Majo Kon-ki The Marriage of Tanya the Witch
(The marriage chronicles of a witch)
Arc 3 - Prisoner of Azkaban – part 4
Month ? day ?,year ?, in the depths of Tanya Degurechaff's mind
Amidst the darkness, Tanya was scared. Never before had she recalled these events in such detail.
It was frightening to think how, at any moment, a sound coming from the void would trigger the awakening of her repressed memories as Loria's fuck doll!
"… we are already behind schedule."
"Just repeat what I say, my doll."
However, as the dark cleared, she was relieved to see a familiar moment. The one prior to her death in that studio, as he made her proclaim defamatory allegations against her own bosses.
"… too close you idiot!" Again, she saw Loria die a fast and painless death!
"… a pink gown and I have a ribbon in my hair?" Her realization of what had transpired and…
"I win!" The second time she died. A death without despair, quite the contrary. She was given a fighting chance to reclaim her old life.
Back in the darkness and freed from the worry of facing new reminiscences, she was able to reflect on Loria's words.
'… Your motherland ditched you…'
"Loria had to be lying! The coding in that syringe had to be a forgery or maybe he just stole it!" Only, why go so far? She was already in his clutches.
"No. It was definitely a lie! The higher-ups were fully convinced of my loyalty. Furthermore, brigadier general Rerugen was my friend.He promised to rescue me-"
'… that monster in the form of a little girl…' The words from a fellow soldier suddenly emerged from the depths of her memories.
Again, her surroundings changed. She was back in the HQ in Berun, about a month before her last mission.
Attending a summon by the brigadier general, she saw by chance his adjutant chatting with another officer.
"Argh! Brigadier general von Rerugen is in a bad mood again!"
"Where is this coming from now? Weren't you boasting about having the nicest boss?"
"And he is most of the time but he loses his temper when white silver is about to visit. And everyone around him has to suffer too!"
Hearing her alias, Tanya took cover, curious to know what the two had to say.
"Pff! That said, it compensates for all the bad stuff after she leaves! Some of his reactions are hilarious, I wonder how he didn't go bald with so much hair pulling! Hahaha!"
"Stop joking around! I can't picture the word 'hilarious' in the same sentence as that uptight man."
"And that is what makes it so damn funny! Seeing the serious looking general grimacing while grabbing his head and yelling 'that monster in the form of a little girl'!"
"Wow! Now that you mentioned, I heard the brass calling her a 'mad dog'. Could they think she will turn on us?"
"Who knows? All I can tell is that the general-"
"… is afraid of me."
At the time, Tanya was caught by surprise at this news, but thought nothing of it as Rerugen treated her with the utmost courtesy like always.
"I concluded his adjutant was fooling around. After all, why would he be intimidated by me?!"
"Isn't it kind of obvious?"
Everything was back to pitch black and walking out of the darkness was her former 'friend'.
"Do you really believe nobody would ever notice your true self?"
"M-my true self?"
"Man or girl, you are a twisted individual! You dedicate all your perfectionism and capabilities to the sole purpose of self gain! Unlike many in the high command, I was never fooled!"
"I didn't- Hold on! You are not Rerugen. I am merely dreaming."
"Humpf! Even if I am not the true Erich von Rerugen, this doesn't change the core of the matter."
Tanya shook her head, it would be for the best if she didn't listen to this illusion created by her disturbed mind.
"You were never truly committed to the Empire. Everything you did was with the sole purpose of gaining enough reputation to earn a job in the rear echelon. To this end, you were willing to dispose of anyone. Not even your own subordinates were safe."
"This is an outrage! I did my best to keep my men alive! Statistically, my losses were in tolerable numbers!"
"Statics! Numbers! Your lack of empathy turned people's lives into abstract conceptions in your eyes!"
"So what? We were at war! The Empire didn't care how I viewed the soldiers as long as I brought results! This wasn't reason enough for them to betray me!"
"The point is: how can they trust someone so egoistic, self-centered and sordid with the most destructive power ever created?"
'… the world leaders are scared. They believe you can create another explosion of that scale.'
"You mean Rerugen lied?! The ones who feared me were my own commanding officers…?!" Her voice trailed off. This theory made awful sense.
"Rerugen, your commanding officers and your subordinates- No, as a matter of fact, the WHOLE WORLD was afraid of you. And yet, we couldn't just kill you. Imagine, a national heroine murdered by the general staff! We were at our wits end when HE approached us."
"Y-you really gave myself to him?!"
"A single life sacrificed to bring peace for our time. What do you think of this 'tolerable number'?"
"Y-you gave myself to him fully knowing what would h-happen and- and even gave him the means to keep me under control!"
"As long as the 'devil of Rhine' disappeared from the public's eyes, he could play 'doll' with you as much as he liked. I rest my case."
"But it was MY LIFE! Didn't- didn't anyone try to rescue me?!"
Like Rerugen before, she saw many of her former subordinates emerge from the dark.
"Would you have come to our rescue, lieutenant colonel? I thought you trained us to never act based on our emotions." Major Weiss said.
"We are human resources of the Empire, not yours!" First Lieutenant Koenig complemented.
"Not to say that you had the gall to nominate us your personal 'meat shields'!" First Lieutenant Neumann was the next to say his piece.
"And to shape us into your obedient killers!" Lieutenant Grantz added with a familiar haunted expression on his face.
"Is this about Arene? The true Grantz got over it ages ago and became a warmonger like the rest of you!"
"No one can overcome that brutality! To kill innocent civilians…" The young man made a pause and looked at his own bloodied hands.
"I was innocent too!"
"I- WHAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO?! I didn't want the responsibility to lead people to war! I only wanted a job in the rear! I did my best to scare any volunteer away! Be it at that recruitment notice or during training! Why didn't you give up?!"
"Did it ever occur to you that we wanted to protect our fatherland?"
"'Protect', my ass! You were just a bunch of war maniacs!"
"No! We loved our country, as much as we loved you."
"This is why your lies hurt so much! Like Visha, any of us would gladly go to Valhalla for you!"
The mention of her loved one made Tanya feel an ache in her heart.
"You never were one of us! Never cared for us! So, why should we risk our careers and lives for you?"
"YOU- Ah? The heck I am doing?"
Tanya finally recalled she was dreaming. Those were not her subordinates.
"My mind is creating those illusions based on all my suspicions.They are merely my paranoia given form."
Rerugen may have discovered her true self, but these knuckleheads worshiped her!
"Besides, you never knew about any of that!" She expected this call of reality would wake her up. Instead, they all gave her a filthy grin.
"Didn't we? How much did you care to get to know about us? About our feelings, our dreams or even our TASTES in women?" Weiss said, swift shortening their distance.
"Eh?"
"Perhaps each one of us held onto this small hope that someday you would look our way with a bit of love." Likewise, Neumann moved closer to her.
"What?!"
"We kept wondering how you would turn as you grew older…" Koenig took a couple of steps towards her.
"… or maybe, we liked you the exact way you were." And Grantz was suddenly over her!
"KEEP AWAY!" Tanya yelled, slowly backing away from their perverted faces.
"N-no! I must be going crazy!I would've noticedmy own soldierslusting me! I worked inHR, for heaven's sake!"
With a gesture, Rerugen stopped their advance.
"She is right, gentlemen. You can't touch her…" From the darkness, a pair of hands grabbed her.
"… because there is already someone who called dibs on her."
"Who- NOOOO!"
"Did you forget about me, my doll?" Loria's pig face came into view.
"P-please, help me!"
"Help you? Are we back on this?"
"Y-y-you- YOU OWE ME! I fought for the Empire! For all of you! You have an obligation to me!"
"Obligation?! You were the cause of the war! It wouldn't have happened in the first place if you didn't offend that powerful poltergeist!"
Tanya felt herself overtaken by despair at the general's words.
"Being X burned our world to the ground with the sole purpose of teaching you a lesson of humbleness! It's fitting you end the troubles you started in the first place using your own BODY!"
As if these words enabled him, Loria tore off Tanya's clothes until she was left fully naked.
"NO! NO! SOMEONE- ANYONE, HELP!"
"Tanya!" From the dark, another person appeared.
"V-Visha?! Of course! You still love me! Save me, please!"
"Let Tanya go you- Oh!" Visha tried to punch Loria, only for her hand to pass through him.
"Sorry Tanya. The dead can't help the living. You killed me, remember?" She said before vanishing completely.
"No one will interrupt us now!" With ease, she was being forced to the ground.
"N-NOO- Wait! You are dead! I killed you too!" By her words, Loria also vanished.
Looking around, Tanya realized all her former subordinates and Rerugen were gone. She was breathing hard, slowly regaining a sense of safety when more hands appeared and caught her.
"Alone at last!"
"Lockhart?!"
"Don't forget you still owe me some pretty children!"
"N-no! Y-you are also dead!" But unlike the others, he refused to disappear.
"Don't you see, my dear? There will always be someone in the shadows waiting for you. Because, this is what GOD commanded!"
Tanya screamed at the top of her lungs as Lockhart covered her body with his own.
Tanya opened her eyes with a startle, fighting with all her might to push away the person holding her down.
"GET OFF ME!"
"Tanya! Calm down! It's me!"
"H-Harry?" Even in all her confused state, she recognized Harry standing next to the bed she occupied.
"W-where-?"
"This is the hospital wing. You fainted and I brought you here."
"NO! Where is he? Where is Lockhart?"
"Professor Lockhart? He became spider's food, remember?"
"Am I awake? The nightmare is over…"
"You okay-?"
"I was so scared! Sob!" She threw herself at the boy, and let the tears flow.
"Please… don't let anyone hurt me!"
"You don't have to ask. I will protect you!"
"You will… do anything I say for you to do…?"
"Err, yes?"
"Y-you won't betray me…?"
"What?"
"… or abandon me?"
"NEVER! You are my girlfriend! I will always be with you!"
The 'girlfriend' part fully sobered her up. Back to thinking straight, she was reminded of everything that happened in the DADA class.
"Did he understandwhat my boggart means?" Looking at the boy, he stared back at her with eyes full of worry.
"He has to suspect! I need to quickly make up an excuse! With his naivety, he will believe-"
'… let me help you!'
"Professor Lupin saw it too!" Tanya began to tremble. There is no way an adult man wouldn't realize the meaning of her boggart's words!
"No! As long as no one knows, I can successfully pretend it never happened! But if he tells more people-" She had to find the professor before he spilled the beans!
"He won't speak a single word even if I have to kill-"
"AH?!" As Tanya turned to get up from bed, she saw they weren't alone in the room.
Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and madam Pomfrey were there this whole time!
"W-what are you doing here?!"
"Miss Degurechaff, we heard some alarming news about you."
By the look of commiseration in the headmaster's face, she guessed professor Lupin already told him.
"SHIT! I have to convince them that nothing happened! After all, this was all in another life!"
"N-nothing h-happened!" Her trembling words betrayed her.
"My dear girl, professor Lupin shared his memories of your boggart. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Please, we only wish to help-"
"Stop."
"Excuse me?"
"STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!" It was like facing her boggart again. She could see her pathetic drugged self reflected in his pitying eyes.
Unconsciously, she covered herself in a futile attempt to escape his gaze.
"Merlin gracious, it's true!"
"H-how can you tell, professor?" The matron asked, a note of fear in her voice.
"Many years ago I met a girl who was ra- who suffered a similar affliction."
There was a change in the expressions of the others too. So far, their faces showed confusion and disbelief, but now, it was replaced with horrifying realization.
"N-no! They know!"
"WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!" Professor Snape shouted.
"TELL ME SO I CAN KILL THE SON OF A BITCH!"
Tanya cringed as she realized a new misunderstanding was emerging. She needed to remedy this situation and FAST!
"Severus, this is not helping!" Professor McGonagall tried to contain the livid teacher.
"Please, miss Degurechaff. Tell us who hurt you."
"I will say that I had a bad dream. That my true fear is of being sexually assaulted! Yes! Lots of girls are afraid of this without ever being molested."
"N-no one did anything to me it was all a-"
"It was professor Lockhart."
A dead pause was issued.
""""WHAT?!""""
"Are you certain of this, Harry?"
"Last year, Tanya had detention with him and I saw her wearing the same dress of the boggart. She was crying and scared-"
"STOP!" Tanya couldn't let Harry continue.
"DON'T MAKE ME REMEMBER THAT!"
Her plea was all the professors needed to confirm the worst.
"Oh my goodness! You were telling the truth!" Professor McGonagall was so shocked she almost lost her footing.
"How was this possible? Miss Degurechaff is a strong witch! That man shouldn't be able to touch her."
"I am afraid miss Degurechaff is the only one who can clarify this."
Tanya felt all the weight of their gazes on her.
"It's okay, I am still here with you." Harry muttered and took her hand in a vain act of offering some comfort.
Their eyes were killing her! It felt like she had five boggarts now!
"They assume it was Lockhart? Well, he did try to force me." Her last plan collapsed before it was set into motion. The only option left was to endorse this version.
"He gave me something to drink… I was drugged."
"A drug?"
"She probably means a potion."
"I-I think he wanted to claim it was… c-consensual. Or it turned him on to see me broken… He made me i-invite him! Sob!"
"Bastard! These effects are either from a confusing concoction or an emerald potion!"
"N-next… I don't remember what happened exactly… My mind must have blocked…"
"I reckon he altered your memory. Professor Lockhart admitted to me and Ron he was only good with those sorts of charms."
"I don't know how much time passed… I was wearing a dress and- I-I can't!"
"Okay, it's okay, we can figure out the rest."
"This is why you ran away in the first place!"
"Eh?"
"You told me you were after something: your lost memories. And when you found them, you lost another important thing: your innocence!" Professor Snape covered his face with his hands as if in shame.
"Forgive me, I should have realized by then! Something horrible had to have happened for you to act like that!"
Tanya almost felt bad seeing him in this lamentably state.
"Unlike Rerugen, he is a true friend." Under this circumstance, she took solace in this fact.
"Merlin! What if he assaulted other girls?! Will we need to ask all our female students?!"
"I-I was the only one. He said- said I was almost as beautiful as him and could bear… p-pretty babies."
If this news brought any consolation to the teachers, they didn't demonstrate. Instead, they become even more distressed.
"Miss Degurechaff, I am accompanying you to St Mungo's for a full check-"
"NO! No one is going to touch me! Harry, don't let them!" Tanya buried her head in Harry's lap seeking his protection.
"Professor, please! She is too scared." Seeing as she was borderline hysterical, the headmaster agreed to not press the issue.
"Alright. We won't force you. However, I will insist on a brief examination."
"N-no-"
"Have no fear. There will be no touching, just a charm."
"W-what it does?"
"It's a charm to attest if you are p-pregnant." The final word dropped the temperature of the room. The other two teachers became tense.
"Not like they will find anything." Tanya nodded her consent.
"Madam Pomfrey, if you please- Poppy?"
"Sob! Oh? Right." She had been weeping alone all this time, apparently.
The healer made a series of wand movements and at the end, the tip of her wand glowed a white light. It seemed like a good sign because all the teachers breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now we need to find that bastard!"
"I agree, we can't let him hurt anyone else! We must denounce him to the aurors!"
"The aurors are already secretly looking for him, Minerva. He has been missing since last term."
"Professor? You told me he left his job to travel, to find material to write a new book while helping people."
"Forgive me for my lie. My intention was to prevent any sorrow the news of his disappearance was bound to cause."
"The ruffian has to be hiding somewhere thinking he got away-"
"He is dead." Everyone's stares turned again to Tanya.
"Is there more to this story?"
"W-well, I-"
"I killed him!" Harry cut her.
"What?!"
"Mr Potter?!"
"He took Tanya as a hostage! When one of those big spiders appeared, I said it could have him."
"You mean the acromantulas?!"
"If people learn how someone as popular as that scoundrel was killed by the acromantulas, this could mean the end of the treaty!"
"Never thought the day would come when I would speak in favor of Potter but this was clearly an act of self-defense."
Tanya was now glad for proposing that peace treaty. Because of the political implications, it seemed this matter would be closed forever, exactly as she wished.
"We shall discuss this on another occasion. For the time being, we ought to decide on the best way to help miss Degurechaff."
Tanya flinched.
"C-can't they see I just want this all to be over?!"
"I know a good professional in the matters of the mind. Being born a squib, she knows about our world-"
"NO! I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS EVER AGAIN!"
"My child, you need help! Talking is the best way to alleviate-"
"I-i-if you force me… I will run away! None of you will ever see me again!" This had the desired effect of frightening them.
This summer, they learned Tanya can't be tracked by the usual means. If she wished to remain hidden, it would be very difficult (or even impossible) to find her.
"J-just don't tell anyone… I am not weak! I can take care of myself! S-so-" Again, she broke down in tears while Harry held her.
Professor Dumbledore was conflicted, but let out a heavy breath of air in defeat.
"Vry well. No one will mention or talk about this issue ever again, unless miss Degurechaff herself agrees to do so."
"Professor!"
"It's very late, Minerva. I believe Mr Potter and miss Degurechaff are tired. Escort them back to the dormitory, will you?"
Many emotions washed over Harry on the short trip back to the Gryffindor dorms.
Starting with anger at Lockhart for hurting his girlfriend this much.
"Can't even punch the dead sod!"
Helplessness, seeing a dejected Tanya clinging to his arm.
"She looks so vulnerable! It's worse than the night I found her weeping alone in that clearing."
Confusion at how he should act in such a situation.
"I reckon I need to do something. But what?!"
Empathy towards his head of house. The always composed professor McGonagall walked with an unsteady pacing and more than once he heard her swallow a sob.
Also, a little bit of bitterness.
"I really wish it was her fault…!" It was her idea to give Tanya detention with Lockhart! She also disregarded when the little girl tried to say anything!
And on top of all, guilt and sadness.
"… so maybe I could stop blaming myself."
Arriving in the Gryffindor common room, they were welcomed by their dorm-mates plus a few others.
"It's unlikely they know the truth. Tanya made everyone ran away before they saw too much.Even I thought she was scared of being a princess."
Harry hoped this was the case. Who knows how his girlfriend would react if the whole school became aware.
"Tanya, are you okay now? You were gone the entire day!" Parvati and Lavender were the first to approach.
"I am fine. Sorry I overreacted earlier." Tanya gave a very low bow as an apology to her fellow Gryffindors.
"Don't be silly! That boggart was the nastiest thing ever."
"Yeah. Take Nev here. Bloke was so scared he only stopped running when he hit the other side of the castle!"
Neville turned beet red with the chuckles provoked by Seamus' revelation. Harry noticed that, under such a light mood, Tanya began to relax.
"We shouldn't have laughed when we first saw your boggart. We all felt bad after Ron told us everything."
Tanya flinched at Dean's words.
"R-Ron told you?!"
"Oh no! I forgot he and Hermione saw everything!"
Tanya's reaction was immediate. With shaking hands she tried to pull Harry towards the room's exit in a clear desire to flee.
"Poor thing! Was this why you lied about being a muggle-born commoner? For fear of people meddling with your love life?"
"Huh?"
"Tanya, on these days you can be with whoever you want, regardless of social status."
Lavender and Parvati's apparently unrelated topics puzzled Harry for a brief time. Then he realized Ron told a different story about Tanya's boggart.
"He must have said she was afraid of marrying another! Nice Saving Ron!" Only now he realized his two friends were close by and silently thanked them.
"Was that because of Malfoy? I heard he proposed to you."
"Ah! The Slytherins scared Tanya with their pure blood bullshit!"
"They were probably all 'a princess can only marry one of us'!"
"I bet some even tried to hit on her!"
"Harry! Are you forgetting your knightly duties? Protect your girlfriend!" Lavender Brown had no idea how much those words hurt Harry.
"Right! Either hex the sods or kill a dragon already!"
"Alright! That's enough chit-chat for a day. I want everyone in bed, we have classes tomorrow!"
The little girl still refused to let go of her boyfriend even after Professor McGonagall's announcement.
"It's okay Tanya. You can be with Harry again tomorrow." With Hermione's gently reassuring, hesitantly, Tanya released Harry's hand.
But before letting herself be guided by the older girl, she turned to Ron.
"I owe you one."
In the darkness of the Gryffindor's common room, two figures seemingly materialized out of thin air.
"Did it work?" Scorpius Malfoy heard his friend Albus ask.
"I dunno."
"I hope it did. Know how much I had to pester Sev to let us inside-"
"Someone is coming! Hurry, hide!"
Any doubts about their success vanished from his mind when Scorpius saw from his hiding place four familiar children gathered together.
"Wow! Look at Mr Potter and Albus' mum! And the other two are Rose's parents!"
"Is she sleeping…?"
"Y-yeah… As soon as she landed on the bed…"
"I see…"
"Hum? Why are they so gloomy?"
Scorpius could sense a heavy tension in the room. Their faces indicated they wanted to talk but instead, stared at each other silently.
Finally, the future minister for magic broke the silence.
"H-Harry! Please! Tell me that I saw wrong! The boggart! It acted like Tanya was- like she was f-forced to- Sob!"
"Is something wrong?"
Scorpius glanced enthusiastically at the newcomer, expecting the blonde to be a younger version of Tanya Potter.
"Luna?"
"Ahhh, what a let down."
"I heard Tanya was in the hospital wing. Was she hurt?"
Harry Potter merely nodded his head and dropped himself on a sofa.
"Did something bad happen? Can't be Voldemort. History saysthey should only face him very later on."
Wearing a somber expression, Albus' father opened his mouth.
"Tanya was- she was…"
Upon hearing Harry Potter's tale, Scorpius felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
"Mrs Potter- the Tanya Potter who saved my mum's life was DEFILED?!"
By the end of the story, Albus' mum and Luna Lovegood were crying hard.
"Even while suffering so much she came to help me- Sob!"
"I-I should have been with her! It was all because I couldn't shut my mouth about her true identity!"
Minister Weasley by her part, was as much aghast as she was saddened.
"It was professor Lockhart?!"
"The bloody sod confessed to me and Harry he stole the stories of a bunch of people! And when we tried to force him to help rescue Ginny, he grabbed and threatened Tanya!" Mr Weasley told his future wife while consoling his sister.
"I saw her killing acromantulas the size of dogs! But with him she was terrified! I reckoned he did something to her! O-only not something like this."
"Sob! What should we do? We need to help her!"
"Tanya asked to be treated as always and to not talk about it ever again."
"Are you saying we should do nothing?!"
"We'll stay by her side. We can't let her forget that she isn't alone, that we all love her!" Luna Lovegood stated firmly, wiping away her tears.
They spend a few more minutes like this, considering the best ways to help their friend. Then they retired to the dormitories, their faces full of sorrow.
Now that the coast was clear, the two boys emerged from their hiding spots.
"Blimey! We arrived one day late!"
"I told you this could- More important, did you just hear that?"
"Yeah, I know. Why do you think I suggested that we deliver our gift 'yesterday'?"
"I-it happened earlier today?! Mr Potter said-"
"No, today she saw her boggard. It opened up some old wounds, Tanya was- I mean, will be depressed for a while."
"Shouldn't we have gone to the day it actually happened? To try to save her?"
"For starters, the pervert never really molested her." Scorpius let go a huge breath of relief.
"And I don't reckon your dad's time turner can travel to other worlds."
"Huh?"
"Sorry, can't tell you. It's kind of a family secret."
"Fine! Can we deliver our package now and go back home?"
His friend looked at him uncertainly.
"I don't think we should. Tanya is too upset, she may completely overlook it. We better stick to the plan. Let's go back one more day."
"Albus, we can't. After traveling to a point in time, we can only go forward."
"You mean we need to go back to the present first? Okay, let's return and travel to the correct day."
"Have you forgotten how your aunt, the minister, enforced the law forbidding usage of time turners? The traces of time magic on our mana will let Professor Snape know what we've done the moment we arrive."
"He likes Tanya too! If we explain-"
"Do I need to remind you that, different from your brothers and sisters, the headmaster doesn't like you? I warned this would be our sole chance."
"Dammit! Let- just let me think for a sec!"
Scorpius shrugged mentally. Even if Albus Potter was his best friend, he wasn't the best thinker one could count on.
"I knew I should have asked the help of his 'twin half-brother'!" Then again, Severus Potter has enough common sense to not mess with time.
"Unlike us!"
"That's it! We are going to another day a few weeks in the future!" Albus said full of confidence.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." Scorpius thought as he started the time turner.
Over the next few weeks, Harry and Tanya would scarcely spend any moment apart from each other. Every single morning the little girl would run to her boyfriend the instant they met and stay together until nightfall.
Lamentably, the signs of Tanya's depression were always present. Frequently, out of the blue, she would start trembling and break down in tears. This would require Harry to take her to an isolated place until she calmed down.
These instances, however, gave birth to gossip alleging Harry and Tanya were so crazy about each other that they had to run to the closest broom wardrobe to snog! Thus, life at Hogwarts went on with no other students besides their friends knowing about her distress. In general, people were fully convinced of Ron's story. Except, of course, by the professors who already knew the truth.
Harry never saw Professor Dumbledore again after that night. Professor Lupin was conducting his classes as usual and nowadays, enjoyed a good popularity among students.
Now in transfiguration, professor McGonagall, on the surface, acted like the same old harsh teacher. Although, she often asked Harry for updates on Tanya's condition and only then did her angst become evident.
Snape wasn't too different. He was so down these days, that he lost the will to bully anyone. Harry's classmates would marvel at how this miracle was possible, but he couldn't be glad too, catching the teacher sometimes sadly looking at Tanya.
Tanya wouldn't let go of Harry even during the meals she had together with the professor. And even during those times, Snape never uttered a single mean comment to the boy he hated.
True to their word, Luna and Ginny were helping as much as possible. In comparison, Ron and Hermione seemed more concerned with fighting each other! The reason was the same as the start of the term: Crookshanks' attempts to eat Scabbers. They were avoiding any fights in front of Tanya, but the tension between the two was building.
It didn't help that Scabbers' health was declining ever since Ron took him to the spiders' nest. However, Harry believed this to be a coincidence, as rats don't live more than three years, Scabbers' natural lifespan was simply coming to an end.
This routine remained the same until Halloween arrived and with it, the Hogsmeade visit. Harry pleaded a last time with professor McGonagall to let him and Tanya go without a permission form.
He didn't mind it so much, but he believed Tanya would cheer up. Nonetheless, despite her reluctance, the professor decided to abide by the rules.
"Ginny and Luna will be busy until the feast. I guess it'll be just the two of us today."
"Oh! O-okay."
Harry couldn't help skipping a heartbeat with Tanya's adorable blush. This reminded him of the 'urges' he had been trying so hard to suppress. More than anything he wished to hug her, to kiss her, to lay down with her!
'Take a cold shower if you must! Any sort of gesture of affection in this stage could easily be taken as harassment!' Hermione alerted him that while Tanya was recovering, he shouldn't go beyond holding hands or risk her becoming irreversibly scared of him.
"B-better if we're not alone today!"
Luckily, after sending his two friends off, the couple somehow found themselves having tea with professor Lupin.
"Grindylows, professor? Indeed, not much of a challenge after the Kappas. I think learning about Dugbogs can be more useful."
"Sorry Tanya. This would be too advanced for your classmates. Also, we don't have mandrakes to feed them."
"Ah! We used almost all mandrakes last term. It will take a long time to replenish."
"Speaking of magical plants, do you two know what happened with the Whomping Willow in the backyard?"
Harry shared an embarrassed look with Tanya.
"Now, thisis an interesting question which has three equally interesting answers."
"The other professors told me it was struck by lightning. But I heard Dean commenting that Harry and Ron blew it up with a flying car!"
Both stories were fake. The first was the excuse passed to the board of governors, while the other was how it became known between the students.
"Still don't know why we couldn't tell everyone it was Tanya who blew it up to save me and Ron. Even professor McGonagall was happy to get rid of it!"
'… relieved about the destruction of that tree. Mr Lupin won't be needing it anymore…'
"Wait, did she mention 'Lupin'? Why would he need it in the first place?" This question was never voiced as knock on the door brought Snape carrying a potion.
It was brief, but once again, he gave Tanya a sad look, only to narrow his eyes at Harry in the next moment.
This made the boy glad. Perhaps, this was a signal of things going back to normal. Still, he couldn't shake away his apprehension thinking about his DADA teacher drinking a potion made by Snape.
"Professor, that potion-"
"You are a werewolf."
Tanya's statement shocked professor Lupin in a way he almost dropped his goblet.
"How did you find out?"
"I have the ability to see other people's mana and yours always has this sick taint. And who would have the full moon as a boggart? Also, professor Snape taught me how to make a wolfsbane potion, the one you have in that cup."
"I compliment you for being this sharp. And don't worry, I'll resign immediately."
"What?" Now Harry was the one shocked. What Tanya meant by a werewolf? And she wanted him gone?!
"I didn't ask for your resignation. Stick to never forgetting to drink your potion and keep away from Harry in the full moon nights and we won't be having a problem."
Realizing Harry's confusion, the two finally explained about professor Lupin's sickness.
"Are you sure? Usually, people tell me to leave when they learn of my condition."
"You are the single decent DADA teacher we have ever had since we came here. One was a host for Voldemort and the other- well…"
"Tanya, about the boggart, it was my ineptitude which caused your suffering."
"No, it wasn't anyone's fault that day. It was all 'HIM'!"
"If only I had gone there a little earlier!" Even with her own words, Harry still couldn't forgive himself.
"Besides, I am not made of glass, I will- AM recovering!"
"You sure-" Once more, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"So this is where you two were!"
"We were looking all over the castle, you know."
Ron and Hermione entered the room carrying full paper bags.
"Shouldn't you be in Hogsmeade?"
"We stayed long enough to bring THIS from Honeydukes." Hermione dropped a large quantity of sweets from the bags.
"We thought of having an earlier Halloween party, just us. Oh! Professor Lupin is also invited."
"I need to apologize to them later." Despite Harry's earlier criticism, his friends gave up the visit they had been anticipating so much just to be nice to Tanya.
"Ahhhhh! This is delicious!" Seeing the girl he loved happily stuffing herself with candy, made his heart warm for the first time in two months.
Tanya was smiling again! And it would keep that way during the feast. Harry couldn't remember eating a single sweet. He busied himself admiring Tanya's cheerfulness.
"Ugh! I don't want to see anything with sugar as long as I live!" Ron declared by the end of the night.
"H-how unbecoming the daughter of dentists!" Hermione agreed, while holding her stomach. They had been eating nothing but sweets since morning.
And Tanya by her part was still eating a piece of chocolate as they walked back to their dormitory.
"FINALLY! At long last I got to go to the halloween feast! Nothing of trolls, ghosts' parties or basilisks! Things are definitely looking good now!"
"Yeah! The worst is over. Our happy school days start right- ah?"
The path to the fat lady portrait was full with students. Harry had a bad feeling about it.
"Harry you dog! Can't let go of your girlfriend even during quidditch practice?"
Harry's answer was to merely blush and smile like an oaf.
It was actually the reverse of what Fred Weasley declared. Tanya was the one who couldn't let go of Harry Potter these days. Not even the strong winds and the heavy rain would prevent her from being present in every training session.
"Don't mind him Harry! He is jealous he doesn't have a pretty girlfriend!" Angelina Johnson spoke in defense of the couple.
"Jealous? How rude! What I mean is lady von Degurechaff must be bored watching some commoner's game!"
"This is so tiring!" Here she was, suffering in silence from PTSD. With zero means of getting mental care without risking being locked away in a straight-jacked. And what is everyone's assumption? That cute princess Tanya is scared people won't let her marry her beloved Harry!
Far from this nonsense, the actual truth is that since the boggart, Tanya's magic became unreliable, exactly the same as that night with Lockhart.
"Like I feared, my terrified mind 'reminds' my magic of the ET96's effects!"
Feeling completely defenseless. With nightmares barely letting her have the minimum of sleep. The betrayal of her former comrades still heaving down her spirit. Plus the already cited disorder, left Tanya with a distraught and frail mental state. Her insecurity was so great that she sought safety with the surest person willing to offer her protection. The one who was bulletproof against death (unless he fights Voldemort). Her accidentally turned boyfriend: Harry Potter.
"This was to last until I regained my footing but with professors Snape and McGonagall pitying me at every turn, I can't have a single instance of peace!"
Their anxiety may be understandable. One of the children they are supposed to protect was sexually assaulted! It's the nightmare of any educator. However, can't they see this is slowing down her recovery?! All their 'sympathy' was having the reverse effect, it was stressing her so much that more than once she was reduced to tears! Fortunately, Harry made the right calls and would take her away until she felt better. Nevertheless this reinforced the absurd notion that she is madly in love with him!
"Mr Weasley! Miss Degurechaff is here for the same reason as my own!" Madam Hooch meant the fact that she was tasked with keeping an eye on Harry after the incident on halloween night.
Somehow Sirius Black managed to bypass all the security measures of Hogwarts and reach the entrance to their house's common room. He wasn't the dark lord, but such a determined insane man could do permanent damage to the future savior of HER world and actual owner of a deathly hallow.
Tanya's mind, already on edge, was assaulted by overwhelming panic and completely lost the capacity to think straight.
'NO! I CAN'T LOSE YOU! D-don't leave me!' The temporarily irrational Tanya cried out nonsense easily mistaken for oaths of love! And it didn't help how literally the entire castle heard her plea to sleep with him that night!
"Why didn't McGonagall say no?! W-we even shared the same sleeping bag!"
"What a scandal! Professor Hooch also wants to snog Harry!" George Weasley shouted while faking an outraged expression.
"MR WEASLEY!"
"Actually, we haven't k-kissed yet." Harry's revelation was wholeheartedly met with skepticism.
"Come on, don't lie to us."
"Yup! I saw with my own eyes. The other day, you two running to a desert corridor!" Katie Bell ratted them out.
"My goodness! Now listen here, you two are young and in love, but remember to not do 'something' you may regret later on!" Being the sole adult present, the flying instructor felt obligated to voice her concerns.
Not that it was necessary. If there was one bright side in this whole mess was the fact that her involvement with Harry turned back into a platonic one.
She even contemplated ending their so-called romance. The excuse of being too broken to have a healthy relationship was the best weapon one could ask. Not to say that innocent boys like him dreamed of having their first times with equally virgin girls.
If Tanya played her cards right, she could reach an amicable breakup. Maybe, even go back to being a sister figure to him! It was an unmissable opportunity and yet, she decided against it.
If Rerugen's betrayal has taught her anything, it's that the natural path for someone who is no longer useful is to be discarded.
Harry Potter needed Tanya. Not to be a friend, or a sister, or a mother, but to be his girlfriend and maybe someday his lover.
On the prospect of the boy discovering all his 'uses' for her are going nowhere, if only in an emotional way, he will dispose of Tanya. Therefore, her best alternative is to keep him hooked on her. And if the time comes for him to demand a lover, she'll claim she still needed more time to heal.
"I only hope I am a man again before he loses patience."
"Hey! Why are you not practicing?!" Oliver Wood shouted the moment he returned.
"Because we are all tired of flying around in this storm!" Wood narrowed his eyes at Alicia Spinnet outburst.
"We have some urgent problems. We are playing Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin!"
"Why?" This news puzzled the other members of the team.
"The Slytherins claim to need more time to choose a proper new captain. Someone who won't be easily 'retired'." Harry frowned at Tanya under the older boy's small glare.
"Flint should be grateful, I heard he barely passed his graduation exams."
"Err, can't it be that they don't wanna play in this weather?"
"Regardless of the reason, our strategy was put together assuming we would be playing them! Hufflepuff style is completely different!" Wood was talking while grinding his teeth, his tension palpable.
"And their new captain and seeker Diggory is-"
"You mean Cedric Diggory…?"
"Yeah, him! He played chaser, but is now confident enough to be back at his favorite position."
"… the tall, good-looking, strong and silent handsome boy…"
The three girls giggled in obvious admiration for the opposing captain.
"I already said, HIM! And his strategies are totally unknown!"
"… who has the hots for our little princess…"
"Wait, what?!" The last remark caught Tanya's attention.
"Pfff! Last time, we defeated them easily. They are pushovers!"
"You are forgetting that Lady Von Degurechaff was the one who defeated him!"
"You know, there is a simple solution. The princess could-"
"I am not playing again."
"Seriously, if you played, our victory would be assured!"
"Hey!" This comment seemed to insult Harry.
"Don't take this personally, Harry. It's just that Diggory fancies Degurechaff since that game. If she played, he wouldn't be able to concentrate."
"This time won't be so easy." They turned at the sound of the voice and there was Cedric Diggory in all his 'handsomeness' glory.
"Captain Diggory? Is there anything I can do for you?" Oliver Wood asked in a more civilized tone than he would have used for Slytherin.
"Ohhh! He is even more handsome up close!" The three girls from the team were back at giggling.
"I am here to declare that from now on I am giving my all!" There was a firm tone in his voice.
"Ha! You challenge is accepted! I promise we will train so hard-"
"Sorry, Wood. I wasn't talking with you or even about the game."
"You weren't?!"
"No. Any statement to face your team with everything we've got is redundant."
"You lost me. Why are you here, then?"
"To declare my intentions." This time, he directed his fiery gaze at Harry and Tanya.
"Harry, you are a good fella. This is why I am warning you beforehand. I am going to ask Degurechaff out!"
AN: Sorry the new chapter got delayed again! But I was feeling deadly tired those few weeks because of my fucking work! My job wasn't mean to stress me this much but my INCOMPETENT bosses seem determined to work me and my coworkers to death!
Remember that dream Rerugen and the others are not how they are in reality. Just like Tanya explained, this dream was only her fears and paranoia taking form. Some time in the future, I will explain what happened with them.
The whole idea of this chapter was to show how all the characters reacted to Tanya's situation. Unfortunately, it would take too much space to show everyone, so I had to cut it out. Sorry! Maybe later, I will have a chapter showing all of Dumbledore thoughts about Tanya and have a mention of this.
I actually like Cedric Diggory. This was another thing that I hated about cursed child. The fact that if he lives, he became a death eater! I even considered for him to became Tanya's lover in this story before she marries Harry. But, again I realized that the story would become too big. Not to say that this would put a strain in Harry's feelings for Tanya and in this particular moment she is too upset to enter a sexual relationship.
Next chapter: Albus and Scorpius accidentally reawaken the devil! Difficult times are coming for Harry…
Reviews:
Ocansino: Sorry, it's not that the conception is appealing to me but this is how this story is. Tanya's memories of Loria are basically a weakness for this overpowered girl.
Setokayba2n: Unfortunately, as you could see in the first interlude, she will carry this trauma for the rest of her life.
EricFreak: Thank you for your comments. The dementors were supposed to have a bigger role but real life is getting in my way of writing…
NovaOfBeginning: Don't worry. Since this story was first conceived, I planned for a moment where Tanya will revisit that world and find out what happened with the Empire, the Russy Federation and the people she knew.
Werd14572: This is what I always wished to do in a Harry Potter fanfiction.
Guest: Sorry if you think it's cringe. But this is the story I am writing.