STORY TITLE: Year of the Cat
PART: 13 of ? The Kittens Purr
AUTHOR: Red Jacobson ( )
DISTRIBUTION: HP Fan Fiction Archive, Archive of Our Own, Hentai-Foundry, Questionable Questing,
DISCLAIMER: None of the Characters You Recognize belong to me, they all belong to JK Rowling and her publishers.
SUMMARY: A different take on the Prisoner of Azkaban, as Cat Animagus Bellatrix Lestrange escapes at the same time as Sirius, with a very different goal in mind!
FEEDBACK: Of course! It Makes Me Write Faster
RELATIONSHIPS: Harry/Bellatrix/Narcissa/Multi, Hermione/Fleur/Gabrielle, Harry/Hermione/Luna, Harry/Hermione/Lavender/Luna, Harry/Cho, Hermione/Susan/Hannah
RATING: NC-17
WORD COUNT: 7,613
SPOILERS: None, if you don't know how the Harry Potter story goes by now, why are you reading this story?
WARNINGS: If You've ever read any of my stories, you know what to expect, Oral, anal, Femme-slash, Dom/sub, multiple partners, and Femme-cest. There is also partner swapping and slaves being treated as slaves, being made to sexually serve other characters.
AUTHORS NOTES: I've adjusted the dates of different events during the summer, both because the exact date Sirius escaped hasn't been provided, and also to give Harry more time in the Alley.
NOTE ON CHARACTER AGES: In this AU, Hogwarts starts at 14, so Harry is just over a month shy of his 16th Birthday when the story starts.
NOTE ON LEMONS: Not planning much in the way of explicit lemon in this chapter, need to move the story along so I can get them onto the Hogwarts Express shortly.
CASTING NOTE: Mary and Elizabeth Perkins are portrayed by Porn Actress Bree Olson
Narcissa Black Malfoy is portrayed by Porn Actress Devon
Lavender Brown is portrayed by Model Danielle Sellers
Parvati and Padma Patil are portrayed by Model Courtnie Quinlan
Fleur "Good Girl" Delacour is portrayed by Model Rhian Sugden
Gabrielle "Brat" Delacour is portrayed by Model Jurgita Valts
Daphne Greengrass is portrayed by Alexandra Daddario
Katie Bell is portrayed by Model Pia Marzo
Mei Chang is portrayed by Model Julri Waters
Pansy Parkinson is portrayed by Model Mellisa Clarke
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! - I've warned you, practically since the first chapters, that Harry and Hermione will have their slaves serving other people sexually. This is the chapter it starts in. If this bothers you, feel free to hit the back button, but don't send me a flaming review, you've known this was coming for a long time.
AHEM, Sorry about that but I felt it needed to be said. Now, on with our regularly scheduled chapter.
Leaky Cauldron
Dining Room
Saturday, August 28th, 1993
7:30 am
Hermione looked up when Harry stumbled out of the floo, and she had to bite back a laugh at the way he looked. She was amazed that he was still awake as exhausted as he looked. There must be one hell of a story to tell, and she was looking forward to hearing it, but that could wait a few minutes. Raising her hand to get his attention, Harry grinned and started walking toward the table she was sharing with Luna.
He took a seat at the table on the other side of Luna, and as soon as the waitress came over, he ordered a pot of tea. Hermione managed to wait until his tea arrived before putting up the privacy spells and looking directly at him. "Okay, I'm sure that there is an amazing story here, but we don't have the time. So I'll just ask, who was she, and can she walk this morning?"
Harry laughed, shaking his head, "Honestly, I'm surprised either of us can walk, but before you kill me with your questions, it was Pansy Parkinson. After I sent you the message last night, I ended up down on Horizon Alley, at this club called the Cauldron..."
Harry talked for about fifteen minutes, and Hermione knew that she would be taking Luna, and at least Hannah to the Playroom during the Yule Break. It would be a great way to unwind from the stress of wedding preparations. The way Luna was squirming on her chair, she would really enjoy the experience, and it would be a nice treat for her. In fact, Hermione had to tell her pet to go to the ladies' room and take care of herself, they had a lot to do this morning before their guests arrived.
Luna gave her a grateful smile before hurrying away from the table. She and Harry watched her go, and the fond smile on Harry's face matched hers. Shaking her head, she said, "Are you going to be able to last throughout the day? I know Narcissa gave you some potions, but you still look like you're going to fall over any minute."
He grimaced, "Yeah, I kind of got carried away last night and it slipped my mind that Mary and Elizabeth were going to meet me here to go to Gringotts. I was planning on kipping out for a couple of hours before Cho and Mei get her, but I'll just have to get some more potions and crash early tonight."
Giving her a wry smile, he added "I'm not going to be doing that again any time soon, at least not on a night where I have things to do the next day. But, I do need to get a shower and change into fresh clothes, I doubt Gringotts would be impressed if I looked and smelled like I've been shagging all night."
She laughed, "No, probably not. If the girls arrive before you get done, I'll let them know to wait."
He nodded and stood up, heading for the stairs to the rooms, just as Luna slipped into her seat, acting much calmer. The two of them sat there, finishing their breakfast, and Harry was just walking in when Mary and Elizabeth came through the door, and the three of them went out into the Alley.
"Okay, we've only got about an hour, what subject do you want to refresh? I'm sure you can pass the tests to move up, but it's been a long time since we've actually taken the classes."
Luna nodded, and the two of them went up the stairs to do some studying.
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Parkinson Manor
London
9:30 am
Pansy had showered and fixed her makeup before changing into her fresh clothes, but she couldn't do anything about the satisfied smile on her face as she opened the door to her home. Her parents were sitting at the dining table, finishing a late breakfast when she walked in, and her father gave her a nod, while her mother looked at her closely and smirked. Pansy knew she would be getting interrogated later, but she didn't care, feeling this bloody amazing should be bragged about!
When she sat down and the elves had put a plate in front of her, she took a moment before tucking in to look at her father as he took a drink of his tea, she really wanted to see his reaction. "Father, I've been asked to inform you that Lord Potter will be contacting you in the next few days regarding discussing a contract between he and I. Would that be acceptable?"
She heard her mother's gasp of surprise, but it was her father's reaction she was mostly interested in. And she wasn't disappointed, he spat the mouthful of tea halfway across the table in his surprise, before staring at her, sputtering. He grabbed a napkin and wiped his face before glaring at her, "Very funny, Pansy, but it's not really something I'm prepared to joke about. With the death of young Malfoy, it's going to be difficult to make an arrangement with a decent family, since we are still tainted by my father and brother's foolishness."
Pansy bowed her head briefly in acknowledgment but shook her head, "Actually father, I was not joking, I just thought it would be interesting to see your reaction. I encountered Lord Potter while I was out last night, and the two of us spent a great deal of time coming to an understanding, and he directed me to inform you of his intent to be in contact. Does this meet your approval?"
She could feel her mother's eyes boring into the back of her head, but Pansy kept her attention on her father and the slowly growing smile on his face. She gave a mental cheer, knowing that her father was going to approve, and she felt a bit of pride that, not only was she going to belong to the lover of her dreams, but he would be protecting her in the dungeons, and she also was helping her father improve the family position. It was all good in Pansy's world.
Her father's words confirmed it, "Pansy, send Lord Potter a message that I would be delighted to meet with him at his convenience. And I say, that was very well done, you've managed to align the family with someone that will automatically wash away the stain on our name, and make us acceptable business partners with the 'Light' families. I would love to get a chance to negotiate for some of the fruits of the Longbottom's greenhouses."
He sat back, a pleased expression on his face, before looking at her mother, "Imelda, when you go out this afternoon, take Pansy with you. Pansy, you've got forty-five minutes to shop at Harrods for what you managed to accomplish, and to show you that I'm incredibly proud of you, so be thinking about what you are interested in."
Pansy barely managed to stammer out her thanks, before asking to be excused so she could write Lord Potter. Her head was spinning at the idea of a trip to Harrods, she usually was only able to go once a year, right before Yule, and Pansy looked forward to the trip all year! Going to the library, she gathered a sheet of parchment with the family crest and sat down to write. When she was satisfied with the letter, she sealed it and sent it off with the family owl before heading up to her room, she really wanted a soak to ease the strain on her muscles.
She had just stripped down and pulled a robe around her when there was a light knock on the door. Opening it, her mother was standing there, dressed the same way.
"I already let your father know that he would want to avoid coming up here for a couple of hours, and I've got the tub started. Let's go soak and you can tell me just how you managed to land Harry 'The Boy Who Lived' Potter."
Pansy grinned as she followed her mother into the bathroom. Dropping her robe as soon as the door closed behind them, she lowered herself into the steaming water with a sigh. Looking over at her mother, she waited until Imelda was soaking and she laughed, "Well, to start with, he needs a new title, and I'd suggest we start calling him 'The Man Who Shags Like A God!'"
"I remember you telling me stories you'd heard about some of the women that had gone to the Dark Lord's bed, and his power and dominance, well, I got to experience the same thing last night. It started when..."
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Longbottom Lodge
Greenhouses
Wiltshire
Saturday, August 28th, 1993
Mid-Morning
It had been many years since Neville could honestly say he was looking forward to something, but today, he could say that he was looking forward to going to Hogwarts this year. He had been quietly relieved earlier that summer at the news that Draco and his father were dead, because Draco had always been one of the worst of his tormentors, and without him egging the other Slytherins on, they generally left him alone.
But hearing from his Gran that Professor Snape was missing, and then that he had died, had him struggling to keep from laughing and dancing around the room. He would never have done anything like that, his Gran would have been unhappy, but he still wanted to! This whole summer had been very strange, first, the word that the Lestrange brothers had died in Azkaban had been good news, but that Bellatrix was missing caused him nightmares for several days. He didn't say anything to Gran though, didn't want her to think he was any weaker than she already did, after all.
And then, there was the letter he got from Harry last night. That was strange, because while he and Harry were friendly, they weren't all that close. But the letter was friendly enough, and since he did need to pick up a few things for the greenhouses, it was easy to get Gran's permission to spend the afternoon in Diagon Alley with Harry, and Neville was looking forward to spending time with the other boy and hopefully become closer friends with him.
Neville also had other reasons to want to meet up with Harry, he had heard some interesting rumors from Megan and Millie Bulstrode and a few other members of the Herbologist's Club. They had all seen Harry around the Alley at different times over the summer and he was looking and acting a lot different than he had during the last couple of years. He had been seen wearing his Family Ring and was dressing the way the Heir, or maybe Head, of one of the Great Families to be dressed. There was a lot of speculation about what had changed since school ended, but nobody had mentioned the obvious, that this was the first time Harry had spent any time in the Wizarding World other than Hogwarts since he was an infant, and he never had the chance to meet with his account manager and make the other changes.
Neville grinned slightly, there was also the fact that Harry had turned 16 at the end of July and he didn't have an interfering Grandmother preventing him from doing what every other wizard and witch was doing when they turned 16. Although Megan had let him know that she would be very happy to help him celebrate properly when they got back to Hogwarts, so he had been studying the contraceptive charm every chance he got. He even forced down his embarrassment to watch the memories his dad and mum had left him because he wanted to make sure Megan enjoyed herself as much as he did.
Harry didn't seem to have any problems, from what he was hearing. He'd been seen spending quite a bit of time with Cho Chang, and Hermione was staying at the Leaky with him, and there was even something about twin sisters that worked at Madame Malkin's, and Neville would love to know how he managed that!
Neville was finishing up his work and heading toward the sink to clean up when he heard the door to the greenhouse being opened and his grandmother calling him. He froze for a second, but then realized she didn't sound angry or disappointed, or any of the ways she normally sounded when calling him. No, she actually sounded excited, and that had never happened that he could remember.
Turning toward her voice, he almost fell back in shock, because she was still in her dressing gown, her hair askew and she was carrying this morning's Daily Prophet, a wide smile on her face. Shoving the paper into his hands, he looked at the headline – Bellatrix Lestrange captured, Kissed by Dementors, with a huge picture of the horrible woman laying on the ground, her eyes staring sightlessly was enough to make him smile as well.
Yes, this was turning out to be a very good day!
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The Leaky Cauldron
11:00 am
Mei was still in a daze, not only after last night, with everything that she and Cho had done, and what Cho had done to her, but from the overload of sensation she had enjoyed since crossing the threshold of Master's room. It was hard to believe she was even awake since the two of them had been playing until nearly four o'clock this morning, but she was, and Cho was still so full of energy she was tempted to strangle her! Cho had woken up earlier and actually prepared breakfast for the two of them, and then took her into the bath, her daughter explaining that it was one of her duties to wash Master and Mistress, and Mei will have similar duties.
The actual washing hadn't been a problem, but it was more than a little embarrassing to stand against the wall of the bath and finger herself while describing one of her favorite fantasies while her daughter watched, and then licking her fingers clean while Cho used the grooming spell to remove the hair over her pussy? Mei would have objected strongly less than a day before, but now, since she had decided to join Cho with Harry and Mistress, it was just something she accepted.
Mei even found it exciting to be wearing nothing but her shoes and stockings under the robe as they walked to the Leaky Cauldron, exchanging friendly greetings with those of her neighbors who were opening their shops. Gina had agreed to cover the shop for the morning, although the look she had given Mei guaranteed an interrogation, with a bottle of wine and giggles after closing time.
Cho knocked on Master Harry's door at exactly 9:30 and she followed her daughter into the room, only to find herself completely naked in front of him and two women she didn't know as soon as the door closed behind her.
She had felt a burst of amusement when Master Harry directed Cho to demonstrate exactly what happened between the two of them the night before. It seemed that all men, no matter the age or power couldn't resist watching two women having sex with each other. Mei had greatly enjoyed herself the night before, so she didn't mind repeating the experience, and neither did her daughter, obviously.
By the time she was laying on her belly on the bed with Cho using the 'futa' spell to bugger her, Mei had lost count of how many times she had hit her peak, but she really didn't care, she was feeling too damned good!
And then she ended up on her knees in front of Master Harry, using her mouth to serve him, enjoying the way he felt as he swelled in her mouth and filled her with his seed. She was pleased that she'd managed to swallow everything, something that Cho had confessed to having a problem with at first.
When she had finished licking him clean, she found herself between Mistress Hermione's legs to pleasure her as well. She gave the younger woman her best effort but was slightly distracted by Cho's moans as Harry was taking her from behind, her wrists bound together with, was that a Gryffindor tie?
Everything was a blur after that until she found herself being taken by Master and Mistress, as well as the other girl, whose name was Luna. Both women had cast the spell on themselves so she was feeling cocks in all of her holes and she had to struggle to remain conscious until first Luna swelled in her mouth, and then Master filled her arse and Mistress flooded her cunt. The pleasure was too much, and the last thing she remembered was the feeling of emptiness as they pulled out, and then everything went black.
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Harry grinned as Mei washed him, extremely happy that he'd visited the goblins this morning. Otherwise, he would have collapsed long before Mei and Cho were sated. He hadn't realized just how exhausted he was, but even his account manager had noticed, and when he came back from putting their collars on Mary and Elizabeth and signing the contracts bringing them into the Ambrose Family, Gnarlspike, who was handling the Ambrose, Quinn, and Evanshire accounts until they were profitable enough to be handed over to another member of the Spike clan, had asked him to remain behind to discuss some Potter family business.
He was curious what Gnarlspike needed to discuss, but when his newest family members had left, the goblin basically ordered him into a recovery chamber, where he got a full 10 hours of peaceful sleep and only 10 minutes had passed. Gnarlspike had grumbled that even if he was foolish enough to kill himself out of exhaustion, Gringotts wasn't foolish enough to let him, especially since the Potter vaults were finally starting to earn gold again! After signing far too many contracts preventing him from releasing the existence of the chamber to anyone, Harry hurried back to his room, arriving just in time to get Hermione and Luna in place and make sure that Midnight had a good view of the festivities.
He wondered if Bella had been that much of a voyeur before she started staying with him, or if just found out how much fun watching could be when he took the twins and then Cho to bed? The memories that Tom shared with him didn't really give him an answer, since Bella was almost always actively participating in those. It didn't matter, just idle curiosity, but either way, she was definitely a pervert as a cat!
Feel Mei's hand wrap around his cock, he focused his attention on her and wanted to chuckle in amusement. For a woman who claimed she wasn't that submissive, she certainly acted like it now. Interestingly, even though she was almost completely focused on serving him, she was also thinking about the potions that she needed to brew for the apothecary, and what she needed to do when she and Cho returned there this afternoon.
Curious, Harry took a deeper look, to see why she was so focused on the business, and it was easy to understand, since she and Cho's father had started the business, and Mei took over after her husband was killed in a Death Eater attack. Tom was very unhappy when he saw Mei's thoughts because that raid was absolutely senseless, it served no purpose at all in achieving his goals, and it was another sign that he must have been close to completely insane by that point.
Letting the thoughts fade, he just leaned back in the bath and enjoyed the feeling of her hands.
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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster's Office
Saturday, August 28th, 1993
12:30 pm
Albus let his smile drop as the flames in the floo turned back to normal. Damn Horace Slughorn for his laziness! He was getting very concerned about filling the Potions Instructor position for the next term and was sure that Horace would be delighted to return to teaching, at least he would want to have the opportunity to teach Lily's son since she was one of his favorites as a student. But the man was far more comfortable in his retirement than Albus had expected, and wouldn't be moved.
He had already spoken to his contacts at P.U.P.P.E.T, the Potioneers Union Practical Potioneers Examining Team, and they would be able to provide a certified instructor after the first of the year, but that still left him without an instructor for the next several months.
So who could he get for the next term? Potions was one of the core classes, and if he couldn't find an acceptable instructor the Minister would try to push one of his flunkies into the position, just to gain some influence in the school, and that couldn't be allowed!
He sat back in his chair, eyes closed as he tried to recall what the certified Potions Masters were doing now. Albus knew that he wasn't required to have a certified Master as an instructor, but it would prevent Fudge from objecting.
After a few minutes, Albus sat up and grimaced, he hadn't realized just how few Potions Masters were coming out of Hogwarts over the last several years. He had dismissed the complaints about Severus' teaching as just dislike of the young man's personality because no one would doubt the man's skills with a cauldron.
'There's nothing I can do about what happened in the past, all I can do is try to start fixing the problem. Now, who might be interested in taking the position on a short term basis?'
After a few minutes, he smiled as he remembered Andromeda Tonks. She's working as a healer now, but her strengths were based on potions, and if he remembered properly, one of the reasons Horace had supported her for Prefect was her willingness to assist younger students with understanding the basics of brewing and ingredient preparation. And she is also Sirius Black's cousin and might be able to recognize the fugitive if he attempted to get into the school in disguise.
Turning to the floo, he tossed some powder into the flames and called the Tonks' house.
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Leaky Cauldron
Hermione's Room
1:30 pm
Hermione was relaxing, Luna snuggled on her lap as Lavender and the twins knelt on the carpet in front of her. She had already told Lavender that she would be spending time with Ron that afternoon, and the girl's face had lit up with excitement. Hermione just hoped that Ron was open to being taught how to touch her, she wanted the girl to enjoy herself.
She didn't have that worry about Parvati, who was really looking forward to the next day, because Neville had confessed during their night together that his parents had left him some extremely educational memories, and he had certainly taken those lessons to heart. She had enjoyed having sex with Neville more than Ron or the other couple of men she had slept with and felt sure he would give Parvati a night to remember.
Padma was more excited at the idea that Master Harry would be joining them while Lavender was with Ron, and the Ravenclaw twin also seemed to spend a good bit of time gazing at Luna, and Luna didn't seem to mind at all.
The girls had spent most of the time since they arrived telling Mistress exactly what they had been doing for the past two days, and Hermione had to admit that it sounded like they enjoyed themselves. She did make note of the news about Lavender's parents being killed because she didn't remember that from the last time. But it had happened over a year ago, long before she had come back, or Harry started making his changes, so it might be that Lavender hadn't felt comfortable sharing the information the last time through. Something to find out about, because Lavender and the twins belonged to her and Harry, and nobody hurt what was theirs!
They were still talking when Harry's spectral stag floated through the doorway letting her know that the Weasleys were arriving, and he would be speaking to Ron right away. Lavender was almost bouncing with excitement, and while Hermione enjoyed the way it made the girl's breasts move, they were in a bit of a hurry, so she had Lavender put a robe over herself, and made sure she took the contraceptive potion. Handing the other girl a vial of stamina potion and a replenishing potion, Hermione led her out of the room and down the hall to Harry's room. Tapping her wand on the door to unlock it, she led Lavender back into the room and took the robe. Lavender moved over to the bed and laid on her side, so Ron would get a perfect look at her naked body when he walked in the door. Mentally wishing her good luck, Hermione slipped out of the door, still carrying the robe as she went back to where their new girls were waiting. This was going to be a wonderful afternoon!
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Leaky Cauldron
Main Room
Same Time
Harry had been pleasantly surprised that it was easy to get Mrs. Weasley to agree that Ron could stay behind while the rest of the family went to Gringotts and did their shopping. He had said hello to the twins and Ginny of course, but also made it a point to be friendly to Percy and congratulate him on being named Head Boy. Percy had actually seemed surprised at the greeting but had managed to smile broadly and return the greeting.
Harry wanted to comment on having something in common with the older boy, but it wasn't time to let him know that Daphne was his. Maybe later on he would be interested in swapping for an afternoon? Or even all four of them getting together? Daphne had been very complimentary about Penelope's skill and imagination, so it could be a lot of fun. Of course, since everybody can tell that Percy is destined to rise in the Ministry, having a good relationship with him would be useful when the time came.
Once the rest of the family had left, Harry said, "It's great to see you mate, got a lot of things to talk about, but first, we're going to Ollivander's to get a wand that chose you. It's partly my fault that the old one got broken so badly in the first place. If Dobby hadn't been so determined to keep me from going to Hogwarts, we wouldn't have ended up flying the car and getting the wand broken in the crash."
Harry was keeping a close watch on Ron and could see he was starting to get upset. He was expecting this reaction, knowing the Weasley's reaction to anything that could be considered charity. Using a mild compulsion charm, he continued talking.
"Look mate, it's not charity. Charity is being given something you haven't earned, right? You earned this wand by having my back when we went down to the Chamber, if it weren't for you, Lockhart would have wiped both of our memories, and Ginny would have died and You Know Who would have been walking around! Nobody wants that, least of all me, so let me say thanks my way, okay?"
Ron was visibly relaxing as Harry spoke and finally nodded, "Okay mate, it's just that I don't like being reminded of how poor we are, especially with Malfoy strutting around with the broom his daddy bought the whole Quidditch team... What?"
Harry stared at him in surprise, "You mean you didn't hear? Ron, Draco and Lucius are dead! They were killed last month in a potions accident of some kind, we don't have to deal with him again." The look of shock on Ron's face was a sight, and Harry knew he was going to love the next part. "And, they are keeping it quiet, but I've managed to pick up a couple of things, and Snape disappeared several days ago, nobody knows where he is, or if he's even still alive! So we probably won't have to deal with him teaching us nothing anymore."
"Bloody Hell!" Ron said, nearly whispering in his surprise, before he started smiling, "Yeah, that was a surprise, but we didn't get any news while we were in Egypt. I wonder if Dad knows? He hates Lucius as much as we hated Draco."
Harry shrugged, "Don't know, but I'm sure he'll find out soon enough. Now, let's go get you a wand."
Ron nodded, still smiling as the two of them headed down the Alley to Ollivander's Wand Shop. In almost no time Ron had a 14 inch Willow wand, with Unicorn hair. He was so busy admiring the wand and exclaiming about how it seemed to like him, that he barely registered the leather wand holster that Harry handed to him, just attaching it to his arm and sliding the wand into it.
Walking back, Harry guided Ron over to Fortescue's Ice Cream and got them each a cone. Sitting down, he said, "Got a couple of things to talk to you about before we get to your surprise, and they are pretty serious, are you willing to listen?"
Ron looked directly at him, "Sure, as long as you aren't quitting the Quidditch Team or something."
Harry chuckled, "No, I'm not giving up my Seeker spot to anybody. No, the first thing is, when Hermione was petrified, I started realizing just how much she meant to me, and that I didn't want to think about my life if she wasn't beside me." He paused, because Ron started laughing,
"Took you bloody well long enough, you prat! Everybody else in the house, even Percy figured out that the two of you were together at the end of our first year, we were just waiting for you to figure it out. So, is she already Lady Potter, or are you just betrothed?"
Harry laughed, shaking his head, "Okay, so I guess I was a bit oblivious, but remember how I was brought up, it took something serious to make me realize what I felt for her. And yes, Hermione is already my Lady Potter. And now the other thing I need to talk to you about. After nearly being killed two years in a row, and both times it was You Know Who, it's obvious that he's going to keep coming after me, and I'm no where near ready to deal with him. I've got to get more serious about my studies and the classes I'm taking, so I'm dropping Divination and Care of Magical Creatures, because neither of them are something I can use."
Ron sat quietly for a moment, taking in what Harry was saying, before nodding, "You know I'm with you, but I don't think I can do the other classes. I'm sorry, but I have a hard enough time with the theory already, and the Professors are dumbing it down so Goyle can understand it! I'm more than willing to help you practice spells and dueling, and I'm pretty sure that Fred and George would be willing to help out, especially since you saved Ginny's life." He smiled suddenly, "Now that we've had the serious conversation, can you at least tell that the surprise is something I'm going to like?"
"Oh, I can promise you that, no worries. In fact, let's head back to my room, your surprise is waiting for you there."
Ron kept asking him questions on the way back, but Harry just grinned and kept his mouth shut. Walking up the stairs, Harry decided to give Ron a huge hint. "Look Ron, you might consider this a late 16th Birthday present, and it's a one-time thing, okay?"
Ron's eyes lit up when he realized what Harry was hinting about, but he just nodded absently at the notice of it being a one-time thing, and Harry knew he would need to use the compulsions to keep him from blurting things out.
Walking up to his door, Harry knocked lightly, to let Lavender know they were there and pushed the door open. He almost laughed at the awe-struck look on Ron's face when he saw the girl, and just said, "Have fun, Mate! I'll see you in a couple of hours."
Walking out, he pulled the door closed behind him and put up more silencing charms. As he walked away, he let the smile drop and he muttered, "Enjoy the show, Wormtail, it's the last one you're ever going to see!"
He had deliberately not looked at the rat sleeping in Ron's pocket, because he knew he would find it hard to resist killing the traitor, and it was more important to get Sirius cleared and let the Dementors have Pettigrew. Maybe they will be lucky and the one that kissed Snape will get the traitor as well, so Severus and Peter could keep each other company as their souls were destroyed.
Shoving his anger away, he focused on something much more pleasant, the twin sisters waiting for him in Hermione's room.
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Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire
Late Afternoon
Andromeda lifted the glass of wine to her sister in thanks, "I'll admit, the old mutt is making amazing progress, he's close to being fully healthy, which, considering the condition he was in when I saw him four days ago, is hard to believe. I'd say another two or three days of the potions and he'll be healthy enough for what you've been teasing him with." She laughed, "Actually, that's probably what's making him behave so he does get better. I just hope he doesn't have a heart attack from trying to do too much. He's healthy, but he's also spent nearly 15 years in the company of the Dementors, and surviving on what they consider food in Azkaban, so take it easy on him the first couple of times, okay Cissy? This is a healer speaking, not your sister. I've put too much work into healing him and don't want to see it going to waste."
Narcissa smiled, shaking her head, "No, there's no danger of that, he needs to be alive to turn himself in when Pettigrew is captured. The plans to catch the rat are already in progress, so it should be over before the Hogwarts Express leaves on Tuesday."
Andi smirked, "Speaking of Hogwarts, since you seem to be well aware of everything that is going on, were you aware the Severus Snape disappeared and is believed dead?"
Narcissa gave her a look of mild interest, "Really? No, I hadn't heard that, but then we weren't exactly in the same social circles, and that was the way I preferred to keep things. He was an extremely unpleasant man, and if it weren't for the fact that he and Lucius shared certain affiliations, shall we say? I would have never allowed him in the house. So, what is supposed to have happened to the man?"
"Nobody seems to know. He was last seen returning from Lucius and Draco's Memorial, and he spoke to Minerva McGonagall, who seems to have been the last person to see him. He disappeared from his quarters in Hogwarts sometime over the next few days."
Narcissa shrugged, "Oh well, I'm sure somebody, somewhere will miss the man, if nothing else, I'm sure Albus will miss having the man in his bed, but I'd rather not think about that. But why are you so interested, Andromeda? Nymphadora has already graduated and you and Ted aren't planning to have another child are you? Then it's doubtful you would ever encounter the man."
"Actually, it interests me because I got a floo call from Albus Dumbledore earlier today, asking me to take a sabbatical from St Mungos for the next few months and teach Potions at Hogwarts. He's got a P.U.P.P.E.T. Certified instructor starting after Yule, but needed somebody to cover the classes until then. It should be fun, correcting the mistakes the so-called 'greasy git' has made over the years."
"Well, I wish you luck then. Will you be available to floo over later in the week to give Sirius a clean bill of health?"
"That shouldn't be a problem, I negotiated with Albus that I would still be checking on my current patients, and he agreed with no problems. But, how serious are you about Albus and Severus? I'd never heard anything about it."
Narcissa laughed, "Oh, it was common knowledge in certain circles, just like the knowledge that Albus and Gellert Grindelwald were lovers when they were younger men. It seems Albus has a thing for 'bad boys', I'm almost afraid to speculate just how close he was with Tom Riddle before he graduated."
"Tom Riddle? Who the hell is that?"
"You didn't know? Tom Marvolo Riddle is the birth name of the Dark Lord, I discovered it a few years after that Halloween. The paragon of pureblood virtue and supremacy was nothing but a half-blood, the son of a squib and a muggle! It would be funny if he hadn't led so many of the old families to their destruction."
Andromeda stared at her for a long minute, not saying anything, before she shook her head and stood up, "Okay, I think my world has been turned upside down enough for one night. I'm going home and see what Ted is making for dinner."
When Andi left, Narcissa started chuckling, "Another chink in the armor of Dumbledore's reputation. By the time we are done with him, he'll be bleeding from a thousand cuts and not have any idea where they are coming from. It might just be kinder to kill the man, but where is the fun in that?"
YOTC & YOTC & YOTC
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom
Professor's Office
Just before Dinner
Remus Lupin looked around the office with satisfaction. He'd already gotten all of his books unpacked, and organized, and his lesson plans had been approved by Minerva and Albus, so all he needed to do was wait for the Hogwarts Express to arrive on Tuesday. He'd been waiting for this day for years, he would finally get to see Harry again.
He was still furious at Bagnold for forcing Albus to put the Dark Creature ward on Harry after James and Lily died because the bigoted woman knew that he would have taken Harry in, curse or no curse! But not only did she force Albus to put that damnable ward on Harry, it even included a personal ward against letters from him!
It wasn't until after he started recovering from the shock of losing everything that he discovered what had been done, and if the woman hadn't conveniently died, he would have been happy to introduce her to Greyback, so she could meet a werewolf to fear! Even now, with Harry going to be in his classroom, the damned Ministry had forced a condition in his contract that he couldn't approach Harry about anything not related to the subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts unless Harry approached him first. The poor kid probably had no idea who Moony even was, so it wasn't likely to happen.
At least he'd have a chance to see Harry on the Express. With Fudge's brilliant idea of stationing Dementors around the school, there was a chance that the demons would board the Express, and none of the students would know how to defend themselves, so he was going to be patrolling the train during the journey. He probably should stop at Honeydukes and stock up on chocolate, just in case.
Remus was glad that Albus had found a replacement Potions Master to take over for Snivelus, and that they were willing to brew the wolfsbane for him. He'd been surprised to see that it was Sirius' cousin Andromeda because he hadn't seen her in years. They'd always gotten along fairly well, mostly because of Ted being a muggleborn and Remus spending so much time in the muggle world since he couldn't find work in the Wizarding World. Ted was always happy to find somebody who knew what he was talking about when he referred to certain shows on the telly, or movies that he'd seen. Andi had just shaken her head, it wasn't something she could understand.
He sighed, thinking about Andromeda led him to the one subject he really didn't want to think about, to Padfoot. Remus still was having a hard time understanding how his brother could turn on them like that, not after everything they had gone through together. He had even tried to get a look at the transcripts of the trial and interrogation, to see if there was an answer there, but when he went to the Ministry, he was informed that all files relating to the Sirius Black case were sealed by order of the Head of the DMLE and Minister Bagnold.
Although considering that it looked Barty was going to be spending the rest of his life in Azkaban, and it was found that he was keeping his son under the Imperious Curse, it might be possible to get Amelia Bones to unseal the records. He had seen in the paper that one of the charges was putting people into Azkaban without a trial and if Sirius had been one of them? No! Don't think about that, you'll only get your hopes up, and it will hurt even worse if he actually did betray Prongs and Lily!
Remus already felt like he had betrayed Sirius by telling Albus and Minerva that Sirius, James, and Peter were all animagi, and showed them the memory of Sirius' form. Minerva was honestly shocked that the three of them had succeeded so young, before launching into a tirade about how foolish they all were.
He didn't even try to defend them or himself. Looking back on it, Remus knew that they had taken horrendously foolish risks, but at the time, he was just so happy to have his friends with him when he was locked up in the Shrieking Shack.
The chime rang in his office, and he checked the time. It was time for dinner, and he locked up the office and headed toward the Great Hall, looking forward to having another filling meal.
End Chapter Thirteen
I'll be getting back to Ron/Lavender and Harry/Hermione and the Patil Twins next chapter, the characters just seemed to want to move the story a little bit forward.