AN:/ Hello everyone. I would like to begin by thanking everyone for your reads and reviews. It helps me both keep going on this story and it helps when days are kind of rough. Now a few things. For starters I own nothing. The next is that I have seen a lot of you want the other Black sisters to the pairing. I am sorry to inform you that I will not be adding more girls. I try and get pairings decided before I start writing so that I can easily form the pairing to the story and have a clear goal. I feel that adding any others, especially at this point, would feel too forced. For those that do want the other sisters I have other fics that are planned that would add all three. I am sorry if your heart was set upon the addition, but I just feel this best for me to keep things flowing. Again, thank you all for your reads and reviews and i hope you enjoy it!
Harry found himself and Flitwick finally making it to the hotel in Berlin after a long morning at the German Ministry of Magic. It had been the usual hullabaloo over Larry that caused them to be there for five hours. However, being an ICW country did help a little in getting things through faster.
"You were not kidding about how people react to your familiar, Harry. How do you put up with things like that?" Filius said, slightly grumpy. Not at Harry, of course, but at the MoM.
Harry reached up and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry about that, Filius. People tend to freak out for one reason or another when you tell them you have a Basilisk as a familiar. It's usually not this bad though. However, I think we can attribute it to Grindelwald. Most of the countries on the continent are very wary of anything that can be considered as dark. Part of me can't blame them, even if I don't agree with them."
Filius sighed. "It's not your fault, Harry. Like you said your first year, many people misunderstand many magical creatures to be dark. Honestly, it is kind of interesting that they do not consider dragons to be dark creatures now that I think about it."
"It's most likely due to them providing heartstrings for our wands. They are a common core, and if we started saying everyone with a dragon heartstring core is dark, it would blow up in our face. Half of the wizarding population would be dark if it were the case," Harry said as the elevator opened to their floor.
Filius chuckled. "Very true indeed. Well, Harry, this is our stop. Why don't we have ourselves set to meet in the dining hall at five in the morning? That way, we have plenty of time to get you registered."
Harry nodded and entered his room. It was a decent room, nothing fancy by any means, but it was clean and seemed well-kept. He put his things up and took out his dueling robes. Filius had helped him to order them. They were well-fitted black robes with sapphire blue trim along the edges. Upon the left breast was his family crest. The back held large letters that read "Pendragon" with a Hyberion black roaring below it.
The next morning, Harry collected his bag with his robes in them and made his way down to the dining hall. Upon arrival, he found only himself and Filius situated within. He walked over to the small professor and took a seat across from him. Filius looked up from his morning addition of the local paper. The hotel they were at served both magical and mundane guests, so they provided the local magical papers.
"Good morning, Harry! Are you ready for today?" He asked.
"Yes, I believe that I am. A little nervous though. Not every day that I go around and perform in front of a large crowd and all," he said as the waitress brought him his food that Filius had taken the liberty to order.
"Ah, yes, that is true, but I have faith in you, my boy. I feel you will do fantastic out there today," Filius said, taking a bite from his own food.
Harry gave his mentor a smile. "Thank you again for doing this, Filius. It means a lot that you have put your faith in me."
Filius waved him off. "Nonsense, Harry. I am a teacher, and it is my duty to support my students in any way I can."
After eating breakfast, the two walked down the streets to the German version of Diagon Alley. The sound and smell of the city assaulted Harry's senses, disorienting him a bit. He had had a month to get used to this new heightened senses that came with his Animagus forms, but it was still a bit difficult at times. The way that he had achieved Animagus was different from the normal way a British or other European witch or wizard would do it. As such, it came with different things. The way he did it was more spiritual and less forced, as it is with the potion. What this meant was that you merged with your spirit animal soul for soul. It gives you their senses with this merger, and in some cases, as with magical creatures, you may be able to gain a few of their magics in human form. However, with the Pendragon family magic, all that Harry's dragon gave him was a higher affinity and more power behind the family spells. The interesting thing, however, was that his Siberian tiger form had given him a new affinity for ice magic, making said spells more powerful.
They entered the alley and passed many similar shops to the ones back home. He spotted the bookstore and made a mental note to take Lilly there when they went on their date later in the week. He also took notice of the sweets shop as all three girls had a sweet tooth. They walked to a large building near the end of the alley by the bank. The German version of Gringotts was just as spectacular as the British branch.
Upon entering, they found it to be much larger than it even seemed from the outside. They walked into a huge open room with bleachers on either side of a large, long platform. There was already a line of younger people and their own mentors in front of three people taking down information and checking wands. He and Filius made their way to the line.
When it came to their turn, they stepped up to the man and presented their papers. He looked them over and then looked at Harry with a slightly astonished expression on his face. Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the man's behavior. "Ah yes, may I see your wand, please, Mr. Pendragon?"
Harry presented him his wand. "Here you are, sir," he said in German to make the man more comfortable. His mother had always insisted that he learns other languages. Filius gave him a raised brow but said nothing yet.
The now slightly shocked man gave him a smile before looking over his wand. "Let's see here. Cherry and dragon heartstring. Slightly flexible. Very well maintained by the looks of it. A fine wand, Mr. Pendragon, and should serve you well in the tournament," he said in German and handed his wand back.
"Thank you very much, sir," he replied.
"Your changing room is room eighty-seven. I look forward to seeing you perform," the man said with a smile as he and Filius walked away.
"Harry, I didn't know that you knew other languages," Filius said with a smile.
Harry gave a small far-away smile back as he thought of his mother. "Yes, my mother insisted that I learn more languages so that I could easily communicate with others. So far, I have learned French, German, Japanese, and Chinese."
Filius chuckled, but his eyes showed his sorrow for the young man's loss. He could see it in his eyes how much he loved his parents and how much it hurt him that they were no longer amongst the living. "Well, I am sure that they would be very proud of you, Harry. I am also sure they would be proud of the fact you have taken their lessons to heart."
"Thank you... Filius," Harry said as they entered the changing room. It had a small couch along with a curtain he could use to change behind. He went to the curtain and changed into his new robes. Once he came back out, Filius was already sitting on the couch reading a magazine on dueling that had been left on the small coffee table. He looked over at Harry, and his smile widened.
"My, that fits even better than I thought it would. You look quite sharp if I do say so myself, Harry," he said as Harry took a seat beside him.
"Thank you, sir," he said, playing with the edges of his robes a bit in nervousness.
Filius chuckled and patted his knee. "Relax for a bit, Harry. You will do just fine out there."
Harry's girlfriends and their families found themselves with prime seats upon their arrival at the stadium. They were only two rows up from the floor, and all of them were able to sit together. Of the Blacks, it was Arcturus, Millania, Andie, Sirius, and Narcissa that came to view the competition. They sat next to Andie, who had Lilly beside her and Amelia on the other side. The Evens followed with the Bones on the other end.
"This is quite the turnout this year. It seems that the under fifteen has grown in popularity in the last few years," Arcturus said offhandedly looking about.
"True. I remember only a few years ago that hardly anyone would come to this competition," Edward said, rubbing the goatee that he had recently grown out.
Arcturus looked over to the Evens family who were looking on in amazement. Other than when McGonagall had come to talk to them, they had not seen magic being used often. "You must be the Evens family. It is a pleasure to meet you," he said, sticking his hand out to Robert who took it firmly.
"Yes, Mr. Black. I am Robert, and this is my wife Rose. Beside her is our eldest Petunia, and here in the middle is our youngest Lilly."
Arcturus gave the girls each a small smile before turning back to the stage as the announcer came to the center. Many would have been surprised to see a Black being cordial to a Muggle. In fact, both Sirius and Narcissa were. However, what many didn't know was that the Blacks had quite a few dealings in the Muggle world that they kept a secret. It was how they had managed to build their fortune to the extent it was. They didn't exactly go out of their way to be around Muggles, but the head of the house would still be polite when around them. It was part of the reason that he didn't want either Orion or Cygnus to be the head of the house. Cygnus wouldn't be able to keep his mouth closed, and Orion would allow Walburga to do what she pleased.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to the two hundredth annual under fifteen dueling competition!" Cheers filled the air. "Now then, let us start..."
They tuned him out as he began to call the names of the first contestants. They were only here to see one in particular, and while they would obviously watch the others, they didn't much care if they won or lost. Soon the children were talking about various school-related things, and Arcturus smiled upon seeing even Narcissa participating. He had been worried that her father's bigoted ways would have already ruined her to being at the least civil with Muggles and Muggleborns.
"So Arcturus, how are things going on your end of the chambers?" Edward asked. While both were grey families, they did have a gap between them. While the Blacks tended more toward the dark faction and sat closer to it in the chambers, the Bones tended more toward the light and sat more that way within the grew faction.
Arcturus sighed. "Gods, don't get me started on that mess, Edward. The dark faction keeps trying to court many within our side of the chambers. I don't know what is going on, but I'm not liking where it is going."
Edward nodded his head as the kids listened with one ear as they watched the duels being staged before them. "Yes, Dumbledore and his ilk have been doing the same on our side of the line. Many have even started to offer up contracts trying to get us to move to the light."
Arcturus grunted a bit at that. "Yes, it is the same on our end. I feel something is coming, but I'm just not sure what it could be yet."
"I'm sorry, but I'm a bit lost here. Do you mind if I ask what you mean?" Robert asked curiously not understanding what was being discussed.
Edward nodded. "It's fine, Rob. What we were discussing is the state of our current politics. The Wizengamot is set up similarly to your House of Lords in the Muggle world. It is mainly sat by the lords and ladies of houses such as myself being the lord of house Bones, or Arcturus here who is the Lord of house Black. The chamber is split into three groups. You have the conservatives or the Dark faction. This group consists of more bigoted individuals and people who tend to want to stay with old traditions. I am sorry to say but this group tends to not like Muggles and Muggleborns believing magic should only be kept in the old blood. On the opposite side, you have the light faction. These are the progressives. They tend to try to do more for Muggles and Muggleborns and don't mind if we lose our traditions in the process. Between them, you have the neutral faction or the grey faction. That is where myself and Arcturus are and where Harry tends to lean. We are more in the middle ground on things, trying to bring the Muggleborns into our world better and wish to have them understand our traditions. It is more as though we strive to walk a middle line that allows for both progress and tradition at the same time. However, our faction is smaller than the other two sides, but we tend to be the tie-breakers."
Robert nodded his head in thought. "I see. I suppose I can understand what you mean. It is nice to have traditions but also good to bring new ideas to the table that could see an improvement to society and technology."
Arcturus nodded a bit. "That is correct. Many don't know this, but that is how the Blacks have seen things for generations, but it tends to be a guarded secret. Most see us as being dark due to our family magic dealing in curses and hexes. Plus, we do try to keep with the old ways more than what would be considered light, so we are dark grey if you would. However, I do not have anything against Muggles or Muggleborns." He added the last piece as the Evens all eyed him warily.
After a few rounds, it finally came time for Harry's turn. This would be the first time that Arcturus would be seeing the young man and was quite curious. He couldn't help the small smirk as he watched the three girls getting excited upon hearing his name. 'Ah, to be young and in love,' he thought to himself, giving Mellania's hand a small squeeze as he noticed her smiling knowingly at their granddaughter.
The boy's opponent came marching out to his side with a look of cockiness about him. He was on the taller side and most likely almost fifteen but young enough to compete here today. He wore some garish-looking purple robes that glittered in the light of the room. His cocky smirk was being flashed at any witch that looked at him. His black hair was greased back in a way that reminded Arcturus of a Malfoy.
The next young man to walk out didn't so much march as many of his competitors had but more glided across the stage. He was rather tall for a fourteen-year-old, standing around five foot seven or so, closer to being a fifteen-year-old. He had shaggy straight blond hair that came down a few inches above his shoulders. The hair on his left side was longer and pulled into a braid that went over his shoulder. A few long strands on the right side came over the front of his forehead from the back. His dark sapphire blue eyes seemed to scream power and grace behind his half-frame glasses. His black robes trimmed with a similar blue to his eyes. His house crest sat upon his left breast. All and all, Arcturus thought he cut a fine figure for one so young. He showed grace and confidence without being cocky. He could already tell who would win this round.
Harry stopped on the other side of the platform and listened to the ref give out the rules once again. The boy before him gave him a wicked and cocky smirk, but he ignored it, choosing to focus on his fight. The ref ordered them to bow, and Harry did so without taking his eyes off his opponent. His opponent, on the other hand, bowed, showing his neck to him. It was an amateur move if this were not a friendly competition. If it weren't, he would be dead right now.
They took their stance, or at least the other boy did. Harry, on the other hand, relaxed his muscles and held his wand to his side and slightly forward. His left foot went back a touch. This seemed to confuse many and make even more think that the famous Pendragon was being cocky and not taking this seriously. The boy before him snarled a bit under his breath at the perceived insult.
On the sidelines, Filius was smirking, having known better. This was Harry taking this seriously. He was relaxed so that he could better dodge incoming spells. It made his movements more fluid and not so stiff as taking a stance like his opponent would do.
The ref called for the match to begin, and his opponent fired off three quick spells. Harry barely moved, leaning his body just out of the way. The other boy's trajectory was easy to predict as he continued to cast chain after chain. However, rather than having five or more chains as Harry was made to learn, this boy seemed to only have two. He also had a bad habit of only switching from one chain to the next one right after the other and then going back to the first.
After a few moments of dodging, in which the crowd was dead silent, not thinking he would dodge a single one, Harry struck out. His wand was like lightning, coming up hard and fast upon his opponent. He fired five quick spells in a row: a bone breaker, the impediment jinx, an incarcerous, langlock, and finally an expelliarmus.
His opponent barely got out of the way of the bone breaker only to land into the impediment. It was as if Harry had perfectly anticipated the boy's every movement. As though he knew exactly which way he would jump and aimed his spells to strike along his path. The next to strike him was the incarcerous, then the langlock. Finally, he was hit with the expelliarmus as he hit the floor, and the boy's wand flew into Harry's hand. The stadium was silent as the audience was stunned by the speed at which the person they thought would lose won in the end. It was a perfect example of don't judge a book by its cover. Three girls in the second row were the ones to start the loud cheering.
Harry, in a sign of good sportsmanship, walked to his opponent and released his spells. He offered the boy his wand before extending a hand to help him up. The boy scowled at the hand, feeling slighted, and slapped it away. He stormed off the stage, leaving the stadium in a huff. Harry just frowned slightly and shook his head. He gave the audience a friendly smile that had more than a few girls swooning, much to the displeasure of his three lovely ladies. They would have been upset if it wasn't obvious where that smile was directed. He gave a slight wave and left the stage.
"That was wonderfully done, Harry! You perfectly baited your opponent to show what they have and then took them down fast and clean," Filius exclaimed as they walked to their room. "Well done indeed."
"Thank you, sir. It was all due to your training," Harry replied with a smile.
Harry dueled two more times that day before the end was called, and they were asked to return the next day for the semi-finals. He and Filius changed into their Muggle wear before making their way out of the stadium. Upon arriving in the alley, they found the three families that had come to support him waiting for them.
"Harry!" Three voices squealed as he found himself almost being knocked over by three blurs.
He chuckled as he hugged the girls back before they let him go. He looked them over to see that they had gone through a bit of a growth spurt over the last month and a half. Andie was now closest to his height at five feet six. Her long brown hair had grown to her waist, and her bust had grown to a respectable C-cup. Her hips flared out a little more than before, giving her an hourglass figure.
Beside her, Lilly was now around five feet four. Her long red hair still hung to her mid-back. Her bust was getting near a C like Andie's but was on the larger side of a double B. Her hips were not quite as wide as the older girl's, but she still showed a nice heart-shaped rear in her tight jeans.
Amelia had her red hair cut to just below her shoulders for the summer and had gained a slight tan while he was away. She had the largest growth spurt in terms of her womanly wiles than the other two. Her bust was now closer to a large C, almost D, and her hips flared just slightly more than Andie's. Her own tight jeans showed off a very good view of her posterior for his viewing pleasure.
"Wow, you girls look as beautiful as ever before," he told them, causing each to blush lightly at his compliment. He then greeted the other Bones and Evens, giving Petunia a warm hug that she happily returned. Finally, he came before Arcturus and offered his hand to the older man. "Lord Black, it is a pleasure to meet you. Andie has told me much about you."
Arcturus took the offered limb and returned the firm handshake of the boy. "As I have heard much of you, Lord Pendragon."
Harry then kissed Mellania's and Narcissa's hands, gaining a small blush from the other blonde, though she hid it well. She wasn't interested in the boy, but it was hard not to get flustered when a handsome boy was around. After pleasantries were given, the group went to a pleasant little restaurant where they ate a fine dinner.
After dinner, they made their way back to the hotel. As it turned out, the others had managed to get rooms in the same one he and Filius were in. Before he was able to go up to his room, however, after saying his good nights, he was stopped by a gruff voice. "Lord Pendragon, may I have a word, please?" Arcturus said in a low tone.
Harry nodded his head, realizing that this would be a conversation between two lords. He followed the man to a meeting room set up in the wizarding section of the hotel. Upon entering, the two of them took a seat. "How can I help you, Lord Black?"
Arcturus stared at the boy for a long moment before speaking. "I would like to know how serious you are about my granddaughter, Lord Pendragon. As I am sure you are aware, it is not ordinary for a family of our standings to allow our children to casually date. Usually, such things would be done through a courting contract. So far, I have only allowed it for my granddaughter's sake. Thus, I would like to know how serious you are about her," he said, his voice hard and his eyes boring into the lad. He was doing his best to intimidate him to see what kind of man he really was.
Harry, for his part, gave him the same look his father had taught him. Slightly looking down his nose as the two locked eyes, neither looking away from the other. Finally, Harry spoke. "I can assure you, Lord Black, that I am quite in love with your granddaughter. I would die before I harmed her or let harm come to her in any way."
Arcturus's eyes narrowed at the boy before him. "Are you suggesting that you would even go as far as marrying her if it meant protecting her?"
"I would be more than honored if she chose to spend the rest of her life with me. And I would kill to protect her," Harry said back, his own eyes narrowing, not liking what was being implied.
Arcturus sat back in his chair and seemed to be thinking something over for a moment. Finally, he nodded his head a bit. "I will give you until Christmas to decide if you would still be willing to do such a thing. At which point, if you are still willing to, I will offer a marriage contract between the two of you. I will not lie to you, Lord Pendragon, this match will benefit the house of Black. However, Andromeda's father has been scheming for a while now, and I am mainly doing this to protect her from those schemes. She cares for you deeply, and I would rather her married to someone she loves than someone she cannot stand."
Harry was a bit taken aback by the offer of a contract so soon. However, he also knew that it really wasn't out of the question. Most marriages between houses set up contracts without even giving the participants a chance to see if they were compatible with one another. He slowly nodded his head. "I do not see myself changing my mind. However, I believe we should wait until then to see if Andie does not feel the same."
"And if she doesn't?" Arcturus asked curiously.
"While I would be saddened, though I would respect her wishes," Harry replied.
Arcturus looked him up and down for a moment before he nodded. "I can see why she likes you. Strong in both body, mind, and magic. Very well, Lord Pendragon, we shall revisit the subject in a few months' time."
With that said and done, the two went their separate ways. Harry lay awake on his bed for a time after he showered, thinking over what had been said between them. A small smile came across his lips at the thought of marrying the three girls. He was also happy to see that Arcturus seemed to care so deeply for his family. Though he did frown a bit at the thought of her father. He knew what he was talking about from his time with Sirius and couldn't help but worry for her. He pushed those thoughts aside for now and went to sleep.
The next few days flew by with the competition getting more and more intense. Harry had easily made it past his own fights with relative ease. He had not lost a single fight yet, and he had gained a following for his good sportsmanship and dueling prowess.
It was now the final match of the tournament, and Harry stood before his last opponent. If he won this one, he won the whole thing. The ref called for them to begin, and the spells started to fly fast and hard. His opponent was a boy from Japan, and he was not giving Harry any room.
Harry cast a glacial spell at his opponent's feet before firing the first chain he used in the competition. The boy barely managed to slip and slide out of harm's way, but it gave Harry a moment of respite to gather momentum. Now the fight was on the other foot, with the other boy on defense. With a round of a bone breaker, a light reducto along with an incarcerous and a disarming charm, the match came to a close with Harry on top.
The crowd went nuts at the five-minute-long match that had them all on the edge of their seats. Harry went and returned his opponent's wand with a small smile to the other boy. "That was a very good match, Gin. I thank you for the honor," he said, speaking in the boy's native tongue.
The other boy looked surprised for a moment before he smiled. "No worries, my friend. It was good to go up against someone as skilled as yourself. I hope to see you in the next tournament for a rematch," he said, taking Harry's hand.
"As do I," Harry said. The crowd cheered even louder at the show of sportsmanship between the two competitors. It was clear no hard feelings were had. Harry left Germany the following day with his first dueling win under his belt and a smile on his face. His girlfriends' families congratulated him with a wonderful dinner. Before they separated, he had invited the girls to come to Camelot Manor the following week for a picnic. All in all, it had shaped up to be a wonderful summer so far.