Chapter 74 - Purely Research

After they had changed into their uniforms and cast liberal warming charms, the Flying Foxes exited the train and hurried into a carriage up to the castle. One change that Headmistress McGonagall had made that got no serious objection was to improve the heating of the place in the colder months. Heating an old stone pile like Hogwarts took real effort and funding, something that was slashed over the centuries and the budget reassigned to other departments.

Though some mocked her for being soft, those complaints weren't made by anyone who still had to live at Hogwarts over winter. Even some of the most recalcitrant Slytherins would have voted her for best Headmistress for that.

"There's a difference between respecting tradition and being a bloody idiot!" Katie muttered, remembering some of the words she had overheard in Diagon Alley on the issue. "There's no point writing an essay if you're too cold to feel your fingers. And it makes casting any spells a nightmare!"

"Talking about Saint Minerva?" Parvati joked from her place a few seats to Katie's right.

"Too right I am. And you notice any of the staff complaining?"

"Only that it wasn't done years ago, of course." Parvati had an infectious smile. "Professor Flitwick says it's saved him a dozen Galleons in headache potions already from all the shaky handwriting he's avoided."

"I still say it's Harry we have to thank for that." Ginny was sitting to Parvati's left. "If he hadn't got her to stand up for herself again, we wouldn't have our nice warm dorm tonight."

"You want to thank Harry for everything." Parvati teased the fiery redhead.

"So what if I do?" She giggled. "It's fun and a lot of the time it's right, too."

"How much fun?" Katie asked with her own giggle.

"Lots!" Parvati said it just ahead of Ginny.

"Maybe I should find out for myself, then." Katie said with a butter wouldn't melt in her mouth expression.

"That sounds like fun." Angelina agreed, entering the conversation. "I know I always want a little more fun in my life."

"So why didn't you take my twin brothers' offer?" Ginny asked cattily.

"Let's just say that I didn't want the rest of what they were offering." Angelina and the other Chasers shuddered, remembering the times the pair had spiked food or drink for their own ends. They still didn't trust anything the twins prepared for them, refusing to touch it no matter what pleas were made or Oaths offered.

Ginny nodded, not entirely sure what their problem was but she could understand girls not liking Gred and Forge. They were the reason she had created the Bat Bogey Hex in imitation of one bout of accidental magic. That was why the spell, the first she learned to cast silently, had the incantation "Damned twins" and an upward flick with her wand, recreating the movements of the original incident. They had learned better after that, and weren't terrible to her, even helping her a time or two, but she felt they needed to grow up.

As the feast for their return to school broke up, a transparent bribe if ever there was one, Angelina made a beeline for the Hufflepuff table followed a half-pace behind by Katie and Alicia. Once there, and with the watchful eyes of what seemed like half the table on them, Angelina stepped up to Harry.

"Harry, can we talk?" Angelina asked in a firm voice.

Harry glared back. He had heard those words before from girls and it never failed to be a nerve-wracking experience. Seeing Katie shrink away, he felt guilty and softened his expression for her. "Okay, come this way."

'I'd like to come another way, Harry.' Angelina thought to herself as she followed Harry, eyes tracking his gorgeous butt.

They came to one of a dwindling number of abandoned classrooms where Harry threw up a number of protective spells. The trio of girls were surprised by both the number and strength of his privacy measures. Faking a measure of confidence, Harry sat down with one leg on the desk facing the trio and waited.

"Well, you wanted to talk to me." Harry invited when they didn't speak up quickly.

"Yes, we did. Oh, Merlin, why is it so hard." Alicia moaned quietly, her chest heaving as she huffed.

'Yes, indeed, it is hard.' Harry thought to himself, Alicia's moans and actions making him think of his Jewels.

Seeing the others weren't speaking, Katie figured it was up to her. "Thank you for coming, Harry. My friends and I were talking on the train about who we liked the most here at Hogwarts."

"Wouldn't that be each other? You are all friends." Harry replied, keeping his mirth from his face.

"No!" Alicia put in.

"Well, yes, we do like each other." Katie corrected her. "But that wasn't what we meant. We were talking about guys and.." She trailed off, unable to say the rest of it as all the blood in her seemed to have rushed to her cheeks.

"Ah."

"And we wanted to talk to you because you're the hottest guy in the school." Angelina had found her courage again. "Plus none of your other girls have had any complaints about your performance. Rumour has it you must have used some ancient rituals to 'enhance' things."

"I'm sure rumours have a lot to say about me. But why should that matter to me?"

"Please don't be difficult about this." Alicia complained. "It's hard enough already to approach you."

"We want in."

"In on what, exactly? Just what do you think goes on that you want to join?"

"A lot of sex." Angelina grinned. "And pampering."

"And girl talk." Alicia added when Harry didn't reply.

"Love." Katie said, getting a nod from Harry.

"Well, I can bring your request to my Jewels."

"Can't you decide for yourself, Harry?" Angelina teased him.

"Of course, I can. What I won't do is decide for the others as well. They are my loved ones, my treasured Jewels, not my slaves." Harry gave the rebuke as mildly as possible given the content but he could see it went through. Nevertheless, he could see they were relieved.

"Well, we can still catch up with them if you want to start tonight."

Alicia coughed, her mind going to the gutter. "Tonight?!"

"Yes, of course. I wouldn't want to be left hanging if I were in your shoes, so I was thinking to introduce you all to them and let you get to know them better."

"That's not some euphemism, is it, Harry?"

"No." Harry laughed softly. "Sorry, I wasn't even thinking of sex." 'For once.' "I meant you could talk to them about your decision and see if you can get along with us. If you can, then maybe things can go further."

"Oh!" Despite her dark skin, her blush was clearly visible to Harry. "Ok, let's go."

The foursome, now relaxed from their earlier tension, headed up to the East Wing Hall that had long become the place Harry and his Jewels had made their own. Once there, he knocked on the door and waited for it to be opened, seeing Daphne's curiosity in her eyes as she opened the door. Harry gestured to his guests and followed them, appreciating the view much as they had earlier.

"Well, Gryffindors forward." Katie muttered under her breath and stepped forward, introducing herself as "Katie Bell, future Jewel in training." Startled by her lead, Angelina and Alicia did the same under the scrutiny of the ladies there.

Luna walked up and hugged Katie. "Welcome, Katie! I know you'll have a wonderful time with us."

Trying to be good Hufflepuffs despite their preference for their friend Katie, Susan and Hannah did the same for the other newcomers, noting how Alicia seemed a little stiff and filing it away for later. Lisa Turpin let off a firework spell and summoned some butterbeers for the new Gryffindor girls and Ginny came up, asking them about Quidditch and breaking the ice the rest of the way. While it was early days, Ginny at least was hopeful that all three would go all the way.

While in public, Justin and the other guys were supportive, in private was another matter.

"What are they thinking?" Roger asked.

"I know, I can't believe they're allowing Spinnet and Johnson that close." Terry shook his head.

"It's obvious, guys." Justin answered. "They applied and they're Ginny's friends. Loyalty."

"But everyone knows Johnson and her record with guys. She's practically the school broom!" Dean cried.

"Oi!" Justin growled and slapped the back of Dean's head. "You're talking about Harry's new girlfriend."

"She shouldn't be. She's no good for them. They're serious about each other and that's something Angelina has never been about her ex's."

"Better her than Alicia. Merlin, has that girl ever been quiet when a little girl on girl action has been mentioned in her earshot? Just last month me and Seamus were talking about a little recreational reading he got hold of and she overheard us. You'd swear we had told her to go down on a hag from Knockturn Alley the way she went on!" Dean griped.

"Yeah, which bit of reading was it?"

"Last month's Playboy." He shrugged. "There was this one picture, these three girls, it had to be faked. No one could be that flexible." Dean grinned. "Though I'd love to see them prove me wrong."

The guys laughed and Wayne replied. "Still, you've got a point. Well, two. I wouldn't mind watching either, but also Alicia. How's she going to react when she finds a couple of the girls sharing beds?"

Justin winced. "I'm getting a headache just thinking about it."

Ernie nodded. "Still, let's not jinx it for our friends. Now, who's got the chips?"

The new year brought with it more than just interesting times for one Harry Potter. South of Hogwarts, two groups were plotting things that would change the world as they knew it. In his throne room, the Dark Lord was sitting on his throne regally, to all appearances. Internally it was something very different. Simply put, he was brooding. He didn't know how to counter the changes to the state of British magical society and he had heard the mutterings in the rank and file Death Eaters. They were coming to doubt him! And he admitted, only to himself, that they were right to do so. He had tried a few different tactics to bring things back to how they were supposed to be but at best they only slowed the tide.

His agents in the Ministry were being weeded out, made known to the cursed Minister Bones and her allies by their own loose lips while he was bodiless. Oh, she hadn't tried to convict them based on hearsay and rumour. Oh no! She had used it to begin investigations into their dealings and connections, finding evidence of their casual corruption and fun with Muggle baiting. One by one, each were arrested, pumped full of Veritaserum and interrogated. During their trials, their questioning was read into the court record and the defendants were allowed to present their cases.

Since they were guilty as sin of the charges, all were promptly convicted by the Wizengamot, though only barely in many cases. Still, that was enough to get them locked up where they could be questioned in greater depth about their knowledge on other matters. The damned Aurors had managed to arrest ten of his supposedly hidden Death Eaters in the last six weeks. At least the Dark Lord had had the sense to see to the security of his forces. By altering the Dark Mark, he had prevented any from giving out the names of others they knew to be Death Eaters.

That reduced his army's effectiveness, however, as they now had to refer to each other by numbers, even when face to face, when they talked about anything to do with him or his campaign. Voldemort resisted the urge to rest his face in his palms as he heard Carrow scrabbling yet again for a list of who was who. Not even the Imperius could force the useless squib to memorise over a thousand names and numbers. He had tried.

In Surrey, miles from their home in Cranleigh and hidden from the sight of anyone, regular or magical, Anko had to resist the urge to laugh creepily like her former sensei once had. There was something about what they were doing that appealed to what she came to call the 'mad scientist' in her. When the urge passed, she laid upon the lab bench the corpse of a wizard who had been convicted of murdering an entire family and sentenced to Azkaban. He had survived for a few months before his heart gave out, shocking those who knew him at the proof he'd had one.

Now, his body would advance the boundaries of medical knowledge, whether he wanted to or not. The Clan had checked Ministry law carefully, such as it was complete with Byzantine loopholes and restrictions. While raising inferi was most definitely banned as Dark Magic, there weren't many other laws that still applied to the bodies of convicted criminals who had died during their sentence. Technically, that made what the Clan had planned legal, for a given value of legal at least.

After making a fifth round of checks on their preparations, including the application of 'missing' magic suppressing cuffs, Tsunade sighed. "I can't see anything wrong but I have the feeling something will go wrong anyway."

"That's what we are here to find out, Tsunade-sama." Shizune found herself slipping back into old habits when her mind was elsewhere. Right then, she was finishing her own final checks. "Whatever happens, we are as prepared as we can get."

Indeed, the others had insisted they go on full combat alert in case the result was dangerous, even prepared to throw the body through a portal to one of the dead worlds they had encountered. Short of that, they had jutsus ready to incinerate the entire area, though they hoped never to need that, either. As far as the Clan knew, nothing would go wrong but you didn't live long as a ninja if you trusted to that in the face of the unknown.

Naruto finished preparing both bodies, one an unconscious young man from London's criminal underworld who had a habit of slicing his victims and watching them bleed out. Yugito was present in person, the only one of them to do so as it was her technique they were going to use and the extra mastery might make the difference.

The clones finished all the Fuinjutsu necessary. Yugito charged up her chakra and poured it into the technique. Nothing! After retreating to a safe distance, she left the clones to their work, checking over both bodies and beginning their autopsies.

"Nuts!" Anko cried. "I was sure this one would be fine."

"From here, it looks like it was closer than any of our other attempts." Ino tried to soothe her frustrations. "Each time we get closer, and it looks like your idea to heal up the body and add extra suppressors helped."

Tsunade finished her initial examination. "We are nearly there. Their magic is complicating the process enormously but we have almost solved it."

Anko nodded and took out her frustrations with a few kunai, destroying the slasher's body then burying it with an Earth jutsu.

As the cold month passed, Megan Jones found herself unable to enjoy her bed. Asleep, she was having wonderful dreams that scared her while she was awake. Dreams of being with Harry and his Jewels again as one of them, despite her relationship with Justin. She clung closer to Justin during her waking hours, taking him to explore a few broom closets towards the end of the month, believing and hoping that her dreams would pass and so they did, for now.

She threw herself harder into her studies, Quidditch practice and her relationship, hoping that between them she would find happiness and peace.

Justin worried about his girl. He really liked Megan but it was becoming obvious that something was wrong, and he was pretty sure he knew what it was. As the weeks passed, Justin found that he was coming to understand more of his father's talks about the differences between lust and love, and various kinds of love, than he had before.

He knew all along that he was attracted to Megan, and he had thought he was definitely in love with her. Now, he was almost certain he wasn't. He loved her, certainly, but he wasn't in love. It was more the love for a close friend, someone he knew he could trust with his life, with some benefits. He really enjoyed the benefits, and he hoped she did too, but he could see she wasn't in love with him, either. It hurt, that realization, but less than he had expected. It was that moment which drove home that he wasn't in love either.

Now all he had to do was find a way to tell her what he had learned. Well, that and survive her wrath if he upset her when he told her.

On the last weekend of the month, the Cranleigh girls got together for a more studious meeting. Harry's massages were banned for the duration of the gathering, though his other input was certainly welcome, as they worked toward their plans and their careers.

The oldest of them, Sandra Middleton, was working on a PhD in electrical engineering. Using the other Cranleigh girls as sounding boards was doing wonders for her as she did her research and testing. Harry was certainly willing enough, but when she got to talking about it she got very passionate and Harry could be a very pleasant distraction in those cases when really she needed to get on with her project. Business before pleasure as they say.

The younger ladies had their own pursuits but each of them had fine minds, something that was brought out by Harry and the Clan. The studying tricks and techniques the Clan taught improved retention and reduced reading times massively, so the usual barriers to academic achievement were removed. At the same time, the rewards of doing well scholastically had never been higher. Their good marks and easier comprehension set up a feedback loop that parents in the Potter Alliance all found to meet their approval.

The result was exactly what you would expect, with the students finding that studying was more fun than they had thought and cutting back considerably on the need for parental reminders to do their homework.

That's just what they were doing then. Up on a small stage, Nicole was practising forms for her dance school, committing to muscle memory the new routines she had to learn and getting the occasional comment from the others.

Amanda, with her eye for martial arts, was helping her by letting her know when her movements were off. The muscular young woman had an idea for becoming a personal trainer but she wasn't sure if it was for her. Still, she was going to give it her best shot. Thanks to her parents' support, she was already studying for her qualifications and thanks to the Clan and their connections, she had great references for her résumé.

Jess was going through the photos of Jennifer's most recent fashion shoot with the model, while Jennifer leafed through some fashion magazines as she took a break from studying business administration. While the French ladies were attending a Paris show by their competitors, and not-so-accidentally disrupting it, Jennifer had her eye on the longer term growth of their fashion label.

Lauren yawned and stretched after putting down her laptop. "Does anyone want a drink?" She got up and fetched drinks for the others, using it as an opportunity for balance training with the dozen glasses.

Meaghan and Ella were going over some practice exams for their A levels. While the two girls were looking to get into different fields, chemistry and civil engineering respectively, they shared a burden in heavy workloads. The older girls had gleefully informed them that it only got worse from there.

The younger girls, including Ashley, Michelle and Stephanie, took revenge by jumping the queue for massages. Harry played along with their fun, knowing that games like these were helping all of them deal with the stress, not increasing it with friction and jealousy.

Unlike most of their elders, they were following Sandra into the hard sciences and engineering. Where Sandra was into computers, Ashley had her eyes on the stars. Literally, she wanted to go there and she had planned for a future in the aerospace industry as her path to that goal. It required nearly perfect marks and a tough selection of subjects but that wasn't stopping her.

Michelle, when she wasn't enjoying herself dancing, was looking at a career in programming, a male-dominated field to be sure but there were a lot of startup companies out there and if none of them would take a chance on her, then she was willing to create her own. Ella likewise was preparing for a career in the male-dominated field of civil engineering, or architecture if she didn't make it in her first choice. Still, she had been keeping her marks up, well above the cut-off for her chosen university course, something she had been doing ever since that day Harry and the Clan came into her life.

Stephanie was directly following Sandra's footsteps, and the older girl had often been a big help to her, pointing out pitfalls and mistakes to Stephanie which Sandra had found out through experience.

With everything that they were doing, their combat training had had to take a back seat and there was no chance their parents would let them volunteer for anything dangerous like joining the Lifeguards. They knew, even if their daughters did not, that being involved with Harry Potter was quite enough risk for their peace of mind.

Quidditch came up again, to the joy of Ron Weasley. His girlfriend, Romilda Vane, had hinted of going further if he did well and that was all the motivation Ron needed to do his best right from the start. Opposite him was Cho Chang, now in her final year at Hogwarts who had passed up the captaincy in favour of a Chaser who would be better placed to lead them.

While Gryffindors had a reputation of being lazy like lions, in Quidditch they were anything but that. The entire team had trained for this, just like their Ravenclaw opponents, but unlike in previous years they were more flexible in their plays. With a far more level playing field, the game promised to be exciting.

Madam Hooch, on her best behaviour after all the staff changes, opened the match and called it as fairly as she was able. Cho and Ron raced around the pitch, both aware that their Seeker duel could decide the outcome of the match. Below them, the dozen remaining players got involved in their own match.

At first, scores were dead even. Just as soon as one side would score, the other team would race up to the other end and even it up, then they would struggle for the next goal. Despite the low scoring, it was a very exciting match for the spectators.

Chasers and Beaters darted through the air, putting on a display of skill and power. It was clear that the Ravenclaws had the edge in skills and tactics, while the Gryffindors had the edge in passion and talent, but the differences were only slight and overall they seemed pretty even. Gradually, the pace of the game slowed as the players tired out. The 'bookworms' faltered sooner and the Gryffindors clawed their way to a good lead. They racked up a hundred points over their rivals before Cho tricked Ron into flying straight at his own Keeper then twisted out of the chaos and grabbed the elusive Snitch.

Victory in the air belonged to the Ravens!

While the Ravens were celebrating their victory over the Lions, the Kitsunes had reason of their own to party. After more planning, brainstorming and tearing down ideas, the experimenters had decided that adding more suppressors was a good idea. Not just on each wrist, they had added them to ankles and neck as well to amplify the protection against magical interference.

Again, they had performed the technique far from any magical being, and lastly, they had healed up the body to the very best of their extensive abilities. As the test progressed, and their subject's body took damage from what little magical backlash they couldn't prevent, they used battlefield healing techniques, quick and precise, to fix the heart, lungs and brain. A final gasp for air, and the wizard opened his eyes, surrounded.

"Muggles!" His cry was equal parts horrified and wondrous. A pause and he tore his fingers at his neck trying to remove the suppressor he found there. The Kitsunes pushed his arms back down. "Release me! Now that I am back, I must have my revenge on that worthless bitch of a wife of mine. How dare she testify against me?"

"Release you?" Tsunade cracked her knuckles. "Not a chance. You are the first wizard we have brought back from the dead." Seeing him rapidly paling as the implications hit, she nodded. "Yes, that's right. You don't have any rights in your precious little Wizarding World, and the legitimate government of this country has never heard of you, much less would come to your aid. No one knows you are alive. No one will stop us."

Anko gave him her best grin from her time working in T&I. "And we have all sorts of questions we want answered. Your cooperation would speed this up but we will get what we want either way."

A trickle of yellow confirmed that the former thief and petty-minded sadist understood his position. Taking hold, they whisked him away in a yellow flash. In the days to come, they confirmed that unlike their original version of the technique, to use the Pure Resurrection Jutsu on a witch or wizard required the consent of the person they were trying to bring back. They also confirmed under cautious testing that it gave the target back their full magic both in power and stamina and in skills.

That was a fun afternoon. Naruto had placed a Flying Thunder God seal on the wizard when they took the suppressors off, allowing him to Apparate again. Immediately, the wizard sneered triumphantly, leaving with a loud 'pop' of displaced air. As soon as he stopped, the Clan sent clones to follow, putting the wizard to a battle of endurance that he had no chance of winning.

Exhausted, he was returned back to his cage scared and more than a little humbled. They had to put him through his paces repeatedly, checking every organ and system down to the cellular level before they would work him over again.

They wanted to be sure that the technique worked to create a stable body before they tried it on anyone they might care about. They killed the wizard who had delighted in torturing young girls with a lot of satisfaction. He might have escaped full retribution for his actions, but they had made good progress on it and also advanced their understanding of medicine.

Vicky pronounced them "Truly as clever as foxes." That was the highest praise by her lights, given for finding a way to snatch their prey from beyond the grave.

At Hogwarts, there was a sense of things being off-balance in the castle. Many had noted Megan Jones' romance, thinking that this would be only the first of many witches to leave Harry's unusual relationship and return to the dating pool. Instead, three new witches had joined up, all of them considered Outstandings in the boys' rating system. There was fresh grumbling from the likes of Ron, Dean and Seamus in Gryffindor, carefully away from any delicate ears, about the Boy-Who-Lived poaching more fine talent. Luckily for her brother, Ginny decided that they shouldn't tell Ron's girlfriend Romilda.

Within the ranks of the Jewels, there was a different cause to the feeling. Although Katie was doing her best to fit in as a potential Jewel, Alicia and Angelina were causing ripples in their harmony. Where Katie took her cues from Cho Chang and Sally-Anne, listening to their advice on what was expected from them and so on, Alicia and Angelina wanted to do things their own way.

A certain amount of that was certainly natural and expected. It took an adjustment to fit into any new situation let alone one as odd as this. However, Angelina wanted to push for dominance. Harry tried to head it off.

He gathered her up with a gentle kiss on her cheek and guided her to a disused classroom. Angelina grinned and tried to undress him but he took her hands in his own, stilling them. "I was hoping we could have a quiet talk, actually."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I have noticed that things between us have been getting strained."

"I don't know what you're talking about." And Angelina really didn't. She thought what was happening was normal enough and far more relaxed than she had expected.

"Yes, you do. You have been pushing to improve your status in the group."

"Oh, that?"

"Yes, that." Harry gave a lopsided smile. "I know you're new to all this, to us. That's why I wanted to have a talk and prevent a problem erupting. Among ourselves, we look to help each other because that is what helps each of us best. We do it because we care for each other. We don't do things that will hurt the others because that hurts us. My parents call it 'enlightened self-interest' when they're being all formal, but really it is just being sensible about things."

Angelina nodded slowly. "But who decides what you do as a group? I mean someone has to be in charge."

"Someone is in charge, if things call for it. Me, if we're talking about combat or defence training. But do you need someone telling you to avoid garlic at dinner? Of course not. You know when you need to be careful about things like that. Everyone does. For a lot of things, no one gives orders. We decide some things as a group and others we decide for ourselves." Harry added a smile, hoping to get through to her without hurting her.

"But what about among us girls? Who gets to decide?"

"I just said, we decide for ourselves where our actions only affect one person, and if it affects the others, we talk to them."

"What if we can't agree?"

"That is a good question. It doesn't happen too often any longer. We know each other fairly well, and that means we know what hurts each other. If it does come up, don't be afraid to ask one of the others for advice. We can all be wrong, or get the wrong idea. And a fresh viewpoint is almost always welcome."

Angelina blinked. This wasn't what she had expected. However... "It will take some getting used to, but it sounds good, Harry. So is there anything I can do for you?" She gave him a smile.

"Just keep in mind that we're all human, and you'll be fine." Harry kissed her gently and she moaned, deepening the kiss.

Alicia had heard of Angelina's talk, and the results. She wanted to accept it all but she was having trouble.

"Harry?"

"Hi, Alicia." Harry closed the door, figuring that she would want privacy for this.

"I was hoping to talk to you if that's ok."

"Of course, it is. I always have time for you."

Alicia smiled. "Thank you, Harry. All this pampering could really turn a girl's head."

Harry grinned. "I aim to please. Speaking of pleasing, how are you finding things?"

Her smile dropped away. "I don't know. I would love to say everything is perfect, but it seems strange."

"What does?"

"Everything. Nothing." She huffed. "For a start, there are other girls."

"You knew that when the three of you approached me," Harry pointed out gently.

"Oh, I know, but it still seems a bit weird. There are lots of other girls, but you still have time for me."

Harry nodded, waiting. None of the Flying Foxes had taken the Oath or learned about the clones yet.

"And, well, there are rumours about kinky sex and l- and things." Alicia blushed. "And yet, what do I find? I haven't seen any evidence of any sex at all, especially not that, and no one argues or forces the others into things."

"I should hope not! There's no reason to force anyone into things they're not ready for."

"Oh, not just that, but even little things, like trying to get the girls to play Gobstones or go flying. Anytime someone comes close to getting pushy, another girl puts up her finger and reminds the other girl of the First Law."

"Do you know what the First Law is?"

"'Good girls get rewarded.'" Alicia quoted. "To be honest, I thought at first that the reward was sex but it isn't, is it?"

"No." Harry shook his head. "It can be just about anything, from massages right up to a new dress from Bewitched. Each Jewel has her own preferences, which I do my best to remember when it comes to surprising her, and you, but you're also free to name something you'd like ahead of time."

Alicia nodded. She had heard all of this already but it was still a bit of a shock that there were so few limits and so few arguments between the Jewels. She hadn't even seen a single fight.

"So, is it just a matter of settling in, Alicia? Are there any other concerns or questions?"

Alicia bit her lip and shook her head. "I can't say. I mean, I don't know how to say it."

Harry repressed a sigh of frustration and settled in for longer talk. "That's ok. We have plenty of time. As you have seen, we don't want to rush you."

While he hoped that Alicia would make the transition, her reactions told him that his initial evaluation was right on the money. He doubted she had the mental flexibility to make the adjustments in attitude, to fight her early conditioning, and become a happy Jewel. Still, Ginny had championed her teammate's inclusion and Alicia hadn't caused any problems so far so he was determined to give her every chance.

Where Alicia had gotten an earful, Katie got a mouthful when she got him alone, making out with Harry after checking with the other Jewels first. There may have been some dissenting opinions over Angelina and Alicia, but Katie was well liked by everyone. Somewhat shy, gentle and good-natured, outside of Quidditch, she was already good friends with a number of the Jewels before she made her pitch.

Harry had relayed their words and Hermione grinned at Angelina's blunt idea of a lot of sex. Katie's declaration that she was thinking of love already made her the most likely candidate to be fully accepted, even if she hadn't formed those good friendships with Cho and Sally-Anne as well as her teammate Ginny.

Such things were a world away from her right then, moving into Harry's lap from her perch next to him on the loveseat and not a care that the full Jewels could see them.

Of course, the prospect for the future wasn't all sweetness and light. Like any truly groundbreaking change, there were people who would fight against the Clan's new resurrection technique tooth and nail. Being the sneaky sort, the Kitsune Clan had gathered around them witches and wizards and regular people who were the most used to change, and made them grateful to them for their help.

Naturally, that wouldn't be enough to remove all opposition even within the Potter Alliance. In an effort to reduce it further, they decided to postpone the general announcement until they held another party. Plied with fine wines and exquisite food amid a congenial atmosphere, their listeners would be the most disposed towards acceptance. Well, they could use certain drugs to improve the odds further but that was out of the question. Not only would their stubborn son Harry detect that in an instant, but they were enjoying the chance to leave all that sort of underhanded dealings behind for their holiday.

However, they did want to start using their new technique, both to do good and because it was a shiny new toy to a group who craved novelty in their lives. In that way alone, it was fortunate that the previous rise of Voldemort had left a number of witches and wizards dead. Hinata and Ayame approached one young witch who was important to them and whose family had lost a beloved member.

"Luna?" Hinata's gentle voice called out to the girl whose clone was wandering in the field behind the Kitsune home.

"Hm? Oh, Hinata, Ayame. What can I do for you?"

"Actually, this is more a case of what we can do for you, I think."

"But it isn't even my birthday." Luna half-protested, smiling. "What do you have in mind? Something earth-shattering, no doubt."

The Angels shared a glance then looked back at the young woman whose smile vanished.

"You mean I was right?"

Ayame casually used some Earth-natured chakra, creating a seat for their son's nature loving girlfriend. Luna took it and waited, calling on her training to keep calm. "You were right, Luna. This is something that is most certainly under the secrecy Oaths everyone swore. We intend to tell everyone soon but we wanted to offer this to you early."

"There's no easy way to say it, Luna. We believe we can offer you the safe return of your mother. We checked and we are confident that we can do it without any ill effects to her. No inferi, no Dark Magic of any kind, no magic at all really. However, it does have conditions."

"Conditions?!" Luna's voice rose despite her best efforts. "What do I have to-"

Hinata calmly interrupted her to calm her fears. "Yes, Luna. Conditions. In order for it to work, she has to want to come back. We don't know exactly why this is crucial to the procedure but it is. We also don't know why some wouldn't want to come back after the descriptions we have heard. It sounds so boring! However, that doesn't matter here."

Luna nodded, showing she understood as her pulse returned to normal.

Ayame's voice and expression took on a bit of distaste. "It also requires someone else give up their life. This can be a volunteer, for example, or.. well, someone who hasn't volunteered."

Luna was shocked, naturally. "But why would anyone volunteer?" Luna asked, covering her horror at the other way to make the technique work.

"For any of a number of reasons." Ayame's voice was as gentle as she could make it. "There are people who would see it as a good trade, or a way to end their own pain. Someone suffering from a terminal illness, or simply someone who wants to end their own life. The technique would bring her back at the age she was when she died, but it doesn't matter how old the volunteer is, it would not shorten your mother's life."

"And if no one does volunteer?" Luna asked, despite herself.

"Then we would find someone who deserves to die. Someone despicable whose continued life would only hurt others."

"Like a Death Eater."

"Generally, yes. One of the monsters from the last civil war like the Lestrange brothers or the Carrows, for example. Using them would make everyone safe from them and bring back a wonderful woman."

"I- I don't know." Luna's head was spinning. "Why? Why haven't you approached Harry first?"

"For a couple of reasons. For one, he would have wanted us to ask you before him. You know him almost as well as we do. You know he would do that, so we decided not to waste time. Also, Selene has expressed a wish that she could come back. James and Lily Potter haven't. While we're sure none of them had thought it was really possible, so far Selene is the closest to meeting that first condition."

"And last of all, we don't know if Lily would want to come back. Whatever protection she put on Harry by sacrificing her life for his, surely it would be put in jeopardy if she regained it. However, we don't know, not for sure, just what she did, and whether it required any such thing, or even if it required James' actions too. And that's if they accept the idea. James' hatred of the Dark was legendary and we don't know if he could accept that this was free of its taint. At best, we expect they won't accept a return before Riddle is dealt with, just in case."

Hinata laid out this last piece of news calmly though Luna could see she and Ayame was crying. She didn't really want to imagine that any mother would refuse to get another chance with her child even if she knew some certainly did. For all her strengths, this was something that hit home to all the Angels.

Luna pulled the older women into a group hug, understanding the trust they were showing in her. By unspoken agreement, the trio left that subject alone after the hug, letting Luna mull things over while they talked about the older pair's recent trip to swim with dolphins.

There was a buzz in the air. London's fashion week had arrived and the young ladies of the Potter Alliance were excited. By now, in the fifth year of its existence, almost all of the younger members were thoroughly at home in both societies and the allure of new fashions, even getting to set the trends for millions across the world, hit many girls hard. While some like Hermione were immune to the siren song, others like Lavender and Fleur happily heeded its call.

Under Jennifer's guidance, a few Jewels had become decent models and they were glad to spend time showing off Harry's creations and by doing so, improve the bottom line for their fashion label. Fleur's beauty was a powerful weapon in the fashion wars, making the already well-regarded newcomers even more popular and influential in the industry.

Many who attended their shows came away with an enhanced appreciation for the pair of supernaturally beautiful models who supported their lead, the now-famous Jennifer. The new label had employed a number of regular models too but none could match the draw of the Jewels. Among the attendees were Matt and Liz Granger.

"You know, at first I wondered why on Earth you thought I would want to go to a fashion show of all things." Matt joked to his wife. "Obviously, it couldn't be as thrilling as parachuting or bungee jumping. It all makes sense now."

He turned his head back to await the next model after the previous girl headed backstage to change into her next outfit.

Liz rolled her eyes at her husband's remarks. "It's rare enough we share an outing these days. Please don't ruin it." She watched with pleasure as the young woman came out using a Street walk to show off the latest outfit, swishing a touch to display the outfit in its best light. Despite the heat and the bright lights, Liz noted absently that the woman showed no discomfort at all, but most of her mind was on the fashion on display.

When Matt didn't respond to her mild complaint, she glanced in his direction and discreetly poked his ribs. "Matt, honey, that is Yvette Baudin." At his silence, she continued. "Yes, she is young and beautiful but she is with Harry and not your wife." A second poke managed to remind him of her presence and her husband looked sheepish as he hastily rebuilt his mental defences against the Allure.

"Sorry, Liz. I don't know how it slipped my mind."

"Yes, obviously you were thinking of other things." A heartbeat later, Liz conceded. "She is beautiful. I can see why they were so glad to snap her up for the show."

Matt turned to her, safe now that Yvette had finished her turn on the catwalk, and kissed his wife tenderly in apology. She relaxed in his arms then patted his shoulder, returning to watch the show.

Soon after, it all came to an end and the majority of the fashion reporters quickly trooped out. They had their next shows to attend and they needed to hurry lest London traffic strand them. Half of the models went with them. Matt and Liz went backstage, meeting up with Jennifer, Fleur and Yvette.

"Madame Granger!" Fleur hurried over, giving the older woman a hug and a smile, before accepting a kiss on the back of her hand from Matt.

"So how's business these days?" Matt asked when they sat down while the models took care of post-show tasks, flitting in and out of the room as they undressed and carefully put away the clothes.

"It's wonderful!" Fleur replied enthusiastically. Long gone was all but a trace of her French accent. "We had such a turnout to our show, and a very positive response, yes?"

"Very much so." Liz smiled. "I must say, it all seems to be going well. I just wonder sometimes if it is all too good to be true."

Yvette snuck up and pinched her arm, giggling when she jumped. "See? Not a dream."

Matt chuckled. While he didn't always like seeing his wife dressed in Harry's clothes, he had to admit they had their positives and here, at a fashion show, Liz didn't stand out at all except as the beautiful woman he married all those years ago. 'Smartest decision I ever made.' He let his attention wander as the ladies talked about fashion again, wondering again if he should bring up his thoughts about a career change of his own.

Lately, dentistry had seemed to lose the last of its passion for him and he had been looking up other things he could do with his life. He had kept it quiet from his wife. They had been so distant at times recently and he didn't want to risk their fragile reconciliation. Besides, he still wasn't sure what he would do with himself if he quit his day job.

Thank you all for reading and for your feedback. As ever, please let me know if you spot any mistakes, and many thanks to my betas Cloud Zen and Daisy Duck!