
Below, the rest of their teams were hard at it trying to score.
Harry grinned as he saw Hermione successfully fake the Ravenclaw Keeper out of position, lining up an easy goal for herself. The poor Raven was taken in by Hermione miming a pass to him and treated Harry as the greater threat. With the Quaffle turned over, it was the Hufflepuffs' turn to defend.
The Quaffle was passed between the Raven Chasers and Harry dived between them just as they made another pass, snatching it out of the air and throwing it straight away to Susan down the other end of the field. As soon as that was done, he had to dive out of the way of the Bludgers sent his direction, sending a dirty look at the Ravenclaw Beaters who laughed at his expression.
In that first half-hour, the Ravenclaw team proved they had done their homework, quickly adapting to each new play the Hufflepuffs made. However, the Hufflepuffs showed the value of hard work as their skills saw them edge ahead.
Just as Harry scored again past a flustered Keeper, Cho's hand curled around the Snitch. Madam Hooch blew her whistle! The game was a tie.
The celebrations after the game were muted as neither side could claim victory. The Jewels didn't care, though. Athena gave Harry a kiss and a hug then went over to Cho to give her a hug too. "To make it fair!"
As they enjoyed themselves, chatting about everything from the game to the latest fashions, they drew comfort and strength from one another. That night, Cho took her prize by spending the night in the Hufflepuff dorms in Harry's bed.
In the unused East Wing hall that the Jewels had taken over years before, they gathered again for a party. Since Cho was the guest of honour, Harry had led her to a throne he crafted just for her. After a toast to the raven-haired Ravenclaw, there was chatting, laughing and even singing for the lucky girl.
Over the course of the evening, Cho had a small glass of firewhiskey to celebrate the occasion and a number of bottles of butterbeer with her friends. The drink did its job, putting her in a better mood and she decided to grab Harry and have a private little party with her man, leaving a clone in her place. Hermione and Susan winked at the older girl and let her leave quietly.
Cho smiled at Harry. "Want to race?" Without giving him a chance to answer, she sprinted off through the corridors and almost flew down the stairs, giggling as she heard Harry curse and run after her in a chase she wanted them both to win.
The Chinese girl didn't care where she was headed at first, taking corners at a run and trusting to her improved reflexes to save her from any collision. Soon she found herself down the bottom of the castle outside the Hufflepuff section. She made the correct moves to pass the portal and dashed down the boys' corridor to Harry's dorm, jumping and landing on his bed with Harry only a few steps behind her. In her haste, she didn't even notice the startled then knowing looks from her Hufflepuff allies who were enjoying their own party. Thanks to his clones, Harry knew how to avoid notice from the few people in the common room who weren't in on their secrets, and closed the curtains around his bed with Cho grinning at him.
She dived at him, kissing him even as she threw up a few spells for privacy. Harry didn't waste time, easing her tight sweater off between kisses, then unbuttoning her blouse for her. Cho's need was urgent and rising. Cho couldn't wait any longer, she wrapped her legs around him, as they began the age-old dance. Later, as she fell asleep curled up in his arms, her beautiful smile was matched by her Harry's.
The weeks flew by, even the end of term exams couldn't faze the group. By now, they were confident that all of them could pass their NEWTs except for Athena, though the Second Year had passed a mock up of the OWLs, something that astounded Minerva when she checked her results.
They took the train home in high spirits despite the weather, happy to return to the Kitsune Compound and its warm and welcoming atmosphere.
When Harry walked in the door after his Jewels, he had to smile.
All during the term, though he had visits from the ladies who didn't attend Hogwarts as well as still going to school with them in Cranleigh, it wasn't the same as being together like this. In front of him, Sandra had them all lined up under a banner. "Welcome home, Harry!"
As soon as he had taken in that sight, they swarmed forward and dragged him off to their section of the Clan's home, sealing it off from the outside world for twenty-four hours while they caught up.
In the morning, they all gathered around their table in the private kitchen and chatted about their plans and what they wanted for Christmas.
At the Malfoy Manor, hidden in a heavily warded room, its owner was sitting at a large desk covered in parchment. Going through the stacks was a never-ending job in many ways, even with magic to assist, as the occupant needed to know what was on each piece and its relation to the big picture.
It was also a job that couldn't be trusted to anyone else, no matter how big a headache it was.
"If only Lucius was as good at managing his income as he is at spending it." Narcissa mused to herself for what seemed like the thousandth time since discovering that it would be up to her to keep the books for her family.
She smiled when she looked at the price of her new dress. "Truly, I don't know how they make them so cheaply. That level of detail and workmanship is magical. It's beyond compare! Everything is so much better and yet only a fraction more expensive than the boutiques I used to frequent. It's no wonder that I have been spending so much lately.
"And my husband is no help at all. He insists on paying for all the Dark Lord's expenses in order to curry favour and status, leaving me to work miracles with the numbers he refuses to learn."
Narcissa sighed again as she added up the expenses for the month. Including another trinket she simply had to have, she had already gone through their luxuries allowance almost twice over, nearly fifteen hundred Galleons. Her share was more than she would spend in six months in a normal year considering how much she had to restrain herself to keep the family in the black. Even before her husband's follies and his guests, she knew they were spending far too much. If this kept up, she would have to dip into her own little nest egg and that was unacceptable.
"I still don't know for sure how he gets money in but unless he finds more income from somewhere, he will have to tighten his belt and give up some of his extravagances. It's his turn to sacrifice for this family. I don't know why he wanted that gold-plated pez thing, it seems far too Muggle for his tastes, but it will have to go."
At a home in Devon, a lone and lonely man was curled up in bed. On his better days, he published a fringe paper, investigated odd happenings and did a half-decent job at raising his daughter on his own. Other days, like today, the weight of it all crushed him and he had trouble mustering the willpower to get out of bed short of some overriding need.
He was painfully aware that today was the day his darling little girl would get to talk to the spirit of his wife, whom he had missed for years, and while he ached to be there with her and for her, a bigger part of him was so terribly afraid of what he would hear from them.
He closed his eyes and wished he could skip ahead in time to find that everything was okay even as the pain in his chest told him it was not.
Harry was holding Luna's hand, supporting it as she turned the Resurrection Stone three times.
"Mum?" Luna gasped. Around her, the Jewels could see only Luna but they knew that this is how the Stone worked. It would only show the user the spirits of those summoned by it. From Luna's perspective, she saw her mother smiling at her full of love.
"Yes, Luna. I am here. I cannot stay too long in this way. I feel stretched out."
"I understand, Mum. The others told me. They..." Luna paused to swallow the lump in her throat. "I had to do it. I've missed you so much. Daddy wished he could be here."
Selene nodded, a brief scowl marred her beauty at the thought of her missing husband before it smoothed out as she set that aside. "I know, honey. And I have missed you too. However, I have seen bits and pieces as you have grown up, dear. You have made me so proud! A Ravenclaw just like your mother, and every bit as beautiful as I had imagined you would be."
"Thank you, Mum." Luna dripped happy tears as she heard the words she had needed to hear. "I wish I could hug you!" Harry gave her a hug instead. "Can you tell me what it is like?"
"There is no pain here, dear, but it can be so very boring after a while."
"What about the 'next great adventure'?"
Selene shook her head. "Nothing so grand about it. We can watch the living but we cannot interact under normal circumstances. It can be a torture seeing what is going on but unable to do a thing about it." She put on a smile for her daughter's sake. "Happily, I haven't wanted to do quite as much since your young man started to help you out. Please thank him for me."
"I will!"
"And always remember that I love you, dear. You are so very special. You have your father's goodness and my intelligence, like I always told him."
"I remember, Mum. How long can you stay?"
"I can stay a little longer, dear. Now, tell me everything."
And Luna gave her a big smile and started off by talking about her time at Hogwarts. She described how she had seen the castle at night, how the students at first hadn't known how to react to her. When some of them started to bully her, Harry and his friends had stepped in. They had included her in their circle of friends and later she had been able to include Ginny again into that number.
All too soon, Luna had to stop. Selene's face was creased with the strain of staying and she knew she had to let her mother go for now. A bittersweet smile and Luna set the Resurrection Stone down on the table before her.
Harry picked her up and carried her to a couch where he and Padma cuddled with her until her tears dried up. The others gave her peace until she rejoined them, talking out her experience. As the Clan had taught Harry, and he had taught the Jewels, pain shared was pain divided. Joy shared was joy multiplied.
That evening, Luna took strength from the support of the others as the hole in her heart from the death finally started to fill in. In the morning, after picking at his food for a while, Harry sat down in the same room that Luna had used, with Hermione and Susan at his sides.
Three quick turns of the Stone and he saw his parents. Less than alive but more colourful than ghosts, they resembled the form that Riddle had taken in the Chamber of Secrets. Between one instant and the next, they appeared, gazing in wonder at their boy.
"Harry!" The man with messy black hair exclaimed. "You managed to call us! Though you could have done so sooner," James Potter admonished with a grin.
"Hush, James! You know he couldn't have denied Luna her chance. Besides, I'm proud of him for putting her needs before his own."
James rolled his eyes at the dig at his own past. "Yes, dear."
"James? Lily?"
"Yes, son, it really is us. I can see he's wondering if we're real. He must have got that from your side, Lily."
"Well, the Hat did try to put me in Ravenclaw. Maybe if I had known about their private library I'd have agreed."
"And I am glad it didn't." James replied and kissed her cheek. "Harry, ask Padfoot and Moony about the time they put that potion in the Ravenclaw boy's showers, turning them red and gold after they blatched us in the game."
Harry grinned, confusing the girls and made a clone that went off to do just that. Lily looked on approvingly.
"I can see you have heard about your father and his pranks, Harry."
"Padfoot has been most helpful, Lily."
"Harry, why aren't you calling us Mum and Dad?" James asked, trying to hold off any hurt.
"I don't really know you. Before, when I was living with the Dursleys, they said you were a pair of drunks who died in a car crash, abandoning me to them where I was a burden on good, normal folk. Later, when the Clan rescued me from there, they let me call them my Mums and Dad. For most of my life, they have been there for me. It is thanks to them that I remember you at all. They guided me, helped me relive the time you let me on that toy broom, James, and the bollocking you got afterwards when I scared the cat."
James and Lily smiled remembering it, though she hadn't thought it funny at the time. "So what can we do?" Lily asked.
"We can talk. I want to get to know you better. All I saw was from a baby's perspective. Now that I'm older, I was hoping to get to know the real you. I can't call you Ma-ma and Dadda any more, can I?" He gave the pair a brilliant smile. "Especially now that I know you're real. That pair of overgrown delinquents confirmed your part in the Ravenclaw revenge."
His parents relaxed and James led off by describing some of the pranks they had pulled in school, getting Harry to laugh when he talked about the time the Marauders had a prank backfire on them, coating them in blue slime at breakfast. Harry found it weird. In some ways, he was mentally far older than his parents but in others he was still just a teenage male with all the hormones. For the first time in a long while, someone made Harry blush. That happened when Lily described some of her own days as a student, comparing it to his activities with his Jewels.
Though he saw that they were feeling pain an hour later, they refused to go until the very last moment when they could stand it no longer, making him promise to call them again the next day so they could pick up where they left off.
For lunch, Harry made all the Jewels their favourites. The manual labour kept his hands occupied and the familiar task soothed his mind while he dealt with the change in his life. Hermione grinned at Harry when he brought out desserts including her favourite pumpkin pie.
"Thank you, Harry. You shouldn't have."
"I wanted to. It helped to give me something to do while I wrapped my mind around all this."
"Mmmm." Amelia moaned as she tasted the caramel fudge. "You can do this any time."
The others smiled and Daphne made sure that she got to sit on the real Harry's lap, leaning into him as he brushed her long, red hair. The simple task relaxed both of them and soon he was taking an all too rare nap. Daphne stayed with him until he woke, giving her beau a kiss on the cheek and helped him to his feet, before leading him off to the main part of the compound to talk with the Kitsunes about his experience.
Each day, the Stone was used to give comfort to those who had lost loved ones. Few spoke about their time but the ones who did seemed lighter, like the weight had been lifted off their shoulders, in the days that followed.
Three days before the new year, the Clan held a grand ball for all their allies. All the best outfits, all the best food and entertainments, it was the highlight of the season for anyone who was anyone in magical society. The Ministry was also holding a ball on New Year's Eve but the event had been well and truly eclipsed by the lavish scale of the one to be held in Cranleigh and Minister Bones knew it.
If she hadn't been invited to both, then she might have had something to say about it. As it was, she was looking forward to the Clan's function more. Though the food would be the same as the Clan had secured the catering contract, the Clan had a better record with throwing parties than just about anyone.
At six o'clock that Saturday evening, the cream of the British Wizarding 'World' started to arrive, dressed to the nines in all their finery. Each guest or couple were announced by one of Naruto's clones, disguised as a servant, and admitted to the grand ballroom that had been resized to fit all the guests.
By seven, most of their guests had been shown to their seats and Naruto called for their attention. "Thank you, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to the Potter Ball. Tonight, we have a seven course banquet prepared in your honour before we commence the dancing with a waltz."
Naruto talked easily, his trained voice relaxing their guests as he spoke of the various entertainments on offer that evening. Harry tuned out his voice having already seen the speech draft, raking his gaze over the gathering and taking in their appearance and attitudes.
Before he knew it, it was time for the first dance and Harry wanted to groan. He loved to dance with all of his ladies, and Daphne was certainly easy on the eyes as any man would attest and a lovely partner. However, his choice of opening partner had been carefully chosen based on politics not on his own preferences for a good time.
"Don't worry, Harry." Daphne told him as he invited her to dance. "Just because it is political doesn't mean you have to have a bad time."
"I know, Daphne. But I like to dance with you because of who you are, not who your family is. I guess I have to hope that this does help repair the strains in the Alliance."
"It will, Harry. The older magical families have been concerned that they are getting squeezed out as the Alliance includes more Muggleborns each year. They fear there is less need for them with the Foundation getting involved in more and more businesses in their world and getting more profit in ours."
"And on the other side, our newer allies may get worried that this means we are siding against them." Harry fell silent for a time, enjoying the dance and Daphne's presence.
After a minute, Daphne decided he had brooded long enough. She poked his side and gave him a grin. "That's why you get to dance with Hermione next."
"Oh, woe is me for I must dance with beautiful ladies?" Harry chuckled. "You're right. The only part I object to in all of this is being told who to dance with, rather than getting to ask you myself."
"You mean letting us decide who you're going to ask, don't you?" Daphne asked playfully.
The Ball was a big hit. Just how big a hit became clear when Minister Bones opened the Ministry Ball. Though the food was the same quality, nothing else was. The Potter Ball was filled with people with a common goal and interests, set up by people who had thrown hundreds of grand parties and run with an ease and confidence that made everything appear to run perfectly.
The Ministry Ball was filled with people who could afford the rather expensive price of admission, the self-styled cream of society or at least what rose to the top. The people who set up and ran the event had neither the imagination nor the experience to match the previous event and wisely refused to create a pale copy with their magic. Instead, they used the same formula as in previous years and it showed. Both in good ways as the people knew their jobs and in bad ways as they didn't bring enthusiasm to those jobs, instead 'preserving traditions' by reusing the same decorations as fifty years ago or more.
Amelia covered a grimace at the familiar thought by sipping her drink while the new Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, the third in the position since her election, gave an empty speech. The windbag extolled about the glories of the Wizengamot and of Wizardkind, particularly British wizardry, over foreign or non-wizard muck. Oh, he didn't outright say it, but the meaning was there.
At long last, the windbag sat down to a rather warmer round of applause than he had earned. Amelia stood up, all eyes upon her, as she gave her own speech.
"Tonight, it is my duty and my pleasure to welcome many of the finest people in the country to the Ministry Ball. As another year comes to a close, I can report with pride that our country has started to regain its footing at long last. For too long, my predecessors valued stability or their own vaults over the needs of our people but that has started to change. The corrupt and malevolent have no place in our government and bit by bit they are being removed from their positions of power."
The expressions of the people before her were just what she was expecting. Most Ministers used the occasion to boast about their successes and praise the listeners. Her speech superficially shared those characteristics but beneath that it was no less than an attack on the 'business as usual' mentality and the expectation that people will look the other way when corruption occurs. In short, Amelia was serving notice to all of them that her zeal for rooting out the criminals was as strong as ever, as well as reminding them that she was still alive and in power, finishing with a jab at their egos. It wasn't like it could gain her any new enemies anyway.
"..and in conclusion, it is thanks to your efforts that the Ministry is what it is today!"
She got a lukewarm reception from many in the audience, the people she had mentioned as the corrupt and malevolent were present in strength since they were also the wealthy in many cases or connected to them in others. Her own supporters made up for their lack, applauding her and making their own positions crystal clear.
The band picked up with the first tune of the evening and Amelia moved out onto the dance floor with Theodore Tonks as her opening partner. Originally, she had wanted to dance with Harry first but she had talked herself out of the idea. While he was still seen as a heroic figure, he was far too young for that. Instead, with Andromeda's full support, her husband Ted had asked the Minister for the first dance, showing her support for the reforms in a different way.
Unfortunately, Ted wasn't half the dancer Harry was and he stepped on her feet twice before the first dance was through. Happily, he had warned her that might be the case and she had cast Cushioning Charms beforehand, saving her poor feet.
After the first dance, things settled into something close to their usual pattern. People got up to dance while others sat and talked, or drank the 'expensive' wines on offer. Amelia had put the contracts out to bid for the Ball with various Potter Alliance members getting most of the contracts. This practice had surprised a number of the other bidders who had expected to be picked based on the size of the bribe they offered.
'Instead, there are some fresh prisoners awaiting trial.' Amelia thought gleefully. Their arrests had sent a shockwave through the business community. For so long, bribes had been built into the bidding process that the change rocked a number of the 'privileged elite' out of their comfort zones. Without the Ministry contracts, they had to make up the lost revenue with private sector business and they simply couldn't compete fairly. Already, their businesses were failing and the shockwaves were only growing.
'By this time next year, we may not have to worry about the wealth of the Dark families being used to support their precious Dark Lord.' It was a novel way of fighting the Dark, but Amelia found it amusing. The process was really just an expansion of what the Lily Potter Foundation and the Potter Alliance had begun four years prior, overturning the old ways with an industrial revolution.
When the third dance began, Amelia found herself smiling up at Harry Potter, the same young man who was so much in her thoughts and her arms each night.
"Would you care for this dance, Madam Minister?"
"I would indeed, Mister Potter." Amelia allowed him to pull her to her feet then escort her onto the dance floor where they put on a display of fine dancing for the crowd, not allowing the nastier sort to make snide remarks on the quality of their footwork.
Harry pulled her out of those reflections with a smile and a dip. Amelia let her hair down, figuratively speaking, and enjoyed the rest of the night.
Over the holidays, the Flying Foxes had had fun. They got presents, went shopping on New Year's Eve the trio went out dancing at a club Katie knew. When Angelina was asked for her ID, the witch started to pull her wand right in front of the crowd. Luckily for all concerned, Alicia covered for her mistake by paying the cover charge and flashing a bit of cleavage. The bouncer on door duty grinned and let them in. Really, he knew they were over 16 and that was all he was supposed to make sure of at that venue.
Angelina and Alicia had a few drinks while Katie stuck to cokes and they danced until the small hours of the morning before coming home, thoroughly exhausted. All too soon, it was time to return to the chilly hills of Scotland for the last half a year of schooling.
The papers were screaming about another 'attack' by the Dark Lord. He had staged another demonstration, walking his masked Death Eaters through Knockturn Alley where they met a more welcome reception than in Diagon Alley and occupying it for all of two minutes before Aurors and hidden Lifeguards launched dozens of spells their way through the middle of the street. As they had practiced, the Death Eaters conjured stone walls to absorb the spells then Apparated out one row at a time in a series of thunderclaps.
"Hah! Some attack. They showed up and got their arses kicked. No, what I want to know is this stuff about 'new businesses'." Alicia grinned.
"New shops!" Katie cheered. "Well, when they get around to pulling the old ones down. Mum was telling me that last time, a lot of the land was snapped up by the 'elite' after You- Voldemort's fall for a pittance. She says that this time around, the Minister has promised open bidding for the rents on the destroyed properties."
Alicia pouted. "But that will take forever! Months and months with how slow the Ministry always is."
"Nope!" Katie grinned. "They've already called in the assessors and warders. New wards are up and the curse breakers are going through the wreckage. Mum says they've already cleaned out half of Knockturn Alley."
"What? but the paper said that only a few shops were damaged." Alicia wondered at the coverup.
"Only a few were hit by the Death Eaters. More shops got hit when one of the first group exploded unleashing chaotic magical fires into a lot of the rest. By the time that the shop owners gave permission to Lily's Lifeguards to go onto their property to save it, well, there wasn't much left of the old Alley. "
"Didn't the DMLE send their own people?" Alicia questioned Katie.
"Sure, and they were there first but the crooks wouldn't even come to the door."
"Couldn't happen to more deserving wizards." Angelina made her pronouncement piously.
"So did your Mum tell you who was going to win the bids on the new rental contracts?"
"No, but I can guess who will get one of them. She and Dad have already taken out a loan from the Foundation and applied for leave to start their own business. There's a market for defensive enchantments these days, Dad says."
Alicia ignored her friend's gasp. "Enough of that rot. We won't get to see for ourselves for weeks, anyway. What about the most important stuff?"
"What's that?" Katie asked with one raised eyebrow.
"Boys, of course." The elder pair giggled.
Katie rolled her violet eyes. "And who did you have your eye on?"
"Harry Potter, of course." Angelina grinned. "He is such a dish. And since he expects us girls to allow him other girls, well, he can't object when I have other guys. It's perfect."
"Please!" Alicia groaned. "I want a guy I can have all to myself. Not one who's got other girls like that." She looked ill as she thought of other girls trying to force her participation in group activities. Not that any girl ever had but it was a remarkably common fear.
Katie sighed as the two rehashed their argument. "So who do you want, Alicia? You did bring it up, after all."
"Cedric was cute." She offered up the name. "Tall and silent type."
"He was only silent around you, Alicia, because you wouldn't let him get a word in." Angelina laughed as the other girl huffed, crossing her arms. "How about you, Katie? Does anyone get your cauldron boiling?"
"Oh, one or two are cute enough like that Sixth Year Puff MacMillan. He's certainly put on some muscles in all the right places."
"But?"
"Butt? No, Harry's got the best butt." Katie stuck her tongue out at the girls when they groaned, then smiled wickedly as she thought of the time she glimpsed Harry's butt.
Alicia found herself nodding. "That is true. And he's one hell of a Chaser, too. Plus he is rich."
Katie shook her head. "I wouldn't go after him if money was all he had going for him. I want the real thing. And it doesn't hurt that he has the whole package."
"I want his package alright." Angelina grinned and laughed with her friends. In all three minds, the thought of landing a whopper like Harry grew stronger as the train raced north.
Thank you for reading and for all your support and feedback. Thanks as always to my betas Cloud Zen (FFN ID 894440) and Daisy Duck (FFN ID 5921525) for all their hard work. Any errors remaining are my responsibility.