Hi everybody, I hope you like this new chapter.

Return Announced

The students of Hogwarts looked towards the head table, where Professor Dumbledore had stood up. Next to him, a rare guest stood, the Minister of Magic himself. Something big must have happened and they wanted to get the news that would be given now. It was just before dinner and all students had been called to be at the Great Hall for dinner at six because of an important announcement. Everybody had expected that it involved the tournament, but why would the Minister of Magic be present for that? After a minute everybody was silent.

"Students of Hogwarts and guests," started Dumbledore, "You all heard about the horrible kidnapping of two of our Gryffindor fourth year students on Halloween. We have been searching for them since then but couldn't find a trace. Today I finally have good news for all of their friends and classmates."

This caused excited whispers.

"The full story will be in a special edition of the Daily Prophet. I expect that the owls will arrive soon, and you can read up on the details then. Just last night Miss Potter and Miss Granger managed to escape from the place they were held captive with the help of two young men that were also captured by the same kidnappers, after all four were forced to participate in an unknown ritual. Specialists at the Ministry of Magic are investigating the goal of the ritual. The four were forced to play along with the ritual by usage of the imperius curse, one of the three unforgivable curses. We know that the ritual demanded a virgin's sacrifice, thankfully not the kind that leave the sacrifice dead," announced Dumbledore and the older students understood what he meant, as they looked grave, "due to the nature of the ritual, the two forced couples ended up married. The kidnappers ensured that both couples had compatible magic to make the ritual stronger. I ask all of you to not bother the four victims of the ritual when they will appear among you, which will happen tomorrow morning at breakfast. Next to Miss Potter and Miss Granger, Mr Lestrange was kidnapped when he was lured out of the school with a faked letter from his foster father.

"He was chosen, as a test of the magic of Miss Granger informed the kidnappers that he would be a perfect partner for her in the ritual. The fourth victim was Bartholomew Crouch, the grandson of Mr Barty Crouch, who sadly recently died of a heart attack. Mr Crouch was taught at home by tutors that his grandfather hired, as he wanted to keep him hidden out of misplaced obsession to raise a perfect heir for his family. As I said, the four ended up married, which means that Mr Lestrange and Miss Granger are now married and Miss Potter and Mr Crouch. I want to make it clear that if I find out that any of you gives these four a hard time over something they had no choice in, you will not only be serving detention for two weeks and lose one hundred house points automatically, you will also have to deal with constant observation for the rest of the school year. Nothing justifies lashing out against victims of one of the unforgivable curses."

He looked at all four house tables after another, making it clear that he was completely serious about this matter.

"I would like to add that the Ministry of Magic has placed one of the identified culprits, Peter Pettigrew, on the list of the most wanted wizards in our country," Fudge took over, "Pettigrew has been determined as a dangerous Death Eater that managed to deceive us all back in 1981. This man is an unregistered animagus with the form of a common garden rat, meaning, he could strike without being noticed. Thanks to the four victims of the ritual giving us their memories of the events and the time until then, we could identify the culprit without any doubt. We assume at this time that he has accomplices, but we don't know their identity yet. The massacre of Manchester was caused by him, not Sirius Black like the state of the scene there indicated. Without being aware of Pettigrew's animagus form, and spells proving that nobody had apparated from there, we could only deduce that Black had killed Pettigrew.

"The current state of that investigation is that Black probably is innocent. We will be able to determine that for sure once we manage to contact him and question him under veritaserum. While he is innocent of the Manchester massacre, we couldn't fully prove the dimension of his involvement in the deaths of James and Lily Potter. Until we know for sure, the kiss on sight order on Sirius Black is lifted. He is to be captured alive if somebody spots him. That will also be part of the article in the Prophet," declared Fudge, "In case any of you come across Pettigrew, don't try to take him on. Call the aurors and get away. That man is a mass murderer who doesn't care about the lives of others. We will station four teams of aurors around Hogwarts to add to security measures, as it could be that the kidnappers want their victims back. If only to prevent that they can give us all the information that the criminals want to keep to themselves."

The students were shocked by that information. Everybody had believed that Sirius Black was the murderer, to now find out it had been an error caused by subterfuge of a Death Eater was a huge blow. Especially as all but the first years remembered the effect of the dementors that had guarded the school last year.

Dumbledore continued.

"I ask those of you that wish to visit Madams Lestrange and Crouch to postpone it. Madam Pomfrey decided that it would be best for them to spend this night at the hospital wing before she releases them in the morning. The magic of the ritual makes the two couples clingy, I guess is an appropriate term, to their new spouses. They might take pointed questions badly and the magic might accidentally lash out. We want to prevent accidents."

Then one of the seventh year Ravenclaws raised her hand and Dumbledore nodded towards her.

"Professor Dumbledore, if the four need to stay close to their partners, does that also mean that they will leave their previous dorms?"

"Yes, Miss Fleecebottor, that is the case. They will be given private quarters. These quarters have been created in past times for married couples, though mostly they were used for the teachers. I wish to make it clear that the only reason why this is accepted without repercussions to the young couples is that they were forced into the marriages without their agreement. Normally, they would either have to deal with having to stay in their normal dorms or deciding to drop out of Hogwarts if they insisted on married quarters. While marriage is something wonderful, you as students need to concentrate on your education, not duties that come from marriage," stressed Dumbledore, "And outside of this type of ritual, magic won't even accept marital bonds before both partners are at least sixteen. So don't get any ideas."

The students nodded; most were more than happy to first get their education done before committing to a marriage. They continued taking questions.

"Professor, how will Jasmine and Hermione take their classes, should they become pregnant?" asked Parvati Patil.

"In case of pregnancy, the witch would have to drop out of the practical part of Potions classes. All others are still possible to go to for her outside of the last three months of the pregnancy, when high level spells are harmful for the baby, Miss Patil," answered Dumbledore, knowing that this matter would come up once the two girls started showing clearly.

They could at most hide that for three to four months. Perhaps five, if they got creative with the school robes. But not taking Potions would be noticed by the fourth years anyway, and the two girls wouldn't participate from January on, thus it would come out soon anyway. He needed to set up a ward around the owlery that could stop letters with that content to get out. The longer the people outside of Hogwarts weren't aware of this development, the better. He first had to arrange certain things to still let his plans work out. He hadn't checked yet, but the blocks he had placed on the girl's core would have been undone, if they wanted her in perfect condition for the ritual. Her potential was probably the reason why they had taken the risk of kidnapping her from within Hogwarts. Not to mention that it might have happened that her involvement in the ritual as a sacrifice could have undone the unique protection Lily had left on her daughter.

Barty and Jazzy looked around the suite they had been given as their new home at the school. They had been led here by a house elf after the dancing lesson that Professor McGonagall had given them. It wasn't anything special, but it offered them enough space and privacy. To not have several students intercept them when they were released from the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey had decided to let them all go while the rest of the students were in the Great Hall for dinner instead of the next morning, which was what Dumbledore told the students. The suite had one large bedroom for the two of them, one smaller one meant for a child, a living room and a bathroom with a large, combined bathtub and shower unit, toilet, a storage cupboard as well as a sink with a large mirror above it. There was a small kitchen niche as part of the living room. It was mostly suited to set up a kettle for tea or to cook small things, as there was only one cooking plate on the oven. They wouldn't need it for more than boiling water normally. They could eat for free in the Great Hall after all.

They knew that Hermione and Endymion had their suite down the corridor. It would probably be similar to this suite.

"It's nice enough," commented Barty, "We can easily make this work."

"Yes. Even if it will be strange for a while to not live in the dorms anymore," agreed Jazzy.

"I can't really comment on that part. But we can easily visit your friends in the Gryffindor common room, or you could invite a few here occasionally," suggested Barty.

"True. Though I think I will rather use the option of going to the common room. I would rather keep this suite to ourselves," she admitted.

Barty nodded, being happy about this. Having a private area where he didn't have to worry about others demanding some of her time would be helpful. Especially as he planned to enjoy the opportunity to seduce her much more thoroughly than she remembered anymore. The more she listened to his opinions, the easier it would be to let her stand aside and let the Dark Lord establish his reforms. He was sure he could convince her that they would be good for the wizarding society in their country. And the Dark Lord had regained his sanity, that much had been clear to him and Peter. He behaved a lot different than at the end of the last war. This was the mastermind that could outthink the elite of their country easily and manipulate things without others suspecting it. Not the insane maniac that tortured his own followers for small mistakes.

"What do you think, should we look into decorating the small bedroom yet? I mean, we still have nine months until the baby will be born, but I heard some of the neighbourhood women in Little Whinging talk about being limited in things they could do the further they were ahead in their pregnancies," asked Jazzy.

"You have to remember that you are a witch, not a muggle, Jazzy," said Barty gently, "Compared to them, you won't have as much trouble with the pregnancy. The most you have to deal with are limitations with things that could harm the baby, like fumes while brewing potions and the like. The main reason why there are absolute restrictions for pregnant witches that still study potions is that nobody can exclude accidents taking place that turn harmless potions dangerous. Probably you have seen some mistakes that took place when you had Potion classes. My tutor told me it was common in classes with several students. Otherwise, you would simply be limited to a curriculum of potions that won't harm an unborn baby."

"Really? Okay, thinking back to our classes, it would be a bad idea to participate with people like Neville and Ron often messing up their potions," nodded Jazzy, "And don't let me begin with the disasters that Goyle and Crabbe and produce."

"See. And concerning the decorations, we can look through catalogues what we like there. I will also see if I can find out what happened to Winky, my old nanny elf. I know that grandfather set her free for some reason, but he never gave me a proper explanation. Just that she had failed him," commented Barty.

"Winky? Oh, she is here at Hogwarts," Jazzy told him, "I know because Hermione was on a crusade over how your grandfather treated poor Winky when he gave her clothes. She got it in her head that having house elves is slavery and they needed to be freed. Winky came here to work in the kitchen with Dobby, an elf that I tricked Lucius Malfoy into freeing at the end of my second year."

"Really? How did Hermione get that idea? I mean, didn't anybody tell her that the general bond is symbiotic?" asked Barty, honestly confused.

"No. People rarely talk about house elves, and Ron and Hagrid simply stated they liked the way things were. Hermione even tried to start a hunger strike at the beginning of the school year when she found out that Hogwarts also had house elves living here and doing most of the work," answered Jazzy, "Then she founded a club that she called SPEW, which is a horrible name in my opinion, which nearly nobody took seriously."

"I better tell Endymion to explain things properly to her. She could get into trouble if she pushes things too much. The basic part is that house elves gain three quarters of the magic they can actively use from the bond with a family. They serve them in exchange for the magic and a safe place to live. House elves started bonding to magical families about three millennia ago. They had enemies that had an easy time hunting them down if they lived in woods or caves, which was their original way of life.

"Then a few elves figured out that a symbiotic bond with wizards and witches made their magic much stronger, which allowed them to defend themselves against their predators much better. Additionally, the homes of wizards and witches were often warded and made of sturdy materials, which offered much better protection. Over time, all house elves entered those bonds. As long as a family doesn't mistreat their house elves, the bond is harmless and beneficial for both sides," explained Barty.

"Oh, that makes some sense actually," accepted Jazzy, "And the ones that I know about mistreating them were bad people outside of that as well, so it would make sense that they didn't change their behaviour towards their servants."

"Yes. If you only knew how my grandfather and Lucius Malfoy treated house elves, you would get a really bad image," agreed Barty, "Well, if Winky works here, I can see if she wants to return. I don't think she would do anything really bad that deserves being dismissed in shame."

He knew of course that she was given clothes because if his actions, but he wouldn't tell Jazzy that part. And Winky's memories were already modified to match his cover story.

"No, from what I know, she was reserving your grandfather a seat in the top box, but he didn't come there for the match, which was strange. Winky is afraid of heights and fled from the tent your grandfather used because the Death Eaters that acted out were letting the muggles that ran the camping ground hover high in the air," reported Jazzy.

Barty was glad that nobody suspected anything outside of that. It would make it easy to cover things up.

"Then there is no reason to not renew her bond with our family," smiled Barty, "She can assist you during the pregnancy when I can't be around. I want to be there all the time, but I know how much is asked of those taking their NEWTs. I will have to invest countless hours into my studies to do as well as possible. As I don't have OWLs to my name, the NEWTs have to be great to see about getting a good job after I graduate. After all, I have to take care of a family now."

Jazzy leaned into his embrace and he held her close.

"I'm lucky that you were the one I was forced into the ritual with. I was actually worried about people pushing me into a marriage I would have hated due to expectations. I mean, Mrs Weasley wasn't exactly subtle in trying to push me towards Ron," here Jazzy shuddered.

"Isn't he the lazy redhead you and Hermione talked about at the hospital wing? I have problems seeing how that was considered a good match. From what I figured out so far, you would go crazy with somebody that wouldn't invest the work to achieve his goals," commented Barty.

"Very true. But I think that the Weasleys were in on some stupid plan of Dumbledore. I haven't forgotten that Pettigrew told me that somebody had bound three quarters of my core and that it happened after my parents died. Few people knew where I lived, and he was at the top of that list. No matter why Pettigrew did what he did, in this part, healing the damage done by my muggle relatives and breaking those bindings, he did me a favour," acknowledged Jazzy.

Barty nodded. The modifications to her memory worked then. She didn't remember that it had been he who had done those things. Thankfully, with the treatment finished, she wouldn't need to go through that again.

"We will look out for that. Right now, we need the protection that Hogwarts can offer us. But we won't stay here over the summer break. I will have to see which properties we have available to use," he pondered.

"I hadn't thought that far ahead, but you're right, Barty. I certainly want to cut all ties to my muggle relatives," declared Jazzy.

"I will not force you to meet them if you don't want to, Jazzy. I know perfectly that blood relations don't necessarily have to be good. The treatment I got from my grandfather is a prime example," accepted Barty, not that he had planned to allow her to go back to them anyway. She would stay with him and he would protect her.

Thanks to the Dark Lord not targeting her anymore, as long as she didn't actively thwart his plans again, they would have some peace to explore their relationship. And with a baby, she would be kept too busy for that normally. He didn't expect that she wouldn't one day find out that he supported the goals of the Dark Lord, but perhaps, she could be convinced that as long as the methods didn't get out of control like last time, they were worthwhile to pursue. She was already suspicious of Dumbledore. He could expand that. She would never like the Dark Lord. Too much had happened to her for that, but she could stay neutral or simply support what she could get behind.

"Do you have any other relatives that you want to inform about our marriage?" asked Jazzy.

Barty had to actually think about that.

"Not really. I mean, I know that there are some distant relatives left, but both my father and grandfather were only children and my mother's sister was killed during the war. She didn't have children of her own. And as I was kept isolated from everybody while growing up, I don't have any friends that I would want to tell either," he admitted.

Most of the friends he had made when he was at school had cut all bonds with him when he was discovered as a Death Eater or were dead. Or insane like Alice. He would have to see who he could start new connections with. Endymion would probably a good candidate to start.

"What about you?" asked Barty.

"Well, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, I guess. They were good friends with my dad when they were at school. And Sirius is my godfather. If not for the unjust imprisonment for the crimes of Pettigrew, things would have been a lot better for me," she replied.

Barty nodded, having known that much from Peter. Even if he wasn't convinced that Sirius Black would have put his goddaughter first. From what he remembered he had been immature back then. Perhaps he would have grown to the challenge when he needed to, after Jazzy's parents had died. But to break out of Azkaban for her because he wanted to protect her from Peter showed major commitment at least.

"Do you know how to contact them? I mean, Remus Lupin would probably be easier. He was mentioned as having been involved in closing the holes in the security of the school," asked Barty.

And he would like to know how a man that was a Defence teacher could do what Dumbledore didn't manage. That would be useful knowledge to have.

"Hedwig, my owl, never failed to deliver a letter, even if she didn't have the address," stated Jazzy.

"Really? That's unusual for a normal post owl," admitted Barty, honestly surprised.

"Hedwig is amazing. She also was the only one keeping me sane at the Dursleys," added Jazzy, "She was the one friend I could rely on."

That was certainly worth some owl treats once he could get some. Clearly Jazzy loved her owl, probably not surprising with that kind of backstory. He took her into his arms, with her immediately snuggling into his embrace. He also felt the urge to have her in his bed again growing. Well, there was nothing that would stop him. He started by turning her chin upwards and kissing her, first gently, then more passionately, which was rewarded with moans from Jazzy, who enjoyed that immensely.

"How about we postpone any further serious conversations until after we explored our new bedroom properly?" he asked suggestively, caressing her in highly arousing places.

"I'd like that a lot," she agreed and to her surprise he lifted her in a princess carry.

"I may not have had the chance to carry you over the threshold for our wedding night, due to us being forced into our first time together for the ritual, but we can have now. What do you think about remedying that and considering this night as our official wedding night?" he suggested.

"That would give us a proper memory of consummating our bond," she approved with a smile.

He returned the smile and carried her through the door into their new bedroom.

Hermione looked around her new suite that she would share with her husband. She remembered some things from the ritual but not everything. One thing she did remember was that Endymion had taken the time to prepare her body for the time he entered her and broke through her hymen. It had felt incredible and secretly she was looking forward to experiencing it again, just without the component of being forced. After having calmed down a bit and taking in that she was back at Hogwarts, a place where she would be safe again, she had thought about her new situation.

While she didn't like the way she had found herself married, she would freely admit that she had lucked out with her husband. While she hadn't known him before at school, she had often admired him from afar. Endymion Lestrange was one of the top students of his year and extremely handsome. Additionally, she hadn't ever seen him mistreat other girls or talk down to other students, be it for their school performance or their blood status. That was a distinct advantage. She got the impression that his foster father Amycus Carrow hadn't been overly happy with him being married to a halfblood witch that had grown up in the muggle world, but he hadn't voiced disparaging things he might have thought.

"This is really nice," she commented, watching how Endymion put his trunk down, which he had collected from Ravenclaw Tower.

"It is. You have shared dorms in Gryffindor as far as I know, right?" he asked.

"Yes. Don't you have that in Ravenclaw?" she asked curiously.

"No. The first and second years share their rooms with two people in each room. From third year on, each student gets his own room to have the means to properly concentrate on homework and studies. Thanks to having the whole tower available that isn't any problem to arrange. We also have study rooms that can be used by study groups there and a library, even if it is a lot smaller than the general one. It still helps when we want to do homework as the most common reference books are in the library," answered Endymion.

"That sounds great. And if you don't get along with a classmate you can at least avoid him or her if you want to," nodded Hermione, somewhat wistfully, remembering how often Parvati and Lavender had annoyed her when she just wanted to read in peace.

Endymion nodded. He liked the system in Ravenclaw.

"What I wanted to ask, but didn't think would be the right time before, how are things going to work from now on?" asked Hermione, "I mean, I know that you are from a traditional pureblood family, but not what is involved in that. Will they expect me to do or know certain things?"

It was a good question. Endymion looked at her, trying to look encouraging.

"A few things, but they aren't urgent. As my foster father was already told what has happened, he will inform the parties that are the most important, like Gringotts and the Ministry. Even if the Ministry will also have got the information from Auror Scrimgeour as soon as we reported the events. I can teach you the most important parts that will be expected of you, as the new Lady of House Lestrange. Mainly because the previously chosen one is indisposed at Azkaban," commented Endymion.

"Your aunt Bellatrix," understood Hermione, having read reports about the war and known Death Eaters and their crimes.

"Yes. I don't really remember much about either my father or uncle or my aunt. I was too young when they were arrested. At that time, my grandfather and grandmother on father's side were still alive. Meaning, as Uncle Rodolphus is the older brother, his wife was destined to become the future Lady Lestrange after my grandfather either passed the title of Lord Lestrange on to Uncle Rodolphus or he died. But, as they were arrested and convicted to life at Azkaban, they are out of the line. Grandfather didn't disinherit my father and uncle, but he had declared me to be the next head of house, should something happen to him and my uncle and father shame the family name irreversibly. His health has been delicate since the middle of the seventies, when he contracted squid measles. He simply was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but he seemingly worried about his sons being up to properly leading the house, thus the clause in the last will," explained Endymion, "The arrest and trial were the last blow for his health and he died shortly after that."

"Is that why you were raised by the Carrows? I mean, Neville was raised by his grandmother after his parents couldn't do so anymore," asked Hermione, intentionally not saying what had happened to Neville's parents. Endymion's father had after all been responsible for that.

"Yes. Amycus is my grandmother's nephew and thus, she asked him if he could take me in," confirmed Endymion, "She wasn't up to raising a young child anymore, but she visited when she could until she died when I was thirteen."

"That makes sense," nodded Hermione.

Endymion decided that he wanted to stop talking about serious things and closed the distance between him and Hermione. She looked at him and the closer he got, the stronger she wanted to be touched by him. He read the look on her face correctly and gently pulled her against his body, showing her that he wanted her.

"You are so beautiful, Hermione," he told her, letting one hand play with her hair while the other wandered up and down her back, making sure to caress sensitive areas more than others, which she rewarded with sudden sharp breaths when he touched one of those, "Please let me show you properly how much I want you. Not just because of that ritual, but because you are a beautiful witch that I find immensely attractive."

"Yes," she agreed with a soft breathy sound.

He kissed her mouth, first just brushing her lips with his, then asking for entry into her mouth with his tongue, which she allowed him while placing her arms around his shoulders. He took his time to explore her mouth with his tongue, before letting his tongue have a playful fight with hers, intensifying the feelings of desire that were rising in both of them. Just because he hadn't slept with a witch before the ritual, it didn't mean he hadn't been educated in these things. Amycus considered it proper preparation for a young wizard to know how to please his future wife. He had gone as far as hiring prostitutes to teach Endymion how to take a witch's breath away by just kissing her. Nothing he had been taught had gone further than touching, but it certainly gave Endymion an advantage over other wizards his age when it came to the game of love.

After he had played with Hermione this way for a few minutes, he lifted her bridal style to take her into their new shared bedroom. There were several things he was giddy to try with his new wife. Things he had only been told about so far, but hadn't experienced yet, as that would have cost his virginity, and contrary to other wizards, he had wanted his first time to be with the witch that would share the rest of his life with him. Not to mention that when both partners were pure when they were wed, it gave both of them a nice boost to their magic. He wouldn't throw that away for not having enough control over his hormones. Now he had got that boost, as the ritual counted as a wedding ceremony. He would have to explore how his magic had changed. But then his mind pushed any of those thoughts out and only let him think about the feeling of his wife in his arms, a very willing wife who he intended to show how he could please her. After all, one thing he had been taught was that a witch that was pleased with how her wizard satisfied her needs was willing to sleep with him far more often.

Breakfast the next morning brought a curious and tense atmosphere in the Great Hall. Many students were down much earlier than they normally would be during the break. But the announcement from the previous evening that Jasmine Potter, well, now Jasmine Crouch, was back at Hogwarts had drawn interest. Not to mention that a previously unknown heir to the Crouch family was also worth talking / gossiping about. The sudden marriage of Endymion Lestrange with Hermione Granger was less hot a topic but still many girls that had hoped to have a chance to marry the handsome young man were glaring daggers at the doors.

At ten past eight the two couples finally arrived, wearing casual robes. Most students only connected the second couple with the Girl-Who-Lived and her new husband thanks to Hermione and Endymion being recognised. Nobody had expected this kind of drastic change in looks of the girl heroine. Before she was kidnapped, she had looked plain and not attractive in the sense the boys would have been attracted to. Now, she was missing her glasses, which brought her green eyes out a lot more clearly than before, she had grown both in height and womanly curves and the previously limp and dull black hair was a bit wavy and shone under the light of the candles. Short, the boys cursed that this hot girl was off the market.

The two couples made their way over to the Gryffindor table. The rest of the students watched. When they sat down somewhere in the first third of the table where four seats together were available, somebody couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Hey, only Gryffindors are allowed to sit at the Gryffindor table!" protested Ron Weasley.

He sat about ten spots further down the table than the two couples.

"Ronald, you clearly prove again why I have been trying to get you to read Hogwarts a History," sighed Hermione exasperated.

"Hermione, dear, not everyone has your admirable drive to learn more about their new place of living, even if they should. After all, all students spend seven years of their lives here at school," replied Endymion.

"Still. It is embarrassing that he would show this kind of bias, after all that happened," grouched Hermione.

"What the hell are you going on about?" demanded Ron to know.

"What they are talking about, Ron," started Angelina Johnson, one of Jazzy's Quidditch teammates, "Is that there is no rule that students from other houses aren't allowed to sit at other tables. The only times where it is mandatory to sit at one's house table is during feasts and the first morning of school. The latter is because the heads of houses need to pass out the timetables and it can't be expected of them to search the whole Great Hall for their students. I have sat at the Hufflepuff table many times and had my friend Evangeline sit at the Gryffindor table as well. Honestly, it's no big deal."

Other older students nodded, having been aware of this. Ron just stared stupidly.

"Hermione, Jazzy, it's good to have you back. I'm very relieved that you could return safely," continued Angelina, who had walked over to them and now hugged the younger girl.

"Thanks Angie," replied Jazzy with a smile. The chaser girls were like big sisters to her since she had joined the team.

This started visits from others that knew the two girls better and they all welcomed them back to Hogwarts, some decided to pass some light threats towards Endymion and Barty that they better treated their new wives right, or they would get to feel the ire of the Gryffindors. As neither of the two guys had any intention to hurt their wives, they easily promised that part and they were then welcomed at the table. Over breakfast, Hermione and Jazzy told what had happened, as far as they were comfortable with it that was, with Barty and Endymion adding their parts of the story. Many were outraged how Barty had basically been raised as a prisoner by his grandfather. Even Neville declared that he didn't hold him or Endymion responsible for what their fathers had done to his parents. For Barty that was bittersweet, as he couldn't tell Neville that he was his godfather.

Barty Crouch junior was dead for all means and purposes and Bartholomew Crouch was the only remaining member of the Crouch family. He had by now been informed about the death of his grandfather, but nobody was surprised that he didn't grieve for the man, not with the backstory he had believably delivered. Well, he could see if he could take Neville under his wing. He knew too well how overbearing Augusta Longbottom could be. And while he didn't have any fault in the fate of Neville's parents, he did have some responsibility for Neville doing alright. He could possibly create a bond of friendship with the younger teenager. After all, even after officially sitting for his NEWTs he would continue living at Hogwarts, as Jazzy needed to finish her education before they could look into permanently settling down elsewhere.

That was another thing he had to look into. Now that he was head of four houses, he would have a lot of property to look into, both from his side of the family and his wife's. But it could wait until after the Yule Ball. He and the other three 'escapees' had their second dancing class with Professor McGonagall this morning. The first one the evening before had gone quite well. They had concentrated on the waltz and chosen the quickstep as the faster dance they would practice. Those two would cover most of the songs that would be played at the ball. After a slow phase at the beginning, where Jazzy memorised the steps of each dance, they had practiced until they became more natural. Today they planned to add a few tricks that would look good at a ball. Nothing too advanced, as Jazzy was a beginner, but it would let them look properly prepared for this important social event.

After a while Hermione and Jazzy had to fend off some more impertinent students that didn't want to accept the basic information and demanded details until Professor McGonagall appeared behind them and glared at them.

"I thought Headmaster Dumbledore had been clear yesterday at dinner. I am deeply disappointed that my own house would behave this deplorably towards two of their own. Miss Giffons, Mr McLaggen, two weeks detention and one hundred points from Gryffindor each," declared the deputy headmistress.

That reminded some others about the threat that was given the evening before and they retreated, some grumbling, but not willing to bring down the fury of the Transfiguration teacher.

"Thank you, Professor," said Jazzy.

"Yes, thank you, Professor McGonagall," agreed Hermione, "It was too much in the end."

Endymion and Barty took their hands and gently pressed them, assuring them that they had their backs.

"You're welcome. I suggest you finish your breakfast and then come to my office so that we can continue from yesterday evening," said McGonagall and returned to the head table.

"What was that about?" asked Parvati.

"As we missed the dance classes that you got in preparation of the Yule Ball, Professor McGonagall offered to help us with a short intensive course for two dances. Minister Fudge thought it would be a good idea if we went to the ball to show that we are safely back," answered Hermione.

"Okay, I guess you are attending with your husbands then," commented Lavender and got four nods of the two couples.

The two girls left it at that, not wanting to risk detention and losing that many points.

"Do you have dress robes for all of you?" asked Alicia Spinnet.

"I will need new ones," realised Jazzy shocked, "I mean, Mrs Weasley bought some for me when she did the school shopping before the year, as we didn't know how long the finals of the Quidditch World Cup would take. But with how much I grew, they won't fit anymore. But I don't want to leave the castle."

"I have a solution for that, Jazzy. Do you know where the kitchen is?" asked Barty, wanting to stop his wife's distress.

"Yes."

"It's time to get my house elf back," declared Barty and pulled Jazzy up, "Winky can change your dress robes to fit by the time the ball starts. She is great at making and adjusting clothes."

"Really? That's wonderful," exclaimed Jazzy relieved. She hadn't thought of this before. Then she led Barty towards the kitchen, leaving Hermione and Endymion back at the table, not really sure what was going on there, as they hadn't talked to Barty or Jasmine about house elves.

At the portrait of the fruit bowl, Jazzy tickled the pear like Hermione had done when she had dragged her and Ron here at the beginning of the school year in her crusade of house elf liberation. She truly hoped that Endymion would clear that misunderstanding up. Hermione was exhausting when she ranted about slavery of house elves. Jazzy didn't think that Hermione was wrong in demanding better treatment for all elves, but pursuing things against the will of the elves, and now that she knew more about their history, their way of life and how they kept strong magically, that was wrong. The pear turned into a doorknob and she opened the new door into the kitchen.

The elves greeted them happily, especially Dobby, who was sobbing against her leg, exclaiming how happy he was that the 'Great Jasmine Potter Ma'am' was back safely and unhurt. Barty clearly found this extremely entertaining.

"Jazzy my love, I have the impression that Dobby would like nothing better than becoming your house elf," commented Barty.

"It would be Dobby's greatest wish coming true to serve the great Jasmine Potter!" declared Dobby honestly and with such a hopeful look in his eyes that Jazzy couldn't say no.

"Didn't you want to be free, Dobby?" asked Jazzy to be sure she wasn't making a mistake.

"Dobby wants to be free of evil old masters. Dobby accepts that Dobby loses magical power for that. But if Jasmine Potter would take Dobby as her elf, he would be happy and proud to serve her family. Dobby would be powerful again and protect his mistress however he can!" declared Dobby.

"We could use the help of another house elf," commented Barty, "Especially as we will have a baby in nine months."

"True," nodded Jazzy.

"The great Jasmine Potter will have a baby?" asked Dobby excitedly.

"Yes, I'm pregnant with Barty's child, who is now my husband thanks to a ritual we were both forced into, even if I don't mind the part of being married to him at all. You should probably stop calling me Potter though, after marrying Barty, I became Jasmine Crouch," she explained.

"Dobby can do," nodded Dobby rapidly.

"Master Barty?" asked a weak female voice, which was quickly connected to a weak-looking house elf with dirty clothes.

"Winky?" asked Barty horrified, not having expected the elf to have suffered this much.

"Little Master," wailed Winky.

"Poor Winky, what happened to you?" asked Barty, even if he had a horrible suspicion.

"Winky lost bond to her family. Winky lost three quarters of her magic," whined Winky, "Winky isn't a bad elf. Winky swears."

"I know Winky. You have always been the one to take good care of me," nodded Barty, "Winky, my grandfather died of a heart attack and I am the new head of the Crouch family. I want you back. I know you are a good worker and will keep my secrets. Will you come back and be a Crouch elf again?"

"Yes, Master Barty, yes!" screamed Winky in happiness and glowed for a brief moment before she snipped her fingers and the skirt and blouse that were stained with different things disappeared and she was wearing a toga made from a tea towel with the Crouch crest. She shed tears of happiness about having her family back.

Barty could see how she recovered with each minute more.

"Well, Dobby, do you want to join as a Crouch elf to serve me and my wife and keep our secrets?" asked Barty formally, as only he as head of the family could bond new house elves.

"Yes, Dobby will," stated Dobby and like Winky he glowed, and his clothes were changed after a similar snip of his fingers for a tea towel toga with the Crouch crest.

"Good. Now Dobby, which are your specialties?" asked Barty. He knew those of Winky already, thus he didn't need to ask her.

"Dobby is trained as a gardener elf and a cooking elf, next to general cleaning jobs," answered Dobby.

"To which level of cooking are you trained?" asked Barty.

"Mastery, Master Barty," replied Dobby, "Old bad masters used Dobby to make sure that no poison or bad food was served in their manor."

"That means, you know what a pregnant witch needs to consider in her diet," nodded Barty happily, "I don't want to have any open flanks with my wife and our future child. Your first order is to personally prepare my and my wife's meals to top standards. I will talk to Professor Dumbledore to arrange for this. He will be supportive from what I saw of him so far. And it is commonly known that pregnant witches need to eat differently than normal ones."

"Dobby will make perfect meals for his master and mistress," promised Dobby proudly.

"Great, thank you, Dobby. Now Winky, we need your expertise as a tailoress," Barty turned to the elf.

"What do you need Master Barty? Winky will take care of it," she stated.

"The Yule Ball is in two days and Jazzy's dress robes don't fit her anymore, as she grew thanks to being given potions to have her in perfect physical and magical condition for the ritual. I need you to alter her dress robes to perfectly fit her. Weave a few protective charms into them while you are at it, Winky. I also need a set of dress robes that go well with the ones of my wife. I want you to look through the ones at Crouch manor to see if there are ones that will work. Otherwise, I want you to buy some that do at a shop. I can now access the Crouch vaults and there should be enough in them for one set of proper dress robes," commented Barty.

"Winky will do. Mistress where are your dress robes?" asked Winky.

"They are in my trunk, which is in Barty's and my suite," answered Jazzy, "I didn't take them out yet, as I was otherwise occupied yesterday," she grinned at Barty, who grinned back. He wasn't sorry for distracting her at all.

"Winky will look at them and then take care of everything," promised Winky, "Winky will just take your measurements, Mistress."

She waved her hand in front of Jazzy and then nodded before popping away.

"She can take measurements just like that?" asked Jazzy surprised.

"Winky is a trained tailoress elf. That is part of her training," commented Barty.

"I believe I need to know more about jobs elves can be trained in. I clearly lack the whole picture," commented Jazzy.

"I can tell you when we are back from the dancing lessons. We should go there now, otherwise we will be late," mentioned Barty after having a look at the clock on the wall.

"We better do, Professor McGonagall doesn't take tardiness well," nodded Jazzy and they said goodbye to the elves in the kitchen. They heard Dobby conversing with the ones in charge of the kitchen to arrange for the chance to cook the meals for his masters.

And that's another chapter done. Next up the Yule Ball.