Harry stood terrified at the sound of Mr. Granger yelling. He knew what conversations were happening, and he knew that only one thing could cause a father to unleash a noise as primal as what echoed through Potter Manor.
"I guess he didn't take it well," said Mr. Bell, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"That is very astute of you," said Katie sarcastically. "Maybe it would be a good idea to hide Harry."
Harry simply shook his head and walked towards the door.
"Where do you think you are going," asked Katie.
"To face this head on," said Harry. "Me hiding out here does not help anything. My guess is that it will only enrage the man more."
"Then I am coming with you," retorted Katie.
"Dear, I do not think that Harry coming into what sounds like a very heated discussion with another girl will help this current situation," said Mrs. Bell.
"I'll be fine," said Harry as he gave Katie a quick kiss. "If anything, I have Frederick to keep me safe."
Harry walked out of the room and down the hall towards the stairs. As he got closer, he noticed how sound seemed to have vanished out of the room. It was silent. Too silent for Harry's liking. He slowly went down the stairs and saw Hermione standing up next to her mother while her father was tied to a chair, his face red, and Cyrus holding his wand at him. They all noticed as Harry approached.
"Well Harry, it seems like one person did not like what has happened," said Cyrus.
"Why is he tied up and silenced?"
"After yelling, he thought it would be a good idea to threaten to come up and I quote 'Teach that uppity little shit that he cannot use my daughter like a toy.' It was then that Frederick took that as a threat against your wellbeing and took measures to ensure your safety. I then hit him with a silencing spell to stop others from being disturbed."
Harry walked over to Hermione. He could tell that she had been crying.
"I'm sorry this happened," he said to Hermione and her mother. "This was not something that any of us had planned. I have always loved your daughter. She is my best friend. I will do everything I can to protect her."
"My husband refuses to listen to reason. He feels that magic is stealing his baby girl away from him," said Mrs. Granger.
Harry shook his head in understanding. It made sense. Hermione was gone most of the year and she was never allowed to show her family any of the cool stuff she had learned. He then turned around and faced Mr. Granger
"If I have them remove the bindings and the silencing spell, will you keep calm so that we can talk like civilized people?" Harry did not blink and his eyes were glowing slightly. Mr. Granger nodded his head in agreement. Harry stepped back and ordered Frederick to release the binds. At the same time, Cyrus cancelled the silencing spell.
"Now, I understand the anger," began Harry. "I can see it from your point of view. All you see is a world you never knew existed suddenly appearing and stealing your only child from under you. She is gone most of the year, and then she wants to go spend time at her friends family homes. Now, you get the shock of a lifetime when she comes to you and tells you that Fate and Magic have decided that she is one of four people who are soul bound to one guy. It sounds insane. That is how I saw it. Tell me, how much about me do you actually know?"
"Little to nothing, which is the problem," replied Mr. Granger.
"Let me tell you all a little story. I was raised by my aunt and uncle who absolutely hated magic. They hate everything to do with it. All the way up until I turned 11, I did not know magic existed. My bedroom was a cupboard under the stairs. I was starved at times. I never experienced the affection of love. I have been ridiculed and bullied my entire life, even at Hogwarts. The government cannot decide if I am the hero or villain in their screwed up world. I want to go shopping today because for the first time in my life, I would like clothes that actually fit me. I want to spend time with the beautiful and brilliant young women who somehow got bonded to me. I pity them because they have a guy who has no idea what love feels like. I have no idea what I am doing in any of this." Everyone watched as magic began pouring out of Harry. "One thing you will learn about me is I will protect my friends with my very life! I will protect those who cannot protect themselves with my very life! If I will protect people I don't even know, what do you think I will do to protect the ones that I love!"
Hermione, Katie, Daphne, and Susan all rushed to Harry's side. To say that he was angry was an understatement. They each hooked their arms around his. As soon as they touched him, he felt himself calm down. He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths and then looked back at Mr. Granger.
"I apologize for that. I am still trying to adjust to all of this. Now, I cannot change what has happened. What I can do is give you an opportunity to be more involved with Hermione and actually see what it is that she learns at school. You all are in danger because a moron who thinks he is a god believes that I am all that prevents him from ultimate power, or some shite like that. My home is protected. You can stay here and be involved in Hermione's life, or you can go home. I will ensure that the house is guarded as best I can, but it will not be as safe as being here. You can hate me all you want; I really don't care. I am used to being hated. I will not allow you to put Hermione in this position. She does not need us at each other's throats."
"I may have lost my temper," said Mr. Granger before his wife jumped in.
"May have? Oh no, you completely lost your shite and in front of our daughter and people we barely know! Pull your head out of your ass!"
"I'm sorry," he said, trying to calm her down. "I'm sorry. I'm just scared my daughter will not want to have anything to do with me anymore."
"I won't want to if you keep acting like this," said Hermione. "I want nothing more than to experience life with both of you in it, but you have to accept the part of me that you think is ripping me away. And to threaten a teenage boy! One that happens to be a noble. You are smart dad. I know you are. Use that brain that I gained from you. I don't want to lose you, but I also cannot control what happens anymore."
"I think I just need some time to think on everything," said Mr. Granger. "It is a lot to take in."
"I know that better than most," said Harry. "My entire world got shaken up around a week ago. Take time and we can discuss this later when things are clearer."
"I really am sorry he acted that way," said Mrs. Granger.
"Don't be. I expected one father to want to throttle me. I'm sorry I lost my cool during all of that."
"You do get heated when you start going on rants," said Hermione.
"It's kind of hot," said Daphne, making all the other girls laugh.
"So, now that we have gotten that out of the way," began Cyrus, "Now we need to focus on the outing for the day."
"Amelia is assigning Tonks to be our escort. With her and you Cyrus, I think we will be ok," said Harry.
"It will have to be. Let's go ahead and get freshened up and then we can be on our way," said Cyrus.
While everyone else got ready for the shopping trip, Harry went into his office. It was a quiet place where he could calm himself down. He had started looking through the desk drawers and found several leather bound journals in one of the drawers. They were journals kept by his grandfather. The first was listed as being a war journal from the time of Grindewald. He made a mental note to go through the journals as they could have information that would be helpful in his upcoming struggles. It would also give him better insight into his family history.
Soon, everyone was ready for a trip into muggle London. Cyrus and Tonks went ahead and made sure that they were clear to enter Diagon Alley before letting the teenagers through. Once everything was clear, Hermione took the lead as she knew the muggle side of everything better than the others.
"Harry, I hope you know how exhausting this is going to be," said Cyrus with a chuckle as they rushed to keep up with the girls.
"It can't be that bad," said an ignorant Harry.
"It is exhausting with just one woman. You have four, and all of them are going to be pulling you in different directions to look at different things."
Before Harry could contemplate what he had gotten himself into, he was being pulled into the first store of the day.
"Just stand over here and let them run amok," said Cyrus. "It is best if you stay out of their way. You can disagree with what they choose, but you will have to take their opinions into consideration."
"Maybe I should have just had you and me come," replied Harry as they sat down next to the dressing rooms."
"Would never have happened," said Cyrus. "Daphne is a very skilled shopper because she learned from her mother. If I had tried to sneak you out of the house, those four would have interrogated us until we told them, and then we would be right where we are now, but with them a little more irritated at us."
Shortly after their arrival, a young woman approached Harry and Cyrus.
"Mr. Evans," asked the woman. Evans was the name to be used while they were out.
"That would be me," said Harry.
"If you would come with me. We need to get you measured properly. Your friends are insisting on tailored clothing."
"Tailored may need to wait as he is recovering from some issues and will be growing and putting on mass. I think we will need loose fitting for now, but not as loose as he has now," explained Cyrus.
The young woman nodded in understanding. The four girls soon came back to them with arms full of clothes. This had Harry's eyes bulge in fear.
"Don't worry Harry," said Hermione. "This is to see what your size is and to get an idea of what actually looks good on you."
"Do I have to try all of that on?"
"Probably not. We can just hold it up to you and see what works," said Daphne.
"Or I could assist," said Tonks. "I do have capabilities that could speed this up."
The girls quickly rushed Harry and Tonks into two of the dressing rooms. The two spent the next hour trying on different clothes and modeling them for the girls. Cyrus was sat in a chair behind everyone, after putting up a notice me not charm, and laughing as Harry came out his dressing room looking defeated. He also knew which one was Harry and which one was Tonks looking like Harry because Tonks came out and truly modeled the clothes for everyone.
After what felt like an eternity, The girls gathered all of the clothes that Harry was getting and neatly put the others onto the hangars. Harry looked defeated as he walked up to the counter to pay for everything. A few hundred pounds sterling later, and Harry was escorted out the door of the first store and quickly was ushered into the next store. This time they were shopping for shoes.
"OK. Ground rules for this store," started Harry. "We get me sized, and we get one pair of trainers, a couple dress shoes, and I want to look at work boots." The girls looked defeated as Harry laid down his rules. "I also want all of you to pick out the same." This had the girls perk up and rush into the store, scattering all over.
"Well played Harry," said Cyrus looking very impressed.
"I can't take another round like what I just went through. And this allows me to take my time and make a decision."
"What do you need work boots for?"
"Well, I am more looking for tactical boots. I looked through a journal my grandfather kept during the war with Grindewald. He mentioned tactical boots being useful and comfortable."
"You won't find those here. I know where to get them for you though," said Cyrus. "But a good pair of hiking boots might be good for you as well."
Harry enjoyed shopping for shoes because the girls were not overwhelming him. He ended up with a couple of different pairs of trainers, four dress shoes in different colors and styles, and a pair of dress boots and a pair of Timberland hiking boots. The girls all got one pair of trainers, a pair of flat dress shoes, a pair of heels, and also got a pair of hiking boots at the insistence of Cyrus.
The next two shops were quick for Harry. One was to get him underwear, which the girls did not get to participate in. After that were a couple of coats and jackets. Once again, nothing fitted as Harry was still on the nutrient potions and would put on a lot more mass and grow in height over the next month. They grabbed a quick bite to eat and then Harry informed the ladies that they were all to get a few outfits. Hermione guided the group to a store that she knew everyone would love as it was run by a muggle born witch.
Two hours later and the girls all had a few new outfits and Harry was a few hundred galleons lighter. They all returned to Potter Manor. The girls rushed to their rooms to put everything away while Frederick insisted on taking care of Harry's items. Harry went back into his office and was joined by Cyrus.
"Well that was fun," said Cyrus.
"I think the word you are looking for is exhausting," said Harry with a grin. "That was insane."
"It only gets worse from here."
"Great," replied Harry as he slumped into his chair. "So what is next to take care of?"
"We need to setup a schedule for you and the others. Etiquette and protocol, family history, Occlumency, and maybe some physical training."
"Why physical training?"
"Imagine being in a duel and it not ending after a few minutes and you are not in good shape. You will become slower, your spells less powerful, and you will be more vulnerable."
"That would explain why Dumbledore wants to have me tested."
"His associates want to see how long you can last. I promise that getting in better physical shape will help you last longer. It also will help you with Quidditch."
"I'm not sure I am going to have the time to be on the team," sighed Harry, thinking about everything he had going on.
"Harry, do you enjoy Quidditch?"
"Yeah. It's one of the few things that I have always enjoyed."
"Then don't stop it. You still need to enjoy your life. That is why you will not be busy doing all of these things all summer every day. Take the morning to do the learning stuff and use the afternoons and weekends to enjoy life. You have four young women who you need to get to know better and who need to enjoy life too."
Harry and Cyrus discussed when everything would happen and how often. It was going to be a long and interesting summer for Harry and his ladies.
