
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/4699043.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Rape/Non-Con,
      Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Harry_Potter_-_J._K._Rowling
  Relationship:
      Cedric_Diggory/Harry_Potter, Hermione_Granger/Fred_Weasley, Angelina
      Johnson/George_Weasley, Luna_Lovegood/Ron_Weasley, Fleur_Delacour/Bill
      Weasley, Severus_Snape/Cornelia_Leighton_(OFC), Robert_Sladden_(OMC)/
      Clara_Sladden_(OFC), Remus_Lupin/Nymphadora_Tonks, Sirius_Black/Angelique
      Devereaux_(OFC), Sebastian_Leighton_(OMC)/_Josette_Devereaux_(OFC), Ginny
      Weasley/Neville_Longbottom_Eventually, past_Harry_Potter/Ginny_Weasley_-
      Relationship, Cedric_Diggory/Cho_Chang_Implied, James_Potter/Lily_Evans
      Potter_Mentioned, Charlie_Weasley/Cho_Chang_Eventually, Ron_Weasley/
      Lavender_Brown_Past, Draco_Malfoy/Pansy_Parkinson, Lily_Evans_Potter/
      Severus_Snape_One_Sided, Molly_Weasley_Arthur_Weasley, Petunia_Evans
      Dursley/Vernon_Dursley, Bellatrix_Black_Lestrange/Voldemort_Implied,
      Lucius_Malfoy/Narcissa_Black_Malfoy, Penelope_Clearwater/Percy_Weasley
      implied_&_briefly
  Character:
      Harry_Potter_(Female), Cedric_Diggory, Hermione_Granger-Black, Fred
      Weasley, George_Weasley, Angelina_Johnson, Fleur_Delacour, Bill_Weasley,
      Ron_Weasley, Ginny_Weasley, Remus_Lupin, Sirius_Black, Severus_Snape,
      Nymphadora_Tonks_Lupin, Cho_Chang, Amos_Diggory, James_Potter, Lily_Evans
      Potter, Charlie_Weasley, Luna_Lovegood, Neville_Longbottom, Minerva
      McGonagall, Albus_Dumbledore, Alastor_“Mad-Eye”_Moody, Kingsley
      Shacklebolt, Hestia_Jones, Michael_Corner, Justin_Finch-Fletchley, Hannah
      Abbott, Susan_Bones, Lavender_Brown, Seamus_Finnigan, Dean_Thomas, Colin
      Creevey, Dennis_Creevey, Parvati_Patil, Padma_Patil, Draco_Malfoy, Pansy
      Parkinson, Blaise_Zabini, Gregory_Goyle, Vincent_Crabbe, Lucius_Malfoy,
      Narcissa_Black_Malfoy, Voldemort, Bellatrix_Black_Lestrange, Peter
      Pettigrew, Petunia_Evans_Dursley, Vernon_Dursley, Dudley_Dursley, Lee
      Jordan, Oliver_Wood, Katie_Bell, Alicia_Spinnet, Dobby_(Harry_Potter),
      Kreacher_(Harry_Potter), Gabrielle_Delacour, Winky_(Harry_Potter), Molly
      Weasley, Arthur_Weasley, Portrait_Walburga_Black, Garrick_Ollivander,
      Griphook, Ragnok_(Harry_Potter), Verity_(Harry_Potter), Filius_Flitwick,
      Pomona_Sprout, Rubeus_Hagrid, Original_Female_Character(s), Original_Male
      Character(s), Romilda_Vane, Madam_Hooch, Madam_Rosmerta, Argus_Filch, Mrs
      Norris_(Harry_Potter), Andromeda_Black_Tonks, Teddy_Lupin, Ted_Tonks,
      Aberforth_Dumbledore, Madam_Malkin, Rufus_Scrimgeour, Viktor_Krum, Percy
      Weasley, Penelope_Clearwater
  Additional Tags:
      Described_Blood_and_Gore, Fluff_and_Angst, Angst_and_Humor, Explicit
      Sexual_Content, Sexual_Humor, Angst_with_a_Happy_Ending, Horror, Drama,
      Family_Drama, Harry_is_a_Little_Shit, Harry_is_a_bitch, Romance, BAMF
      Harry, Oral_Sex, Gender_or_Sex_Swap, Hogwarts_Seventh_Year_AU, Virgin
      Harry, First_Time, Malfoy_is_a_Dick, Bitch_Lavender, Good_Severus_Snape,
      Sarcastic_Harry_and_Severus, Harry_tells_it_straight, Manipulative
      Dumbledore, Grey/light_Harry, Pissed_off_Harry, Anti-Lavender_Brown,
      Pervert_Creep_Draco_Malfoy, Jealous_Pansy, Jealous_Lavender, Jealous_Cho,
      Marriage_Contract, Arranged_Marriage, Implied/Referenced_Rape/Non-con,
      Implied/Referenced_Torture, Powerful_Harry, Magically_Powerful_Harry,
      Implied/referenced_Sexual_Child_Abuse, Harry_Potter_&_Severus_Snape
      Friendship, Mentor_Severus_Snape, Mentor_Remus_Lupin, Remus_Lupin_Lives,
      Nymphadora_Tonk_Lupin_Lives, Fred_Weasley_Lives, Severus_Snape_Lives,
      Sirius_Black_Lives, Non-Consensual_Drug_Use, Valentines_Ball, Graduation
      Ball, Engagement_Party, Astronomy_Tower_Sex, Prefects'_Bathroom_Sex, Ted
      Tonks_Lives, Table_Sex, Chair_Sex, Wall_Sex, Library_Sex, Anti-Cho_Chang,
      Cho_Dies, Moody_Lives, Bitch_Cho
  Collections:
      noch
  Stats:
      Published: 2015-08-31 Updated: 2017-01-10 Chapters: 15/? Words: 219849
****** Harriet Potter: What it is like to be a witch ******
by JCL27_00Q
Summary
     When Harry turns seventeen he receives more than just a magic boost
     and the right to do magic outside of Hogwarts what have his parents
     and Sirius been keeping from him all of these years is he really who
     he thought is, is really a he what has Cedric got to do with the
     whole situation that is on the verge of driving Harry up the wall?
Notes
     This is unbetaed just thought I would mention it.
     Disclaimer: I do not make any profit or claim any copyrights to Harry
     Potter or any of its characters it all belongs to J.K. Rowling and
     Warner Brothers, I only own any original characters.
***** Chapter One: How Harry Became Harriet *****
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of
this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The
movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.
 
A set of wide vibrant eyes the colour of bright emerald green studied an old
and small plastic clock from behind round framed spectacles. Harry watched
almost unblinkingly as the seconds ticked away counting down the final thirty
seconds until the first stroke of midnight. Why might you ask would a sixteen
year-old boy sit staring so intently at the clock as it ticked down the final
seconds leading up to a brand new day. The answer was in fact simple, a
tradition which Harry took part in ever since he knew how to tell the time,
ever since he come to understand that the day July 31st is the day he was born,
the birthday of one Harry James Potter.
You might also wonder why Harry would feel the need every year to count down
the final sixty seconds until midnight, why, and what was the point, why was
turning seventeen any different than being sixteen? You are only turning a year
older, older by the second, why would anyone want to count as those seconds
tick away, always ticking away. You would honestly think that anyone would want
to avoid thinking about such things, what was the point, it could not be
changed, your aging could not be slowed down or cease altogether.
The reason that Harry Potter did as such, well, it meant another year of life,
being a year older. It also provided solid proof that the snake-like monster
who murdered his parents when he was only a year-old had not succeed in his
main and number one goal, which is to finally murder and rid of one Harry James
Potter, naturally he failed to accomplish this so far.
Harry started this tradition in the beginning first of all to prove to himself
that he had managed to survive another year living under the same roof as his
abusive relatives. That tradition had changed ever since turning eleven and he
discovered where he had truly come from and whom he is. Now his yearly
tradition of counting down the seconds to a new year in a way was a celebration
of having survived another year of being ‘The Boy Who Lived’ and all of the
usual peril that comes along with the unfortunate title and responsibility on
his young shoulders.
Finally, the difference between sweet sixteen and seventeen was due to the fact
witches and wizards are legal adults when they reach seventeen. For example,
now he could drink and buy as well as be served alcohol legally, best of all
the Ministry had granted him permission to use his magic outside Hogwarts,
anywhere and at anytime he pleased without getting into trouble and receiving
word of warning for using his magic underage.
A small and delighted smirk curved the corners of Harry's lips as the clock
finally struck midnight on the 31st of July 1997. "Happy Birthday Harry" he
murmured quietly as he did every year, only he ever hears, no one is ever awake
or around to share this moment that only happens once a year. However, Harry
would not want it any other way as long as he lived under the same roof as his
poor excuse for a family, if you could even go as far to call them that. Just
because he shared the same blood with his aunt due to his mother did not
necessarily make her family. Family did not have to consist of people who share
the same blood or DNA, a fact he had come to understand and appreciate since
turning eleven.
Harry had the urge to cast his first piece of magic as a legal adult and not
end up in trouble or expelled from Hogwarts. Just as he reached for his wand,
which lay on his bedside table, he without warning struck with a pain so
intense that it felt like nothing he has ever felt before. However, if asked to
compare his answer would be that he had felt such agony very much like it the
last time he had a run in with Voldemort and had the Cruciatus curse cast on
him.
Harry wanted to shriek in pure agony so much, but remembered at the last minute
where he was, remembered that he was not entirely alone. He did not want to
wake and alert the Dursley's to his current problem, the last thing he needed
or wanted was to deal with his relatives in his current state. He reached for
his wand and cast the strongest silencing charm he is capable of around his
room, before his whole being and senses consumed in pain to the point of not
being able to function properly. The room now silenced to all that was not he,
he finally allowed his wand to slide to the carpeted floor from his unfeeling
grasp.
He fell backwards on his back onto the cover of his single bed, which he
luckily had been sitting on when the pain had struck. He lets loose with a
scream at the top of his lungs, not caring or even bothering to hold back, no
one but he could hear. He shook violently as his head moved from side to side
and his entire body convulsed and withered against the mattress in mind numbing
agony, he could not think straight even if he had wanted to.
It felt like what he imagined swallowing an overdose of Skele-Gro would likely
feel times by an absolute hundred fold, compared to having all of the bones in
his arm and hand regrown. It felt as if his bones were what he imagined
disintegrating then rearranging and regrowing must feel like. He was positive
his skin was aflame and was melting very, very painfully slowly, how could it
not possibly, when to Harry's pained riddled mind it felt as if it were.
The pain continued to increase bit by bit for the next ten minutes or so,
slowly increasing to the point that Harry was boarding on the point of delirium
and could feel sweat as it dripped down the side of his face from his forehead.
He felt one last blistering rush of agony before the pain ceased and he felt no
more. He was beyond relieved when he was able within seconds of the pain
stopping to give into the welcoming and soothing darkness of oblivion.
It was sometime later that Harry started to regain consciousness; slowly he
opened his eyes and groaned at the headache that he could feel pounding
relentlessly away at his skull. It felt as if someone had taken a match and lit
it before throwing it inside of his mouth and setting his throat alight. Harry
assumed it must be the result of all the screaming he had done before being
fortunate enough to experience complete oblivion no matter how briefly.
Harry slowly and carefully rolled over onto his front and moaned seconds later
as he took note of the fact that there was seven owls in his room, including
Hedwig. Apparently, she had returned from where she had been staying with
Sirius. Harry tried to avoid keeping his familiar with him when at Private
Drive at all cost if he could prevent it, he honestly feared and believed that
one of those days Vernon would finally snap and do the unthinkable. He had
always feared Vernon would try to harm, or worse, do what he had threatened to
do on many occasions in the past, break Hedwig's neck and feed her to Marge's
vicious dogs.
Harry shook his head not wanting to think of such thoughts, turned his head in
the direction of his bedside table and, glanced at the clock. He noted how it
was twenty-five minutes after midnight, which made him wonder just how long
Hedwig and the other six owls had been waiting there in his bedroom for him to
regain consciousness. He realised with some relief that apparently none had
pecked him and tried to wake him up to be freed of their load and allowed to
leave.
Harry removed his gaze from the clock before he sighed tiredly and buried his
face into the cover of the bed. After a moment of just lying still and
breathing in and out calmly, he moved around on the bed to find a more
comfortable position. He noticed that there was a slight discomfort in his
chest area, which soon became apparent that adjusting his position was not
having the desired effect and that something felt off.
He rolled back over onto his back grimacing in annoyance as his hair covered
his face. He lifted up his left hand to push the hair to one side, while his
right hand came to rest over his chest. He froze moments later as two thoughts
entered his mind, one since when has his hair been long enough to cover his
face and, two his chest felt decidedly off, felt almost lumpy in fact as if
something rested on top of it.
He moved his hand somewhat gingerly over his chest, only to cease all movement
moments later. He quickly sat up on the bed and winced slightly as his body
twinged with aches located in places even he did not know could ache from the
sudden sharp movement of sitting upright. He sat the end of the bed and his
legs hung over the edge as he inwardly grumbled at the turn of events that his
birthday was so far.
He looked down at his chest, yet the first thing he took note of was not his
chest, but the fact his hair hung in long thick strands of midnight black silk.
He raked a hand though the dark glossy locks and followed the strands
downwards, and noticed they went passed his breasts and ended a couple of
inches from his waist. However, seconds later his entire body became rigid as
his mind finally processed what he had thought, for example, his breasts.
Harry let out a loud whimper in the back of his throat as he finally noticed
how his pyjama top clung tightly to his chest, to be more precise his pyjama
top clung to his breasts. This caused Harry to whimper even louder before he
stood and rapidly searched for his wand, ignoring the brief aching twinge that
was gradually starting to fade. He found his wand seconds later on the carpet
where it had fallen after he had cast the silencing charm.
He picked it up and conjured a large full-length mirror with quick and flawless
ease, easier than usual, which he wondered whether that was down to the magic
boost he could tell he had received after turning seventeen. Apparently, Harry
according to Sirius had inherited his father's knack for Transfiguration, which
remained true regardless of what had happened to him. It was nice to have
inherited something else from his dad besides his looks and skill in DADA and
on the Quidditch pitch.
Harry looked into the mirror as he adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his
nose before studying his reflection, which was enough to seconds later after
receiving the first glimpse to let out a loud and piercing scream. It echoed
off the walls, which caused him to think somewhere at the back of his mind how
it really was a good job he had the sense to cast that silencing charm earlier
on. That scream had been loud enough possibly to wake up the dead, or worse in
his opinion his relatives.
Harry suddenly snapped out of his horror-induced stupor over his reflection as
he heard the owls still in his room let out startled sounding hoots. He watched
as they ruffled their feathers, yet did not fly away out of the open window. He
or rather she stumbled backwards, landed on the bed and bounced a couple of
times from the force of her landing before she settled and her wand slipped
from between unfeeling fingers once more.
She could not help but eye her reflection in the mirror from her position at
the end of the bed, it was impossible to look away. She stared in a horrified
sort of dazed disbelief as she took in the sight of her long flowing hair and
her much softer and feminine features. However, to her ultimate horror she
noticed her new curves and breasts, likes of which would make Hermione and
Ginny green and sick beyond envy, though at this point it only caused her to
feel freaked out.
She slowly brought a hand up to gingerly touch her face as she explored her
new, yet not so new features. She noted her skin was almost as soft and smooth
as a baby's, a fact alone that made her very glad she would no longer have to
shave on a daily basis as she had since she was fourteen and had more than a
slight bit of bum fluff to remove. Some days she had woke up and had just not
found the energy nor cared to shave off the dark stubble growth.
Once she finished marvelling at her skin's new softness, she noted her nose
looked as it had only smaller and slightly longer, definitely much more
delicate in appearance as well. Her cheekbones were only slightly higher and
more pronounced, whilst her jaw line was the same only less strong as was the
cleft of her chin pronounced and noticeable in less you knew it was there and
what you were looking for.
Harry grimaced as she noticed how pale her skin still was, finding it more than
slightly annoying that she was still pale even after all of the changes she had
just undergone. Through she did notice the difference between now and before,
now her pale complexion actually worked in her favour and gave her a radiant
glow, whereas before she just looked tired and sickly, possibly anaemic and in
need of sunlight. She supposed no longer looking sickly was a plus if nothing
else.
One thing she did note, which pleased her somewhat, was the fact her skin
appeared to be void of any marks or blemishes, except of course for the
infamous and cursed scar on her forehead. Oh yeah, that was still there in all
of its not so quaint glory, of course luck and Lady Fate naturally is not that
kind as to do away with that cursed scar, which sat as a constant and never
ending reminder of what she had lost.
When she let out a pained grimace at the thought of all she had lost, she
noticed how it brought attention to her lips, which appeared quite a lot
fuller. Her teeth on the other hand looked perfectly white and straight, which
never appeared quite as healthy as they did right then. She was unaware the
effect she would soon have on people when she smiled due her more attractive
looking teeth and fuller lips.
She gingerly stood and huffed out a weary sigh as she bent over to retrieve her
wand from the floor. She pointed it at her legs and waved it in familiar and
practiced movements as she cast a shrinking charm on her pyjama pants, which
were an inch or so too long in the legs. She then pointed her wand at the
waistband of the pants, shrinking it several sizes, due Dudley's size looking
even more grotesque on her female body. Next, she shrank several inches off the
sleeves of her pyjama top, before repeating the same wand movements to shrink
the actual top itself by several sizes.
With that all done Harry could now see and feel how much better and how easier
it was to examine the changes to her body more clearly. She was dismayed to
discover she had lost around an inch off her height, which now meant she stood
at five foot four inches, whereas before the transformation she had stood at
five foot five inches. For Merlin sake, it was not as if she had been in
desperate need of losing even half an inch to begin with never mind an actual
full inch.
Speaking of her height, she realised as she eyed her long, long and perfectly
toned slender legs, that they mainly were what aided her height. Fred and
George would have described her legs as legs all the way up to her arse. The
kind of legs you would expect to find on Angelina, Fleur and Tonks, that not
even Hermione and Ginny honestly could boast having. She did not mind the
change to her legs, liked it in fact and was not about to complain over what
was preventing her from appearing to be a midget in her eyes.
She turned to the side and examined her backside and her hourglass figure,
noting her curvy hips and slender waist, very much like Angelina and Tonks.
Next, she took note of her breasts, breasts which minutes earlier had
distressed her immensely, however, now that she was calmer and taking the time
to study them was able to see with a not so small amount of smugness that not
even Fleur Delacour could truthfully boast possessing such a shapely and
alluring set of breasts. Not even with her Veela DNA was she lucky enough to
have such breasts. Where had the sudden feeling of smugness come from, what was
with that she wondered?
She looked down at her stomach and gingerly patted it, which she happily noted
was still flat and toned from hours of Quidditch practice. She was also willing
to wager the stone and a half Madame Pomfrey, along with Mrs. Weasley and
Hermione had made her gain during her sixth year was now gone again. She sighed
realising there was nothing for it and, it was what it was. Besides, she
appeared to look healthy as a female, though as male the extra stone and a half
she had lost again had made all of the difference.
Next, she lifted her hands to examine them and they looked just as pale as the
rest of her body, yet smaller and more delicate looking. Her fingers looked
longer and slimmer, like the kind that would have not been out of place on a
pianist, the kind of fingers perfectly and beautifully designed solely for that
purpose alone. She wondered what it would be like perhaps to learn how to play
the piano thinking it could be a possibility after the war was over if she
survived that long.
She shook off the unnecessary thoughts, unnecessary right then when she
suddenly realised just how calm she was being, in fact knew she was a sight
calmer then what her situation warranted. Through she supposed the reason was
due to feeling rather quite numb, yet she knew that would not last long when
the situation she had unwittingly found herself finally sunk in and, it would
sink in that she had no such doubt.
She took a deep and calming breath and examined the other changes made to her
face. Her eyes for example, which she noted remained unaltered in both colour
and in shape, in fact they were just as green and vibrant as ever. She did
notice that her eyelashes were longer and much fuller, almost feather-like in
their appearance, the kind Lavender Brown would give almost anything to have
and they not be false. Harry wondered since when had she lucked out in the
looks department, not that she had been hideously ugly before then, far from
it, just now it was far more pronounced.
The only other feature that had taken a major shift in appearance was her hair
Merlin had it changed, not in colour, instead mass, texture and style. Gone was
the short and tirelessly messy mop of hair, now long and wavy sleek strands of
midnight silk, so soft, smooth and shining with such, health that it
practically gleamed had taken its place. Harry knew it would take some getting
used to and, would definitely have to learn how properly to care for it. She
could just imagine the hours she would most likely spend brushing it until it
was soft and shiny.
She froze just as she had been about to raise her hand to her hair, thinking
suddenly whether all the changes were permanent or could the whole process be
reversed. She wondered for the first time what could have possibly caused this,
she did not remember having been cursed or hexed of late, especially nothing to
have been the cause of something as drastically altering as this. Had she drank
or ate something at Hogwarts, or had someone who may or may not be the twins
pranked her and whatever she had took take affect several weeks later?
Her thoughts were cut off abruptly as the owls hooted, making her aware of
their presence once again. She winced and glanced in the direction of the owls
in silent apology, realising how the owls must have been getting very restless
and wanted to be relieved of their packages. She quickly placed her wand down
on the bedside table only just realizing she was still holding it and, now
knowing that this whole episode had distracted her more than she had first
thought.
She made her way over to Hedwig to relieve her of the shrunken down packages
and letters. Hedwig gave a hoot of appreciation before she fluttered over to
land and perch upon the headboard of the bed to watch her Mistress intently.
Harry saw how Hedwig was eyeing her with evident interest, which you did not
have to be a genius to know where that interest stemmed from either. Hell even
her familiar was staring at her, so what would everybody else's reactions be.
At least she was not acting hostile or felt any fear towards Harry, a fact
Harry was more than grateful.
Harry switched her attention to the other owls after one last brief glance at
Hedwig and, instantly recognised the first owl she approached, immediately
knowing it belonged to Fred and George, their personal and not one of the joke
shops order and delivery owls. She gently removed the letters and shrunken down
packages before the owl quickly took flight out of the window without waiting
for a reply or even a treat.
Harry placed the letter and packages down on the bed along with the packages
and letters from Hedwig. She concentrated on removing the letter and package
from one of the remaining owls at random, who gave a hoot and took flight out
of the window. Harry shook her head, whilst thinking the owl had gotten
impatient from his or her wait and had decided the wait for a possible treat
was not worth it.
She raised a dark brow as she next spotted a dark chocolate brown barn owl,
whose wing feathers were speckled with small pure white coloured dots. She did
not recognise this owl and wondered who owned the handsome looking owl. She
continued to eye it as she gently removed the letter and packages from its leg
before placing them on the bed with the others she had collected so far. The
owl then gave a hoot and ruffled its feathers in Hedwig's direction, a hoot she
returned briefly just as the other owl took flight out of the window.
Okay, that was somewhat strange Harry thought and raised a brow in Hedwig's
direction, the owl in question let out another hoot and ruffled her feathers as
if to shrug and say, 'What, how would I know'. Harry smirked as she
contemplated whether it was possible for owls to act coy and was that how owls
caught the attention of their own kind, a thought that somewhat amused her as
she shook her head again. It seemed Hedwig was getting some attention, possibly
male.
She returned her attention to the four remaining owls still present and
carefully freed two owls of their letters and packages before they took flight
out of the window. Now there were only two left and, one owl was evidently a
school owl, which she assumed must be her Hogwarts letter with her book list
for that year and any notices from McGonagall or Dumbledore before they saw her
next, which would be at headquarters later on that morning.
The owl was impatiently holding out its leg for her to remove the letter
attached. Harry was a bit dubious about reaching out to remove the letter,
clearly seeing the glare the owl was giving to her. She reached out removing
the letter as quickly and gently as possible, all the while trying to get the
owl out of her room before it decided to get any bright ideas about pecking her
for making it wait until the last. Once it was free of the letter, it gave a
sharp hoot and one last glare before flying swiftly out of the window.
When the school owl departed, that left the final owl, none other than
Pigwideon, Ron's overly hyperactive owl. Harry snorted at the little
hyperactive ball of fluff, honestly surprised how he managed to stay still and
as silent for as long he had. Harry considered it be a rather quite miraculous
feat, in fact something he was now making up for in spades as he acted all
loony and flew like crazy around Harry's head in rapid circles.
Harry tried to reach out to grab the letter and package it had attached to one
of its legs as he continued to fly around her head, causing her to chuckle and
say in amused exasperation, "Pig, stay still, honestly you crazy overactive
fluff ball." She faltered slightly as she heard herself speaking for the first
time since what had happened and, noted her voice was soft and feminine, yet
had a noticeable husky edge to it. Okay, that was going to take a hell of a lot
of getting used to, not only was her appearance affected but her voice to
apparently.
As she snapped out of her thoughts, she finally managed to grab the tiny owl
swiftly and gently as possible during mid-circle, before quickly and gently as
possible untied the letter and package before sending him on his way. She
called out to him playfully, "Alright, you've made your point, now on your way
back to Ron."
She heard Hedwig's indignant sounding hoot and the sound of her ruffling her
feathers at the fuss the younger and much smaller owl had unnecessarily
created. Harry smirked widely and chuckled knowingly at her prim and proper
owl, knowing Hedwig had always been less than impressed when it came to Pig,
whom Harry had always suspected was trying to gain her attention.
She shook her head as she rolled her eyes again before turning her attention to
her bed where all of her letters and birthday presents lay. She picked up her
wand and waved it over all of her presents one by one, until they returned to
their original size. She cast several charms to detect any nasty spells, hexes,
or curses and, once satisfied that no one was trying to target her through her
mail she replaced her wand on the bedside table.
Finally, she reached out and picked up her first gift at random, unknowingly
picking up the letter from the twins, which read as-
Hiya Harry
Happy birthday mate, finally you can use your magic outside of school, bet your
bloody glad for that. Now Harry, Gred and I were wondering if we could talk to
you about your sizeable donation to our noble cause of mayhem and jokes, namely
your half of the Triwizard Tournament winnings. We need to discuss something
important with you when you get to headquarters. Harry there is something else,
something more entertaining, which Gred wants to ask you about Ron that he and
I want you to do for us. As for your birthday present from Gred and I, well, it
is something special, that I wish I could be there to see your face when you
see what else we put in there besides the usual products yet to go on the
shelves. Now here is Georgie, I will see you later mate when Georgie and I come
with The Order to collect you from that shithole your relatives call a bedroom.
Hiya mate
Happy birthday, Golden Boy
Forge is right mate I wish we could be there to see you open your extra special
treat this year, special for all growing wizards, trust us we did the same for
our dear ole Ronnikins when he turned seventeen. Now Harry, Forge and I have a
favour to ask of you dear ole boy, which is a certain product in your package
that we have marked, take it and put it in Ron's drink the first available
chance you get. And before you start pissing and moaning that you won't do it
in case Ron finds out and tries to get even, well, he does not have to know it
was you, you can blame me and Forge just as long as we get to see his reaction.
Finally, my lovely and sexy Angie, the love and light of my life, she says hi
and happy birthday. There is a note, some sweets from Honeydukes from her in
your package, sweets unfortunately Forge, and I did not have the chance to
touch, such a pity that is. She wanted to know how you are doing and whether
you are still going to be Quidditch Captain for our old house team this year
again. Finally me and Forge are looking forward to picking you up tomorrow at
your relatives, especially looking forward to seeing your cousin again as we
might have a little surprise for him and a going away present for you mate.
 
Forge and Gred at your service
 
Okay, now to say Harry was curious as to what they had sent was an
understatement of the century, especially the term of phase they had used,
something extra special. The fact they had given it to Ron for his seventeenth
birthday as well also more than peaked her interest. She just hoped she did not
regret what she found, seriously something extra special could mean anything
when it came to the twins and was not always considered positive either.
She grinned evilly as she thought of what kind of surprise they might have for
Dudley, remembering all too vividly the Ton Tongue Toffee they gave to him when
they came to collect her to take her to The Burrow. That was the year of the
world Quidditch cup match where Bulgaria played against Ireland and, her fourth
year and the Triwizard Tournament. Her fourth year had been one hell of a year,
one she would be liable never to forget for as long as she lived.
She put the letter down and picked up one of the largest packages wrapped in
bright orange and magenta paper. Oh yeah, that was definitely the twins gift
their logo was all over the wrapping paper, plus if that hadn't gave it away,
those glaringly bright colours sure as hell would have. Now that she knew which
present was theirs also meant she now knew which of the packages she should be
dubious of before opening it.
She chuckled as she tapped her wand on top of the package, casting a charm to
unwrap the present so that she did not risk damaging the paper, which for some
reason she wanted to keep, something she would have never bothered with before
now. This led her to thinking about whether her current appearance was not just
physical but also on a mental scale too. Her male self would have never
bothered keeping the paper even if he would not have ripped it to shreds
either.
Of course, she had to wonder whether it was a prank, but then again she thought
it too well thought out and complex to be just a harmless joke. Too serious as
well, Fred and George would have only made it physical, perhaps given her a set
of overly large breasts and, not made it so it was on a mental scale to the
point it end up messing around with her head and, yes it was doing just that on
a spectacular level.
She shook her head in order to snap herself out of her current thoughts as she
reached for and lifted the lid off the big orange box. It had orange and
magenta coloured tissue paper stuffed inside, that also had the Weasleys'
Wizard Wheezes logo all over it. She carefully cast a preserving charm on the
box and tissue paper, all the while shaking her head honestly having no idea
whatsoever about her sudden need to keep such things as wrapping paper, tissue
paper and a big box.
She moved the tissue paper to one side and found a huge pile of the twin's
products, some she recognised such as the Wizbangs, Canary Creams and a new set
of Extendible ears. The products she did not recognise were one, a product that
apparently, from what she read on the label was used to tame unruly hair,
something she no longer needed. Another product was a box, which looked as if
it could have come from Honeydukes, but Harry for some reason knew better.
As soon as she had given a brief scan of the twenty or so products, knowing
that the twins would have not given to their brother their products yet to go
on the shelves, she dug deeper into the round box. She could tell one of the
twins had cast an extension charm on it as her hand went down deeper inside
than the size of the box suggested. She was pleased to find the Honeydukes that
George said were from Angie and took the page long letter Angie had attached to
the box and read-
 
Happy birthday Harry
Wow, you are finally seventeen, which means you can now use you magic whenever
you like, trust me it is brilliant. Next, you will be going for your Apparition
licence, which sure beats using the Knights bus or the floo any day. Now as for
the package George and Fred have sent you, please allow me to apologise in
advance if you find anything you get embarrassed over. I assure you I am not
entirely certain of what they have put in that box. The thought is enough to
make me somewhat shudder at what they are capable of, hell only Merlin knows
what they have done. Though let me tell you this, I can honestly promise you
that the chocolates from me are from Honeydukes and I did not for one second
allow either George or Fred anywhere near them. Ha, I mean seriously both you
and I know that would have not ended well for you on the receiving end of
whatever they would have done to them. Finally happy birthday again and good
luck with your second year as Captain, Ollie is proud as the rest of our old
teammates Harry after he found out. I will see you at headquarters later on.
 
Angie
 
Harry smiled as she placed the letter to one side and opened the big box of
chocolates that were a mixed variety. There had to be at least two galleons
worth of chocolates there, which led to Harry believing that Angie may have
gotten just a bit carried away in Honeydukes. Harry knew that with a well
placed preserving charm she could make the entire chocolate last her months,
well usually she could. She honestly had no idea just how much so Angelina had
not overindulged in Honeydukes, particularly for a female.
Harry took one of the smaller chocolates, broke it in half then placed half in
her mouth and the other she wrapped back up and placed it back in the box. She
moaned and was startled as she closed her eyes as her taste buds suddenly
sprung to life. Chocolate had never quite tasted like this nor had it caused
such a reaction in Harry. She figured it must be a female thing, meaning most
likely what Ginny and the others felt when they ate chocolate. It made Harry
wonder how they were not as big as Dudley and Uncle Vernon, knowing if
chocolate tasted like that for a female then how they had not stuffed
themselves sick with it was beyond Harry.
She began to dig deeper into the box until she found a large bottle of Ogden's
Old Firewhisky, a sight she could not help but smirk widely at when she saw it.
Apparently, Ron had a bottle to, which she really hoped Mrs. Weasley had not
caught wind of, or not only would Ron get it in the neck, but Fred and George
to for giving it to him in the first place. Regardless that Ron was now of age,
Mrs. Weasley still worried and fussed over her youngest son and, Harry wagered
rightly so knowing Ron he would probably drink the whole damn bottle in one
sitting if no one stopped him.
Next Harry found what looked to be a magazine and looked closely; only seconds
later blush and violently shudder in horror and mortified disgust. The twins
had sent her an issue of Play Wizard, the wizarding equivalent of Playboy.
Harry moaned in total disbelieving horror and most definitely not pleasure at
the sight of the witch on the front cover, who wore a flimsy looking scrap of
red lace, which was supposed to be a thong and nothing else.
What made it even worse for her was the fact it was graphical, seeing as not
only did the witch have very large breasts, very fake and extremely large
breasts, but the picture also moved like all wizarding pictures. The bleach
blonde haired witch winked every so often and battered her very long and false
eyelashes as she pouted before licking her lips slowly as she pulled at and
squeezed her breasts.
Harry suddenly realised with rapidly growing horror that she was not the least
big aroused or attracted to the skanky looking witch on the front cover. She
felt nothing; something she knew would have not been the case if she had seen
something like this only yesterday. She felt no arousal, no not arousal, but
pure distaste and annoyance as she wondered just how much of their dignity did
any self respecting witch lose when she did that line of work.
She knew Ginny would seriously freak out at Fred and George if she ever saw
this and, it was this thought that without warning suddenly had her breath
catching in her throat at the thought of Ginny. Oh no, Ginny, what the hell was
she going to do about Ginny if she saw Harry looking the way she did right
then. How the hell was she supposed to explain this, hell even she did not know
what was going on. However, most of all what did it mean for her and Ginny as
far as their relationship was concerned?
She closed her eyes and concentrated on Ginny's features and her lovely vibrant
flowing red hair, yet only moments later truly feel horror and dismay as she
came to the quick and sudden realisation that she no longer felt any sexual or
even romantic feelings or attraction for Ginny. In fact, the only thing about
Ginny she still found remotely attractive was the colour of her hair and
nothing more.
To make matters and the situation even more complication and, in her state of
panic her dismay increased as she closed her eyes and end up picturing Cho
Chang. Though discovering that she was even less attracted to the Japanese
beauty both sexually and romantically then she was to Ginny hardly came as much
of a surprise to her. Considering the fact come fifth year and beyond that
school year it had taken no time at all to get over Cho and to notice Ginny, so
no it was no surprise.
Harry was terrified as she closed her eyes and pictured Fred and George
instead, but yet again was no less surprised to discover that she felt a slight
warm tingling sensation between her legs yet no erection. This only confirmed
what she was rapidly starting to realise that being, she not only had breasts
but a vagina to. She realised instantly she felt no disgust or any loss over
not having a penis anymore.
Yes, she knew for certain whatever had happened to her had not only transformed
her physically but mentally. She still felt like Harry, more so than she could
remember feeling before having not felt quite as comfortable in her own skin as
she did right then. This in itself was enough to make her more than a little
nervous than she wanted to admit to even to herself. The fact she now only felt
truly comfortable after seventeen years did not give her as much comfort as she
had always hoped and wanted.
Realising all of this gave her a measure of relief, relief that she had not
been the butt of some prank, nor would she have to go after Fred and George and
possibly curse them back into infancy for daring to subject her to this. No
prank could accomplish this, not even a prank pulled off by the sheer genius
that is the Weasley twins.
However, that was not what mainly bothered Harry about her current ordeal, what
made her feel ill with dread, no that was down to the fact she now had a
decidedly major problem. Said problem namely she could no longer be in a
relationship with Ginny as forcing herself to be in a relationship with another
female witch or muggle, it did not matter, doing it would not only feel like a
major lie but would without a doubt be one.
Not unless they knew of a way to reverse what had happened could she find the
possibility of continuing a relationship between her and Ginny at all
plausible. Yet, then again as strange as it sounded she was not entirely
certain she wanted it reversed, which might have made her sound like some kind
of freak, yet being branded a freak is an okay price to pay if that meant she
was allowed to hold onto the comfort and just pure rightness she felt in
herself.
Harry knew she absolutely did not want to hurt Ginny, she really did not, yet
if she could not change back and, to be honest a major part of her did not want
to, then Harry could not honestly see how hurting the red haired witch was
possible to avoid. Either way no matter how you looked at the situation or
whichever spin you placed on it Ginny was going to get hurt and badly.
She let out another loud sigh as she turned and picked up another package at
random, not honestly caring the order she opened whatever present sent to her.
The package she noted was shaped like a book and large and raised enough that
Harry wagered that there had to be more than one book wrapped in that paper.
She picked up the letter and seeing the writing on the front, she instantly
knew whose gift she had chosen next. Hermione honestly, if the shape of the
package did not give it away then the handwriting surely had.
Harry removed the paper from the package to reveal as expected books, four of
them in fact. One was a Defence against the dark arts text, while another was a
Transfiguration text. Finally, the third was a Medical Potions text and the
final and fourth was a Medical Charms text. Harry could not find any reason to
complain or even roll her eyes, much to her surprise she found herself
appreciating the texts more so than she would have in the past if Hermione had
gave them to her say last year.
She opened the letter that had come with the very thoughtful and definitely
useful gift and removed the letter from the envelope and read-
 
Happy birthday Harry
I have missed talking to you over the summer and cannot wait until we can meet
at headquarters. Harry how have you been and have you completed all of your
homework yet, I have in the first week of the holidays. How are the Dursleys
treating you, are they feeding you properly? Please tell me they at least went
easy on you this summer seeing as it is to be your last with them. I feel it is
honestly the least they could do for you after the way in which they have so
poorly mistreated you over the years growing up. Now as for the texts I have
sent you, I know you must be currently rolling your eyes at my choice of gift,
most likely thinking typical Hermione and her love of books. However, Harry you
need to realise that if you wish to be a healer then you must study Potions and
receive more than a decent grade. As for the DADA and Transfiguration texts,
well, you seem to have quite the gift in both subjects, a gift I honestly think
you need to expand upon. I thought that perhaps you might consider acquiring
Masters in both of those arts; I know you are most certainly capable of it. As
for the Charms text, the same principle as Potions rings true, you need both to
be a healer. Harry I only tell you this because I want the best for you and for
you to succeed to be successful my friend. Now enough with my lecture about
your academic prospects and let us discuss the fact Ron, Ginny and the rest of
the Weasley's are also here to. Sirius and Remus seem quite nervous as do
Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall. I have a feeling it has something to do
with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. You would not happen to know anything from
your letters from Sirius and Remus would you Harry? Okay this is all for now
and I am looking forward to seeing you on your birthday as Remus and the order
are collecting you from your foul relatives for the final time. Please stay
safe Harry, as both you and I know you are a magnet for trouble.
With love your friend Hermione
 
Harry narrowed her eyes as she for the first time since the whole episode had
happened felt true anger. Gone was the feeling of numbness she had been feeling
since she woke after her terribly painful ordeal. Reading Hermione's letter
explaining how she noticed Sirius and Remus, along with Professors Dumbledore
and McGonagall acting strangely was what it took to snap her out of the daze
she had been in since first seeing her reflection in the mirror.
She inwardly snarled as she thought with bitter and seething sarcasm, 'Oh yeah,
I have an idea and strongly suspect why they are nervous all right. Ha, I
bloody well wager the reason is staring right back at me in the mirror right
now' Her jaw clenched as she placed Hermione's letter on the bed beside her
gifts before she screwed it up in her anger, which was the last thing she
wanted to do.
Next, she picked up the present from Ron, knowing it was from him because of
the skill used to wrap the present, the lack of skill that is. It was evident
to Harry that Ron had been the one to do the wrapping and had not asked for any
help from either Hermione or Ginny. Harry would not have really noticed this
much before now, another female thing she wondered. The content consisted of
four chocolate frogs among a few other sweet items as well, such as sugar
quills.
She opened the letter, which of course was quite short, typical Ron she thought
with a knowing smirk as she began to read –
 
Hiya Harry
Happy birthday mate
You can do magic whenever you want bloody brilliant, ain't it. Oh, by the way
mum has sent you one of her usual care packages of food and some Butterbeer,
knowing your ruddy relatives starve you. Harry mate I have no idea if Hermione
has mentioned this in her letter, but if she hasn't, then something bloody
weird is going on around here. Sirius and Remus look guilty and shifty eyed if
we so much as mention your name, I wonder what is with that? Anyway, mate I
will see you at headquarters and we can go through our birthday stashes from
Fred and George. I hope mum does not catch us, Merlin imagine the whole bloody
litter of Kneazles she would have if she did.
Ron
 
Harry snorted knowingly; knowing Molly Weasley would definitely have a whole
litter if she ever saw exactly what the twins had gave to Ron and her, the
magazine and whiskey in particular. She shook her head as she placed the letter
down with the other opened letters. She picked up the sweets and placed them
with the chocolate from Angelina after casting a preserving charm on them,
including the chocolate from Angelina. She eyed the sugar quills and knew she
would most likely spend the train journey to Hogwarts sucking on them.
She silently nodded to herself as she thought of what Hermione and Ron had said
about Sirius and Remus and started to realise maybe what had happened to her
was expected, at least by Sirius and the rest of the order. The fact Sirius and
Remus knew she had this coming without mentioning it made her blood boil
something fierce at the thought of those two of all people keeping shit like
this from her. She expected that weak crap from Dumbledore and not her
godfather and her mentor and honorary godfather.
Next, she chose what she knew to be Mrs. Weasley's care package, her stomach
practically growled at the thought of the contents of that basket. Harry really
was hungry due to her aunt having only given her a small sandwich with a single
slice of cheese on it. The thought of the crap and the amount her cousin ate,
even with that supposed diet of his, that compared with the small amounts of
crap she was begrudgingly provided set her teeth on edge with irritation.
Harry reached out and opened the lid of the wicker basket that was full to the
brim with cheese some bread, ham and chicken legs, along with two meat pies as
big as Harry's hand. Harry felt her mouth water in delight at the sight of the
medium sized treacle tart. Finally there was some fruit and all of them Harry's
favourites, along with an eight pack of Butterbeer.
Harry grinned in knowing amusement as she thought of how Mrs. Weasley always
packed far too much in the basket as if providing for three or four people
instead of just one whenever she sent over a care package for Harry. She beamed
as she reached inside the basket, selected one of the chicken legs, and
immediately started to bite into it hungrily. She held the leg in one hand,
while she reached for the letter from Mrs. Weasley and fiddled with it until
she managed to remove the letter from the envelope with her free hand. The
letter read as –
 
Hello Harry dear
Happy birthday
I hope all is well and those dreadful relatives of yours are feeding and
treating you well, they better be. This is your last summer with them and there
is no excuse for their abuse and starving you. Now dear I have sent you a care
package, which I have put a preserving charm on, eat as much as possible. You
can always eat it through the night, which is something that I would not
normally encourage, but your relatives being as they are there really is
nothing for it. I have excellent news dear, that being that the Order is coming
to collect you in the morning for the final time, so be sure to gather all of
your belongings and not leave anything behind as you won't be going back there
again. Oh and I need to ask whilst I remember, have Sirius and Remus mentioned
anything of interest in their letters to you, they are acting ever so
strangely, as are Tonks and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall? That is all
for now dear, I will see you at headquarters where I will be waiting and Arthur
has your birthday present and something he wishes to tell you, something even I
am not aware.
Molly Weasley
 
Harry placed the letter to one side as she finished off the chicken leg, before
reaching into the basket again and taking out one of the Butterbeers and using
her wand to open it. As she took a large swig, she thought that yes they were
aware, even Tonks apparently. The fact Mrs. Weasley was onto them meant they
were not nearly as discreet as they probably thought they were being, as almost
nothing ever slipped passed the radar like sixth sense of Molly Weasley.
Harry picked up another of the packages and placed her bottle down on the
bedside table. She scanned the writing on the label and froze as she realised
that she recognised the handwriting all too well, it was Ginny's handwriting.
She let out a truly tired sigh as she slowly opened the small box after
removing the wrapping paper and found a bracelet made of leather cords braided
and intertwined together. The leather cords were black and were weaved together
with gold and scarlet. She fingered the bracelet and closed her eyes, feeling
awful, especially when she saw hers and Ginny's initials engraved into the
leather in a golden coloured cursive.
She placed the bracelet down on the bedside table carefully, not wanting to put
it on due to not feeling right about it. She picked up the letter that came
with the bracelet and removed it from the envelope before reading-
 
Happy birthday love
I hope you like my present; I am wearing its twin. How are the Dursley's
treating you, are they feeding you, if not then don't worry as mum has sent you
a care package, plus The Order is also due to collect you in the morning. Oh,
by the way do you know something I do not from your letters from Sirius and
Remus? They keep giving me these strange sad and sympathetic glances, what is
with that? I mean I cannot even have a conversation with either of them without
feeling like they are holding something back and can barely look me in the eye.
Even Tonks is being somewhat nicer than usual, not that she has ever treated me
badly. Finally, I miss you Harry and cannot wait for you to get to
headquarters, and thought that maybe if we are lucky we could try for some
alone time when you finally get here.
With love Ginny
 
Harry had tears of guilt in her eyes as she placed the letter with the others,
before pinching the bridge of her nose as she realised Sirius and Remus knew
this would happen to her. This also meant they must have known her relationship
with Ginny would not survive this whole situation, which completely explained
the looks they kept on giving Ginny. It led her to believing Sirius and Remus
did not intend to find a way to change her back, or they could not, which was
it she wanted to know? Harry decided to carry on with opening her presents,
putting that thought to the back of her mind knowing there was nothing she
could do about it, not until she saw Sirius and Remus later on.
The next present she picked up was from Remus and removed the paper to discover
what appeared to be a photo album. However, what gave Harry pause was the fact
it had a pale lilac and golden cover, meaning he knew what he had been doing
and who he was sending this to, why else would have he send her a gift clearly
intended for a female?
She opened the cover and felt her breath catch as she discovered the content
was pictures of her parents, along with Sirius and Remus and a brown haired
female. Alice Longbottom, Neville’s mother she thought, having remembered
seeing the same woman from the picture of the original Order during fifth year.
The pictures she noted were stuck on shiny purple thick parchment, while golden
glitter had been artfully scattered around the edges and corners. This alone
was enough to cause her to sigh and shake her head as she contemplated how
obvious the colour scheme and glitter was. She scanned the pictures for a
moment longer before placing it to one side.
Just as went to pick up Remus’s letter was when she discovered a second present
and letter with Remus's gift. She removed the paper and found a large and round
purple coloured box. She opened the lid, which slide to the side and discovered
several layers of compartments, all full of beautiful and expensive looking
makeup, hair, manicure, and pedicure tools. Harry visibly faltered as she
realised what a telltale giveaway this really was, no one, not even Tonks would
send a wizard something like this, so yes she definitely knew.
Harry carefully slides aside different compartments until she found seven in
total. Blushers and liquid and powder foundations as well as concealers,
primers and base powders and liquids in one compartment, while another was
filled with eye shadows in cream, powder, matt and shimmer format in every
colour imaginable, some not even found in muggle brands. There was a selection
of different coloured mascara, with different sized brushes to allow for
different lash length and volume. She even found eye pencils, liquid eyeliners
and false eyelashes in another compartment.
She shook her head at the sight of a third compartment filled with brushes and
applicators in every shape and size. A fourth compartment had lipsticks,
glosses, with liquid and pencil liners of every colour imaginable. A fifth
compartment had nail polishes, nail files, buffers, clippers and other manicure
and pedicure tools, along with Acrylic nails in all lengths, sizes and shapes.
A sixth compartment held hair tools, such as a hair-dryer, irons to provide
every curl imaginable, along with removable applicators to crimp and straighten
hair. The final and seventh compartment held hairbrushes and combs, dividers
and grips in all shape and sizes.
At the sight of all this, Harry knew magic held the box together, an extension
charm for example to make it bigger, deeper and wider on the inside then the
outside led one to believe. Make up, manicure, pedicure and hair set for all
beauty needs any witch could ever possibly need or even want right at her
fingertips.
Harry did not know whether to burst out in laughter or cry her eyes out like a
baby in disbelief. What made it all the worse were her thoughts, she liked it
and thought it was gorgeous, which were definitely not the thoughts of a
wizard, at least not a straight or sane one that is.
She could not help but wonder who else knew about her predicament, knew what
she did not, what they should have bloody well informed her of before anyone
else damn it. She silently fumed, yet still carefully slides all compartments
shut and replaced the lid of the beauty box, not wanting to damage anything.
Just because she was pissed did not mean she was about to wilfully damage such
a beautiful and thoughtful gift.
She tried to calm herself as she reached for and opened the letter from Remus.
It read as-
 
Happy birthday Harry
I am more than slightly nervous about sending this letter and gift, knowing of
your temper, which you inherited from both of your parents. Barring any unseen
complications what has happened to you will be very apparent, so much so that
there will be no possible way of concealing it. Harry I am afraid I cannot give
you much information, only Sirius and your parents can do that, information you
will find in letters from all three of them. Through I can reveal that there is
no going back at this point this is the true you and, I am truly sorry if being
changed back is what you are wanting as you read this. I promise you shall
understand what I mean when I tell you this is the true you, the true Harriet
James Potter. Everything you need to know will be in your parent's letters.
Harry I hope you don't mind, but I have informed Tonks of your situation, she
is sympathetic but also absolutely delighted at the thought, please do not ask
me why, the answer very well may make you very afraid for when she finally gets
her hands on you. I can tell you this through, she has insisted every witch
needs what she has sent you, but I will not give away the surprise. Just know
you shall find it very useful, useful in the sense that your transformation is
not only physical, but also on a mental scale to. Now I must inform you that
tomorrow, I, along with Severus, Tonks and even Fred and George Weasley will be
coming to collect you from your relatives. I have no doubt that you are looking
forward to be leaving your relatives for the final time regardless of the shock
you have no doubt received. I promise we shall talk when you arrive at
headquarters.
 
Remus your honouree godfather
 
Harry smirked coldly and muttered sarcastically, "Ha, a shock he says, you
bloody well think, huh! You have no idea, no damn idea whatsoever Moony." She
rolled her eyes scowling as she suddenly thought back on what Remus had said,
'This is the true you and there is no going back' What the hell, if that was
the case then why had she spent the last sixteen years as male for Merlin's
sake?
She ran a hand through her hair as she placed Remus's letter back down on the
bed and picked up the letter from Tonks. It read as-
 
Happy birthday my fellow witch
What can I say, but wow talk about springing the unexpected and unbelievable on
someone? I cannot begin to imagine what must be going through your head right
now, but I have no doubt it is not the least bit good. Anyhow, if the
transformation is as mental and physical as both Remus and Sirius are saying it
is then hopefully you will have an easier time of adjusting to the situation
much more quickly. You will I hope enjoy my gift to you, the beauty set is of
the magical and not muggle kind. Because it is magical, means once the makeup
or nail polish is applied it will not smudge or flake and can only remove it
with a cleaning charm. I cannot wait to show you how to use it all there is
much I can show and tell you. However, do you want to know the best part, it
magically refills itself when it starts to run out, how great is that? Now as
for you finally being of age, I was thinking that maybe I, along with Fleur,
Angie and Hermione could take you out clubbing to a wizarding club. Also if you
ever need any girl advice such as your period, yeah sorry Harry but you are
going to get them now, comes with the whole package deal of being a witch,
being female for that matter. I must admit I am looking forward to taking you
shopping in muggle London for your new wardrobe. I will even teach you how to
walk in high heels if you like. Speaking of your wardrobe, you will find an
extra present from Sirius, a changing of clothes and underwear. Harry there is
no reason to worry about the clothes not fitting because when you put them on
the charms I placed on them will activate and shrink or enlarge them to fit
you. I have not sent a bra, that will have to wait until I see you next as I
will have to show you how to put it on. Through on the plus side the tank top
does have built in support so you will not need a bra. As for shoes, you will
have to use a shrinking and colour charm on the trainers Sirius got for your
birthday last summer. Now tomorrow at headquarters I will have another outfit
waiting for you and will have to use your other set of clothes as a guideline
to adjust them. Okay, I am going to stop now and will talk to you and answer
any questions personal or none personal you will definitely have after we
arrive at headquarters.
Tonks your fellow witch
 
Harry could not help but giggle, which shocked her slightly and thought that it
must be another female thing, one of many more to come that she did not doubt.
Honestly, trust Tonks to make the whole situation seem less bleak and shit
worthy. To make it seem like a good thing and not a major pain in the ass, but
then again what it was going to do to hers and Ginny's relationship was beyond
inconvenient, a true understatement really.
Harry still loved Ginny, she really did, but it was not the type of love felt
for a partner or girl/boy friend, in short, it was not sexual or romantic. How
the hell was she supposed to tell her soon to be ex-girlfriend she now found
her older brothers, Fred, George and even Bill more attractive than she did
her? That Cedric Diggory held more appeal then Cho Chang ever had before or
ever would again.
Harry was not gay, not by a long stretch of the imagination, whether male or
female it did not matter, she/he was not interested in her own sex. She
supposed it made some sense to her now as a witch she found her tastes sway
towards wizards. She was surprised to discover her attraction to wizards was
stronger than the attraction she once held for witches, which she could guess
was the version of her the glamour had hidden trying to shine through even back
then.
She let out another loud sigh as she picked up her Butterbeer again and took a
swig before she placed Tonks letter with the letter from Remus. She paused to
place her bottle back down on the table after one more swig. She finally
noticed the letters and packages she had been dreading opening, namely those
from Sirius and her parents. There was the letter from Hogwarts as well as the
letter and package from whoever the owner of the mystery owl she did not
recognise left to open to.
She used her wand to place a locking charm on the door, knowing she wanted to
make double certain none of the Dursley's could enter her room and stick their
nose where it was never wanted or needed. She knew whatever she was about to
discover in the letters from both her parents and Sirius was not something she
was going to like and knew it would piss her off, she especially did not want
to share it with her relatives of all people.
First, she picked up her parents presents and opened the first box, which
appeared to be a ring box and wondered what kind of ring and which of her
parents had it come from? She opened the red and gold velvet box and was
surprised to see a beautiful golden ring, which looked like a males signet and
was oval shaped and had an outline of a Lion engraved in the centre, with a
letter p in the centre of the Lion made up of white diamonds and pure red
rubies.
She instantly knew what this was, all too aware of what the ring represented
having seen Sirius and even Mr. Weasley wearing one, which allowed others to
recognise them as heads of their houses. The ring she held was the Potter
family ring, given to the head of the family, which regardless that she was
female until the time she was able to provide a male heir the role of head of
house was hers. She noted the Potter crest was of a Lion with a letter p in the
centre, how fitting considering all Potter's had been Gryffindors when they
attended Hogwarts.
Sirius had once told her that the Potter family crest stood for all the traits
Potters prized, courage, bravery, loyalty and intelligence, which the Lion
summed up perfectly. They were courageous, brave and very loyal almost to a
fault and naturally they were intelligent creatures. Sirius and Remus insisted
she had every single trait in absolute spades and that she was a true Potter.
At first, she had not completely understood, but now, looking at her family's
ring she finally understood.
She removed the ring from the box before placing it on her right middle finger
and watched as it settled, but gasped as she felt the metal become warm. The
charm infused in the ring to allow it to shrink or increase in size to suit the
needs of the wearer activated as soon as it settled on her finger. To her the
magic around her felt like a spark of warmth as it surrounded her middle finger
as the ring shrank to fit her more delicate finger, rather than the male finger
of her former body or say her father.
She flexed her hand as she got a feel for the new piece of jewellery, noting it
felt comfortable, which was a good thing when she considered that she had no
idea when she would have the opportunity to have a child. Not with the state of
wizarding affairs at present, honestly bringing a child into a war torn world
was not something Harry would ever do willingly, not a chance in hell.
Particularly if she end up killed during the war she did not want to leave her
child an orphan as her parents had her.
Next she picked up a second box that was bigger than the first and why came
apparent as soon as she lifted the lid off the box. The content consisted of a
long pure solid white golden chain that had a medium sized oval shaped locket.
In the centre of the locket was her initials H.J.P. made up of tiny pure blood
red rubies and the purest looking white diamonds and around the edge of the
locket decorated with a small Calla Lily and the opposite side had a small
stag. The actual flower was an outline of rubies and the stem diamonds. As for
the stag, diamonds outlined the antlers and rubies for the eyes.
She eyed it in awe loving it on sight, knowing nothing up until then could be
more beautiful in her eyes as she took in the symbol of both of her parents
outlined in diamonds and rubies. She had never owned nor been given anything as
expensive or with such sentimental meaning behind it.
She opened it carefully and her breath caught when a tune, which sounded very
much like a lullaby started to play. It was enough to bring instant tears to
her eyes at the sound, that somehow spoke to her from somewhere deep down and
personal inside of her very being. Harry realised that she had heard it before
and suspected it had been a long time ago when her parents had been alive.
She closed her eyes briefly to allow the soothing and beautiful melody to wash
over her, soothing something deep inside of her she had no idea until that
moment needed soothing. How long she had unknowing felt this way and needed
that, she had no idea, but could honestly guess.
Her eyes fluttered open moments later and the tears that she had held under
closed lids now overflowed and streamed slowly down her cheeks at the sight of
the first picture she saw. Her parents held onto her as a newborn baby as they
beamed happily and waved back at her and from time to time look down lovingly
at her baby self before moments later exchanging a glance of deep love with
each other before it started over again.
She lovingly smoothed two of her fingertips over the picture as her tears fell
faster and more thickly, noting how it was an honest pleasure to see a picture
of her parents, yet at the same time was an emotional agony likes of which she
had never known before. Seeing the picture was evidence enough that not only
had her parents been so deeply in love but they had loved her beyond reason as
well, a fact that filled her with relief and joy.
She turned her gaze to the other side of the locket and giggled tearfully at
the sight of a much younger Sirius and Remus gazing back at her. Both were
beaming widely, while from time to time Sirius would playfully wink and wave at
her. Remus on the other hand smirked deviously, an evidently mischievous
twinkle in younger looking eyes as he held up two fingers above Sirius's head
of dark wavy hair as he made bunny ears when he was not waving along with
Sirius.
She giggled tearfully as she closed the locket and opened the clasp on the
chain, before lifting her hair to one side and put the chain around her neck
and secured it closed. She moved her hand from the clasp and left the chain to
rest against her neck and the locket between her breasts. She sighed as she
smoothed her hand lovingly over it briefly and happily noted how it felt and
looked resting safely where it belonged.
She reached out and picked up the envelope that came with it and opened it,
noting there are two separate pages of parchment inside. She unfolds the one on
top and read-
 
To my dearest daughter
Happy birthday sweetheart this is your dad here. I cannot believe you are
finally seventeen, so grown up. If you are reading this then it means your
mother and I are not here to celebrate it with you. It means we will not get to
take you to the ministry for your apparating test nor will we be there to see
you do your first piece of magic as a legal witch. In short, it sadly means
your mother and I did not make it and are no longer there. If Voldemort
succeeds and kills your mother and I then please know this, we love you so very
much never doubt that, never my sweet little one, not even in death. Now
sweetheart if the plan made with Sirius, Remus and Albus Dumbledore happens and
been put into action, then know that it is solely for your safety. Please try
to understand we have only your best interest at heart, always what is best for
you. You need to know the facts before you go off at the deep end, oh and
believe me my sweetheart you will if you are anything like your mother and I
are in the temper department. You need to know the facts also because we do not
want you changing back on your seventeenth birthday and you not getting the
full story or reasons for our decision to place you under a very complex and
powerful glamour charm. The charm in question consists of both a potion and a
charm incantation, which last for as long as the amount of the potion you
drink. One drop in your milk would have last a year, but we placed enough to
last until your seventeenth birthday at the first stroke of midnight. That
combined with the charm was enough to conceal the fact you were born a female
and not a male until you came of age. Why would we want to do such a thing, not
because you were born a witch and we were ashamed of that fact, oh no, never
ever think that. Us Potter's are not like the Malfoy's or Blacks, who demand a
male heir as their first born. As long as that daughter can provide an heir to
carry on the name and bloodline, usually a second born male as the first-born
if it is a male would obviously be your husband's heir. Now I am certain you
have discovered the Potter family headship ring and is yours to keep safe until
you have your second child if it is a male. You will need to hold onto it until
they are seventeen and old enough to accept and be given the responsibility.
There is something else, which you must know and have to be aware of and I
already know you are not going to approve, I never did, so it is safe to say
that you will not either. You will dislike it even more so, especially if you
are in a relationship already. I know I was in your position once before I
married your mother and trust me when I say that I did not appreciate anything
getting in the way of our relationship. Speaking of relationships, unless you
are naturally inclined towards witches you are not going to have the same
feelings towards females when you change back due to the transformation working
not only physically but at a mental capacity also. Know this through, even if
you do end up liking your own sex I will not hold it against you nor think any
less of you, nor will your mother either for that matter. If that does turn out
to be the case, then there is always the option of a potion you can use. All
you would need would be some of the DNA of your chosen wizard and then you
would add the ingredient to the potion, whether is strands of hair or even a
blood sample. Once you have added whatever sample you have chosen then you
would have to drink it. There would be no sex involved, the potion and your
magic, along with the blood or hair from the other parent would work towards
creating an embryo, six weeks later you would start to have symptoms of
pregnancy. Warning through, it will only work if your chosen partner is a
wizard, both parents would need to have magic, I am afraid a muggle is not a
suitable option where that potion is concerned. That is just an option to take
into consideration if marriage to a wizard is not a possibility and marriage to
a fellow witch is to be a part of your future. Speaking of marriage, I shall
leave that up to your mother to explain and cover in her separate letter, oh
and believe me sweetheart there is much to discuss on that subject. Now finally
I am hoping that Sirius your godfather has custody of you, if not for some
reason or other, then I would prefer if either the Weasley's or even the
Diggory's brought you up. Under no circumstances are they to send you to your
Aunt and Uncle on your mother's side of the family. I swear to Merlin that
whoever sends you there I will haunt them until their dying day. That family is
beyond disgusting, your mother and her parents were not the issue but your
mother's sister Petunia and that disgusting obese muggle she married. The fact
he is muggle is not the issue, no they loath anything whatsoever to do with
magic. That in my opinion is not a stable or appropriate environment to bring
up a magical child in healthily. Your cousin I am willing to wager is going to
grow up to be just as obese and as much of a bully and magic hating swine as
his father Vernon Dursley is. Okay, now I am going to assume you are aware of
the fact Sirius Black is your godfather, or Dogfather, a name Remus and I would
jokingly call him from time to time. Your mother will be the one to reveal the
identity of your godmother in her letter, just know that you would have loved
her. I hope that you will have met and know her son, you two share a birthday.
I wonder if you are as beautiful as I imagine you are going to be, with your
mother being your mother then I would not be surprised if Sirius and Remus are
not going to have to fight them off with a huge stick. Makes me wish I could be
there to do it as my right as your father, but if I am not there I hope Sirius
does it for me. Now finally two more things before I have to go, one I want you
go easy on a certain Mr. Cedric Diggory, he would have not been informed until
he turned seventeen, even then he would have been under strict instructions to
not tell you. And finally two, I want you to go on and be the best that you can
be, the best of what both your mother and I know you can be, you are a Potter
sweetheart it is a given. All of my love my beautiful little Harriet James, I
love you and please sweetheart live and have a good life for your mother and I,
but most especially for yourself.
Your ever-loving father
 
Harry had tears streaming rapidly down her cheeks as she silently bent forward
and shook with the force of her silent sobs. She felt practically paralyzed
with the feeling of missing a father she barely remembered having for the very
brief period that she was fortunate enough to have him. She wanted her dad so
much that it was a physical ache deep down within her. She wondered what it
would have been like to called him dad or daddy.
After what seems like hours, but was only a few minutes she was able to calm
herself and wipe away her spilt tears. She then cast a preserving charm and a
charm that would prevent any damage coming to her father's letter. She did not
want it to be ruined or for it ever fade with age, wanted his last words to
remain in perfect condition. Her father's last words were precious; priceless
in her eyes and nothing except for her mother's last words once she had read
them would ever be able to come close to comparing.
She wiped her eyes once more before something occurred to her, what her father
had called her in his letter; Harriet James was what he had called her. James
was apparently was still her middle name she noted and, wondered why such an
obvious male name had been chosen for her middle name, why not something the
likes of Jamie? Not that she was honestly complaining, after all James was her
name whether she was a witch or a wizard. She was not about to change her
middle name for anything in the world it had belonged to her father.
Through she could not help but grimace at the sound of Harriet and knew she
would definitely be shortening it to Harry. She now understood why Tonks was
not very fond of her own first name either. What was it with parents giving
their children strange and less than desirable names? Did they somehow figure
that their parents had been cruel enough to do it so they should follow suit
and do the same.
She shook her head before she picked up her mother's letter and sat down on the
bed after placing her father's letter carefully to one side on the bed where
there was no other letters or presents. She unfolded the parchment and read the
letter, which read as-
 
Hello, my beautiful baby girl, my beloved Harriet James
Happy birthday baby girl and congratulations on your seventeenth, here is
hoping it is a memorable one. I hope your father and I are there to see it
happen, but if we are not then please do not spend your life mourning for us as
we have not truly left you and are always looking over you, watching you as you
grow and experience life to its fullest. Remember we are always there, locked
away inside of your precious heart baby girl. Speaking of locked away inside of
your heart, I hope you have found the locket that will come with this letter
just as the Potter family ring shall come with your father's letter. The locket
is made of the finest white gold, only the best for you baby girl. I chose the
diamonds because naturally they are classic, a girl’s best friend. As for the
rubies, well your father insisted on them because they represent your
birthstone for July. The Calla Lily obviously represents me and is my favourite
flower to. The stag on the other hand is for your father, it is his Animagus
form, what he can change into at will. Your initials H.J.P. are also in the
centre, Harriet James Potter. Ha, I really hope your father and I are there to
hear you complaining about the fact we called you Harriet, or having such an
obvious male middle name. I named you for your father and he tried to get his
way and have your name be Jamie, insisting that it was more feminine, but
naturally, I won. As for Harriet, well, I named you for grandpa Potter,
something that thrilled the wizard in question to no end. Now baby girl allow
me to explain why you have spent the first sixteen years of your life as a boy.
I am certain your father has mentioned it in his letter, but now I want to tell
you why in much more detail. We did not do it because we were ashamed that you
were not a boy, even through you are the first female born Potter heir in six
generations, which was quite a shock for both your father and your grandpa
Potter. Through our reasons for changing you were due to you being a witch,
know that if we had not changed you and your father and I still end up dead,
the fact you are female and not male would have worked against you. I am sorry
to say some of the laws are terribly ancient and not female friendly. If the
ministry and other pureblood families had discovered you were a witch and not a
wizard before you came of age they would have tried to take an advantage of
you. They say and believe a witch to be weaker than a wizard, especially some
of the older pureblood families who still believe that the first-born heir
should always be a male. Now that you are of age they cannot do anything,
through people will talk if you end up being the one Voldemort marks due to the
prophecy. Albus better have informed you about it if he knows what is good for
him. I hope you are told before you turn seventeen, sixteen perhaps. Baby girl
I do not think I need to tell you take good care of the Potter family ring, but
I will. It is important that you protect that ring until you have a second male
heir to carry on the Potter name. The ring will become his until he has his own
male heir to pass it onto. Now as for marriage and a husband there is something
you need to know about that, that being that when you were three months old
your father and I had you magically betrothed. Amos Diggory's male heir Cedric
Diggory, he was only three years old at the time of the official signing.
Before I go on you need to be aware of the fact contracts of this nature are
blood binding, meaning they are not signed with ink and a quill, but a blood
quill. Blood quills are considered dark, but pureblood families unfortunately
still use them for contracts that are magically binding. I do truly hope you
have never had to come into any contact with a blood quill I really do. I am
sorry to tell you this baby girl, but unfortunately, the Potter family still
have arranged marriages, except for you father and I. Your father's original
betrothal end up marrying and bonding to another witch is how he got out of
marrying someone who was not me. Do your father a favour even though he will
not admit to it, he will want you to break that tradition of arranged marriages
in the future Potter line. If you don't marry then the wizards and witches who
signed it, such as myself and your father, Amos Diggory and his wife, along
with your godparents Sirius Black and Alice Longbottom, who is your godmother,
we will all be stripped of our magic for breaking the contract. The reason why
your father and grandparents did not have their magic stripped is because there
is always a clause placed in the contract when it came to the Potters. There
are three separate clauses in fact in which to fall back on if the chosen
betrothal is not up to one hundred percent standards. One clause used to allow
both parties to break the contract safely is if proven that both or one of the
parties' is gay. The second clause would come effective if one or both parties
are barren and cannot produce children, which obviously would mean no heir
conceived. The third and final clause is if one or both parties somehow end up
dead before they can marry or the engagement made official. The engagement is
not official with the use of words, but by placing a charm, a binding charm on
the ring, which will activate the betrothal if the ring is accepted and placed
willingly on the bride's finger on her seventeenth birthday. Know this through,
it does not need to be he who places it on your finger, you doing it yourself
would be just as effective. I must warn you baby girl and truly loath having to
say this, but unless it can be proven that either you or he are barren or gay
or if one of you ends up dead, then the marriage between the pair of you must
go on ahead on your birthday after you graduate Hogwarts. If you do not comply
and none of the three clauses applies, then those who I mentioned will have
their magic stripped. However, allow me to reassure you all who put blood quill
to parchment that night was aware there was a possibility that something may go
wrong and they be stripped of their magic. Now baby girl if you have been
marked as Voldemort's equal, I want you to give him hell and send him there at
the first opportunity you get. However, please try to live, your father and I
have no desire to have you join us before you are old with age and wisdom,
neither do your grandparents Potter or Evans. Your father and I want you to
live and marry, have children and cherish and love them as much as your father
and I do you. I have two more things to reveal before I end this letter to go
and check on your baby self, who is sleeping peacefully and still very much
female for now, but sadly not for much longer. First Sirius will have mine and
your father's wedding rings and hopefully our wands. Those wands will be yours,
while the wedding rings will be for you and your husband. I imagine you will
receive and wear the boy's grandmother's engagement ring. Finally, under no
circumstances are my jealous and magic loathing sister and her repugnant pig of
a husband to raise you. Either you are to go to your godfather or for some
reason Sirius Black is unable to raise you, then you are to be sent to the
Diggory's or to the Weasley's, I'd trust Molly and Arthur Weasley with your
safety. Now remember baby girl, my precious Harriet, your father and I love you
so unbelievably much, we will willingly die protecting you if need be.
All my love your mother
 
Harry placed the letter in her lap and covered her face with her hands as she
sobbed in both grief and rage, all whilst thinking furiously, 'An arranged
marriage, for the love of Merlin, why of all things to subject me to, why
that?' She felt sick with rage and grief as she realised she had no way out of
the complete and utter farce of a marriage. She was no lesbian nor did she have
any idea whether she was barren or not, Merlin she really hoped she was not.
Regardless of the whole situation thrown at her without her consent, she wanted
children of her own even more so now that she knew she would be the one to
become pregnant, carry and give birth to them.
As for her dying before they could marry, well, that was a definite possibility
with Voldemort still at large. She cringed as she realised just how dangerously
close Cedric had come to dying and meeting his maker nearly three years ago.
Thinking of Cedric made her cringe again, but this time out of sympathy, as she
came to another realisation, a truly depressing one at that, Cedric would not
be able to continue with the relationship he may or may not have with Cho.
She removed her hands from her face and wiped away the tears from her cheeks
and underneath her eyes. She then cast a quick yet strong preserving and anti-
damage charms on the letter containing her mother's last words to her, before
placing it alongside her father's letter for safekeeping. If there was two
letters she wanted to keep and would cherish always, then it was the two
containing the last ever written words special for her from her parents.
She reached for the presents and letter she knew to be from Sirius, recognising
his handwriting. First, she opened the smallest of the four presents, to
discover a black velvet box big enough to fit a ring. She opened it to reveal
her parents wedding rings, which were made of pure white gold. Her mother's
ring was thinner than her father's own slightly thicker looking ring. She
studied the rings for a moment longer before closing the lid of the box with a
snap and carefully placed it to one side.
She next picked up the second of the presents, knowing the third and fourth was
from Sirius personally. She noted she had picked up a rectangular shaped box
made of dark polished mahogany wood, large and wide enough to fit a wand
inside, wide enough for two to fit in fact. She traced her fingertips over the
engraved golden coloured cursive script, which was the names of her parents,
along with the dates of their births and deaths.
She lifted the lid and froze at the sight, for their nestled in pure scarlet
silk was the wands of James Potter and Lily Evans-Potter, resting in their
final resting place side by side just as their former owners now did. Harry
swallowed around a lump in her throat as she gently fingered both wands, hardly
believing there lay the wands once belonging to her parents. She felt sadness
over the fact that her parents would never be able to use these wands ever
again.
She noted the wood of her mother's wand was paler then the wood of her father's
wand, whilst the length of her father's wand was a good few inches longer then
her mothers. She also noted that the wood of her father's wand was coloured
similarly to hers, while the length was a few inches longer, yet her wand was
still longer then her mothers. After another glance at the wands, she slowly
closed the lid with a snap and placed it with the box that held her parents
wedding rings.
Next, she picked up the first of two presents from Sirius and raised a dark
brow when she discovered an expensive broomstick polishing and grooming service
kit. She noted there was a little note attached to the kit and removed it and
read- The best kit money can buy to go with the newest broomstick in the
Firebolt series. Harry grinned widely, knowing the new broomstick must be at
headquarters waiting for her. A new broomstick, it made perfect sense it after
all was Sirius who gave her first Firebolt when she was thirteen.
Her eyes narrowed and a sharp looking smirk curved her lips as she realised it
also made perfect sense that he would choose now to give her the broomstick. An
expensive broomstick, especially when he knew she was pissed at him, talk about
trying to butter her up, ha, bloody sly old mutt. It was not as if she honestly
did not appreciate it, yet it would take hell of a lot more than a fancy and
expensive broomstick to save his hind from her wrath for keeping things from
her, strict instructions from her parents or not.
Lastly, she noticed the final gift was a large and deep square box the likes of
which a dress or fancy coat wound be placed. She undid the big and bright gold
bow from around the box, before removing the dark scarlet paper. The box was
made of a shiny and smooth black cardboard. She lifted the lid to reveal the
clothing that Tonks had mentioned in her letter. She saw that there was a note
on top of what appeared to be a teal coloured hoody. It read as-
Here are your very first items of female clothing, something that Tonks picked
up for you, she knowing what to buy for you better than I would. – Sirius
She placed the note on the bed and lifted up the first item on top, which was a
Nike pale teal coloured full zip hoody, which had the logo on the chest and had
Kangaroo style pockets to sides. Harry knew Nike was a muggle label and often
had Dudley's castoffs in the past when he had grown too fat to fit in them
anymore. It was nice having clothing that Dudley's fat and disgusting body had
not touched beforehand.
She placed the hoody on the bed and the next item was a white Bamboo Celeste
tank top that had ruffled trim accents on the top and bottom. Harry noted the
built-in shelf bra and adjustable spaghetti straps to ensure a comfortable fit
and so that she did not need a bra, the tank already served the same purpose.
She loved the tank on sight and hoped she could buy more like it and in
different colours.
The next item was a pair of plain black Mango boot cut denim jeans, Harry
already knew that they were going to look great. Lastly, she picked up the
final item from the box, which was a pair of black and white floral and
butterfly lace trimmed Brazilian briefs. They were gorgeous the lace felt
stunning against her fingertips and the black floral butterfly embroidery
pattern went beautifully with the black lace trim.
She smiled as she placed the underwear with the other items, but that smile
vanished and melted into a scowl as she realised the letter from Sirius is
still in her lap. She reached for her Butterbeer and took another swig, seeming
to be quite thirsty, hardly surprising when you considered the Dursley's gave
enough for her to survive but nothing more. She placed the bottle back down
after one more swig and then opened the envelope and unfolded the parchment
before reading-
 
Happy birthday Harriet
Yes, you did read correctly I called you Harriet, I imagine you must have one
hell of a scowl on your face. I am guessing at this point you must have read
the letters from your parents and fully aware of the situation. I am sorry
Harry, I really am and really did want to tell you as did Remus, but we were
sworn to secrecy and were not permitted to tell you anything until you turned
seventeen and you turned back to your true self. I know you are bloody sick of
us telling you that everything is for the best and that we only have your best
interest at heart. Trust us Harry, it really was in your best interest this
time, protecting you from other pureblood families idiotic and out of date
values and beliefs until you were old enough to do it yourself was always in
your best interest. You need to realise how serious the situation was until you
turned seventeen, for example the older pureblood families such as the Malfoy's
would have eaten you alive kid and spat your right back out again. Now Harry I
assume you have your parent's wedding rings and their wands, along with the
locket and family Potter ring? Your parents had insisted that their wands in
the event of their death go to you and you alone, besides only you are able to
touch them without getting distracted. When I say distracted, I mean you and
anyone who has the Potter blood in their veins can touch the wands and the box
they rest. If you do not have even the smallest speck of Potter blood then you
cannot touch the wands and the distraction charm would activate if you tried
and your attention directed elsewhere except for the box. I am also going to
assume your parents have covered the subjects of you spending the first sixteen
years as a wizard and, of course your betrothal to Cedric Diggory, Amos's boy.
They have no doubt told you of the three clauses that can get you out of the
marriage without your parents and the other witnesses that signed the contract
losing their magic. Now let me make myself very clear here, neither Remus nor I
will hold it against you if you turn out to be a lesbian. Through I honestly
cannot see that making much of a difference and making poor Ginny feel any
better about this whole situation and the loss she is undeniably going to
suffer once made aware. Molly and Arthur and the rest of the Weasley's, along
with Hermione are unaware of the situation, we have no idea how we are supposed
to bring the subject up with any of them. Not like we can just out and say, hey
guess what, you know how you thought our Harry was a wizard, well he is not,
she is really a witch. Yeah, I bet you can just imagine very vividly just how
well that would have gone down. Only those in the know are me, Remus, Tonks,
Albus, Minerva, along with Poppy Pomfrey and finally Amos and Cedric Diggory.
Cedric has known since the Triwizard Tournament, he would have turned seventeen
before it started. Go easy on the lad after all he had to swear to secrecy,
meaning it really is not his fault. If anything he is at the same disadvantage
as you are, for example, he cannot marry another who is not you. He cannot
unless he turns out to be gay or proven he is unable to have any children. Both
you and I know that he is far from gay if the glances you have seen him throw
in Cho Chang's direction are anything to go by. As for your birthday presents,
let us hope you like what Tonks picked out for you to wear. Finally take care
until Remus and Tonks come for you in the morning with the Weasley twins and
Snape. I am not allowed to come and collect you as everyone else is worried
that I will do something to the Dursley's and get myself arrested, which is
mostly true. In that case, I will see you at headquarters in the morning.
Sirius
 
Harry put Sirius's letter down before she removed her glasses and rubbed her
tiered eyes. She replaced the frames on her face and reached out for what she
knew to be her Hogwarts letter, the envelope with its emerald green ink was a
dead giveaway. Through up until that year it had never read as and been
addressed to Miss Harriet James Potter, a sight that was stranger then she had
been expecting. She shook her head wondering whether she would ever get used to
that, knowing by that time next year she would be Mrs. Harriet James Potter-
Diggory. There was no way she was going to give up her last name, not for
Cedric or anyone else, her name was the only thing she could say was truly
hers. All anyone could ever say was truly his or hers was his or her name.
She opened the envelope and took out two separate sheets of parchment; the
first was her list of required texts and needed equipment, while the second was
a letter from Professor McGonagall. The letter reminded her that she still held
the title of captaincy for her house team. It mentioned her obvious requirement
to purchase the girls school uniform. Yet none of that had been what sent a
shiver of pure horror down her spine but was due to the news that she was to be
moved into the seventh year girls’ dormitory.
Professor McGonagall insisted it would only be proper to move her from the
boy's dormitory and into the girls, unless of course any of the girls in
question expressed any issue with that arrangement. If so they would provide
her with a set of rooms of her own, considering the girls might not be
comfortable sharing a dormitory and shower room with her knowing her as they
once had. The situation was unfortunately most unusual to say the least.
Harry inwardly shuddered at the thought of having to share a dormitory and
shower room with Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Merlin she hoped and prayed
one of them would see fit to protest so she could have her own set of rooms. If
they did not then she figured she would have to do something on the sly to
change the resident Gryffindor gossip queen's minds, no doubt.
She had a strong feeling that Hermione would be Head girl that year, which also
meant she would have her own set of rooms for the year and would not be there
to keep Harry sane from the crap and gossiping antics of Lavender and Parvati.
It also meant there would be no one to place peacekeeper in the dorm to hold
Harry back from doing things to Lavender that were not only painful but against
school rules.
If anything had the potential to make her want to return to being a wizard
quick, sharp again, then it was the prospect of having to share with the
resident Gryffindor gossip queens in close quarters. Something needed doing
about that and right fast and, she would even be willing to be down on her
hands, knees, and beg at the feet of Professor Minerva McGonagall, if she had
to. Her sanity depended upon it and pride meant absolute nothing if her sanity
end up all addled in the process. If they wanted her finally to do Voldie in
they could at least let her hold onto her bloody sanity whilst at it.
The whole concept stank and just plain cruel and an unusual form of punishment.
She swore silently that either she would end up in Azkaban for multiple murders
or they would end up spending a month in the hospital wing where she had hexed
the living hell out of them. Ha, let them gossip and spread rumours after she
was through with them if forced into close quarters.
Harry would not mind but she had never quite forgiven Lavender for talking to
Rita Skeeter and giving her all of that false and cruel information about
Hermione during the Triwizard Tournament in fourth year. The stupid bint had
been jealous that Viktor Krum, an international Quidditch star had taken an
interest in Hermione and not her. Now that Harry was female, was she going to
start in on her, all because of who she so happened to be engaged to? Ha, not
bloody likely if she knew what was good for her blonde airhead.
She refolded both sheets of parchment and stuffed them back in the envelope
before throwing it to one side with a scowl. Finally, after taking a swig of
Butterbeer and a large bite out of another chicken leg she picked up the letter
and present from the mystery sender. Whom could it possibly be, obviously
someone familiar with her, who else would send her a present and letter unless
they knew her personally.
First, she opened the present and found what appeared to be another ring box
and another slightly bigger box alongside it. She opened the bigger box first
and discovered the content was in fact a golden snitch, much to her delight and
puzzlement. Who would be sending her a snitch, obviously someone who was aware
that she was a seeker? She noticed a message engraved in tiny cursive on the
round winged ball. It read as, 'For the youngest seeker in a century'
She raised a brow as she read that, thinking that apparently whoever sent her
the present knew her well enough to know that, doubting it to be some creepy
and obsessive fan of ‘The Boy Who Lived’ But then again perhaps ‘The Girl Who
Lived’ seemed more appropriate now, a thought which made her smirk wearily. She
had a new title, a title the press would no doubt milk to death just as soon as
they caught wind of her situation. She shook her head at the utter madness of
it all before she placed the golden winged ball with her other gifts.
Finally yet importantly was what she knew to be a ring box, the same size as
the boxes that contained the Potter family ring and her parent's wedding rings.
She took a deep breath and opened the box, only to let that single breath out
in a rushed exhale turning it into a gasp. She had a very strong feeling that
she knew who was responsible for giving her the snitch. It made perfect sense
seeing as both she and the other person are seekers and the snitch was the ball
they were both very familiar with.
She eyed the ring in the box nervously as she picked up the letter that came
with it. She could sense the magic infused within the ring, assuming what she
sensed was the same charm mentioned in her mother's letter. She opened the
letter and scanned its contents, which read as-
 
Happy birthday Harriet
Merlin you must be beyond pissed right about now and, imagine this is not
shaping up to be the kind of seventeenth birthday you had in mind. So tell me
Harriet, how drastic is the change, how are you finding it? Oh yeah and you
must be ready to hex me as that is the second time I have wrote that down,
Harriet (smirks). And on a much less lighter note I am certain you are now
aware of our new circumstances, well new to you, seeing as I have had almost
three years to come to terms with the idea of you and I becoming husband and
wife. Harry please believe me when I say I wanted to reveal the truth to you so
bad ever since I found out. However, you were too young and not ready to know,
hell you have only just changed back into a female for Merlin's sake. That is a
concept that still boggles the mind Harry well and truly. I am so used to you
being a fellow wizard, now you are a witch for Merlin's sake. That must be
doing some serious shit to your head right about now, how are you even coping
seriously? Now Harry unless we find a way out of this contract by the means of
the three clauses, I do not want you feeling guilty thinking you are breaking
Cho and I up. The truth of that matter, I fancied her like rotten during the
Triwizard Tournament, but after finding out about our betrothal during the
second task I made a point of avoiding anything romantic or sexual with her
and, the chances of me falling in love with her greatly lessened. Of course she
knows I am betrothed to another, just not who and is not best pleased about it,
thought I would warn you about that. Oh yeah and she is aware of the three
clauses to our contract, just thought I would mention that to. Speaking of the
three clauses, firstly, I assure you I am not gay, wizards do not hold any
appeal for me I am for witches all the way. Secondly, as for me being
infertile, well, I can also assure you on that matter that I am no such thing.
I recently went to ST. Mungos for a check up and was told I have a very high
sperm count, which means my ability to have children is in top condition. As
for you being infertile, I suggest you find out exactly how fertile you are in
your new body. Well, I say new, it is not really, you just do not remember
being too young the first time around. Thirdly, as for me dying, well, after
the third task and our not so pleasant trip to the graveyard and our run in
with a certain sack of snake shit and his Death Eaters, I have tried to make a
point of avoiding that. That is no easy feat when you take into consideration I
am a member of The Order of the Phoenix. When you demanded I take that cup and
get the hell out of there and get help, well, I felt like hell and a coward for
leaving you behind, but knew we would have both end up dead if I had not. Now
back to the clauses, tell me has your attraction for witches, namely Ginny
Weasley crossed over with you when you changed back? If it has, you could use
that to get out of the marriage, but then again is Ginny even into witches or
you either for that matter? Finally, that ring I sent along with the golden
snitch was my grandmother Diggory's engagement ring. I hope you are aware that
if you put on that ring you will be activating the contract and making our
engagement official. There is a charm placed on the ring, which will trigger
the contracts binding nature, unless you or I act upon one or more of those
three clauses. If you choose to put it on then please send a reply to me and I
will meet you at headquarters tomorrow on your birthday. Oh and one more thing,
I was unsure what to get you for your birthday, the engagement ring is not a
present but necessary. In the end after much thought of what to get the former
wizard turned witch, who may or may not be your fiancée, I finally decided on
something we had in common, hence the golden snitch.
Cedric
 
She placed the letter down near the snitch and nervously eyed the engagement
ring that was still in the box. She noted how beautiful it really was, an oval
shaped ruby with smaller white diamonds encircling the ruby, mounted upon a
solid 18-carat white golden band. It was simply perfect, she loved the
combination of a ruby and white diamonds. She wagered the ruby was genuine and
unaltered by magic. The fact the main and larger stone was a ruby was a very
nice touch considering her birthstone was a ruby.
 
Composition: Solid 18K White Gold
Primary Stone: Natural Ruby
Shape / Cut: Oval Cut - 7.06x5.05mm
Stone Weight: .80 carats
Accent Stone: Genuine Natural Diamonds
Shape / Cut: 12 round - 1.75-1.7mm each
Colour / Clarity: ave H / Si1
Total Diamond Weight: .25 carats all total
Ring Face: 11.7x9.6mm
Rise Above Finger: 6.4mm
Band Width: 3mm tapering to 2.4mm
 
She took the ring out of its box and studied it up close as she thought about
her options. Firstly, she knew she was not a lesbian so that was the first
clause discarded off the list. As for the second clause she had no idea whether
she could have children or not and needed to visit Madame Pomfrey for a
thorough physical when she returned to Hogwarts.
She studied the ring even closer knowing that if she put it on and later there
was any issues that consisted of the three clauses she knew they could nullify
the contract. It was too late for her and Ginny seeing as she did not want to
change back. Cedric and Cho on the other hand perhaps something could happen
there.
Having thought though her options she made her decision and took a deep breath
and exhaled just as deeply as she pushed the ring over and down onto her finger
until it come to rest perfectly. She watched as the ring became warm and
adjusted to fit her finger and the contract charm activated, officially sealing
her engagement to Cedric Diggory. That was a strange and frightening thought,
she was engaged and at only seventeen.
Harry closed her eyes and a sighed a sigh that was the most weary as of yet, in
fact it felt like the weight of the world was resting even heavier than before
on her shoulders and spinning out of constant control. She opened her eyes
before reaching for her almost empty bottle of Butterbeer and took one last
swig before putting the empty bottle back in the basket. Briefly, the thought
of wanting something stronger crossed her mind before she discarded it.
She reached for her half-eaten chicken leg and spent the next few minutes
eating as she allowed her mind to wonder. She finished the chicken and suddenly
struck with an idea, that she nearly dropped the now bare bone leg. She smirked
deviously as she placed the bone back in the basket, thinking of how she knew
what she was planning would be sure to piss off the Order. But then again it
served them bloody right for keeping things from her and for their hand in the
whole fuck up that was her seventeenth birthday so far.
She stood up from the bed and wiped her hands on a napkin Mrs. Weasley had
placed in the basket. She then grabbed her wand off the bed where she had left
it earlier on and placed a silencing charm on her feet as she walked towards
the door of the bedroom. Once there she pointed her wand to the door, knowing
that the door creaked and that the sound would end up waking her aunt, who had
amazing hearing for a muggle.
She made her way along the upstairs landing, passing by the bathroom followed
by the bedroom doors first of her cousin then her aunt and uncle. Once she
reached the staircase, she pointed her wand at them and cast another silencing
charm, knowing the stairs creaked something awful remembering from her time
spent sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs.
Once she reached her old bedroom, 'If you want to call it that' she pointed her
wand at the padlock on the door, smirking as she cast Alohomora, an unlocking
charm and, watched as the padlock made a clicking sound, which seemed loud in
the silence of the house. She held out a palm for the padlock to drop into it
after moving it from the door. She grinned smugly as she eyed her wand fondly,
oh yeah, she could definitely become accustomed to using her magic whenever she
pleased very easily.
She laughed underneath her breath as she opened the door and reached inside for
her trunk and Hedwig's cage. She shrunk down the cage until it fit in the palm
of her hand, before closing the door and replaced the lock on the cupboard.
Next, she pointed her wand at her trunk and muttered Wingardium Leviosa
underneath her breath. She directed it up the stairs hovering in front of her
as she walked back up.
Once she reached her room, she directed the trunk to the end of the bed and
with a flick of her wrist opened the trunk. She summoned a piece of parchment
and some ink and a quill, deciding to use the emerald green ink for Cedric's
letter, ink she only used for certain letters. She would use the normal black
ink for Sirius's letter, too pissed off at him to use the nice ink on his
letter and could care less how petty that sounded but so what. The only reason
she was bothering to send a letter was that his Galleons bought her new
clothing and her new broomstick and polish kit. She never wanted to seem
ungrateful for what she received, no matter how truly pissed off she was.
She needed to get dressed first before she wrote the letters, as she wanted to
leave as soon as Hedwig had left. She quickly stripped out of her pyjamas and
stuffed them inside of her open trunk, before summoning her new underwear. She
grabbed the briefs out of the air and placed her wand on the bedside table and,
bent over to step into the briefs before pulling them up. She fingered the lace
trim around her waist as she felt the briefs shrinking down slightly to fit her
properly.
She examined her appearance in the mirror quickly before grabbing the tank top
off the bed and slipped it over her head. She adjusted one of the straps as
that to shrink down a size to fit her. Next, she picked up the black Mango
jeans, unbuttoned and unzipped them before stepping into them and pulling them
up over her thighs followed by her hips and then her waist. Just as she
finished fastening and zipping them up she could feel the waist shrinking
inwards slightly, before the denim shrunk around the hips and tightened around
her backside and hips. Finally, the hem of the legs shrunk by a few inches so
they were not dragging near her feet.
She turned to face the mirror and blushed as she saw how the jeans hugged and
clung to her backside, hips and thighs attractively. She was surprised to
notice that whilst she was slim, she was also curvy in all of the right places,
there definitely was nothing considered boyish about her perfectly formed
hourglass figure. She cringed slightly as she noticed just how much the built
in support in the tank top enhanced her chest. Oh hell, what sort of reception
would she receive for this from Cedric, or yet even Sirius and Remus and the
male Weasleys? This was a classical example of how new the whole process of
being female was to her for Merlin's sake. She sighed as realised it was just
the design of the garment and how it was wore.
She turned from the mirror and pointed to her trainers with her wand, which
were at the side of the bed. She watched as the trainers shrunk before walking
over to them and placed a cushioning charm on the inside before putting them on
and bending over to fasten the laces, deciding not to wear socks with them. She
could not be bothered to search for a pair or summon any either, lazy yes, but
she could honestly care less.
She then pointed her wand at her presents and shrunk them before levitating the
letters to the box her new clothing been sent in. She then levitates the
presents over to the open trunk with a wave of her wand and they land gently
inside of the trunk. Next, she took Hedwig's cage and put that inside of the
trunk as well for safekeeping as Hedwig would not be using it again until Harry
next saw her.
She picked up her new hoody off the bed and slipped it over her head, happy
with how it felt and fit her. Next, she searched deeply inside of her trunk for
a moment until she found what she was looking for, which was a clear see
through square case that contained two sets of magical contact lenses. She
grinned as she remembered they had been a sixteenth birthday present from
Sirius.
She removed her glasses and placed them inside of a case Sirius had gotten for
her to put them in, before she moved back over to the mirror. She carefully
placed the first contact in her left eye followed by the second in her right
eye. She blinked and the effect on her sight was instant, perfect vision, ah,
bless magic she noted happily.
She turned back to her trunk, reached inside for her money pouch and her
Gringotts key and was relieved to discover she has enough money for the Knights
bus in order to get to Diagon Alley. She hoped that it was not too late to rent
a room at The Leaky Cauldron until later on in the morning. She would meet
Cedric and Sirius there at nine, as she had decided that she would rather be on
neutral territory and not at headquarters when Sirius blew a gasket. She
scowled as she thought that there was no way in hell she was allowing that sly
old mutt to corner her in his childhood home.
Once she had placed her vault key in the pouch, she put the pouch in her hoody
pocket before closing the lid of her trunk. She waved her wand and cast a
locking charm followed by a shrinking charm. She placed the trunk in her pocket
and then walked over to the desk in the corner of her room. She switched on the
small old desk lamp, sat down on the chair and placed her wand beside her.
Finally, she opened the bottle of emerald green ink and placed her quill tip
inside before putting quill to parchment and started to write.
Cedric
Happy birthday you say, ha what a bloody joke if I ever heard one? You want to
know how I am coping; well you asked for it, here goes. I watched as the clock
struck midnight, only to seconds later have just enough time to cast a
silencing charm before I am shrieking as if a Banshee. I felt agony likes of
which disturbingly reminded me of the Cruciatus Curse. My bones felt what I
imagine disintegrating, reforming and rearranging would feel like, accompanied
by what I imagine the sensation of a Skele-Gro overdose times a hundred would
most likely feel like. Oh yeah and my skin felt like it was all a flame, as if
it was melting very, very slowly. The pain was bad to the point that I passed
out and woke twenty-five minutes later to find not only Hedwig waiting for me,
but six other owls also. Oh by the way, I might be wrong, but is your owl male,
because I think he or she might have been flirting with Hedwig, if owls even do
that hell if I know. Anyhow, you should imagine my not so pleasant surprise
when I first saw my new appearance in a full-length mirror I conjured. Okay so
here is the load down, you asked how drastic the change is, well here goes.
First, I have lost a single inch in height, which may not seem like a lot, but
when you are as self conscious of your height as I am then you bloody better
believe it is a lot. Along with the inch height difference, I lost a stone and
a half in weight. But let me tell you this, what I lost I gained and made up
for in the hair, legs and other departments, Merlin did I make up for it in the
chest department. Luckily for me this whole ordeal is not just physical but
also mental to, imagine if it had only been physical, honestly the identity
crisis and trauma I could have suffered. Did Sirius or my parents even think of
the consequences if the transformation had not reversed properly? Now to answer
your questions, well, first our engagement is now official. Your grandpa
Diggory sure had excellent taste in jewellery, especially when he chose that
ring. He really must have loved your grandmother very much to chose such a ring
and think her worthy of its beauty. Now as for your question concerning whether
my attraction for witches remained, particularly for a certain red haired Ginny
Weasley, the answer unfortunately is no. The only thing I now find even
remotely attractive about her is the colour of her hair, hell I am still a
Potter male or female, and we Potters love ourselves a redhead. So the answer
to where my interests lay is no to liking witches, it died along with my
manhood. My idea of attractive would either be you, or Fred and George and even
Bill Weasley. It is just as I said it is on a mental scale to and not just
physically. I feel sick with guilt even though it is no fault of my own that
Ginny is going to end up hurt. I cannot live a lie and be in a relationship
with another witch, even if I was gay, which I am no more then you are. In any
case it would do Ginny no favours as she is no more gay then I am. As for me
being infertile, I have no idea and let us hope not. I will have to have a talk
with Madame Pomfrey and have her give me a full physical when I return to
Hogwarts. I assure you I want children, even more so now that I know I will get
to bond with them on a level that a father cannot. Now as for you and me dying,
well, you have already had a brush with your maker, while I have mine on a
yearly basis, bloody sad but no less true. We are at war so who honestly knows
what will happen in regards to whether we live or we die. As for Cho, well I
recommend you fully brace yourself for what I am about to say, as I have no
intentions whatsoever of holding back or as the muggles say goes, sugar coating
the truth. What can I say it must be the newly gained female inner bitch in me?
Cho not being happy about our betrothal, to be quite honest I could care less.
She may not be able to have you for yourself, but then again nor can Ginny have
me now. Do you think she will even think about the other and younger witch who
unfortunately has more to lose then she will, after all Ginny and I were
dating, while you and Cho on the other hand were not. Her parents did not have
her betrothed when she was only three months old, so I reckon she does not even
have a damn clue about the situation. She only gives a damn about the fact she
cannot have you for herself. I doubt she has even spared a thought for the
complications that have and will occur with being betrothed and not actually
getting to choose the person you are to marry. She does not have the number one
cause of this war out for her blood. She has not spent the past sixteen years
without parents, she grew up with hers who loved her and most likely spoiled
her rotten with material possessions and whatever else she asked for. She sure
as hell did not spend the last sixteen years of her life apparently under a
glamour charm for her own good. She can go out into public and not have to
worry about accidentally revealing a cursed scar on her forehead that causes
mind-numbing agony. A scar which bleeds when the dark tosser who gave it to her
when he tried to murder her when she was a year-old from inside of her crib
after watching him kill her mother. She does not feel pain in the scar in
question when the dark tosser is in a rage or worse yet when he is in a good
mood he will send visions of others being tortured, raped, and murdered. He
even once back in my sixth year sent me a vision of his snake familiar Nagini
swallowing a child whole, a child no older then two or maybe three years of
age. I had to watch and listen to the child screaming in agony and terror as
that dirty great snake fed on her. I suspect Cho is in love with you as I was
with Ginny before I changed back, well, guess what, I still love her, even if
it is no longer sexual or romantic. I could lose her altogether, not that I
would honestly blame her if I do. Merlin Cedric this whole situation seriously
messed up as you would not believe. Why the hell will fate not let me ever be
normal? I know I sound like I am whining and feeling sorry for myself, but I
spent sixteen years thinking I am one thing only for it to turn out that I am
opposite. That fucking messes with my head something terrible Cedric, it really
does you have no idea. Now take note of this as I am only going to mention this
once. I will write a letter to Sirius when I am finished writing this one. I am
going to let him know that I will be getting on the Knights bus to The Leaky
Cauldron, where I intend to rent a room until after breakfast. There is no way
in hell I have any intention of staying around for my relatives to see me like
this, they already see me and think me to be a freak of nature, I am not going
to add to that thank you very much. I will leave a note telling them that I am
gone and not to expect ever to see me darken their doorstep ever again if I can
help it or have any say in the matter. You may think I am being a fool, taking
unnecessary risks and putting myself in jeopardy, but to tell you the truth I
could honestly care less about what The Order think after tonight. If it ain't
one thing kept from me then it is something else, always something else damn
it. Besides, it is not like anyone is actually going to recognise me I look
decidedly different if you get my full meaning here. I will not wear my
glasses, but my magical contacts instead, those frames are just as much a part
of the image of ‘The Boy Who Lived’ as that Merlin forsaken ugly scar is. Well,
I say boy, but really should say ‘The Girl Who Lived.’ Both you and I know the
press will end up throwing a fucking mass picnic when they catch wind of this.
You can rest assured that when I check in at the pub I do not plan on giving my
real name. As long as no one sees that good for nothing cursed scar on my
forehead no one will be any of the wiser to exactly who they are dealing with.
I want you to meet me at the pub at eight and tell Tom that a Jamie Evans is
expecting you for breakfast when you ask for my room number. I want you to
inform Tom that we are ready for breakfast and can he deliver it to the room. I
figured it would suit us to eat in my room and talk and, oh believe me we
really need to talk.
Harry
PS. DO NOT CALL ME BLOODY HARRIET!
 
Harry scanned the through the letter and decided it would do and if he became
offended on Cho's behalf then that was just too damn bad. She was by no means
going to make any apologies, especially when she meant every word she had
wrote. If there was an issue, well, that was tough shit no two ways about it.
Harry was not in the mood or in the right mind right then to play all sweet and
nice. There would be no ass kissing for this newly reinstated witch thank you
very much.
She folded the two sheets of parchment in half and found an envelope, placed
the parchment inside and sealed it shut. She had written on both sides of the
parchment, she supposed she had ranted quite a bit, but if he was to marry her
then the future hubby needed to know what he was letting himself in for before
he said I do. She wrote in neat writing the name Cedric Diggory on the front of
the envelope before placing it to one side on the desk so there was enough
space to start on the letter for Sirius.
Hedwig seeing that a letter was written and sealed in an envelope ready for her
to take, let out a hoot and flew over to Harry and held out her leg for her
Mistress to attach her letter. Harry chuckled warmly and lovingly ruffled her
familiar's feathers and cooed gently to her, "Not yet girl, I have one more
letter left to write then you can take them." Hedwig hooted again before she
flew back over to her perch on the headboard of the bed.
Harry sighed as she suddenly realised she needed to put the emerald green ink
away and get her regular none fancy black kind out from her trunk. She also
needed more parchment, an envelope and a different quill, not wanting to dip a
quill covered in emerald green ink into a pot full of black ink.
She removed her trunk from her pocket and placed it on the floor at the side of
her desk before taking her wand, pointed it at the trunk and returned it to its
original size before removing the locking charm. She opened the lid and looked
inside for the black ink, along with more parchment, an envelope and a clean
quill.
Once she found the items she needed she placed the emerald green ink and the
other quill back inside of the trunk. She left the lid open knowing she would
need to return the black ink and the quill to the trunk once finished writing
the letter. She opened the small bottle of ink, dipped the end of the quill
into the inkwell, and put the quill to parchment and began to write.
To my secret keeping Dogfather (Prick)
You totally deserved that regardless that you sworn to secrecy by my parents;
to be honest I do not give a toss. It is my life and not yours, I should be the
one who decides what happens in it and the first to know about anything that
concerns me. Luckily, for you the transformation was mental as well as
physical, through I have to ask whether anyone actually thought of the
consequences if everything had not gone as it should? Knowing my luck, I could
have most likely end up with a body and identity crisis for Merlin's sake. I am
going to be ever so blunt here and do not give a damn if you find this
embarrassing, ha, hell all the better I would say. I have lost a stone and a
half, yeah that stone and a half which Madame Pomfrey, Mrs. Weasley along with
Hermione went to pains length to try and get me to gain, what a bloody waste of
time and arguments to force me to eat more. I now stand at five foot and four
inches, a full inch I have lost right there, an inch I minded very much
loosing. However, let me tell you this, what I have lost I gained in the length
of my legs and my figure reminds me of an hourglass actually. On the plus side,
Quidditch has kept me in amazing shape. My legs, what was that saying Fred and
George used when talking about Angelina, legs up to her ass was it. Yeah that
pretty much sums up my legs now, trust me I am not complaining, these legs of
mine are what is making up my height now. As for my hair, well, I cannot
honestly ever see that sticking up again anytime soon if ever. Thanks for the
clothing and underwear, I needed them. I am really glad there was built in
support in the tank top as there was no bra in the box, just as well really as
I have no bloody clue how to put one on. This whole thing might work out as I
do not feel like I am in the wrong body, yet it did not come with all the
bloody female know how thank you very much. I am probably the only seventeen-
year-old witch or even muggle who does not know how to use a bra, that fucking
humiliating Sirius! My back is kind of feeling uncomfortable, and I have a
feeling that it would not hurt, or at least a lot less wearing a bra. I do not
know how I know that, hell maybe it is a female thing that all females know
regardless that they spent sixteen years thinking they are a bloke damn it! Now
as for Cedric Diggory, well, I am now officially engaged and could have not
asked for nor hoped for a better engagement ring it is perfect. Were you aware
that it belonged to his grandma Diggory? Now it's mine and will be as such
until the day I die, unless I am discovered to be infertile or I or Cedric end
up dead in this fucking soul draining war. The third and final clause does not
apply to either Cedric or me. Let me be the first to tell you I now find
wizards appealing, which in turn means I am no longer a witch lover. I
discovered this as I tried to picture Ginny, you know the red haired witch who
is supposed to be my girlfriend? Yet I felt nothing, nothing remotely sexual or
romantic towards her, except I still find her red hair attractive, but that is
all I do find attractive about her now. I still love her, yet I do not feel the
need to kiss or shag her nor do I want to marry her and have children with her.
Do you wish to know how much of a lesbian I in fact am not, oh, I am going to
tell you, do not think I will not do it. Fred and George sent me an issue of
Play Wizard among other items they believe any seventeen year-old wizard should
have, namely a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey. Oh, and no Sirius
before you ask I am not sharing a single drop with you, buy your own damn
whiskey. Do you wish to know what I felt as I stared at the witch fondling and
pulling at her fake breasts and licking her lips and batting her fake eyes
lashes at me from the front cover of the magazine? Nothing, I felt absolutely
nothing, no lust or arousal, just stone cold nothing. Actually, no, that is not
entirely true, I did feel something, try disgust and distaste. No, I thought of
Cedric Diggory, and Fred and George and even Bill Weasley. I thought whoa they
are a bit of alright and I would not mind shagging them. Huh, too bad Bill is
happily engaged to Fleur, or George who is crazy in love with Angie. Fred
fancies Hermione and needs to pull his head out of his ass before she finds
someone else. Yeah, and she fancies him to, she is just under the impression
that he only sees her as nothing more than his little brother's bookworm best
friend. As for Cedric Diggory, I would not say no to someone locking me up
inside of a hotel room with him alone for a whole week, getting to know him
more ways than one. However, marriage, arranged one at that, what the hell? Let
me tell you this, when it comes to my children, I will not be subjecting them
to what Cedric's parents and mine have done to him and me. In fact, mother said
in her letter that dad would not ever admit to wanting such a thing to happen,
but I would be doing him a favour if I abolished the tradition of arranged
marriage for the future Potter generations. Trust me I am more than happy to
comply and abolish the practice in Cedric and my family. Now Sirius, tell me
what the hell I am supposed to do about Ginny when she sees me like this? She
sent me a bracelet intertwined with leather cords of black, scarlet and gold.
She even had our initials engraved into the leather side by side. Where the
hell did she even get the Galleons to buy them, I bet she saved up for Merlin
knows how long. She even said in her letter that she is wearing the twin, which
in turn I did not put mine on, it does not seem right, so it is in my trunk. I
have a feeling when she sent that bracelet the meaning behind it was not
friendship. Damn it, I feel like shit even though it is not my fault, far from
it. I do not want to hurt her she does not deserve that. You knew I would
change back, so why the hell did someone who knew not try and discourage me
from dating her? Why did you not try and get Cedric to spend more time with me
after he found out, at least as my friend seeing as before now I was a fellow
wizard to him? I am going to lose Ginny, Sirius, I know it and the thought
makes me feel sick, I do not want to lose her. I wish the blow she is going to
receive could somewhat lessen, for example if she would only notice Neville. He
has had a crush on her ever since he asked her to be his date to the Yule Ball
back during the Triwizard Tournament. Oh yeah, and I received my Hogwarts
letter and a note from professor McGonagall, I am still Captain of the
Quidditch team. Speaking of her note, I need to have a talk with her and will
even get down on my hands and knees and beg her not to allow what she said in
her letter to happen, screw pride, my sanity depends on it. And if Albus
Dumbledore and his precious Order wants me to finally do Voldie in, then at
least have the bloody courtesy to let me accomplish it with my sanity intact,
it's the very least you can do. Damn it, Professor McGonagall plans to remove
me from the boy's dormitory, which I have no issue and agree with that
decision. What I do not agree with is the fact she wants to shove me in the
girl's dormitory. She even wants me to share a shower room with the seventh
year girls, who consist of Lavender bloody Brown and Parvati Patil. What is
worse is the fact I wager Hermione is not going to be in the girl's dormitory
this year, and most likely got the status of Head girl. She is not going to be
there to keep me sane, nor stop me and hold me back from hexing Lavender, the
gossiping airheaded bitch to hell and back again. I never quite forgave her for
talking to Skeeter and telling all those lies about Hermione and me. She was
jealous all because Krum, an international Quidditch star wanted Hermione
instead of her. He saw what I am certain Fred has seen when he looks at
Hermione. He saw a beautiful witch and not a bushy haired and bossy bookworm
know-it-all. As a wizard Lavender was just an airheaded annoyance to me, who
constantly tried to cosy up to me for a date so she could have her fifteen
minutes of fame and say she had dated ‘The Boy Who Lived’. But now as a witch,
I hate her, and think she is a gossiping airheaded slut, I mean seriously she
has practically spread her legs for any wizard who will give her the time of
day after Ron broke up with her and Seamus turned her down flat at the end of
sixth year. The middle of sixth year for Lavender is what I am betting was the
start of her becoming the resident Gryffindor slut. Professor McGonagall had
said in her letter that if Lavender or Parvati see any reason to complain about
me being placed with them in the dormitory or sharing a shower room with me,
then she said that rooms of my own with be provided for me. I swear to Merlin,
if they do not protest, I will sure as hell give them something to protest. I
swear I will either be sentenced to Azkaban or Lavender will spend a month in
the hospital wing being treated for all kinds of hex and spell damage. Now pay
attention to what you read because you will need these details I am about to
give to find me later on this morning. I am going to catch the Knights bus to
The Leaky Cauldron, where I plan to rent a room until after breakfast. Do not
try and stop me as it will not get you anywhere fast with me, especially with
how I feel about you, Remus and this whole situation. Besides, I am of age and
can legally drink and buy alcohol and do magic, never mind rent a room at a pub
without my secret keeping Dogfather having to hold my hand in the process. I
rented my first room and practically stayed for the entire summer when I was
only twelve going on thirteen, so at seventeen I would wager I am even more
capable now, more so than ever. Oh and another thing, the reason why you won't
find me here, why I won't wait to be collected, well, I am not going to stop
around to allow my bastard good for nothing relatives to wake to see me like
this. They already view me as I freak that they end up forced to take into
their home, why the hell add fuel to an already raging fire so to speak.
Honestly I will be fine, and if it makes you feel any better, not that I
honestly wish you to feel as such right now, but if it will get you off my case
I promise I will set up wards around my room, multiple wards. I have been
training with whom I deem the best since after my fifth year, trust me I am
good to go. Cedric will come and see me at eight and have breakfast in my room,
as we need to talk. I need to get any awkward questions between Cedric and me
out of the way before I see anyone, which includes, Dumbledore, Ginny, Hermione
and Ron. Come at nine thirty and bring Remus and Tonks with you. Tell Tonks I
need a bra, could she bring one with her and maybe help and show me how
magically to adjust it to fit until I can buy one of my own. Finally, I have
the locket and the Potter family ring on. The locket is perfect, and I cannot
help feel I know the tune that comes out of locket, as if I heard it a long
time ago. Oh, by the way thanks for the broom and the clothes, I appreciate it.
I cannot wait to try out the broom, even though I bet you are giving it to me
now as a buttering up tactic. You are all too aware and know I am pissed at you
right now, nice try you sly old mutt. I will see you, along with Remus and
Tonks at The Leakey Cauldron at nine thirty, and remember to ask for the room
number of Jamie Evans.
Harry
PS DO NOT CALL ME HARRIET!
 
She read through what she had written and nodded satisfied that she had covered
what needed to be in the letter. The letter did not even begin to scratch the
tip of the proverbial iceberg, they were going to have words whether Sirius or
Remus liked it or not. She wanted answers, needed to have them in fact, to
understand whomever the fool who had invented that glamour was what they could
possibly have been thinking and whether they had their head examined for brain
damage.
She folded the parchment, placed it inside of a nearby envelope, sealing it
shut before she wrote Sirius Black, 12 Grimmauld Place on the front of the
envelope in the same black ink used to write the letter. She called out to
Hedwig as she picked up both letters and said, "Come here girl, I am ready for
you now." Hedwig flew over, landed on the edge of the desk and held out her leg
for Harry to tie the letters. She listened as her Mistress told her, "I need
you to take a letter to Cedric first then to Sirius, and once you have
delivered Sirius's letter I want you to stay with Hermione, who is already at
headquarters where Sirius is."
Hedwig gave a hoot and an affection nip to Harry's finger then flew out of the
open window after the letters were secure. Harry watched her go and let out a
sigh of relief as she noted Hedwig had nipped her finger like was custom with
them, which meant she had no problem with her Mistress instead of Master. Harry
supposed her now being female might even make Hedwig more comfortable then she
was before, who knew.
Harry watched until Hedwig was out of sight before reaching over to close the
window for the last time. She then gathered her ink and quill, put them back
into her trunk before closing the lid, replaced the locking charm, before she
shrank it down again. She picked it up and put it back inside of her hoody
pocket for safekeeping. She patted her pocket, making double certain it was
secure and would not fall out during her journey to The Leaky Cauldron, knowing
exactly how rough riding on The Knights bus could be.
Lastly, she bent down, lifted the loose floorboard and checked that she had not
left anything behind. Once satisfied that she had not, she cancelled the
silencing charm in the room, yet not the one she had placed on her feet, in
fact she recast it making it stronger. She then took hold of her hair, lifted
the hood and tucked all of it inside and pulled it over her head, leaving a few
long strands to hang loosely in front of her. She finally took one last look
around the room before turning and exiting out the door, quietly closing it
behind her for the final time.
She moved along the landing, whispering the counter charm to the silencing
charm she had cast earlier, doing the same with the stairs once she reached the
bottom. She let out a sigh, glad step one was completed, step two write note
for bastard good for nothing relatives. She quickly found a muggle pen and
paper near the phone in the hallway on the side table. She took the pen, put it
to paper, and started to write.
The note that supposed to be quick and to the point turned into a page long
letter of everything she had ever thought or had wanted to say about or to her
relatives. What better opportunity than now, she was leaving, planning never to
set her eyes on that disgusting and classless snob of a family again?
To my piss poor excuse for relatives
I am leaving now and do not worry I have not left anything behind for either
one of you to destroy out of petty spite. I made double sure to check and made
certain nothing could be left for me have to come and collect. It will almost
seem like I never slept in that room, Dudley can have it back to put all kinds
of crap under the sun in there if he wishes. I am now seventeen and in my world
considered of age. I can do magic legally wherever and whenever I please, which
is a good thing for you three that I will not be around to test some of my
favourites on you. I will not be back if I have any say in the matter or can
help it. There are so many things that I have thought about or wanted to say to
you all over the years, no better time than the present I suppose. You have
gone out your way at every turn to make the years I have spent underneath this
roof a living hell, congratulations. Whoever will you get to clean house and
cook the meals and slave after you all, perhaps you will have to get your boney
finger out of your ass Aunt Petunia or try asking those fat bastards of a
husband and son of yours to get off of their fat asses and help for a change. I
doubt you would hire a cook, cleaner or gardener, hell no one would ever be
able to work to your impossible standards, nor could you truly afford it
either. Despite what you may think you and your husband are not high class but
in fact snobs with not a single classy bone in either of your bodies combined.
You act and pretend to be something, which not only are you not but also could
never accomplish, not truly. Oh, and just so that we are clear, my parents had
a hell of a lot more class in their little fingers then the pair of you have or
ever will have in your entire bodies combined.
Your reluctant Nephew Harry James Potter
 
She put the pen down and moved the paper closer to the phone so one of her
relatives will easily enough find it. She then turned towards the front door,
not once looking back as she opened it and stepped out of it, having no need or
want to look back. She looked around after closing the door as quietly as
possible behind her and noted the street was still dark, understandable
considering after all it was only half past two in the morning.
As she walked away from number four Private Drive for the final time, or what
she had honestly thought to be the last, was unaware that her Aunt heard the
front door open and close. She stood looking out of the corner of the curtain
of the window of her and Vernon's bedroom. She watched as her Nephew walked
away into the night, knowing somehow that he was not just going for a very
early morning stroll. No, she knew he was finally going for good and good
riddance to freaks she thought sourly. If only she knew just how enraged she
and Vernon would be when they found their Nephew's letter of colourful home
truths later on that morning.
***** Chapter Two: Confrontations & Makeup Lessons *****
Chapter Summary
     Harry and Cedric bond over breakfast and Harry gets her first makeup
     lesson and Sirius and Remus learn too late it is not wise to piss off
     female Harry. Harry delivers a few colourful home truths.
Chapter Notes
     Here is chapter two. I am noticing a lack of comments but a large
     part of me is glad for that. I have come to learn over the years
     writing that sometimes no feedback is considered a blessing in my
     experience, though this story is doing well on FF.NET so who knows.
     I still do not own Harry Potter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of
this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The
movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.
 
Harry removed the silencing charm from her feet after leaving Private Drive and
listened to the sound of her feet on the tarmac as she walked along for the
next ten minutes not once slowing down. As soon as she reached the end of the
street, she continued for another five minutes before reaching a very familiar
looking park.
She stopped and lifted the hem of her hoody and reached into the back pocket of
her jeans where she had placed her wand. She lifted her arm with her wand held
out as if flagging down a taxi, and within seconds there is a flash followed by
a loud bang, revealing a familiar purple triple decker bus. It screeched to a
halt and stopped inches from the pavement where Harry stood.
Harry smiled slightly as she took in the sight of the purple triple decker bus,
thinking of how this was a part of the world she rightfully belonged. She
beamed as she caught the sight of Stan Shunpike and watched as he visibly
faltered and blushed brightly. He stuttered out nervously, "Welcome to The
Knights Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard, my name is
Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor this morning Miss."
Harry inwardly smirked as she realised for once her looks are what is
interesting about her, instead of her famed scar, which was rather quite
entertaining and a sure ego boost. Apparently, she was not too hard on the eyes
of the typical heterosexual wizard, especially if good ole Stan's reaction was
anything to judge. She realised she could have quite a bit of fun here if she
played the situation very carefully, very carefully as she did not want to
embarrass Stan too much or mentally scar him.
Stan was shocked beyond reason, having not met a witch as beautiful or with
such a perfect smile as this little Miss had. Seeing how shocked he was, Harry
decided to start with a little harmless fun, and held out her hand as she said,
"Pleased to meet you Stan, I am Jamie Evans." This only made Stan blush all the
brighter and harder as he shook her offered hand clumsily with nerves.
Beautiful witches never smiled or willing offered to shake his hand and tell
him their name.
Whilst Stan was shaking her hand, Harry inwardly marvelled at the evident
effect she was having on the wizard in front of her. Sure, she noted some
people could consider her somewhat attractive when she looked in the mirror
earlier, but the way Stan was reacting to her anyone would honestly think she
was the most beautiful witch he had ever seen.
She cleared her throat as she noticed Stan had been holding her hand perhaps a
tad too long to consider normal. Stan blushed again, and quickly released her
hand when he caught onto the fact he had held on for too long. He felt such an
idiot, surely the stunning witch was most probably regretting offering her hand
to him. When he looked down and he saw her beautiful engagement ring he felt
knowing disappointment. Of course, the beautiful little Miss was taken,
seriously how could she honestly not be looking like that?
Harry smiled at him in gentle indulgent amusement as she thinks, 'Poor Stan, I
wonder how cruel this must make me?' She asked him gently, "Now Stan, do you
think you could perhaps do me a favour, I need to get to The Leaky Cauldron as
soon as possible, it is so late after all and I hope Tom will be willing to
provide me with a room. I could also use a bed to get my head down until we
arrive if that is not too much trouble."
Stan quickly stood to one side and gestured with his hand for her to step
aboard the bus. She reached into her hoody pocket, took out her money pouch and
counted the correct amount, before she replaced the pouch back inside of her
hoody. She stepped onto the bus and handed the Galleons over to Stan. Stan
called out to the bus driver, "The Leaky Cauldron, take it away, Ern." The
doors closed and with a bang and a flash, The Knights Bus vanished out of sight
leaving Magnolia Crescent behind.
Harry quickly grabbed onto the nearby rail as she followed Stan down the bus to
the first available empty bed. Stan gestured to the bed, pulled out a ticket
from the ticket device in his hand and handed it over to Harry, who accepted
the ticket. She sat down on the bed as Stan moved back down the bus to the
front, giving her one last quick glance.
She is glad to be sitting and not standing with the rough motion of the bus,
very glad. She leaned back and swung her legs up onto the bed and laid back,
and laid her head on the pillow as she tried to relax, which is no easy feat
with how the bus is moving as if on the rails of a roller coaster. No matter
how often she wondered how they do not hit other cars on the road, she never
figured it out.
It hardly seemed like five minutes since she closed her eyes, but sure enough
she can feel the bus stopping and had to grab a hold of the railing of the
headboard unless end up thrown from the bed and onto the floor as the bus
lurched to a rough stop. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the
bed, and noticed Stan eyeing her as she stood up. She walked down the length of
the bus and said to him as she passed by, "Thanks for the ride, Stan." Stan
stuttered as the doors swung open, "You're welcome Miss, see you again." Harry
waved over her shoulder as the doors closed again and The Knights Bus vanished
with another flash and bang.
She shook her head in disbelief as she walked towards the entrance of the pub.
She could hardly wait until he found out exactly who was responsible for
turning him into a stuttering and blushing mess with just a smile and a shake
of his hand. Poor Stan, she hoped he did not react badly when he finds out the
truth, and she knows he will at some point, yeah, him and the rest of the
wizarding world. She grimaced at the thought, knowing it will be total chaos.
Harry stepped inside of the pub and noticed how deserted it was, which was
hardly surprising when you considered it was well after two in the morning. Tom
looked up when he heard someone enter and his eyebrows practically disappeared
up into his baldhead. "Not safe Miss for you to not be at home at this late
hour, what brings you here?" he asked her from his place behind the bar.
Harry smirked slightly, thinking if only Tom knew exactly whom he was talking
to right then. Harry replied, "I am aware, all too aware actually." She added,
"If you have a room available then I could use a bed until after breakfast.
Considering the late hour I am willing to pay double for the room and for
breakfast to be delivered to the room at eight sharp." She hoped he agreed
because she knew she could not go back to the Dursley's, in fact she would
rather walk the streets until morning then go back there in a billion and one
years.
Tom nodded and moved from behind the bar and made his way over to the door and
relocked it again. He then walked back over to the bar and went behind it as he
replied, "Of course Miss, you are lucky to be able to get a room as I am fully
booked bar two rooms, which one was due to a last minute cancellation." Harry
nodded and asked as she walked up to the bar, "How much?" Tom replied, "Four
Galleons and six Sickles Miss, normally I would be six, but because it is so
late I am willing to cut the price by two Galleons."
Harry reached into the pocket of her hoody and took out her money pouch,
counted out the correct amount and placed it down on the bar counter with her
right hand, which caused Tom's eyes to narrow as he spotted the ring on her
middle finger. He recognised the same ring once having encircled the same
finger of a young James Potter, who would come with Sirius Black and Remus
Lupin when they were in their teens and stopped by for a bite to eat during
visits to Diagon Alley in the summer.
Harry froze as she spotted exactly where Tom's narrowed eyed gaze was currently
resting. She cleared her throat nervously, and took out her wand and cast a
silencing charm. She then asked, "Tom, please excuse the need for the silencing
charm, but it is necessary I am afraid. I was wondering might I ask a huge
favour of you." Tom's eyes narrowed more as he asked, "Like what, Miss?"
Harry licked her lips nervously as she replied, "What I am about to reveal must
not under any circumstances leave this pub or between you and I regardless of
the charm. For what I am about to reveal will seem unbelievable and crazy, but
believe me when I say it is true and you must not tell anyone who I am nor that
I am here." Tom asked, "Why and what do you mean?" Harry replied, "Because if
this gets out before I am ready for it to, then the press would have a field
day, particularly Rita bloody Skeeter. I am an all time favourite victim and
gossip fodder for that nosy and vindictive bitch."
Harry can practically feel her teeth set on edge as she thinks of what that
bitch will write about her when it gets out about her situation, perhaps she
needed a not so little reminder about Hermione and the information Hermione has
on her. There was nothing quite the likes of a good dose of blackmail to make
things run more smoothly, Harry inwardly smirked at the thought.
Tom frowned and said, "You talk Miss as if you were ‘The Boy who lived’, as if
you were as popular as he. Why would Rita Skeeter be after gossip about you, no
offence Miss?" Harry shook her head and smirked as she replied, "Oh no, none
taken." She added, "Look at me Tom, look very, very closely, particularly at my
eyes, if the family ring on my finger is not enough to tell you exactly who I
am, and why Skeeter would be after even the smallest speck of dirt she can
scrape up on me."
Tom did as told and looked very carefully at Harry's eyes, taking in the bright
emerald green, framed stunningly by very long and dark feather-like lashes. He
suddenly gasped as it mentally clicked, knowing only two people with eyes of
such a vibrant shade of emerald green. One was dead, being Lily Potter, nee
Evans, while the other was ‘The Boy Who Lived’, Harry Potter. He refused to
contemplate that this witch could be that same person, for ruddy Merlin's sake
Harry Potter, last he checked was very much a wizard. Nevertheless, how on
Earth could she have the Potter family ring, only someone carrying the blood
and being the actual true heir could wear the ring without receiving a terribly
painful hexing in the process of putting it on?
Harry sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes as she complained half-
heartedly, "Oh Tom, really are you honestly going to make me show it to you?
You know how I prefer to keep it hidden or else I would risk being bloody
mobbed and people gaping at me." She inwardly sighed wondering why he could not
have made this easier so she did not have to flash that bloody scar.
Tom shook his head and paled as Harry reached up and lowered the hood of her
hoody, before lifting her left hand to her forehead and moved her hair to one
side and revealed what Tom had been dreading. There it was there was the
infamous lightning bolt scar as clear as day. He choked out in awed disbelief,
"Harry Potter, but how?" Tom was stunned, how could this possibly be Harry
Potter, regardless of the infamous scar attesting to such.
Harry replied, "I cannot tell you much, only that this is not temporary or the
end result of a potions accident or other magical means gone wrong. This is the
true me, at least appearance wise anyhow, my personality is as it was except
for a few female traits, obviously being female now, well, that understandably
tends to happen."
She snorted and rolled her eyes as she added, "Can you honestly imagine what
the wizarding world is going to say and how they will react when they learn
their bloody precious saviour; ‘The Boy Who Lived’ in reality is really ‘The
Girl Who Lived’ and has been all along?" She could not help but feel bitter,
nor hide this fact from the barkeeper, not that at this point she wanted to.
Hell, she figured that at least someone in the wizarding world should be aware
of exactly how bitter the precious fucking saviour felt.
Tom's eyes widened as he saw her eyes flash with what resembled emerald green
fire and the undeniable sound of the cold bitterness in her voice. Tom realised
with dawning understanding that she resented her fame and the attention that
came with the fame in question. He honestly had not realised until then how the
attention he knew she hated could make her as bitter as it had. However, seeing
the reality of just how bitter she in fact was made him understand. He made a
mental note in the future to try and help her avoid as much unwanted attention
as possible, at least when on his premises.
She added coldly, not being able to stop herself from talking, desperately
needing to vent to someone, a sympathetic ear. She had a feeling she could
trust the barkeeper, and had no idea why it was just a feeling, one that she
trusted. "I spent sixteen years as a boy, totally in the dark over the fact I
was not a wizard but a witch instead. I found out at the stroke of midnight
just how much of a wizard I am not, due to a very painful process that changed
me back to my true form." She added, "Now I am of age I guess it was time to
change back."
Tom had a knowing look as he said, "I wager you were disguised to protect you
from the other pureblood families, who would have taken an advantage of a
female heir. And now that your inheritance is yours no one can rightfully
contest that." He added at her shocked expression, "Ah, I see that I am
correct." Oh, he had not wanted to be, he really had not, yet all of the facts
she had provided pointed to it and nothing else.
He continued, "The Potters are not the first nor will they be the last
pureblood family to have their heir be born a witch. Unlike your parents, who I
suspect only had the disguise last until you come of legal age, some families,
particularly the dark ones make it so that the heir never changes back, never
knowing who they truly are." He shook his head, feeling rather uneasy at the
thought.
Harry asked, "How do you know this?" Tom replied as he fetched a room key for
her, "Because it has happened every now and then for centuries upon centuries,
Miss Potter." Harry took the key he offers to her and said, "Tom I need to
register under the name of Jamie Evans, and that is the name Cedric Diggory
will give at eight this morning. I am expecting him for breakfast, so could you
please have breakfast delivered to my room as soon as he arrives?"
She continued after pausing briefly, "And at nine thirty Sirius Black, along
with Remus Lupin and Tonks will accompany him, and will also use the name I
have given." She concluded after another brief pause and said, "Do not allow
them access to my room before nine thirty I give my permission to stop them,
Sirius and Remus more so then Tonks. If she somehow ends up at my room before
the time stated that will not really matter, just the other two is an issue."
Tom nodded and replied, "Very well Miss Potter, I shall take care of that for
you. Now to bed with you Miss, it has gone three in the morning, almost four."
It is as he says this that Harry noticed Tom is in his pyjamas. She replied,
"Yes thank you, I am aware it is late, if the fact it is dark outside did not
clue me in, then the fact you are clearly dressed for bed did."
She asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you still a wake Tom, I
figured the pub would have closed by now?" Tom replied, "Ah, I got up to use
the bathroom when I heard The Knights Bus arrive and looked out my bedroom
window and saw you heading for the pub. Regardless of the hour I could not turn
away a young witch at this hour and figured it being as late as it is you would
not be after a drink."
Harry nodded gratefully as Tom led her out of the bar area and up the stairs
where all of the rooms were located. They walked for a minute before stopping
in front of a door with big brass number 20 on it. Tom wished her a good night
and continued on to his own bed. Harry placed the key in the lock, turned it to
the right, before turning the brass knob and then pushing forwards.
She entered the room and closed the door behind her and immediately used the
key to lock the door and left it in the lock. She then cast four different
locking charms one after the other. She used her wand to create two different
wards around the door, which would set an alarm off only she could hear if
anyone came to the door and knocked. She meant what she wrote in her letters to
Cedric and Sirius, that she would put up wards and she had done just that.
She then went over to the bed and removed her trunk from her hoody pocket,
before she reversed both the locking and shrinking charms after placing it on
the ground at the foot of the bed. She placed her wand on the bed and removed
her trainers, followed by her hoody and tank top and lastly her jeans, leaving
her knickers on. She then leaned over, opened the lid of her trunk and reached
inside for the pyjamas she had magically adjusted to fit properly. Once she
located them, she quickly slipped into them before closing the lid of her trunk
after she placed the clothing she had wore inside.
She grabbed her wand, pulled down the covers on the bed before climbing in, and
pulled the covers over her after settling in a comfortable position. She made
sure to place her wand underneath her pillow for safekeeping and easy and quick
access should she need it in a hurry. Within moments of getting comfortable and
settling, she closed her eyes and was soon out for the count.
It hardly seemed like she has slept long when the wards alerted her to the fact
that someone was at the door and knocking. For a moment she forgot where she
was and what had happened, but sighed as she felt her breasts digging into the
mattress as she realised she was laying on her front. She sat up when she heard
another knock and the alarm only got louder and more persistent in its tone.
She muttered irritably as she glanced down at her chest before she moved the
covers a side and grabbed her wand from underneath the pillow, "So much for not
being real." She noted that the sun was shining through a crack in the curtains
as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, placed her feet on the
floorboards before standing, and practically stumbled over to the door.
She quickly disarmed the wards, reversed the locking charms and turned the key
unlocking the door. She opened the door only a crack and peaked out with her
wand pointed at whoever was standing on the other side. She gazed at the person
and gritted her teeth when they started to complain. "Great, just great, you
not only have everyone worried out of their minds, regardless of your letters
to me and Sirius, you make me wait while you answer the door and have me at
damn wand point" Cedric Diggory hissed irritably.
Harry narrowed her eyes dangerously and remarked sourly, "Do not test my
patients Diggory, especially as I still have my wand pointed at you and have no
issue or any such qualms over treating you to a hex or three for my troubles."
Harry stopped talking as she noticed the scowl had melted away to be replaced
with a look of awed disbelief as he listened to the sound of her voice, her
definitely very female voice.
She rolled her eyes and pulled the door open all the way to allow him to enter.
It was then he saw all of her and stuttered out in awed disbelief, "Harry?"
Harry snorted and quipped sarcastically, "No Diggory, its Rita bloody effing
Skeeter, who the hell do you think it is?" That moment Tom chose to come down
the landing pushing a trolley with their breakfast on it.
He explained at Harry's questioning glance as he reached the door, and Cedric
was still busy staring at her in shock, "I decided to deliver it myself, not
wanting the maids to bother you Miss Potter." Harry smiled at him and said,
"Thank you Tom, I appreciate it." Tom nodded and replied, "Not at all Miss
Potter, I am happy to be of service."
He started to unload the trolleys contents onto a nearby table big enough for
two or three people. Once finished he wheeled the trolley back towards the
door, whilst shaking his head when Harry offered him a tip. He eyed Cedric then
Harry before he chuckled and said to Cedric, "Ah, shock ain't it Mr. Diggory?"
Harry snorted and said sourly, "Oh please Tom, he damn well knew about this
before even I did."
Tom visibly winced and replied, "In that case I shall leave you to it." With
that, he wheeled the trolley back down the landing, having decided that he was
not getting involved. He did not envy the young wizard, seeing that the young
witch looked about ready to start hexing something fiercely. He wondered if he
would come out of the room in one piece and would the other expected guests
either for that matter.
Harry turned on her heel, leaving Cedric to enter and close the door behind
him. He inwardly cringed as he realised he was not about to have a quite or
civilized conversation or breakfast with his fiancée. He had spotted his
grandmother’s engagement ring on her finger, or he supposed it was her ring
now. He noted how perfect it looked encircling her long and feminine finger as
if it had always belonged there.
He eyed her as he slowly followed her as she made her way over to her trunk and
said, "I am going to go and change in the bathroom back into the clothes I wore
last night. You can go on ahead to the table, I do not mind if you start
breakfast without me." Cedric nodded and made his way over to table and sat
down as Harry closed her trunk before she made her way to the bathroom with her
clothing in her arms.
Five minutes late she left the bathroom and made her way back over to her trunk
and placed a cleaning charm on her pyjamas so they did not make the inside of
her trunk stink. After closing the lid and recasting the locking charm, she
made her way over to the table to join Cedric. She immediately noticed that he
had not started breakfast yet and had waited for her to join him.
Cedric watched in stunned silence as she walked over to where he sat, and
keenly noticed how stunning she was, and could not help but take in the sight
of her from head to toe. He needed to take in her new assets, assets he knew
would eventually be his to explore to his heart's content. Oh, and Merlin he
was definitely going to become very acquainted with that hot little body of
hers if he had any say in the matter.
First, he took in her long dark raven hair that reached a few inches passed her
breasts and a little way from reaching her waist. Oh and those breasts, wow,
they were bigger than he expected with her having a slim build, which the tank
top she wore enhanced amazingly. Yes, she was slim, but sweet Merlin she had a
stunning hourglass figure, and great hips and an incredible ass, which the form
fitting black jeans highlighted beautifully. Then there was those legs, wow,
those legs seemed like they went on forever, legs up to ass was an adequate
description. Then of course the cut of the jeans only made them seem longer
then they were, making it seem like they went on for miles.
He appreciated how petite she was, yet at the same time curvy in all of the
right places. He could just imagine how stunning her breasts, backside, hips
and her legs would look whilst she was in the nude. He inwardly moaned at the
thought of the delightful sight she would surely make. He would have had his
thoughts proven correct if he had seen her when she had been changing in the
bathroom.
He could not help but grin as she took a seat opposite him and shot him a dark
glower. That grin vanished as quickly as it appeared as he truly took in her
features. They looked like a much softer and more delicate feminine version of
her male features. He realised with startling clarity that this was Harry
Potter, just softer and very beautiful. Those eyes, that hair colour and pale
flawless skin screamed Harry Potter no doubt, like nothing else besides her
infamous scar and round framed glasses could.
He asked, "So is the one defining feature of ‘The Girl Who Lived’ still
intact?" She sighed knowing exactly what he was asking as she poured herself a
glass of pumpkin juice. She pushed her hair to one side and revealed the
infamous scar in all of its not so quaint glory. Cedric nodded and said, "Ah
sorry, guess you were not that lucky when you changed back." Harry snorted as
she moved her hair back in place and said, "I am never lucky, my reputation for
a danger magnet speaks for itself." Cedric also snorted, knowing unfortunately
she was not joking nor exaggerating as that really was how it is.
He picked up his mug and reached out for the coffee pot, noting how Tom must
have realised it was too early to send up tea and that they would need
something stronger, pure caffeine for example. He watched as she picked up her
fork and knife and started to dig into the bacon, sausage, and fried eggs, with
tomatoes, beans, mushrooms and hash browns. Tom had even provided fried bread
and black pudding he noted happily, and wondered when the last time he had a
breakfast like this was.
Cedric picked up his own fork and knife and smirked as he said, "Two Galleons
says your apatite is not as big as it was before the change." Harry stopped
with her fork halfway to her mouth and returned his smirk. She replied, "I
wonder what I will spend my two Galleons on?" She grinned and added, "Do keep
my money safe Diggory." Cedric laughed as he lifted his fork up to his mouth.
They ate in silence for a few moments before Harry sighed and asked, "So have
you seen Ginny around headquarters?" Cedric took a bite of fried bread, and
sighed as he chewed before swallowing as he thought of how to word is reply. As
he finished swallowing he said, "Yeah, I have seen her, she's all excited for
your arrival at headquarters today." He wondered how and when he was going to
tell her what else he knew and had overheard where Ginny was concerned, he
figured it could wait until after she had finished eating.
They continued eating in silence until they had finished and Harry placed her
knife and fork down on her empty plate. She leaned back in her chair and patted
her stomach with both hands as she let out a happy sigh. She was full, a
feeling she had never experienced whilst living at the Dursleys. The last time
she remembered eating so much was at the leaving feast at Hogwarts back in
June. She knew now that she no longer lived at the Dursley's that her food
intake would never be limited like that again.
Cedric eyed Harry's plate and his eyes widened as he let out a low whistle as
she looked over at him with a smug smirk curling her corners of her full lips.
She chuckled as she took the provided napkin and wiped her mouth and hands
clean before throwing it down onto her plate. She drawled in reply, "Apparently
I have a fierce apatite, but that most likely has something to do with the fact
in the last forty eight hours I have only ate two slices of bread with two thin
slices of cheese. There is the food basket Mrs. Weasley sent, which I had a
Butterbeer and two chicken legs. Oh yeah, and I had a small piece of chocolate
from my birthday present from Angie."
Cedric eyed Harry in disbelief as he asked, "And which of the food did your
relatives give you?" Harry replied, "The bread and cheese, which my aunt very
begrudgingly gave to me. Trust me that family begrudged me everything they ever
gave to me over the last sixteen years, and I do mean everything." Cedric shook
his head in disgust before reaching into the pocket of his jeans and taking out
his money pouch. He counted out the two Galleons and placed them down on the
table in front of her. "You’re two Galleons my lady" he drawled playfully."
He smirked as he placed the pouch back in his pocket and added, "Might I
suggest buying yourself an ice cream cone out of that money, you need the sugar
to keep your energy up. You are going to need all of the energy you can get,
especially today. Plus gaining a pound or two would not harm you either, not
that I think there is anything wrong with how you look." Harry smirked and
replied, "Right back at you Diggory."
This caused him to smirk as he suddenly remembered a comment from Harry's
letter to Sirius, where she had said she would have not minded being locked up
for a week inside of a hotel room with him and getting to know him in more ways
than one. He would be more than happy to arrange that, yet knew he needed to
wait a little while so they could become comfortable with each other. Finally,
there was the fact of the matter of whether she was the no sex before marriage
type of witch.
He took a deep breath as he realised he needed to inform her of Ginny and what
he had found out and accidentally overheard. He said, "Harry, there is
something which I feel you need to be made aware of concerning Ginny." He went
on at her nod, "You need to know this before you see her as I do not want you
to see her next and be caught off guard, the last thing you need or want is to
be is caught off guard in the way you will be if left unaware."
Harry frowned as she asked him, "What do you know that I do not?” She paused
and added dryly, “Allow me to rephrase that and ask what else you know so far
that I don’t?" Cedric winced at the obvious dig and looked noticeably
uncomfortable as he replied, "She is still under the impression that you are
male, and that when she next sees you she plans to corner you at the first
chance she gets. She is sixteen and believes she is ready to lose her virginity
to you. She plans to ask you about taking your relationship to the next level,
in other words you and her having sex for the first time."
Cedric watched as the colour drained from her face as she asked him, "And how
do you know this exactly?" He replied, "I overheard her and Hermione talking
about it when I was passing the room they were in, they must have forgotten to
close the door or put up a silencing charm. They definitely had no idea that I
was nearby and they were not being nearly as discreet as they should have been,
especially with Ginny's parents and most of her brother's underneath the same
roof.” He shook his head as he added, “I am honestly surprised Hermione did not
think to put up any charms or at least close and lock the door."
Harry shook her head and said, "Before last night and I changed back I would
have not said no if she had been a hundred percent certain she was ready for us
to take that step." She looked uncomfortable and grimaced as she added, "But
now it does not hold even the smallest shred of appeal, and this is going to
hurt Ginny, which I honestly loath the thought of doing to her of all people."
She pinched the bridge of her nose and asked, "Did Sirius show you the letter I
sent to him?" Cedric replied, "Yeah he did, along with Remus and Tonks." Harry
nodded and said, "I meant every single last word I wrote." Cedric sighed and
said, "I noticed you mentioned that you wished they had made me spend more time
with you even as friends. You even wished they had discouraged you from dating
Ginny, which I suppose is understandable."
Harry replied, "Well yeah, think about it, if I had gotten to know you on a
basis of friendship before I found out I was betrothed to marry you, then it
would have not been so much of a shock nor would I feel as pissed off as I
currently do. I know nothing much about you, which is hardly ideal to base a
marriage on, arranged or not." She paused before adding, "As for Ginny, if I
had even the smallest of inklings that anything that has happened and will
happen was even a remote possibility I would have tried to avoid falling for
her."
She paused to take a sip of pumpkin juice before continuing, "I would have
avoided falling for her pretty much like how you were able to with Cho. I know
you could have easily fallen in love with her as I did with Ginny. So you can
at least understand even a little bit about where I am coming from here." She
sighed hoping that he could, it would make their conversation and situation run
much more smoothly.
Cedric nodded and replied, "Yeah, I can understand where you are coming from,
but the difference here is that even though I tried to avoid it she still fell
in love with me, while I unfortunately for her only love her as a friend and a
former crush." He continued as he pointed to her engagement ring, "You want to
know something truly tactless and heartbreaking about your ring, and yes it is
your ring Harry?"
He paused before adding, "When my father gave me my grandma Diggory's
engagement ring, guess who else was in the room with me, take a wild guess?"
Harry made a choking sound and yelped, "No! Please, please tell me that she was
not there in the room." Cedric raised a brow, which was the only answer she
needed as she raised a hand to her mouth, which by pure coincidence happened to
be the one she wore her engagement ring, the ring in question.
She moaned as she asked, "Please say he in the very least had enough tact to
actually keep the damn lid of the box closed?" Cedric snorted and told her, "Oh
Harry, this is Amos Diggory we are talking about here, the very same wizard who
made a point of bragging about how I beat you at Quidditch in front of the
Weasleys and Hermione Granger." He snorted again and added, "He does not care
that I would not have caught the snitch if there had not been a rain storm
raging around us or Dementors out on the pitch. He I am afraid has an annoying
habit of blocking out the parts he does not want to hear or know."
He continued after a brief pause and shared knowing glance with her. "He lifted
the lid off the box and revealed my grandma Diggory's engagement ring in front
of Cho. He then went on to say, isn't it beautiful my dear, my Cedric's
betrothed is one very lucky witch." Harry's jaw dropped and her eyes
practically bugged as she commented in a tone of pure incredulous horror, "Holy
fucking Merlin, your father is an honest to Merlin tactless imbecile. I am
sorry if you find that offensive, but Cedric regardless of whether his heart is
in the right place or not, he is a bumbling fool with zero tact. What he did to
Cho was beyond cruel and tasteless, no matter how unwittingly so."
She stood up from the her seat at the table and began to pace as she ranted,
"Oh my god, he good as rubbed it in her face the fact that you are to marry
another that will never ever be her. That such a beautiful ring will never ever
be hers or ever encircle her finger.” She paused before continuing, “Oh I do
not honestly doubt somebody else will have the honour of seeing their ring
encircling her finger, but Cedric unfortunately for her it will not be this
beauty." She lifted her left hand as she ceased speaking, and allowed Cedric to
eye the ring encircling her ring finger, putting extra emphasis on the point
she was making.
Cedric honestly wished that he could find the energy and the will to make even
a token protest on behalf of his father, but he could not. The truth of the
matter was as much as he loves his father he had to face facts, what she had
just said was completely true no two ways about it. She had hit the nail right
on the proverbial head when describing his father, her future father in-law.
He watched as all colour suddenly drained from his fiancées beautiful face,
hardly believing it was possible for her to become even paler then she already
was. He asked in worry, "Are you okay, and what happened?" Harry held up her
left hand once more and replied, "I feel sick, having just realised I am
wearing an engagement ring, a ring which Ginny is no doubt going to see, and we
have not even officially broken up yet." She added, "She is most likely at
Headquarters right now totally in the dark and planning how to breech the
subject of us making love to each other for the first time."
Cedric felt his eyes widen in alarm, realising the whole process was going to
turn ugly, very ugly, most likely as ugly as the situation waiting to happen
when Cho found out about Harry and saw her wearing the same engagement ring
that his father had unwittingly taunted her over and made her cry. He just
hoped there was no cat fight between his fiancée and his friend, hell he even
hoped Ginny did not get in on a piece of the action, through it would be
understandable if she did.
He stood from his chair around the table and walked over to Harry as he noticed
the tears that filled her eyes. He took her into his arms and held her as she
silently cried tears of guilt, anger and pure frustration at the completely
unfortunate situation. He realised his wife to be was not one of those witches
who sobbed loud and dramatic tears, but silent and subdued tears.
He placed a gentle and comforting kiss to her hair-covered head, neither out of
sexual need nor anything romantic, just to offer comfort as needed. Through he
could not help but note how incredibly soft her hair felt, or how she felt
incredible pressed flushed up against his front as she clung to the front of
his shirt with clenched fists. She felt soft, yet he could feel curves and
toned muscle pressed up against him.
After another minute or so, she pulled back, blushing brightly as she rubbed
her eyes with her hands. She said in a choked voice, "Sorry about that, for
blubbering all over you like an idiot and getting the front of your shirt all
wet and wrinkled." Cedric smiled sympathetically and replied, "Don't be I can
perfectly understand that you have had quite a Birthday so far, so I figured
after all you have been through and learnt since midnight that you are entitled
to a mini meltdown."
Just as Harry was about to reply there came a knock on the door. She cleared
her throat and quickly grabbed her wand and made her way over to the door. She
placed her free hand on the door handle and opened it quickly and pointing her
wand at the three standing on the other side of the door. She rolled her eyes
at the lingering silence as the other three took in the sight of her for the
first time post glamour, and drawled, "When you are quite finished gaping at me
I may consider letting you in."
That did it that snapped them out of their stunned stupors. Sirius exclaimed,
"Harriet what the hell were you thinking just taking off like that, even if you
did send a letter beforehand?" Remus added, "You had us all worried sick that
was completely irresponsible of you." Before they could say more, a seething
Harriet Potter, who still had her wand raised, pointed it at two of her three
guests.
First, she casted a Silencio on both wizards, followed by giving Sirius a gaudy
poodle like perm in Slytherin colours, and also changed the colour of his
moustache to Slytherin colours and made it grow down to near his feet in a
poodle perm. And for extra measures just because she was feeling particularly
vindictive she added a big and ugly neon pink bow on top of his head, much like
the one Umbridge wore, along with several smaller ones all scattered randomly
in his now poodle like beard. His eyebrows were Slytherin green and silver,
curly and bushy and sticking up on end.
Remus on the other hand was now sporting a tall Mohawk, that was neon purple
and yellow coloured. His moustache was now orange and grown to the point of
being a long beard, separated into sections, plaited and the ends curled, and
green and lavender ribbons placed randomly in it. His eyebrows were also orange
and curly, and very, very bushy and stuck up on end.
That was not all, oh no not by a long shot; in fact, she had also changed their
clothing they were wearing, making certain that they were as humiliating and
revealing as possible. For example, Sirius was now dressed in a terrible shade
of pink lewd rubber strapless mini dress with black fishnet stockings and
suspenders. He now had tall platform strappy sandals in the same colour as the
dress. Lastly, he had a huge pink and orange feather boa around his neck and
shoulders.
Remus was dressed in what appeared to be a neon orange boob tube made of very
shiny PVC with matching hot pants. He also had black fishnets with suspenders
and shoes like Sirius, only in orange. To finish a truly ugly shade of pink
feather boa wrapped around his neck and shoulders. Both looked beyond
positively offensive to the eye of any sane witch or wizard.
Harry finally lowered her wand, and looked positively smug with satisfaction at
her humiliating handy work. Tonks exclaimed in shock, "Oh Merlin that is truly
offensive!" and doubled over hopelessly with laughter. Cedric yelped and
covered his eyes as he exclaimed, "Aahh my eyes!" before he threw back his head
and roared loudly with laughter and stumbled over to the table and braced his
hands on it to remain standing.
What made Harry smirk in vindictive glee was when the pair stumbled in the too
high platforms and had to grab hold of the other to prevent themselves from
falling back with legs over head. It was even sweeter still when they got a
good look at each other and let out silent screams of horror. What was even
more satisfying was when the rubber of Sirius's outfit made a loud and god
awful squeaking sound when he moved, which only set Cedric and Tonks off
laughing even harder than ever, and Harry too let out a brief snicker. Good,
she thought, she was satisfied with their reactions, and felt very much like
screaming to for many different reasons.
Sirius and Remus looked positively livid as they turned to face Harry and
stumbled into the room with Tonks bringing up the rear, who whilst still
laughing managed to close the door shut behind her. Harry waved her wand and
conjured a mirror large, wide and long enough for the two to see her rather
creative and much deserving handy work if she did say so herself. She was glad
of how livid they looked, well that was just peachy fucking keen as far as she
was concerned, and she too was livid so it was about time they experienced a
taste of what she was feeling.
Sirius made to make a step towards his goddaughter, steam practically coming
out of his ears at that point. Harry shook her head and pointed her wand, and
commented coldly, "I really would not if I were you, as if you had not noticed
yet I still have my wand pointed right at you. Oh and I do not think I have
quite gotten my point across just yet, believe me I can get a sight more
creative and vindictive. I just need the correct incentive, oh please Dogfather
dearest do make my birthday complete and provide me that oh so needed
incentive."
Sirius stopped mid-step as he realised that his goddaughter was not kidding
around and truly did mean business. By now, Tonks and Cedric had stopped
laughing and were wiping away their tears of mirth. They to realised there was
no longer anything amusing about the current situation, oh no, it had turned
well and truly ugly, very, very ugly and fast.
Tonks slowly lowered the bag she had been carrying to the floor before she
straightened up to her full height. She said, "Okay can we please try and talk
this through like the reasonable and rational adults that we all are?" Harry
replied, not once removing her gaze from her godfather, "If you want that
Tonks, you better make these two sit down and listen to what I have to say
without interrupting me, because by Merlin I think I have more than damn well
earned the right."
Tonks nodded and replied, "Of course Harry, you do prefer Harry, right?" Harry
snorted and replied, "Oh don't I just, and now more than anything understand
why you hate it when we call you by your first name." Tonks smirked knowingly
before saying, "I think it was Sirius calling you Harriet, besides them getting
in your face that sparked your reaction." Harry smirked and nodded as Tonks
added, "Those two imbeciles do not understand that it's not at all wise to piss
off a witch, especially if she has had the kind of night I imagine you have
just had." Sirius and Remus would have spluttered in outrage if it were not for
the silencing charm hindering them from doing so.
Tonks turned to face the two idiots she had come with and told them, "You two
are going to sit down and behave yourselves until Harry is showered and
redressed." She added" Then you two are still going to stay quiet and allow her
to have her say, and if that say includes insults hurled at you, then you bet
your idiotic male asses you will sit and take it. And if you do not, I will
make what Harry has done to you seem like Childs play, oh and believe me it
will hurt." She paused once more before she concluded as she took in the red
horrified faces of her husband and her cousin, "Am I making myself clear here?"
Sirius and Remus nod rapidly knowing she was not messing about, that as an
auror she knew an awful lot of nasty spells and hexes.
There was a lingering silence as Tonks nodded firmly before walking over to
Harry and told her, "Go and collect your toiletries from you trunk and whatever
else you need. I have a clean set of clothing and shoes for you in my bag."
Harry did as told and then allowed Tonks to lead her over to her bag before she
led her to the bathroom and closed the door shut firmly behind her.
Once inside of the bathroom Tonks turned to Harry and asked, "Do you need any
help washing your hair, seeing as you're not used to taking care of so much
hair?" Harry nodded and replied, "Yeah, I think that might be best for the
first time, like you said there is so much of it and I had been unprepared for
that."
Tonks nodded before she moved over to the shower and switched it on. It was a
muggle shower as some of the rooms had muggle showers, bathtubs, or the
wizarding equivalent, all depending on whether Tom had muggle or magical guests
renting the room. Tonks adjusted the water, while Harry conjured a case to
place her contact lenses. The shower was ready by the time she removed her
contacts and placed her wand on the side of the sink.
Harry came forward; leaned over the shower towards the showerhead and let the
water wet her hair, while Tonks went over to her bag and opened it looking
inside for the shampoo she had brought with her. After minute of touching and
discarding items inside of the bag, she finally found what she was looking for.
She pulled out a purple substance with a creamy texture that was inside of
lilac coloured frosted glass jar.
Tonks made her way back over to Harry unscrewed the lid off the jar and reached
inside with her fingers to scoop up some of the contents. She placed the jar to
one side before rubbing her hands together and leaned towards Harrys bent over
form and ran her shampoo-covered fingers through the long and wet stands of
hair until she had created decent soapy lava. She guided Harry's head down
towards the showerhead, allowing the hot water to rinse her hair clear of all
soapsuds.
It took a total of twenty minutes due to how long and thick it was. Tonks
marvelled at it, especially seeing how short Harry's hair had been as a male.
Once the soap was all out Tonks said, "Strip down and get in the shower and
finish off getting washed. Call me back when you are ready for me to come back
in. I am going to go try and calm those two idiots outside down some more."
Just as she turned on heel to leave, Harry called out to her, "Will you grab my
glasses for me as I forgot to pick them up out of my trunk before." Tonks
nodded and asked before she left, "Any locking charms I should be aware of?"
Harry nodded and told her, "Just a regular locking charm for the time being, I
plan on using more complex and more than one when I return to Hogwarts." Tonks
nodded and opened the door and exited before closing it behind her.
As soon as she left, Harry stripped out of her clothes and placed them on top
of the closed toilet seat. She then walked back over to the shower, stepped
inside and submerged herself under the hot spray of the still running water.
She let out a low sigh of relief at how heavenly it felt against her skin, and
soothed the slight dull throbbing sensation she had felt slowly building up
behind of her temples ever since she opened the door to Sirius and Remus.
Meanwhile out in the lounge and bedroom area Tonks walks over to Harry's trunk
and could clearly sense the magic around it, and cast a spell to cancel the
locking charm. While she was doing that, Sirius, Remus and Cedric sat around
the table. Cedric could not look either older wizard in the eye without
sniggering, especially whenever Sirius moved the rubber of his outfit would
squeak, which only caused Sirius and Remus to scowl more darkly than ever.
Cedric was amazed Harry really had gone and done one hell of a number on them,
she had got them good and proper. What she had accomplished was truly offensive
not only to look at but also to be on the receiving end of. Tonks smirked over
at her husband and cousin, clearly being able to see how Cedric was clearly
having a difficult time of not laughing himself sick.
She grabbed the glass case just as Harry called out for her. She noticed the
other three look up and heard Cedric say, "Whoa, the sound of that voice that
really caught me off guard when I first heard it.” He pause to smirk somewhat
ruefully as he added, “And yeah she had her wand pointed at me, threatening to
treat me to a hex or three for her troubles." Sirius and Remus also smirked,
while Tonks snorted. Indeed, Harry was not one to be messed about with,
especially now with how pissed off she was at Sirius and Remus, and perhaps a
little at Cedric to.
She left the bedroom and made her way back to the bathroom, knocked on the door
and waited for Harry to tell her to come in. Tonks opened and then closed the
door behind her after entering. She noticed Harry sat on the closed toilet
seat, while her clothing rested in a pile at her feet. She looked all flushed
and there are water drops on her flawless pale skin from the shower. There was
a soft and fluffy white towel wrapped around her front and another wrapped
around her head.
Tonks watched as Harry squinted at her, and knew the other witch needed her
glasses. She opened the box, took out the glasses and handed them to Harry, who
accepted them with a nod of thanks before slipping them on her face to rest on
the bridge of her nose. She took in the site of the very familiar glasses and
noted how they did nothing for the younger witch, especially now with her
softer and feminine features.
She grimaced and commented, "No offence, but those glasses do absolutely
nothing for you, you need a less harsh and softer style of frames." Harry
sighed as she replied, "None taken, I was wearing them when I changed back and
saw immediately that they are not very flattering to my softer features, which
is one of the reasons I changed into my contact lenses, besides the obvious
reason that they are considered a well known feature of ‘The Boy Who Lived’.”
Harry visibly grimaced as she added, “But magical or not they are still
contacts, which I slept in last night." Tonks winced and commented, "Oh, you’re
right about that, magical or not you still should not have slept in them.” She
concluded, “They may provide better vision and the colours seem brighter and
clearer, but as you said at the end of the day they are still contact lenses
magical variety or not."
Harry removed the towel from her head as she stood up from her perch on the
close toilet seat. Tonks could honestly not help but stare as she took in the
younger witch’s figure wrapped tightly in the towel that ended mid-thigh. It
did absolutely nothing to hide her figure, and moulded tightly to her figure,
placing extra emphasis on her well-defined hourglass shape, chest, hips,
backside and her legs.
Harry raised a brow in silent question as she noticed how the other witch was
silently observing her. Tonks murmured, "Sorry, but sweet Merlin you look
incredible." She added, "Have you had any male attention yet?" Tonks knew she
had the moment she saw the wicked and shit-eating smirk spread across Harry's
face.
Tonks asked excitedly, "Who and when?" Harry's smirk widened as she replied,
"This morning when I got The Knights bus. I saw it arrive and Stan appeared,
and I could not help nor stop the beaming teeth showing smile as I thought that
finally I am going home, this bus is a part of my world, my true world."
Tonks smiled and nodded as Harry continued, "Anyhow, it was by chance that I
smiled when Stan looked over at me, and I guess the sight of me and my smile
took him back, he blushed so brightly and started to stutter like a crazy man.
When I gave him the name Jamie Evans and shook his hand, he blushed even
brighter and harder, even more so as he shook my hand, but he held on for a bit
too long."
She added, "It was kind of amusing, yet flattering and a real nice change to be
noticed for how I look and not because of that ugly scar on my forehead and the
circumstances surrounding it. Plus, it was a rather nice boost to my ego, I
cannot deny it, and not even going to try and bother."
She concluded around a laugh, "I cannot wait until he finds out whom I am, who
he had been reduced to stuttering and blushing mess in front of." Tonks also
laughed at that and said, "Oh poor Stan, but I bet you made his morning. I can
also understand why you preferred that attention over the kind you usually get
because of your scar."
She smiled as she watched Harry run the towel through her hair and raised a
brow as she took note of the other witch's chest, remembering what she had
wrote in her letter to Sirius. She commented as she nodded towards the others
chest, "You were not half wrong when you mentioned in your letter that you
figured your back would ache less with the support of a bra."
Harry asked, "Speaking of my chest is there a way to measure what size I am?"
Tonks replied, "We will take you to Madame Malkins and she will measure your
chest, waist and hips." She paused before adding, "Once we have your new
measurements we are going shopping in muggle London, before returning to
headquarters tonight at six thirty. This means we have all day for a bit of
first time girl time and retail therapy." She concluded after a brief pause,
"We have an appointment at Malkins to have you measured at eleven thirty. First
though you need to get you dressed and ready for the day, before you have it
out with Sirius and Remus.“
She grimaced as something suddenly occurred to her after mentioning Remus’s
name. She wondered how Harry would take the news she was about to reveal?
“Speaking of Remus there is something he and I need to tell you," she said to
Harry. Harry raised a brow and asked, "Like what, maybe perhaps that you and
Remus are married?"
Tonks raised a brow of surprise, while Harry lifted her own left hand and
pointed to her own ring. "You have got a wedding and engagement ring which I
noticed when you took my hand and led me in here." Tonks flushed and said, "We
are so sorry Harry, but Albus believed you needed to stay at your relatives
until the blood wards could be strengthened around the house, plus it was for
other security reasons."
Harry asked coldly, "Were you aware that in both of my parent's letters that
they said I was not under any circumstances to be sent to and raised by my
aunt? My father went as far to say he thought the family was disgusting and
would haunt whoever sent me there until their dying day. My mother on the other
hand referred to her own sister as jealous and magic loathing, whilst
describing my uncle as a repugnant pig."
Tonks gasped before asking, "Do you think Albus is aware?" Harry nodded and
replied, "Yeah I do, everything Albus Dumbledore believes is for the greater
good is done. We are like fucking chess pieces on his personal chessboard."
Tonks looked stunned at hearing Harry say such things and with such a tone that
she was. She had no idea that was the sort of opinion the younger witch held in
regards to the Headmaster.
Harry shook her head as she added, "I am not so sure if I truly believe in
Albus Dumbledore's motives in this war anymore. Its bring Voldemort down at all
costs. I do not feel like a person anymore, but a weapon for Albus Dumbledore
to wield at his own convenience and how he sees fit." She paused as Tonks
flinched at hearing her say the name Voldemort so casually and without a single
flinch.
Harry inwardly sighed at the older witch’s reaction to hearing a name. However,
she decided to cater to the older witch’s sensibilities and used a more mocking
term of the dreaded name. "I am aware of the steps that need to be taken to
kill Voldie, and just as soon as I have graduated and married I plan on going
out into the world to find the missing pieces required to take him down
permanently once and for all" she finally concluded.
Tonks frowned and asked, "What pieces Harry?" Harry replied, "Pieces of
Voldie's soul, which he split seven times. Find a dark arts book, a really dark
and nasty one, and look up the term Horcrux." Tonks asked, "Horcrux?" Harry
nodded and said, "Yeah, during sixth year Professor Dumbledore showed me
memories of his of Voldie when he was still known as Tom Marvolo Riddle. You
can make an anagram out of his name, which translates into I am Lord
Voldemort."
Harry concluded, "I am going to continue to get my education and train with the
Order and you, train my new body and learn more spells and even how to fight
using different styles of combat in case I lose my wand on the battle field.
And once I have done that I am going to marry Cedric, followed by going on a
Horcrux hunt for long as it takes to find every last single piece of Voldie's
disgusting black mangled soul."
Tonks looked stunned, but snapped out of it when she saw Harry shiver with the
cold. She cleared her throat and said, "Okay let's get you dressed you must be
freezing." She walked over to her bag and said, "I have brought with me the
clothing and underwear, including the bra I mentioned in my letter."
She reached into the bag and pulled out a black denim jacket that had a
matching mini skirt, along with a deep purple tank top and white satin bra and
knickers, a matching set. Lastly, she removed a pair of deep purple ballet
flats made out of painted leather.
Harry eyed the underwear and asked, "How are we going to adjust the bra and
knickers to fit me, along with everything else you brought with you?" Tonks
replied, "You are going to put on the bikini briefs first and the skirt, which
I will wait on the other side of the door whilst you do that. Then I am going
to come in and magically shrink or enlarge what needs to be. I am going to help
you put on your first bra and we will magically adjust it."
Harry nodded and picked up the bikini briefs after Tonks left the bathroom and
closed the door behind her. She pulled them up and tied the stain ribbons at
the side of her hips to keep them in place. They were pretty and appeared to be
only a size too big, nothing magic could not fix. She next picked up the denim
mini skirt and unzipped it at the side before she stepped into it and pulled it
up over her thighs and left it to rest on her hips. It needed to be a size
smaller she noted as she zipped it up.
She placed the towel against her front and called out to Tonks, "You can come
back in now." Tonks entered a second later, and instantly noticed how the skirt
reached just a little below mid-thigh. She took out her wand as she asked, "How
much adjustment do you think they need?" Harry replied, "Both the underwear and
the skirt seem to be a size too big."
Tonks nodded and muttered Reducio while pointing her wand first at the
underwear after Harry lifted the skirt enough, followed by the skirt as well.
Tonks told her, "They were bought in muggle London and are a size twelve, so
you must need a size ten." She picked up the bra and said, "Okay, this is a
size 32 B, let's try it and I will adjust it once on."
Harry nodded and turned her back to Tonks and removed the towel and let it drop
to the floor at her feet. She accepted the bra and asked, "Do I just place my
arms in the straps and pull it up before shoving my breasts into the cups?"
Tonks nodded and replied, "Yeah, that's right and once you have done that I
will show you how to fasten it up before showing you a useful little trick."
Harry put her arms into the thin satin straps, pulled it towards her chest, and
adjusted her breasts inside of the cups until they were covered. She frowned as
she asked, "Is that Normal?" Tonks said, "Turn around and let me see." Harry
turned keeping the bra in place with her hands, and Tonks took one look and
instantly knew the problem. She noticed not all Harry's breast fit inside of
the cup, or at least what part of it should have.
"I think the bra size needs to be a 34 instead of 32, as for the cup size, it
could do with going up to a C instead of a B." She added, "Turn around and face
the mirror and let me fasten the hooks, watch as I do it." Harry did and
watched in the mirrors reflection as Tonks fastened the hooks with familiar
ease and a well-practiced hand after years of wearing a bra herself. Harry
nodded and figured she understood how that part worked at least.
Harry turned back around to face Tonks, who nodded and pointed her wand and
with a flick of her wrist and muttered Engorgio as she cast an enlargement
charm. Harry could feel the bra and cups increasing in size, until the material
covered what was supposed to be. She adjusted the cups with her hands and was
pleased to note how much more comfortable it felt and how much better with
proper support, she could already feel some of the pressure had left her back.
Tonks nodded again and said, "Yeah that's more like, 34C, but we will double
check at both, Madame Malkins and when we are in muggle London to. It always
pays to double check these things. You need all of the comfort and support you
can possibly get, especially with the whole concept of wearing a bra being so
new to you."
She retrieved the tank top from where she left it and handed it to Harry. Harry
took it and slipped it over her head before she pulled it down. It came to rest
just an inch or so above her navel, so you could see a little hint of her
stomach. Tonks noticed how it was a little baggie around the shoulders and
needed slightly enlarging in the chest area and said, "Yeah, definitely a size
ten Harry." With a flick of her wand, she muttered Reducio and the shoulders
shank, and a muttered Engorgio to the chest area increased the size slightly.
She picked up and handed Harry the denim jacket that matched the skirt she
wore. Harry took it and slipped it on, and took in the four golden coloured
round popper buttons on the front of the jacket, while the cuffs had two each.
Tonks pointed her wand again, muttered Reducio, and shrunk the jacket down to
the size of the other clothes.
She then reached down picked up the shoes off the floor and placed them in
front of Harry. Harry stepped into them and took a few steps and frowned
slightly and said, "I think they need shrinking a size or two, Tonks." Tonks
pointed her wand and shrunk the shoes and nodded as Harry comfortably took a
few steps and smiled as she said, "That did it." Tonks returned the nod and
said, "They were a size eight, which makes you a size seven seeing I only
shrunk them down a size, but we will still get it all checked out when we reach
London."
Tonks finally stood back further enough to take in the finished result of the
full outfit and shoes. She let out a low whistle as she took in the flat and
toned stomach, the hourglass figure, curves in all of the right places, namely
her hips. Her legs made Tonks feel slightly envious at how slim, toned and how
never endingly long they are. Luck did not begin to cover having those legs,
which looked beyond amazing in that skirt. The skirt in question that rested
and cradled her hips stunningly. The bra on the other hand did its job
amazingly, making her breasts look fabulous. Harry had amazing breasts, big as
someone who wore size twelve or fourteen clothing, yet she wore a size ten.
Tonks asked her to turn around so she could see the full effect and let loose
another low whistle. She smirked knowingly as she noted how the jacket reached
her waist, whilst hugging her figure perfectly. The skirt as she had noted
before clung perfectly to her rounded hips and small and pert backside. Yes,
Harry was stunning, she would surely be beating wizards and even a few witches
off with a big stick looking as she did.
Harry turned back around and smirked as she commented playfully, "Will I pass?"
Tonks laughed as she replied, "Pass, ha, you more than pass, you are smokin hot
Harry. I can see you are going to be very popular and attract a lot of wizards
and even a few witches' attentions with that body and your stunning face."
She added excitedly, "All we need to do now is dry your hair and put it in a
high ponytail and put on a little make-up and you will be good to go." Harry
rolled her eyes as she asked playfully, "Why do I get the sudden impression
that I have just officially become your own personal Barbie doll?" Tonks
grinned widely and replied cheerfully, "Oh yeah, you can count on it, and the
best part is I will even work and get you to walk like a pro in high heels by
the time of your wedding day. You my dear will walk down that aisle in heels
you mark my words."
Harry rolled her eyes again as she chuckled and asked, "How come I have never
seen you show this kind of interest in Fleur or even Ginny and Hermione?" Tonks
returned the chuckle and replied, "I would never dream of telling a Veela how
to dress and do her hair and make-up, quarter Veela or not.” She paused to
share a knowing smirk with the younger witch before she added. “As for Ginny,
well, with a mother like Molly Weasley she is very restricted, I am betting on
Ginny not have full rein to do as she pleases until she moves out from under
the same roof as her mother.”
She paused before adding around a wider smirk as she said, "Finally, Hermione,
I do not know whether you have noticed, but she is more for books and homework
and going to the library then shopping and make-up. However, hey if you are
willing to help, then I suppose we could make move on her and see what we can
do. In the very least she could refuse, but then again does she not have her
eye on Fred Weasley?" Harry nodded and replied, "True, which might be enough of
an incentive to make her play along."
Tonks rubbed her hands together and pointed her wand at Harry, first casting a
charm that let loose hot air that dried and made Harry's hair feel all warm.
Then she used a de-tangling charm to rid of any knots and tangles from her hair
so it would be easier to brush and put in a ponytail. She made a mental note to
teach Harry the correct words and wand movements for the charms so she could
use them. What witch never needed to use those charms that had long hair?
Tonks went over to her bag and removed a big black brush, along with a purple
coloured scrunchie. She told Harry to sit down on the closed toilet lid for
easier access. Once Harry sat, she started to work the brush through the long
strands of hair. She marvelled at how long and thick it is and beautifully soft
and glossy it was. The kind of hair you love to run your fingers through that
you spent all day brushing until it shone. She took the scrunchie and used the
brush to pull the strands of hair up into a high ponytail at the back of
Harry's head before brushing the tail until it was pin-straight and soft.
Tonks placed the brush back in the bag and quickly arranged Harry's bangs over
her scar, knowing the younger witch loathed having it on show for all to see,
not that she could honestly blame her or would ever hold it against her.
Besides, they did not need anyone in the wizarding world who was not close to
or trusted by Harry seeing the scar with Harry looking as she did. They wanted
to keep it to themselves for as long as possible, even though they knew that
could not last long as the world would soon start asking where their boy
saviour had gone.
Tonks next told Harry to remove her glasses, while she retrieved blusher,
mascara, eyeliner and lip gloss from her bag. Tonks grinned and said, "Now for
the best part in my opinion." She continued as she walked back over to the
toilet where Harry sat waiting, "Oh and Harry word of advice only use magic on
your hair if you are in a hurry or as a last resort. Do not worry, it will not
damage your hair, say for example make it fall out, it is just not as great as
doing it the muggle way on a regular basis."
Harry nodded and replied, "Ok I guess no magic on my hair unless I am in a
hurry or as a last resort. However, I can use that de-tangling charm, I mean
seriously with hair as long as mine imagine how tangled it will get when I get
out of the shower, you saw for yourself what a tangled up mess it was. Surely
you would not make me suffer every time I have to wash my hair."
Tonks smirked and answered, "Suffer every time you wash your hair Harry,
honestly you make it sound as if you suffer with a knotted birds nest, which is
very much the opposite." She added, "How about a compromise, you only uses the
de-tangling charm if you have a date or if you have somewhere important or posh
to be. A part from that you are to use a brush and hair-dryer, or just let it
dry naturally, it will not kill you Harry. Plus muggles have made a shampoo
that does half of the job when it comes to de-tangling they call it conditioner
that is used after shampooing." Harry rolled her eyes and waved Tonks off.
Tonks went back over to the bag to grab her make-up bag. "I forgot to grab the
brush for the blusher," she explained to Harry. Tonks came back over and opened
the lid on a nude coloured powder based blush, and dipped it into the powder
and explained to Harry, "Okay, now Harry this goes on the apples of your
cheeks."
She purses her lips, making her cheekbones stand out more, which Harry repeated
the action. Tonks smoothed the brush against the cheekbone in a upwards motion
and commented, "This Harry is how you apply blusher without looking like a
muggle clown in the process or like you have a nasty case of sunburn." She
added, "The way to tell if you are wearing too much or the tone is wrong for
your skin tone and type, it will stand out terribly, unlike the subtle glow and
colour to your cheeks it is supposed to provide."
Harry nodded taking in the information as Tonks moved onto her other cheekbone
and continued to give Harry tips. "Eye shadow and foundation should only be
worn mainly during the evening or if you have some kind of blemishes or dark
shadows underneath your eyes you wish to cover, in that case you should use a
concealer, make sure to get it as close as possible to your own skin tone."
She went on, "Same principle goes for lipstick when it comes to more dark and
dramatic make-up." She paused to make sure Harry's cheekbones looked the same
and that one did not look darker or lighter than its twin did. She continued,
"Primer should be applied before any other make-up, it helps the make-up to
last longer. Some fill in lines and pores to give make-up a smoother
appearance, some are used on oily skin, even have colour correcting properties
to tone down your skin if you have redness or sallow looking skin. There are
even primers for the whole face, for the eyes, and for the lips."
She nodded once satisfied with the blusher and continued talking. "Powder or
liquid foundation after a primer has been applied can give a little more of a
smooth and flawless appearance. The trick is to make sure you cover your whole
forehead, face and down to your neck and collar bone, but remember to use it
very sparingly and lightly, especially on your neck and collar bone."
She concluded, "The trick to balancing out your look is to make certain you
never have dark and dramatic eye make-up and painted lips at the same time, not
unless you are going for a gothic or very dramatic evening look. If you have
smoky eye make-up then use nude coloured lipstick or just a pale or clear
gloss. For a less dramatic eye make-up you can use a darker and more dramatic
coloured lipstick."
Harry looked a little overwhelmed and Tonks chuckled clearly seeing this and
said reassuringly, "Relax Harry, we have plenty of time to teach you all that
you need to know, and does not have to be all today and at once, you will have
years to learn and perfect a style and technique that suits you." Harry nodded
looking relieved at hearing this, as she realised being a female was more
complicated then she first thought.
She watched as Tonks closed the lid on the blusher and placed it back in her
bag with the brush. She then picked up the eyeliner off the side of the sink
where she had left it. She told Harry to look up slightly as she removed the
lid. It was a mid-black colour, which she carefully drew a thin line across the
water line underneath the eye. She carefully smudges it to add to the effect
and make Harry's green eyes stand out, before repeating the same process on her
other eye.
She replaced the lid on the pencil and threw it back into the bag before taking
out a pure midnight black coloured mascara. Tonks instructed Harry, "Now at
first this can be alarming and you might be worried about being poked in the
eye, but I promise if you try not to blink and not make any sudden movements we
will be just fine." Naturally, Harry looked dubious, but sat still.
Tonks unscrewed the wand applicator and pulled it out of the thick tube, which
is when Harry noted the brush applicator was very thick and just as wide. She
stayed still as best as she could as Tonks used one hand on Harry's chin to
keep her head still, while the other held the wand applicator. She moved the
brush back and forth through Harry's already long and thick lashes, which the
mascara only made look twice as thick and long and really made her eyes pop
stunningly. She repeated the same process with the other eye until she was
completely satisfied. Tonks looked satisfied as she pushed the applicator back
into the tube and twisted it shut and threw it back in her bag.
Finally, she took a tube of lip-gloss from where she had left it on the side of
the sink. It was a pale and shiny pearl pink colour, which Tonks knew would
look amazing on Harry's full looking lips. She unscrewed and pulled the
applicator out of the tube and pumped it in and out of the tube once before
placing one hand back on Harry's chin and the other smoothed the tipped
applicator first over the bottom lip followed by her top lip. Tonks happily
noted how the colour and shine really made Harry's lower lip look attractively
plump giving her the perfect pout.
She looked satisfied as she replaced the applicator back in the tube and
twisted it shut. She then took a step back from Harry and placed the tube back
in her bag. She commented, "All done, it's amazing what a little make-up
applied just right can accomplish." She concluded, "You can go and take a look
in the mirror now."
Harry stood up, walked over to the sink, and looked into the mirror above the
sink. What she found staring back at her after putting her glasses back on
amazed her. The eye make-up really made her green eyes seem larger and
brighter, looking almost luminous. While the blusher enhanced her cheekbones
stunningly and the lip-gloss plumped up her lips and made them shiny, which she
loved. She loved what she saw and wondered what complete make-up would look
like and not just the bare minimal amount she wore right then.
With one last glance at her reflection, she picked up her contract lenses case
from the side of the sink before she turned to face Tonks and smiled. She said,
"Thanks, I need all the help and advice I can get at this point, and you will
have to show me how to apply a softer and more subtle look for when I am at
Hogwarts." Tonks nodded and replied, "Of course I will show you at some point
how to apply make-up suitable to wear during a school day."
Harry suddenly growled irritably as she asked, "Shall we go and face the firing
squad, my very own personal firing squad?" Tonks laughed as she asked, "Do you
plan on actually changing them back when we return to the lounge?" Harry let
out a bark like laugh and proclaimed vehemently, "Hell no, not a chance, they
are going to stay like that and silenced until I have had my own say. Without
the silencing charm I would not get a word in edge ways, they will dominate the
entire conversation with their self righteous crap about how I am so
irresponsible."
Tonks cringed and inwardly growled in frustration at her husband and cousin,
having warned them to tread very carefully, that they were dealing with a
completely different breed of Harry Potter. Did they listen, hell no? The fact
Harry silenced them and they now looked the way they did attest to as much.
Tonks could not help but honestly admire what Harry had done, and knew James
Potter would have been beyond proud and imagined he would have gotten a kick
out of it. She knew if her husband and cousin were not the ones on the
receiving end they too would have loved it and been proud of her. Harry was
without a doubt the daughter and goddaughter of two Marauders.
Harry collected her clothing off the floor and took her wand from the side of
the sink, before aiming a cleaning charm at them. She folded each item quickly
and draped over her arm, before she followed Tonks out of the bathroom. She
knew the time had come to face Sirius and Remus and she was not looking forward
to it, but knew she could no longer avoid it. She hoped they did not test her
patients anymore than they already had, otherwise a silencing and colour charm
and some Transfiguration would be the very least of their problems.
When she entered the other room Cedric made a startled choking sound in the
back of his throat, which had Tonks smirking knowingly, the man was practically
drooling over himself at the sight of Harry. Sirius and Remus had noticed this
as well and smirked knowingly at Cedric, who flushed and refused to meet their
gaze. He supposed this was their form of payback for him laughing at them
earlier.
Harry walked into the bedroom area and placed her things inside of the trunk
and picked up her hoody from earlier on, making sure to bend in a certain way
unless flash everyone what was underneath her skirt, which was a little on the
short side. It was not so bad with Cedric seeing it, he would see it all at
some point, but Sirius and Remus were a different matter altogether. She did
not want them seeing her newly reinstated assets anymore than she figured they
wanted to see them.
She took her money pouch out of the pocket of the hoody and placed it in the
pocket of her new denim jacket. She then placed the hoody along with her
clothing from earlier on and her trainers in her trunk after aiming her wand
and muttered a quick Scourgify at them, so they did not end up making her trunk
stink. She shut the lid after grabbing some chocolate, and muttering
Colloportus as she cast a locking charm on the trunk.
She straightening up to her full height and walked back into the sitting area.
First she handed Cedric a piece of the chocolate and then to Tonks, before
placing the last piece in her own mouth. She sucked on the chocolate and
muttered, "I do not share my chocolate, particularly a birthday present with
those who keep things from me.” She narrowed her eyes as she continued to add,
“I definitely do not share when they shoot their gobs off at me, telling me how
irresponsible I am, regardless that I sent a letter beforehand. You do not take
into consideration I well could have just gone ahead and left without informing
you as to where I was going, and I assure you that I am pissed enough to have
done just that."
She paused before adding, "Cedric I can forgive, due to the fact he has good
looks going for him, he also somewhat redeemed himself when he slipped me an
important piece of information about Ginny." She smirked slightly as she went
on, "Besides I wager when I marry him and I survive this war, if I survive it,
then we will have the rest of our lives to argue and hold grudges against one
and other for some offence or other." Cedric snorted and nodded knowingly,
knowing it was all too true, it would happen most likely as she just described,
he knew it.
They watched as Harry scowled as she reached up to adjust her glasses when they
slipped down the bridge of her nose. No matter the fact, she had cast a
shrinking charm they still slipped down her nose. If one thing could prove this
was in fact Harry Potter, besides her eyes and the scar on her forehead, it was
the familiar round framed glasses. The scowl was familiar to, especially to
those who at one point had been on the receiving end of it.
Harry grumbled to Tonks, "Seriously I need to see a magical optician, these are
still too big for my face, and that's even after the shrinking charm I cast on
them earlier." Cedric removed his wand from his jean pocket, pointed his wand
at Harry's glasses and muttered, "Reducio" causing them to shrink down enough
to fit. He said, "They will have to do until you can replace them with new
ones."
She nodded her thanks before she said, "Alright, let's get this out in the open
shall we, because those letters did not even begin to scratch the surface of
the proverbial iceberg." Cedric went to stand so she could have his seat when
she paused, but she waved him off and said, "Stay where you are, I would sooner
stand, pacing helps me to think. Plus if I have to sit at that table with those
two right now, I will either hex them worse than they already are right now, or
I will kick the crap out of their ankles and shins from underneath the table."
Cedric winced and settled back in the chair, while Sirius and Remus looked
caught between being livid and resigned to how the proceedings were going to
go, whether they liked it or not. Tonks had warned them that female Harry would
not react how male Harry had. Sirius and Remus had not listened, Sirius
especially, and had wondered just how different could she be, this was Harry?
Apparently, a lot different they were unfortunately just finding out.
Harry started to pace as she began and said, "Let us start with the fact that
this is my life, regardless of the fact that old goat of a Headmaster seems to
think that my life is forfeit as long as it is for the greater good. He pulls
my strings like a damn puppet, while the rest of you are like chess pieces on
his very life-like chessboard." She paused to gather her thoughts, and choose
her words to make the most impact.
She added, "I am not going to win this war for any of you, nor the Order or
Albus Dumbledore, especially not for him. Not even for this ungrateful and
fickle world, who sooner turn on me, yet are kissing my ass moments later." She
shook her head as she added, "I am winning this war for me, for my children and
for the next generation of witches and wizards. I want them to grow up in a
world that is not being terrorized by that psychopath and his sack of snake
shit eaters. I promise you this is not their world to claim their time is fast
running out."
She paused as she eyed them each in turn before saying, "If it is the last
thing I am ever going to do, as I have already informed Tonks, I am going train
this new body and get in the best of shape. I am going to return this world to
its people, to the innocent, those worth saving. Show the people it is alright
to fight back for what they believe in, fight for their world, for their
children's future."
She paused again, knowing what she said next will shock them, but they needed
to hear it. She commented, "I honestly would not be surprised if Albus
Dumbledore plans to sends me to my death, like an animal to the slaughter."
Tonks gasped and said, "That is harsh, Harry." Harry growled in reply, "No, it
really is not, it is not bloody harsh enough, not even damn close." It really
was not harsh enough and she could honestly not express that enough.
Harry started to pace again as she ranted, "That man only gives a damn about
ending this war, but I feel that after enduring two wars and in the middle of
his third, that he has lost sight of the difference between his version of the
greater good and what is truly for the greater good." She shook her head as she
asked, "Where does his version and the actual true greater good begin and end?"
She closed her eyes and said, "As for Professor Snape, how long do you think it
will be before his luck finally runs out and he loose his life after being
caught spying? I am by no means a fan of his, or he mine, but I have to wonder
where the Hogwarts Professor begins and the Death Eater spy ends?" She paused
for a moment before saying, "I do not have to like him in order to respect him
and think him a hero. It takes a hero to risk his life for a course every day,
and yet what does he ask for or get back in return, I imagine very little
indeed?" She concluded, "Did anyone ever bother to wonder what drives him to do
what he does, or how many times I would have been dead if he had not been
there?"
She remained silent for a moment as she took in the stunned expressions on
everyone's faces, the exact effect she had been hoping for and had succeeded.
"You know what I really resent Albus Dumbledore for the most out of everything
else? I wager my parents, my father in particular, he will haunt him for it
until his dying day, even when he is finally dead, which is that he sent me to
live with the Dursley's. I resent that he made me stay there with those
repulsive excuses for human beings."
She added coldly, "I bet he was aware that my parents expressed in their
letters that they wanted me to go to either the Weasley's or to the Diggory's
if Sirius for some reason or other could not take me in and raise me. I told
Tonks in the bathroom that both of my parents said in their letters that I was
under no circumstances to go to the Dursleys.”
She paused and pursed her lips in a firm line before revealing, “I already
mentioned some of my father’s expressed opinion, but he went as far to claim he
thought the Dursleys were disgusting." She paused once more before concluding,
"My mother on the other hand called her sister jealous and magic loathing, and
my uncle a repugnant pig."
Harry finally stopped her pacing as remembered hers and Tonks conversation
about the older witch’s marriage to Remus. She could not help but snarl as she
said, "And apparently because of security reason and I was needed to strengthen
the blood wards around Private Drive, I missed the wedding of someone who is
like a second godfather to me and another who is like an older sister." The
others looked decidedly uncomfortable and somewhat guilty, and unable to meet
her gaze head on.
She suddenly smirked very coldly as she added, "I wonder if the Headmaster is
aware that during fourth year there was a blood ritual to bring Voldie back to
a body, whether it be human or not." She paused only to continue just as
coldly, "Oh I am certain he remembered me mentioning it, but do you think it
has occurred to him how Voldie regained a new body, and what was required in
order for the ritual to work?"
She continued as she noticed how the others looked positively ashen, and said,
"He needed the bones of his father, the sacrifice of a servant or an alley
given willingly, and finally, the blood of an enemy taken by force." She
stopped speaking as she grinned, a somewhat nasty glint having entered her eyes
as she finally commented, "I will give you two guesses as to who was tied to
the grave of Tom Riddle senior, the enemy whose blood was taken by force, the
second guess does not count, trust me you won’t need it."
Cedric paled and exclaimed, "Yours! He has your blood running through his
veins." Harry nodded as Tonks gasped and exclaimed, "But if ‘He Who Must Not Be
Named’ has your blood, yet the blood wards up around Private Drive are left
over from your mother's sacrifice, would that not make the wards useless, how
the hell is that supposed to work?" Tonks frowned thinking that Voldemort
having Harry's blood must have made the wards worthless would it not.
Harry replied, "Hell if I know. I imagine the Death Eaters cannot get to me,
but he sure as hell can. I mean seriously how powerful he must be, to the point
that do you seriously think any wards put up will hold him back for long. No
offence to whoever put them up, but come on please face facts here." She added,
"Hell if it is down to my blood strengthening those wards, along with my aunts,
then why does the Headmaster not ask Voldie to come and sit in and strengthen
the wards in my place, allowing me to get on with my life? I imagine my uncle
would feel right at home with him, right at home."
Cedric choked back a laugh at the sarcasm in his fiancées voice, while Tonks
looked hard pressed to not giggle or reprimand Harry for making such wisecracks
about such a thing. Sirius and Remus could not help be caught between disbelief
and horror. The fact she could make comments like that about Voldemort getting
into Private Drive shows just how much love she did not feel for her relatives.
Sirius pointed to his throat and Remus nodded, which caused Harry to raise a
brow and ask, "Can you both be trusted to not start gobbing at me as I do not
need it and have enough on my plate as it is?" Sirius and Remus quickly nod in
agreement, they would agree to most things if it meant having the infernal
silencing charm lifted. They hope she would see fit to remove her other handy
work to, which was uncertain with this new version of Harry.
Harry sighed as she lifted her wand, and informed them clearly, "Fine, but let
me tell you this now, if either one of you starts I will silence the pair of
you again." She waved her wand and reversed the charm, first on Remus and then
Sirius. Sirius asked, "What about the humiliating getup?" Harry snorted and
replied, "It is meant to be humiliating that is entirely the point, ha, and do
not push me or go getting ahead now Sirius, I am still not ready to play nice
just yet."
She paused before telling him, "I might when I come to terms with the fact I
now have breasts and a vagina." She added, "Then there is Ginny to deal with,
whatever she decides to throw at me regardless that it is not my fault.
Apparently she has plans to ask me to take her virginity, well unfortunately
for her I no longer have the urge or even the correct equipment required to do
the deed and get the job done."
She smirked darkly as she concluded, "In fact I am strongly contemplating on
whether I do or do not wish to set her loose on you two," she pointed at a very
flustered Sirius and Remus. Sirius looked decidedly uncomfortable, while Remus
looked more than a tad mortified. Both inwardly shuddered at the thought of
what the red hair Weasley female would say and do, hell what Molly Weasley
would do to them for not trying to prevent her precious daughter from emotional
harm.
Tonks exchanged a glance with Cedric, who looked all too knowing. She cringed
in sympathy for Harry and for Ginny, knowing that was a disaster just waiting
to happen. She had not missed the look on Cedric's face and assumed this was
what he had warned Harry about, and as Harry said, somewhat redeemed himself.
Harry looked pained and grimaced as she said, "Usually I would not be that
forthcoming about this, just in case it somehow got back to her parents and her
brothers. Yet I am this time, because I know nothing can come of this. Someone
needs to stop her before she ends up humiliated, which I do not want that for
her, regardless of the fact I am no longer in love with her anymore. Sure I
still love her, but I am just not certain in what way anymore, only that it is
not romantic."
Sirius inquired, "So not only did you lose your manhood but your attraction to
all witches, Ginny included in the process?" Harry nodded before making her way
over to her trunk and disabled the locking charm, before lifting the lid and
dug deep inside until she found what she was looking for. She made her way back
over to the lounge and placed the magazine down in front of Sirius on the
table.
He looked at the magazine and the other three moved to see as well. "I do not
feel anything, nothing whatsoever when I look at that, nothing" she informed
them firmly. Tonks grimaced from over Remus's shoulder, while the man in
question blushed brightly. Sirius on the other hand eyed the cover with
interest, yet cringed in sympathy for his goddaughter.
Cedric asked her, "Is this what Fred and George sent to you?" Harry nodded and
replied, "Yeah, but I do not hold it against them as they were not to know that
they were sending it to a witch, a heterosexual witch at that." Remus grimaced
deeply as Harry added, "You know, in fact, I should be thanking them, through I
honestly doubt Ginny will want to. If it were not for them I think I would have
been at a disadvantage in regards to their baby sister if they had not sprung
that on me." She pointed to the magazine, which Sirius still eyed and drooled
over, his interest well and truly peaked.
Cedric eyed Harry then the witch on the cover, then right back to Harry, yet
did not glance back at the magazine again as if he had come to a silent
agreement over which witch held the most appeal. Apparently, the witch on the
cover was found wanting, then again she is blonde, bottle blonde at that, while
both Harry and Cho are dark haired, he definitely preferred dark hair. This was
the conclusion in which Tonks and Remus had come to as they shared an amused
glance.
On the other hand, they shared a look of disgust when they saw that Sirius was
practically nose-to-nose with the witch on the cover, which had Remus kicking
him in the shin, and still wearing the platforms meant it was by no means a
love tap. Sirius yelped and shot a dark glower at Remus, who shot him a dirty
look in return. Truly sometimes, he really did despair when it came to his long
time friend.
Harry sniggered and rolled her eyes as she drawled, "Thank you Dogfather for
making it apparent that you want to shag the fake trash on the cover. I on the
other hand want nothing more than to tell her to cover up and put them away, to
learn some self-respect. To get a job with a requirement to keep all of your
clothes on in less arrested for indecent exposure."
Remus and Tonks laughed, while Cedric grinned and shook his head, Sirius on the
other hand looked caught between amusement and annoyance. He had a feeling he
knew where she had gotten the term Dogfather from, he could really curse the
prat if he was not already dead, and Merlin bless his soul. Of course Prongs
would let his daughter know that, of course he would be more than happily
provide her with all the knowledge to annoy him as best as he could.
Tonks suddenly said, "You know Harry I reckon she is only four or so cup sizes
bigger than you are." Harry laughed and replied, "Yeah, four cup sizes Tonks,
that is the point, and mine are the genuine deal, and thank Merlin they did not
end up as big as her fake monstrosities. They are so awful, oh my god, Tonks."
Tonks giggled, knowing Harry's reaction would be entertaining, which is why she
had pointed it out.
Sirius eyed Harry and grimaced as he realised his cousin unfortunately had a
point, he turned away as he said, "You are really quite gifted in all
departments Harry, I am more than kind of worried about the attention you will
no doubt receive because of that." He was not joking it really did worry him,
he knew Cedric would have to constantly deal with his fiancée being ogled
something he knew the younger wizard was not going to take too kindly to.
Remus added, "You still have James' features only much more soften down, but
your figure is definitely all Lily from what I can remember." Sirius chuckled
and added, "Yeah, your mother was gorgeous, your dad was a lucky man, and
Cedric is equally as lucky, as you my dearest goddaughter are stunning." This
caused Harry to blush and wave her godfather off as she complained, "Oh stop
it."
Cedric added, "You know what I am glad I am not having the issue I was worried
of having." Harry asked, "Which is?" Cedric grimaced as he admitted, "I was
worried that I would end up constantly comparing you and Cho after I first
found out three years ago what would happen to you. However, I found you are
everything she is not, while she is everything you are not. I think the only
thing you have in common with her is your dark and long hair, plus you are both
seekers, well were in her case." (In this story, I am making Cho a year older
than Harry but a year younger than Cedric)
What Cedric was not about to admit to for all of the gold in Gringotts,
especially to Cho, was the fact when compared to Harry he found her wanting.
Cho had both parents who had been there to bring her up, a solid silver spoon
placed firmly in her mouth. Her father doted on his daughter and gave her
everything she wanted or asked for, practically every whim was indulged, this
he knew from having met her parents ever since his fifth year.
This had made her from time to time a little selfish and self-centred, who did
not appreciate that some things in life you just had to earn and not just
handed over. The only things Cho had ever made a true effort to work for in her
life was her grades and her position on the Quidditch team, everything else had
been handed to her when she should have been made to work for it.
Cho could be very insecure and possessive, for example if she had seen Cedric
looking at that Play Wizard magazine she would have started self obsessing over
the size of her chest and the rest of her body, was her nose too big, was she
not pretty, she would fish for compliments. Cho was not a terrible person, but
been spoilt by her father, she could not help that she had grown up with her
every desire at her fingertips, which was the doing of her parents.
She figured her father's wealth would guarantee her a future in any career, but
what she did not seem to realise was that she only had herself and her brains
to rely on. She took her intelligence for granted just because she was a
Ravenclaw, yet despised Hermione, the Gryffindor, because her grades were
better than hers were. Cedric knew Hermione practically worked her fingers to
the bone and practically absorbed knowledge like a sponge.
Cedric had never been in love with Cho, not because he had chosen not to be,
but because he had avoided getting into any real intimate situations with her.
He took her to the Yule Ball because he had fancied her a lot. He had had only
been informed of his betrothal to Harry after the second task when his father
had noticed Cho had been the one he rescued from the bottom of the lake, the
one he would miss the most.
That had alarmed his father, who had warned his son to not develop any romantic
attachment to either Cho or anyone else for that matter, or else end up hurting
them in the end. His father had done what Harry had wanted Sirius and Remus to
do, he had been discouraged from dating and unknowingly leading them on, which
Harry had wanted to avoid with Ginny.
Cedric had discovered since eight this morning that Harry had spunk to her and
took no shit or prisoners. Oh yeah, and that she was beautiful, smokin hot
even, more than a little bit foxy. Cho on the other hand was very pretty with
her oriental complexion and dark almond shaped eyes and her long dark hair. He
had not been kidding when he had said that Harry was everything Cho is not.
Harry was very gifted in the body department, while Cho was not. Harry had
compassion and a drive to fight for what was right, which Cho also did not.
Harry was fierce and self-dependent, while Cho relied too much on her father,
her intelligence and her looks. Harry was an excellent seeker the youngest in a
century, Cho was a great seeker but lacked Harry's natural talent on a broom.
He had avoided getting too close to Cho, and tried to remain as friends, but at
times was made difficult due to Cho being in love with him and making no such
secret of it either. He did not want or like leading her on anymore then Harry
did Ginny. He did not want to lose her friendship, but he knew something would
seriously have to give once she found out exactly who now wore his grandma
Diggory's engagement ring.
Harry asked, "How is she since her encounter with your father and your grandma
Diggory's engagement ring?" Remus frowned and asked, "Oh, what's this I hear?"
Cedric explained what he had told Harry at breakfast, which caused Tonks to
gasp and place a hand over her mouth in disbelief, while Sirius grimaced and
said, "Ah yes, good ole Amos always was bold as brass." Remus's frown deepened
as he added, "Yes he is, and also unfortunately lacking in the tact and
subtlety departments to."
Tonks asked, "Speaking of engagement rings what does this ring look like that
Amos had Cho in tears, I barely got a glimpse in the bathroom?" Harry lifted
her left hand showing them the ring, causing Sirius and Remus to nod and let
out whistles of appreciation. Tonks on the other hand took hold of her hand in
her own and took a closer look, before she winced and commented
sympathetically, "Oh yeah, no wonder she was in tears, this is positively
gorgeous."
Remus said, "That will go beautifully with Lily's wedding ring." Cedric asked
surprised, "You have your mother's wedding ring?" Harry replied, "Yeah, I have
my dad's to, even their wands as well." Cedric looked stunned as he asked not
quite sure he heard correctly, "Their wands?" Harry grinned and replied, "Wait
a minute, just let me go over to my trunk I have them there."
She stood and walked back over to her trunk and returned a few moments later
with two boxes, which she placed down upon the table. Cedric reached out for
the wedding rings and asked, "May I?" Harry nodded and said, "Sure go ahead, it
is only the box containing the wands you cannot touch. Only the heir or those
with Potter blood can, anyone else would not be able because of a spell cast on
it that is used to distract, I guess you have heard of it?" Cedric nodded and
replied, "Yes, I have heard of it, they use something similar around Hogwarts
to repel any muggles."
Harry opened the box containing the wands as Cedric picked up the box with the
wedding rings, and took out James' ring and studied the plain white golden
ring. He turned it in a circular motion with his fingers, watching as the
expensive metal gleamed clearly having been polished and buffed up recently. He
asked, "Do you mind if I try it on?" Harry shrugged and replied, "Sure, go
ahead, it is not like it will bite you or anything?"
Cedric smirked as he slipped the ring onto his left ring finger, and wiggled it
slightly when he felt the metal become warm against his skin. The charm cast on
the ring to make it shrink or enlarge to suit the needs of the wearer evidently
been activated. Cedric felt it shrink one size smaller, his fingers not only
being slightly longer then James Potter's, but also slightly thinner to.
Cedric murmured, "Wow, that looks and feels really strange, but I like the look
of it, it is comfortable and has a classic look about it." Harry raised a brow
and asked, "So I am right in assuming we will be using my parent's rings?"
Cedric smirked and replied, "I would say so, seeing as you dad's ring has just
adjusted to fit me." He showed her his hand proving what he said to be correct,
as there it clearly rested comfortably and perfectly on his finger.
Sirius nodded to Cedric's hand and said, "That is Cedric's ring now, was the
moment the resizing charm was activated." Remus took the box and removed the
remaining ring and offering it to Harry as he said, "Here put it on and it will
activate the resizing charm, meaning one less charm to activate on the actual
day." He wondered what it was going to look like, he noted James' ring looked
just as much at home on Cedric's finger as it had James', and knew his friend
would have approved wholeheartedly of its new owner.
Harry accepted her mother's wedding ring from Remus before removing her
engagement ring and placed it down on the table in front of her. She then
slipped the ring onto her finger and felt slightly nervous as the resizing
charm activated, causing her finger to go warm as she watched the ring visibly
shrink down to what felt like only a single size to Harry. Apparently, her
fingers were not only slightly longer but also slightly thinner to.
Harry eyed the ring closely as did Remus, who nodded to himself, noting the
ring looked just as perfect and at home on her finger as it had her mothers.
Harry asked Remus, "What do you mean when you mentioned one less charm to be
activated on the actual day?" She shook her head thinking how different muggle
and wizarding rings were, even if they did look the same.
Remus replied, "When wedding rings meant for a wizard and witch are made,
charms are permanently and magically embedded into the metal. One is a resizing
charm, while another is an anti-scratch and damage charm. Another is to join
the couple together, meaning they will always have a self-awareness of where
their spouse is. What they are feeling if the emotion is particularly strong in
nature, it does not mean you can read their thoughts, your spouse will not all
of a sudden become an open book to you."
He concluded, "The final charm will leave you sensitive to your spouse's
magical essence and signature, meaning you will know if they have cast magic
nearby. The stronger and more powerful your spouse is the stronger and more
sensitive you will be when it comes to sensing their magic. I wager Cedric,
that with Harry being powerful as she is you will never ever have any trouble
sensing her magic."
Cedric had a knowing glint in his eyes, already being able to sense her magic
without the charm as it was, it was that potent. He would honestly not be
surprised to learn he was not the only one who could feel it rolling off of her
practically in waves. He muttered loud enough for Remus to hear, "I do not need
a charm to sense her magic, hell she practically radiates with it as it is."
Remus nodded in agreement, knowing it was the truth.
Sirius suddenly sniggered and said, "Speaking of that charm, an example of how
strong it can be, your mother and father are a classical example. It was
because of that charm your mother always could tell when your father was up to
no good after they were married. When you father was feeling mischievous or
feeling anticipation they were always very strong emotions in your father,
strong enough for you mother to pick up on them."
Harry and the others laughed at hearing this and Remus chuckled knowingly,
thinking 'Poor Prongs never stood a chance' He said, "James would get
frustrated that more often than not after he married Lily she would bust him
and give him such grief for whatever he had done. And believe me your father
was a Marauder so he got up to no good on a regular basis like clockwork."
Tonks said, "Those charms will not be activated until you are exchanging
marriage vows to each other." She added, "The charm really does work, trust me
I pick up on emotions from Remus I would have least expected from him." This
caused everyone to chuckle, while Remus smiled sheepishly, knowing exactly what
she meant and was not saying out loud for the others, something that he was
truly glad for.
She suddenly looked excited and asked, "Hey why don't you try on your
engagement ring and see how it looks together with your wedding ring?" She
wanted to see if it looked as stunning as she imagined it would. Besides she
figured the sooner the younger witch got used to the sight of her engagement
ring and wedding ring placed together the better she would be this time next
year.
Harry smirked at Tonks as she picked up her engagement ring and placed it back
on with now she supposed her wedding ring. She studied what they looked like
together, and instantly knew Remus had of course been correct they did go
together beautifully. She suddenly realised looking at them together brought
home the fact that she really would be married this time next year, that's if
she survived up until her next birthday.
Cedric asked, "Are you alright, you have got this really peculiar expression on
your face?" This caused Harry to blink and lower her hand and remove both rings
before only placing her engagement ring back on. She placed her wedding ring
with a slightly shaking hand back into the box. She replied, "Yeah, I am fine,
it was just wearing them and seeing them both on top of each other brought home
and made me realise this time next year I will be married and will be
somebody's wife."
Tonks nodded and said in a knowing tone, "Oh yeah, it never really sunk in for
me either that I was married and somebody's wife, not until I looked down at my
wedding ring and engagement ring resting together the next day after the
wedding." She added, "In fact it has barely been a week since I married Remus,
so naturally I still have to remember to sign my name as Mrs. Lupin and not
Miss. Tonks."
Harry nodded as she fingered the Potter ring in an absentminded fashion,
twirling it around her finger, while her other hand did the same with her
locket. Sirius smiled at this and said, "It is really good to finally see you
wearing that locket and that ring encircling the finger of another Potter. They
have been in boxes for the last seventeen years, no one being able to touch the
Potter ring, not without a good hexing. Only the one with the correct blood and
the right was totally unaware of its existence."
Harry nodded and replied, "Yeah, you mentioned that in your letter." She asked,
"Were either of you or Remus aware of the pictures inside of the locket?" Remus
said, "I knew that there would at least be one picture of your parents inside."
He asked, "Why what else is in inside of the locket?" Harry smiled and opened
the locket and it began to play the tune she still swore was familiar but could
not remember why.
She angled the locket allowing the others to see. Everyone leaned forwards and
could see the picture on the left was of James, Lily, and a newborn Harry,
merely an hour old held in Lily's arms. The second picture on the right hand
side had them all laughing, and Sirius scowling playfully at Remus, who smirked
at the sight of the younger version of himself making bunny ears on top of the
younger Sirius's head.
Sirius said with more than a hint of nostalgia, "I had forgotten about that
picture, we would have been about nineteen maybe twenty there." Remus added,
"And that tune is of the song Lily used to sing to you each night in order to
get you to go to sleep. You could be a right terror when you wanted to be,
awfully stubborn if you did not agree with your mother about it being bedtime.
Lily often blamed your father that you had inherited his stubborn streak, which
he would remind her in return that she could be just as stubborn so was it
really any wonder you were to."
Tonks asked after everyone had finished chuckling, "Isn't that one of those
lockets that are charmed to hold up to six or seven photos, magic being used to
expand and make the locket bigger on the inside then it appears on the
outside?" She shook her head and went on, "They are really expensive and only
the richest of purebloods can afford to buy them." She concluded eyeing the
locket around Harry's neck, "You can even add a tune and protective charms as
well."
Sirius nodded and said, "It is, and Harry's can hold up to seven in total. It
works like chapters in a book, a miniature photo album on a chain. You just tap
it with your wand and it will show the third and fourth, and tap it again you
will see the fifth and sixth a final tap will reveal the seventh, double tap a
picture and it will return to the previous. I will show you another day how to
place or removes pictures."
Harry nodded and tapped her wand against the second picture and the picture
vanished and replaced with a blank oval space. She tapped it twice and it
returned to the pictures of Sirius and Remus and of her parents. She said,
"There are only two in here." Cedric commented, "Then that leaves you with five
to fill, just imagine what you could put in there."
Harry closed the locket with a gentle click and the music ceased. Harry tapped
the locket and sensed there was five different charms cast on it. She asked,
"There are five different charms been cast on this, I can sense them, but what
are they?" Remus informed her, "The first one your father cast and it will
protect you against almost all hexes, jinxes and dark spells. I cast the
second, it is an anti-breakable charm combined with an anti-theft. The best
part is that the charm combines the two instead of one or the other." He adds,
"The anti-theft part will give any who has intentions of stealing it a hexing
of their life."
Sirius added, "The next one was by me, which works as long as that locket is
around your neck, which will mask your magical signature and prevent anyone who
is not your spouse from tracking you. I am an Auror, they teach that to you
when you train at the academy. Your father knew it, Mad Eye and even Tonks know
how to cast it." He made a note to teach the spell to both Harry and Cedric.
He continued after a pause, "The fourth was cast by your godmother, it prevents
anyone trying to use Legilimency on you, creates a barrier around your mind,
similar principle to Occlumency, but only as long as you are wearing the
locket. I would strongly recommend learning both Occlumency and Legilimency,
the latter seeming dark, but I still think you could use it to your advantage."
He concluded, "Finally, your mother cast a charm that can not entirely hold off
the effects of the Cruciatus curse, but can dull down its effects to only a
minor amount of pain, example a mild migraine. It does the same for the
Imperius curse, gives you a chance to fight it off completely, which you can
already do. Unfortunately, there is no defence against Avada Kedavra; you are
stone cold dead if that hits you. All I can recommend is dodging and getting
the hell out the way before it can hit you."
Cedric grinned and said, "Merlin that locket can be considered a powerful and
magical object, not only is it charmed to act as a musical source, but also a
mini photo album. If that were not enough, you have the magic of three wizards
and two witches guarding you against hexes, jinxes, dark spells, even an anti-
theft and you cannot break it. However, best of all no one can track your
magical signature or essence, except probably me once we marry, which means no
one can find you unless you want to be. No one can mess about inside of your
head ever again either, what a blessing."
He concluded, "But what truly blows my mind is the fact you have a partial
defence against two of the three unforgivables. You are one seriously protected
witch, that combined with your magical and physical talents makes you a
formidable opponent." The very thought sent a shiver of something down his
spine that Cedric could not explain nor did he want to examine too closely,
only that it was by no means a bad feeling.
Tonks let out a low whistle and exclaimed, "Merlin, he is right!" She added,
"Imagine when you have completed your training, you will be as qualified as any
Auror, at least more so then a rookie. You would not even have to take the
formal training as the skills we will teach you over the next year are even
more extensive, intense and thorough then even the Auror Academy teaches."
Remus said, "You received a magical boost Harry, everyone gets one on their
seventeenth birthday. All depending on how powerful the wizard or witch was
before the boost the more you will notice and feel it.” He paused before
asking, “Has your magic felt any different since midnight Harry?"
Harry replied, "Ever since midnight I have been able to feel my magic
underneath the surface so to speak. Before was able to feel it, but not nearly
as strongly until I cast a spell." Sirius raised a brow and said, "If you can
feel your magic more dominantly without having to touch your wand or cast
anything, then that might mean you could very easily accomplish wandless
magic."
Remus looked thoughtful before asking Cedric to remove his wedding ring and
place it on the table, before he instructed Harry to make it float, then summon
it to her without using her wand. Cedric removed the ring and placed it on the
table before Harry placed her wand on the table. She lifted her wand hand, and
made the wand movements required for a hovering charm and muttered, "Wingardium
Leviosa." She grinned in delight as the others gasped as the ring slowly lifted
from the table and floated in mid-air. She then used the same movements for a
summoning charm and muttered, "Accio Cedric's wedding ring." She chuckled as
the ring quickly shot towards her and she caught it in her hand.
Tonks grinned and exclaimed excitedly, "That is amazing Harry! We will practice
that during the rest of the summer and the new school year, and we will start
you on none verbal spell casting, something that is taught in seventh year
anyway, but you will be getting a double dose. But do not worry we are going to
take it step by step, further than what is even taught at Hogwarts."
Harry said, "I can feel my magic practically flowing underneath my skin, like a
constant buzz. There has not been a moment since I turned seventeen when I have
not been able to feel and sense my magic. I never really thought much of it
until now as I was far too busy dealing with losing a penis and gaining a set
of breasts and a vagina. Even coming to terms with my betrothal and engagement
and finally there is the issue of Ginny to worry about."
Harry looked over at her fiancé and said, "You are looking a tad overwhelmed
over there." Cedric replied, "Harry, you can sense your magic flowing
underneath your skin, I cannot do that. I can only sense my magic without my
wand and can even cast and do it none verbally without a wand to a certain
extent, but it is not like a constant buzz underneath my skin Harry."
Sirius said, "You got that when you received your boost on your seventeenth
birthday, which means you are a powerful wizard, maybe not as powerful as Harry
or even Albus, but still powerful in your own right." He added after a pause
and asked, "So what have you been up to lately?" He asked that because he
wondered what the younger wizard had in common with his goddaughter.
Cedric replied, "I am due to finish my training this year to get my Masters in
Charms, and after that I plan on starting my Mastery in Defence against the
Dark Arts." He concluded, "Professor Flitwick is going to wait and promised to
hold on long enough for me to get my Masters in both Charms and DADA. He
figures he has about half a decade left in him before he gives up teaching, and
wants me to takeover when he leaves, which is when I will take over as Charms
Professor."
Harry grinned as she asked, "So I am eventually to marry both a Charms and DADA
Master as well a Professor?" Cedric grinned and replied, "That's the plan." He
asked, "What about you, what have you planned once you finally get rid of ‘You
Know Who’?" Harry told him, "The plan is to train as a Mediwitch and also get
my Masters in both DADA and Transfiguration." She paused before adding, "I have
talked to Madame Pomfrey, who believes she probably has another decade or so
left in her before she wants to retire and concentrate on her family." She
concluded, "This means she wants me to take over from her."
Tonks said, "Harry what we will teach you will work towards getting that
Masters in both DADA and Transfiguration. You have been working almost none
stop since the summer of your fifth year, which means you have completed almost
two years worth of training, which also means Christmas time next year you
could have only six months of training left before you have achieved both of
your Masters."
Cedric said, "Eighteen months and you have done it, Harry." He added around a
grin, "Then all you have got to do is start your medical training." Harry
replied, "I have already started it, have been since the summer of my fifth
year after my sixteenth birthday. I have already done thirteen months worth of
training, meaning I have almost six years left to go, after all it take seven
years to complete the training required. It takes longer than it does in the
muggle nursing program, as you have magic to deal with, which makes it more
complicated and dangerous if you somehow mess up."
Cedric chuckled and shook his head and said, "Which in turn means we will have
reached all of our career goals by the time we are 26 on my part and 24 almost
25 on your end." Harry nodded and replied, "We will not have any issue career
wise neither of us hopefully." She knew whatever children they had would grow
up with parents as a Mediwitch and a Charms Professor, and not Ministry
workers, Merlin forbid.
Harry sighed as she said, "I am dreading the rest of the summer because
Professor Dumbledore has insisted as has Madame Pomfrey that Professor Snape
tutors me in Potions, so that I am able to join the Newts level class this
year. I need an O in Potions to be able to train in more advanced medical
training as a Mediwitch or wizard needs knowledge of both Potions and of
Charms."
Cedric winced and said, "Ooh, I do not envy you, a month or more with Severus
Snape breathing down your neck, well damn." This caused the others to burst out
in laughter, while Harry grouses, "Thanks for that Diggory" then reached across
the table, grabbed the nearest napkin and threw it at Cedric's head, hitting
him in the forehead before he could think to dodge.
Tonks said, "Right Harry, we need to get going as I promised Fleur and Angie
that we would meet them downstairs in" she trailed off and looked at her muggle
watch and finished, "In exactly fifteen minutes time." She concluded, "You will
need your other vault keys so you can withdraw some money, which Sirius has
with him and will give to you."
Harry frowned in puzzlement as she asked, "What vault keys, I already have my
vault key, I thought I only had my vault I use for school supplies and
books?"She added, "And what about my trunk, how is that getting to
headquarters?" She narrowed her eyes wondering how much else they had kept from
her. It was starting to get beyond ridiculous in the extremist sense of the
meaning.
Sirius replied quickly seeing the way his goddaughter’s eyes had narrowed,
which never was a good sign nor boded well for those on the receiving end,
which in this case were both he and Remus. "You have two other keys besides the
one you already have to your personal vault." He paused before adding, "Those
keys are to your mother's personal vault and another vault you will find out
about today.”
He concluded after a brief pause, “If you wish you could have those two vaults
upgraded, which means blood protection and not a key. The other vaults do not
need a key as the security is more complex, such as blood protection as I have
just mentioned, which means only someone of blood relation could open the vault
of whomever it belongs to."
Remus added, "No one has had access to those vaults since Sirius's name was
cleared and he collected your mother's vault key, along with the key to the
vault he opened for you. He proved he was your godfather, making him your
guardian before the Potter's finance manager at Gringotts gave him access." He
paused before adding, "Your parents before going into hiding made it so only
you, along with Sirius, Alice, and finally me in case of an emergency could
gain access to your own personal vault and your mother's."
He paused before he continued, "The other vaults obviously have blood security,
meaning that outside of your father no one could gain access to the other
vaults until you." He sighed before he concluded, "Considering you have just
revealed your true opinion of the Headmaster, then I am sure you will be
pleased to know that not even Albus was allowed anywhere near your vaults."
Cedric revealed, "And in thirteen months time you will receive another key,
which will give you access to my personal vault." He knew that he would receive
copies of the keys to the vaults Harry agreed to once married, unless she had
them all upgraded to blood protection level. Then to gain access to the vaults
Harry would have to be with him. He felt beyond nervous at the thought of the
fortune those vaults must contain. He did not have to be a genius to know that
the Potter's are one of the richest and oldest pureblood families in the whole
of the wizarding world.
Remus explained at her surprised expression, "Harry when you marry Cedric your
name will be on his account, just as his will be on yours, and he will receive
copies of the keys to your vaults, of course unless you upgrade then you would
have to take him inside." He paused before continuing when Harry nodded, "You
will both get two more keys once you set up another two vaults, which will be
the vaults of the Diggory heir and the Potter heir."
Tonks added, "As for your trunk Remus will take that to headquarters for you."
She concluded, "Once we leave the pub you will need to go to Gringotts first as
you will need to sign some paperwork to sign control of all of your vaults and
assets over to you from out of Sirius's control. Sirius as your now former
guardian signed his part yesterday."
Sirius grinned at her fondly as he told her, "You are an adult now Harry,
meaning as soon as you sign your half of the documents then my guardianship of
you will no longer be active." Remus added gently, "You became an adult the
moment you officially turned seventeen and put on the Potter family head of
house ring. You are now the head of the Potter family, just as Cedric will
become head and Amos will hand over the Diggory family inheritance ring when
you provide him an heir, your first born in fact."
Harry nodded as she grabbed the box with her parent's wands in and closed the
lid with a snap. She placed Cedric's new wedding ring, which she still held in
her hand with her own in the box and closed the lid with a snap. She then told
Tonks, "Just allow me to put these away and lock my trunk, seeing as only I can
put the box with my parents wands in a way for obvious reasons. I would be
happier and have peace of mind if I knew they were safe and secure."
Tonks nodded in understanding and told Harry that she would use the bathroom
before they left. Harry nodded in reply before she made her way over to her
trunk. Once she had placed the locking charm back on the trunk and floated it
over to Remus, Tonks came back out of the bathroom. She walked over to Remus
and gave him a brief kiss before telling him she would see him at headquarters
that evening, which he nodded in agreement before returning the kiss briefly.
Harry suggested to Tonks, "Why don't you head on down as I still need to use
the bathroom. I will meet you downstairs in the bar after returning my room key
to Tom." Tonks nodded and left the room and closed the door behind her. Harry
sighed, already feeling weary from events so far, but knew the day had barely
begun. She knew barring any major issues that she would fall asleep no doubt
that night.
Harry pointed her wand and waved it over her trunk until it shrunk down and fit
in the palm of her hand. She gave it to Remus and said, "There you go, take
care of that trunk as I do not think I need to tell you how truly valuable some
of the contents in that trunk is, namely my invisibility cloak, along with my
parents wands and the letters of their last words to me. And finally mine and
Cedric's new wedding rings are also in there."
Remus took the trunk and nodded as he told her, "Do not worry I am all too
aware of how valuable the contents of your trunk is. I promise I will safely
deliver it to headquarters where it will be waiting for you in your new room.”
He continued after a brief pause, “You have a room of your own Harry, which
Cedric may stay in from time to time. Obviously, you can no longer share with
Ron due to the issue of what is considered proper. Cedric on the other hand is
different he is your fiancé, whereas Ron is not."
Harry nodded in agreement before heading for the bathroom, all the while
thinking she was glad they had provided her with a new room. As much as she
liked her best male friend, she now knew she no longer found the thought of
sharing a bedroom with him very appealing anymore. Besides, she knew that
neither Mrs. Weasley nor Sirius would allow it, though Cedric now being her
fiancé was a different matter altogether.
Just as she was about to enter the bathroom she suddenly remembered that she
has not yet reversed her handy work done to Sirius and Remus. She pointed her
wand at each in turn and reversed her handy work, causing both wizards let out
loud sighs of relief at returning to normal. Harry smirked and said over her
shoulder, "Allow that to be a lesson and a warning do not piss me off, unless
you wish to have a repeat performance." Cedric winced, whilst trying not to
smirk at the looks of horror and annoyance on both of the older wizards faces.
Five minutes later, she left the bathroom and said, "I will see you three at
headquarters later on." They nodded and watched as she headed for the door,
exited and closed it firmly shut behind her.
***** Chapter Three: Fleur & Angelina Learn the Truth *****
Chapter Summary
     Drinks in the Leaky Cauldron and Fleur and Angelina are brought up to
     date on current events and Fleur asks Harry something important.
     Fleur and Harry talk weddings.
Chapter Notes
     Here is chapter three. If anyone would like a crack at being a beta
     for this story then please let me know.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of
this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The
movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.
Downstairs Tonks had placed a silencing charm around the table she, along with
Angelina and Fleur sat at in a far private corner of the bar. She told them, "I
am warning you two now, when you see Harry, no matter how much it will shock
you, do not, I repeat do not freak out too noticeably and draw any attention to
this table." She paused before continuing, "What Harry will reveal is not
something we want the public knowing until Harry is back at Hogwarts, at least
it can be contained somewhat with the extra security which the wards around
Hogwarts can provide."
Angelina asked in worry, "Tonks, what is wrong with him?" Tonks closed her eyes
and sighed loudly as she thought of the fact of how the term 'he' did not apply
anymore, how was she suppose to go about explaining that, it seemed beyond her
at this point. She opened her mouth to answer, but closed it when she spotted
Harry at the bar handing in her room key to Tom.
She said in reply, "You are about to find out, though please be careful with
what you say as Harry understandably is currently on a well deserved and earned
defensive kick, and Merlin defensive is absolutely right." She grinned like a
loon as added, "But when the initial shock wears off you are going to love it,
I already do. The only ones who are not going to approve for obvious reasons
will be Ginny and Cho Chang." Angelina and Fleur exchanged a puzzled glance at
hearing this.
Meanwhile over at the bar Harry chuckled as she handed the key back to Tom, who
could only stare at her in shock as he accepted the key. Harry said, "Yeah, I
know, Tonks got to me." Tom smiled slightly, still in shock as he said, "I know
I saw you earlier on this morning, but now you are dressed the part and your
face and hair all done up lovely, particularly your hair is out of your face, I
can actually see you better now. Then there is also your familiar glasses, it
is even more apparent because of those."
Harry laughed somewhat weakly as she replied, "Yeah, trust me no one is more
aware of that then me." She added, "By the way, Cedric, Sirius and Remus will
be down soon." Tom nodded and replied, "Okay, I will send a maid up to clean
the room and bathroom once I see them enter the bar." Harry nodded before
leaving the bar, and sending a brief wave over her shoulder to the pleasant
natured barman.
She made her way over to Tonks and the others when Tonks waved her over. She
took a deep breath as she walked over to the table, wondering how Angie and
Fleur would react when they realised who she was. Their reactions could be good
or bad, she surely hoped for the former, having no idea what would happen and
she would do if their reactions turned out to be of the latter option.
Angelina and Fleur looked to where Tonks was waving and noticed a witch with
dark long hair wearing round framed glasses and sporting a killer hourglass
figure any heterosexual wizard and quite a few lesbian witches would drool all
over. Fleur felt slight envy as she took in the rather quite full and perfectly
rounded breasts for someone with such a slim frame.
Angelina let out a low whistle at the legs, hips and chest of this witch, and
could not help the slight stab of envy as she realised that this witch was
beautiful even whilst wearing those unfortunate glasses. How the hell was it
that even those glasses did not take from her beauty? Merlin, she had no idea
whether she should admire her or scowl at her for being able to do it
regardless that they did nothing for her.
Harry sat down in the free seat next to Tonks and crossed her left leg over her
right and her arms across her chest, as if somehow she could unconsciously
shield herself from the unknown reactions of those at the table. She asked once
settled, "Have you given them a brief summary of events so far?" Tonks grimaced
as she shook her head and replied, "Sorry, I was about to when I spotted you
giving Tom your room key and I figured I would allow you to do the honours
instead."
Harry snorted and rolled her eyes as she replied, "Thanks for that, and now you
can buy me a drink for my troubles." Tonks snorted and replied, "Fine I will
grab us a round of drinks, but when I return you are going to spill." Harry
rolled her eyes again and drawled, "Yeah, Yeah, just get me a drink
Nymphadora." Tonks visibly gritted her teeth and replied, "Nice Harriet, real
nice." She smirked smugly as she instantly noticed how Harry's jaw twitched
irritably.
Fleur and Angelina exclaimed, "Harriet?" Tonks looked down right gleeful as she
asked, "Oh yeah, and what does Harriet become when shortened, particularly when
it is used in the male context?" Harry growled, "Yeah okay, I am sorry I will
not use the first name tactic against you again if you do not use that god
awful name again. I swear either James or Lily Potter was feeling particularly
evil that day, hell I know it was for my grandpa Potter, but that was just
cruel."
Fleur and Angelina exclaimed in shock, "Potter?" Tonks giggled like a mad woman
as she reached out and lifted Harry's bangs, even as Harry swatted at her hand,
yet that did not stop her. Angelina gasped and placed her hand over her mouth
in shock, while Fleur looked particularly faint and would have surely landed on
her backside had she not already been sitting down.
Harry growled, "That was great Tonks, good thing I have my back to the rest of
the room or else this whole pub would now be aware ‘The Boy Who Lived’ in
reality is really ‘The Girl Who Lived’. First the pub, followed by the entire
fucking wizarding world." Tonks replied, "I would not have even dreamed of
pulling such a move if anyone besides me, Angie and Fleur were able to see
Harry." She smirked and shook her head as she added, "I have your back, even
more so now than before."
Harry grumbled and said, "Okay fine, get me a drink or else I am not going to
explain any further. Merlin I wish it was not so early in the morning; the urge
for something stronger than Butterbeer is very strong about now." Tonks snorted
and said, "Maybe later, but right now you can make do with a Butterbeer and can
bloody well like it too." Secretly Tonks could not blame the younger witch for
wanting something much stronger then Butterbeer, to say it had been hell of a
morning was truly putting it mildly.
Harry sighed as Tonks left for the bar; only to moments later inwardly moan as
she sees the expressions on both of Angelina and Fleur's faces. She held up her
hand when they were about to open their mouths, "Not a single damn word until I
get my drink" she says irritably. She concluded exasperatedly, "And yes it is
me." She grumbled as she moved her bangs back in place to cover her scar again,
while the other two continued to stare at her in silent disbelief.
Angelina was the first to move her gaze from Harry's face and noticed the rings
on both her left and her right hand, especially on her left hand. She gasped
and reached forwards and grabbed hold of Harry's left wrist, which finally
brought Fleur's attention to it, and in turn let out a small squeal. She asked,
"How and when, you never said you and Ginny had gotten quite that serious, plus
shouldn't Ginny be the one wearing the ring?"
Harry cringed as she replied, "A little after midnight just gone, and no it is
not Ginny who I am betrothed to. A betrothal contract arranged and drawn up
when I was three months old and he was three years old. Now I am engaged to
Cedric Diggory and will be married in thirteen months time." She waited for
their reactions, knowing it would be colourful, and did not have long to wait.
Fleur and Angelina yelped causing Harry to scowl at them and spat out, "I have
never honestly been so grateful for a silencing charm, and yes, I can sense
that one of you has cast one." Fleur asked in surprise, "Wait a minute, are you
saying you can sense the magic and what was cast?" The fact the other witch
could sense the magic was not what surprised her, as she too could sense magic
around her due to being partially a magical creature made her extra sensitive.
No what surprised her was that Harry could tell what spell had been cast
something that even Fleur with her extra sensitivity could not do.
Harry nodded and said, "Yeah I can, ever since I received my magical boost and
turned seventeen, along with changing back to my original form. I can sense my
magic, practically feel it flowing underneath my skin, almost like a buzzing
sensation I suppose if I had to describe the sensation." She paused before
adding, "There has not been a moment since I turned seventeen and regained my
status as a witch that I have not been physically aware of magic without having
to use my wand or even cast any spells."
She concluded, frowning slightly as a thought suddenly occurred to her, "Though
I can tell you what I have only just discovered, my ability to sense other
people's magic and tell what they have cast. Okay that is new, even more so
than being able to feel my own magic. I wonder how common that ability is, or
is just something about my special freak status." She honestly would not be at
all surprised if that were the case, when was there a time she could be
considered normal for crying out aloud.
She snorted as she noticed the expressions on the other two's faces and
remarked cynically, "Oh come now, why so surprised, when has anything
concerning me been considered normal? Honestly, look at me, my current
appearance attests to such and adds to my ultimate meter of freaky weirdness,
something which I may someday make peace with, but not today or even next
year."
Angelina could not help but cringe at the cynical edge in Harry voice, nor the
words she had used to describe herself. Fleur on the other hand looked caught
between grimacing in sympathy and blanching in horror at how Harry had
described herself as a freak. That did not sit well with her, and was something
she could tell did not with Angelina either if the current expression on the
dark skinned witches face was anything to judge.
It was just as a lingering and uncomfortable silence started to surround the
table that Tonks chose to return with a tray of drinks. She placed a Butterbeer
down in front of Harry and Angelina, while she handed Gilly Water to Fleur and
placed down one for herself. Tonks retook her seat next to Harry as she asked,
"So what have I missed?" She knew full well she had not missed out on any
details she was not already aware of, or so she thought.
Fleur sighed and said, "Apparently Harry is to be married to Cedric Diggory and
not Ginny." Angelina added, "Also she knew that one of us had cast a silencing
charm, whilst also being able to feel her own magic without her wand or casting
any spells." Tonks nodded thinking that perhaps she had indeed missed
something, and this was news to her. She wondered how long Harry had been aware
she could sense magic had been cast that was not her own. She said, "I knew
about her being able to feel her magic, but her sensing my silencing charm not
so much."
Tonks raised a brow and eyed Harry as she asked, "You could sense the silencing
charm I put up before you came to the table?" Harry nodded and replied, "Yeah,
I knew one had been cast just not by whom." She added at Tonks surprised
glance, "And yeah that is new to me as well, something I only discovered when I
reached the table." She concluded, "You cast magic earlier, yet I think I was
too preoccupied with dealing with the drama upstairs to notice." Tonks blinked
before nodding and said, "Okay, in that case we need to tell Remus, Sirius, and
Cedric about that when we reach headquarters later on."
She continued after pause and a silent yet reluctant nod of agreement from
Harry. "Well, in the meantime we need to discuss how Harry is female." She knew
how, but a recap for Angelina and Fleur's benefit would not hurt, knowing both
could be trusted to not blab to the press and betray Harry.
Angelina nodded and commented, "Yeah, I would really like to know that as last
I checked I was pretty damn certain that you were a wizard Harry." Fleur nodded
in silent agreement as she eyed the former wizard. It was not hard to reconcile
with the fact the wizard she competed against during the Triwizard Tournament,
who saved her little sister from the Black Lake when she had not been able, was
the witch sitting across from her.
Harry sighed and replied, "I discovered less than twelve hours ago that I was
born Harriet James Potter, but when I was six or seven months old and before my
parents took me into hiding at Godric's Hollow, I was placed under a powerful
and complex glamour charm. A charm consisting of a potion and a charm, which
the potion I imagine if I had to guess provided the sex switch, while the charm
held the potions effects in place." She paused before she concluded, "I was
given enough to maintain the body of a male until midnight of my seventeenth
birthday."
Angelina frowned as she asked, "Did you not ever notice something was not
right, I mean a glamour charm even paired with a potion, no matter how complex
or powerful, even one meant to last at the end of the day is still a glamour?"
She frowned even more deeply as she wondered how someone as powerful as Harry
did not notice, especially once she started attending Hogwarts.
Harry replied, "Exactly, I spent almost sixteen years never feeling right as if
I truly did not belong in my own skin. I knew something was not right, but did
not know what, only that it was not one hundred percent right. I never knew of
magic until I was eleven, which meant I was even more so in the dark. I could
not say anything and not be judged, my relatives already believed me to be a
freak. They would have accused me of being a Transsexual had they ever truly
had the smallest of inklings."
Fleur asked, "And you do not feel like a Transsexual, you have never felt that
way?" Harry shook her head and told her, "No I never felt as if I was in the
wrong body, more like a sense of feeling not one hundred percent in my own
skin. I did not have the body of a male and the mind of a female, no it was
nothing at all like that." She paused before smirking as she drawled, "I never
had the urge to have a sex change operation or wanted to put on makeup and
stuff wads of tissue paper underneath my shirt nor put on and walk around in my
aunt's high heels and stockings."
The other three giggled and shook their heads before Angelina asked, "But now
you feel comfortable in your own skin?" Harry nodded and replied, "Yes I do
now, especially after learning the glamour did not just work on a physical
level, but also a mental scale to. If it had not I would have spent sixteen
years with the body of a male and the mind of a female, talk about identity
crisis."
She added grinning as she said, knowing this would tickle the other three, "And
for the record, yeah I do now feel like putting on and walking around in high
heels and stockings and wearing makeup. Yet I luckily will not have to stuff
any wads of toilet paper up my shirt, my own body took care of that for me." As
Harry had expected the other three were soon in giggles, definitely tickled by
her words of humour.
Angelina frowned as she stopped giggling and asked, "So if your change was on a
mental scale would that not mean that you are no longer physically or mentally
attracted to witches anymore? I always did get the impression that you were
straight and did not have a single gay bone in your body." She figured she had
not been wrong seeing as she had never seen the other witch show any kind of
attention to other wizards that was not strictly platonic when she had been a
wizard.
Harry cringed and replied, "And you'd be right I had liked witches, but now
prefer wizards." She added around a smirk, "Believe it or not Fred and George
cleared that up for me rather quite shockingly." Angelina looked alarmed, even
more so when Harry's smirk became all the wider and Tonks let out a giggle
quickly followed by a snigger, making no effort to hide her reaction. Oh no,
their reactions could not mean anything good, this was George and Fred Weasley
that was being discussed after all.
Fleur frowned and said, "I must confess to being at a loss." She frowned even
more deeply as she asked, "How exactly did the twins help you with something
such as your sexuality, and how was it shocking?" This caused Harry to laugh
and ask Angelina, "Angelina do you remember apologising in your letter in
advance if in case the twins ended up sending me something embarrassing?"
Angelina cringed and moaned as she asked, "Oh my God, what did they do?"
Harry sniggered as she replied, "They sent me some of their products, both old
and new yet to be placed on the shelves." She paused before adding, "They also
sent to me a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey, though that was not what
switched on the proverbial light switch of realisation for me, oh no that
happened when I discovered the last addition to their gift."
Tonks had to put her Gilly water down as she laughed so hard she was worried
she might end up spilling it all over the table. Even Harry shook with silent
laughter, especially when she noted how Angelina appeared to look fainter by
the second. Fleur having also noticed this about her friend asked Harry, "So
what was the final gift?" Harry smirked before she revealed, "Play Wizard, they
sent me an issue of Play Wizard."
There was a lingering silence after Harry had revealed that piece of
information, even whilst Harry and Tonks both shook with silent mirth. Fleur on
the other hand had brought up her left hand and covered her mouth, caught
between the emotions of horror and trying not to burst into a fit of
incredulous giggles. Through it was Angelina's reaction that tickled Harry and
Tonks the most, seeing the dark skinned witch had an honest look of horror on
her face and looked caught between moaning and resisting the urge to bang her
head upon the table. She found herself struck by the sudden thought of whether
the twin's sheer lack of reserve knew any bounds.
Harry continued after carefully wiping away a few tears of mirth from her eyes
and her cheeks. She said, "You see, when I looked at the model on the front of
the cover, who by the way was licking her lips whilst messing about with her
large and very obviously fake breasts, when I looked I felt absolutely nothing,
no lust or anything resembling arousal, nothing whatsoever." She added, a dry
note to her tone, "If anything I wanted her to stop playing with her fake and
trashy breasts and tell her to put them away and excise some self respect."
Tonks and Fleur laugh knowingly, and even Angelina as mortified as she felt
could not help but let out a giggle and say, "Welcome to our world Harry, what
it feels like to be a witch." Harry snorted and shook her head at hearing this.
"I really do need to thank them as they really did do me a favour and saved me
a lot of unnecessary issues however unwittingly so." Angelina let out a brief
giggle of disbelief.
Harry instantly sobered as a sudden image of Ginny came to mind and closed her
eyes. Tonks noticed the sudden shift in the younger witch's mood and asked,
"What are you thinking about?" Harry grimaced and smiled sadly at the older
witch and replied, "Ginny." It was now Tonks turn to close her eyes, her smile
was sad and all too knowing, as she realised the twins had done Harry a favour,
yet unknowingly end up doing quite the opposite for their baby sister.
Harry said as much out aloud as she said, "Ginny is going to be devastated when
she finds out, especially after spending so long waiting for my male self to
finally notice her as more than just his best friends little sister." She
added, "She right now is at headquarters still very much in the dark over where
she stands with me, and most likely planning how she is going to approach me
about the subject of turning our relationship towards the more physical side of
things."
She continued as she noted Angelina and Fleur cringing, "Cedric happened to
overhear a conversation between Ginny and Hermione, discussing how Ginny plans
to ask me to take her virginity, still being under the impression that I have
the body parts required to do the deed, which I more than obviously do not."
She concluded and said, "I still love her yet not in the way I did before I
changed back, meaning I do not see her in a romantic light or a sexual one
either for that matter."
Tonks already being aware quietly picked up her drink, deciding not to comment,
was not as if she could say anything she had not already. Fleur and Angelina on
the other hand looked troubled and more than slightly sympathetic. They could
not see how they could say anything without sounding trite in the process,
honestly what do you possibly say in a situation like this one?
Harry looked noticeably troubled as she continued, "I am honestly worried about
the rest of the Weasley's and how they are going to take and react to this
situation. They were her family first so naturally they are going to take her
side over my own, not that I would force them to do otherwise. Even though I am
aware and can fully understand why does not make it hurt any less."
She picked up her bottle of Butterbeer and took a sip before replacing it on
the table as Fleur eyed her in worry. She asked the younger witch, "Is it worth
even asking why you were placed under the influence of glamour, especially one
as complex as to need not only a charm but a potion to?" Angelina smiled
sympathetically as she added, "Or even wishing you a happy birthday as it does
not seem like it is turning out to be a happy one so far."
Harry closed her eyes tiredly as she said in reply, "I am a female born heir
and not the male I was presumed to be. In the first six months of my life I
assume the only ones to have seen me and not just heard of me would have been
my parents, along with my grandparents and godparents, Remus, the Diggory's,
and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall and Frank Longbottom. As for
Pettigrew, I have no idea why he has not revealed anything to Voldie, unless my
parents or someone else did something to prevent him from saying anything."
She continued, "Obviously the glamour was put in place after we went into
hiding, but why would they do that? Simple, I am the only living Potter at
present, the heir at that, and was born a female and not a male. Apparently the
old pureblood families who expect and insist upon a male heir would have had a
field day and tried to take advantage of me once my parents were dead if I had
managed to survive, which I did do."
She paused once more before she snorted in disgust and rolled her eyes as she
added, "Oh and apparently female heirs are supposed to be weaker than their
male counterparts." She sneered as she told them, "I bet they would have been
scrambling over themselves to take me in and try to influence me and my
choices, especially if they were aware of how Voldie had marked me as his
equal. Death Eaters would have found the opportunity of manipulating me to suit
their own cause and means to an end far too good to pass upon."
She paused for moment to take a sip of Butterbeer and then said, "So my parents
decided to cast a glamour charm on me, at least until I turned seventeen and
could legally claim and take care of my own assets entitled to me as the only
heir. In short, old enough to claim my inheritance in turn meaning no one would
have any right to contest it." She concluded after taking another sip of
Butterbeer and said, "It was not that detailed when explained in my parent's
letters, but is the obvious conclusion which I was able to come to."
Fleur and Angelina were stunned as they silently took in everything they had
just learned. There was a lingering silence, only broken when Fleur gasped as
something occurred to her. She said, "It's all true, but I thought it only
gossip, yet apparently it does happen." Harry asked, "What are you talking
about, obviously it is not about me that much I have gathered from listening to
you?"
Fleur replied, "In France nearby to where I was born and grew up, there was a
very prominent Veela family." She paused before she continued as she noted she
had their attention and revealed, "There were rumours that were never fully
confirmed or proven. Apparently, the family head insisted on the first born
heir being a female instead of a male, unfortunately the first born was in fact
born a male, something which any pureblood family based over in Great Britain
would have surely approved of, yet not this French Veela based family."
Harry frowned as she asked, "Do you think they did what my parents did to
protect me?" Fleur nodded as she replied, "Yes, but in this case I strongly
believe it was not done in order to protect him, but rather themselves and
their family's reputation and a false sense of having maintained a long lived
tradition." She paused once more to allow what she had said to sink in, noting
the undisguised look of disgust on Harry's face.
She sipped her Gillywater before saying, "It was said the male was placed under
the influence of a glamour that was supposed to last permanently. It was after
that the family carried on and went on to have another child two years later.
And believe it or not it was another son and still not a longed for daughter."
She stopped once more before adding, "So you can imagine by this point the head
of the family is passed the point of frustration over the fact his wife kept
constantly providing him with sons with no sign of a daughter in sight."
She took another sip of her water before adding, "Then four years later the
wife finally gave birth to the much awaited daughter, two of them in fact. So
here was the head of family deliriously happy and bragging to all who would
listen that he had three stunning daughters." She sipped more water as she once
again eyed the others, who evidently waited patiently for her to continue.
She lowered her glass, and cleared her throat before speaking again and asked,
"But do you wish to know the truly scandalous part?"She smirked, deliberately
pausing this time as the others look at her and nodded eagerly, causing her
smirk to widen knowingly. She said, "During the year after the Triwizard
Tournament had taken place the heir turned sixteen and said to have changed
back to his true form."
She stopped again knowing she has her companion's attention and they were truly
engrossed and waiting for her to continue with her story. She said, "If you
were not aware that sixteen rather than seventeen is the legal age in wizarding
France then it is." She paused before concluding, "Anyhow they supposed the
wife not liking nor agreeing with her husband's methods or beliefs had the
potion swapped, meaning instead of it being indefinite it last only sixteen
years."
Harry shook her head and commented incredulous after taking a sip of
Butterbeer, "And here I thought what my parents did and their reasons for doing
it were insane, yet they did it to protect me, unlike the wizard's father who
only did it to protect his own interests and reputation. It is disgusting and
people like that should not be allowed to have the gift of magic in my
opinion."
She suddenly startled as she felt a set of hands come to rest gently upon her
shoulder blades, and looked up to see Cedric looking down at her. He was
smirking as he asked teasingly, "My, my, where are those impeccable senses of
yours?" His eyes practically gleamed with honest mirth as he added, "I mean I
could have been a Death Eater and would most likely have managed to have hexed
you good and proper at this point."
Harry hissed irritably and reached up to swat him on the chest as she grumbled
something less than flattering underneath her breath. This caused Tonks, along
with Angelina and Fleur to laugh as Cedric chuckled and asked around a drawl,
"Now, now, what was that you were saying there?" Harry shot him an exasperated
glance as she took a drink from her Butterbeer.
Remus and Sirius joined them and smirked having seen and heard what had
happened between the newly engaged pair. Sirius commented jokingly, "I can
honestly see marriage between you two being explosive in nature." This only
caused the others to laugh all the harder, while Harry rolled her eyes, even
though she knew what he said was probably true to an extent.
Remus added, "I am heading for headquarters, while Sirius is heading to work."
Cedric squeezed her shoulders gently as he told her, "I have got to go and send
dad an owl letting him know that our engagement is now official. I will not
mention you in great detail, only that he will see you later on at
headquarters." He paused looking evidently uncomfortable as he continued to
add, "I have a meeting with Cho for lunch, where I plan on telling her that I
am now officially engaged. Of course you will see her at headquarters later
Harry, whether you are aware or not Cho joined the Order last year."
Harry grimaced, knowing she was looking about as forward to seeing Cho, as she
was the inevitable confrontation with Ginny. She knew Ginny would turn it into
a confrontation that she had no such doubt; the younger witch had no such issue
with confrontation. Of course then there was the equally as inevitable meeting
with Hermione and the rest of the Weasley's to contend. She was not looking
forward to any of it, Ginny mostly.
She moaned as she asked, "Is there by any chance I could get rundown by a
London bus when we go shopping?" Remus exclaimed sternly, "Harry! That is not
funny at all; do not make fun of such things." She replied, "Oh but I was not,
and dealing with Ginny, Cho, Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Weasley's, all
in one day at that and most likely at the same time to is not the least bit
funny either, ha not even damn close."
Remus faltered and commented, "Oh dear, I had not quite thought of that." Harry
sighed irritably as she replied archly, "Well guess what I sure as hell have."
It was all she could think of at this point besides her transformation and how
she was going to deal with the press when they found out, particularly that
Skeeter cow. Seriously, Hermione was not the only one who would love to see her
rotting in an Azkaban prison cell for being an illegally unregistered Animagus.
After saying their goodbyes until later, the men left the witches alone. Harry
turned to face the others and noticed how Fleur was eyeing her with evident
interest. She looked very thoughtful as she asked Tonks, "Do you have Harry's
dress size by any chance?" Tonks replied, "The clothes she is wearing are in a
size ten, but we need to get that double checked." She paused before asking,
"Why do you want to know Harry's dress size anyway?"
Fleur replied and revealed, "Because one of my cousins has broken her leg and
has decided she cannot be a bridesmaid for my wedding anymore as she does not
want to appear in the wedding pictures wearing a cast. This means I am a
bridesmaid short and Bill has a groomsman extra, Fred. Obviously it would be
very wrong to ask one twin and not the other to be a part of the wedding
party." She meant it to, just because she was not related to the Weasleys yet
did not mean she wish to exclude any of them.
Tonks asked in puzzlement, "Can they not use magic to heal her broken bone?"
Fleur shook her head as she replied, "Bones, she broke four of them, broke them
in a fashion that the Mediwitch has not recommended the use of Skele-Gro or any
other form of healing magic. They believe the muggle method in this case would
be less of a painful and traumatic experience for my cousin." She paused before
continuing, "They want her to wear what muggles call a cast for the next couple
of months, less if it heals quicker with my cousin being not only a witch but
having partial Veela blood to."
She paused once more to drink her water before saying, "Once they remove the
cast they will complete the process with magic as I have heard when your bones
have been reset the muggle way that inner scaring is left behind, something
which her parents and she do not wish her to have." Fleur was at a loss, even
she as particular and image conscious as she was of her appearance did not
honestly see what the point of covering up a scar that you could not see. It
just only proved that her cousin was even more vain then what some had accused
she herself of being.
Harry cleared her throat loudly and said, "Huh hello, I am sitting right here
whilst you are carrying on a conversation that's partially about me, yet you
act as if I am invisible or went for a bathroom break." Angelina nearly choked
on her drink as she laughed, while Tonks and Fleur raise a brow and smile
slightly. Apparently Harry did not like being talked about, especially if she
was sitting right there and could hear and yet had no input.
Fleur asked, "Okay, then answer me this would you like to be one of my
bridesmaids?" She paused before adding, "As you have just heard I am in need of
a bridesmaid to take my cousin's place in the line up and of course the reason
why I am short of one." Harry replied around a drawl, "Yeah she’s vainer than a
Peacock by the sounds of it.” The others laughed and nodded in full agreement,
it was true so why deny it.
Harry sighed after they calmed and said, “So all joking aside, let me get this
straight, you want me to replace one of your cousins and walk down the aisle
partnered with Fred Weasley, is that the general gist of it or did I miss
anything?" Harry knew she had not missed anything, but it never hurt to confirm
all details.
Fleur replied, "Yes, besides whom else would I ask?" She paused and a slightly
humorous smile curved the corner of her lips as she said, "Of course after you
saved Gabrielle during the second task I never imagined the opportunity to have
you as a bridesmaid would happen or be even a remote possibility." She really
had not, yet it was possibly a blessing in disguise, meaning she now possibly
had another bridesmaid and Fred would still have a partner in the wedding.
Harry inwardly sighed and said, "Your sister would have been fine, and was just
my supposed hero complex getting in the way as well as taking the task far too
literal for my own good." Fleur smiled as she insisted, "Oh but it is the
principle of it Harry, you were not to know, no one asked you to, yet you still
did it anyway."
She paused to drink her water and then asked, "So will you please consider
being one of my bridesmaids?" She added, "If you agree you would have to come
with me next weekend to the second to last dress fitting where we will meet up
with my sister, cousins and my mother, and after the fitting we will all go for
some refreshments at a nearby cafe."
Fleur truly hoped she would agree she knew Gabrielle would be so excited to see
Harry again, she still having a crush since the Triwizard Tournament, a crush
that she knew with certainty would die a very quick death once she knew the
truth. Harry leaned backwards in her chair and asked, "What about the dress and
would I have to wear high heels, high heels I can't even walk in yet, I figured
I would point that out?"
Fleur replied, "The dress can be magically altered to fit you, and besides you
and my cousin have one thing in common, you have hourglass figures, while the
waist on the other hand will have to be taken in slightly. As for the chest,
that will have to be expanded as you are slightly more gifted then my cousin in
that department." She paused before adding, "The hem will have to be taken up
by about three inches because even if I was to put you in four inch heels the
hem would still be too long as my cousin is five foot ten inches in heels."
Harry winced and said, "Four inch heels, Merlin I will end up breaking my neck,
is that what you want to happen, because trust me it will." She paused as the
others giggle before saying, "Your cousin is around five foot six without heels
if I am correct, which makes her two inches taller than me even without her in
heels." She took a deep breath and drank deeply from her drink before saying,
"Okay fine I will do it, but you get to be the one who is going to teach me how
to walk in heels if you do not wish for me to break my neck or trip over and go
splat face first walking down the aisle."
Fleur let out a squeal, stood up, ran around the table, and hugged Harry, who
blushed at the unexpected move. Tonks smirked and said jokingly, "I take it
back; you will learn to walk in heels before your wedding day after all Harry."
Harry knew there was no avoiding it, she knew not only Tonks would try teaching
her to walk in heels, now Fleur was getting in on the action and Angelina too
she suspected.
Harry shook her head before Fleur pulled back and asked, "What size shoe are
you Harry?" Tonks answered before Harry could, she could see just how clearly
overwhelmed the other witch was with the direction the situation had just
taken. "She is currently wearing a size seven, but we want to have that double
checked to make certain it is correct." Fleur nodded as she thought of how
Harry's feet were not too small or big, but in between. Her cousin on the other
hand was a six, but she knew she could easily take care of that.
Fleur asked Tonks, "And her bra size?" Tonks replied, "34C, but we want that
doubled checked to, especially that, she needs all the comfort she can possibly
get in that department." Tonks knew that was necessary until Harry got
accustomed to having breasts, something that Tonks imagined would not be as
simple as it seemed. Tonks had lived with having breasts since puberty, whereas
Harry on the other hand might as well have skipped puberty, at least in the
fashion that a female did.
Angelina let out a low whistle and giggled as she said, "No offence Harry, but
for such a slim and petite looking witch you sure are packing it in the chest
department." Angelina was a 36C, but she had always been gifted there and
taller than most girls in her year at Hogwarts, she got it from her mother.
Harry really had lucked out in the chest department much to Angelina's amused
disbelief. She wondered how Hermione and Ginny would deal with that, both
witches had not been lucky enough to be as gifted in that department.
Tonks and Fleur laughed as they took in the expression Harry's face was
sporting. She looked decidedly pinched and her cheeks had an attractive rosy
pink glow. Harry could not get her head around the fact they were discussing
the size of her breasts, did witches really do this when they got together and
chatted? If that was the case then she figured some of the guy's would like to
be nearby so they could eavesdrop.
Fleur returned to her seat and said delightedly, "You will look exquisite in
gold Harry and it will make your dark hair and your emerald green eyes even
more vibrant. Your pale skin will glow radiantly next to the shade I have
chosen." She added with evident excitement, "Oh and I cannot wait to see you in
the dress and the heels, particularly the heels." She really could not as
watching Harry learn to walk in heels promised to be entertaining if the
younger witch's reaction was anything to go by.
Harry asked, "Gold?" Fleur nodded and said, "A soft gold nothing bold or
outrageous as I will not tolerate my bridesmaids at my wedding looking
outrageous in an overly bright colour. Besides you and Ginny out of all of my
bridesmaids are the only two that are not pale blonde, all of my cousins and my
sister are and would look simply awful in an overly bright and gaudy colour."
She added, "The pale shade would suit your dark hair and Ginny's red hair
better than any darker gaudy colour ever would anyway. I want to draw the right
amount of attention to your dark and Ginny's red hair when compared to the pale
hair of my cousins and sister."
Harry nodded and said, "It sounds nice." It did sound nice and she was glad
Fleur was not a particularly vindictive bride who forced her bridesmaids to
wear some truly horrendously ugly dress. She could imagine some vile shade of
pink or something equally as disgusting that would clash horribly with Ginny's
red hair. She could also vividly imagine Ginny's reaction to how terrible it
would look and clash with her hair. Harry being dark haired meant she could
pretty much get away with anything without looking bad.
Tonks asked, "Have you given any thought about what you want for your own
wedding Harry?" She added, "In another three or four months or so you will need
to start planning what you want and how you want everything to look and be
arranged." Tonks wondered what direction the younger witch's tastes would go.
Tonks did know one thing though, that she honestly could not see Harry being
the sort of vindictive bride that tortured her bridesmaids with some truly
horrendous colour scheme so they did not end up outshining her.
Harry looked uncomfortable but replied, "I was not really thinking about it,
figured that would have end up naturally being Ginny's job and concern." She
paused as she took in the sympathetic and knowing glances of the others. She
continued, "But I guess it is now my job and concern, what I want and not
Ginny, me as the bride and not her." That was a strange thought but it was soon
to be reality whether Harry was ready for it or not.
She looked thoughtful as she continued and said, "I know I want a white wedding
dress that is not some overly poufy monstrosity with far too many layers that I
need someone to hold it up while I pee, nothing could be more offensive to me."
The others smirked at this, Fleur and Tonks understanding all too well what she
meant, one because she was already married and the other would be in a matter
of weeks.
She added, "I guess black paired with Venetian gold for the bridesmaid's
dresses hold some appeal." She liked the sound of a black and Venetian Gold
colour scheme, and hoped that Cedric would agree so she could have it. She knew
with certainty that she did want to marry in a white dress, that she planned
marrying once so white was what it was going to be. She wondered whether her
mom had got married in white to and was her dress all poufy or simple and
beautiful.
Fleur said, "I am having a soft butter gold for the bridesmaids and a two tone
dress of white and black for myself." She asked Harry, "What about flowers
Harry, what do you have in mind for them?" Harry replied, "I am not certain,
yet Calla Lilies in my bouquet sound appealing, for remembrance of my mom. She
loved Calla Lilies, not because of the name, but because she found the shape
fascinating."
Angelina asked, "Did she mention what colour she liked?" Harry replied, "She
only mentioned that she liked the flower, but I once asked Remus and he said
she liked white and hot chocolate coloured ones. I want them in my wedding as
in remembrance to her." She added, "My aunt Petunia had cream coloured roses
and baby's-breath in her garden. I like cream roses and baby's-breath, even
when I was a wizard, not that I ever allowed Ron or any of the guys in the dorm
to catch wind of that fact."
Tonks said, "Maybe you could have white Calla Lilies with cream roses and
baby's-breath, while the bridesmaids could have the hot chocolate Calla Lilies
with baby's-breath, which would go stunningly with the black and Venetian gold
colour of their dresses." Harry nodded and said, "Well, thanks for that, I
guess that is the flowers covered, I need to make a note of that."
Fleur said, "It sounds beautiful Harry." Harry asked, "What are you having
besides the butter gold?" Fleur replied, "My Bill and his groomsmen will have
snow white shirts." Harry looks thoughtful as she said, "I reckon Cedric would
look great in a white shirt with a Venetian Gold waistcoat and bowtie and black
wizarding robes like the ones he wore at the Yule ball during the tournament."
What she did not realise was that Angelina had taken a muggle pen out of her
bag and grabbed some napkins and was writing down everything Harry said she
wanted on the napkin on her knee underneath the table. It did not hurt to start
writing down some ideas right away, and of course, it would save Harry the
trouble of forgetting what she had already said.
Harry added, "I would need to run it by Cedric first, but I find I like the
thought of a combination of muggle and a wizarding, wizarding for the ceremony
and both wizarding and muggle for the reception." She paused for a drink before
continuing to outline what she wanted. "I want an outdoor wedding on a summer's
day underneath a big arch made of roses, calla lilies, and baby's-breath and
black and Venetian Gold ribbons weaved in and out between the flowers." She
concluded with a small smile as she said, "Definitely a huge pure white marquee
set up on the Hogwarts grounds nearby to the Black Lake for the reception."
As Harry took a drink of Butterbeer and noted that Tonks and Fleur are smiling
at her, but Angelina had put the napkins and pen back in her purse before Harry
could see her. She made a mental to give the napkins to Cedric when she saw him
at headquarters, which would be that night. She knew that all she needed to do
was give it to Cedric, who in turn would pass it onto Sirius, who would not
rest until Harry had all that Angelina had written down and more.
Harry got up from her chair and said, "I am just going to head to the bathroom
and when I return we can leave for Gringotts." Tonks nodded and said, "Okay,
we'll finish up here and will be ready to leave when you get back." Harry
nodded and left for the bathroom, wondering all the while just how different
the inside of the women's bathroom compared to the men's were.
As soon as Harry was out of earshot, Tonks and Fleur turned to Angelina, who
was drinking from her Butterbeer. Tonks asked, "Were you writing down on those
napkins what Harry was saying she wanted?" Angelina placed her drink back down
on the table and grinned as she replied, "Yeah, and have every intention of
letting Cedric see it tonight." She continued and smirked knowingly, "I wager
he will allow Sirius to see it to, who will no doubt be the one paying for the
wedding and taking on the role of father of the bride. He will more than
happily give Harry anything and all she asks for."
Fleur smiled widely and suggested, "Maybe whilst we are out shopping for
Harry's new wardrobe we could look in a few bridal stores as we do not have to
have Harry back at headquarters until six thirty, which gives us six and a half
hours." Tonks told her, "That all depends on how long Harry takes in Gringotts
and Malkins."
She added grinning widely as she opened her handbag and reached inside looking
for the item Sirius had been generous enough to hand over to her. Moments
later, she revealed what appeared to be a muggle credit card, but in fact
provided by Gringotts. Tonks wondered how much Harry would agree to spend once
she discovered it belonged to Sirius.
Fleur asked, "Is that what I think it is?" Tonks beamed and replied, "Oh yes it
is, which Sirius was generous enough to provide." She paused to grin all the
wider before she said; "Only purebloods that have a certain amount of Galleons
and vaults in their name are eligible for one of these. They can even be used
in the muggle world to, which is extremely handy if you are one of those
wizards or witch's who is not into all of that muggle hating crap."
Angelina asked, "Will Harry have one of those cards?" Tonks nodded and replied,
"She will by the time we have left Gringotts today as she is an extremely
wealthy witch, wealthier than both of say the Blacks and the Malfoys combined.
She has no idea whatsoever just how wealthy she in fact is, something which I
know is bound to overwhelm and make her very uncomfortable once she becomes
aware of just how much her last name and family assets are in fact worth."
Fleur and Angelina looked stunned yet quickly rearranged their expressions into
a smile as they see Harry reach the table again. Harry asked, "So are we ready
to go then?" Tonks replied, "I need to use the bathroom then we can get going."
Fleur and Angelina said they needed to go as well, not knowing when the
opportunity would come up next. Harry told them that she would meet them out
near the entrance to Diagon Alley, which the others nodded and agreed to meet
her in ten minutes.
***** Chapter Four: Gringotts, Blood Quills & Shocking Revelations, Madam
Malkin's, Vows of Loyalty, & Dragon Hide shopping *****
Chapter Summary
     Harry takes a trip to Gringotts and learns more than a few shocking
     home truths kept from her. She discovers she has more family left
     then she ever imagined and learns something shocking and unexpected
     about number four Private Drive. Harry takes a trip to Madam Malkins
     and experiences firsthand just how loyal to her those around her
     truly are. Harry enjoys and splurges on a new diary and Dragon hide.
Chapter Notes
     Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the
     writing of this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong
     to J.K. Rowling. The movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures
     and Heyday Films.
     AN: Okay this is going to be a really long chapter. I am going to be
     using the name Ragnok in my story, I have no idea if it was an actual
     goblin name in the books and movies, or the author Vance McGill is
     the one responsible. If he or she is, I will give full credit when I
     post if they do not mind me using the name, as I do not wish to have
     any accusations of stealing something belonging to another author
     made against me. Also I heard one galleon is the equivalent of five
     pounds so just bear with me here please.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of
this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The
movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.
 
AN: I am going to be using the name Ragnok in my story, I have no idea if it
was an actual Goblin name in the books and movies, or the author Vance McGill
is the one responsible. If he or she is, I will give full credit when I post if
they do not mind me using the name, as I do not wish to have any accusations of
stealing something belonging to another author made against me. I heard one
galleon is the equivalent of five pounds so just bare with me here please.
 
Harry waited ten minutes by the brick wall entrance behind the Leaky Cauldron,
before she took out her wand from her jacket pocket and tapped the correct
sequence of bricks in order just as the other three arrived and joined her.
Harry smiled happily as the bricks shifted, until an entrance appeared,
allowing her to take in the sight of the busy and vibrant street that is Diagon
Alley. She immediately spotted Gringotts and led the way over to the Goblin
owned bank.
Once inside the group headed for the main reception and Harry asked to see her
family's accounts manager as she was due to sign the control of her vaults and
assets over to her. Harry wondered how long it would all take and what was
going to be discussed, and how many documents were going to require her
signature. She hoped that she would not have to use a blood quill her memories
and experience left her with less than desirable sentiments.
As soon the Goblin manager named Ragnok arrived, he immediately asked to see
the family ring as proof of her identity, knowing only the true heir at this
point could wear the ring of head of house. Once satisfied he instructed Harry
to follow him into his office. Tonks told Harry that she needed to go and visit
her vault, Angelina and Fleur said they to also needed to visit their own
vaults and would meet up with her back at reception.
Ragnok led Harry into a large office and gestured for her to take a seat in
front of the large and domineering desk, (at least by Goblin standards) before
he sat behind it. Ragnok then sent for another Goblin to bring the file with
the Potter's accounts and the paperwork, which Harry would need to sign before
granted full access to her inheritance and whatever else her parents had left
for her.
Ragnok informed her, "I must inform you that unfortunately Miss Potter a blood
quill will be required to sign the documents, magically binding documents,
which means it's required to sign in blood." Harry cringed and unconsciously
rubbed her hand against the scarring left over from her detentions with the
toad Umbitch back in fifth year.
Ragnok noticed this action and asked, "Is there a problem Miss Potter?" Harry
looked truly uncomfortable as she replied, "I unfortunately have memories and
an experience with blood quills that were not used for official means, more
like for the sick and torturous pleasure of Dolores Umbridge." Harry lifted her
hand and revealed the evidence of her several encounters with a blood quill,
the words, 'I must not tell lies' permanently etched into her flesh.
Ragnok's face was expressionless and it was difficult for Harry to tell what
his thoughts on the matter of what he was seeing. On the other hand, Ragnok was
unsurprised at what he was seeing, the woman's intolerance of magical creatures
and those who did not have pureblood or opposed the Minister of Magic was not
considered anything news worthy. In short, she had not made any allies in the
Goblin nation any more so than she had with the Werewolf's, Vampires, Veela's
or especially the Centurions.
He explained to Harry, "I assure you Miss Potter that your signature will be
required a total of six times and you will not be left with any scarring
afterwards. We do not use blood quills for dark or torturous purposes at this
bank or any other Gringotts branch for that matter." Harry nodded and asked,
"Okay, I will sign whatever is needed, but can we please get this over with as
quickly as possible as I'd rather not draw this out anymore than I have to?"
She added, "And in regards to other business I need to take care of today I
need visit my personal vault, and of course update the vaults that are not
blood protected. I do not wish to carry around keys when I know I can have
better security than that." She paused before she concluded, "Finally, I need a
way to carry around more money then I usually do, due to that I will be taking
a trip to muggle London today on a shopping trip, but do not want to make it
obvious and make myself a prime target to be mugged."
Ragnok nodded before he said, "If you wish we can upgrade the security on all
vaults you have that still require a key in order to gain access, Miss Potter."
He paused before adding, "We can also just as easily provide you with a card
similar to what muggles call a credit card, which can be used in both the
muggle world and here in the wizarding world."
Harry nodded and accepted the torturous quill as Ragnok instructed her where
she needed to sign. She winced as she felt the familiar sting, but it was
quicker and felt a lot less sharp. She figured that was probably down to the
fact she was not writing line after a line. She could remember all too vividly
how the feeling of the sharp sting felt, which progressed to a searing burning
sharpness, followed by a blistering throb the longer you write with the quill
as it cruelly cuts into your flesh and more blood is drawn from you with each
written word.
Once she had given the blood quill back to Ragnok, he gestured for her hand and
smoothed a long and thin finger over the open wounded area, and tingling warmth
surrounded the area as it healed with Goblin magic. Harry noted how the skin of
her hand was now once again unblemished and all that remained behind was the
barest smeared hint of her blood. She cleared her throat and said, "Thank you
for that it is much appreciated." Ragnok nodded and said, "Of course Miss
Potter."
He then retrieved two separate documents from a filing cabinet in his office,
one a four page long document he immediately started to fill out and explained,
"This is the document which will need your signature four times. It will give
permission for the upgrade of your mother's personal vault, along with the
vault your godfather opened for you when you were only six weeks old Miss
Potter.” He paused before informing her, “In fact, the former vault in question
has been due an upgrade for sometime due to the amount it has gained over the
years. We would have contacted you to come and fill out the paperwork if you
had not come yourself today."
He handed her a regular quill and indicated where to sign four times,
explaining that two signatures were required per vault. Once she had finished
he immediately gathered the document and placed to one side inside of a folder.
He then picked up the second document, placed it in front of Harry and
explained at her questioning look, "This document is required in order to apply
for a Gringotts card to the four major vaults, I say major because they have
the sum required to make you eligible for a Gringotts card."
He added after pausing and said, "Unlike the document for your vault upgrade,
this one will require five signatures from you." Once he finished he indicated
where she needed to sign her name, which she repeated five times with the same
regular quill. Once done he took both the quill and document from her and
placed the document in a separate folder to the other document.
Harry asked, "Which vaults?" Ragnok replied, "The main Potter vault, along with
a secondary Potter vault, which has some Galleons in it, yet mainly consists of
paintings, precious jewels and priceless rare books among other old and
priceless items." He continued after a pause, "And a third vault which is a
personal vault belonging to your father, which the content was left to you
after separate sums were given to both Mr. Sirius Black and Mr. Remus Lupin."
He paused once more to allow the information to sink in, suspecting she was
only just learning about all of this, before saying, "And finally a fourth
vault, which I have already mentioned was your mother’s personal vault. It is
also one of the vaults you have given written permission to be upgraded from
key basis to blood protection."
He paused before adding, "And as I have already informed you that vault Miss
Potter has been gaining regular interest for the past sixteen almost seventeen
years and now has a very sizeable sum." He paused once more before concluding,
"Mr. Black when his name was cleared requested for five hundred galleons to be
placed on a monthly basis into the personal vault he set up for you up until
the time you are married. I believe the payments will end a year from today,
your wedding day as stated in yours and Mr. Cedric Diggory's marriage
contract."
Harry looked stunned as she realised just how much Sirius had been looking out
for her best interest even when trapped away in that Dementor infested shithole
that is Azkaban prison. She felt a swell of love and affection for her
godfather and made a mental note to pick up something extra special for him
when she got the first opportunity, perhaps for Christmas. Yes, she would
definitely give him something extra special for Christmas this year.
Harry asked the one question that left her feeling more than slightly queasy at
the possible answer she would receive. "Is there a way to find out what I am
worth?" Ragnok replied, "Most certainty Miss Potter, you will need to provide a
small sample of blood, a small drop from your fingertip will suffice." Harry
inwardly rolled her eyes in exasperation wondering when she would get a break
today, and swore she had seen more of her blood then she had since Umbitch made
her use the blood quill.
Ragnok took out a piece of clear parchment and picked up what appeared to be a
solid silver letter opener, yet Harry knew it was surely anything but that.
Ragnok told Harry to place a fingertip of her wand hand to the sharp point on
the end. Harry complied and pressed her fingertip to the parchment, which
instantly begun to glow and increase in length. It was less than sixty seconds
later when the parchment ceased to glow and had grown almost a foot longer, now
resembling a rolled up scroll.
Ragnok gestured for Harry to look and informed her, "Here are all of your
assets, at least the ones that are secure here at Gringotts." Harry nodded and
picked up the end of the parchment and scanned the top half, and nearly choked
as she read what was in the first Potter vault. Neither her father nor her
mother's personal vault was near as much. The vault Sirius opened for her had a
bit more than her own personal vault used for school supplies and treats during
the school year.
The second half consisted of the properties she now owned. One was Potter manor
located in Scotland, the ancestral home of her family. Another was Godric's
Hollow, along with a townhouse located in downtown London in a really nice and
expensive area. Next, she spotted a two-story luxury home in Forks located in
Washington. Who the hell decided it was a good idea to name a town after an
eating utensil she wondered incredulously.
She continued to scan the information for property after property, for example
three luxury villas in Venice Italy, Brazil and ST Lucia. There was even a two-
story penthouse located in Paris. Paris, Harry could already imagine how
beautiful the scenery must be surrounding that property. She knew she and
Cedric would never be short of holiday destinations if the grand list of
properties were anything to judge. For example, she now owned high-rise
penthouse apartments in New York City Manhattan and even Beverly Hills'
Hollywood for Merlin's sake.
Yet what gave Harry immediate pause was when she spotted listed on the
parchment that she was in fact now the true owner of one, number four Privet
Drive. She was sent truly reeling even more so when she got to the section of
who her ancestors were, such as Potter, Evans, Gryffindor, Sladden, Peverell,
Manson, Weasley, and Ravenclaw. She nearly choked at the sight of Gryffindor
and Ravenclaw, yet the name Weasley packed the most impact for her.
She choked out in disbelief, "How can that be possible, to be not only related
to the Weasley's, but Gryffindor and Ravenclaw to?" She added even more
incredulously, "And what is this about number four Privet Drive, since when
have I owned that?" Ragnok replied calmly, which was typical for his kind as he
said, "Number four Privet Drive of Little Whinging Surrey was left to your
mother by her parents, and she has now left the property in question to you
Miss Potter."
Harry spluttered as she asked, "If it was my mother's and now mine, then what
on Earth are my vile aunt and uncle doing living there with my pig of a
cousin?" She added, "Neither my aunt nor my uncle ever mentioned this to me"
She paused before she scoffed and rolled her eyes as she spat, "Of course! What
the hell am I thinking, of course those backstabbing and abusive excuse for
human beings are not going to come forth with that sort of information, my
material possession loving vile aunt in particular."
Harry absolutely fumed at the thought of that disgusting family living
underneath the roof of Privet Drive if that was her property and she somehow
had a say whether they lived there or not. Merlin she seriously hope there was
a way for her influence whether they stayed there or not. Payback was a bitch
and half and Harry Potter wanted to be the never-ending blistering pain in the
backsides of her aunt and uncle if she had any say in the matter.
Ragnok replied, "Your mother allowed your aunt to live in the property due to
it having once been their childhood home. However, there was a condition, which
is that they could live there until her death if killed during the war, but if
she survived, it was yours to do as you wished when you turned seventeen.
Regardless that you are still considered a minor until your eighteenth birthday
in the muggle world does not count due to the fact your mother insisted that
was not to influence your rights."
He paused before adding, "Of course, there is also the fact neither your aunt
nor your uncle's names are on the deeds to the property, but your mother's." He
paused once again before he concluded, "It states in your mother's will that
the deeds would automatically be transferred over into your name on your
seventeenth birthday. Her will is in her personal vault if you wish to look or
discuss its contents at some point."
Harry nodded before she was suddenly filled with a thrill of pure deviousness,
which went deep, deep down to her very core. She smirked as she realised she
had a way of finally getting back at the Dursley's for both their physical and
mental abuse of her and for definitely making her sleep underneath the stairs
for the first eleven years of her life, and all of it in her property at that.
Oh yes, she was going to make them pay so bad they would not know which way was
up or down.
Ragnok saw the sudden vindictive smirk and glint that had entered her emerald
green eyes, finding that he appreciated the sight of it. He was even more
intrigued when Harry informed him, "Ragnok, I need you to inform the Dursley's
that they have a month to find elsewhere and get out of my house, and if they
fail to comply I shall have them declared as squatters and forcibly removed
personally."
Ragnok looked almost gleeful, but not quite, as he said, "It shall be done by
the end of the day Miss Potter. A notice will be sent out to your relatives
informing them that they have within the time limit you have set to vacate the
property or else the one whose name is on the deeds will take legal action if
they do not comply." Harry nodded in satisfaction, knowing when the Goblins say
they will do something they do it.
She listened as Ragnok informed her of her ancestors and said, "Now as for how
you are related to Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw, well Godric
Gryffindor, to get to the point, he is your many times great grandfather on the
Potter side of your heritage." He paused before adding, "As for Rowena
Ravenclaw, well she is your many times great grandmother on the Evans side of
your heritage."
He paused once more to allow what he suspects is shocking news to sink in, yet
knows what he will reveal next will truly overwhelm the young witch in front of
him. It is a well-known fact of how close Harry Potter is to the Weasley
family, so therefore for her to find out that they are actually her relatives
and not just in the honouree sense would surely be welcome yet shocking
information.
He told her, "As for how you are related to the Weasley family, well they also
come from the Potter side of your heritage. Your father and Arthur Weasley were
in fact first generation cousins, making you in turn Mr. Weasley's first cousin
once removed." He added after pausing, "You see your grandfather Potter had a
younger sister, Estella Weasley, nee Potter, who married a member of the
Weasley family; this in turn means she is the mother of Arthur Weasley and your
great aunt." He concluded after a moment and said, "Finally, it also means the
current Weasley generation are your second cousins."
Harry looked as if a mere feather could have knocked her over had she not been
already sitting down. She suddenly felt a deep and heavyset emotion of
disconcert and bombarded with the realisation that she had unknowingly spent
almost the whole of last year dating one of her cousins. Second cousin or not,
a cousin was a cousin at the end of the day, just as a speck of blood was still
blood.
Harry leaned back in the high back chair and wrinkled her nose as she became
aware of yet another valid reason she and Ginny could not work, no, more like
would never work. Besides, second generation was just more than a tad not
distant enough for Harry's likening thank you very much. For Merlin's sake, why
did Mr. Weasley let her date his daughter, he had to have known. Hell perhaps
pureblood families sometimes dated their cousins even married them, but she
sure as hell did not.
Harry closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath before deciding to get on
with business that is more official, now was neither the time nor the place to
let loose with the almighty fury she currently felt deep down in the pit of her
stomach. She needed a distraction very badly at this point, what better than to
ask about the deeds and keys to all of the numerous inherited properties.
She shook her head and closed her eyes so wearily that even Ragnok is all too
aware of how effected she currently is. He asked, "Is there a problem Miss
Potter with the information I have just provided you?" Harry cringed as she
replied, "Oh just that I have realised that I have spent almost a year dating
one of my cousins. Perhaps some pureblood families date or even go as far as to
marry their cousins, yet not only am I not pureblood, but cannot stand the
thought of dating a relative no matter how distant they are or are not."
She paused again before adding, "Part from that the information is not
unwelcome, I have always had a fondness for that family and to know they are
actual real family is truly the best news I have received in a long while. I
need all of the family and support I can possibly get at this point." She
paused for the final time before sighing and said, "I am sorry, I hardly think
you want to be sitting here and listening to me complaining."
Ragnok replied calmly, "Think nothing of it Miss Potter." He paused for a brief
moment before adding, "Is there anything else you require Miss Potter?" Harry
looked truly tired as she replied, "Yes, if possible I wish to see the main
Potter vault, along with my own personal vault. I need money to buy new robes,
books and school supplies, please." She added, "I would also like to transfer
ten thousand galleons over from my mother’s vault to my personal vault."
Ragnok informed her, "I can have money transferred over no problem, but there
would be no need to take any money out on its own as we can provide you with a
pouch similar in purpose to the one you already have." He proceeded to explain
how it worked and said, "All you would need to do would be to tap the pouch
with your wand and quietly say the amount you want and the amount will appear
inside of the pouch." He concluded, "The amount is not limited due to there
being an extension charm cast on the pouch."
Harry nodded and asked, "One more thing, will I need a four digit pin number
for the cards like the muggle kind do?" Ragnok replied, "Yes, one for each
card, which you will soon have four of, so when you go to the counter on your
way out you will be asked to provide four different combinations." Harry nodded
as she wondered just how she was going to come up with that many different
combinations.
Ragnok picked up four keys which look like the one she has for her personal
vault. Ragnok handed them over to Harry and said, "There are only four keys as
the two Potter vaults are not opened by a regular key, but by the means of
blood of a heir or someone with the blood required, which in this case is you
Miss Potter." He added, "Of course you will no longer need any keys after
today, so if you wish I could hold onto the keys instead of you."
Harry replied, "Yes, I would prefer that option as I do not need or want to be
carrying around vault keys all day long and not have the option of being able
to store them in a safe place immediately." She added, "I do not like the
thought of somehow losing or misplacing the keys before the upgrades on all of
my vaults can be completed. I am certain there are far too many people out
there who would not think twice about trying to invade my family's wealth."
Ragnok nodded and replied, "Very well." He paused before commenting, "Even if
you were to lose a key no one would be able to gain access. We here at
Gringotts would know it was your key, and if we had received no notice of you
giving permission to anyone outside of you and your future spouse access, then
we would trap them in the custody of Gringotts and take the key from them.
After that we would call for the Aurors and have the individual arrested for
attempted robbery before they could get anywhere near the vaults."
He had no idea how she would take this next piece of information. He informed
her, "Now I must warn you Miss Potter, not only do the two Potter vaults
require blood, but one of the two is being guarded by a dragon." Harry faltered
before asking, "Oh, and what kind, I faced a Hungarian Horntail during the
Triwizard Tournament?" Ragnok replied, "A Chinese Fireball guards the vault,
Miss Potter."
Harry had to stifle the urge not to laugh wondering what Viktor Krum who faced
the Dragon in question during the tournament would make of that piece of
information. At least it was not a Hungarian Horntail guarding the vault, and
was not certain whether she would be able to stomach the sight if it were the
case. Sure, she had no visible scarring from facing the Horntail, but she sure
as hell remembered the encounter all too vividly.
Harry stood when Ragnok did and he led her out of his office and informed her
as they walked along, "A copy of the documents which you have signed today will
be provided, including the one containing your vaults, properties and names of
your ancestors." Harry asked, "Could those copies please be sent to my personal
vault, along with extra copies to take with me due to needing them for a
conversation I unfortunately cannot avoid?"
She concluded, "Finally, I need to visit the vault that contains the Potter
possessions that are not money or documents, I was hoping to find a gift for my
new fiancé." She quickly added as a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Could
you please tell me whether there is a copy of the contract drawn up for my
betrothal in one of the vaults as I wish to scan the document?" She needed to
read word for word what that blasted contract entailed and the true reason for
its creation.
Ragnok nodded and replied, "Yes Miss Potter, there is and if you wish a copy
can be supplied for you whilst you are down in your vaults, I can arrange it
and you can collect it on your way out." He added asking, "Will that be all
Miss Potter?" Harry asked, "Is Griphook available as he usually takes me down
to my vault if it is not too much trouble?" She figured why not deal with the
Goblin who had first taken her down into the vaults. It seemed rather fitting
like coming full circle now that she was no longer eleven but of age.
Ragnok if surprised that she had not only asked for a specific Goblin, but also
had in fact named him too did not show it. He nodded and replied, "Yes Miss
Potter, please wait by the main desk at reception and he shall meet you there."
Harry nodded and said, "Thank you for your time Master Ragnok and good day."
Ragnok nodded as he replied, "And you too Miss Potter."
Harry made her way over to the main desk at reception and saw that Tonks, along
with Fleur and Angelina were waiting for her. Harry asked Tonks, "Do you want
to come with me down to my vaults?" She added, "I am going to visit one of the
Potter vaults to see if I can find a gift for Cedric." She paused before
concluding, "Plus, there is something which I need to tell you on the way
down."
Tonks nodded and turned to Fleur and Angelina and told them, "You two go on
ahead to Madame Malkins, tell her that Harry is going to be running a little
late due to being held up in Gringotts concerning family business. Ask her if
she is still able to fit Harry in or would she prefer if we rescheduled? Plus,
remember to refer to her as Jamie Evans." Fleur and Angelina nodded.
Fleur asked, "Is everything alright, Harry?" Harry seeing both hers and
Angelina's genuine concern replied, "I will explain after we have been to
Madame Malkins and to Flourish and Blotts to get some new quills and
parchment.” She paused before suggesting, “Plus, I was thinking that we could
go to Florean Fortescue's as I fancy some ice cream." Fleur and Angelina nod
and said they would pass on Tonks message and see them at the dressmakers.
As soon as they had left Griphook arrived and said, "Miss Potter if you would
please follow me." He added, "Also please allow me express my gratitude and
honour for remembering my name and personally asking for my services." Harry
replied, "Of course I remember you back from my very first time visiting
Gringotts when I was eleven, you were one of the first Goblins I had ever seen
and it stayed with me these past six almost seven years." She adds, "This is
the first time I have been in a position to ask for anyone in specific."
Griphook nodded before Harry quickly asked, "Would it be possible to bring Mrs
Lupin with me down to my vaults?" Griphook nodded and replied, "Very well Miss
Potter, but if she enters anyone of the Potter vaults she cannot under any
circumstances touch anything, she not being a relative with your blood or your
spouse means she is not authorised to touch." Harry nodded and Tonks commented,
"Of course, I am aware I cannot touch anything, but thank you for the warning
as not all vaults have this set up in place, and only those vaults belonging to
the oldest of pureblood families do."
They followed Griphook down the familiar route where the carts to take them to
the vaults were located. As soon as they reached the carts and seated inside of
one, Griphook started the cart moving and guides it along the tracks going
faster the deeper they travelled into the mines. Harry and Tonks knew it would
be speeding right along before they reached where they need to be.
Tonks leaned in close enough to speak and asked Harry, "Harry what is going
on?" Harry replied over the sound of the cart screeching along the tracks and
said, "I will partly explain when we reach the second Potter vault." Tonks
nodded and wondered what Harry had found out, the younger witch looked a little
spooked the older witch could not help but notice. Tonks knew it had nothing to
do with the speed and motion of the cart, surely no one who owned the fastest
broomstick currently available, and could control and handle it, as Harry did
would have absolutely no problem with how fast they were currently travelling.
Ten minutes later the cart came to a stop as they finally reached the first
Potter vault. Harry and Griphook got out first so that they could deactivate
the blood magic around the door. Griphook gestured for Harry to place a single
fingertip on what appeared to be a circular keypad on the wall. Harry did as
told, immediately feeling something sharp quickly prick her fingertip, causing
her to wince slightly before removing her fingertip when Griphook told her to.
Harry stood back as she heard the loud sound of what appeared to be several
locks unlocking at the same time, followed by the sound of what was possibly
huge and heavy gears and steel cogs shifting back and forth. Less than sixty
seconds later was the sound of a loud echoing click before the door finally
swung open. That was certainty some security measure, which made Harry wonder
what possibly could be in the second Potter vault to require not only this type
of security, but also a dragon.
Harry gestured over her shoulder for Tonks to step out of the cart and come
join her. Harry was about to step inside of the vault, but stopped seconds
later as she instantly sees plies as high as the ceiling, hundreds, maybe even
thousands up on thousands of floor to ceiling and even up against the walls,
piles of gleaming Galleons. Harry felt her breath leave in a rush as she took
in the sight of more gold then she had ever seen in her entire life or knew
what to do with.
Tonks who was wondering why Harry had stopped looked over the younger witch's
shoulder, only to stop dead and clap a hand over her mouth to stifle a loud
gasp. She definitely knew why the younger witch had noticeably faltered. Merlin
you could not even step a single foot inside as there was not even enough space
to fit one single foot, never mind a full sized person.
Tonks was speechless, honestly struck silly at the sight of so much gold having
never seen so much, sweet Merlin it truly made the Blacks look like paupers, at
least the Black vault she had seen. Hell, and this was only the first vault of
two, so what in Merlin's name could possibly be in the second vault? Tonks felt
as if her eyes widened anymore they would pop out of their sockets due to how
beyond surreal what was in front of them is.
Harry murmured in awe, "Merlin if this vault is protected by blood magic, then
what the hell must there be in the second vault that it not only requires blood
magic, but a bloody Chinese Fireball guarding it?" Tonks could honestly not
help but let out a sound caught between a squeal and a small squeak. Suddenly
Tonks and Harry were giggling like madwomen, not because they found the thought
of the situation amusing, far from it, but because it was so shocking and
downright overwhelming that they had no idea whether they should be laughing or
bursting into tears.
Griphook looked on bemusedly, yet kept silent, as it was not his place to
comment on the eccentric antics of clients. It was always best to allow them to
get on with it as long as it did not interfere with him doing his job. He
supposed when you were as wealthy as Harriet Potter undeniably is then you
could afford to have a few odd eccentricities here and there.
Harry asked, "I take it this is one of the vaults that now has a Gringotts card
set up for it, second Potter vault as well?" Griphook replied, "It is Miss
Potter, just as there is enough gold in the second Potter vault to require a
Gringotts card, but the amount of gold is nothing quite of this calibre. It is
mainly for artefacts, precious gems, jewels and metals, and other such
keepsakes." Besides, you could have not fit any more inside of the current
vault if you had possibly tried.
Harry looked thoughtful as she asked, "So the second vault will have important
documents such as the deeds to my various properties I have inherited?" She
added also asking, "I ask this wondering if there would be any issues of being
able to find a suitable gift to give to my fiancé?"
Griphook replied, "Correct Miss Potter, important and official documents, such
as deeds to properties have to be placed in a vault with the very least blood
magic protection." He paused before saying, "Though some pureblood families
insist upon a more complex means of security, such as a dragon. I believe you
cannot get more complex than a dragon combined with blood magic. If you do not
end up incinerated or ate by the dragon, then you still have the blood magic to
contend with."
What more could you honestly say to that, to the scenario that had just been
presented to them? Harry cringed, while Tonks let loose with a low whistle.
Harry cleared her throat and said, "I will the use the card provided, I just
need to see the content for myself. I did not know of this vaults existence
until this morning and hope you do not mind and feel that I am wasting your
time."
She added, "I also want ten thousand Galleons to be transferred from this vault
to the vault I use for school supplies. I wish to use it as my personal
expenses account even when I graduate from Hogwarts. It will save time having
to travel from vault to vault when I come into the bank."
Harry knew there would be over twenty thousand Galleons in her personal vault
once the gold she asked to be transfer from this vault on top of the gold
transferred from her mother’s personal vault that along with whatever left
after dipping into it on and off for the last six years which was fine by her.
She would rather use that vault then dip into the other vaults on a regular
basis, not that she had to worry about not having enough gold anymore.
Griphook said, "Very well Miss Potter, it shall be done." He added, "And as a
much valued and high priority customer as were all of your family before you,
it is a requirement of Gringotts that you be shown any of your vaults when
required." He finally asked her, "If there is nothing else of interest shall we
move on to the second Potter family vault, Miss Potter?"
Harry replied, "Yes of course, I still need to view the vault and find a gift
for my fiancé." She paused before concluding, "Could you please take us there
Griphook?" Griphook nodded and replied, "Of course, this way Miss Potter and
Mrs. Lupin." Harry placed her finger on the keypad again and the blood
protection reactivated, and the door closed with an echoing bang.
Griphook gestured to the cart and Harry and Tonks climbed back inside and sat
down ready for the next part of their journey. Soon as Griphook was in the
cart, they were off again moving along the tracks, gaining speed as they
travelled. Griphook warned them, "Please hold on tight we will be travelling to
one of the oldest vaults in Gringotts, which means we will be going down into
one of the lowest levels of the mines, and the deeper we go the faster the cart
will go." Harry and Tonks both nodded as neither had been into the vaults quite
this far down before.
Harry and Tonks held on tightly, Harry all the while grinning in delight as it
was like a fast muggle roller coaster. Tonks on the other hand looked a little
green and apparently seemed not a fan of roller coasters. Ha, Harry figured
Tonks would have quite the experience if ever taken to a muggle fun fair or
theme park. The thought brought a smirk to her lips, and Tonks glowered at her,
having a strong inkling as to why she was smirking, knowing how green she must
currently look.
After fifteen or so minutes was when they heard the unmistakable roar of a
dragon not too far off in the distance. It was ten minutes later, that the
sound of the dragon not only increased in volume and intensity, but there was
now an actual visual of the pinkish red dragon to go with the sound. Harry and
Tonks cringed as they took in the sight of the monstrously tall beast display
quite adequately the reason for its name, a Chinese fireball, as it blew out a
huge ball of fire at one of the Goblins trying to keep it under control, and
barely missed singeing the small creature.
Harry muttered to Tonks, "The only reason I currently am not wanting to bolt in
the opposite direction as fast as my legs can carry me is because I keep
repeatedly saying inside of my head over and over again, I faced an Hungarian
Horntail when I was only fourteen years old. Not only are they twice as big and
vicious as that dragon right there, they also have razor sharp spikes on their
tail, my arm during the first task could sure as hell attest to such." Tonks
blanched, while Griphook turned to eye Harry briefly with interest before
returning his gaze back to what he was doing.
Soon he brought the cart to a stop and stepped out first, followed by Harry and
then Tonks. He led them over to vault as around thirty or so Goblins worked to
get the dragon under control. It was evidently a strenuous task for fully-grown
and trained wizards and witches, so Harry wondered what it must be like for
creatures as small as the Goblins are to handle such a powerful and deadly
beast.
Harry and Tonks could feel the heat of the fire the dragon was rapidly spewing
forth in huge balls of flame, heat that was immense even from where they were
standing away from the path of the dragon. Harry felt a sudden stab of sympathy
for those thirty or something Goblins in the direct path of that deadly but
awe-inspiring creature. They were amazing to observe from a distance, a very
great distance, but up close and as personal as she unfortunately got with that
Horntail left very little to be desired.
Griphook quickly made his way over to the vault and gestured for Harry to come
forth. He told Harry, "Just repeat what you did at the first vault please, Miss
Potter." Harry nodded and did as told and the same unlocking process that
happened with the first vault happened with this vault as well. When the door
was completely open Griphook gestured for Harry to enter the vault, then Harry
gestured for Tonks to follow behind.
Harry asked Griphook, "Griphook is the reason why there is a second vault down
to there not being enough space in the first?" Griphook replied, "Yes Miss
Potter, as you saw you could not properly enter inside of the vault, unlike you
are able with this vault." He paused and then added, "You only saw the front
Miss Potter, and I do strongly doubt that even your great grandchildren and
their children's children will ever see the very far back of that vault." He
concluded after another brief pause and said, "If that were to ever occur there
would have to be something very extreme happen to all of the gold inside."
Harry felt somewhat faint at hearing that and had to grab hold of Tonks' arm to
remain steady. Tonks looked a little faint too and asked Harry, "Do you want to
enter your vault so you can see its contents, and after all you did say you
want to find a gift for Cedric?" Harry nodded weakly before she stepped inside
and Tonks followed behind, wondering whether the contents would be as shocking
as the first vault had been.
Tonks let loose a low whistle as she commented, "It may not be as jammed packed
as the first, but it is no less impressive when you consider some of the
paintings and jewels are most likely priceless and even older than Hogwarts
is." Harry nodded and stepped all the way inside and Tonks followed, whilst
Griphook waited outside as Harry and Tonks started to explore.
Just as Harry was about to look at what appeared to be a painting Griphook
called out to them, "Miss Potter word of warning as I mentioned earlier no one
except for you and your future spouse can touch the contents. I however did not
mention the consequences that would occur if someone who was not you or your
spouse was to touch, such as whatever is touched will continue to multiply
until it fills the entire vault and you will be trapped inside and will
suffocate."
Harry replied in a strangled tone of alarm, "Yes, thank you Griphook, your
warning is duly noted." Tonks after hearing that made a point to look yet keep
a suitable distance between herself and the surrounding contents, as she did
not find the consequences if she was to somehow accidentally touch or rub
against anything all too appealing. Honestly death by suffocation, Merlin, what
a terrifyingly awful way to die that would be.
Harry noted with no small amount of awe that there was around forty or possibly
more trunks full of gems, jewellery, books, scrolls and Merlin knows what else,
all packed practically to overflowing, at least the ones that were open. There
were even various artefacts and other such priceless objects spread out around
the vault. However, what made her breath catch were not the multiple priceless
paintings, but the several portraits, one in particular that was currently
still.
Tonks wondered what had made Harry pause what she had been doing, but clapped
her hand over her mouth when she sees exactly what had caused such a reaction,
and rightly so. The portrait was not just one of Harry's Potter ancestors; no
it was a set of very special relatives, her parents to be exact, James and Lily
Potter in all of their painted glory on their wedding day.
Tonks knew that with a certain charm and some of Harry's blood they could have
that witch and wizard inside that portrait moving about and talking in no time.
She knew if they did it then it would be the closest Harry would possibly get
to have her parents back. All of the questions that the younger witch wanted
answered would finally be.
Tonks cleared her throat and said, "I am going to go have a talk with Griphook,
you continue to look around." Harry nodded still feeling completely
overwhelmed. Tonks stepped outside the vault and asked Griphook, "There is
wedding portrait of James and Lily potter in that vault, would it be possible
to have it removed from the vault?"
Griphook replied, "If Miss Potter authorises this action to be taken then yes,
but she would have to be the one to touch and remove it from the vault as not
even the Goblins of Gringotts can do that. Once it is out of the vault anyone
can touch it and handle it as required." He added, "Of course someone would
have to come and collect the portrait if and only if delivery to the property
is not an option."
Tonks nodded as she realised Remus or Cedric would have come and collect it due
to the wards and the Fidelius around headquarters. She said, "Thank you, Harry
will be glad to have that option, even though she is yet to express it, her
being understandably far too stunned at the sight of the portrait to even
speak." Griphook nodded and replied, "Of course Mrs Lupin, and could you please
have Miss Potter inform me when she is ready for the portrait to leave the
vault." Tonks nodded before stepping back inside of the vault.
When Tonks re-entered the vault she said to Harry, "I have arranged for you
take the portrait out of the vault, yet we will have to fire call either Remus
or Cedric to come and collect it and take it to headquarters, you know why owl
or any other kind of delivery is out of the question." She paused before
adding, "The portrait can be put in your bedroom or the room Sirius has set up
as a study for you." She concluded at Harry's surprised glance and said, "But
only you can physically remove it from inside of the vault then once it has
completely cleared the vault anyone can touch and handle it."
Harry beamed and there is a slight sheen of tears in her eyes as she said in a
slightly choked voice, "Thank you for arranging that, I was far too overwhelmed
at the mere sight of it to take any kind of action." She paused before adding,
"It will have to be Remus who collects it and takes it to headquarters; Cedric
is having lunch with Cho and I do not want to disturb him knowing that is going
to be a bitch of a conversation."
She paused and then added, "The portrait can go inside of my new study I am
only just learning I now apparently have." Tonks nodded and told her, "Sirius
insisted you needed space of your own besides your bedroom, just to relax,
perhaps study and maybe read a book. Sure you could go to the library, but
whenever is Hermione or some Order member not in there, you would never get a
moment for yourself without others hovering nearby. Remus agreed and helped
Sirius, along with Cedric set it up for you, which they have been working on
for the past week or so."
Harry chuckled as she commented, "They might possibly spoil me Tonks, I mean
seriously were you aware that Sirius set up a vault for me when I was only six
weeks old?" She paused as Tonks nodded and said, "Yeah I remember him
mentioning it, just not how much it was worth." Harry smirked, shook her head,
and revealed, "Well, at the moment it is worth five hundred thousand, and has
been gaining regular interest since it was opened sixteen almost seventeen
years ago. On top of that, apparently once his name was cleared he arranged for
five hundred galleons to be transferred on a monthly basis until I am married."
Tonks let out a low whistle, followed by a chuckle and shook her head, trust
her cousin to spoil Harry without her even realising it until it was too late.
She sighed as she watched Harry walk over to a closed trunk. She wondered how
much the items in here were worth and how old they were, probably many antiques
at that. This was honest to Merlin wealth in its purest form she noted with no
small amount of awe. However, it appeared the Potter's wealth was immense, yet
not shoved in her face on a major grand scale. It did not feel as if it was
inescapable that tends happen when around the Malfoys.
Harry studied the trunk and was glad to discover it did not have any form of
locking charms in place. The name James Charlus Potter was engraved on the lid,
which led her to wondering whether this was her father's trunk, or was it an
ancestor with the same name?
She lifted the lid and looked inside, and discovered that it was full to the
brim with rolled up parchment. She selected a scroll at random and very
carefully unrolled it, scanned its content and discovered it was the deed to
the penthouse in Paris. It was dated the year her father would have turned
seventeen, which meant she had her answer, that yes this trunk was her father's
and not an ancestor with the same name.
She shook her head as she continued to scan the deed, realising with sharp
clarity that the property was now hers. She called out to Tonks and said, "Look
at this trunk, it belonged to my dad." She paused and added, "And this scroll
here is in fact the deed to a two-story penthouse located in Paris." She rolled
the scroll back up carefully and placed it back inside of the trunk before
picking up another, also at random.
She unrolled the scroll and scanned it, discovering it was the deed to the
villa in Brazil, and called out to Tonks again and said, "And this is the deed
to the villa in Brazil, I bet the deeds to the villas in Venice and ST Lucia
most likely are also in here to, Tonks." Harry waited to see what reaction that
piece of news would receive, and did not have long to wait, smirking all the
while.
Tonks exclaimed, "Just how many properties do you now own Harry if you do not
mind me asking?" Harry looked thoughtful as she replied, "Well, for starters
there is Potter manor, which is located in Scotland. And of course there is
Godric's Hollow, but at this point I figured that wreck is not even considered
a property anymore and the less said about it the better." Tonks winced
slightly at hearing that bit, but was hardly surprising considering the hellish
circumstances now tied to the property.
Harry paused before adding, "That's two so far, three would be a two-story
penthouse in Paris, while four would be a town house in downtown London, five a
two-story house in Washington located in a town called Forks.” She paused to
snort before commenting incredulously, “Whoever the hell thought it a bright
idea to name a town after an eating utensil is beyond me." Tonks returned the
snort and shook her head, though she could not help but agree on that point.
Harry paused for a moment before continuing, "Six, seven and eight would be the
villas, one each located in Brazil, ST Lucia and Venice." She paused again
before continuing to add, "Nine and Ten are high-rise penthouses, one in New
York City Manhattan, and a second in Beverly Hills Hollywood." She looked
thoughtful as she said, "I think I also remember seeing a vineyard in France
mentioned on the list, personal and not a business, yet might have the
potential." She concluded after pausing, "There were more, but none I can
remember off the top of my head, except for one, which is my absolute
favourite."
Tonks looked shocked, yet mostly amused as she asked, "Oh and that was?" Harry
replied asking her, "Do you know the name of where I spent fifteen, almost
sixteen years of my life growing up?" Tonks frowned as she replied, "Yeah,
number four Privet Drive located in Surrey, I had guard duty enough over the
last year and a half to know that place on sight by now. Merlin I’ll never
forget, it was located in such a boring neighbourhood every house practically
looked identical."
She paused when she sees the truly shit eating grin that spread across the
younger witch's face. That is when she realised what Harry is implying, it
being the question she asked combined with that truly shit eating expression
that the proverbial Knut dropped, right along with Tonks's jaw. "NO!" She
exclaimed, "You cannot honestly mean what I think you do," she added. If that
really was the case, then she knew that Harry would have no issue raining all
kinds of shit down upon the heads of the current residents.
Harry looked downright gleeful, almost boarding on manic bliss as she drawled,
"Oh yeah, and I have already set the wheels in motion." Tonks asked, "What do
you mean, and what have you done?" Harry replied, "Rather quite simple really,
but the absolute most sweetest and positively effective revenge I could have
ever possibly played against my relatives, my hell bitch of an aunt in
particular." Tonks asked, "Such as?" If it was what she thought it was, then
she knew that disgusting family would get there just desert.
Harry replied, "I have instructed my accounts manager Ragnok to arrange for my
aunt and uncle to be by the end of the day served with a months' notice. They,
along with their repulsive whale and bully of a son have exactly a month to
find elsewhere to live and get the hell out of my property." She paused before
continuing, "If they refuse to comply and are not out of that house by the end
of the deadline I have set, I will have them declared squatters and will make a
point to personally have them removed by force if necessary and dump their good
for nothing asses out onto the streets.”
She looked somewhat livid as she added bitterly, “Toss them out on their asses
just like they threatened to do to me so many damned times when I would have
nightmares and end up waking them all. Obviously I not being able to do magic
underage out of school could not cast a silencing charm so they would not hear
me and be woken."
Tonks felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop, regardless that she knew that
possibly was what Harry had gone and done, yet having suspicions and they
turning out to be accurate was an entirely different matter. She listened as
Harry said, "My mother's will is in her personal vault, which states that my
grandparents Evans left the deeds to my mom in her name and not my aunts. Now
she has left those deeds to me, which became immediately effective the second I
turned seventeen." She concluded, "So naturally I am within my every right to
do as I see fit with that property."
Tonks finally snapped out of her shock and asked, "Then what the hell are they
doing living there if Lily Potter's name was the one on the deeds and now
yours?" Harry sighed and replied, "It was my mom and aunts childhood home, and
my aunt was given permission from my mom to live there until I turned
seventeen. At that time, she told aunt Petunia that she had to find elsewhere
to live, even if she was married and had children, unless I said otherwise. And
believe me Tonks I am most definitely saying otherwise."
She paused as she tried to calm herself, yet her efforts were of no use, as
when she next spoke her voice was as cold as ice. She told Tonks, "Not only did
my aunt Petunia not mention any of that, but she treated me like vermin, a
freak, and a House elf. She locked me up in the cupboard underneath the stairs
for the first ten almost eleven years of my life, which was my bedroom." She
paused before adding, "That was before I knew what magic was and that it was
real and exists. All of that crap done to me under my roof, mine and not hers,
something which she is going to be made all too aware of very soon."
Harry took a deep breath before she concluded, "I know if there is a way to
truly hurt my aunt, then it is either through her son or her husband. Her pride
and joy after Dudley my cousin, number four Privet Drive. She remodelled and
decorated that house from top to bottom to her specific likening, which means
that is my aunt's dream home. A dream home I am going to rip out from
underneath her boney ass with absolute relish, relish Tonks!"
Tonks looked beyond shocked and rather quite faint as Harry chose that moment
to tell her, "But, that is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg of
information and secrets I am being made aware of today." Tonks asked as her
voice cracked slightly, "Such as?" What more could there be to know, because
seriously you had to wonder how much had been kept from Harry that not even
Tonks herself had been made aware of, so was it truly any wonder the younger
witch was furious?
Harry placed the deed to the villa in Brazil back into the trunk and closed the
lid. She then said, "I discovered who my ancestors and present relatives are,
ranging as far back as Godric Gryffindor on my father's side, who apparently is
my so many times great grandfather, which in turns makes me the current and
only living heir of Gryffindor." That explained why she was able to wield the
sword back in her second year down in the Chamber of Secrets.
She continued at the startled expression Tonks was eyeing her with and added,
"Then there is Rowena Ravenclaw, my so many times great grandmother on my
mother's side of the family, which in turns also makes me the current and only
living heir of Ravenclaw. Hardly surprising as Sirius and Remus and even the
Headmaster mentioned a couple of times how intelligent my mother was when she
was a student at Hogwarts."
Tonks clapped a hand over her mouth as she let out a sound caught between a
squeak and a gasp. She did not have time to recover when Harry called out to
Griphook, "Griphook, please tell me are the family rings for both Gryffindor
and Ravenclaw inside of this vault? I would like to have them if they are." She
wondered if the Peverell family ring was in here as well, but first she wanted
the location of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw rings.
Griphook called back, "Yes Miss Potter they are, just summon them by calling
out the name of whichever you want and it shall come to you." He paused before
adding, "You do not need your wand to summon them to you as the vaults are set
up to allow easy access, plus we do not allow the usage of wands inside of the
vaults." Harry called back, "Thank you Griphook."
She then called out in a clear voice, "Gryffindor and Ravenclaw family rings."
Within seconds the two rings come zooming towards Harry, which she caught in
both hands, having no idea which exact direction they had come from. She placed
both rings onto the fingers of her right hand and noted the Gryffindor ring
looked a lot like the Potter ring, except instead of a P it had a G and there
were rubies for eyes on the lion. It felt warm to the touch as it shrunk down
drastically to fit her finger, it up until then had always encircled the
fingers of a wizard and not a witch.
Next, she felt the Ravenclaw ring warm up, but barely shrunk a size, after all
said ring had usually encircled the finger of a witch, hence its very feminine
appearance. It appealed to Harry more so than the Potter and Gryffindor rings
did. This was without a doubt a woman's signet ring, was oval shaped and made
of pure solid silver and had a letter R shaped in large cursive in the centre
made up entirely of beautiful bright blue sapphires. She made a mental note to
find a spell or charm to dull the effects of silver on Remus.
With that done, she called out, "Peverell headship ring." Sure enough moments
later another ring zoomed towards her, which she caught in her out stretched
hand. Tonks could not decide whether to laugh or gasp in disbelief, so settled
for a sound combined between the two. She watched as Harry placed the final
ring on her small finger of her right hand, which made the band shrink down
drastically to fit. Harry noted it was a gold signet and square in shape with a
black onyx background with a small letter P in white diamonds in the centre of
what appeared to be a symbol.
She made a mental note to ask Sirius if she could use his safe at Headquarters
until she could get her own. She only wanted to keep the Potter ring on in
public and the other three she wanted put away securely. She figured the fewer
people the better who knew she was not only the Potter heir and family head,
but also Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Peverell as well. She would not give people
unnecessary power over her if she could help it. She would ask Tonks if there
was a glamour charm to place on the rings, all except the Potter ring until she
could get to headquarters.
She frowned and said to Tonks, "Come here there is three things I need to
discuss with you concerning my rings." Tonks came to stand by Harry and asked,
"Such as?" Harry replied, "First I need a glamour charm that allows me to cover
up and only reveal what I want. I need it so only people who do not know of the
three other rings will only be able to see the Potter ring." She paused and
adds, "I want to ask Sirius if I can place the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and
Peverell rings in his safe at headquarters, at least until I can arrange for my
own."
She continued at Tonks' nod and added, "Also I need to come up with a charm or
spell to dull the effects of silver on Remus until I can put the Ravenclaw ring
in a safe as it obviously is made of silver." She paused once more before
concluding, "Finally, I need you to tell me if you recognise the symbol on the
Peverell ring." She stopped there and waited for Tonks to respond with
hopefully some news she wanted to hear.
Tonks took a deep breath and finally said, "Okay, first of all yes I know of a
charm which can hide and also reveal what you want a person to see and not see
in less they are aware of the rings existence. I can do it when we leave the
bank." She paused before adding, "As for putting all of the rings except for
the Potter ring in a safe, I am sure Sirius will let you use his safe and can
sort something out for you and help with getting your own safe."
She continued, "As for the Ravenclaw ring being silver and Remus' issue with
silver, well, I could keep a safe distance between you and Remus, enough that
you can be in the same room without any true harm coming to him, at least until
you can lock up the ring in Sirius' Safe. I am certain he will understand and
not hold it against you Harry, after all, it is not your fault the ring is made
of silver that was the choice of Rowena Ravenclaw."
She continued after pausing to catch her breath then said, "Now let me see that
final ring and I will tell you if I recognise it." Harry did as told and held
out her right hand and said, "The one on my small finger with the black onyx
background." Tonks nodded and eyed the ring, before she gasped and commented,
"Harry that is a symbol out of a children's book of fairytales, so why on earth
would it be the crest for the Peverell family ring." She added, "Sure they are
mentioned throughout the entire book, yet I always thought it to be a bedtime
story."
She continued after pausing, "That symbol appears in the book, an invisibility
cloak, the elder wand, the most powerful wand ever, along with the resurrection
stone, which in the story allowed the owner of the stone to see the ghosts of
their dead loved ones." She paused before concluding, "Apparently they were
known as the Deathly Hallows, all three supposedly belonging to death, the Grim
Reaper as the muggles call him. But, it is not real Harry, and of course I
wager you have a copy of the book yourself."
Harry asked, "What is the title of the book?" Tonks replied, "The Tales of
Beedle the Bard." Harry nodded and called out aloud, "The Tales of Beedle the
Bard." Moments later a thick book that had a pale blue cover zoomed over to
Harry, who caught it in her out stretched hand. She then opened it and started
scanning through the pages, until she came to the middle of the book and found
taking up a whole page was a picture of the symbol on the crest of the Peverell
ring.
Tonks hissed between clenched teeth, "Merlin! Okay Harry, fairytale or not I am
starting to become more than a little disturbed here." Harry replied, "Yeah,
trust me when I say you and me both." She shivered as the feeling you get when
you say that someone had just walked over your grave, shot through Harry and
startled her. It was a feeling that Harry did not like in the least, yet
usually felt when around Voldemort.
She cleared her throat loudly and said, "Okay, I think I will come back another
day before I return to Hogwarts, maybe bring Cedric with me to allow him to get
a feel and idea of exactly what he will be marrying into. But, meanwhile I need
to find something for him, and of course ask Griphook a question." Tonks
nodded, knowing the contents of this vault; the first Potter vault especially
would end up overwhelming Cedric.
Harry poked her head around the door and asked, "Griphook is there vaults for
Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Peverell? They most likely were listed on the
parchment from earlier, but I was far too busy being stunned about the total
gold value and finding out about the Weasley's and Privet Drive." She was not
kidding; she really had been and was still reeling for that matter.
Griphook replied, "Yes, I have seen your accounts because I work alongside
Ragnok your families' accounts manager on a regular basis. There is one vault
for Ravenclaw, one for Peverell and two for Gryffindor." Harry asked, "In that
case can I get the keys and view those vaults next time I come into Gringotts?"
She knew Cedric would be amazed to view the vaults of two of the founders of
Hogwarts.
Griphook replied, "Gryffindor and Ravenclaw do not have keys as they are blood
protected as is the Peverell vault." He paused and added after a moment and
said, "One of the Gryffindor vaults has enchantments and wards so complex and
powerful it does not require a dragon to guard it." Griphook knew Godric
Gryffindor had put up those enchantments and wards, and once every fifty years
or so a descendent would come and strengthen the wards and enchantments.
Griphook informed her before Harry went back into the vault, "Oh, and Miss
Potter in regards to the second Gryffindor vault, the enchantments and wards
first cast by Godric Gryffindor require a descendent to come every fifty years
or so to strength them. You being the current descendent means that requirement
falls upon you, but will not be necessary for another thirty years or so as
your grandfather came in before your father was born and added his own magic to
the wards making them stronger."
He continued, "When the time eventually comes it will require you to place two
drops of blood onto the vault door and recast the wards and enchantments. One
drop will start the process while a second will complete and end it." He
concluded finally informing her, "A list of enchantments and other wards will
be provided closer to the time, but not yet Miss Potter."
Harry asked, "Exactly how many enchantments and wards are there cast upon the
vault and I will have to learn?" Griphook replied, "I have only seen it done
once before, which was by your grandfather. He cast four different enchantments
and six different kinds of wards." He concluded, "It is a very draining
process, which takes three hours to complete, so I recommend you are not alone
on the day you decide to come." Harry nodded and said, "Thank you Griphook I
will keep that in mind and will bring my fiancé when I do come."
She then moved her head back inside of vault and turned back to face Tonks and
asked, "I take it you heard all of that?" Tonks nodded in truly gobsmacked
silence, oh yeah she heard all right. Three hours to cast all, she could just
imagine what kind of protective and defensive wards and enchantments Godric
Gryffindor deemed worthy of casting around his vault. Harry added as she asked,
"Oh and I am going to assume you also heard me mention the Weasleys as well?"
Tonks nodded again silently.
Harry explained to her, "Apparently, my grandpa Potter had a younger sister,
who married a Weasley, a Weasley and a Potter who are the parents of one Arthur
Weasley." She paused to allow what she had just said to sink into the older
witch's head. Tonks eyes widened practically to the size of saucers as Harry
continued, "Mr. Weasley and my dad were first cousins, which makes Mr. Weasley
my first cousin once removed.”
She shrugged as she continued,”The Weasley children are my second cousins, that
also makes Mrs. Weasley my cousin-in law and Fleur my soon to be cousin-in
law." She paused before concluding, "Finally, Mr. Weasley's mother, Estella,
was or is my great aunt, I have no idea whether she is still alive or not, that
is something I will have to ask him when I see him next."
A thought suddenly occurred to Tonks and she exclaimed, "That means Ginny is
your cousin!" A look of distaste appeared on Harry's face as she replied, "That
is another reason why me and Ginny will never ever work. As you have just
pointed out she is my cousin, and a cousin is still a cousin, just as blood is
still blood. Second generation is not distant enough for me, not even damn
close Tonks." She concluded sarcastically, a noticeable bitter edge to her
voice as she commented, "Ha, happy birthday to me!"
Tonks exclaimed, "That's it, I cannot take anymore, let's just find something
for Cedric and get out of this vault, please!" Harry nodded and replied,
"Agreed, hell I want out of this bank, no offence to the Goblins but it is this
bank that holds more secrets kept from me then I know or want to deal with, at
least of all today that is. If I find out anymore secrets kept from me I may
possibly go off at the deep end."
They started to search the vault, discovering a large pensive and twelve
genuine crystal phials to go with it. There was even a beautiful yet
understated white gold tiara covered with diamonds and rubies. A lump that was
hard to swallow around appeared in Harry's throat as she spotted Lily's wedding
dress, veil and shoes, along with James's wedding robes.
Just as she was about to move into another part of the vault she spotted a red
velvet box. She gasped as soon as she opened the box and discovered the content
inside, a very precious content. It was her mother's engagement ring, same one
seen in the portrait and in her locket. It was a stunning white gold band with
a rather large white diamond solitaire mounted on the band and much smaller
rubies on either side of the diamond.
She called out to Tonks and said, "I just found my mom's engagement ring, it is
stunning, and I mean stunning. She was so lucky and I could just imagine how
much my dad must have loved her to give her such a ring." Tonks walked over and
shook her head as she said in awe, "Merlin that is one hell of a diamond, it
must have cost your dad a small fortune. I almost envy the seriously lucky
witch who will be the one to wear it next."
Harry closed the box and said, "I am leaving this where it is, I have no need
for it at this point as I have Cedric's grandmother's ring." She added, "I most
likely would have given this to Ginny if the circumstances were not what they
are." She paused and commented sadly, "Do me a favour and never ever dare to
mention this ring to Ginny, I do not want what happened with Cho and my
engagement ring happening with my mom's and Ginny." Tonks nodded and replied,
"Of course I understand."
Harry has a small smile curving her lips as she said to Tonks, "I want to give
this to my heir to give to the one he is going to marry. I have Cedric's
grandmother's ring, meaning my mom's ring is available, who better than the
Potter heir to give it to?” She added, “I suspect Cedric's mom's ring will go
to the Diggory heir." Tonks nodded knowing the younger witch was correct, that
the engagement ring of the mother or grandmother always went to the oldest
heir, all depending whether the mother or grandmother were alive or not.
Harry went back to searching through one of the many trunks, and found one full
of jewellery. She spent the last five minutes searching through the stunning
and priceless contents, when she found a solid gold chain that had an oval
shaped pedant, that was a little large than Harry's thumb nail and made of pure
black onyx. This was it, was what she had unknowingly been searching for and
was beyond perfect, simple yet stunning.
She grinned and called out to Tonks, who was on the other side of the vault, "I
think I we have a winner, I have found the perfect gift for Cedric." Tonks made
her way over to the other witch and looked closely at the pedant Harry was
holding up for her to see. "It's perfect, Tonks" Harry said happily. She added,
"It is evidently a man's pedant and is even in Cedric's house colours, black
and yellow." She paused grinning even wider as she concluded, "The yellow gold
chain is as close to yellow as I can get, while the black onyx covers the
something black."
Tonks grinned as Harry started to search for a box to put the pedant in. She
suggested to the younger witch and said, "Why not buy a box for it to go in, it
will give it more of a personal touch." Harry nodded and replied, "Alright,
just let me find a pouch to put it in for safekeeping, wouldn’t want to lose it
before I can find something suitable."
She called out, "Black velvet pouch." Instantly about six different pouches
come zooming over to the pair and land in Harry's hands. She examined each
pouch before she finally settled on a soft crushed velvet pouch in black with
golden cords that had tassels on the ends. She placed the chain in the pouch
and pulled the cords tightly together.
She secured the large book underneath her arm before turning to look at her
parents wedding portrait. She called out to Griphook, "We're ready to leave
Griphook, but how would you suggest I remove my parent's portrait from the
vault?" Griphook called back, "Take hold of the portrait Miss Potter and carry
it over to the door of the vault, once it is outside the door I can then take
it from you safely." Harry called back, "Okay, get ready I am about to pick it
up, its heavy so please be quick and ready to grab it.”
Griphook walked closer to the entrance of the vault as close as he could
without entering. Back inside of the vault, Harry had picked up her parents
portrait, and as she had told Griphook, it was indeed heavy. She truly wished
there was no rule against using magic inside of the vaults as she struggled
slightly over to the door. It was fortunate for the state of her back that once
the portrait cleared the door Harry was able to securely hand it over to a
waiting Griphook.
Griphook took the portrait and quickly made his way over to the cart and used
his own Goblin magic to place a feather light charm on the portrait, at least
the Goblin equivalent. He then placed it securely inside of the cart before
making his way back over to the vault. Harry and Tonks were just leaving the
vault as he reached them. Tonks came out first quickly followed by Harry, and
it was evident that both witches had enough of being inside of the vault for
one day.
Harry helped reset the blood magic on the vault, which closed the door with an
echoing bang. Harry handed over the pouch and book to Tonks as they settled
back inside of the cart. Tonks placed both items inside of her bag for
safekeeping as Griphook got the cart moving backwards up the tracks. He called
out in warning, "Secure that portrait and hold on tight, the cart goes much
faster in reverse." Harry and Tonks nodded in return at his warning and secured
the portrait more closely between them.
Harry told Tonks over the noise of the cart moving along the tracks, "We need
to stop off at reception before we leave for Madam Malkins." She paused before
adding, "I need to hand over my parents' portrait so it can be delivered to
headquarters, along with the pendent for Cedric." She paused before adding, "I
also need to collect a copy of the list of my properties, ancestors and my
other assets.”
Tonks nodded as Harry continued, “I am also going to need to think of four
different four digit codes for my Gringotts cards, Merlin knows how I will come
up with four different combinations." She had no idea what combinations would
be secure and not an obvious choice, she would worry about that when she got to
reception.
She paused again before saying with a slight scowl on her face, "Lastly, I need
to collect a copy of mine and Cedric's betrothal contract, which Ragnok
promised would be waiting for me at reception. I want to know what that damn
contract says just as I am betting Cedric will to if he has not seen it
already." She concluded after pausing as Tonks nodded once more, and said
around a low growl, "I swear we will have more than a few words to exchange if
he has."
Tonks winced in sympathy at the thought of the words the other witch would
subject him to if he had seen the contract already. She knew he would have his
work cut out for him, and hoped for his sake if he had seen it then he had a
safe way to stem his very fiery fiancée’s temper. Tonks had a feeling that he
had seen the contract and did not pity him when Harry found out, oh and she
would find out.
Tonks called back, "We can do that and then we need to go and meet Angie and
Fleur at Madam Malkins." Harry nodded before she and Tonks settled in for the
rest of the journey back up into the upper level of the bank. A little less
than twenty minutes later, they arrived back in the main lobby and walked up to
the reception.
Griphook took the portrait and pendent from Harry and said he would hand the
portrait and pendent over to Remus Lupin when he arrived to collect it. Tonks
assured him it would be around three thirty when her husband would come and ask
for Griphook and then collect the portrait. Griphook nodded and reassured Harry
a protective charmed wrap that only she would be able to open would be on the
portrait, before placed in a safe place until Remus Lupin arrived to collect
it.
When they reached the desk at reception Harry gave in her name and told the
Goblin behind the counter what she was there to collect, along with needing to
choose four different combinations for her Gringotts cards. The Goblin asked
her to wait a moment and returned a minute later with two rolled up scrolls of
parchment, which one was the list of her assets, properties and ancestors,
while the second was her betrothal contract. Harry handed them both over to
Tonks, who then placed them in her bag.
Next, Harry received a black velvet pouch with the Gringotts logo on it, along
with the four Gringotts cards. The desk clerk asked Harry to choose her four
combinations, which is when Tonks said she would wait over by one of the tall
pillars for her, allowing her to choose the four combinations on her own. Harry
nodded her agreement, promising she would meet her there once done.
Once Tonks left, Harry quickly decided the codes would have no special meaning
for her and needed to be chosen at random, which would in turn make it more
difficult for others to guess, for even those who actually knew her to guess as
well. It was when people got sentimental and figured choosing a birthday or
anniversary so it was easier to remember was made it easier for those who knew
you to guess your codes.
Harry chose the first of four codes after a few moments, which was 1720 for the
first Potter vault, and 0311 for the second Potter vault. She paused for a
moment to think of another code and less than thirty seconds later she provided
the four-digit code, 2325 for her mother’s personal vault. Finally, for her
father's personal vault she chose the four-digit code, 2622.
Harry asked the Goblin how she was supposed to remember not one but four codes.
The Goblin clerk explained that they would be wrote down on a credit card sized
piece of parchment, until she was able to memorize which code went with which
card. Harry had asked whether that was wise for her to carry around the codes
that would give whoever found them access to her fortune.
The clerk assured her that muggles or anyone who was not authorised to use any
one of the cards would end up seeing a piece of blank parchment. It would
remain blank no matter how many spells cast to make the parchment reveal its
information. She was reassured that it was already a tested method, which
worked perfectly well. Goblins did not provide false information to their
customers when it counted.
Harry was genuinely relieved to hear this, honestly feeling rather faint at the
thought of what would happen if anyone unfriendly did gain access to her
vaults. She could just imagine what her vile relatives would do in there,
especially after what she knew would happen by the end of the day. Even if it
were the last thing she ever did, her poor excuse for family never would be
aware of just how wealthy she was if she could help it. Harry silently nodded
satisfied in the knowledge that her relatives would never receive anything from
her they had not earned the right to a damned sickle.
She asked the clerk whether the two lots of ten thousand galleons transfers had
reached her personal vault yet. The Goblin clerk assured her saying, "Yes it
has and you will see on the parchment, which will update regularly." Harry
looked thoughtful at the mention of regular updates and asked the clerk, "Is
there an option, say like a statement which can be owled to me say once a month
or every three months?"
The clerk replied, "We can set up an update delivered by owl post once a
month." He paused before adding, "You would just need to sign two forms and it
will start next month until you wish for it to cease." He asked her after a
brief pause and said, "Would you prefer at the beginning of each month or the
end, Miss Potter?" Harry replied, "End of each month as it would allow me to
keep track of what I spend during each month."
The clerk walked over to a filing unit on the other side of the large lobby and
returned five minutes later with the required forms. He placed the two forms
down on the counter and gestured to the forms asking her to scan through them
quickly before he instructed her where to sign her signature. Once finished he
assured her the papers she had signed all would be filed away by the end of
dinnertime at the latest.
Once done with everything that needed doing, she thanked the Goblin for his
time before making her way over to where Tonks was waiting patiently for her.
She said around a tired sigh, "Oh thank Merlin that we are all done here, at
least for today. We can finally get out of here I swear I have never spent so
long inside of this bank, any bank for that matter." Tonks looked beyond
relieved to, not bothering to hide this fact. As soon as she gave Tonks the
four cards to put in her bag for safekeeping they left the bank.
Once they left Gringotts, they walked along the crowded cobbled streets of
Diagon Alley. Harry could not help but feel truly alive on that warm summer's
day, as a brand new way of looking at life officially opened to her. Not even
the possibility of losing that life at a seconds notice always a possibility at
the back of her mind would interfere with how she currently felt with not only
herself but with her present company.
She suddenly stopped as she spotted The Magical Menagerie, and said to Tonks,
"Oh, that reminds me I need to make a quick stop here as I need to get Hedwig
some treats as she is fast running out." Tonks agreed and followed her inside
of the store, honestly having no idea of the stunt the younger witch was about
to pull inside, no idea whatsoever. If she had then she surely would have not
been so quick to enter the store with the younger witch.
Once inside they passed a tank that had two Runespoors inside, which are three
headed snakes. This was the moment Harry caught Tonks completely off guard when
she started to quietly hiss to the snakes in the tank, quietly so as not to
drawn attention to herself. Tonks was a little disconcerted when the snakes
start to hiss right back at the younger witch. She looked around the store and
hoped no one happened to be paying attention to that area, to Harry in
particular.
Of course she had been informed of Harry's little unexpected gift, yet hearing
about it and actually witnessing it first hand was more than a small shock to
the system. Tonks did not think any less of Harry, but the sound of her hissing
made Tonks little uncomfortable and more wrong footed then she was normally on
a daily basis being as clumsy as she sometimes was.
She almost looked as if she wanted to burst into tears of sheer relief when
Harry finally stopped talking to the snakes. The witch in question spotted the
expression and instantly knew the reason for it, and gave Tonks an apologetic
smirk, which caused the older witch to favour her with a disgruntled frown.
Tonks could not believe that even while apologising Harry was still smirking,
something that she knew Harry would have not done before she changed back.
Harry giggled quietly as she moved away from the snake tank and to another part
of the store where they kept the owl treats. She could practically feel Tonks
boring holes into the back of her head. Harry inwardly shrugged, knowing she
could not help it, knowing whenever she saw a snake she had an urge to talk to
it. Normally she could keep it in check, but she had wanted to see if the
ability had crossed over with her when she had changed back, unfortunately it
apparently had.
Tonks had never been so happy to see Harry pay for owl treats, or been so
overjoyed to be leaving The Magical Menagerie, not until she had entered it
with Harry Potter and had to deal with the younger witch talking to snakes. She
was honestly terrified of someone noticing and kicking them out of the store
for being dark witches, Harry because of her ability to speak and understand
snake language, and her for just being associated.
Harry practically giggled all the way to Madame Malkins, while Tonks scowled
and was ready to shoot a nasty little hex in her direction, maybe a stinging
hex to the backside, she deserved worse, but something told Tonks that Harry
would have no problem retaliating. Harry's stinging hex would hurt a hell of a
lot more than her own would. The more powerful the hex was the more it stung,
and Tonks could imagine Harry's would definitely cause more than a slight
sting.
When they reached Madam Malkins ten minutes later, they entered and instantly
saw that Fleur and Angelina were looking through the racks of robes. Madam
Malkin was in the process of measuring a Hogwarts student for new school robes,
possibly a first year as the dark haired girl looked young and small enough
Harry noted. She wondered whether she would have been that small had she been a
witch in her first year.
Fleur and Angelina looked in their direction, as did Madam Malkin as Harry and
Tonks walked further into the store. They noted that Harry appeared to be
giggling quietly, while Tonks looked positively disgruntled and was glaring at
the younger witch. Fleur wondered what could have possibly happened since she
and Angelina had left them at Gringotts, whatever it was had tickled Harry more
than it had Tonks.
Angelina asked as Harry and Tonks walked up to her and Fleur, "What happened?"
Harry started sniggering and Tonks yanked her ponytail less than gently,
causing Harry to let out a sound caught between a yelp of pain and a giggle of
amusement. Tonks murmured so only the four of them could hear and asked
Angelina, "I take it Angie that you are least aware that Harry here can talk to
a certain mascot of the Slytherin house?"
Angelina gasped and quickly turned to face Harry and asked, "Oh Harry, you
didn't?" Harry sighed and quickly removed her wand from the pocket inside of
her jacket and cast a silencing charm around the four of them, whilst checking
that Madam Malkin was occupied, which thankfully she was. She then rolled her
eyes as she put her wand back inside of her jacket just in time for Tonks to
start complaining to the other two.
Tonks moaned as she said, "We were in The Magical Menagerie, Harry was buying
some treats for Hedwig." She paused and narrowed her eyes at Harry, who rolled
her eyes again, before she added, "On the way to the aisle where they keep the
owl treats, Harry happened to spot a tank with Runespoors in it." She paused
once more to scowl before continuing, "She started a damn conversation with
them, hell, I was terrified we were going to get accused of being dark witches,
her because of her stunt, and me just due to association."
Fleur looked pale as she stuttered, "You can speak to snakes, Harry?" Harry
cringed and gritted out, "Not because I am a dark witch, no you can bloody well
get that right out of your blonde head." She added explaining, "When that
murdering bastard marked me when I was one, he left me more than just a scar,
oh no, he left me we a less than ideal ability, the ability to speak to
snakes."
She added, "I can only speak the language because that snake bastard can. It is
by no means a natural born ability Fleur, not even close. I assure you my
family are not the kind to possess gifts that most consider dark. Both sides of
my family and my ancestors were not dark witches or wizards, I had that
confirmed today." She continued after a brief pause and at Fleur's nod, and
said, "When I hear a snake hiss I get the urge to hiss right back, I wish I did
not, as it would definitely be a whole lot more convenient if I didn't."
She quickly removed her wand from her inner jacket pocket again and reversed
the silencing charm just as she sees Madam Malkin finishing with the little
girl. Malkin exclaimed happily as she spotted Harry, "Ah finally, you have
arrived, you must be Miss Evans. I was said to expect you and Mrs. Lupin as
soon as you had finished some family business at Gringotts."
Harry replied, "Sorry about that, but it was family business I had to take care
of. Turning seventeen today means all of the business requirements my godfather
did before today are now my responsibility." Malkin waved her off and said,
"Nonsense my dear, we have all been there, I have been there just as your three
companions have to." She paused and added. "You are here now and that is what
matters."
She gestured to the free platform that was in front of several floor to ceiling
length mirrors. She said, "Now you step up on here dear and tell me what I can
do for you today." Harry stepped up onto the platform and said, "I have done
some growing and gone through a lot of changes over the summer, and I just
turned seventeen and received my magic boost. In the process came certain body
changes I was not prepared for, which means I need to know my new measurements,
such as chest, waist and my hips."
Malkin nodded and asked, "In that case I assume you will need new school robes,
Miss Evans?" Harry nodded and replied, "Yes, plus I need to know if my bra size
and the clothing I am wearing are correctly fitted, I had to use magic on
muggle clothing I already had to adjust them. I have never had such issues with
growing up over the summer I guess coming of age did a number on me." Tonks and
the others inwardly snorted and thought that was definitely one way of putting
it.
Malkin nodded and took out her tape measure, which floated in midair before
starting to measure around Harry's breasts, waist, followed by her hips, before
the tape measure went complete length ways, increasing in length so it could
measure Harry’s inner leg before finally measuring from head to toe. Once done
the tape measure floated back into Malkin's outstretched hand, she then nodded
at what she saw and summoned a piece of parchment and a self-inking quill.
She cast a hovering charm on the parchment and quill, the quill hovered for a
moment before touching the parchment and started to write down whatever Malkin
said, all of Harry's measurements. The quill pretty much worked like Skeeter's
acid green quick quotes quill, yet Malkin's was not writing down malicious lies
and gossip. Malkin only used a quick quotes quill because it allowed her to be
hands free when she was measuring a customer.
Once the quill cease writing Malkin sent it back to its place near the till.
She then snatched the parchment up out of midair and studied it closely as she
asked Harry, "You would not by some chance happen to be related to Mr. Potter
would you? I swear you have the same features, only softer and more feminine,
even the same colouring such as hair and eyes." She paused and added, "Hmm,
even glasses I would wager belonging to ‘The Boy Who Lived’ himself."
Harry paled and seemed suddenly to choke on fresh air as she inwardly cursed
her own stupidity, knowing she should have worn her contacts. Only the issue
there was that she accidentally slept in them and now needed to give her eyes a
rest for day or so. Merlin, she really needed to get rid of those bloody
glasses, good for nothing pieces of Hippogriff crap. What else could go wrong
that day, Merlin it was not even afternoon yet, and if that was any indicator
of how the day was going to go then it could hurry up and bloody well finish
quick sharp in Harry’s opinion.
Malkin quickly cast a silencing charm around the platform and the other three.
Tonks looked almost as uncomfortable as Harry did, as she told Malkin, "Check
for any beetles." She explained when Malkin looked at her strangely, "Skeeter
is an unregistered Animagus, whose form just so happens to be a beetle that has
markings around the eyes that we assume must be those awful gaudy glasses of
hers."
Malkin looked truly disgusted as she spat, "So that's how that foul, Merlin
forsaken nosey hag gets her stories?" She waved her wand, cast a summoning
charm in the general direction of her shop and called out in a clear and sharp
tone, "Accio Rita Skeeter." They all held their breath hoping that Skeeter was
not nearby, and managed to let out sighs of relief when after a full minute
there is thankfully was no sign of the malicious Animagus reporter.
Malkin lowered her wand and sighed as she shook her head, and said to Harry, "I
have no idea why you are as you currently are, or could honestly guess." She
paused and then gently said, "But dear please allow me to give you some very
important and valid advice, if you do not wish for this to become public
knowledge just yet, then I would strongly recommend you invest in a new and
entirely different pair of glasses. A pair as different as it is possible to
get from the ones you are wearing."
Harry replied, "I would rather not go into great detail, only that this is no
accident, but how I really am. I spent nearly sixteen years under a powerful
glamour charm for my own safety." She paused before adding, "Not even I was
aware until the process reversed at midnight when I turned seventeen." She
concluded after another pause before saying, "Sorry but that is all I am saying
if you do not mind, Madam."
Malkin nodded knowingly and said, "Oh, I see, that kind of glamour. You are not
the first nor will you be the last either for that matter. You would be
surprised how many purebloods and other none purebloods hear rumours from time
to time of such a glamour existing and actually being performed." She paused
shaking her head in disbelief and commented, "But never has it been confirmed
whether those rumours are true or not." She concluded after pausing to briefly
eye Harry then said, "You have just confirmed for me the rumours I heard when I
was your age were in fact true."
There was a lingering silence, and just as it was starting to become
uncomfortable, Malkin smiled as she noticed Harry's engagement ring, and said,
"Such a beautiful ring you have dear." She added asking, "Who is the lucky
wizard that managed to win you over?" Harry replied blushing slightly, "Cedric
Diggory." Malkin smiled gently as she asked, "Arranged my dear?" She shook her
head and added, "A lot of purebloods still do it these days, no idea why, it is
rather an outdated practice if you want my opinion."
She continued as she shook her head again and commented somewhat sadly,
"Inconvenient for those on the receiving end, and unfortunately not all couples
learn to love each other, or even manage to become companionable to the point
their marriage is not hell on Earth." Harry raised a brow and asked, "You are
speaking from experience then?" Malkin nodded and replied, "Yes, but I was very
lucky, mine started out not so happily but now is a love match and I could
honestly not be happier even through it was not like that in the beginning."
She added looking truly sad as she said, "Unfortunately I have a cousin who is
a classical example of when the arrangement not only started out sour but
gradually worsens over time." She paused before finishing, "She is married to a
wizard who cannot stand her anymore then she can him. Arranged marriages can be
truly terrible under the wrong circumstances."
Malkin eyed Harry and smiled gently as she reassured the younger witch by
telling her, "You on the other hand my dear have nothing to worry about, and
will do just fine. Mr. Diggory is such a handsome and polite young man, who is
always very charming and courteous as young as even thirteen when his father
would bring him to me to be measured for his school robes."
Malkin was about to look down at the parchment in her hands, but then spotted
something glittering out of the corner of her eye, which immediately caught her
attention. She followed the direction she had seen the glittering and saw all
of the rings on Harry's right hand. Her brows practically disappeared up into
her hairline as she asked incredulously, "Sorry if I seem nosy, but I cannot
help but ask whether all of those rings on your right hand are family rings?"
This was enough to catch Fleur and Angelina's attention, and both practically
choked on air. Tonks cringed and said to Harry, "Oh hell, I forgot to put that
charm on the three rings you wanted covering. I got distracted with that damn
stunt you pulled in The Magical Menagerie." She paused and added, "I can do it
now if you want, even through the damage is already done it will prevent anyone
besides those here now from seeing anything you don't want them to."
She continued trying to be reassuring as she said, "Try not to worry too much,
I will cast the charm before we leave the shop, surely we can trust Fleur and
Angie." She paused before concluding as she gestured to a still stunned Malkin,
"As for Madam Malkin, she did look for Rita instead of letting her listen in. I
do not think she will sell you out Harry, besides being who you are you could
influence others to not come here and go elsewhere."
Harry had her eyes closed, yet when she opened them both she and Tonks cannot
help but snort as they see the expression on both witches' faces, even
Malkin's. Tonks smacked Fleur and Angelina on their backs, and sighed as she
said, "Yeah, that pretty much was my reaction as well, and I was right bloody
there as she was summoning them then and slipping them on inside of her family
vault."
Fleur snapped out of her stupor and asked, "Which name do those rings belong
to" she paused and quickly added, "And no I will not betray your trust and
reveal whatever you choose to tell me, it is not my place or right. Information
when told in complete confidence and trust such remain as such, that trust
should not be tested or discarded. "
Harry asked in a weary tone, "If and only if I take a huge risk of saying
anything, what I say cannot in anyway shape or form leave the five of us, not
in less I say otherwise." She paused and narrowed her eyes, and continued in a
cool and hard tone, "And if it does, I will know who to come after, oh and
believe me if it does come to that, trust me when I say I will hunt you down
and do a hell of a lot worse than make you cry." She paused once more and
informed them with a hint of steel in her voice, "That I assure you is no
threat but in fact a promise."
She continued to add as she sees just how stunned all four witches currently
looked. She told them firmly, "I speak like this because being who I am means
that if even a small partial amount of this information was to somehow slip
into the wrong hands; I could either be manipulated or killed for the fortunes,
possessions, and properties that come with each ancestor."
Tonks stepped forwards and said, "Just say I Harriet James Potter, accept the
vow to keep my secret Nymphadora Lupin has made once I finish my part." Harry
looked stunned but nodded as Tonks took hold of her wand hand. Fleur, Angelina,
and Malkin all seeing this nod and wait for Tonks to finish with her own vow.
They understand perfectly why the other witch was doing this, knowing Harry
required a certain amount of assurance that her secrets were going to remain
safe.
Malkin looked around the shop to make sure it was empty before she quickly made
her over to the door and closed it before placing a notice me not charm on the
windows. Luckily, her assistant had to leave for an appointment and would not
return until twelve thirty. She then returned to the others who had been
watching and said, "Just providing us with some security and privacy, luckily
business is slow today and my assistant will not be back until twelve thirty."
They all nodded and Tonks started to recite her vow first, "I Nymphadora Lupin,
solemnly swear upon my magic and honour as a witch, that my magic will be bound
to me if anything said during these proceedings leaves this room without the
permission of the one who the secrets belong." As soon as she finished
speaking, Harry said her part, "I Harriet James Potter, accept the vow to keep
my secret Nymphadora Lupin has made." As soon as she finished speaking, a
bright white light encircled around hers and Harry's wrists, before
disappearing into their skin.
After Fleur, Angelina and Malkin had made the same vow there was a moment of
lingering silence, before Harry commented around an incredulous and tired sigh,
"You know I came here to be measured for new school robes and to get the rest
of the girl's uniform." She shook her head and said, "Yet, I end up with four
witches swearing on their magic and honour as a witch and promising to bind
their magic inside of themselves if they let my secret loose." She closed her
eyes briefly and concluded in disbelief, "How the hell does crap like this
always happen around me?"
The others laughed, while Harry shook her head. Malkin told her, "I trust you
dear, and would rather have the information from the direct source rather than
read lies in the paper." She paused before continuing, "And if that means that
I have to swear upon my magic and honour as a witch then I am willing to do
it." She concluded shaking her head as she spoke, "I honestly have no idea why
I trust you like this, but there is just something about you that draws us all
in, that unselfishly commands our loyalty."
Tonks nodded in agreement as she added, "She is right Harry there is just
something about you in general that draws us in. Besides, I would follow you to
the ends of the Earth and back again, and that is not because I am married to
Remus or the fact Sirius is my cousin, or the wizarding world is depending on
you to save our asses. No, it is because of you that I willingly swore to bind
my magic if I fail to keep any of your secrets, just that, a secret."
Fleur added, "You saved my sister, even though it had not been necessary, you
still did it anyway. That in turn means you have my loyalty for as long as I am
able to draw breath. I willingly swear on my honour as a witch and to bind my
magic if I break the vow, and if I do that then I will be dishonourable and
most likely deserve to lose my magic." Fleur believed that to, breaking any
sort of magical vow was not something to mess around with nor was it the least
bit honourable.
Angelina nodded in agreement as she added, "You have been my teammate since
your first year, almost four years." She went on, "George and Fred they see you
as a little brother, or should I say sister?" She paused once more before
continuing, "You gave those two mischievous and lovable clowns your half of the
Triwizard winnings, allowing them to take the first steps towards opening their
own store and making their dream a reality."
She smiled gently as she told her, "On top of that you have given me the
knowledge I need to protect myself and others around me from the Dementors. You
saved my life right there when I finally mastered casting a corporal Patronus."
She finally concluded grinning gently, "So yeah, swearing on my magic and
promising to bind it if I break my vow I figure is the very least I can do."
Harry had tears in her eyes as she slowly lowered herself down upon the
platform. She wiped underneath her eyes with her fingers and grumbled
irritably, "Shit that is the third time since midnight that I have burst into
tears. The second time was this morning when I blubbered all over Cedric's
shirt, he did not hold it against me, figured I was entitled to a mini meltdown
was what he said."
The others chuckled and Malkin told her as she laughed gently, "Welcome to our
world, we are usually this weepy when we are due for our period. When a wizard
makes that claim four or five times out of ten he is usually right, not that we
would ever dream of letting them know that of course." This caused the other
three to laugh and nod in agreement, through Harry visibly blanched.
Harry shot Tonks a truly panicked glance, which made Tonks eyes widen and clap
a hand over her mouth. She had to stifle a giggle as she realised why the
younger witch blanched like that. Fleur and Angelina had seen the ill
expression and also caught onto the reason as well, and were not sure whether
to stifle giggles or cringe in sympathy. Malkin on the other hand chuckled and
said, "Oh dear, I just realised you have not experienced your first period yet,
you have no experience of being a female."
Harry moaned, "Kill me now, please." Tonks laughed, but also cringed in
sympathy as Harry whined pitifully as she asked, "Why, why me I never asked for
any of this crap?" Angelina repeated around a giggle, "As I said back at the
Leaky Cauldron, welcome to our world, what it's like to be a witch." Harry shot
her a dark look as she visibly cringed and just wanted to curl up in a ball of
misery.
Fleur sounded slightly more sympathetic, but there was still a light and
lingering edge of amusement in her voice as she said, "The downside is the
blood and the cramps, along with the occasional dizzy spell, and of course once
you start it is not going anywhere for the next four to five days. No one
enjoys the horrible cramps, along with having to constantly go to the bathroom
to change their pad or tampon."
She added even as Harry seemed paler with each word she heard, resisting the
urge to not cover her ears. "The upside is the pain potion when it kicks it and
is doing its job." She smiled as she added, "Oh yes, and the cravings for
chocolate, we crave that during our period, that along with the need for the
amazing sensation and pure comfort of a hot water bottle or heating pad against
our stomach."
She grinned wickedly as she continued, "But, the absolute best part that makes
it worth it each month, that is when it practically gives us a licence to be
all weepy and moody. And of course act like a complete bitch towards our other
halves when they say or do something stupid, just like on a regular day." Her
Bill always tried to give her a wide berth on those particular days of the
month.
The others laughed loudly and nodded in complete agreement, while Harry smirked
slightly. Angelina was the first to spot her smirk and laugh as she commented,
"Oh sweet Merlin, I just had a thought, I have no idea whether I should be
laughing my ass off or pitying Diggory. I mean once you two are married I can
imagine your mood swings are going to be volatile, and I swear that wizard will
end up being treated for hex damage on more than one occasion in the future."
The others laughed even harder, while Harry suddenly looked less distressed and
more noticeably intrigued. Tonks noticed this and called out, "Ha, look at that
look of intrigue on her face, trust you Harry to find some interest in that. I
think I really do pity Cedric, and Sirius was right when he said arguments
between you and Cedric would be explosive. I cannot honesty imagine either one
of you backing down easily once truly fired up."
Angelina wiped away her tears of mirth and asked, "Anyhow, so which of those
rings go with which ancestor?" Harry sighed before she leaned forward and
pointed to each ring in turn. First she pointed to the Gryffindor ring and
said, "This is the family ring of Godric Gryffindor, who apparently is my many
times great grandfather on my dad's side of the family tree."
She paused to allow it to sink in before continuing and pointing to the Potter
ring. She said as she pointed, "This the Potter family ring, while this beauty
next to it is the Ravenclaw ring" she pointed to the silver ring as she said
this. She added, "Ravenclaw belongs to my mom's side of the family tree, in
turn making her my many times great grandmother. It is hardly surprising as I
have been told by many people that my mom was exceptionally bright."
Harry truly wondered how Cho would take that news if she ever found out her
possibly soon to be enemy was the sole heir to her Hogwarts house. She figured
by the time Cedric revealed exactly who his fiancée is, then the Chinese beauty
would be very quick to forget the friendly attitude she would show during
Harry's fourth and fifth year. Harry was somewhat sad to lose that friendly
acquaintance, but knew there was nothing she could honestly do about it.
Harry snapped out of her thoughts as she took in the stunned expressions on the
others faces, well, except for Tonks, who had a knowing look and what appeared
to be acceptance. Finally, Harry pointed to the last ring and said, "Finally,
this is the ring for the Peverell's, neither something I was expecting nor any
name I had ever heard mentioned before, though apparently those of you who grew
up in the wizarding world have heard of the name."
Malkin choked out, "I am sorry, but did you just say Peverell?" Harry nodded
and replied, "Yes I did, and Tonks had a similar reaction before she pointed
out to me that there is a book called The Tales of Beedle the Bard.” She paused
before saying, "Naturally, there was a copy inside of my family vault, which I
fully intend to read cover to cover when I get the first opportunity."
Malkin studied the ring up close and said, "That is the symbol found in the
book." Angelina exclaimed, "Wait a minute, are you actually telling me that
there is even a small grain of truth to that story?" Fleur asked, "But how, I
thought it was just a fairytale, a bedtime story told to children all over the
wizarding world?" All three witches did not honestly know what to make of the
possibility of what they thought to be a fairytale might just be a reality.
Harry shrugged as she replied, "Like I said, I fully intend to read that book
cover to cover and figure out what it's all about the first chance I get." She
added, "Besides, as Tonks has already pointed out to me, Peverell is mentioned
throughout the majority of the book, and having one of my ancestors have the
same name is one thing, but the symbol on my ring being in the book to, well,
that is far too much of a coincidence for my likening."
She sighed as she wondered how she was to go about bringing up her newfound
relation to the Weasleys. After a moment to think, she figured she would just
get to the point. She cleared her throat and said, "Also, there was another
name very much of interest to me, in fact it packed the most impact." Angelina
asked, "What was it, and why do you not have the family ring?"
Harry exchanged a glance with Tonks before revealing, "That's because I am not
the heir, just a first cousin once removed and second generation cousin." She
paused, and knew what she revealed next would cause a major freak out with
Fleur and Angelina, Fleur especially as she was to be married to the heir in
question in a matter of weeks. She finally said, "Because the heir in a matter
of weeks will be married to a certain French witch, who is also quarter Veela."
Harry knew Fleur had caught on before Angelina when she exclaimed shakily
"Bill!" Angelina choked out, "Oh my god, the Weasleys, you're related to the
Weasley family." Harry nodded and replied, "Yes I am, Mr. Weasley is my first
cousin once removed. He and my dad were first cousins, due to my grandpa Potter
having a younger sister, who married a Weasley, who is the mother to Mr.
Weasley, who so happened to be my dad's aunt and my great aunt, making Bill and
the others my second cousins."
She paused before adding, "I have no idea whether she is alive, but if she is I
will have some family who were not only related by blood, but knew my dad and
saw him growing up. I need to ask Mr. Weasley when I see him next at
headquarters whether his mother is still alive, I hope so, as the more
relatives I can rightfully claim as my own at this point the better. I never
imagined I had any true family left outside of the disgusting family I lived
with up until two o clock this morning."
Fleur suddenly brightened up as she said, "That means that Mrs. Weasley is your
cousin in-law as will I when I marry Bill and even Angelina if she marries
George at some point." Angelina grinned widely as she asked, "Whoa, who knew we
would end up related, even if it is only through marriage?" Angelina and Fleur
loved the idea, Fleur in particular when she commented around a giggle, "I
guess Bill and I will really be keeping it in the family when you are a
bridesmaid in my wedding."
Harry merely nodded smiling slightly, all whilst thinking she would not be
revealing anything about her properties nor what she was worth. Some things you
just did not mention or discuss without coming off sounding as if you were
gloating. Not even Tonks was aware of just how many properties she now owned
only the ones she had been able to remember of the top of her head. She did not
want to brag, hated it when others would do it, just as the Malfoys did with
pure relish.
Harry shook her head once more before standing up and saying, "Okay, let's snap
out of our stunned stupors and do what we came here to do, which was to find
out my new measurements and be fitted for the girls school uniform. Plus, I
still need to go to Flourish and Blotts before we go for ice cream at Florean
Fortescue's." The others nodded and Malkin clapped her hands together as she
snapped into action.
As she got to work, she asked Harry, "Right, let's set you up with say five
sets of robes, one for each school day?" Harry nodded and removed her denim
jacket and handed it over to Tonks for safekeeping. Malkin then went over to
the racks that held the female black robes. She walked back over to the
platform, handed one of the robes to Harry, and placed the other four on a
nearby chair. She had Harry slip on the robe, and once on magically adjusted it
using the measurements she had taken earlier. She informed Harry that the
scarlet colour of the inner lining and patch for her house would be add to the
robes later on.
Harry removed the robe after fifteen minutes of adjustments made whilst she was
wearing it. She asked, "Can you please have the five robes, along with five
grey pleated skirts and grey jumpers with Gryffindor colours around the neck
and sleeves, and five pairs of knee high grey stockings, all delivered by owl
post a week before the start of the school term?" She paused to add, "I don't
need a new tie the one I already have will do just fine."
Malkin nodded and replied, "Of course, but you will need five white blouses to
do not forget them." She asked, "Will you be paying for everything now?" Harry
nodded and accepted her jacket back from Tonks and said as she slipped it on,
"I need my pouch from Gringotts out of your bag." She paused before saying,
"Which reminds me, I need to buy a muggle wallet in London for my cards." Tonks
looked inside of her bag, until she found the pouch and handed it over to
Harry.
They all followed Malkin to the till once Harry climbed down off the platform.
At the till, Malkin wrote down Harry's entire order, before adding up the
entire bill on the wizarding equivalent of a till. She informed Harry, "That
will be twenty five Galleons." She concluded after a pause, "I am going to give
you a discount seeing as you have purchased five of each item." Harry tried to
protest that it was unnecessary, but Malkin waved her protest away.
Harry opened her mouth to argue once more, before giving up with an exasperated
sigh as the older witch gave her a stern no nonsense glare. Harry seeing that
the stubborn witch was not about to give an inch, tapped the pouch with her
wand and thought of the amount needed, the money appeared a moment later, she
could feel it in her hand and pulled it out as she counted down to the very
last Knut.
Once she had handed over the money, she had one last favour to ask of the older
witch. She said, "I am hoping to marry on my eighteenth birthday next July."
She paused before adding, "I plan to briefly look in muggle London in the
bridal shops for white wedding dresses, but have a feeling I will be designing
the wedding dress myself." She added at the look of interest from the others
and said, "That is where you will come in if you agree, I would like you to
make not only my wedding dress but the bridesmaid's dresses also."
Malkin looked truly touched as she replied, "Oh dear, I would be absolutely
honoured to do it. Thank you, I promise it will be my best work to date and I
will not let you down. I grantee the gown is going to be memorable with my
skill for dressmaking and your designs." She concluded beaming delightedly as
she informed the younger witch, "I hear there are some truly stunning muggle
gowns out there in London, so you will not be lacking in any creative ideas."
Malkin was currently in a form of bliss at the thought of being the one to make
the wedding gown of ‘The Girl Who Lived’, Harry Potter. It did not matter that
she would not design the gown in question; it was the principle of it. The
witch who would wear it was famous, and the fact it was going to not only be
white, but would be her magic that constructed what was bound to be a stunning
creation was what counted in Malkin's eyes.
Before they left the shop Harry suddenly remembered the charm she asked Tonks
to perform earlier and asked, "Can you cast that charm on my rings before we
leave for Flourish and Blotts?" Tonks nodded and walked up to Harry and took
out her wand and murmured underneath her breath a complicated sounding charm as
she tapped the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Peverell rings with the tip of her
wand one after the other. She left the engagement ring and Potter ring alone.
After repeating the same process once more, a minute later Harry and the others
watch as the three rings seemingly vanish before reappearing. That was because
they all knew they were there, but others who did not would only see the Potter
ring and her engagement ring. Harry nodded satisfied and thanked Tonks and
said, "Thanks I feel more comfortable now knowing those rings are not on show
for all to see." Tonks nodded and said, "Your welcome."
Tonks looked down at her watch and said, "Alright, let's get going, you still
need to buy some new Ink, quills, and parchment from Flourish and Blotts." She
asked as a thought occurred to her, "When do you plan on going to get your
books for the school year, do you even have you list with you?" She wondered
whether Harry planned to get them today or would she wait and go when the
others went for theirs?
Harry replied, "I don't have my list with me it is my trunk, besides I plan to
ask whether I can join Cedric when he no doubt goes for the texts he will need
for his final year of training for his Charms mastery." Tonks nodded as they
left the shop after promising to let Malkin know when they wanted to start the
arrangements for the first session to discuss the wedding dress and bridesmaids
dresses.
Once they reached Flourish and Blotts, Angelina and Fleur said they would meet
Harry and Tonks at Florean Fortescue's and grab a table for the four of them
outside. Harry and Tonks asked them to order for them and said they would pay
them back for their ice creams when they got there. They agreed and left for
the ice cream parlour, while Harry and Tonks entered Flourish and Blotts.
Harry made quick work of picking up enough parchment to last for a whole year
as well as selecting four new quills, which one was a pretty peacock feather
that was self-inking in every colour imaginable. She also remembered to pick up
a new supply of both black and emerald green ink, and even a dark lilac and
baby blue coloured ink she spotted and knew she just had to have them both.
Lastly, she picked up one of the hardback journals she saw on display, choosing
one that had a pale lilac cover that had deep burnt gold coloured calla lily
pattern that intertwined with vines and butterflies that fluttered across the
cover and the thick and hard spine. A solid butterfly clasp kept the journal
closed securely the clasp was in the same gold colour as the pattern, which had
tiny dark purple stones on the wings and for the eyes.
The pages were of the highest quality and pure snow white in colour and had
texture that felt smooth like satin, instead of the pale brownish colour of the
parchment used for school. The journal would possibly last Harry's whole life
with its never-ending pages. It would need to last that long with the kind of
life Harry lived there would never be a lack of information to grace the pages.
The journal was around four inches thick and was the kind that never ran out of
paper, allowing you to store previous entries that you could look back on with
a tap of your wand and thinking of the date of the entry. Tapping the cover
with your wand and thinking of where you last left off would turn automatically
to that page. It was perfect if you were the kind of person who had issues
keeping track of when and what they had written.
It was perfect and so very pretty, that Harry loved it on sight when compared
to the other two options, which were a combination of black and red, and pink
and silver. She knew she would keep and only use her new lilac ink for when she
wrote in the journal. She had to have it and could not possibly leave the shop
without buying it; she felt that strongly about knowing it had to be hers.
Tonks noticed what had caught her interest and asked, "Since when have you
decided you want to keep a diary, as gorgeous as this one looks, still I
figured after what happened with Ginny you would be put off by the concept?"
Tonks knew if she had been in Ginny's position then she would never ever want
to touch a diary again for as long as she lived. Little did she know that Ginny
did not keep a diary as she had growing up until she was eleven, the incident
in her first year had completely ruined that for her.
Harry grimaced in remembrance as she replied, "I decided I want to write down
my thoughts, as well as keep track of what I would do this year during training
and leading up to my graduation and plans for the wedding." She concluded
smirking slightly as she said, "As for being put off by what happened to Ginny,
well hopefully this journal will not be able to think for itself, especially
after the privacy and security charms I plan on practically infusing it with."
After paying at the till, which the total came to five galleons, they left for
Florean's. Harry handed over her bag of purchases and Tonks placed them inside
of her bag. They then continued to make their way to the ice cream parlour,
laughing and talking the whole way about what Harry could possibly expect from
Cedric, and Tonks talking about some of Remus' somewhat peculiar, yet amusing
habits.
They immediately spotted their two companions when they reached the parlour
sitting at a table for four in an area that was in the shade from the sun. They
took a seat around the table, Harry across from Angelina and next to Fleur,
while Tonks took the free seat next to Harry on her other side. Once settled
they took their ice creams and began to eat as they chatted among themselves.
As they continued to eat, Harry mentioned how she had been craving some ice
cream ever since Cedric had suggested she get some that morning. She had never
had cravings before. Tonks told her was most likely a female thing and to get
used to it as it was going nowhere. Merlin how many things was she going to end
up doing that she had not before, it worried her somewhat.
As they finished eating, they sat, talked, and allowed the ice cream to digest
properly. Harry said she wanted to by a laptop when they reached London, and
that she would ask Hermione to show her how to use it properly. Angelina asked
how she planned using muggle technology in a house where magic is used on a
daily basis. Everyone who knew about magic and muggle technology knew magic
interfered with muggle technology.
Harry explained that first she was going to ask Sirius to arrange to have a
muggle telephone and internet access installed at Grimmauld Place. "It should
not be too difficult as Grimmauld place is located on a muggle street, which
will make it easy enough to get a signal to make the phone and internet work,"
she informed the others.
She added, "The only real issue I can see there being is trying to discover a
method to prevent magic screwing around with the signal and the actual
technology." She concluded, "Perhaps Hermione might do some research and see if
we can find or even create a way of using technology around magic, like some
kind of ward up around the house."
Tonks asked, "What else do you plan on buying besides the laptop computer?"
Harry replied, "I want a new pair of school shoes and trainers, shoes and
trainers suitable for a female." She paused before adding, "I want a pair of
slippers too, something comfortable and soft to lounge about in." She smirked
half heartedly as she concluded, "I need winter boots, and finally, if I am to
learn how to walk in the death traps, then I need a pair of high heels."
Tonks asked, "What about clothing, what is your main priority today, as we can
always go back another day to get what we don't today?" Harry replied, "Well,
for starters I need some jeans, blouses, jumpers, t-shirts, and even some
sportswear for when I train, such as shorts and maybe some tracksuits too. I
want to be comfortable when I train, so perhaps a second pair of trainers for
training only."
She added, "Of course socks, and even a dressing gown and nightwear, nightwear
is a must seeing as I only have the cast offs from Dudley and the set of
pyjamas I adjusted to fit." She continued at Tonks silent nod of agreement, "Of
course underwear, I only have what you have provided me with so far, so yes I
need underwear to. I like the thought of pretty lace or satin and different
coloured and patterned underwear. I mean just because I and most likely Cedric
will be the only ones to see me wearing it does not mean I should not be
allowed to feel pretty."
She paused to finger the cuff of her denim jacket before saying, "A new coat as
well, a winter one, winter will be here before we know it, especially up in
Scotland." She continued as she scowled irritably as she said, "A school bag
would not go a miss either, my current one is being held together with several
charms after Malfoy and Parkinson made a habit of sending spells at it and
making it split and spill its contents."
She concluded as the others scowl at the mention of Malfoy and Parkinson,
"Whatever else I get, such as dresses and even skirts, and a maybe a swim suit,
I will buy online once I have the internet up and running. I am honestly in no
hurry to buy them as summer is almost over so there really is no point at the
moment." She might be new to being a witch, but she sure as hell was not stupid
or naive enough to wear skirts or dresses during the winter season in Scotland
thank you very much.
Tonks snorted and said, "No one in their right mind would wear skirts or
dresses during the winter season in Scotland, not in less they are short of
more than a few brain cells to rub together." She paused as the others laughed
before she told Harry, "Speaking of what must be bought today, you do not want
to forget to buy toiletries, such as shampoo, other hair products, tooth paste,
shower gel or bubble bath, and deodorant."
She paused knowing what she mentioned next would make the younger witch cringe.
She said, "Towels or tampons would not go a miss either." She paused again as
Harry grimaced, before saying, "Let's be brutally honest here, you are a witch
now, a witch who has had no previous period or experience, meaning you do not
have any damn clue as how to estimate when your period is due, and so you will
need to be prepared for that."
Angelina quickly added as she tried to take Harry's mind off the thought of
getting her first period, and said, "Actually, before we can go to muggle
London we need to take you to see a wizarding optician for an eye test and new
frames and even a pair of sunglasses if you like." She added, "But, let's face
it, those frames do not flatter you one damn bit." She concluded, "And plus,
Madam Malkin could not have been more right if she tried when she said those
glasses are far too recognisable."
Tonks nodded and said, "Hmm, all too true that is." She added, "I was thinking
Harry, thinking that if you wanted we could take you to a salon in London
whilst we're there. Maybe get your hair done and have your eyebrows plucked,
thinned out slightly and shaped more neatly. Plus, if you want we could get you
a manicure and some false nails until yours grow, maybe French or some other
colour you like." She concluded, "Finally, what do you think about getting your
ears pierced to?"
Harry nodded and said, "I suppose so." She paused before adding around a grin
as she asked, "Could we find a store here in Diagon Alley that sells dragon
hide trousers and jackets, and maybe a skirt or waistcoat?" She continued as
Tonks smirked, "I like the colour of a Chinese Fireball's scales, as well as
the Swedish short snout and the Welsh Green." She never had much of a taste for
muggle leather or even dragon hide before now, but she was not about to
complain.
Tonks suddenly grinned widely as she says; "Oh, speaking of dragons, do tell
Harry exactly which dragon was guarding one of your vaults" Harry smirked
knowing exactly where she was going with this line of conversation and turned
her amused gaze on Fleur. She asked the blonde quarter Veela, "Fleur, believe
it or not there was a dragon guarding one of my vaults, guess which breed it
happened to be, Viktor would have sure been hard pressed to not remember it."
Fleur eyed Harry first followed by Tonks then back to Harry again, and noted
the knowing smirk on Harry's face. Her eyes widen as it suddenly clicks, she
smirked and exclaimed, "No! You cannot honestly be serious; I mean what are the
honest odds?" A Chinese Fireball, sweet Merlin she bet Viktor did remember all
too well his encounter with the pinkish red coloured beast.
Angelina who was yet to catch on asked, "What was the breed Harry?" Harry
chuckled and replied, "How about you ask Fleur, believe me Viktor Krum is all
too familiar, about as familiar as I unfortunately became with a Hungarian
Horntail." Harry grimaced and touched her arm in remembrance of what the sharp
spike like spines of the dragon had done to it. Thank Merlin for magical
healing or else those spiked spines would have left one hell of a scar behind.
Fleur laughed as she told the other witch, "A Chinese fireball, Angelina, she
has a Chinese Fireball guarding one of her vaults." She added in a dry tone,
"Naturally I wager he remembers his encounter with the dragon in question,
impossible to forget about as much as I wager it would be for Harry to forget
her own encounter with the Hungarian Horntail, after all she did end up with
the most vicious out of the four of us.”
She smirked slightly as she concluded, “I on the other hand end up with the
Welsh Green, vicious but not no near as vicious as the dragon Harry end up
with." Harry laughed and nodded as she drawled in reply, "To damn right it was
not as vicious as what I had to go up against, and for what a damn golden egg
that only led me to having to chew on Gilly weed and go swimming in the bloody
Black Lake." Fleur’s smirked widened brief at hearing this but could not deny
the truth of the younger witch’s words.
Once their ice cream had completely digested, Harry said excitedly, "Okay,
let's go to the shop that sells dragon hide as I want to buy a matching jacket
and trousers." She added after a pause and the others nodded, "After that we
can go to the opticians so I can have my eyes tested and pick out some new
frames that actually flatter my features, and I actually like and will not need
to be held together with Merlin knows how many charms and spells."
Angelina drawled playfully and remarked in regards to the dragon hide, "Ah, you
are that kind of witch are you?" Harry smirked as she replied just as playfully
as the other witch had as she said, "Could be, could be just that, who knows I
am still relearning about myself." Apparently, dragon hide was new as far as
her likes and dislikes went, oh well, it appealed to her that was all that
mattered to Harry.
They all laughed as Tonks led the way through Diagon Alley, she knew of a shop
due to owning a jacket made from a Norwegian Ridgeback's hide, and she knew the
owners. It was after fifteen minutes of walking that Tonks finally stopped
outside of the store. She knew she was going to have to use a little charms
work on Harry's hair, her eyes, and her glasses, due to the witch being a Harry
Potter fan, who hopefully would not recognise Harry as she was, through Tonks
was not willing to take that chance.
Tonks explained to Harry as she pointed her wand at the younger witch, "Hate to
have to do this, but Harry I know the owners, went to Hogwarts with the witch
and wizard who own this place." She paused as she grimaced before saying, "The
issue is that she is a huge fan of yours, whether she would recognise you as
you are I have no idea, but I do not want to take that chance in any case. This
means I am going to have to do a little charms work on your appearance and your
glasses."
Harry grimaced, while Fleur and Angelina winced in sympathy for Harry, yet
rolled their eyes at the thought of the witch who owned the store. Harry sighed
and told Tonks, "Fine, do whatever you have to." Tonks nodded and pointed at
Harry's forehead after telling her to move her bangs to the side and placed
glamour on her scar so it appeared as if it were not even there anymore. Next,
she pointed at her glasses and changed them from round silver frames to golden
oval shaped frames. The glasses and making her scar seem invisible were a
start, but her hair and eyes needed some work.
Before she could do anything else, Fleur lifted and pointed her own wand at
Harry and said, "Harry turn around and face away from the shop," Harry did as
told before Fleur pointed her wand first at Harry's hair and then her eyes,
casting a temporary colour changing charm. Next, she changed the length of her
hair, and the colour to dark auburn, and her ponytail reached her shoulders and
was wavy. Her eyes were a bright and vibrant shade of blue, almost like the
colour of the sky on a summer's day. Lastly, she changed her skin tone from
pale creamy white, to a more tanned tone, which completed the minor and
temporary transformation.
She informed Harry, "I will reverse all of the changes once we leave the shop."
Harry nodded her thanks and said, "Thanks, both of you" she nodded to both
Tonks and Fleur. She added, "This is a right pain in the arse, but if it means
I can go in there and shop for what I want in peace then so be it I suppose.
However, still, it is no less fucking annoying all the same, its times like
this I wish more than anything that I was just like everyone else."
The four witches entered the store and it instantly became apparent this entire
store sold dragon hide, everything you could imagine all made out of some kind
of dragon hide. For example, Jackets, long and short, skirts long and short,
waistcoats, wallets, purses, handbags, even backpacks. Harry even spotted
notebooks, folders, photo albums and even boots and high heels all covered in
dragon hide.
Tonks watched as Harry's eyes practically lit up at the sight of all the dragon
hide, and could not help but laugh as she asked, "Since when have you had a
taste for dragon hide, is it recent or something which you have been hiding?"
Harry laughed in return and replied, "I honestly have no idea, through I do
know that I would not mind a wallet made from the hide of a Hungarian Horntail
for obvious reasons." Tonks snorted as she said, "Say no more."
Harry looked around the shop as Tonks exchanged smirks with Angelina and Fleur
at how Harry looked like a toddler inside of a candy store. They noticed Harry
had stopped in front of a huge display of items all made of Chinese Fireball
hide. The four women noted how there was long and short skirts, trousers and
waistcoats, short and long jackets, even fancy dress coats.
Harry eyed the folders, photo albums, purses and shoes made out of the pinkish
red hide. Harry told Tonks, "I want one of everything on this display." Tonks
shared a grin with Angelina and Fleur as she asked, "Anything else?" Harry
looked in the direction where there is a display with everything made out of a
green hide. She said, "Everything except for the wallet."
She continued to look around until she spotted the Hungarian Horntail and
Swedish short snout displays, having already viewed the Welsh Green and Chinese
Fireball displays. She wanted a little of everything from all four of the
dragons from the Triwizard tournament. She told the others as much as she said,
"I want everything on the Hungarian and Swedish short snout display, even the
backpacks."
Tonks asked, "And?" Harry shook her head and said, "That's it, I only have
interest in the four dragons that we faced off against in the tournament, like
a reminder of that year for me. The Hungarian Horntail in particular, I love
the thought of wearing the hide of the beast who tried to do me in as it chased
after me as I flew around Hogwarts and it practically spewed blankets of fire
at me."
The others laughed quietly at hearing this and Fleur said, "I think I will get
some heels, a short jacket and skirt, and some trousers and a waistcoat even a
handbag and wallet made out of Welsh Green. Mon père will not begrudge me using
his card for it, class it as another wedding present." Harry giggled and asked,
"What for the same reasons I want the Horntail?" Fleur giggled in reply,
"Naturally of course."
Tonks laughed as she said, "I honestly cannot wait to see how much all of this
is going to cost." Angelina giggled as she added, "Yeah, Harry's final bill in
particular, dragon hide is expensive." Harry smirked in reply and shrugged as
she commented, "It is my birthday, the first one where I have ever been allowed
to splurge. I will use the Gringotts card for the Evans vault, which I can
class as a birthday present from my mom I guess."
The others smiled somewhat sadly at the thought of Lily, as Harry made her way
up to the counter to ask the wizard behind the till if he can help her and told
him what she wanted. She barely stopped herself from snorting and rolling her
eyes in disgust when she noticed how the wizard's eyes practically lit up like
a Christmas tree, as if all of his birthdays had come early and all in one go.
Harry silently wagered he was most likely barely resisting the urge not to rub
his hands together in absolute glee.
The owner helped his wife gather up everything Harry pointed to, and his wife
insist that Harry try on the clothing and shoes, as well as Fleur when she
explained what she wanted from the Welsh Green display. This had both the
wizard and witch practically vibrating in delight when they realised not one
but two of the witches were going to buy more than one item.
Harry and Fleur each found a dressing room to go and try each item on. Tonks
and Angelina noted how each item tried on by the dark haired and blonde haired
witch fit them perfectly like a glove and a second skin, moulding to their
curves beautifully. They knew Cedric and Bill were going to love the sight of
their fiancées in all that tight form fitting dragon hide.
Harry and the others could see and understand perfectly when the witch informed
them that the fit and style of the clothing differed between those meant for a
witch and those for a wizard. For example, the clothing meant for witches was
more form fitting and lower cut than those meant for a wizard. Harry could
honestly say she preferred the cut of the female clothing, there was just
something sexy about the look of it.
Their little fashion show would not have been complete without watching Harry
attempt to walk in four and half-inch platform high heels made from Chinese
Fireball hide. They looked incredible on her and seemed to boost the length of
her legs even more if possible, and even added a few inches to her height,
which pleased Harry most of all. The shoes were gorgeous and looked just as
amazing on the witch wearing them. What was not so pleasing however, was
feeling like gravity was about to desert you and send you on your ass feet over
head.
She wobbled slightly on the heels and Tonks had to steady her as the others
giggled. Fleur told her they still had two weeks to the wedding, which was
plenty of time to practice and get her used to walking in heels. Harry honestly
doubted that, yet did not say anything out aloud, figuring she would allow the
older witch to live in her fantasyland for a little longer.
Once Harry and Fleur had finished trying everything on, the witch wrapped and
boxed everything separately. The witch assured Harry and Fleur that they would
place a shrinking charm on their purchases and have it all delivered by owl
post before five o clock to the address they provided. She promised there was
no delivery charge and once the owls had been relieved of their packages they
would leave without waiting for a fee.
Once Harry and Fleur nodded the woman rang up Fleur's purchases first as she
had the least items. Fleur passed her father's Gringotts card to the witch who
told her everything came to forty-five Galleons and sixty-five Knuts. That was
not too bad, her father would not say much if anything about that. He usually
only complained when her purchases reached six hundred or one thousand Galleons
mark when she was still in school, especially if it was not a special occasion.
Of course, she had her own job now, which was why he was only allowing her to
use his card until after the wedding as a treat.
After Fleur had finished paying, the witch rang up all of Harry's purchases,
and noticed the witch falter slightly as she saw the final price. The whole
order was over a two hundred Galleons, and the witch did not doubt the other
witch could afford it, or else she would not have chosen all of this. Surely,
she must have known how much dragon hide could cost when bought in a quantity
as big as this. She knew Tonks since Hogwarts, so a discount was definitely in
order here. She cleared her throat and said, "Seeing as you know our Tonks
here, and you are of course spending an absolute amazing amount of Galleons, I
am going to give you a twenty five percent discount. That brings your total to
one hundred and eighty Galleons and twenty seven sickles."
Harry paled and noticeably faltered as she shot Tonks a look of alarm, who
gently squeezed her arm and murmured so only Harry could hear, "Relax Harry, I
promise and swear that has more likely than not made even the tiniest of dents
in the vault of your mother’s." She added soothingly, "Besides, enjoy yourself
for once please, this is your seventeenth birthday Harry, I know you would
never dream of splurging like this on a daily basis, and of course you more
than deserve this."
Harry reluctantly nodded and accepted the Gringotts card handed to her from
Tonks, and handed it over to the witch behind the counter. She faltered once
again as did her husband when they saw what she had in her hand. It was a
Gringotts card, but this type of card definitely had a larger value that far
out stripped the one the blonde witch had given to her to pay for her
purchases. They knew this as they dealt with customers who come into the store
and used Gringotts cards every day.
Tonks nudged Harry as they watch the witch place the card through a device that
resembled what the muggles used only not quite. Harry murmured quietly as she
asked Tonks, "I wonder if your friend always wears that expression whenever she
is presented with big money." She paused adding as Tonks raised a brow,
"Seriously, do she and her husband not get sales like this? I meant it when I
said their stock is amazing."
Tonks murmured just as quietly as she replied, "Yes I agree there stock is
amazing and beautifully made, which is the reason I brought you here." She
added, "But I honestly have no idea how much they make, but it makes you wonder
how many purebloods do you see wearing dragon hide, purebloods that are not the
likes of Charlie or the Weasley twins and Bill?" She finally added, "Majorly
rich ones at that, the Blacks and Malfoys for example." Harry nodded and
murmured back, "Okay, I see your point."
She smiled politely as she accepted the card back and signed the parchment
receipt, which disappeared the moment she finished writing. Harry was glad for
that, as it meant the owners would not see her name on the receipt until she
had left the shop, which in turn meant she would be able to avoid any fan girl
or boy moments from the owners.
***** Chapter Five: An Optical Examination, A Fire call with Remus & Harry's
Birthday Makeover, Harry's first London Shopping Experience, New Glasses &
Patient Confidentiality *****
Chapter Summary
     Harry goes to the opticians for new glasses and has a discussion on
     the importance of patient confidentiality. Tonks has a conversation
     with Remus via the floo. Harry experiences many firsts as a female,
     namely the horrors of waxing and plucking. Harry splurges on her very
     first shopping spree in London. Harry just cannot stop herself
     expressing her hatred of apparition much to the hilarity of the
     others.
Chapter Notes
     Okay here is chapter five, and I am partially done with chapter ten
     for this story and about to start chapter four for my Dracula Untold
     story. Warning do not expect any updates on the ninth and tenth of
     this month the ninth is my mother's birthday and the tenth is the
     first anniversary of her death. That is two unbearable days where
     writing or posting fanfiction is truly going to be the last thing on
     my mind.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of
this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The
movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.
 
Once they left the shop Fleur and Tonks reversed all of their charms work on
Harry, who let out a sigh of relief. After that, they walked for ten minutes,
passing Weasley Wizard Wheezes on the way. Harry decided she wanted to avoid
any Weasley member until she reached headquarters later on. She knew she could
not avoid it forever, and would have to face everyone that night, but that was
hours away and Harry would take advantage of that fact for all she could.
Eventually they stopped outside of the wizarding equivalent of the opticians
and entered the professional looking store. Harry was amazed at the wide and
vast choice of frames they had to offer. It was safe to say that it out
stripped any muggle optician any day no doubt, at least the ones Harry had
visited. Harry looked around and knew instantly that she did not want any
silver or even round shaped frames, was about all she did know at that point.
After a few moments of looking around the sales witch at reception finished
dealing with another customer and spotted Harry and the others. She smiled as
walked over to them and asked, "Hello, and how may I help you today?" Harry
came forward and asked, "I am Jamie Evans, and I was wondering whether it would
be possible to fit me in for an eye test and some new frames?"
The sales witch nodded and replied, "As a matter of fact we have just had a
cancellation, which means you are in luck Miss Evans. Healer Florence can see
you soon as she finishes with her current appointment."Harry grinned in relief
as the sales Witch added, "Whilst you are waiting you can have a look around
the store and see if there is anything that catches your eye." She concluded as
another customer entered the shop, and said, "I will call for you when she is
ready to see you Miss Evans."
The woman left them to look around as she asked the other customer to wait and
she would be with her in a moment, she just needed to go and inform the
optician that she had a last minute appointment just arrive. She then made her
way inside of another room close by to the reception, which Harry assumed was
where the consultation rooms were located.
Harry spent the next ten minutes looking around, and Tonks and the others would
point out some choices they liked or thought would suit Harry. Harry liked a
couple of their choices, but it was not until a further five minutes later that
Harry spotted one pair she liked in particular. They were rectangular shaped
petite looking frames that had a classy yet subtle diamante band on the arms
and two different shades of purple, the shade of the purple on the arms were
slightly lighter than on the rectangular shaped frames.
Harry grinned as she said, "I like these they appeal more than the rest do."
Tonks nodded and picked up the frames and told Harry to try them on. Harry
removed her old frames and placed the newer ones on her face. Harry could not
see too well, everything appeared all blurry, due to there being clear plastic-
like lenses in the frames.
Fleur and Angelina nodded in approval while Tonks said, "Now they are much
better, the colour is made even prettier with your pale skin tone." She added,
"Also, the shape of the frames is softer and more flattering whilst the
diamantes add an extra sparkle without being gaudy like Skeeter's."
Harry nodded, knowing that she trusted the other witch not to steer her wrong.
Besides, she did like them before the others had given their opinion. She said,
"I like them and want to get them." She removed the frames and replaced them
with the old set. She carefully folded the arms downwards just as the sales
witch returned and headed over to where the four were standing. The sales witch
said to Harry, "The healer will see you now Miss Evans, you can go in straight
away, just continue to walk until you reach the only open door."
Tonks promised they would wait out here for her to come back out, and Harry
nodded and handed the frames to the sales witch, and asked, "I like these could
you please place them to one side for me?" The sales witch accepted the frames
from Harry and said, "Of course, I shall make certain the healer is made aware
of your choice once you have left, and I shall go and pass these on to the
department that are responsible for preparing the frames and lenses."
Harry nodded her thanks and walked in the same direction she had seen the sales
witch go. She continued to walk down a corridor that had closed doors on either
side until she stopped in front of the only open door as the sales witch had
said. Harry knocked on the open door and a blonde witch appearing to be in her
early to mid twenties looked up and said, "Ah, you must be Miss Evans, please
come on in and take a seat." She stood and held out a hand for Harry to shake
and said in greeting, "Hello, I am healer Florence." Harry returned the
handshake and greeting before the healer retook her seat, gestured to the one
to the left of her large desk and asked, "Shall we get started?" Harry nodded
and sat down in the high back dark crème leather chair the healer indicated.
As Harry settled comfortably into the chair, the healer shuffled a couple of
papers around on her desk. She soon completed organizing all of the papers in
some order that satisfied her. She turned to Harry and asked Harry to remove
her glasses as she explained to the younger witch as she removed and handed her
glasses over to the healer, "I need to take a look at them and run a few
diagnostic spells in order to see what I am working with here."
As soon as the frames were in her grasp she grasped her wand with her other
hand and quickly cast several diagnostic spells one after the other. She shook
her head and frowned as she tapped her wand onto a clear piece of parchment and
recording the results she had gotten from the younger witch's glasses. She
grumbled somewhat sourly as she commented, "Huh, muggle NHS frames and lenses,
typical results as always."
She inwardly grumbled some more as she asked Harry, "Miss Evans, tell me how
well you are able to see with your current prescriptions strength, how often
are the frames and lenses known to break, and how long have you had them for?"
Harry inwardly cringed as she replied, "I grew up in the muggle world, and when
I was only four or five years of age my aunt took me to get some glasses after
the school I attended at the time complained about how I could not see
properly."
She paused and inwardly grimaced in shame at what she revealed next, and said,
"My aunt insisted that the optician was to just give me the cheapest
functioning pair they had to offer." She shrugged as she said, "As for how
often they end up broken, well, that happened more often than not growing up
around my loud and heavy handed cousin." She concluded, "As for the vision,
well, it is not by any means perfect but I am able to make do. I only have
perfect vision when I wear the magical contact lenses my godfather gave to me
for my sixteenth birthday, which he purchased from here."
The healer nodded and tapped her wand against the parchment on her desk again,
before she asked, "And when was your last eye test?" Harry could not look her
in the eye as she replied, "When I got those glasses, my aunt never took me
after the first time, neither she or my uncle took me again after that. And my
godfather had no idea of this when he got me the contacts, I was lucky the
charms on the contacts were able to magically adjust to allow me to see
perfectly."
The healer closed her eyes and said, "That was very irresponsible of your aunt
and uncle, Miss Evans.” She had to pause as she struggled to keep her tone in
check and professional as possible. She took a deep breath once in control and
said, “Only Merlin knows what sort of damage there has been left to develop
over the years, damage that is undetectable without the proper equipment." She
paused once more to shake her head in evident disapproval at the thought of
such neglect as she continued, "It is just as well then that I plan on
examining the health of yours eyes before I conduct any other tests."
Harry could not help but blush in embarrassment at the look of hardly concealed
disgust evidently aimed at her aunt and uncle's neglect. Harry hated it when
she had to reveal the spiteful and neglectful antics her aunt and uncle
subjected her to whilst growing up. Normally she would be more reluctant to
admit such things, especially to a stranger she had only just met, though this
was no normal stranger but a healer who needed all of the facts if she was to
help Harry.
The healer sighed before she flicked her wand, which turned off the lights
placing the room in semi-darkness. She turned to face Harry again and said,
"Okay, now I am going to conduct an up close examination of your eyes, I need
to see if they are healthy or not, even more so now that you have informed me
of the neglect inflicted in this area of your health, Miss Evans." Harry nodded
and was glad the healer could not see how mortified she looked in the semi-
darkness of the room.
The healer moved her chair closer to Harry's before she picked up a pair of
black metal framed glasses and placed them on her face before she tapped each
lens and looked closely into Harry's eyes. The lenses in the glasses designed
and infused with several complex charms and spells to enlarge the view of
Harry's eyes, which would allow the healer to see all of the inner and outer
workings and nerves of Harry's eyes that would not be accessible to the naked
eye or without muggle equipment.
The healer spent the next ten minutes studying Harry's eyes before leaning back
and moving her chair back to her desk. She removed the glasses and tapped both
lenses with her wand before tapping the parchment, and then placed them back on
her desk. She explained to Harry how the glasses worked and recorded all the
details of what the healer had seen, which the healer would then transfer over
to parchment.
The healer said, "Okay, now I will conduct two more tests" Harry nodded in
understanding and replied, "Ok." The healer then cast a spell that was not
Lumos but worked much like it. She told Harry, "Now Miss Evans, I want you
follow the light at my wand tip with your eyes and not move your head."
Harry did as told as the healer moved her wand slowly from side to side in a
straight line. After few moments she asked, "Is the light blurred Miss Evans,
if so how much so?" Harry replied, "Yes it's like this little blurred splash of
white that moves back and forth and is not clear at all."
The healer nodded and picked up Harry's glasses from where she had left them on
her desk, and tapped both of the lenses with her wand tip and muttered a few
words. She handed the glasses back to Harry and said, "Put them on and look
straight ahead and you will find a chart on the wall very much like the ones
you would find inside of a muggle opticians, which is where wizarding and
muggle methods are alike."
Harry nodded and did as told and looked straight ahead at the wall opposite
from where she sat. "Now I have made some minor adjustments to your lenses,
first of all I need you to tell me the lowest line on the chart you can see,"
she instructed Harry. The healer added, "Remember Miss Evans, even if it is a
little or a lot blurred, if you can see it then say so."
This method of testing carried on for a good ten minutes, the healer all the
while would tap the lenses from time to time, changing the strength and making
them stronger or weaker, all depending on Harry's answers. She stopped when
Harry informed her that she could see the third to bottom line from where she
sat. The healer nodded and tapped her wand against the parchment on her desk
and then turned back around to face Harry and said, "Now I am about to conduct
one last test" Harry nodded.
The healer waved her wand and muttered a few words that Harry did not catch,
but saw immediately what the spell or charm cast was for and did. Harry noticed
how four circular lights had appeared and were floating in midair. One circle
was green, while another was red, a third blue and the final and fourth was
yellow.
The healer tapped her wand first against the left lens and then the right one,
before asking Harry, "I am certain you have noticed how one lens is stronger
than the other?" Harry nodded and replied, "The left, it's slightly clearer
than the right one." The healer nodded and said, "Correct."
She asked Harry, "Now tell me as I flash a light in each eye which is clear or
is blurred." Harry nodded as the healer continued to explain, "The four lights
will be placed near or further away, which will help to indication at the end
of the test whether you are far or near sighted and in which eye." The test
started at Harry's nod of understanding and her answer of, "Ok."
The healer first flashed the light in Harry's left eye and asked, "Okay, so
clear or blurred with the lenses current adjustment?" Harry replied after a
moment and said, "The green and yellow are little blurred around the edges,
while the red and blue are clearer." The healer nodded and tapped the left lens
and switched the four lights around in position and distance with a wave of her
wand. "And now" asked the healer. "The blue and yellow are clearer, but the red
and green I am able to see but only if I strain a bit" was Harry's reply.
The healer tapped her wand once more on the left lens and switched the distance
and placement of the lights once again. "And now, how's that?" she asked.
"That's better, much better" was Harry's reply. The healer nodded and again
tapped her wand against the parchment recording the results so far. She cleared
her throat and said, "Now for the right lens, I am going to use the same
strength that is currently in your left and we will work our way from there."
Harry nodded as the healer tapped the right lens with her wand tip. "How's that
working out for you with your right eye?" she asked. Harry stared straight
ahead for a few moments, and instantly was able to spot the difference the
adjustment to the right lens had made. "The yellow and blue could definitely do
with being placed further back, but just a bit," she replied. She added, "As
for the green and red they are fine and there is no blurring." The healer
tapped the lens again and asked, "And now with that modification how is that,
better or worse?" Harry replied, "That's better."
The healer tapped her wand against the parchment again and recorded the results
of what she had found. She then tapped both lenses again and said, "Alright,
they are back to how they were, and now I have your new and correct
prescription recorded on this parchment." She paused before adding, "The
results from the glasses I wore to detect whether your eyes are healthy and the
outer and inner workings and nerves are doing their job, the results indicate
that there has been quite a bit of strain placed on your eyes Miss Evans. You
are very lucky that the strain has not progressed to the point of needing any
corrective procedures at ST Mungos. Luckily all that is required to repair the
strain will be time spent wearing glasses with the correct and proper
prescription and a yearly visit to see me."
She added after a pause and allowed a clearly worried Harry a moment before she
said, "Now I compared the results before and after the tests and have found
that the strength of your prescription is now stronger in your right eye then
it had been previously, and you are far sighted in that eye." She paused before
adding, "As for your left eye, the prescription has hardly changed, and only a
professional healer would have been able to pick up on it. As for far or being
near sighted, you are in fact near sighted in your left.”
She stopped once more to allow Harry to digest what she had found before
continuing, “In short Miss Evans, your new prescription is noticeably stronger
than the one you have persevered with for as long as you have." She finally
concluded, "Your new prescription will provide you with the same quality which
your contacts provide you with, which are designed to be adaptable to the witch
or wizards individual needs.”
Harry nodded in understanding before she asked, "How soon can you have the
lenses ready for my choice of frames?" The healer replied, "We close at six
today, but I can easily have your new glasses ready for collection by five
thirty." She paused before saying, "In the meantime, I need to take your
correct measurements, especially as I can clearly tell your current frames have
been introduced to charms in order to make them fit better." Harry nodded in
reply and said, "Yes, only this morning and now fit perfectly."
The healer tapped both sides of the frames and arms with her wand tip, before
tapping it against the parchment and the correct measurements appeared on the
parchment. The healer then tapped Harry's lenses and said, "There you are, that
is your new prescription, which will hold you over until you return later on at
five thirty Miss Evans. It will give you the chance to adjust to the new and
stronger prescription before you receive you new glasses."
Harry stood up from the chair just as the four circular lights went out and the
main lights switched back on in the office. The healer said, "Well that is us
done until your return later, you can go back out into the main shop area and
choose a pair of frames if you have not done so already." She added as Harry
made her way towards the door, "Oh and one more thing, you can pay for your
glasses when you return to collect and have them fitted." Harry nodded and
said, "I will do that, and thank you for your time." The healer replied just as
Harry exited the room, "Of course, you are welcome Miss Evans."
Harry made her way back into the main front area of the shop and made her way
over to Tonks, Fleur, and Angelina, who were waiting for her. She said as soon
as she reached Tonks, who had spotted her first, "We need to head for the Leaky
Cauldron before we head into muggle London, as not only do we need muggle
money, but also fire call Remus and let him know that he needs to go and
collect my parents portrait from Gringotts." She added, "Finally we need to be
back here for five thirty to collect and have my new glasses fitted."
Tonks nodded and told her, "Sure it's no problem, we'll need to stop at the
Leaky Cauldron in order to enter the muggle world and get a taxi. While we are
there I will fire call Remus and inform him that he needs to go to Gringotts to
get your parents portrait, obviously the goblins cannot deliver it by normal
means because of the wards around the house." She concluded, "And finally, as
for the issue of muggle money, I already took care of that when you were in
with your accounts manager."
They left the opticians they started to make their way back through Diagon ally
and back through the brick wall entrance leading back into the pub. When Harry
and the others went to the bathroom, Tonks asked Tom to use the fireplace so
she could contact Remus. She hoped he was still at headquarters, she figured he
would be, he had not mentioned to her anything he had to do that day. If any
last minute thing had come up then she had no idea how or who was going to go
and collect the portrait and Cedric's gift.
Thankfully he was there and looked surprised to see his wife's head and asked,
"Is everything alright love, I was not expecting a call from you, I thought you
would be in muggle London by now with Harry showing her how to shop like a
female." There was a certain humour to his tone, which his wife caught
immediately as he added, "How has Harry been so far, did every go fine at the
bank with her accounts manager?"
She smirked knowingly as she replied, "Everything is fine, and Harry has been
to the opticians and is picking up her new glasses at five thirty." She added
grimacing slightly as she warned her husband, "Through Harry did find out quite
a few shocking home truths and information that even I was not aware of during
the meeting. You and Sirius might want to be on your guard as I got the
impression she was less than impressed and did not appreciate being told by a
goblin and not someone closer to home."
Remus returned her grimace, having no trouble being able to imagine some of
what she had learned and been told. He knew she had been pissed that morning,
but imagined her possible reaction when they saw her next would understandably
be much worse. He had no trouble understanding why she was furious, and knew he
would feel and act no differently had it been he in Harry’s place.
He listened as his wife informed him, "And of course I still am going to show
Harry how to shop like a female, but before we can get a taxi to the shops I
need to tell you that something has come up that Harry needs for you to take
care of at Gringotts. We cannot ask Sirius because he is at work, as for Cedric
he has a lunch meeting with Cho which promises to not end happily for her."
Remus raised a brow and asked, "What do you need me to do?" Tonks lowered her
voice knowing her husband would be able to hear, and said, "When we were in the
second Potter vault she found a really nice gold and onyx pendent for Cedric,
plus she also discovered her parents wedding portrait. She wants you to go and
collect both items as soon as possible, obviously they cannot be delivered by
normal means because of the wards."
She saw her husband's eyes widen in understanding, coming to the same
conclusion as his wife, that being that this was good as the closest chance
Harry would get to have her parents back in some measure. He nodded and said,
"Of course I will go and collect both items, goes without saying, this is Harry
who is asking, and after all that has happened so far today I consider it the
very least I can do."
He added knowingly, "And not only is this pendent her first gift to Cedric, but
there is also James and Lily's portrait to. It is understandable that she wants
to give Cedric a gift, and of course wants the portrait out of the vault and
close by where she can get unlimited access to it." He paused and finally added
firmly, "Besides, she more than deserves to have all her well overdue
unanswered questions answered finally."
They talked for a few more minutes before they ended the call and Tonks found
the others waiting nearby. She told Harry, "Remus said he will go and collect
your parent's portrait and the pendent for Cedric from Gringotts." She
concluded as Harry nodded happily, "Why don't you go and call for a taxi whilst
I head for the bathroom it will be the last chance I will get until we get to
muggle London." Harry nodded and said, "Okay, we'll meet you out front if you
are not back before I finish with the call."
While Tonks went to the bathroom, Angelina and Fleur followed Harry over to the
bar where she exchanged some sickles and Knuts for the muggle change for the
payphone. Tom took the wizarding money and handed over the muggle money from
the till. Harry then made her way over to the payphone, Fleur and Angelina
trailed behind her. Harry made a quick call to a taxi firm whose number she
found taped to the side of the phone. She asked for a taxi to the Leaky
Cauldron going to the nearest and biggest shopping centre.
Tonks met them outside a minute later and passed the muggle money over to Harry
who was obviously more familiar with muggle currency. Harry counted a total of
three hundred pounds in tens, twenties and five pound notes. She nodded and
said, "That will do fine for taxi fares and dinner whilst we are out and maybe
the hair salon as well, plus I have a craving for chocolate we could visit
Thorntons too."
She handed the money back to Tonks for safekeeping as they continued to wait
for the taxi. She then asked the others whether any of them had ever tasted
muggle chocolate before. Angelina admitted that she had and said, "It was
really amazing, and could end up addicting if I ate it on a regular basis." She
added as the others laughed, and said, "But to be honest I have to say I am
more partial to Honeydukes chocolate."
Harry asked Fleur and Tonks whether they had used muggle transport before, she
knew Angelina had, remembering the other witch mentioning once before that her
mother is a muggle. Tonks and Fleur admitted that they had not used muggle
transport before. Harry and Angelina instructed the other two under no
circumstance to mention the word muggle or anything to do with magic that the
taxi driver would be able to hear them.
Fleur insisted she was aware of this, while Tonks rolled her eyes as she
insisted she was an auror, who knew how to blend in and keep the nature of the
wizarding world a secret from the muggles. In fact, one of the very first
lessons practically drummed into the heads of all rookies at the auror academy
was the need for blending in.
Harry returned the eye roll and said she was just double-checking not fancying
the idea of carted off to some hospital in a straight jacket locked away inside
of a white padded cell and drugged up to her eyeballs after accused of being
delusional and right out of her bloody tree. Apparently, the muggles were weird
like that when concerning topics they thought to be outrageous and out outside
of what they considered every day normal.
The others were still laughing even as the taxi pulled up at the curb. The four
witches got inside, Harry in the front passenger seat, while Tonks, Fleur and
Angelina got in the back. The twenty-five minute journey to the shopping
prescient much to Harry and Angelina's relief went along without any incidents,
such as accidental mentioning of magic or muggles in front of the taxi driver.
The driver dropped them off beside a pavement in front of a huge shopping
precinct. Harry paid the driver and then went to join the others on the
pavement.
Tonks asked, "So where to first?" Harry looked thoughtful before replying, "I
want a laptop computer that will allow me to carry it around with me on the
go." She added, "I want a camera recorder to, I can use it to document my
training sessions, and of course you never know when you can catch someone off
guard and catch them doing some seriously bizarre shit, perfect blackmail
material." Tonks and Fleur wondered what she meant by that, while Angelina
laughed knowing all too well what the younger witch meant.
Angelina said, "PC World is the first stop then." Tonks and Fleur again looked
puzzled, so Angelina explained, "It is a huge store that sells muggle
electronics." Harry clapped her hands together and said, "Ah! Thank you Angie
that reminds me I also need to buy a desk and chair for my bedroom, unless
there already is." She looked at Tonks questioningly, wondering whether she
would need to buy any.
Tonks answered her silent question and said, "No there is not in your study,
book shelves neither. Sirius figured you would want to choose your own style of
furniture and insisted that when you were ready to choose that it was coming
out of his pocket. Your bedroom furniture and bed is already set, matching bed
and furniture."
Harry asked, "What kind of bed and furniture?" Harry noticed there was a
certain light in Tonks' eyes and a type of smile Harry could not place. Tonks
said, "Oh trust me you need to see it to believe its beauty, a beauty you will
not find in this country, more like France, and is the dream furniture of any
little girl or woman of wealth, that is all I am telling you."
Fleur raised a brow and asked, "Its French?" Tonks moved closer to Fleur and
Angelina and told Harry to stay back, and not to spoil Sirius' surprise as the
man had taken the most pride and love into a task he had ever done for anyone,
her father included. This stunned Harry, while Tonks whispered to the other two
what Sirius had done. Fleur clapped a hand over her mouth and hissed quietly,
"That type of furniture is from the era of King Louis XV, around 1745 to 1845.
I know my history, even the muggle history from my native country."
Harry cleared her throat and said, "Alright, keep your secrets, its only one
more in a long line of them so far, what is one more?" Fleur and Angelina
watched as Tonks went noticeably rigid as she heard the cool tone in which
Harry had spoken. Harry's temper and patients was more than a little frayed
around the edges at this point, and her tolerance was on the near verge of
reaching its limits before the younger witch truly blew her top. Tonks knew
Harry usually let Sirius have his way when it came to surprises, she indulged
him and his need to surprise her, yet not this time it would seem.
Tonks turned to face the younger witch and opened the mouth to speak, yet the
younger witch beat her to it, and told Tonks, "I have changed my mind, I want
to visit a salon first, and then after that the computer store." She paused and
added, "I want to head to the nearest sports store, I need workout clothes and
two new pairs of trainers," She continued, "After that I want to buy underwear
and nightwear before we visit a clothing and shoe store for my new wardrobe and
footwear." She paused before concluding, "Then we need to take a trip to the
nearest Boots so I can buy toiletries."
Tonks asked, "And after that where would you like to go?" Harry replied as they
started to walk and replied, "I figured we could pop into Thornton's and then
maybe pick somewhere to eat." Fleur added and said, "After that will probably
be time for us to make our way back to the Leaky Cauldron so we can enter
Diagon Alley and you can go and collect your new glasses and maybe pickup a
pair of sunglasses whilst you're there."
Harry grimaced and concluded around a mocking drawl, "Oh yeah, then it's time
to head back to headquarters to face my own personal firing squad, oh joy." The
others did not know whether to laugh or cringe in sympathy. Cringing won out
when Harry added blandly, "Oh and by the way, regardless of what Remus thought,
I was only half joking when I mentioned being ran down by a London bus whilst
we are here."
Angelina eyed the younger witch with a frown, and asked as they continued to
walk along the pavement, "What seriously, you'd sooner be mowed down by a
London bus then deal with everyone else at headquarters?" She added grimacing
and said, "Hardly considered a noble death now is it Harry." Harry shot her a
glance as they continued to walk along, and said, "Anything is worth it verses
not having to face Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys. Oh, and not to forget to
mention Cho, who I wager is going to be out for my blood when she realises who
is engaged to the wizard she is in love with and wants for herself."
Before anyone could reply to that, Angelina spotted a hair and beauty salon and
nodded to Harry as she gestured to the front of the store. She asked, "How
about seeing whether they can fit you in here?" Harry nodded and she and the
others followed. Harry allowed Tonks discreetly to cast a cleaning charm to
remove all of the makeup before they entered the salon, which she had applied
that morning, knowing any makeup remover the beautician would attempt to use
would not remove the make up with it being the magical kind.
Angelina then leads them into the salon and Harry and the others stood to one
side, while Angelina went to find a member of staff to ask whether they could
fit in Harry. Angelina explained how it was Harry's birthday and asked whether
it was possible that they could fit her in to have her hair done and false
nails applied, along with an eyebrow waxing and shaping, and makeup and ear
piercing.
The woman behind the counter checked the appointments book and said, "You are
in luck as we have a cancellation, meaning Jeanette, Nicole and Imogene can
take care of your friend." She added smiling over at Harry and said, "And
seeing how it is her birthday I can put her in for one of our package deals.
Pay full price for her hair, nails and makeup, and we'll do her eyebrows and
ear piercing for half price." Harry nodded and smiled happily.
The woman called out to a nearby hairdresser, a nail technician, and a
beautician and said, "Imogene I have a client for you, an eyebrow shape and
wax, along with makeup and ear piercing." She then turned her gaze to Nicole
and added, "Acrylic nails, shape and paint them how she asks." Finally, she
turned to Jeanette and said, "Finally, you Jeanette when you are done with Mrs
Jensen's perm and blow dry, you can do her hair, whatever she asks for."
All three women nodded before Imogene suggested, "How about eyebrows and ear
piercing first, it will give the skin around her eyebrows the chance to cool
down and become less red before I apply any makeup." Nicole added, "And then I
will do her nails, which will give them a chance to dry, less chance of them
chipping or smudging before Jeanette does her hair."
The woman at the till gestured to another woman as she said to Harry, "Okay
hand Amy your coat and Imogene will take you into one of our treatment rooms."
She finally concluded and said, "Amy please get her and her friends something
to drink whilst they wait."
While everyone else took a seat in the waiting area, Harry followed Imogene
into another room. Once inside she had Harry climb up onto the bed-like chaise
and told her to get comfortable and remove her glasses. Harry lay back and held
onto her glasses as Imogene moved about the room and prepared what she would
need, such as wax, the strips, tweezers and cotton wool buds.
She asked Harry once she was ready, "Have you ever had this done before or is
it your first time?" Harry replied, "Never, this is my first time." She frowned
as she added, "Is it going to hurt?" Imogene inwardly winced and replied, "Not
overly so, but the first couple of times can be shocking, you'll know what I
mean in just a moment."
Harry's eyes narrowed as she wondered what the hell she had agreed to, that the
beautician would describe it as shocking the first couple of times. Just as
Harry opened her mouth to ask this, she felt something really warm and sticky
applied to the skin below her brow, followed by what felt like some kind of
paper-like material smoothed down over the warm sticky stuff.
Harry did not have time to ponder what Imogene meant when she said she was not
going to warn her but just do it. She had her answer seconds later when she
felt a sharp stinging sensation as the wax strip was quickly ripped away from
her flesh, in turn causing her to let out a startled yelp. She felt her eyes
watering from the unexpected sting and instantly knew what the other woman had
meant when she had said shocking, oh hell, didn't she just.
Imogene paused a moment as she took in the stunned look on the younger woman's
face. She bit her lower lip when she hissed between clenched teeth, "Why the
hell would people pay to have this done on a regular basis, to inflict this on
themselves willingly?" Imogene had to hide her knowing smirk as she prepared
the next strip and dipped the stick into the hot wax, as she asked, "Ever heard
the saying pain is beauty?" She had to stifle the urge to giggle at the
incredulous look she received in return. Honestly she was being eyed as if she
had grown a second head or just told the other woman that spike covered dog
collars were now all the rage.
After that, Imogene completed the waxing on both eyes and started plucking,
trimming and shaping the remaining brow hair. Hoping to distract the younger
woman from what she was doing she asked Harry what she wanted to do after she
finished school. Harry told her that she wanted to be a nurse, she supposed a
nurse was the closest equivalent to a Mediwitch as possible without revealing
what she should not to the muggle woman.
Once she had finished tidying both eyebrows she wiped the reddened skin with
cotton wool buds covered in a pleasantly cool lotion. She warned the other
woman and said, "I am done, but do not panic when you look in the mirror, I
promise the redness is perfectly normal and will go down within the next
fifteen minutes. It is just your skin reacting to having the hair ripped out,
which causes the blood to rise to the surface of the skin." She concluded,
"This is why I insisted you have your ears pierced and your nails and hair done
before your makeup."
Harry sat up and put on her glasses before she looked into the mirror on the
opposite wall and, was instantly alarmed at what she discovered. She could not
believe how red and swollen the skin around her eyebrows and upper eyelids
appeared. The only reason she did not freak out was due to the warning the
beautician had given her beforehand.
Imogene nodded knowingly and said, "See what I mean, try applying a primer or
other eye makeup to that, trust me it is not advised and the makeup would just
irritate the red and swollen skin even more so. " Harry could well imagine and
nodded in agreement.
Imogene said, "Alright follow me back into the main area of the salon and we
will pierce your ears for you, and then you can tell Nicole what you want doing
with your nails." Harry slipped down from her perch on the edge of the bed-like
chaise and followed Imogene out of the room and back into the main salon area.
As they reached the main area, Harry silently made a note to have Fleur teach
her the charm to remove hair as there was no way in hell she was going to
endure what she just did whenever she wanted to remove a little excessive hair.
Pain was beauty, ha beauty her ass, never had she heard such misleading crap.
As she walked passed her friends she saw the looks of alarm on both of Fleur
and Tonks faces as they saw the redness from the waxing. She quickly saw
Angelina quietly explaining how it was normal with the muggle method of hair
removal. The last she saw before following the beautician to the other side of
the salon was the pained grimaces of the other two as Angelina was obviously
explaining what had just happened to Harry.
Imogene had Harry sit down on a stool and then asked for her first and her last
name as well as her title, and her age, her date of birth and her address and
whether she was allergic to anything so she could fill out the necessary form
before she pierced her ears. Once the form was completed and Harry signed her
signature, she then pierced Harry's ears allowing Harry to choose a pair of
sleepers; Harry chose the ones with a red stone.
Harry had barely winced at the slight sting she had felt, it was not too bad
and she knew that it was nothing she could not handle. Honestly, it was purely
laughable to consider comparing the sensation she had felt, knowing she had
worse inflicted on her during Quidditch practice and matches when hit with a
bludger, or having bones regrown.
The beautician said when she finished piecing her other ear, "There you are
that was not so bad was it." Harry replied, "Not really, the ripping during the
waxing was much worse in my opinion." Imogene had also explained how her ears
would be a little red and tender for a couple of hours and that the sleepers
had to stay in for six weeks before she could change them.
She explained how to take care of and keep the piecing healthy, such as
cleaning them twice a day with cotton wool buds and the solution that the salon
would provide and, that similar products could also be purchased at most
chemists. And finally that she needed to carefully and gently twist the
sleepers in her lobe once a day to make the holes bigger so that once she did
take them out they would not close up easily or as quickly.
Harry handed the cleaning solution to Tonks who asked, "What is this?" Harry
replied over her shoulder as she followed Imogene, "It is the solution needed
to clean my ears so the piercing does not become infected." Tonks nodded and
eyed the bottle in a sudden new light. Tonks showed the bottle to Fleur and
Angelina, Angelina nodded knowingly, whilst Fleur looked at the bottle with
interest.
Nicole gestured for her to come over to another corner of the salon so she
could start on her nails, while Imogene went to gather and set up her cosmetic
supplies. Nicole gestured for Harry to take a seat in the chair opposite her
before she asked Harry to remove her rings. Harry shook her head and said, "Can
you work around them or just skip whatever needs me to remove my rings please?"
Nicole frowned wondering why the younger woman would not remove her rings, but
did not comment as something told her that if she did then they would be losing
money, the client looked like someone who would stand up and say forget it.
Nicole replied and said, "In that case I will not be able to do the hand and
arm massage that usually comes with the manicure." She added, "I suppose we
could dip your fingers in the solution to soften the skin around the cuticles,
followed by filing, shaping and tidying up the nails and cuticles, but won't
bother buffing and polishing your nails seeing as she are having acrylics." She
concluded, "In that case I need you choose the nail shape you want and the
colour polish."
Harry asked, "What nail shapes can I choose from?" Nicole replied, "Just a
moment I will go and fetch a folder with pictures of examples of what you can
choose from." Harry nodded as she watched the nail technician stand and walk
over to a small shelf nearby and picked up a red A4 sized folder. In the end
Harry chose a square tip, which Nicole assured her was quite popular with girls
of her age.
Next Nicole had asked which coloured she wanted; unless, she was interested in
a clear colour or a French manicure. Harry finally chose a shade of teal green
which had glitter in it, and the woman referred to as Vampy varnish much to
Harry's amusement. She smirked and wondered how the woman would react if she
truly knew what vampires entailed.
Nicole made Harry's cuticles neater and filed and tidied up her nails before
moving onto apply the acrylic nails and then cutting and shaping them into a
neat and perfect square tip. After that, she painted them with a base coat
followed by Harry's choice of polish using two coats of the colour before
finally applying a layer of clear topcoat to finish off. Once done she had
Harry keep her hands in front of her down flat as they dried.
Harry watched as the nail technician stood and cleared away the tools and
polishes before she gestured for the others to come over and look at her
completed manicure. Angelina commented first and asked, "That is a gorgeous
shade of green, what shade did she say it was?" Harry watched the polish dry
and noticed how it looked smooth and shiny and could see all the colours of the
rainbow shining in the glitter. Harry replied, "She called it Teal Green
Glitter, and said some teenagers called it vampy varnish."
Angelina grinned as Tonks and Fleur frowned at the term vampy, and quietly
explained about how muggles saw and described vampires differently then witch
and wizards. They truly had no idea what a vampire was really like, at least
not until they were bitten by a muggle breed of vampire and not the magical
equivalent. Tonks snorted while Fleur remarked quietly, "If only they truly
knew vampires are far from what they think."
Next Nicole directed Harry over to Jeanette to have her hair done. Harry
explained to the hairdresser that she did not want her hair washed as she had
washed it that morning, and her hair cut recently. Of course, she had not but
the hairdresser was not to know, or the fact Harry's hair would only grow back
the next day if she willed it. Harry opted to have her hair put up in a braided
bun hairstyle, knowing she did not want it curled, crimped or anything else
done to it.
Jeanette removed Harry's scrunchie and handed it to her before she ran a thick
hairbrush through the long dark strands, and complimenting her on how lovely it
was. Once satisfied that there was no knots to contend with Jeanette gathered
Harry's hair and braided it before taking the braid and twisting it around into
a bun on top of Harry's head and secured it in place with hairgrips. Lastly,
she arranged Harry bangs over her forehead as Harry requested, but pinned any
excessive strands behind her head, before finally spraying the hair with
hairspray to keep it in place.
Once completed Jeanette directed her back over to Imogene who had her sit down
on another high stool. Imogene complimented her on her new hairdo, before she
asked Harry to remove her glasses then showed Harry the colours she had
available. Harry not knowing anything about makeup except for what Tonks had
told her that morning told Imogene to do what she thought would suit Harry
best.
Naturally Imogene had been delighted at the thought of what she could do now
she had been given permission do what she thought best. Imogene chose a more
dramatic make-up seeing as it was a special occasion with it being Harry's
birthday, yet not overly dramatic not wanting to overdo it and make the final
look gaudy and clownish. She eyed Harry's eyes without her glasses and marveled
at the stunning shade of green and, instantly knew smokey eye shadow was the
way to go with this client.
First, she evenly applied a primer base to Harry face and forehead, but avoided
her eyes and lips in order to use the correct primers for those areas. As soon
as she finished evenly covering the last of Harry's forehead, she applied
another primer base to Harry's eyes lids and then finally applying a primer
base to her lips.
Next, she used an applicator sponge evenly applying liquid foundation that
complimented Harry's natural skin tone to her face, forehead and her upper
neck. She then took a powder brush and dusted the apples of her cheeks with a
nude coloured blush, making her cheekbones appear higher and giving her a
gentle yet subtle glow.
Next, she worked on her eyelids by first applying a skin coloured shadow from a
pallet from the urban decay Smokey collection to the whole of her eyelid. She
then dusted the lower part of the lid with the dark green shadow from the same
pallet, and took delight in blending the black shadow with the green as she
skilfully blended it into the crease of the lid, creating a gorgeous smokey
effect that made the green of Harry's eyes look almost luminous.
To add even more definition she applied black liquid eyeliner flawlessly to her
lower lids. She marveled as she coated Harry's eyelashes with the darkest black
mascara she had, noting how Harry's lashes appeared impossibly long and full,
making her feel slightly envious. To finish and complete the perfect and
flawless smokey look she applied black eyeliner to the waterline before
smudging it slightly and subtly blending in a small amount of the green shadow.
Once she was done with her eyes, she paused briefly to admire to work and the
beauty of her client, especially the effect smokey colours had on her clients
amazing green eyes. She then looked for a suitable shade to use on her lips,
noticing how the client had ideal lips to create a perfect and full pout.
Imogene knew a pale coloured and high shine gloss would look incredible paired
with the dark tone of the smokey eye makeup.
She told Harry, "These colours and brand of makeup look incredible with your
green eyes, might I suggest buying this brand of makeup." Harry asked, "What is
it called?" Imogene replied, "It is called Urban Decay, and is new as the brand
comes from an American company and only became available last year." Harry
nodded and asked, "Where can I buy it?" Imogene replied, "You cannot by it in
the shops in Britain just yet and have to order it from a site on the internet,
I will write down the address for you once we are done here."
Imogene finally decided on a pale and shimmering gloss in a shade called Nude,
also a part of the Urban Decay collection. She squeezed some of the gloss out
of the tube onto a lip brush and applied a neat layer of the gloss to first her
lower lip then her upper lip. She stepped back, resealed the tube of gloss and
placed the lip brush down before she smiled. She said, "I really am glad you
allowed me to decide to use what I thought suited you best. Green and black
shadow blended into your lower lid does wonders with your amazing green eyes."
Imogene directed her to the nearest mirror and Harry put her glasses back on
and looked into the mirror as soon as she could properly focus. She could not
stifle a gasp of amazed delight as she realised the colour of the eye shadow
and the way it had been blended did amazing things to her eyes that even she
was not aware was possible. She could not help but wonder whether Cedric would
like the way she looked.
Harry said, "I honestly had no idea it was possible to apply makeup like this,
or my eyes stand out or quite this green." Imogene replied, "Your eyes are
naturally an amazing shade of green, it just took the right shade of makeup and
a certain way of applying it for you to notice just how green they are. It all
depends on using the correct colouring and technique to enhance and make the
best of your eye colour."
Harry beamed once more at her reflection before she said, "Thank you it looks
amazing." Imogene smiled gently, but inwardly she was cheering at a job well
done, it was not often she received such appreciation from clients. She
replied, "Your welcome and I was glad to do it, I had a lot of fun as usually
clients know what they want so it was a nice change to be able to show what
kind of skill I have."
Imogene led Harry back over to the till, while Amy went and retrieved her
jacket and Imogene wrote the web address for the Urban Decay cosmetics down on
one of the salons business cards. She handed the card to Harry and said she
hoped she came back again, before she left with her next client who had been
waiting. Amy returned and helped Harry into her jacket and complimented Harry
on her done up appearance. Harry blushed and thanked her, before asking Tonks
to hand over the money so she could pay.
Tonks walked over to Harry followed by Angelina and Fleur, and were amazed at
the transformation Harry had undergone in the last hour and a half. Tonks
gasped, "You look stunning Harry, Cedric will not honestly know what hit him or
what to do with you when he sees you."
Fleur gushed, "Oh Harry You look beautiful and definitely need to come back
here again if this is the level of quality you receive." Angelina beamed and
said, "Whoa if you look like that with your old glasses then imagine what you
will look like with your new pair."
Harry blushed as she accepted the money from Tonks and handed over the business
card for safekeeping. She then turned to face the woman behind the counter, who
was smiling widely as she said, "Ah I see those three have gone and outdone
themselves yet again. It is at times like this that I am reminded why I was so
eager to hire them in the first place."
She shook her head in wonder before she used the till to add up Harry's final
bill and applied the discount as promised. She said, "Okay that will be forty
five pounds and seventy five pence please." Harry counted out the correct
change and even handed over an extra ten pounds, and told the woman to share it
equally between the other three.
Harry and the others left the salon and walked to the nearest alley. Once there
Tonks quickly and discreetly cast a preserving charm on Harry's makeup, hair
and nails. The hair, makeup and nails would last until she reversed the charm,
which pleased Harry because it meant her nails and polish would last for as
long as she wanted unlike the week or so without the charm.
Harry said she wanted to head to PC WORLD next, so they left the alley and
walked in the direction of the shopping prescient that was only a ten minute
walk from the salon. Angelina asked, "Are you going to buy a desktop as well or
just a laptop?" She added, "Through I will tell you this that the apple range
of desktop computers look huge and brightly coloured, my parents have one at
home. It gets the job done but I do not think they are all that much to look
at."
Harry shook her head and replied, "No, I just want a laptop, one computer is
enough at this point as I need to learn how to use one as I was never allowed
near Dudley's. I am pretty certain my cousin would have taking more than a
swipe at me if I had been stupid enough to touch his precious computer." She
paused as they finally reached the huge store before concluding, "And yeah,
your right about it being huge and brightly coloured and thought it looked
ugly. Dudley did not care about that or he did not notice, all he knew was he
had something I did not, that is all that mattered to him."
As they entered the store, how large the store was and the sight of all the
strange muggle objects stunned Tonks and Fleur. Just as Tonks was about to ask
Angelina a question, a male member of staff came up to them and asked if they
needed any help. Angelina took over knowing more about computers then Harry and
said she wanted a new laptop, a printer and scanner combo, along with a camera
and a camera recorder.
The Sales Assistant led them through the store and the first stop was the
laptops and showed them the range they stocked. Harry end up choosing a silver
coloured Toshiba laptop, which ran on windows 98. To Tonks and Fleur it
appeared to be like a medium sized brick, a somewhat slim brick, but still
brick-like. The Sales Assistant recommended Internet Explorer, Microsoft office
98, along with anti-virus software. He recommended AOL as an internet service
provider and added a disc with the latest version to her order, and explained
how she would need to call them up in order to become a member.
The printer and scanner combo was also silver to match her new laptop. He also
convinced her to add some of the quality and glossy Kodak photograph paper so
she could make and print off her own quality photos. Harry liked the idea of
being able to print off her own photos instead of having to go and have them
developed and some stranger look through Technicolor images of her friends and
family moments.
She also added a silver coloured paper shredder into the mix, which was handy
to have so she did not have a bin overflowing with unwanted paper. She
absolutely hated the sight of an overflowing bin or untidy area. She supposed
in that sense growing up around her aunt's constant need and demand for a clean
area and bin had rubbed off on her, the only thing that truly had done.
The assistant also recommended a new telephone also in silver, the cordless
kind you could take with you in any room. He said BT was good as far as
telephone providers went. Harry nodded glad this guy seem to know what he was
talking about, it saved her having to reveal she did not know much, regardless
that she was raised in the muggle world her relatives were hardly inclined to
teach her anything.
Next, they followed the Sales Assistant over to the camera equipment, which the
sales assistant recommended the latest technology that doubled as both a camera
and a recorder instead of two separate units. It was also in silver and was a
Sony brand. It had components that allow you to download pictures and films
directly onto the laptop; this was something that greatly appealed to Harry.
After that, he showed Harry the range of laptop bags and cases, which Harry end
up choosing black leather square shaped bag that had silver coloured clasps and
a long strap she could place over her shoulder wherever she went. Harry could
feel how soft the leather was and that it was expensive and quality leather.
The inner lining was not black or made of leather, but a deep blue soft velvet-
like material that felt lovely to the touch.
The assistant led them to the tills so Harry could pay as Harry noticed they
did not seem to sell any office furniture. The assistant recommended Pottery
Barn, which was four shops down and sold quality office furniture. Once at the
till he rang up all of her purchases and she paid a total amount well over four
thousand pounds the laptop alone was near two thousand. Harry insisted they
could manage fine as they had drove to the store and could get the items to the
car without help.
After they left, they found a nearby alleyway and Harry shrunk down all of her
new purchases and allowed Tonks to put them into her bag for safekeeping. Harry
then decided that the office furniture could wait as they still had a month of
the summer holidays left and of course, Harry needed to shop for her new
wardrobe as well as go to Boots for toiletries still. Tonks nodded and made a
mental note to remember the name Pottery Barn. She suggested they could come
back next week for the furniture and bring Cedric, Hermione and Ron if she
wanted to.
Their next stop was JJB Sports where she purchased multiple pairs of sports bra
and shorts, tracksuit bottoms and matching hoodies and t-shirts in different
colours. She also chose a sports bag and two pairs of trainers, one a running
pair, that were white and silver and the other pair used for indoor activities
that were purple and bronze coloured. She chose several pairs of jeans, loving
the fact they sold jeans and she was able to get them at a lower price than
normal.
The total order came to £1175.65 pounds, which meant Harry was beyond relieved
to discover they had a summer sale on to get rid of all of the summer stock so
they could replace it with the up and coming autumn stock. Harry received a
thirty percent discount because she spent over five hundred pounds, reducing
the price to £822.95, which was still steep but better then over a thousand
pounds any day.
After leaving the store, Harry discreetly shrunk the bags down so they fit
inside of Tonks bag with her other purchases. Their next stop was boots where
Harry purchased, towels and tampons, Charlie deodorant, Molton Brown shampoo
and conditioner, along with Radox showers gels and bubble baths. She remembered
to put toothpaste, mouthwash and dental floss and a new toothbrush in the
basket. Her other purchases included hair elastics in different colours, which
some had glitter on them, and even hair scrunches and grips and a hair brush.
She paid at the checkout, which came to £163.68.
When her items were secure in Tonks bag they made their way to Select, a store
that catered to females, such as clothing and other accessories. In there she
spent £688 on jackets, jumpers, tops, t-shirts, blouses, dress pants, and jeans
in different colours. She picked up two pairs of heels and some flats, along
with a new berry coloured coat and mocha coloured dressing gown that had white
spots on it and a hood.
Next was Victoria Secret and Harry could not believe how gorgeous some of the
items on display were, so gorgeous that Harry could honestly not help but
splurge in there, even making a mental note to get what she did not that day
online as soon as the internet was up and working. She purchased lace and satin
bras and knickers in several different beautiful colours, some that had
stunning embroidery and brocade on them. She picked satin, silk, and cotton
nightshirts, camisoles, matching pyjama and short sets, some plain and some
patterned.
In total without the twenty-five percent discount that she had received for
spending over three hundred and fifty pounds would have cost her £1137.63. The
sales woman had seen how the younger woman paled and was quick to assure her of
the discount. The price was still high but at £853.23, everyone figured that
was less painful than the original price at least. The Sales Assistant
explained even with certain items on offer the price was still going to be a
certain amount due to the store being a high-end chain store.
When they left Victoria Secret Harry still appeared to look pale, meaning Tonks
quickly reassured her that it was fine and reminded her once again that what
she was spending was not making a dent in her fortune. Fleur insisted that she
was female and the love to shop and splurge practically coded into the female
DNA, it was normal. Angelina was last to comfort the younger witch and insist
that today was a special occasion, meaning Harry would not splurge like this on
a regular basis if the occasion did not call for it.
 
Their next stop was Maceys where Harry purchased a new school bag and matching
pencil case and school shoes, flat black Mary-Janes. Their final stop before
going to eat was Thorntons, where Harry spent £59.81 on chocolate for not only
herself but for everyone else. Once finished at Thorntons they headed for pizza
Hut as Harry said she wanted to try pizza and never had it before. The Dursleys
would go out to eat all the time, but never took Harry with them and left her
behind with Mrs. Figg. Harry was determined to do all she had missed when with
the Dursleys.
They followed a Waitress over to a table by the window and removed their coats
as they waited for the Waitress to return with their menus. Tonks asked, "So
what are we going to eat?" Angelina being the only one at the table who had
been there before and had eaten pizza suggested they share a side order and
pizza between them, but have a salad bowl and pudding each. Harry agreed that
was their best option, they did not know whether any of them besides Angelina
would even like pizza. Angelina had laughed and said there was no fear of them
not liking pizza; pizza was one of the most popular muggle foods, and not many
people disliked pizza.
When the Waitress returned she handed each a menu and told them to choose what
they wanted to drink and she would take their drinks order when she returned.
After she left their table, the girls picked up their menus and looked at the
drinks section. Angelina and Harry explained what was available to order to
Tonks and Fleur, who had no idea what half of the drinks on the menu were.
Harry did tell them to avoid any alcohol as she had plans to raid Sirius'
Firewhiskey stash later on and figured they could grab Hermione and have a
glass, but did not know what mixing muggle and wizarding alcohol would do to
them. Tonks grinned and said playfully, "Fred and George sent you your own
bottle for your birthday Harry." Harry smirked and slyly asked in reply, "But
Tonks, why would I want to drink my birthday present when I could just drink
Sirius' whiskey?" This had the other three laughing at her reply and the sly
undertone in her voice.
Before the Waitress returned Harry said she did not want any pop and decided on
an orange and passion fruit flavoured J20, explaining to Fleur that it was pure
orange juice. Fleur liked the sound of that and decided to order the apple and
mango version. Angelina wanted a Pepsi and Tonks decided to get the same as
Angelina, trusting that Angelina would not order something disgusting.
When the Waitress returned she told them to choose what they wanted to eat and
she would take their order when she returned with their drinks. Once she left
Angelina recommended sharing some Cheesy Nachos, which Fleur asked what they
were. Angelina told her that nachos were crunchy crisps, potatoes that had been
deep-fried. The nachos came with jalapeños and mozzarella, topped with a cool
sour cream chive and salsa. Fleur nodded and agreed to get that as did Harry
and Tonks.
They looked at the menu at the choice of pizza bases and toppings and decided
on sharing a large 13-inch deep pan Meat Lovers Supreme by the time the
Waitress had returned with their drinks. Angelina gave their order as the
Waitress put their drinks down in front of them. She wrote down their order and
said she would be back with their bowls in a few moments.
While they waited, Angelina looked at her watch and gasped when she saw the
time, this caught the attention of the others. Harry raised a brow and asked,
"What?" Angelina grimaced as she said, "Its four o clock already Harry, which
means as soon as we finish here we will have to head back by apparition most
likely if you want to reach the opticians for five thirty." Harry grimaced at
the thought, remembering all too well her first introduction into the art of
apparition, courtesy of one Albus Dumbledore when they had visited Horace
Slughorn before the start of sixth year.
Horace had of course refused to come out of retirement, and his fear of
Voldemort was apparently much greater than any effect Albus' manipulations and
urging him to take on the role of the Potions Master at Hogwarts. In the end,
their potions Professor end up being a Potions Mistress by the name of Cornelia
Leighton. Her son Sebastian Severus Leighton, a sixth year, end up sorted into
Slytherin after being home schooled up until sixth year.
What had truly been a shock was to discover just how much Sebastian looked like
their former Potions Master turned DADA Professor. Severus had looked as if a
mere feather could have knocked him over if he had not been already sitting
down. The look he had shot Professor Leighton had been enough to send shudders
down the spines of many a student and staff member in the great hall that
night. Much to everyone's shock, but not Severus', Professor Leighton had
merely stared him down, silently daring him to make a scene in the Great hall
in front of the rest of the staff and student body. She had appeared completely
unaffected by the evident fury on his face, that not even his skills as a spy
could he hide.
It became very apparent that Severus Snape was Sebastian's father, and that
Professor Leighton had not informed him of his fatherhood. Sebastian was a lot
like his father in the sense he did not forgive very easily once slighted, and
oh yeah did the young Slytherin take the fact his supposed father had not cared
enough for his mother that she thought she could not tell him of his existence
as being slighted by his father. He especially seethed at the fact the man in
question constantly fought with his mother.
Just as Harry opened her mouth to let it known exactly what she thought of the
idea of apparating, the Waitress returned with their salad bowls. As soon as
she left Tonks grabbed a bowl for both Harry and her, then stood up, and led
Harry over to self-service salad bar she spotted when they had entered the
restaurant.
Harry spluttered and Tonks remarked blandly, "Do not even think of protesting
Harry, regardless of how much you hate wizarding transportation that is not a
broomstick. It does not change the fact it is necessary if you want to make it
to the opticians on time to collect your glasses. The taxi would take too long
to arrive and take us to the Leakey Cauldron, and by the time we reached Diagon
Ally you would be late for your appointment."
Harry gritted her teeth and accepted the bowl from Tonks, but did not say
anything further, she knew Tonks was right it was necessary, yet that did not
mean she had to like it thank you very much. As soon as they returned to the
table, Angelina and Fleur took their turn and went over to the salad bar, while
Harry and Tonks settled at the table again. Harry continued to stew over the
thought of apparating as she picked up the fork nearest to her.
When Angelina and Fleur returned they instantly saw the black look on Harry's
face as she angrily stabbed a piece of cucumber with her fork, while Tonks
looked on in exasperation. Angelina murmured quietly and asked Tonks, "What is
wrong with Harry?" Harry heard her through and ground out between clenched
teeth, "Apparition, I hate it, it's like being forced through a really tight
rubber tube." She hissed quietly, "It felt like I was pressed very hard from
all directions; and could not breathe, and it felt as if there were iron bands
tightening around my chest; and my eyeballs were being forced back into my
head; and my ear-drums were being pushed deeper into my skull."
The other three witches eyed her in disbelief at her description of apparition.
Huh, if that was her honest opinion on apparating then was it any wonder she
was glowering at her salad blackly and stabbing a piece of cucumber with her
fork viciously as if it had done her a grave injustice. Angelina muttered,
"Whoa, tell me what you really think, if that's apparition, then I can just
imagine how you would describe traveling through the floo network." Harry
narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to do just that, but Tonks held up both
hands and said, "Do not even think about Harry seriously."
Fleur shook with silent and suppressed giggles before asking, "If you have
issues with apparition and the flooing, then I would pay to see how well you
handle the Knights bus." Harry's eyes narrowed further as she asked, "Oh, and
have you actually been on the bus in question Fleur?" Fleur sobered somewhat
and grimaced as if remembering something highly uncomfortable. She replied, "Oh
yes, I have had the unfortunate and dubious pleasure." This caused Tonks and
Angelina to snigger and shake their heads, while Harry shared a knowing grimace
with Fleur.
Tonks wiped away her tears of mirth before putting a cherry tomato into her
mouth. Once she had finished chewing she said, "Either way Harry you are going
to have to learn to deal, seeing as Sirius and I will be taking you first thing
Monday morning after breakfast to the ministry for your apparition test, and
hopefully your licence if you pass." She sighed and told the younger witch, "Be
reasonable Harry, you cannot possibly rely solely on the Knights bus or even
your broomstick indefinitely."
Harry gritted out after finally eating the mangled piece of cucumber, "It is
not my fault I grew up in the muggle world and never learnt to become
accustomed to wizarding transportation that is not a broomstick, blame the
Headmaster for that." Tonks grimaced, and truly did not envy Albus next time he
and Harry saw the other, that was sure to be a conversation that would rise
more than a few brows.
Angelina grimaced and chuckled in sympathy and said, "I got over that issue
when I was a first year, I had to, when you have the piss taken out of you by
the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan and Oliver Wood when you are a first year, no
matter how harmlessly done, it meant I was quick to banish that problem."
Tonks giggled as they all started to eat their salads, before asking Harry,
"Did they ever make fun of you Harry?" Before Harry could answer Angelina
laughed and said, "No they did not, well, at least Oliver didn't." Harry
snickered and added, "Of course he didn't, the only interest he had in me was
whether his seeker was up to the task of being on his team and getting the job
done."
She added around a laugh, "Naturally the twins would playfully tease me, but
that was more how they treated Ron, but less strongly." She smirked as she
concluded, "Lee never did, I wonder if that was down to the fact he saw me like
the majority saw me, or because at the time I was not a witch."
Angelina nodded and commented around a hoot of laughter, "Oh definitely the
last one, if you had been a witch back then when he still went to Hogwarts,
then he would have teased you, but all in fun, never cruelly. Lee does not have
a cruel bone in his body, at least not for those who had have not crossed him
or done something to piss off the twins, he always had their backs and they him
in return. The three of them still do even now after leaving Hogwarts." She
grinned and concluded, "In fact they remind me of you Harry and Hermione and
Ron." Harry chuckled at this, as did Tonks, while Fleur looked on with
interest.
Halfway though eating their salads and quite conversation between bites, the
Waitress returned with a platter with the Cheesy Nachos on it, enough for the
four of them to have a fair helping each. After she left the four of them soon
reached for some of the cheese and salsa cover nachos. Angelina inwardly
smirked as she wondered how the other three who had never had salsa before
would react. She did not have long to wait, Fleur was the first to react and
let out a startled cough and wafted her hand near her mouth before reaching for
her drink.
Next Tonks was the one to react and let out a brief cough and commented after
taking a long drink of Pepsi, "Whoa that Salsa sure packs a punch, through it
has nothing on Firewhiskey, but still whoa hot." Angelina snorted and turned
her gaze to Harry, as did Tonks and Fleur. Harry on the other hand was not
having the same reaction as the other two and said, "Not bad, nothing I cannot
handle, in fact I could find myself enjoying salsa from now on, unlike the
other two wimps."
Angelina let out a hoot of laughter as she reached towards the platter, Tonks
and Fleur on the other hand glared at her playfully. Tonks commented, "Well,
excuse me Miss I can handle anything, but we do not have salsa in the wizarding
world, the closest we have to this type of heat is Firewhiskey." Fleur replied,
"And the French are not known for hot and spicy food Harry, so this is a bit of
a shock to the system for me."
Harry snorted and replied, "I will soon change that, I know how to make a
really hot curry, my aunt forced me to learn how to cook, and a curry was among
the many dishes and types of food I learned how to make from scratch." She
concluded, "Trust me when I say mild curry is for wimps, if you are going to
make a more than half decent curry then hot and spicy is the way to go."
They finished off the rest of the nachos in silence, and when the Waitress
returned with the pizza and clean plates and knives and forks and took away the
now empty platter and salad bowls, they all asked for drink refills; Angelina
and Tonks were free because they got Pepsi. Tonks asked, "What did you say they
called this Pizza?" Angelina replied as they took a clean plate, knife and fork
each, "It is called a Meat Lovers Supreme."
Harry used the server to pick up a piece of the pizza, and said, "Dudley would
have a couple of the ingredients on here when I was forced to make a pizza
fresh and from scratch when my aunt did not want to go out to eat or order in."
The pizza was deep pan crust covered in cheese, tomato puree, chicken, beef,
pepperoni, black olives, red onions and red, yellow and green peppers. It
smelled incredible she could hardly wait to try a slice, her mouth watered at
the smell.
Angelina frowned and commented puzzled, "Wait a minute; you say you have never
eaten pizza before, yet you have made one fresh and from scratch for your
relatives." Harry sighed and raised a brow as she replied, "Just because I made
the pizza does not mean I was allowed to eat any of it, my cousin and uncle, my
cousin in particular made certain that I never got a look in, not even
leftovers." She sneered in disgust as she added, "Ha there was never leftovers
in Privet Drive with my uncle and cousin, and add in Marge, Vernon's sister,
well, there was even less of a chance when that vile bitch visited."
Angelina could not help but scowl in anger that Harry relatives treated her
worse than a criminal or a house elf. She seriously wished she had not said
anything, especially as she now had the urge to discover where Privet Drive was
located and give that family a hexing of their lives and a good kick in the
teeth. Tonks gritted her teeth and shook her head, while Fleur looked caught
between anger and disgust.
The subject quickly changed as they each placed a slice on their plates, and
Angelina being the only one at the table who had eaten pizza before was
interested to witness their reactions, especially after the reactions to the
nachos. Harry was the first to react and let out a moan loud enough for the
others to hear and closed her eyes happily, as she savored the texture and
flavours combined.
Angelina let out a laugh and asked, "I take it you approve then Harry?" Harry
blushed as she opened her eyes and replied sheepishly, "I was caught off guard
and had not expected it to taste that amazing. I should have known, especially
with the amount and as often as Dudley insisted on eating it." Tonks shook her
head and said, "That is amazing, I would love to try others pizzas." Fleur
nodded and added, "I agree, it tastes amazing when normally I find the food in
this country to be too heavy."
Harry suggested, "Maybe before I head back to Hogwarts I could make a few
different pizzas so everyone at Headquarters can try some." Angelina nodded and
said, "You could make a Hawaiian, which is the name for a pizza with just
cheese, ham and pineapple." She added, "Or a Margherita, which is just cheese
and tomato puree." Harry nodded and said, "Okay, but I figured I would wait
until there is an Order meeting at headquarters and cook the pizzas that
night."
As soon they finished eating Angelina looked at her watch and said, "Sorry
Harry, but we have no time to order dessert, we need to pay the bill and get
going, ready to apparate to the Leaky Cauldron." Harry nodded and said, "Fine,
I don't need an ice cream or whatever it is they do here." She shrugged as she
added, "Besides, we've been to Thorntons that is more than plenty for me."
As Tonks removed the muggle money from her bag she commented, "We do not need
dessert, not when you take into consideration that there will be a birthday
cake at headquarters. You lot know Mrs. Weasley, she bakes and decorates a
birthday cake every year for Harry ever since her twelfth birthday."
Harry looked worried as she asked, "Tonks there is not going to be a surprise
birthday party when I get back to headquarters is there?" She grimaced and
continued, "I hate to sound ungrateful but I really am not in the mood for or
do I feel like celebrating my birthday, especially not after everything I have
learned so far."
Tonks grimaced knowingly and said, "Yeah, Remus and Sirius figured you would be
out of sorts and not want a big deal made, so no there will be no party, but
they could not completely talk Mrs. Weasley out of baking a cake. She went on
about how you only turned seventeen once and insisted it required a cake and a
celebration no matter how small."
Fleur let out an unladylike snort and commented, "Oh I just bet she was far
from impressed over not being able to throw a big party." Tonks grimaced and
said, "It was not pretty, she did not take it well and is suspicious as to why
both Remus and Sirius are insisting on not having a huge party for Harry's
seventeenth."
Harry shrugged and said, "Too bad, I am not up for celebrating, and just want
to see more than a few heads rolling." She shrugged and concluded, "If it keeps
her off my case I will blow out the candles like a good little witch to keep
her sweet, and probably just have a piece of cake and some Firewhiskey."
The others cringed at not only her tone, her words too. Tonks truly hoped Mrs.
Weasley left the issue of no birthday party alone, or else she feared they
would all bear witness to two fierce and hardheaded witches butting heads for
the lead of dominance. Tonks had a feeling that female Harry would not back
down from Molly Weasley's wrath, but instead show Mrs. Weasley that she was not
only James Potter's daughter, but also Lily Evans-Potter's too. Tonks had heard
from both her husband and cousin of how the red haired witch could have more
than given Mrs. Weasley a run for her money when she had been alive.
Angelina signaled for a nearby waitress to come over so they could pay the bill
and leave.
After paying for their meal and leaving Pizza Hut, they quickly made their way
to the nearest alley. Tonks insisted Harry would have to sidelong apparate with
her, Harry obviously not having taken her test yet, which in turn meant no
licence and that by law Harry could not legally perform solo apparition. Harry
complained it did not make a bit of difference to her, apparition in her
opinion was still the pits, even when Angelina said solo apparition was better
as you were the one in control and did not have to rely on someone else.
Once they checked the area was clear of muggles to the point they were less
likely to be discovered, Harry firmly gripped Tonks arm and braced herself for
the Merlin awful sensation she knew was coming, and just because she knew what
was coming still did not mean she was by any means prepared. A point that was
more than proven when they apparated and then reappeared outside in a nearby
alley close to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry let go of Tonks, doubled over and dry
heaved, and thankfully, the contents of her stomach did not make any sort of
reappearance.
Tonks raised a brow and remarked blandly, "I'd hate to see what you will be
like if you have to apparate during pregnancy if there is an emergency."
Angelina and Fleur cringed at the picture the other witch had just mentally
painted for them. Harry chose that moment to straighten up from her doubled
over position, and glowered at Tonks and said, "Something tells me you will be
the one who discovers the effects of pregnancy and apparition combined before I
will, after all you are the one who is already married."
Tonks grimaced as she realised the younger witch had a fair point and was most
likely correct. She shook off the thought; she was not pregnant yet so she was
not going to give it any further thought. She let out a sigh and asked
Angelina, "Angie, what time is it now?" Angelina looked at her watch and
replied, "We have thirty minutes until Harry's appointment, yet I doubt we
would have had even five minutes to spare if we had waited for a taxi." Tonks
nodded and asked, "In that case how about we take a slow walk through the alley
obviously we are in no rush?"
They agreed and made their way inside of the pub and noticed Tom was busy so he
did not see them enter and head through the back. Once they stood in front of
the wall separating muggle London from Diagon Alley, Harry tapped her wand
against the bricks in the correct order. They stepped back as the bricks moved
and the wall parted to reveal Diagon Alley that was noticeably less busy than
earlier on, but that was mostly due to closing time being in less than an hour.
The four made their way through the alley glad that there was a minimum of
people still walking around, but then again the streets usually always
practically deserted at this time ever since confirmed Voldemort had returned.
People lived in fear for their lives, and with good reason. It was worse for
those who had already lived through the first war caused by Voldemort, they
knew what had happened the first time and would most likely happen all over
again.
They walked slowly for the next twenty minutes, until they reached the
opticians with ten minutes to spare before the appointment was due. Harry
pushed opened the door and entered with the others close behind. As soon as the
bell on the door sounded the same sales witch from earlier looked up and smiled
as she saw it was the four witches from earlier on. She said to Harry, "Miss
Evans if you would wait here I will go and see if the healer can fit you in a
little earlier, you are her last patient of the day after all so it should not
be a problem."
Harry nodded and waited for the sales witch to return, which she did less than
two minutes later, she gestured for Harry and said, "You may go in now Miss
Evans the healer will see you." Harry nodded and made her way down the familiar
hallway and back to the room from earlier on. She stopped in front of the door,
knocked and granted access a few moments later when healer Florence called out,
"Enter Miss Evans."
Harry entered and closed the door behind her and sat down in the same seat from
earlier and waited. Healer Florence looked up from her desk a few moments later
and slightly taken back when she had a good look at Harry. She smiled and
commented, "It would seem that you have been very busy since our appointment
Miss Evans."
Harry chuckled and replied, "It is my seventeenth birthday today, I have
received my inheritance and on the insistence of my godfather and my friends I
have been on a fast paced shopping trip in muggle London and splurged on items
I never have before." Florence laughed and replied, "Happy birthday, and
naturally I agree on the splurging, you only turn seventeen and receive your
inheritance once Miss Evans."
Harry returned her laugh, realising she liked this witch, that there was
something about her easygoing nature, yet professional attitude that appealed
to Harry. The fact unlike other healers Harry was forced to see in the past
apparently for her own good, Florence was not putting any pressure and trying
to pry into things Harry sooner she did not. She had no intentions of revealing
any of the information other healers had asked for, nothing short of being
slipped a dose of Veritaserum as Snape had threatened to put in Harry’s Pumpkin
juice during her fourth year would make her spill her guts.
What happened next had Harry feeling more than a little overwhelmed, as
Florence pushed two official and legal looking documents towards her. She
explained at Harry's questioning glance, "Before I fit you for your glasses
Miss Evans, I need for you to quickly read through these and answer the
questions on one, and then put your signature to all two pages for my files and
duplicates will be made for you to keep and store with your own personal
documents."
Harry asked nervously, "What are they for?" Florence replied, "One document is
to state you have read through and agreed for me to become your regular eye
healer, if you do not wish for this, then please do not sign the document Miss
Evans as it will be legally binding until it is destroyed by my magic only."
She paused and added, "The second document I need for you to fill out your
details and then sign so you can be added to the filing system and recognised
as one of my patients."
Harry frowned and breathed deeply as she asked, "Tell me, just how privately
kept will my details be once I have signed my signature, as there are lots of
things I do not want made public under any circumstances?" She added, "If I was
to place my name and signature on this document I would be putting an awful lot
of trust in you, something which I do not do often or if I can avoid it." She
concluded, "I do not wish to offend or question your morel and professional
ethics, yet I need to know how highly you regard patient confidentiality."
Florence taken immediately off guard for a moment at the unexpected turn of
events, blinked in shock and eyed her patient in disbelief, but recovered her
composure quickly. She replied firmly, "Very highly Miss Evans, I took a
magical oath just as any other healer would promising to put my patients needs
first during work hours and to ensure my patients personal details remain
private and secure and are not provided to anyone outside of a professional
medical necessity with permission from the patient.”
Harry sighed and said, "Very well, I will fill out my details, I only asked
because I have had the press screw me over many times, Rita Skeeter in
particular. I have never sued anyone, but came awfully close during the
Triwizard tournament in my fourth year at Hogwarts." She concluded, "I value my
privacy, especially now after the events and everything I learnt today, meaning
it is the uttermost importance that information I do not want revealed to the
press does not leave this office until I am safely secure back at Hogwarts.
Then perhaps I will consider giving an interview in the Quibbler, there is no
way in hell I am ever giving the Daily Prophet an interview of this nature if I
get to have any say in the matter."
Harry cleared her throat and asked, "May I borrow a quill please?" Florence
nodded and handed Harry a self-inking quill and asked, "Is there a reason you
are so worried about the press learning of your personal information Miss
Evans?" Harry smirked and remarked blandly, "Oh just wait until I am finished
filling this out and you will immediately have your answer Healer Florence."
Florence raised a brow at the bland tone and choice of words, but did not make
any comment as Harry started to fill out the document.
Ten minutes later Harry finished with the first document and quickly wrote her
signature before handing it over to Florence, before starting to scan the
second document. As she did this Florence went to cast a spell to duplicate the
document, but quickly spotted the name written on top of the page. She visibly
faltered and lowered her wand, gasping as it sunk in exactly what name had been
written in the section where title, first, middle and last names were required.
Harry looked up from the document she was scanning when she heard the gasp from
the other witch. She raised a brow and remarked, "Like I said, you would
immediately have your answer as to why I do not want the press getting their
hands on my personal details until I am ready for them to that Skeeter cow in
particular." Harry shrugged at the dumbfounded expression on the other witch's
face before returning her attention to the document in front of her.
Florence felt numb with disbelief, wondering how it was possible for Harry
Potter to be sat in front of her very much a female and not the male the
wizarding world were more accustomed to. She could not keep silent and
spluttered in disbelief, "But how, how are you sat in front of me very much a
female, when I and the wizarding world know you to be a male?" It was just not
possible her mind kept screaming at her, the young witch was a sure
contradiction to what the wizarding world knew about Harry Potter, or least
thought they knew.
Harry let out an exasperated sounding sigh as she finished scanning the
document and satisfied with what she had read, quickly signed her signature and
handed the last document to Florence, who was eyeing her as if she had never
seen another witch in her life before. Harry replied as she handed the quill
back to Florence, and said, "Oh I assure you it is very much possible and real,
and I am as real and sitting here as much as you are."
She added, "I will not go into any great detail, you will have the chance to
read that in the Quibbler when I decide I am ready for the knowledge to be made
public, as much as I rather it did not. I will tell you this through; I have
been under a complex glamour and potion combination for the last sixteen years,
which concealed my true self and nature even from me for my own safety." She
paused before adding, "The whole process ran its course at midnight, the
transformation was reversed and my true self reinstated."
Florence looked shocked, yet amazed as she asked, "So you mean all of this
time, even without your own knowledge, that you have been a female the whole
time masquerading as a male?” Harry chuckled weakly as she replied with a nod,
"Yes, that about sums up the short version of events perfectly. I was
absolutely beyond fuming after I realised what my own parents and godfather had
concealed from me for all of these years."
Florence looked incredulous, even as Harry snorted and shook her head as she
concluded irritably, "Even though it was for my own protection and the whole
process was not only physical but on a mental scale too luckily, still I would
truly not want to even in my worst nightmares contemplate the identity crisis
otherwise." Florence cringed and said, "I do not dare to think what could have
occurred if the whole process had suffered any complications."
Harry smirked and replied, "Yeah that was what I told Remus when I saw him this
morning, did he and the others ever take into consideration the ramifications
if the whole process had not been as successful as it was." She added dryly,
"Seriously, I would genuinely like to meet the idiot who created both the charm
and potion and ask him or her what the hell they could have possibly been
thinking, and suggest they have their head examined for brain damage." Florence
nodded and said, "I'd say."
She shook her head and quickly cast the spell to duplicate the two documents
and handed the copies to Harry, who took them and placed them in her lap.
Florence then reached for the dark purple metallic coloured case on her desk
that held Harry's new glass. She reassured the younger witch, "Rest assured
Miss Potter, that nothing that has been said today nor in the future will leave
this office and the two of us, you have my honest word." Harry nodded relieved
and said, "Thank you it is a relief and much appreciated."
Florence removed the glasses from the case and commented, "These are a nice
choice the style is quite popular especially with witches of your age and in
their early and mid-twenties." She handed the frames to Harry, who accepted
them, removed her old pair and replaced them with the new. Florence handed her
the case for her to place her old glasses as backup in case her news ones were
somehow misplaced or damaged.
Harry grinned as she viewed her surroundings in her new glasses and nodded
happily, and she said, "I never realised how great it feels to finally have
glasses that fit properly and are comfortable, even lenses that cater to my
strengths and my weaknesses." Florence nodded and said, "Good, it means I am
doing my job correctly." She added as she handed Harry a piece of card and
said, "Take this, and now read this sentence to me. You will notice how the
print will start out relatively big but will eventually get smaller the further
you progress down the card."
Harry did as told and grinned when finished and said, "That's amazing, the
lenses are constantly adapting to my needs." Florence nodded and smiled slight
as she said, "Yes, that's magic for you, and best of all you will never need
new lenses as they will automatically change when your sight does as you get
older." She added, "Sure you can change the frames whenever you wish, just come
to the store and choose a pair." She concluded after a brief pause, "But the
lenses are there to stay, they are as the muggles would say programmed to
respond to you and your needs."
Harry grinned and said, "These sure do beat the crappy NHS frames and lenses my
aunt and uncle forced on me as a child." Florence nodded and replied,
"Absolutely. However, Miss Potter I recommend that you keep them in that case
just in case something happens or you somehow lose your new glasses, as the
lenses have the same strength as your new ones. Through it would only be a
temporary fix as they only hold the current prescription, and unlike your new
glasses they will not change and cater to your needs as you get older."
Harry closed the lid of the case and asked, "Not that I want them to break or
anything, but what would it take to break them as I have heard wizarding frames
are less delicate and more durable then the muggle kind?" Florence replied,
"Yes, you heard correctly, in order for your new glasses to be damaged it would
take something more than say a bludger to the face, more like multiple blasting
hexes repeatedly to even crack theses lenses due to re-enforced charms and
anti-scratch resistance, and the same rings true for the frames as well." She
added after a pause, "Trust me it is tried, tested and proven, it has had to
be, or else we cannot tell and allow our customers to believe false
information."
Harry nodded and let out a low whistle as she asked "Multiple blasting hexes?"
She laughed and said, "I figure it goes by the strength of the hex right, well,
if I wanted I could probably blast these glasses to oblivion in one or two
tries, not that I would or about to test that theory." She shrugged and added,
"It's just the boost I received to my magic when I came of age was immense, and
to tell you the truth just between you and me, that power scares the crap out
of me."
Florence nodded and said, "Hardly surprising, how else would you have survived
you-know-who?" Harry smirked and asked, "How about with a crap load of luck and
a sense of when to choose my battles wisely, and when to face facts that even I
with all of my magical strength I am still human and not indestructible." Her
smirked widened as she added the last part and said, "And of course know when
it is time to beat a hasty retreat and get the hell out of there, which usually
happens when that psychopath starts messing around with the unforgivables."
Florence laughed along with Harry as they both stood, and Harry secured the two
documents and the glass case in her hand, while Florence opened the door. She
led Harry to the door and said, "You are my last patient of the day, we'll be
closing soon, and thank Merlin for that as it has been somewhat of a long day.”
She paused and frowned as she informed Harry, “I will walk you to the till and
will be the one to serve you as you pay for your glasses. I normally do not do
this, but if you use a card and not actual cash to pay, then the sales witch
will end up seeing your signature and your secret will be out. I am afraid to
say Lorna is unfortunately a major gossip, and your secret would be no more
before the end of the evening."
Harry and Florence walked out into the main showroom area and Florence stepped
behind the counter, which earned a raised brow and puzzled expression from the
sales witch. Florence waved her off and said, "I will take care of this Lorna,
and yes before you say anything I am aware this is not part of my normal job
description, just humour me and please do not make a big deal out of nothing."
The sales witch narrowed her eyes before nodding reluctantly and taking a step
back from the till.
Harry gestured for Tonks to come over and said, "I need my Gringotts card, the
one to my mum’s personal vault." Tonks nodded and reached into the bag and soon
found the correct card and handed to over to Harry and allowed Harry to see the
paper with the four digit codes so Harry could find the correct pin.
Once she had the correct pin for that card, she said to Tonks as she handed the
older witch the two documents and the glass case, "Put these in your bag with
the rest of my things." Tonks nodded and accepted the documents and case and
placed them in the bag as Harry turned back to the counter. Tonks frowned as
she saw it was not the sales witch but an actual healer who was severing Harry,
Tonks wondered what that was about and made a note to mention it to the younger
witch once they left the shop.
As soon Harry finished paying and signed the receipt, Florence made sure to be
leaning slightly over the counter so Lorna could not see the receipt. Once the
receipt vanished to the till both she and Harry let out silent sighs of relief
as they realised Lorna was not paying attention to Harry, but had her back to
them as she organized patient files in the filing cabinet. Harry nodded her
thanks to Florence who nodded in return before she bid Harry goodbye until
Harry was due to come and see her again.
Tonks put the Gringotts card back into her bag when they left the store. She
immediately asked Harry, "Harry why did the actual healer serve you and not the
sales witch?" Harry frowned and replied, "Because I had to sign official and
legally binding documents in her office, you have my copies there in your bag."
Angelina asked, "What documents Harry?" Harry replied, "One was to say I agreed
to allow her to become my regular eye healer, while the other was my personal
details, such as name, title, age and sex, so that I could be placed in the
filing system and recognised as one of her patients."
She paused as she saw the other three exchange a knowing glance before Fleur
said what they were all thinking, "She knows who you are doesn't she Harry?"
Harry nodded and replied, "Yes she does, I had no choice but to reveal who I
am, obviously I could not write false information on the document, those kind
are legally binding and spelled to prevent false information being provided or
information being tampered with."
Tonks nodded and asked, "Yeah, that makes sense, but still, why did she serve
you and not the sales witch?" Harry sighed and scowled as she replied, "That
damn sales witch is the reason. Healer Florence said the sales witch Lorna is a
terrible and major gossip, and that if I paid by card, which I obviously just
did, that if Lorna saw my signature on the receipt then my secret would be no
more before the end of the evening.” Harry sighed as she concluded, “Tonks, the
healer was protecting my secret and interests which I am more than relieved and
grateful for."
Tonks exchanged a scowl with Angelina and Fleur and spat in disgust as they
walked down the street leading to the Leaky Cauldron. "For Merlin's sake, some
people have no decency or sound morels anymore." Angelina nodded in agreement
and added, "True, but thank Merlin that the healer actually does instead or
else Harry would have had absolute chaos on her hands."
When they reached the pub, they went up to the bar and Tonks asked, "Tom can we
please use the floo as we need to get Harry home?" Tom did not answer right
away; he was too busy eyeing Harry in stunned wonder, which caused Harry along
with the others to laugh.
Tom snapped out of his stunned stupor at the sound of their laughter and said
loud enough for only the others to hear, "Just when I think I am coming to
terms with the changes in you, you went and did that." He gestured to her even
more done up appearance and added chuckling, "You look positively lovely Miss
Potter, and I wish I could be there when young Mr. Diggory sees this amazing
transformation. I imagine his expression and reaction will make quite the
picture and entertainment."
Harry and the others laughed again and Harry commented jokingly, "Tom you
flatterer." Tom chuckled and said, "Alright I suppose you best get going then
the floo is all yours." Harry nodded said she would be back to try his
Firewhiskey before she returned to school. Tom waved goodbye and told her he
would hold her to that after wishing her a happy birthday.
Tonks led Harry and the other two to the floo and said, "Harry you go on ahead
first and I will follow behind with Angie and Fleur. Harry nodded and picked up
some off the floo powder off the mantle of the fireplace before throwing down
the powder and turning the flames emerald green. She stepped into fireplace and
called out in a quite yet clear voice, "Grimmauld Place." She disappeared in
the flames and was on her way to face the last thing she had been expecting or
hoping. The time to allow the Weasleys, Hermione and everyone else see her for
who she truly is had finally arrived and Harry was terrified.
***** Chapter Six: Harry Ambushed, Manipulative Not So Golden Headmaster, Cho's
Reaction, Ginny's Mistake, Test of Loyalties & Cho Shows her True Colours *****
Chapter Summary
     Hermione and the Weasley's finally get to see Harry as a female for
     the first time. There is a test of loyalties and Cho shows just how
     deeply her bitter jealous streak runs. Harry provides Ginny with a
     few colourful home truths. Severus and Harry surprise each other in
     their actions. Mrs Weasley is put in her place and some of Albus's
     manipulations are revealed.
Chapter Notes
     Here is chapter six, and chapters seven and eight will be a
     continuation of chapter six. Chapter nine will also be separated into
     two parts. These up and coming chapters are going to be long just a
     warning it will be after chapter ten that I will be moving the
     timeline of the story a long somewhat and shorter chapters to.
     AN: Warning in this story Albus will appear manipulative and grey in
     nature but by no means dark or evil. He truly thinks he has Harry
     best interests at heart but he goes about it the wrong way and is far
     too manipulative and has got desperate enough to end Voldemort and
     the war that he has somewhat forgotten Harry is young and human and
     not a weapon for him to wield at his convenience. I believe he does
     love and care for Harry in this own way he just has a real shit way
     of showing it. He will show redeeming qualities somewhat by the time,
     Harry marries Cedric as he will be the one to conduct the ceremony.
     He and Harry will be on better terms, but too much will be said and
     done so it will not be a grandfather and daughter close by the time
     of his death. Harry will still name one of her sons Albus Severus as
     she and Severus will get closer.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of
this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The
movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.
 
Harry stumbled out of the fireplace glad to have her trip through the floo
network over and done with, at least for that day. She growled irritably as she
muttered scourgify underneath her breath and cast a cleaning charm on her
clothing. She could not help but mutter sourly to herself, "Ha, nice one
Potter, so much for female grace, you really went and nailed it there."
Could this day honestly get any worse, seriously, and on her seventeenth
birthday of all days? For some reason not even Harry could figure out shit like
this seemed to only ever happen to her. Her thoughts proved correct when she
looked up quickly from her clothes when she heard the floo in the fireplace
activate again, and heard a few snorts and sniggers, accompanied by a few
pointedly cleared throats. She froze briefly as she took notice of her
unexpected and definitely unwanted welcome party. She had been far too hasty
when wondering whether her day could honestly get any worse, apparently yes it
could and just had.
Tonks stepped out of the fireplace and cast a cleaning charm on her clothing
before glancing up to see what had made the younger witch pause nearby the
fireplace. She blanched when she caught sight of the welcome party, and said,
"Oh hell, I swear Harry I had no idea they would all be here when you stepped
out of the fireplace. I honestly thought Remus and Sirius would have held them
off until you could get settled and had more time to prepare everyone before
they got their first glimpse of the new you."
She turned on her cousin and demanded, "What the hell Sirius, I thought you and
Remus would have at least held them off, that we were not going to just spring
everyone on Harry yet or all at once." Before Sirius really had the chance
truly to be indignant and could open his mouth to defend himself, the flames in
the fireplace turned emerald green once again. Fleur gracefully stepped out,
and cast a cleaning charm on her soot covered clothing.
By the time Angelina had joined them and cast a cleaning charm on her own
clothing, Fleur had become aware of the unfortunate ambush Harry had walked
into. Oh yes and it was definitely an ambush as plain and as simple as that.
She knew the moment Angelina became aware of the situation when she heard the
dark skinned witch curse softly from her place behind her. Both knew this would
turn into a confrontation considering both Ginny and Cho Chang were a part of
the unwanted welcome party.
Cedric walked up to Harry and said apologetically, "We're so sorry Harry, I
swear Sirius, Remus and I tried to hold them off, at least until you had the
chance to get out of the fireplace and could at least sit down in the kitchen
with something to drink. Yet, as you can obviously see and figured out for
yourself they refused to listen to either of us, hence your current welcome
party, I wager an unwanted welcome party if your reaction is anything to
judge."
Harry visibly grimaced as she shook her head and replied, "It is not your
fault, or Sirius and Remus'." She paused and sighed tiredly as she added, "I
would have just preferred to have been given the option of settling with a
drink in the kitchen far from the fireplace before I faced the proverbial fire
squad I knew would be coming my way eventually, but definitely not nearly as
soon as this. I mean honestly come on I have barely managed to step out of the
fireplace and you are all waiting for me for Merlin's sake."
She looked at everyone in the main entrance, which consisted of all of the
Weasleys, not including Percy. Hermione and even Cho Chang were there,
including Amos Diggory and Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and finally most
surprisingly of all Snape to. At the sight of all of these people was enough to
have Harry's jaw clenching, and adding in a cool tone, "You know what, I think
I will have that drink after all."
Her jaw clenched even harder that it hurt as she ground out, "I will have that
drink before I answer any questions from the magical equivalent of the Spanish
Inquisition. It really is too bad if you do not like it, I have had one shit of
a day and birthday so far. It has featured very few redeeming qualities, more
like damn secret after stinking secret. So you will all just have to excuse me
if I am passed the point of caring and catering to the delicate sensibilities
of others right now."
She proceeded to walk passed the gobsmacked crowed and made her way to the
kitchen, followed closely by Tonks, Fleur and Angelina. It was almost as if
they were guarding her, and to all present their actions and behaviour
screamed, we agree and if you do not like it then that is just too damn bad, do
not mess with Harry or go through us. This left Hermione feeling out of sorts,
at any other time she would have been one of those witches, but this situation
was beyond bizarre even to Hermione.
Hermione and Cedric were the first of the group to snap out of their stunned
stupors and quickly made their way to the kitchen. However, it was unfortunate
for Harry that the next to recover from their shock and make their way towards
the kitchen were Ginny and Cho, both having questions and wanting answers.
Neither witch had any idea the life altering changes that awaited them inside
of the kitchen; neither would have been so quick to follow if they truly had
the slightest clue of what was about to happen, what was to be said, that could
not be taken back when said in the heat of the moment.
Severus Snape was not too far behind, nor was the rest who all followed a few
moments later. Severus had not paused and waited out of shock, more like giving
Harry the chance to get inside of the kitchen first. For some reason he
believed pushing or crowding Harry was not going to get the desired result the
Order was hoping. Besides, for one they had no idea how to approach this
version of Harry Potter, had no idea how she ticked, nor what it took truly to
set her off and her magic end up making all objects and glass in the nearest
vicinity shatter or explode.
Once everyone had entered the kitchen, they all sat around the magically
extended table, while Harry was busy raiding the refrigerator for the bottles
she knew Sirius had placed in there for her for when she arrived today. She
selected one of the bottles from the case of eight and wandlessly uncapped the
bottle before lifting it to take a long drink as everyone watched her as if
they had never seen her drink from a bottle of Butterbeer before.
As Harry lowered the bottle from her mouth after a few moments, Hermione was
the first to break the unnatural silence and nervously cleared her throat.
"Harry?" she asked in an uncertain tone, very unlike the usual confidence
everyone was more accustomed to hearing from the intelligent and assertive
witch. Harry let out a loud sigh and replied in a tired and weary tone, "Yes
Hermione." She sounded so tired and weary even Severus could hear it as clear
as day, and for once could not accuse her of being arrogant or insolent.
Hermione cleared her throat once more, the sound of her best friend's tired and
weary tone alarmed her, truly believing she had never heard her friend sound so
tired and weary since fourth year after her encounter in the graveyard with
‘You Know Who’. She said, "I will not demand any answers, at least not yet, but
both you and I know I will only wait so long, but in the meantime I have to ask
how you are coping?"
Harry could honestly not help the dark and weary sound that escaped her lips as
she laughed. She did not turn around as she asked, "Oh Hermione, Hermione, how
do you think I am coping?" She shook her head and added, "I mean seriously,
when the clock struck midnight I was expecting to turn seventeen and come of
age like any other normal witch or wizard would." She snorted as she asked,
"You would think that I could least have that turn out normal would you not?"
She added firmly her words directed at Severus, "And no Professor Snape this is
not me having a pity party, oh no, in fact it would be a sight damn more easy
if that were truly the case. At least then I would not blame you for the scowl
and sneer I can practically feel you boring into the back of my skull." She
took a drink of her Butterbeer, but lowered the bottle after a moment when
there much to her honest surprise was no comments made by Severus. She turned
briefly to glance at him and noticed his dark eyes practically drilled holes
into her, yet still no comments came from the dark haired wizard.
She raised a brow but decided to not comment, no use tempting fate if
avoidable. Instead, she turned her gaze on Hermione and added, "I am coping
about as well as is to be expected when you take into consideration what I have
discovered and learned all in less than twenty four hours. I mean how anyone is
expected to act when they discover without warning they are not who they
thought they were, honestly do tell me how anyone is expected to react in that
situation."
She shook her head and added, "There is honestly only so much a person can
handle both emotionally and physically, and I can honestly say I am almost
spent emotionally. Really, people should be more honest and straightforward
with me instead of constant secrets, lies and half-truths. Do I mean so very
little to you all that you all feel the need to keep such life altering secrets
from me?"
She scowled as she continued, "And no I do not believe for a single second
Headmaster that it is all for the greater good or what is best for me. I will
tell you what I think is not best for me, what is not best for me does not pack
the punch of several blasting hexes emotionally and physically when the truth
is presented to me in a way that there is no possible way of hiding it any
longer."
She added icily, "Oh, and Headmaster, my version and your own cock-eyed version
of what is considered the greater good majorly differs from my own." She shook
her head and informed him, "In fact, I stopped believing in your version some
time ago, and merely go through the motions until you are through with pulling
my strings like an over grown puppet, you being the puppet master." There was
the sound of several horrified gasps, but Harry was not yet done with informing
the Order of the true status quo, not damn close to finished, she had barely
begun to tell it how it truly was.
"Tell me Professor Snape, do you believe as I do that behind of that
grandfatherly facade he puts on for the sheep of the wizarding world to see and
eat right up out of the palm of his hand, that there is a wizard who has
trained, groomed and has manipulated me practically my entire life?" Harry
asked with a quiet and chilling intensity. She paused for a second to eye the
Headmaster going for the most effective blow and asked, "Do you agree that he
has built me up to be his own personal weapon to destroy the common enemy?"
She paused once more and then asked around an icy cold, cynical looking smirk,
"And do you reckon as I do that eventually once I have accomplished what he has
trained and set out for me do since that Halloween night, he will dispose of me
if I survive and send me to the slaughter like some mindless animal?" She
paused one last time before looking the Potions Master dead in the eye and
finally concluded, "Please Professor, I know I can always count on you to tell
me as it is whether I want to hear it or not."
Severus Snape was amazing at covering up his emotions and reactions; it came
with the job of being a spy, through the same could not be said for the rest of
the Order who were in an uproar hardly believing she had just said what she had
and to the Headmaster of all people. Severus noticed how Harry eyed the
commotion in front of her, how her eyes had taken on a cold, hard and steely
look, while her face was a look of absolute resolve. Her green eyes practically
flared and flashed as dangerous as any killing curse.
Severus knew immediately that nothing he or anyone else could say or do would
change her opinion, only hard cold evidence would do that. The problem though,
was that for once he agreed with her, he could not dispute what she had just
said considering what he knew about Albus' plans that even the most trusted of
Order members did not know. He knew that the events of the last nineteen hours
had been the final straw to break the camel’s back as the muggle saying went.
The commotion was still ongoing and seriously grated on both Harry and Severus'
nerves that suddenly they roared instantaneously, "ENOUGH!" The silence was
deafening in its intensity. Everyone was shocked having not expected both Harry
and Severus to let rip like that or at the exact same time at that. Both were
practically glowering in annoyance hardly believing supposed adult wizards and
witches were making such a loud and in their shared opinion unnecessary
commotion.
Severus sighed in exasperation at their entirely moronic display before turning
his attention back to Harry. He spoke for once without his usual malice or
sneering as he said, "Potter I cannot answer as there is no way I can do or say
anything to change your mind. You are evidently set in your resolve, that I can
see as clear as day." He paused before adding, "I imagine the past hours events
have only worked to solidify your opinion even more so."
He paused again and continued when Harry silently nodded for him to go on. "The
only one who can do that is Albus, and the only way I can see that happening is
through hard solid evidence to the contrary of what you think and feel." He
concluded, "So no Potter, I am not going to sneer at you just this once,
because for once your current behaviour is down to a lot of things, though
insolence and arrogance are not it."
Before Harry could reply Mrs. Weasley demand sharply and indignantly, "What is
the matter with you, how dare you accuse the Headmaster of such treacherous
claims." Harry let out a dry sounding laugh and exclaimed, "Treacherous
claims!" She let out a loud and rude sounding snort as she drawled, "Ha,
treacherous claims, hardly. Oh and I dare alright, believe me I do dare Mrs.
Weasley."
She asked even more dryly, "Would you care for me to tell you why I have every
single damned right to?" She hissed, "Oh I will alright whether you wish to
hear and face the truth or not. Hmm, I have enough hard evidence, nearly
seventeen years worth of it in fact, enough that his precious and golden
reputation would be in absolute tatters if I was naturally more vindictive and
vengeance driven in nature."
She placed the Butterbeer bottle on the table before she placed her hands on
the table and leaned forwards. She spat icily, "Example one, in my parents
letters I received today, my father said that I was to go live and be raised by
either your family or the Diggory's if Sirius for some reason could not take me
in. Oh and guess where I end up, I sure did not grow up with Ron, Ginny and the
others, or even Cedric and Mr. Diggory for that matter."
She paused as she eyed Arthur Weasley and said, "And both you and I know the
reason for my parents wanting me to be raised by your family don't we Mr.
Weasley?" Everyone noted that Arthur's eyes had widened, his expression clearly
said he knew exactly what Harry was not saying aloud.
Harry held up a hand when Arthur went to speak and said, "It's alright Mr.
Weasley we have plenty of time to discuss it in detail later, it's not like it
is going anywhere." She added firmly, "But in the meantime your wife is
requiring solid proof she is following a man so blindly, you all are in fact. I
feel that only Professor Snape truly knows most of what the Headmaster is
playing at."
She turned her cold and stony gaze back to Mrs. Weasley, the older witch looked
livid, but did not saying anything. She was especially silent when her husband
murmured to her, "Please Molly, do not do it, I promise you will regret it if
you go too far. It will be truly a disaster if Harry refuses anymore contact
with you after this evening, especially when you finally learn exactly who she
is and how much more she is going to mean to this family of ours, even more so
than she already does."
Mr. Weasley nodded silently as Harry shot him a look of grateful relief that he
was able to rein in his wife before she truly burnt down any bridges with
Harry. He just knew somehow, that once destroyed there would be no going back
to what they currently shared. Arthur agreed mostly with all Harry had said,
that Albus it would seem had lost track sometime back of what was truly for the
greater good. Arthur through had remained silent not wanting to have his
loyalties tested by the Order, least of all questioned by his wife.
Harry had enough of standing and took a free seat next to Cedric, and Cho was
on his right hand side. Harry continued where she had left off and said, "As
for my mother's letter, it stated quite plainly that under no circumstances
whatsoever was I to be sent to live with her sister. In fact she described her
very own sister as jealous and magic loathing, while according to my mother
uncle Vernon is a repugnant pig, which in my opinion is an extremely accurate
description by far."
Minerva McGonagall gasped before she turned on Albus and hissed, "You said that
Lily and James had fully approved of the decision to send Harry to the
Dursleys." She added irritably, "I told you Albus, told you after spending a
day in my Animagus form observing that family that they were the worst kind of
muggles imaginable. I wondered about the reasons for Lily and James wanting to
send their only child to such people, supposed relatives or not."
Before Albus could protest or defend his decision and reasoning, Harry
interrupted and said, "Oh believe me, I wish it had been you Professor
McGonagall who had been the one who made the final decision. You cannot
seriously imagine how much trauma as child you would have been saving me from
if you had." She added at Minerva's stricken expression, "Despite what certain
individuals chose to believe I was not raised with a solid silver spoon in my
mouth, oh no that in fact was solely reserved for the likes of Malfoy, Nott,
and Parkinson, pureblood Slytherin house members."
She continued with narrowed eyes as she said coolly, "No, in fact I slept in
the cupboard underneath the stairs for the first ten years of my life in Privet
Drive. They only moved me into the spare room after my first year at Hogwarts,
but even then, there were bars placed on the window to prevent owls from
entering and delivering mail to stop me communicating with anyone in the
wizarding world. Uncle Vernon full well planned on not allowing me to return to
Hogwarts for my second year, nor would I have had it not been for Ron, Fred and
George coming to my rescue."
She continued after a moments silence to allow what she had said to sink in,
before she said, "They also installed a cat flap in the door in order to shove
food and drink inside when they decided they wanted to feed or give me anything
to drink. Oh and naturally, they did not let me out to socialize or even to
enjoy the warmth from sun like normal human beings. The only times they allowed
me out in the sunshine or even outside for that matter was when I was forced to
do hours on end of back breaking labor in the garden."
She paused before sneering, "No I was only allowed out of my room to go to the
toilet, to clean house, do the gardening and cook all meals like a glorified
House Elf.” She paused before continuing in an equally sneering tone, “But then
again, they would not allow me even to do that either, not if aunt Petunia was
having dinner parties or uncle Vernon was entertaining someone from work. I
would be confined to my room and their guests would be told lies of how I was
confined to my room as I was mentally unstable and became violent around and
did not react well to strangers."
She leaned over the table, grabbed hold of her Butterbeer and took a long drink
as she allowed what she had revealed so far to sink in. The looks of horror on
almost everyone's face told her just how well what she had revealed was sinking
in, spectacularly so. In fact, Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall looked as
if she had violently slapped them in the face.
Amos Diggory on the other hand looked truly stunned, he not imagining for a
single second his future daughter in-law suffered through such conditions
whilst growing up. He knew for certain, that if he had been the one to raise
her in the same household as Cedric, her childhood and upbringing would be very
far from how it had been.
She lowered the bottle and her lips curled into a smirk as decided to next
bring up the true and current owner of the house she had reluctantly grew up
in, well, more like scornfully dragged up in to be honest. She asked, "Hmm, I
wonder whether the Headmaster knew that my mother owned Privet Drive and not my
aunt and uncle?" She raised a brow as she added, "Apparently my grandparents
Evans had left the childhood home to their younger daughter, not the older, and
in turn my mother left it to me in her will for me to claim when I turned
seventeen if I wanted the property in question."
Her smirk turned colder as she added, "Oh and apparently my mother had a nice
little conversation with her sister before she went into hiding, that
conversation entailed my mother telling aunt Petunia she was welcome to remain
at Privet Drive, but only up until the point I turned seventeen, and if I did
not say otherwise. And due to it being my name on the property the moment I
turned seventeen my name became legal and binding effectively if my mother or
father did not survive the war."
Her eyes narrowed as she continued around a snarl, "Oh and you bet I want those
disgusting excuse for human beings and squatters out of my property. In fact,
you will find that I have already had my accounts manager set the eviction
notice into action. By now, my aunt and uncle will be well aware of their
impending eviction from number four Privet Drive, and that they have a month no
more and no less, in which to find elsewhere to live.”
Her eyes narrowed further to almost slits as she continued in a low drawl and
tone that told all she meant every word of what she said. “Oh, and if they
refuse to comply then I assure you there will be more than tears if I have to
remove her boney ass and her repulsive tub of lard husband and son from that
house personally."
She added, "I have no idea what I plan on doing with the house once they are
out of it. Through I do know I cannot not live in it after the kind of
childhood I had to endure spent in it." She paused for a moment before saying
with pure undiluted venom, "I do know for absolute certain that I will not sit
back and let them live in it either, they do not deserve to after the childhood
and upbringing they ever so graciously decided to provided me with."
She gritted out, "Not even the fact they had no decency whatsoever to tell me
the truth, my aunt least of all about how my parents died or the fact magic
existed. She had known the whole time, yet she and her disgusting husband and
son verbally and physically abused me, all whilst they lived in my property and
pulled the shit they did at the same time, which is another factor working
against them in regards to that house."
She paused once more to allow the shock that was evident on all but Severus'
faces to sink in, allowing them to realise she was not messing about or going
to pull any punches anymore. After a moment or two and a sip from her bottle
she turned her cold gaze on the Headmaster and said, "Now the fact you
Headmaster sent me there already went against my parents last wishes for my
upbringing. It makes me wonder just how many other things have you gone against
or just plain well discarded to suit your life plan for me."
She continued before Albus could comment or defend himself, as the last thing
she wanted to hear was that ruddy old codger make excuses for his appalling
actions and decisions in regards to her. "Okay, example two, let's start with
my first year at Hogwarts it is a most interesting example Mrs. Weasley." She
smirked deviously at the stunned and decidedly livid older witch, and drawled,
"Besides, I am certain you will learn quite a lot about what your son, along
with Hermione and I got up to on our yearly adventures, which I am certain the
Headmaster has surely neglected to have informed you about in any sort of great
detail."
She clapped her hands together and asked Albus, "For starters what on earth
were you thinking Headmaster when you agreed to allow that Merlin forsaken
stone into school? I mean seriously how it is possible you could not have
thought of the fact Voldie would not find out and try to get it for himself, no
matter how his scrape with me had weakened him.”
She let loose a dry sort of mocking laugh as she added, “I mean Jesus H Christ
a stone that provides immortality if the elixir it made be used regularly, I'd
say a screaming neon flashing temptation and advertisement to any and all who
were looking to become immortal, namely Voldie."
She shook her head and asked genuinely incredulous, "How on earth could you not
believe I would not discover the stone was in school, especially with poor
unassuming Hagrid who could not keep a secret to save his life?" She snorted,
"Oh please do not insult me, my mother was Lily Evans for Merlin's sake, and I
assure you she did pass along some of her intelligence regardless of what I
chose and allowed others to see and believe me capable of." She entirely
ignored Severus' snort of disbelief, thinking his petty and childish reaction
was neither worth her precious time nor worth the energy of responding.
She asked even more incredulously, "And might I add, the likes of the
unstoppable force of nature, which is Hermione Granger-Black when presented
with the opportunity of a mystery waiting to be solved and research and
information gathering at her fingertips." She shook her head and said, "Or with
me going to visit with Hagrid on regular basis with Hermione and Ron, how could
you honestly not expect Hagrid to not accidentally let some vital piece of
information slip. I mean as much as I respect Hagrid he is by no means a match
for Hermione in the wit and intelligences department."
She asked archly, "Headmaster, do you not think it mightily convenient that the
first time that year you would be called away on Ministry business is when I
faced Voldie for the first time since I was a year-old. Ha, rather convenient
timing Headmaster that you eventually came to my aid and rescue right after I
defeated Voldie for the second time, and your aid was no longer truly required
except to get my unconscious body to the hospital wing."
Harry merely raised a brow as the Headmaster eyed her between narrowed blue
eyes over half moon shaped spectacles. He could narrow his eyes at her all he
damned well pleased as far as she was concerned it would not stop her talking,
nor was it any skin off her backside either for that matter. 'Ah yes, you
narrow your eyes at me you manipulative old codger, you do not like when I make
you look exactly like the manipulative old bastard you truly are in front of
your precious fucking sheep of an Order' Harry thought truly viciously.
She turned back to Mrs. Weasley and said rather plainly, "Second year Mrs.
Weasley, oh dear me, what a positively wonderful example of how the Headmaster
is so unfailingly wonderful. I believe if I remember correctly that you reamed
him out good and proper that year." Mrs. Weasley flushed brightly, knowing all
too well that point was undeniable, knowing she had indeed reamed him out for
what happened to her daughter.
Harry continued to add, "Now do you want to know what truly boggles the mind,
that being that the Headmaster hired such an incompetent narcissistic prick. He
should have saved everyone the trouble of having a shitty sub par Professor
each year except for third and sixth year, and gave Professor Snape the job
from the get go. I mean sure he does not exactly have the sunniest of
personalities, but hell who cares when the man clearly knows what he is doing
and we are liable to actually learn something more than worthwhile."
She snorted and rolled her eyes, "I mean really Headmaster, Gilderoy Lockhart,
truly everyone who was not female and completely smitten with that vain
Jackass' smile and overly coiled hair could see that evidently he did not know
his own ass from his elbow, never mind anything about teaching the subject of
Defence against the dark arts for Merlin's sake."
Snape let out a loud snort and drawled, "Truly epic understatement Potter."
Harry returned the snort and drawled in reply, "Oh do not worry I am just
getting warmed up over here, I have plenty left to say about Gilderoy prick
Lockhart." Snape could not help but snort again, as did most that had been
unfortunate enough to have him as a Professor.
She went on, "Right, firstly that idiot tried to draw in even more fame for
himself when singling me out and making a right damn ruddy public spectacle for
Merlin's sake." She sneered, "Oh no he stealing the memories of witches and
wizards and taking their accomplishments and making them into his own was by no
means enough for him. No, he tried to bask in my decidedly unwanted lime light.
Ha, I mean come on, that jackass absorbed attention and female swooning like
Crabbe and Goyle consume food." This caused another round of snorts and
sniggers from her present and past classmates.
She continued as she asked the Headmaster, "Were you by any chance aware
Headmaster that we had no actual school textbooks that year for Defence against
the dark arts, but in fact his own books full of complete lies and crap?"
Before he could reply she added, "And might I ask what did you think we learnt
that year Headmaster, besides not how to handle pixies or how to duel? Oh no,
we certainly did not learn anything of value that year Headmaster."
She growled venomously, "And naturally I more than painfully learnt up close
and unfortunately personally that he did not know any medical spells worth
shit. That son of a bitch vanished all of my bones in my arm and hand. Because
of that jackass no wit of an idiot I spend an entire night inside of the
hospital wing having bones regrown, not mended, regrown damn it!" Harry fumed
and clenched her jaw furiously, that even Severus could see she was on the
verge of blowing a major gasket.
She spat, "He set up that stupid dueling club, I say stupid because as I have
already pointed out and has by far been established by all, he does not know
his own ass from his elbow and pranced around the stage like a ruddy peacock in
a cape." She shook her head and added dryly, "Ha, Professor Snape showed that
narcissist up, which had probably been the highlight until he partnered me up
with Malfoy of all people in a duel."
She shot him a cool glance and added, "Malfoy the little tosser conjured a
snake, and naturally Lockhart tried to vanish it but only managed to succeed in
pissing it off more so then it already had been. Then of course Professor Snape
decided to destroy it far too late, something I wish he had thought to do
sooner, considering a nasty little secret I did not even know I had at the time
end up revealed for all to examine up close and poke and prod at for the rest
of the damned school year."
She grumbled irritably as she added, "I still stand by what I said in that
hall, I told that snake to leave Justin alone and not attack him. I mean really
what the hell reasons would I have to attack him, I for one do not believe in
that pureblood supreme bullshit that is practically spoon fed to pureblood
Slytherin's from within the womb. Secondly, I am not even a pureblood, or even
the heir of Slytherin for that matter. Finally thirdly, I am half blood last I
checked thank you very much."
She shook her head and remarked blandly, "No I am not the heir of Slytherin,
but I am the heir of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, information which I would
greatly appreciate not leaving this room, I will know who I will be coming
after if it gets out." She waited for the explosion that she knew was coming,
all while thinking she had not planned to reveal that but had no idea what had
made her do it.
Sure enough within moments, the expected reaction came all right. "WHAT, NO WAY
BULLSHIT, POTTER!" Everyone except for Harry was stunned that last one had come
from Cho Chang of all people. Harry was not surprised she suspected Cedric must
have informed Cho exactly whom he was now betrothed to; Harry had been
expecting some sort of reaction well before now. So instead eyed her coolly,
held up her right hand, and pointed to each ring in turn, as she said,
"Gryffindor, Potter, Ravenclaw, and finally Peverell."
All rings were revealed from under the concealing glamour as she said each
name. Then just because she felt pissed at Cho's tone and of course, what she
had said, she decided to go against her better nature and made sure to place
extra emphasis when she said Ravenclaw for the Chinese witch's benefit.
She revealed coolly, "My mother was the heir Chang, who was exceptionally
bright and almost end up placed in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor where she
did end up in the end." Cho looked like she had swallowed several lemons and
limes." Cho had not seen the engagement ring yet so her reaction was down to
jealousy, due to the fact she had seen the appreciative and amused glances
Cedric kept giving the other witch when she had been ranting or let loose a
crap load of sarcasm and major sass.
Harry was evidently very beautiful more beautiful than Cho and Cho knew it to,
the thought made her blood boil, especially since Cedric had not looked at her
in such a way since after the second task of the Triwizard tournament when his
father had informed him of his betrothal contract. In fact, he never quite
looked at her as closely or even as intimately, not even before he had known
about his betrothal. Cho still had no idea who the witch was only that the
engagement was finally official and that Cho would meet her tonight at the
Order meeting.
Suddenly Albus spoke up for the first time and asked in a tone none except for
Severus or Minerva had ever heard from him before, "Miss Potter, did you just
say Peverell?" Harry eyed him steely and with evident mistrust, and even
replied with the same tone, "Yes, it comes from the Potter side of my family,
as does Gryffindor too." She wondered silently why the Headmaster would want to
know that, most likely something else to try manipulating her with she
summarized darkly.
She cleared her throat and said, "Anyhow back to what we were discussing, which
was second year. Therefore, I would like to know, I am certain Mrs. Weasley
definitely does to, that being why no one bothered to check on Ginny. I mean
really, a first year student who had become especially despondent and
reclusive. I hardly believe or think missing home and her family was the actual
real issue, considering how Ginny had been desperate to attend Hogwarts with
her brothers ever since she was old enough to understand what Hogwarts was."
Ginny muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, "True." Harry glanced briefly
in her direction before looking away quickly, an action, which was not lost on
anyone, Cedric in particularly who shot her a knowing and sympathetic glance.
It was this glance, which Cho and his father caught, and Cho scowled darkly at
Cedric, only to blanch a moment later as she finally got a good look at Harry's
left hand. She instantly recognised the ring, how could she seriously not
considering how she had wanted to be the one who wore the ring in question from
the very first moment she had set eyes on it.
Harry and Cedric had instantly seen where Cho's gaze was resting both inwardly
cringed at the explosion they knew was coming. Harry covered her hand, but when
she saw the venomous hatred Cho was eyeing her with, she lost it and let rip as
she thought furiously, 'What the hell, who does this bitch think she is looking
me like that? It is not like I had a choice in the matter, I think Miss Chang
needs to be taken down a peg or two and brought down off her damn high horse
and be made aware she is not the one to have come off worse in this whole
messed up situation'
She barked, "Oh get the hell over yourself Chang! How dare you look at me like
that, like this whole damned thing was my fault, of my own doing, when in
reality it is far from it?" She fumed and added, "It was arranged, do you know
what that means?" She paused once more as Cedric eyed her in alarm, but Harry
ignored him, if he was not going to say or do anything to bring the self-
absorbed bitch down off her high and all mighty horse then she sure as hell
would no problem.
She spat as she added, "Neither he or I have a damn choice and, on top of that
you know damn well of the three clauses attached to mine and Cedric's contract
after he told you. Oh and sorry to disappoint you none of those clauses more
likely than not apply to either Cedric or myself." She added icily, "Besides,
this whole screwed up situation as totally screwed over someone else to, but do
you ever stop to think of anyone else or how this is going to affect you. What
about her, about the one who I had been dating before this whole shit storm of
a situation decided to rained down upon our heads?"
Harry glanced in Ginny's direction as she had asked Cho about the witch whom
Harry had been dating. Ginny, along with everyone else, except for Cedric, and
everyone else who knew of the betrothal eyed her wondering what was going on
and what they had missed somehow. Harry growled and lifted her left hand for
everyone to see exactly what he or she had managed to miss.
Harry could not stifled the pained moan when she heard Ginny's even more pained
gasp at the sight of the engagement ring in all of its beautiful and
incriminating glory. Harry said in a pleading tone, "Oh Gin, I am so sorry, I
swear I did not want you to have to discover this so abruptly and with everyone
here, but all I do is worry and think about how this will affect me Chang just
had to go and take it all right out of my hands."
Cho snarled out in bitter fury, "It's not fair, why you?" Harry snarled back,
"I did not know up until nearly twenty hours previously, and discovered it by
the means of a damned letter of all ways, which is another bloody issue I have
a bone or two to pick over." Sirius and Remus cringed, as did Cedric and Amos
at the not so subtle reminder that Harry was still more than a tad pissed over
the whole ordeal and how she had come by the information.
Cedric decided quickly to back Harry up before she and Cho came to blows, he
was more than a tad mortified at Cho's reaction to Harry. Cho understandably
was upset, yet was going too far in her accusations making out as if he and
Harry had deliberately gone out of their way to keep her in the dark or to make
her look like a fool. The way she was snarling about it not being fair you
would honestly think that they solely planned to be an inconvenience to her.
Cedric unfortunately could not help but notice how Cho's reaction was just a
tad too self-absorbed then Cedric was accustomed to seeing from his friend.
He realised suddenly feeling very embarrassed on Cho's behalf that Harry was
right. Cho was not thinking of how this was affecting him and Harry, or sadly
how it would affect poor Ginny Weasley once she became aware of the situation.
In the end, Cho's current behaviour was far too much for his tastes or for him
to stay silent and continue to allow the argument to go on any further in the
current direction it was. He knew if it was not stopped and quickly someone was
either going to come to blows or say something in the heat of the moment that
could never be taken back.
He sighed and interrupted whatever abuse Cho would have thrown at his fiancée
next and said, "It's not her fault Cho, it really is not, any more so than it
is mine either. Our parents entered us into a betrothal contract to the other
ever since she was three months of age and I was almost three. It happened
before either of us went to Hogwarts, even before I knew you and we met for the
first time Cho and we became friends."
He added, "My father did not even tell me until after the second task when he
saw how close we were becoming, not yet dating, but definitely more than
friends. Then of course, he saw how you were the one who I rescued from the
bottom of the Black lake, that you were the one I would miss the most. He knew
then it was time to tell me everything before something bad could happen."
He continued after glancing at his father briefly before concluding, "He
immediately warned me off becoming romantically involved not just with you but
with anyone period. He knew nothing could come of it, or be allowed to happen,
and urged me to remain your friend but to also distance myself and keep my
feelings platonic towards you. I managed to do that on my end, but sadly you
did not on yours."
Cho glowered at Amos in betrayed fury thinking the older Diggory had thought
more of her then to stop his son from being with her. Amos reprimanded her
sternly, yet with surprising compassion, none except his son or his late wife
had ever seen him capable. "Now Cho, do not look at me like that, I was within
every right to warn my boy from getting involved in a romantic relationship,
not just with you but with any other period."
He added, "I had not only my boys interest at heart, but believe it or not
yours to. Imagine how hurt and betrayed you would have been if I had allowed
you and Cedric to date and possibly fall in love, only to later on inform you
that he was never meant for you but for another since he was three years of
age. It would have been mindlessly cruel and immoral to have does such a
thing."
Harry exclaimed irritably, "Ha! Do you see Sirius, Remus and even you to Mr.
Weasley how this complete upset and ill feelings could have been avoid if you
had been clear and up front with Ginny and I from the get go and stopped us
from entering a relationship with each other as Mr. Diggory had his son with
Cho. You can evidently see how much better off he is for it; clearly he was not
left in the bloody dark ignorant of what was to happen."
She added, "And yeah Cho is understandably pissed off at the turn of events,
but she had the option of coming here tonight aware of the betrothal contract
even if she was not aware of me and that it was me who Cedric will marry. Ginny
on the other hand did not know anything, meaning Cho had an advantage Ginny did
not."
Mr. Weasley flushed in embarrassment and said, "Harry I and Molly knew about
you being a female, but were sworn to secrecy by Albus who said you were not
ready to know yet and that you had enough pressure with your fame and he who
must not be named." He continued, "As for us being related, Albus also asked me
to hold off on telling you that for the same reasons as not telling you about
the glamour. I did not even tell Molly and my children, worried they would be
disappointed and start demanding we removed you from the Dursleys and brought
you to the Burrow, but Albus insisted you were to stay there for your own
safety."
He paused and frowned before he added, "In regards to your betrothal I honestly
had no idea, no one bothered to inform me that you were promised to another or
else I would have stopped any relationship between yourself and my daughter."
He added, "I let you and Ginny date because I figured if Ginny loved you enough
perhaps she would not mind if you were female. I just never countered on her
strictly liking wizards as she does.”
He concluded sounding genuinely at a loss, “And of course I had no idea when
you changed back you would be as inclined towards them as well, no one could
have known of your sexuality when you changed back, not even that the charm
part of the glamour would be powerful enough to influence your sexuality."
Harry positively glowered mutinously at Albus, wondering whether there was any
actual end to the Headmaster's manipulations in her life, was there any part of
her life after that Halloween night he had not tampered with to suit his own
interests? Albus on the other hand cleared his throat, while shooting Arthur a
cool glance for implicating him even further and digging the rapidly growing
hole of mistrust and ill will Harry felt towards him even deeper than it
already was, not realising that he had done a spectacular job on his own
without any help or influence from Arthur Weasley.
Ginny was in tears as she suddenly asked icily, "And just when Harry Potter
were you planning on telling me if Chang had not got her pearly whites all in a
knot?" Harry's jaw clenched as she asked, "Can we not do this here, I
originally wanted to take you to one side so we could talk in private, but no,
all my plans of revealing the situation to you went completely out of the
window when I arrived here and discovered my own unwanted welcome party."
Ginny shook her head stubbornly, not wanting to make anything easy for Harry at
this point, even through deep down she knew Harry had been in the dark as much
as she had, more so in fact after all it was her life. Ginny was hurting and
Harry was the nearest and main source to take her pain out on. She said coldly,
"No, let's do it here, the time for privacy has passed already." She added just
as coldly relentless as she asked, "Besides, why are you even a witch?"
Harry clenched her jaw in fury at how stubborn and unreasonable Ginny was
acting, yes she understood and sympathised with the fact the other witch was
heartbroken and felt undoubtedly betrayed, but forcing Harry to have this
conversation in front of everyone was taking it too far.
Therefore, Harry closed her eyes before she explained the glamour what it did
and why her parents had seen fit to place her under its influence for as long
as they had. Harry hoped it would be enough to ease Ginny off her evident
warpath if she realised just how in the dark Harry had been up until that day.
However, apparently not, seeing as what Ginny asked next sparked a feeling of
true betrayal in Harry, seeing as the red head was supposed to love her, but
would willingly subject her to the question she just had. "Can you change back,
take the potion and reset the charm so the transformation into a wizard would
be permanent?" she demanded.
That sense of betrayal sparked into hot boiling rage, especially when she noted
how everyone who knew the answer already gasped in horrified disbelief that
younger witch could ask such a thing, while those who did not looked on in
evident interest and wondered about what Ginny had demanded of the other witch.
Harry's expression, which was caught between horror, disbelief, and worst of
all betrayal and pure seething rage, alerted not only Ginny, but everyone else
to the fact Harry was truly about to lose it and badly at that. Harry spat, "I
cannot believe you just asked that of me, for Merlin's sake, of all the damned
nerve, how could you, you selfish little girl?" She hissed as she asked, "Do
you have even the remotest idea of what you just demanded I do to myself, and
for what, so your life can be all nice and fucking cushy?"
She slammed her hands loudly down up on the table and snarled in pure fury as
she added, "If I did that, I would be condemning myself to a life that
consisted of a constant lie. I'd know this time that I was in the wrong body,
masquerading as something I am not nor ever could be, not truly, no matter how
that Merlin forsaken glamour would influence me otherwise. Do you love me so
very little that you would willingly condemn me to a lifetime inside of the
wrong body, a lifetime of misery?"
She continued to rant, "Let me be the first to tell you Ginevra Molly Weasley,
I will not give it up, I will not give up the feeling of security and the sense
of knowing I am finally in the right body, who I am supposed to be. I am
comfortable in my own skin for the first time in sixteen years." She paused
breathing heavily as she added, "Until I changed back I lived for sixteen years
feeling uncomfortable and incomplete inside of my own skin, knowing something
was off yet not knowing what that was. A sense of wrongness that not even that
cursed glamour could have concealed from me."
She paused once more before turning to Arthur and Molly and said
apologetically, "Terribly sorry to ask and subject you and everyone to what I
am about to, but your daughter is insisting, all but demanding I do it,
regardless that I would have preferred to have done this in a more private
setting. But she has gone too far with asking what she just has of me, but hey
here goes, you and everyone else can be sure to thank her for this once I am
finished."
Cedric looked alarmed and said, "No, do not do it Harry, whatever you are about
to say and do, don't." Harry shook her head stubbornly and spat, "Hell no, you
know full well what she just asked of me, full well, so no she needs to hear
this no matter how ugly what I am about to say and do is.” Her voice cracked in
fury and pure emotional pain,” Cedric it's not fair, how dare she think to even
ask that of me, that she even has the Merlin damned honest right?!"
Everyone could see the tears of fury and pain in her bright green eyes, which
made Cedric sigh and lower his head in pained defeat, knowing he could not stop
her, and a large part of him suddenly did not want to anymore either. What
Ginny had asked even said due to heartbreak was just not right and she had no
business asking.
No one put up anymore protest so she stood and leaned over the table in Ginny's
direction and stared so intensely at her that the red haired witch shifted
uncomfortably under her less than loving and forgiving gaze. Her green killing
curse coloured eyes were unnerving and beyond intense even when behind a layer
of glass and frames.
She asked coolly, "Have you ever felt that way, ever felt like you did not
entirely belong inside of your own skin, but never mentioned it out of honest
fear that you would be judged badly and called a disgusting freak of nature by
those who are supposed to be your family?" She waved Ginny off when the red
head opened her mouth to speak. Harry said, "No, before you say it, your first
year at Hogwarts does not even count in this situation. Even the most stable
and self-assured of people would have felt violated in their own skin if they
had endured those disturbing things Tom Riddle did and put you through that
year."
She paused, shook her head as she added, "No, I mean throughout any other time
in your life growing up before your first year for example?" Ginny scowled at
the other witch and spat, "No! I have not, but what has that got to do with you
changing back?" Harry replied icily, "Oh believe me it has absolutely
everything to do with it."
She added, "I could change back sure, but this time around I would know the
difference, know what that feeling of wrongness was and meant. And I can assure
you if I for some reason or other have to live my entire life as a lie, an all
out mockery and farce, then it sure as hell will not be you with you Ginny, not
after what you just asked me to do without a care as to how it would affect me.
I love you do not doubt that, but right now I also dislike you and am
disappointed in you immensely."
She concluded, "Now I do not wish to be overly blunt when I say and it comes to
the fact I am no longer attracted to you, even through my anger and
disappointment and my head are practically screaming that I do. My heart and
everything single last shred of tact and common sense, compassion, paired with
our past relationship and all of the memories we have made over the last year
makes me think hell no and to not go there regardless of what you just
thoughtlessly asked of me."
Ginny spat venomously as she tried to conceal the guilt she felt from Harry's
words and said, "Just tell me already!" Harry raised a brow at the venomous
tone, before she narrowed her eyes and spat back coldly, "Oh you want me to
tell you in front of everyone how I do not feel a damned lick of sexual or
romantic attraction for you anymore." She all but screeched as she added, "That
outside of Cedric when I think of whom I would not mind a good ole rough and
tumble beneath the sheets with its not you on my mind for even a single damned
millisecond?" She breathed in and then out deeply, evident to all that she was
purely seething when she next snapped, "I hate that you have managed to reduce
to me to this cruel and cold bitch, but you asked for it, more than asked, so
here it is."
She paused before she turned her gaze to Fleur and Angelina and said, "What I
am about to say, please know that I would never ever do this to either one of
you, not only because you are my friends but because you know what all three of
them are to me." She paused before she said, "I am about to make an example, an
example that is very ugly, I do not want to do it, but Ginny has forced me to."
Fleur and Angelina nodded even as they exchanged a puzzled glance wondering
what she was about to say, yet knowing it would not be pleasant for Ginny if
the fact Harry described it as very ugly.
Harry turned back to face Ginny and said, "I see your brothers, Fred, George
and even Bill." She paused as most gasped at hearing her say that before she
added, "I think if I was not engaged to Cedric and willing to make a go of
whatever we can possibly have in the future, then I would be mourning the fact
Fred is crazy about Hermione."
She paused to eye Fred as she added, "Even if he is an idiot who will not grow
a pair and tell Hermione he likes her as more than just his little brother's
know it all bookworm friend." She paused and then said firmly, "Admit to it
before it is too late Fred, both you and I know that Hermione is quite the
catch. You could not do any better than her in the sense she would be perfect
for you and would keep you in check, while you would bring sense of fun and
excitement that would not be liable to get her killed on a yearly basis or a
trip to the hospital wing." She concluded, "Tell her before someone else sees
her for whom she is and snaps her up, just like Viktor Krum wanted to during
the tournament."
Fred and Hermione flushed brightly and stared at Harry in amazed disbelief,
while unable to look the other in the eye. Hermione felt a spark of hope
especially when she realised Fred had not denied and laughed off what Harry had
said. She looked up at Fred unknowingly at the same time he chanced looking up
at her to. Hermione felt struck speechless at the look of vulnerable hope and
wonder on his handsome face and in his lovely blue eyes as he eyed her
wonderingly.
Fred and Hermione snapped out of their shared glance when they heard Harry add,
"George, now there has got to be something said for identical twins, ginger
ones at that." A few around the table choked back laughter, the twins in
question, and surprisingly Angelina was one to. Harry added smirking, "If
George was not crazy head over heels in love with Angie then I'd make a play
for him myself."
She smirked even wider as she continued, " I mean Fred and George are gorgeous,
and it makes me wonder just how many witches or wizards at Hogwarts had crushed
on one or even both of them at the same time.” She paused to wiggle her
eyebrows playfully as she continued, “Then of course those who have less than
innocent identical twin fantasy had to have wondered what would it be like to
get up close and personal with them at the same time." She concluded, "Such a
pity really, that their egos are already overblown, they really do not need any
more inflating."
Angelina let out a loud peal of laughter and nodded in agreement, which caused
the twins in question to let out loud snorts and eye Harry with playful mocking
leers, which in turn caused their mother and sister to splutter in mortified
disbelief. Molly Weasley was mortified while Ginny felt as if she had been
punched in the gut, yet knew she only had herself to blame for asking Harry
what she had.
Sirius and Severus let out loud snorts, while Hermione yelped, "Harry Potter!"
Harry did not bat a mere eyelid and asked Hermione innocently, "Yes Hermione,
can I help you?" Hermione flustered and let out an annoyed groan and face
palmed, which in turn had Fred smirking widely and Harry shrugging as if to
say, 'Hmm, what's her problem?' Cedric chuckled and thought, 'Oh Harry, you bad
girl, you know exactly what you are saying and doing, you cannot play the
innocent in this situation'
Harry cleared her throat and decided to add, "As for Bill, there truly has got
to be something said for a guy with a earring and long red hair, even that
scar, which instead of being off putting actually gives him a dangerous air
along with a crap load of character." She snorted and continued, "I mean
really, sure I have switched sexes, yet that does not mean I am suddenly blind
and suffering from a lack of any good taste, nor would I turn down a red head,
after all I am still a Potter." She shrugged, smirking as she glanced in
Cedric's direction and added, "But I guess Cedric will just have to do." Cedric
snorted and rolled his eyes at her comment, but took no offence at what
obviously said in teasing jest.
Harry then looked to Bill and then Fleur as she told them, "I would never make
a move on Bill because I do not feel like having to deal with a pissed off
quarter Veela getting in my face for trying to steal away her mate and husband
to be." Both Bill and Fleur snorted, or giggled in Fleur's case.
They listened and nodded as Harry continued, "Finally I respect Cedric far too
much to be unfaithful and fickle before we have even been engaged for less than
twenty four hours. Regardless we did not choose to be betrothed of our own
accord, it is no excuse and does not make it right to mess around behind the
others back or at all period."
Ginny suddenly growled having had enough of Harry's new brand of telling it as
it is, and asked, "So you are no longer attracted to me, but would sooner screw
by brothers instead?" Harry replied, "I warned you it would be ugly but no less
truthful and at this point you deserve nothing but the truth from me. You have
been kept in the dark about so much, so I feel it only right I do not tell you
any lies or half truths."
She added sadly, her stance softening somewhat considering what she was about
to say next. "Do yourself a favour, you plan on losing your virginity, then you
need to find someone who has the correct body parts to get the job done, as
obviously I no longer have or will ever again, or actually want them for that
matter." She simply nodded and added at Ginny's shocked and mortified
expression, "Yeah Ginny, I know about that."
She shook her head and said firmly, yet with compassion, "Find someone who you
can trust and experience your first time, who will not take advantage of you.
Without trust on both sides, the act means nothing, and once done you cannot
take it back, you cannot experience your first time over again, once it is
gone, it's gone. You deserve to have it be special something worth remembering.
Do not go and lose your virginity just for the sake of losing it you will only
regret not waiting if you do."
She concluded, "I never wanted to hurt you, whether you chose to believe and
accept that as the truth is up to you. However, know this; I still love you
even if I am not in love with you anymore. I am so sorry, but I cannot force
myself to feel what I do not, nor can I any longer be what I was and what you
need me to be. It is not worth trying when it would be only a lie, you deserve
more and better than living a lie, settling for anything that is less than
real."
Everyone noticed how both witches were in tears. Ginny asked tearfully, "What
the hell do you expect me to do now?" Harry replied in a thick tone and said,
"You take as long as you need to heal emotionally if you need to. Then you move
on, maybe Nev, I mean really Ginny there was a reason he asked you to the Yule
ball. I had been oblivious to your feelings for me back then, but I had not
Nev's for you. I know he had been crushed when you and I started dating, and
Dean was not the only one who was more than a tad pissed to witness that first
kiss of ours."
Harry sat down again, closed her eyes and added, "There is one more reason we
would never work Ginny, and why I would never make a play for your brothers
whether they were or weren't in relationships already." Ginny asked, "Such as?"
Harry turned to Arthur and Mrs. Weasley and said, "I am asking you to forgive
me again for what I am about to say, even if twice is asking for a lot in one
night, but it goes towards making a very valid point that is bothering me more
than you can imagine."
She added at their nods and went on, "I will not mention any names, but I was
told by a reliable source that they accidentally overheard Ginny telling
Hermione that she planned to ask me to take our relationship to the next level.
In short if I had not changed back and remained unaware of our relation, I
assure you I would have more likely than not slept with your daughter. I have
to say that does not fill me with warm and fuzzy feelings considering I have
changed back and do not see witches or your daughter like that anymore. Plus,
now I am very much aware of what else she is to me."
Ginny hissed evidently insulted, "Why would have sleeping with me been a bad
thing?" Harry moaned out aloud and brought her head down to rest on the table
and muttered loud enough to be heard, "Merlin, could someone please direct or
lead me to the nearest available solid object or wall as I wish to bang my head
against it." Ginny fumed at hearing this, especially when she heard the twins
and Ron's poor attempt at trying to stifle their sniggering behind the palms of
their hands.
Harry lifted her head and said very slowly, "What is so hard to understand
here, Ginny, I mean it is plain and simple as the nose on Filch’s face, at
least to me? I do not like the thought or even the concept of sleeping with
relatives, no matter how little blood we may or may not share, what is so hard
to understand here?" She grumbled irritably as she added, "Forgive me if I fail
to share the same values as you, I for one am not a pureblood, and secondly, I
was not raised with those values or even in the wizarding world for that
matter."
Harry sighed and asked Mr. Weasley, "You said your reasons for not discouraging
us from dating, but I do not know how most purebloods go about this, whether
they make a regular habit of dating or even going as far as to marry their
relatives, but that is not how I work. I do not care how possibly diluted that
blood might be right at this point, but she and I still share blood no matter
how little."
Ginny frowned as she asked, "What are you going on about, we do not share blood
Harry?" Harry let out a tired and weary sigh as she asked, "How do want do this
Mr. Weasley?" Arthur sighed and replied, "Please call me Arthur Harry,
especially under the circumstances, and if you do not mind I would prefer to
tell them."
Harry replied nodding, "Sure go ahead, but I repeat, second generation is
nowhere near distant enough for my tastes or peace of mind, not even close. It
would have ended the same way even if I had not changed back or been under the
glamour. In my opinion, blood is blood Arthur, and there is just a tad too much
shared here, distant or not. I do not feel comfortable or right with dating her
knowing that, whether I am a witch or wizard honestly makes no difference to
me."
Arthur grimaced and nodded before clearing his throat and facing his wife and
children. He began, "Do you any of you remember your grandma Weasley ever
mentioning her maiden name, and who her family were before she married your
grandpa?" At his children's puzzled glances he continued, "Well then I guess I
will tell you, her maiden name had been Potter. She had an older brother
Harrison Charlus who was killed in the first war ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’
caused."
He paused once more when he saw how his children and even his wife's eyes
widened as they started to realise what he was getting at. Still he added,
"Harrison Potter married a Rosalie Sladden and had a son who they named James
Charlus Potter, who met and married a muggle born witch by the name of Lily
Evans, and they in turn had a daughter who they named Harriet James Potter." He
nodded when he saw the realisation hit his entire family, as their gaze quickly
switched from him to Harry and back again.
He nodded and smiled widely and concluded, confirming what he knew his family
had already figured out. "My Mother was the aunt of James Potter, in turn
making her Harry's great aunt, and Harry is the only living Potter relative she
has left alive at this point.” He concluded after a brief pause and said,
“While James and I on the other hand were first generation cousins, but due to
the generation gap separating us makes Harry and I cousins who are once
removed, and she and you lot second cousins. Your mother is her cousin in law
through me and marriage."
There was a lingering silence for a moment, before all at once there was a
heavy stream of questions aimed at both Harry and Arthur. Harry and Arthur
exchanged a grimace before Harry held up her hand and said, "Whoa cool it, I
know it is shocking and unexpected, but hell, be glad you actually got to learn
about it from your father."
She snorted at their questioning looks and told them, "I on the other hand did
not have the same luxury of being told by a parent or guardian, oh no try more
like a Goblin." The Weasleys winced in sympathy, knowing if it had been any of
them then it would not have gone down well at all, more like a riot.
Harry added and asked, "Look can we discuss this perhaps later when it is us,
the Diggory's, Hermione, Tonks, Sirius and Remus, and of course Angie and Fleur
to?" Arthur nodded and said, "Harry is right, this should be kept within the
family, which now includes the Diggory's, who will be related to us through
Harry when she and Cedric marry. Then of course, there is the fact Sirius,
Remus, Hermione and Tonks are Harry's family, which by extension now makes them
ours too. And finally Fleur is to marry our Bill and George is with Angelina,
they are family."
Molly looked shaken up, wondering why her husband had never mentioned this at
least of all to her his wife. She asked him, "Is this what you meant when you
said I would regret it and that it would be a disaster if Harry refused
contract with me after tonight?" Arthur nodded and replied, "Yes Molly love,
she is our family by blood on my mother's side of the family, she has Potter
blood which means in some measure so do I and our children."
Molly sighed and asked in a less hostile tone then she had after Harry's first
comment against Albus. "What do you have against the Headmaster besides all you
have mentioned so far, surely there is more if your reaction is so strong, so
volatile?" She shook her head and added in honest worry, "I have never seen you
react like this before, so cold, dark, bitter, enraged and sarcastic, to be
honest it is very troubling and distressing for me to witness."
It was now Harry's turn to sigh as she replied, "If you want you can come with
me into a private room and I will tell you exactly what your son, Hermione and
I have gotten up to over the last six years. All the things in which the
Headmaster has no doubt conveniently forgotten to tell you." She added firmly,
but her tone like Mrs. Weasley was less harsh and hostile then earlier on. "My
issues with the Headmaster are perfectly within reason, more than not
unfounded. I swear to you I have perfectly good cause to feel how I currently
do, regardless of whatever spin he tries to put on it to make it seem as if
there was no other option."
She concluded, "I mean really even Professor Snape said he knew I was not being
arrogant or insolent, and that is coming from a man who cannot stand me. That
in my opinion is saying an awful lot in regards to the situation. So if he can
say that to me, then please Mrs. Weasley think about it, think about what I
could possibly have to gain from attacking the Headmaster without any true
reason or cause."
Molly suddenly stood from where she had sat, and said, "Very well, lead me
wherever you have in mind for the meeting." She immediately added at Harry's
nod, "And of course I want Arthur there, he should be there and has just as
much right as I do to hear whatever you are going to say." Harry also stood
from her seat around the table and said, "Of course, he is Ron's father and my
cousin, so naturally he needs to know as much as you do."
Just as Harry was about to ask Sirius to let her use his office, was when Albus
spoke up looking uncommonly flustered and said, "I must protest, I hardly feel
this is necessary." Harry snorted and replied blandly, "Yeah you wouldn't, like
that is anything news worthy, and besides I was not asking for your permission
or your opinion either for that matter." Harry raised a brow when Mrs. Weasley
commented, "If what Harry says is untrue then what have you to worry about,
Albus?" She added firmly, "I realise now that Harry is entitled to her opinion
just as much as Arthur and I are entitled to hear whatever she has to tell us."
Harry decided to really twist the wickedly razor sharp pointed dagger in the
Headmaster's manipulative back and suggested almost gleefully, "In fact I am
even willing to go as far as to spill my guts all under the influence of
Veritaserum, hmm just imagine Headmaster what could possibly leave my mouth
under the influence of a truth serum?" Albus looked liked he had swallowed
something sour or smelt something decidedly unpleasant as he protested again,
"Now really I hardly feel that such drastic measures are needed."
Harry smirked deviously as she noticed how the old bastard was starting to lose
his normally calm and collected composure. She was especially pleased when
Molly narrowed her eyes all of a sudden as she asked almost sounding
suspicious, "Oh Albus, you would not happen to be worried about what Harry
might possibly reveal are you, after all she would be completely rendered
unable to lie at all?" Harry swore smugly that the Headmaster what about to
develop some sort of stressed tick in his jaw, which only seemed to be
escalating when Arthur added, "We will need Veritaserum."
He turned to Severus who opened his mouth to answer, but Harry shook her head
and said, "No need, this is the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, so
how much do you want to wager there is bound to be some around here somewhere?"
Harry did not want to involve or implicate the Potions Master with the
Headmaster, knowing as the Orders spy it was he who had to report to and deal
with the Headmaster on a regular basis and Harry had no desire to cause the man
unneeded complications.
Sirius inwardly smirked knowing exactly what Harry was doing, and the reason
for it to, which was just fine with him after what he had learnt that night. He
had more than a strong nagging inkling what Harry had said so far was not even
scratching the surface of the proverbial iceberg. He decided to lend his
goddaughter a hand it being the very least he could do at this point. "We have
some in the cupboard in my office, it's yours Harry if you want it."
Albus looked at him sharply and opened his mouth to insist it was not
necessary, but one glance from and what Sirius said next stopped the Headmaster
dead. What he said next was the start of his Order members turning somewhat
mutinous. "My loyalty was to James and Lily Potter, and their deaths have not
changed or weakened that loyalty one bit even after sixteen years and an
unwarranted twelve year stint in Azkaban."
He added firmly, "That loyalty has now extended to my goddaughter Harry, my
loyalty was sealed the moment she took her first breath as a newborn Albus, and
even twelve years in Azkaban has not made that loyalty any less, but managed to
increase it in fact. Trust me it was being aware that she was alive, as well as
the fact I knew I was innocent that prevented me from allowing the Dementors to
destroy me and my sanity from snapping."
He continued coldly, "My loyalty in regards to you wavered the moment you
allowed me to be sent to that Merlin forsaken Dementor infested hellhole
without a fair trial and searched for the Dark Mark. You knew I was not the
secret keeper considering it was you who cast the Fidelius charm around Godrics
Hollow. This means you could have vouched for me, yet you did not. That goes an
awful long way into making me wonder whether you were getting me out of the way
so I would be unable to interfere in whatever it is you have planned for my
goddaughter."
He concluded even more coldly, "Whatever remaining loyalty just faltered even
further and is on the verge of completely crumbling now that I am exactly aware
of just how much against James and Lily's last wishes you have gone against
when you sent their daughter to that fucking horse bitch of a Sister of Lily's.
And as my goddaughter has already pointed out just how much more have you just
plain well discarded in regards to her well-being."
Remus added with eyes narrowed and his tone suspicious, "Yes I have to wonder
about that also Headmaster. The only reason I have stuck by you so far was that
you allowed me to attend Hogwarts and had the Whomping Willow planted so I had
somewhere to go during the time of the full moon. However, I am no longer that
Hogwarts student who had solely relied on your generosity. This in turn means
my true loyalty is to my wife, to James and Lily regardless of them no longer
being here, and to Sirius. Naturally Harry my honoree goddaughter has my
loyalty, as Sirius already said, it was sealed the moment Harry drew her first
breath as a newborn."
He concluded, "I am only still in the Order because I want this war over and
done with and if that means I have to take orders from you in order to do it
then so be it. However, know this, as long as I have my Wolvesbane I will
continue to follow her to the ends of the earth and back again no questions
asked or needed. Finally, at this point and especially after what I have heard
and learnt so far this evening means I am more interested in her well-being
then keeping you happy Albus."
Ginny unexpectedly stunned everyone, Harry included, when she went next and
said, "I am going to follow Harry regardless of our current issues, and I will
dedicate myself to her cause until the end." She concluded unwaveringly, "The
truth is Professor Dumbledore that she saved my life down in that chamber, her
and not you. She risked herself in the process, which I will never be able to
repay her. My loyalty is to my family, which in turn includes the new cousin I
am only just learning I now have."
Fred was next, "Harry gave us her half of the Triwizard winnings, and she did
not have to do that yet she did without being asked." George added, "She is our
little sister as Ginny and Hermione is, well Hermione at least on my end that
is" he smirked at Fred as he added that last part, making the twin in question
shoot him a scowl of warning. Both twins added together, "She is our cousin,
and blood is thicker than water ever could be Albus, she has our loyalty no
questions asked."
Hermione looked troubled as she said, "Normally I do not like to choose sides
nor go against authority figures, but Harry at the end of the day when all has
been said and done it was you, Sirius and the Weasleys who were there for me
when my parents were killed by Death Eaters last year. It was Sirius who took
me in and legally blood adopted me, making us related through magic and blood,
and gave me his last name, which is why my loyalty is to him."
She added, "I love you like a sister and you are my best friend, and have
always been there for me when I needed you from the moment we became friends,
you and Ron even helped prevent me from getting killed by a fully grown
mountain troll before we were even friends. My loyalty will always be to you
Harry, and believe me when I say I will follow you to hell and back again no
questions ever asked."
Hermione and Harry had tears in their eyes and Ron cleared his throat
uncomfortably as he went next and closed his eyes. "Oh please give me a break,
like you even have to ask or be told that you have my loyalty especially after
you saved both my sister and my father. Besides witch or wizard, which still
freaks me out by the way, but you know me it will not stop me from being there
for you, and I will sooner or later get used to it."
He added, "You are my sister just as much as Ginny and Hermione, and you are
also my cousin, by the way that is bloody cool." Harry smirked and nodded as
Ron concluded, "But yeah what Fred and George said, blood is always thicker
than water and that's the honest truth of it."
Bill smiled gently at Harry and added in his own two cents and said, "I cannot
speak for anyone else, but mine and I more than fairly certain Fleur's loyalty
is to you Harry. When it comes down to it, who will I chose and side with, my
former Headmaster or my little sister and cousin? The question asked as three
of my brothers have already pointed out, blood or water. No contest at all
there, no matter how close or distant that bloody might be is still blood."
Fleur nodded in absolute agreement with her mate and fiancé and said, "We may
not be blood related but I gave you my promise and swore on my magic and honour
as a witch earlier on today and that still stands Harry.” She shook her head
said firmly, “It is not a hard decision to make as I have already told you
twice today alone, you saved my little sister in that lake and that means more
than I can possible express.” She concluded, “I am certain my family would
pledge their loyalty to you, you saved one of our own meaning you are set
assured loyalty and protection from the Delacours if you ever require it."
Harry was stunned at hearing that, and merely nodded silently, lost for words.
Angelina was next and was smirking as she said, "Harry I also promised and
swore on my magic and honour as a witch today, and that within the last few
hours has not changed." She added, "My loyalty is to George whose loyalty is to
you. Plus you have done so much for me without realising just how, so I think
you can understand when I say it really is as plain and simple as that."
Tonks shook her head and said, "You even had the same promise from me and
Madame Malkin." Cedric asked incredulously, "Madame Malkin?" He added shaking
his head in disbelief as he said, "Merlin Harry you went there to be measured
for the girl's school uniform and left with four witches swearing on their
magic and honour as witches. Oh Harry, that would only ever happen to you,
seriously."
Harry scowled at him, muttering less than flatteringly underneath her breath,
which caused more than a few chuckles and sniggers. Cedric smirked and asked
teasingly, "Hmm what was that you were saying again Harry, that's the second
time today, you really should speak up it's enough to give a wizard the wrong
idea." Harry's scowled deepened as she growled warningly, "Diggory might I
point out that you are asking for it, asking for something highly unpleasant to
come your way." This caused more chuckles and sniggers, especially when the
wizard in question merely smirked as if daring her to do her worst.
Tonks finally finished after chuckling and said, "Remus is my husband and
Sirius my cousin, my loyalty is to them and to you, that you can rest assured
of Harry." After hearing this from his cousin Sirius looked more than a tad
smug as he said, "I am pretty damn certain that Neville Longbottom will be on
your side, regardless whether his mother had been your godmother or not."
He added smirking widely and said, "I could even get Amelia as well, all I
would need would be a pensive full of memories of tonight and every other key
moments, including the meeting in my office with Molly and Arthur. That paired
with little Veritaserum to back you up Harry, no problem whatsoever." He added
more sombrely, "She wants the war over and done with for the same reasons you
do, she especially wants to see her niece Susan live to give her great nephews
and nieces."
Albus was not quite able properly to conceal just how livid he was starting to
become. How dare they turn mutinous one by one, he was Albus Dumbledore for
Merlin sake he deserved and demanded respect and loyalty. How dare they follow
some little girl over him, do they not realise everything he did was for the
greater good and what was happening here was the tantrums of a child? Well he
would nip this in the bud before this ridiculous display could escalate even
further, the key was to find the most effective opportunity and put into play,
yes that would do it, that would work perfectly.
Charlie was next and shrugged as he said, "I do not know you that well Harry,
but at the end of the day you are my cousin, that is a value that means
something to me. On top of that, there is the fact in the end it is going to be
you who will have to face and take down you know who, I promise I will help you
towards that task as best as I am able, you have my word on that."
Cedric looked at Harry and said, "It is not a choice that I need to spend time
over making or deciding where my loyalties lie. You are my fiancée, whether by
choice or not, and of course you will be my wife and the mother to any children
we have." He added firmly, "Yet even without all of that in play I would still
have placed my loyalty with you, after all when someone saves your life whether
your loyalty is to them is not an impossible decision to come by, and you Harry
saved my life in that graveyard."
Amos looked more than slightly uncomfortable knowing what he was about to say
would be considered a major betrayal to the Headmaster but it honestly could
not be helped. He said, "Sorry for this Albus, but you have to take into
consideration she will be my daughter in-law and the mother to my
grandchildren, that's family, and family is all we really have and can hold
onto during a time of war and such peril and uncertainty."
He added firmly, "She saved my previous boys life, all I have left of my wife.
I will place my ties where I honestly believe there's a chance of he who must
not be named being taken care of. You Albus seemed to have lost track and the
reason this Order exists in the first place since the second war and you heard
that blasted good for nothing prophecy, of which I still have not heard, but
know it is about Harry and he who must not be named." He concluded, "I am sorry
again Albus, but I go wherever my son goes and chooses and that is with Harry
Potter."
Albus was seething, but was trying to hide it as best as he was able, he point
blank refused to give that child the satisfaction of seeing him lose his
composure even in the smallest minute amount. He noticed that Cho Chang had not
said anything yet, it was the perfect opportunity and he pounced on it. He knew
the fool girl would follow his lead, so blinded by bitter jealousy and hatred,
due to unrequited love. He would play on this and take full advantage of this
fact to suit his needs.
"What of you Miss Chang?" he asked his facade of grandfatherly concern in full
effect. What he said next did him no favours, he was so incensed over what had
occurred so far that night, that he went too far and let his light and golden
grandfatherly facade show cracks. "Who will you follow, me your former
Headmaster and the man who will see to it that you and your family are
protected when the time comes."
He paused and it was here he really made a vital mistake, "Or will you side
with the girl witch who has stolen your love, who will marry him and not you.
What will it be Miss Chang, your security guaranteed for you and your family,
or side with the one who is to marry and has the loyalty of the one who you
love?" He finished and thought in satisfaction, 'Let's see how you handle this
Miss Potter'
There was a stunned and horrified silence; even Severus could not hide his
honest shocked disbelief this time. 'Oh Albus good grief, you bloody fool, you
just went and played into her hands, have proven what she has said against you
to be correct, and have gave her words a enough weight and rope to hang
yourself with, good luck fixing and getting out of this one Albus'
That silence was soon broken by exclaims of disbelief and outrage, particularly
Molly and Minerva who yelled in outraged anger, "ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!" Harry let
out a loud bark of incredulous laughter and drawled mockingly, a silky
undertone that reminded many, the man in question included, of Severus Snape,
"Oh dear me Headmaster what have you done, your golden grandfatherly facade is
showing a mighty load of cracks there."
She turned to Molly and asked incredulously, "Do you see now Mrs. Weasley; he
let his anger get the better of him, and showed his true bastard manipulative
side." She sneered as she added, "He's just manipulated and took advantage of
her want for her parent's safety, on top of her understandable hatred for me,
why, because I am the one whose wears the ring and will marry the man she
loves, most likely the love of her young life. The Headmaster has played on
that, and she unfortunately I am willing to wager will walk right into his
manipulative trap."
Harry narrowed her eyes as she turned her gaze to Cho, she said firmly, but
with a noticeable hint of genuine compassion, noticeable to even Cho, who was
far too gone in her bitter anger and jealousy, as she would unfortunately prove
in only few moments. "I do not want to force or ask you to make a decision, but
if there is to be a decision made then make and choose it wisely. I can offer
you all he is; in fact, I have several properties all over the world. I have a
highly capable Curse Breaker for a cousin, who should have no problem setting
up wards no matter how powerful or complex around a property of your choice to
use as a safe house for family and yourself if I ask him to."
She concluded, "Are you going to take an offer from a man who is manipulating
you , who has played on your understandable anger and insecurities, will you
allow your personal issues and jealousy to rule over your decision to do right
from wrong. However, as I have already pointed out, I will not make or ask you
to choose between the Headmaster and myself. Unlike him, I do not need to
manipulate and play with those around me as if they were puppets on strings
dancing to a tune, or pawns on a chessboard to be discarded and destroyed at
will in order get what I want and need."
Albus felt fury sudden light up brightly inside of him, while Severus had no
idea that Potter could be so cold and cunning; she was showing Albus up
majorly. Cho on the other hand looked torn, as she looked from Harry to the
Headmaster then back again. Albus' grandfatherly facade of concern was out in
full manipulative force, while Harry's expression was blank entirely unreadable
to Cho.
Her gaze landed next on Cedric, who shook his head silently, his disappointment
that she was even contemplating choosing after what Harry had just said evident
on his face, this caused a sharp stab of pain in her chest at the sight of it
aimed at her from the man she loves. Cedric had never given her such a look
before, fact he was now was enough truly to cause more than a small stab of
hurt.
Then finally turned her gaze to land on the beautiful ring that encircled the
other witch’s, pale, long, slim and delicate finger with an effortlessly and
flawless gracefulness. She wanted that ring to encircle her finger and wanted
the name Diggory as desperately as she wanted the man who bore the name.
However, none of that could ever be hers thanks to Harry Fucking Potter, the
freak who was a wizard and now a witch.
No, she had made a decision and glowered at the other witch with pure hatred
and loathing resentment. The angel and Devil on the shoulder scenario had just
played out inside of Cho Chang's head, and the devil Albus Dumbledore had won.
She had no idea of the mistake she was about to make in the heat of the moment
due to bitter jealousy and heartbreak.
Cedric and Harry knew the moment she had made her decision, they knew the
moment her gaze had finally landed on the ring on Harry's finger, of course
that ring was a reminder of what was never hers and was the deciding factor.
They saw the look of pure hatred and loathing resentment that Cho eyed Harry
with, and knew she had let her bitter jealousy and hatred blind her.
Cedric felt anger and disappointment spark through him. He looked at Harry, who
shook her head and shrugged, knowing it was too late, nothing either she or
Cedric could say or do would change the other witch’s mind. The Headmaster was
just far too manipulative and as Harry had pointed out played on her jealousy
and insecurities that they not realised too late ran too deeply within the
other witch for her to see any sort of reason.
"I have made my decision and I choose Albus Dumbledore. I will not follow a
freak who is either a witch or wizard, who stole my love. I will not follow
you; I will follow the true leader of the light, not a whore who cannot even
stick to one sex." Before anyone could show how disgusted and disappointed they
were with her appalling display of jealousy and bitterness, was when Ginny who
had been sat opposite her dived over the table and let the palm of her hand
fly, landing a brutal smack on Cho's cheek, which resounded in a loud cracking
sound.
Cho let out a pained shriek, fell backwards taking the chair with her and
landed with her legs over her head from the force and anger behind of that
slap, before Cedric, Harry or Amos could grab the chair and prevent it and her
from falling backwards. She was lucky she had managed not to hit her head on
the floor at the last minute, and the chair took most of the brunt of the fall.
Ron and Charlie who sat the closest had to grab hold of Ginny to prevent her
from diving over the table to finish what she had started. She snarled, "You
bloody stupid bitch, I have it worse than you do, the worst end of this entire
deal. I have not only lost Harry to another wizard, but a relationship could
have never worked whether there had been the issue of an arranged marriage in
the way, as neither Harry or I are lesbians so that right from the get go was a
physical relationship out of the question."
She added venomously, "I wager I have loved Harry longer then you have loved
Diggory, but do you see me allowing jealously and bitterness to cloud my
judgement. I am all too aware that none of that stupidity you have just pulled
would bring Harry back to me if I even dared to attempt it, just as it will not
make Diggory return your love the way you want him to. Just look at the man for
Merlin's sake, he looks disgusted, pissed off and disappointed." Ginny was
fuming, how someone could be so blind and self-absorbed for Merlin's sake it
was mind-boggling.
Harry stood and made her way around to the other side of the table, completely
stepping over Cho, paying her absolutely no mind Cedric and everyone else
noted. Cho clearly had truly burnt down more than a few bridges with the other
witch no doubt. When they saw her approach, Charlie and Ron released their
sister from their restraining hold and stepped back and sat down again, knowing
Harry would be able to handle their sister just fine.
Harry stopped in front of her and placed her hand on Ginny's shoulder, and the
younger witch slightly startled at the feeling of the lighter, more delicate
and very feminine hand. This was enough to bring it home to Ginny that she was
up close with another witch and not a wizard. This realisation was enough to
bring stinging tears of pain to her eyes, so sharp it practically took her
breath away in its intensity. What hurt more was she had no trouble believing
this was Harry, this witch just positively screamed Harry Potter in every way
without a doubt.
Harry said soothingly, "Easy Ginny, it's alright, she is not worth a single
second of your anger, and you do not have to explain anything to her either."
She added, "You have not allowed personal issues to influence your choices,
which in turn makes you a bigger and better witch then she could ever hope to
be. She allowing her jealousy and anger to get the better of her has only
caused her to embarrass not only herself, but the man she says she loves."
She concluded, "I love you and so proud of you for not allowing what has
happened to influence you to the point you are blinded by it, and allow it to
dictate your actions, I do not want that for you, when I know you are so much
better than that. And both you and I know I do not deserve your loyalty yet you
give it without question even when I break your heart, regardless I never set
out to do it."
Ginny had tears streaming down her cheeks, which was enough to bring tears to
Molly and Hermione's eyes at the sight of the younger witch's pain. "You make
it so easy to love and be loyal to you, and impossible to truly hate you even
when my heart is bleeding and I have every right to hate you, but cannot. The
only reason I cannot truly hate you is because I know deep down you would have
avoided it all if you had known it was a possibility to begin with." She
concluded somewhat bitterly, "You have no idea what a tough act you are going
to be to follow afterwards."
Harry winced at the last part as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. She
walked back to her seat and reached up and removed her glasses to wipe
underneath her eyes as she sat down, which caused a few gasps. Harry frowned at
the stunned silence and wondered what had caused such a reaction she had only
removed her glasses for Merlin's sake what was the big deal? She asked in
puzzlement, "What's the matter with you lot; you're acting as if none of you
have ever seen me remove my glasses before?"
Ginny wiped her eyes and retook her own seat just as Ron spluttered and said,
"Oh Merlin Harry, this is going to sound totally weird especially coming from
me, but you're stunning which is even more obvious without your glasses. I feel
almost uncomfortable with that realisation, and I do not even see you like
that, never have, but how you look is still more than enough to make the male
in me sit up and take notice whether I like or want it to or not."
Harry could not help but cringe and sent her best male friend since first year
a look of incredulous disbelief. She choked out, "Er Ron, no offence mate, but
would you mind not saying things like that. Oh and could everyone else quit
looking at me like a piece of meat it is seriously freaking me out here, I am
nowhere near what Ron is making me out to be. Merlin I cannot believe me taking
off my glasses has caused such a bloody stir."
Most looked at her as if she was crazy to not see just how beautiful she was,
and the fact attention was being drawn to this was enough to make Cho, who had
righted her chair and sat down again to seethe with pure jealous fury. She felt
like screaming blue bloody murder at the injustice of it all, right after she
had returned the favour and gave that Weasley bitch a slap back. How dare she
slap her and that whore Potter tell her she was an embarrassment and that her
Cedric was pissed off and ashamed of her.
George commented, "So sorry Angie, I love you, but I have to say it, Harry is
smokin hot." Angelina laughed, not at all offended in the least, knowing her
George meant nothing serious, and just being himself. Fred decided to get in on
a piece of the action, added his own two cents, and said to Cedric, much to the
ultimately annoyed disbelief of Harry. "Merlin Diggory, I almost envy you,
almost but she is like my sister, but sweet Merlin Gred is right, our little
cousin is smokin."
Cedric laughed, while Harry shot him an annoyed glance. She complained, "Stop
it already this is so beyond not amusing. Please Mrs. Weasley stop them they
are your sons, I can deal with Cedric no problem. However the situation we have
going on here is serious, we do not have the time for this. Plus I could really
do without the flattery, which is unwelcome when it is not true." Hermione made
a incredulous choked sound in the back of her throat and asked, "Untrue, Merlin
have you looked in a mirror since the change? Harry, you're beautiful."
Mrs. Weasley clucked her tongue and said, as Harry sniffed in annoyance and
replaced her glasses on the bridge of her nose, "She is right Harry you are
beautiful.” She paused before pointing a stern finger in the twin’s direction,
“As for you two, Harry is right, stop this now, it is neither the time nor the
place for such foolery." She went on, her frustration evident for all to hear,
"We are in the middle of what is evidently a crisis, an ongoing crisis that has
been allowed to develop, which should have been nipped in the bud at the first
sign of trouble."
Harry shook her head at that last part and said, "Your right it should have
been nipped in the bud from the get go, say the moment the Headmaster decided
to dictate where I lived and was raised. How about even as early as the moment
he first heard that, Merlin cursed forsaken prophecy and decided he was going
to keep it to himself until the decision taken out of his manipulative hands
and he forced to tell me. So yes Mrs. Weasley, it well should have been bloody
nipped in the bud but it was not."
She added, "Look I am not for a single second going to ask or make anyone for
that matter chose sides, least of all Hogwarts Professors." She paused and eyed
the Headmaster head on, and said, "But I assure you I will be returning to
Hogwarts to complete my last year as I need to graduate. I am entitled as much
as the next person to an education and the option to graduate regardless of our
personal issues Headmaster."
Albus replied, "True Miss Potter." Harry nodded and said firmly, "Once I
graduate you are free to throw whatever you damn well please at me, but whilst
I am a student our differences need to remain between us. Neither of us can
afford to allow any sign of ill will between us to leak out over to the rest of
the student body and faculty, and if it does both you and I know not only would
it reflected badly upon me, but you too Headmaster. And it is you who as
Headmaster should be the one seen setting the proper example for the students
to follow, the younger ones especially."
Albus knew he could not dispute what she had said, and nodded as he replied
firmly, "That is correct Miss Potter." He added, "And yes you will indeed
graduate from Hogwarts as a fully trained and legal adult witch. But in the
meantime leading up to graduation and even after it until Voldemort is no more
you will train and learn what it will take to destroy him." He wondered whether
she would see fit to dispute any of what he had just said, like most of
everything else she had that night so far.
Harry replied, "Oh do not worry Headmaster, I will get rid of him alright, just
like the perfect little weapon you have raised me to be. I will do it even if
it will be the last thing I am ever to do; you can rest assured of that." She
added firmly, "And when I do that murderous psychopath will not have the option
of making another resurrection attempt, not on my damned watch he will not."
She paused before she continued, "I will train and learn how to end this war in
order to return the wizarding world back into a time of peace. However, know
this; I am not winning this war for you or your precious damned Order."
She continued saying just as firmly, "No, I am going to win this war to give
back the magical community, to the innocent, so that future generations can
continue and live in a world of peace without constant fear and terror induced
by a lunatic." She snorted as she pointed out incredulously, "A madman out for
world domination and blood supremacy, which by the way is rather bizarre when
you consider Riddle is a half-blood, not the pureblood his followers wrongly
assume he is."
Harry sighed wearily and added, "My plans are to train and graduate Hogwarts as
I have already said, but to also marry Cedric before going on a yearlong hunt,
or however long or short the period it takes to find should we say certain
pieces of our common enemy? I believe the Order needs bringing up to date on
our private lessons Headmaster, in order to move things along much quicker. The
more people we have on hand to help with the search the better our chances are
of ending this war. I am only one witch Headmaster, and the longer this war is
allowed to rage on for the more innocent lives are going to be lost, and the
more chance you have of finding a dead spy at the gates of Hogwarts one of
these days."
Severus made a cut off sound in the back of his throat at that last part,
knowing she was talking about him. Albus on the other hand knew what she meant
loud and clear. He could not dispute what she had said at the end about
Severus, despite his constant manipulations he did care for Severus and often
worried that what Harry had just said about finding his spy's dead body at the
gates of Hogwarts was a true possibility. The longer the war continued, the
larger the chance of Severus being discovered and losing his life escalated.
He also thought of what she had said about allowing the Order to know about the
Horcruxes in order to have more hands and minds available to move his plans
along much more quickly. He did not like the idea of giving away too much but
knew he could not avoid it as he had a strong and ill feeling that this new
breed of Harry Potter would have no trouble revealing the information about the
Horcruxes whether he liked it or not. She would just accuse him of being
manipulative and underhanded, keeping valuable information from the Order,
valuable information that could work towards ending the war even sooner than he
had planned.
AN: Part Two Next.
***** Chapter Seven: Taking down Slytherin's Locket & the Misdeeds of the
Ferret Menace, Harry & Severus's Shared Trauma, Voldie Should Not Be Allowed to
Breed *****
Chapter Summary
     Harry insists on letting Severus know exactly what she thinks of and
     feels for Malfoy. Harry takes down Slytherin's locket and insists
     everyone learn of the Horcrux's. She and Severus share a memory with
     the others proving just how demented and evil Voldemort is. Severus
     reveals something truly horrifying and disgusting about Voldemort and
     his plans.
Chapter Notes
     Warning: Some of the scenes are going to be disturbing so if you do
     not have a strong stomach or are easily squicked then skip this part
     of the chapter I would highly recommend it. If anyone has suffered
     through sexual assault then I also recommend skipping those part of
     the chapter to.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of
this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The
movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.
 
Warning: Some of the scenes are going to be disturbing so if you are easily
squicked then skip this part of the chapter I would highly recommend it.
 
Albus sighed inwardly irritated, not wanting to give any more evidence and
ammunition against him, but none the less said, "I believe one to be a locket,
a Slytherin piece to be exact." Sirius who was listening intently asked, "A
locket, what silver with emeralds and has a snake engraved on the front, that
locket Albus?" Albus raised a brow and asked, "You have seen a locket like what
you just described, tell me Sirius where did you last see it?"
Sirius frowned and replied, "That damned house elf wore it around his neck,
kept on claiming Regulus gave it to him to keep safe." Harry looked positively
disturbed at the thought that there had been a piece of Voldemort's soul
residing under the same roof as her this whole time.
She said in a harsh sounding hiss, "Sirius I need that locket, it needs to be
destroyed, as long as it still exists we are one step behind from finally
ending Voldie." She shuddered noticeably and said through furiously gritted
teeth, "And the longer that locket remains intact the more I feel my skin crawl
in revulsion at the thought of myself or even Ginny for that matter sleeping
underneath the same roof as a piece of the soul of the psychopath who murdered
my parents and possessed her."
Sirius looked suitably horrified and nodded quickly and called out, "Kreacher!"
The house elf in question appeared with a loud pop in the kitchen, Sirius
immediately asked before the popping sound had cleared, "That locket you said
Regulus gave to you I need it Kreacher where is it?" Kreacher looked on
stubbornly and muttered underneath his breath, "Dirty, such filthy mudblood,
muggle lovers and blood traitors dirtying and tainting my Mistress home."
Sirius narrowed his eyes and growled, "The locket Kreacher I am demanding as
your Master that you hand over the locket. I am your Master whether you or I
like or want it, now the locket Kreacher." Kreacher tried with all of his
stubborn might to fight the pull of the bond between Master and elf, but
regardless of their hatred of the each other, the ancient and powerful magic
used to bind an elf to a wizard or witch was far too strong for the old
stubborn elf to resist and disobey a direct order.
Kreacher disappeared with a loud pop only to reappear less than a minute later
with another equally as loud pop and carrying the cursed locket in his hand. He
looked to Sirius with pure hatred, but none the less ever so reluctantly handed
over the locket, his hand shaking as if what he was doing greatly pained him.
As soon as Sirius had clasped the locket firmly within his grasp, the old elf
muttered rapidly and distressed underneath his breath pleading for his precious
Master Regulus to forgive him for being weak and failing to protect the locket.
Sirius told the elf, "You can go now." Kreacher disappeared with a pop from the
kitchen.
Harry would have sympathised with the old elf if it were not for the fact he
had been concealing a piece of Voldemort's soul the whole time for only Merlin
knew how long. Instead, she held out her hand to Sirius and said, "Hand it
over, the quicker that dark twisted and disgusting abomination is destroyed the
better I and I am sure even Ginny will sleep tonight."
Sirius more than gladly without comment or complaint wasted no time in
depositing the locket into his goddaughter’s hand. It felt all wrong, gave off
a sense of pure darkness and wrongness that made his stomach feel queasy and
his skin crawl as if he wanted to jump right out of it.
Harry held the locket at a distance by its chain as if it was a highly
dangerous muggle explosive. She said, "I took the diary down in the Chamber of
Secrets with a fang from the Basilisk I killed, so it would stand to reason a
fang from the Basilisk will also destroy the locket to." She looked thoughtful,
or as thoughtful as anyone could look when thinking about destroying a dark
soul fragment with a fang from an extinct and deadly venomous snake. She added,
"Maybe it's the venom on the fang that did it more so then the actual fang,
just a guess mind you."
She asked, "What else besides the fang could do it?" Albus said, "A magically
made sword or sharp dagger coated in the venom would also work as well." Harry
asked, "The venom would be easy to come by, but where would we find a sword or
dagger?" Albus asked in reply, "What heirloom did you pull out of the sorting
hat to the kill the Basilisk with, an heirloom belonging to Godric Gryffindor?"
Harry's eyes widened in realisation, of course, the sword of Gryffindor
belonged to her as the heir. She asked, "Where is the sword now?" Albus
replied, "My office, you yourself handed it to me at the end of your second
year."
Harry called out summoning Dobby, "Dobby!" The loyal crazy elf appeared with a
loud pop a few seconds later. If he felt caught off guard at the sight of Harry
he made no mention of it and without missing a single beat bowed low that his
nose and ears practically touched the floor. He asked in an excited high-
pitched squeak, "What can Dobby do for Mistress Harry?"
Harry faltered slightly at hearing such a term of address from the elf, but she
supposed she needed to get over it quickly as Mistress was now the correct term
of address. Still it would take some getting used to, trust Dobby to be the one
finally to bring it home the fact she was now female. Oh and trust Dobby to not
be caught off guard at the sight of her new appearance if that was not pure
blind loyalty she did not know what was.
She cleared her throat and said, "Dobby I need for you to first go to the
chamber underneath the disused girls bathroom on the third floor, where you
will need to carefully provide me with a small phial of venom." She paused
before she added, "Take extra care with the venom as it eats through flesh and
bone Dobby. Once you have the phial, your next stop is to the Headmaster’s
office, where you will find and bring to me the sword of Gryffindor. Before
finally stop at Hagrid's hut, tell him Harry Potter sent you and that you need
to borrow a pair of Dragon hide gloves."
Dobby nodded rapidly, his bat-like ears flopping about as he said excitedly,
"Dobby will be doing as Mistress Harry asks." With that said, the excitable elf
disappeared with a loud pop. Cedric asked, "What are you up to and, what's with
the sword, venom and Dragon hide gloves?" Harry replied, "Simple, as you heard
me telling Dobby the venom is deadly and will eat through flesh and bone, which
is the reason for the gloves. As for the sword of Gryffindor, well, once I have
finished coating the blade with the venom I plan to stab the unnatural
abomination Voldie has made of this locket and destroy the soul fragment placed
inside."
Harry then turned her attention back to the locket and let out a strained
grimace, something about the evil essence surrounding the locket seemed to be
grating on her more so than it appeared to with the others. She realised with
pure nausea that the locket was giving off a black coloured oozing pulsating
aura. There was absolute no way she was about to mention that she could see it
when it was evident no one else seemed to be able.
Cedric saw the strained grimace and asked, "What is it Harry, you look really
sickly?" Harry replied, "That's because I do feel sick, due to the fact I can
feel the dark magic practically oozing from it, so dark I feel as if I could
jump out of my skin. Worst of all it feels almost as if it is trying to suck
all of the light and every positive feeling from the room like a disgusting
leech, almost like the Dementors but not quite."
Ginny shuddered and said, "Yeah, I had that feeling constantly around Tom’s
diary all the way through first year, that's of course when I knew whether it
was day or night which mind you was not all that often. His hold over me only
seemed to lessen during the time you had the diary before I ransacked your
dormitory looking for it after he urged me to get it back. Obviously he would
not be able to leech my life from me if I was not in possession of the diary."
She stood up and walked over to where Harry sat and held out her hand for the
locket. Harry shook her head and commented incredulously, "I really would not
recommend doing that if I were you at all." Ginny held out her hand stubbornly,
which caused Harry to shake her head in exasperation and said as she handed the
locket to the younger witch, "Fine, be my guest, but do not say I did not warn
or try to talk you out of the complete insane disaster you are about to self
inflict."
Ginny accepted the locket and held it, but within seconds immediately regretted
not listening to the older witch, as she dropped the locket as if burnt. She
could not help the horrified moan that escaped her as feelings and memories of
events she had tried with everything in her to suppress since her first year
hit her like a tidal wave. She felt her stomach revolt and a shudder of pure
horrified revulsion blaze throughout her whole body as Harry caught the locket
before it could hit the floor.
She practically staggered back to her seat as she resisted the urge to empty
the contents of her stomach. Mrs. Weasley exclaimed in alarm "Ginny what
happened?" Ginny all but sunk back into her chair, visibly trembling and her
face a sickly pale colour. She spoke in a haunted voice, "Oh Merlin, that feels
exactly how the diary had, I swear if I knew no better I would think I was back
trapped in my first year holding and being possessed by that diary again."
Harry swallowed thickly and exchanged a grim and knowing glance with the
Headmaster.
Before anyone could comment, Dobby chose that moment to reappear with a loud
pop beside Harry's chair. He was carrying the small venom filled phial in one
hand, while the Dragon hide gloves were in the other and, finally the sword of
Gryffindor floated in front of him. He handed both the phial and gloves to
Harry, who placed them on the table in front of her before grasping the
bejewelled handle of the sword and took it out of midair. She nodded to Dobby
and said, "Thank you Dobby you can go now." Dobby nodded rapidly and squeaked,
"Dobby is honoured to be serving Mistress" he then disappeared with a loud pop.
Harry turned her attention to the sword and closed her eyes as she suddenly
felt the same sense of powerful lingering rightness as she had the first time
when she had slain the Basilisk at the tender age of twelve. What she did not
seem to realise was that the sword seemed as if was glowing, while a fierce
magical energy seemed to surround and caress the area around Harry and the
sword. The sword looked right finally held by the rightful heir as if the magic
deeply embedded into the sword seemed to know and sense not only a magically
powerful heir, that the sword was finally home after so many centuries and a
member of the Gryffindor line finally held possession of it again.
To most in the room, Harry appeared formidable and practically oozed pure raw
flowing power despite her very misleading delicate feminine appearance. Cho
scowled deeply at the sight, especially because Cedric looked awed and as if he
would rather take Harry somewhere to the nearest available empty room and have
his way with her. Cho felt her stomach revolt and her blood rapidly simmer at
the thought of Cedric touching the other witch in a way he would never do to
her.
Harry asked as she handed the locket to Albus, "I presume Headmaster all I need
to do is stab the locket with the sword like I did the diary with the fang?"
Albus nodded as he accepted the locket and replied, "Yes exactly like that." He
added, "I recommend everyone take a step back and give Miss Potter some room
whilst she coats the sword with the venom in case of any accidental spillage,
after all as Miss Potter has rightfully pointed out the venom is highly capable
of eating through flesh and bone."
No one needed telling twice, stood up from the table and moved over to the
other side of the kitchen yet still within viewing distance. They all watched
as Harry first placed the sword on the table before taking the black coloured
gloves and wandlessly shrinking them to fit her properly before slipping them
on. She then picked up the phial, carefully pulled the stopper off the phial,
picked up the sword with her free hand and carefully poured the venom onto the
metal of the blade slowly. Once the phial was empty, she murmured the
Transfiguration spell Evanesco to vanish the phial and used her hands to spread
the venom thoroughly coating the blade until it was covered.
Once finished she asked Albus, "Headmaster will you place a cleaning charm on
the gloves to get rid of the excessive venom?" Albus sent an extra powerful
cleaning spell making sure to rid of the venom completely leaving no traces
behind on the gloves to cause unwanted damage later when Hagrid received them
back. He could well imagine the unintentional and dangerous chaos poor
unassuming Hagrid could cause with Basilisk venom coated Dragon hide gloves.
Harry asked Albus, "Headmaster I’ll need a reinforcement charm on the table so
I do not damage it when I stab the locket." Albus pointed his wand and cast a
powerful reinforcement charm before he placed the locket on the table. He then
stood back with everyone else to watch Harry destroy the locket. He had waited
a long time to see this finally happen; it was more than high time another
piece of Voldemort's soul destroyed ensuring his plan to destroy Voldemort was
a step closer to fully executed.
Harry took a deep breath and raised the sword, but just as she was about to
bring the tip of the blade down upon the centre of the locket, the locket as if
sensing the danger that was about to befall its content twitched followed by
rattling on the surface of the table. Harry and everyone watched in a sort of
dazed horror as an eerie sort of vapour-like black smoke began seeping from the
locket. Moments later the vapour had a sickly greenish tinge the colour of the
killing curse mixed in with the black as it started to merge into shapes before
completely forming into a vapour-like image.
Harry frowned deeply as she sees the image begin to form at a more rapid pace
until it was clear and showed an image of Cedric and Cho. In the image, Cedric
was placing the exact same ring that was on Harry's finger onto Cho's finger
and saying to her, "This looks so much better on you then that freak Potter,
and you are so much more worthy of its beauty and worth. It should be you I am
marrying, I love you and you are so much prettier then she could ever be."
Everyone had frozen in shock; Harry in particular as she started slowly
lowering the sword as if in some kind of stunned and numb stupor. The vapour
Cedric and Cho were suddenly kissing passionately before pulling back and
turning to face Harry, their skin had a greenish tinge that reminded everyone
of the killing curse, while their eyes were blood red and filled to the brim
with absolute pure cruel malice.
Cedric was horrified and called out in pure alarm, "No! Harry snap the hell out
of it and do not listen or watch that, whatever it is, is trying to mess around
with your head, I swear it is not real or could ever be true. Please Harry it
is trying to protect whatever is inside of that locket and stop you from
destroying it.” He added quickly as it came apparent his desperate pleas were
not penetrating the horrified trance like quality that had taken over his
fiancée. “Damn it Harry, destroy it now, it is especially your right after that
disgusting bullshit stunt it's pulling."
Harry snapped out of her frozen numb stupor as if something furiously hot and
burning venomously dark had suddenly lit up inside of her very being. She shot
a look filled to the overflowing brim with such venomous loathing that it could
have possibly obliterated anything that end caught in its path. It was as if
something that had been slowly building and simmering since that Halloween
night had finally reached its limit and now was rapidly tumbling through the
steel trap floodgates Harry had erected to keep what she was truly feeling and
thought under wraps, but was now currently being obliterated into nothing.
Cho flinched as she suddenly remembered and realised exactly whom the witch
wielding that deadly and terribly powerful sword was as she faced head on one
of the truest and darkest evils known in their world. Cho inwardly trembled in
sudden fear having never seen such an expression quite like it. She was more
than glad it not currently aimed her way, which she realised with horror that
it could well have after what she had said and done so far that evening. She
inwardly cursed her own bitter and jealous reaction as she realised exactly who
she had badmouthed, whom she had called a whore and mocked her over not being
able to decide what sex she was.
This witch was Harry Potter 'The Girl Who Lived', the one who had fought and
escaped from the darkest and evillest wizard of their time many times with her
life intact. She is one-half of the Triwizard tournament winners, who faced
down Dragons and Mermaids, and Merlin knows what else inside of that maze. She
Cho Chang had just revealed how she felt no loyalty to the other witch, had
insulted and subbed her in front of everyone, in front of Cedric at that, when
up until that evening when Cho badmouthed her she had shown her nothing but
respect and kindness.
Suddenly Harry let loose with an earth-shattering screech that told multiple
terrible stories, as did her teeth-baring snarl of pure seething fury. Everyone
except for Severus and Albus flinched violently as Harry raised the sword of
her ancestor once more and quickly brought it down in a stabbing motion, and
the magically forged blade plunged into the centre of the locket piercing the
solid silver dead on target.
An unnatural and blood chilling scream erupted from the locket that had all
covering their ears at the awful sound. Accompanied by the unnatural screaming
was black vapour, which had formed into the image of several screaming faces,
which Harry knew to be the image of how Voldemort looked at present time after
his resurrection. Everyone ducked as the vapour image rapidly lunged towards
them before vanishing into a puff of smoke then nothing.
Within seconds, it was all over leaving behind a frightened and lingering
silence in its wake. Everyone removed their hands from their ears and slowly
rose to a standing position. They turned their gazes to the table and instantly
saw how the locket was now sporting a large and gaping hole right in the
centre. The locket was truly ruined, completely unsalvageable, and no one would
be able to wear it again, not that anyone would have wanted to after what had
been inside of it.
Harry lowered the sword and wandlessly cast a powerful cleaning charm to rid of
any venom left on the blade before she placed it down on the table. She then
removed the Dragon hide gloves and placed them down on top of the sword before
she retook her seat. She barely glanced at Cedric who was still clearly shook
up over what he had just witnessed; having never imagined his fiancée faced
such horrors practically on a yearly basis like clockwork.
Ginny broke the deafening silence as she asked in a voice filled with pure
horror as she and everyone else made their way back to their seats around the
table, "What the hell was that?" Mrs Weasley was far too shaken and horror
struck to reprimand her daughter for her language after what she had just heard
and witnessed. She could not believe what she had just witnessed Harry doing,
yet suddenly no longer had any problems believing the young witch was capable
of all she had done since entering the wizarding world again.
Harry replied in a tone of voice that had most flinching from the icy blackness
it held, "That was a soul fragment, one of seven, with only four now remaining.
I have taken down two as of now, the diary in the chamber when I was twelve and
the locket belonging to Slytherin just now." She looked Ginny directly in the
eyes as she added in that same icy black tone, "Which was why the locket felt
like the diary had to you, it held a piece of the soul of the same psychopath
as the diary that possessed you when you were only eleven had."
She continued after a brief pause to eye the horrified and ill expression that
coloured the younger red haired witch's face. "The Headmaster I assume used the
sword during my sixth year to take out the Gaunt headship ring that held
another of the soul fragments." Albus shook his head and as he replied, "No I
did not, and will just say I do not seem to have your brand of luck when it
comes to situations likes of this. I made a very grave error of judgement, but
that is not important. No, what is important is the fact the ring has been
destroyed ridding us of another Horcrux, now leaving only four left to find and
destroy."
Harry frowned as she suddenly caught sight of the elder wizard's terribly
blackened and shrivelled up hand, and hissed between clenched teeth as
something truly too horrible to imagine struck her. She asked coldly, "The end
of my sixth year, that ring which you took me with you to retrieve from that
cave, you must have put it on at some point after I left for Gryffindor tower
didn't you?" She added asking furiously, "Which is why your hand is all
blackened and shriveled up isn't it?"
Albus' jaw clenched and replied sternly, "I hardly think this is an appropriate
conversation Miss Potter." Harry replied in a tone almost considered pitying or
perhaps sadness. "Oh, you old fool, you do not want your precious Order members
to know that you the great and all powerful Albus Dumbledore has been outwitted
and with the help of a soul fragment belonging to Voldie have gone and done
yourself in."
She shook her head and eyed the Headmaster sadly, "Whatever years you could
possible of had left, to maybe retire after the war, I do not know perhaps take
up some sort of hobby? Merlin knows how long you have left, I suspect not long
at all. I am willing to wager you have been cursed with very dark magic, which
would not honestly surprise me, nor would I expect anything less from our not
so friendly neighborhood psychopath."
She shook her head again and concluded, "I hope you survive long enough to see
him taken down, you at least deserve to witness his final end, after all up
until you lost track of what the greater good actually meant you were the
lights most prominent source of hope. I suppose you still are to wizarding
Great Britain at large, though sadly that does not include me, has truly not
ever since you told me of the prophecy back in my fifth year."
Albus looked stunned could not have hid the fact for all of the gold in
Gringotts. This child, no woman he suddenly realised, for that exactly was what
she is, a woman. Too much had happened and would still happen to her to see and
class her as a child any longer. She had practically stripped him bare of all
defences right in front of his Order, only a few more prominent members of that
Order were not present right then. What both annoyed and struck Albus stunned
was the fact she had accomplished this without a single ounce of the venomous
malice from earlier on.
Harry leaned back in her chair and sighed wearily as she told Albus, "I feel
the rest of the Order should be made aware of the Horcruxes, which includes
Cedric, Hermione and Ron, I was only going to tell them anyway." She added,
"They might be able to help move your plan along more quickly than even you
have planned.” She paused before continuing, “After all he has managed however
indirectly to take you out even if it will not be instantly, today or tomorrow,
which something tells me was not a part of your plans was it Headmaster."
She added firmly in a no nonsense tone, "It is your call Headmaster, but I feel
that he has already caused so much harm, so many innocent dead, and for what,
the sick and twisted pleasures of a half-blood maniac who never received any
love and affection growing up?” She snorted and all but spat, “Well, guess what
I too grew up without receiving any love or affection after he murdered my
parents and I end up sent to the Dursleys, yet you do not see me acting like a
raging psychopath hell bent on destroying all muggles.” She concluded around a
bland sneer, “And why, because dear ole daddy was a muggle, who did not want
him and his mother once learning that he’d been drugged with Amortentia."
Albus sighed looking truly weary and every single second of his entire age. He
said, "Yes I believe you are right that my plans can be executed much faster if
the Order works together as one solid unit." It pained him to say that, truly,
but he could clearly see all agreed with what Harry had said, so he had no
choice in less he wanted to start firing off several memory altering charms.
Severus almost as if sensing what he was thinking discreetly shook his head,
that was all Albus needed. He added, "Both of Miss Potter and Alistair will be
taking over as heads of this Order sooner than you think, or just Miss Potter
if something was to ever happen to Alistair."
Harry and everyone else looked shocked and incredulous at hearing this, except
for Severus. He had figured that was who would be taking over if Albus end up
killed before the war ended. It made perfect sense; Potter was the one who
would finally take the Dark Lord down. As for Mad-Eye, well he was one of the
oldest and longest lasting members of the Order, and of course would be the one
to keep Potter in check and going off at the deep end.
Mrs Weasley exclaimed in horror, "She is just a child and should not have that
responsibly heaped upon her shoulders." Before Harry or Albus could comment,
Severus sneered silkily, "Indeed, a child who right before your very eyes took
out an extremely dark object, one containing a piece of the soul of the Dark
Lord. It is not the first nor will that be the last time before this war ends
that she will have to take out another of the soul fragments.”
He paused before curling his lower lip in a sneer as he told the older witch
the hard and cold solid facts. “A child who will endure extensive training to
be the one who will at the final battle face the Dark Lord head on and
hopefully take him out, the only one according to the prophecy that can. He
marked her as his equal so no Mrs. Weasley she did not chose this for herself,
it was chosen for her.” He concluded, “So yes that responsibility will
unfortunately be heaped upon Potter's young shoulders and, she will be the one
to save your hinds, so for the love of Merlin wake up already woman and face
facts here."
Mrs. Weasley looked furious and as if he slapped in the face and, opened her
mouth to give him a verbal lashing of his life, when Arthur placed a hand
firmly upon his wife's shoulder stilling her words. He said firmly, "No Molly,
he is right, that responsibility unfortunately whether we like it or not
belongs to Harry and none of your ranting and raving at Severus will change or
make what he has said any less truthful." Molly fumed and opened her mouth to
rant, only to stop at the sight of the stern no nonsense expression of her
husband that was enough to shock her into silence as her husband hardly ever
spoke out against her.
Harry and everyone looked on in shock at what Severus had just said, or even
better yet how Arthur had handled his raging wife. Not that she would ever
admit to as such out aloud, especially in front of Mrs. Weasley, but Harry
figured whether she meant well or not it was about time someone put her in her
place and told her how it really was. She was living in a fantasy world
separate from everyone else if she truly believed Harry to be a child still.
Harry shook her head and said before anyone could pick any more arguments with
each other. "What you saw happen was a soul fragment being destroyed, also
known as a Horcrux. A Horcrux is a piece of soul that has been placed inside of
objects, for example, a ring, a locket and finally a diary."
She added when she was certain she had everyone's attention. "In order to make
a Horcrux you have to commit an unspeakable act, such as murder would be sure
do the trick. You then split the soul into a fragment and place it inside of an
object and, Voldie the psychopath he is went and made seven of them, he split
his soul seven times."
She grimaced and revealed in a grim tone, "This means until we have destroyed
all seven fragments, we have no hope in hell of killing Voldie and will only
end up destroying his body, ultimately leading to a repeat performance of
Halloween of 81.” She paused a moment before finally concluding, “I cannot
honestly say to you all that it is a night I like to examine or think of too
closely, it leaves very little to be desired if you get my full meaning here.
And I am certain many in the room will agree for the same reasons."
No one needed to ask why and, yes did agree wholeheartedly that night left
extremely little to be desired for anyone in that room. Those who had an idea
of what a Horcrux truly consisted of were horrified the lunatic would ever dare
to have done it seven times. How truly monstrous and sinisterly insane you have
to be to accomplish something of that level of sick atrocity seven times. It
was not a concept anyone wanted to spend any amount of time over contemplating
it truly was that horrifying.
Remus asked, "Do we have any idea what the remaining four could possibly be?"
Albus looked thoughtful as he said, "First was his diary, which was followed by
the family Gaunt headship ring on his mother's side of the family, who were
descendants of Salazar Slytherin, hence another Horcrux being Slytherin's
locket."
Harry added, "Plus he did everything within his power to keep Hogwarts open
during the first time he released the Basilisk onto the school and after Myrtle
was killed, not wanting to go back to the orphanage, Hogwarts became his home.
So I imagine whatever he turned into a Horcrux next will somehow be connected
to Hogwarts."
Harry paused as a thought suddenly occurred to her and, voiced that thought out
aloud, "You know, this is just a thought mind you, but what if he was so
attached to Hogwarts, that he wanted the objects he placed his Horcruxes inside
to have some kind of meaning, such as Slytherin's locket. What if his
attachment extended so far that for the remaining four Horcruxes he decided to
use something belonging to the other founders?"
She concluded around a disgusted grimace, "The thought of him violating
anything belonging to Gryffindor or Ravenclaw with a part of his repulsive
black soul makes my blood boil and my stomach churn something fierce. It is
worse still knowing if he has I or someone else is going to have no choice but
to destroy whatever the object he has tainted."
Amos glowered and spat, "The same for Hufflepuff as well." Harry frowned and
asked, "I know Cedric was a Hufflepuff but why would it affect you so much?"
Amos sighed and replied, "It bothers me because both I and my wife were
Hufflepuffs and met and fell in love inside of that house.” He paused, inwardly
grimacing and knowing what he said next would leave Cedric less than pleased.
He continued, “But that is not the only reason no, one if he has done what you
suspect it will mean destroying whatever belonging to Hufflepuff he has placed
a part of his soul. And finally my wife happened to be the heir and, with her
gone and Cedric being an only child now makes him the only living heir left."
Cedric noticeably faltered as he let out an angered yelp, "What! Why the hell
might I ask was I not told of this before now, say my seventeenth birthday when
I came of age and received my magic boost for example?" Amos sighed tiredly and
added, "Yes son, normally an heir receives any family headship rings outside of
his own main family name when he turns seventeen and receives his magic boost,
but I wanted to represent that headship to you on your wedding day, truly
believing you to be a man when you had a wife of your own." He concluded, "When
you marry Harry I will hand over the Hufflepuff family headship ring and, the
Diggory headship when the next Diggory heir is born."
Cedric suddenly moaned out aloud and covered his face with his hands as a very
important and valid fact just occurred to him, he voiced that fact out aloud.
"You mean to tell me that eventually three of my children will be the heirs to
three of the four founders of Hogwarts?" There were several gasps around the
table at hearing this.
Harry on the other hand looked purely incredulous as she muttered, "Well, I'll
be damned, Potter, Diggory, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and finally
Peverell. That's six in total and I am the one who has to carry and give birth
to them, damn it all to hell and back again." She and Cedric exchanged an
unreadable glance, before both cracked up, there was a noticeable hysterical
edge to their laughter all present were able to hear.
In the end instead of taking Molly and Arthur to Sirius's office and using
Veritaserum, Harry, Hermione and Ron decided to come clean about their years at
Hogwarts so far. Ron was relieved there was no Veritaserum involved meaning he
could decide what his mother and father did and did not need to know.
Molly had fumed and the rest of the Order was shocked, but that did not stop
Fred and George from joking around. "Damn you guys" Fred said and George added,
"Have been holding out" they finished together, "On us." Harry asked teasingly,
"What, were you expecting to be invited on what really when you think about it
was not planned and half of the time even I was reluctant to go on ahead?"
Severus snorted, "Reluctant, you, oh please you are practically a magnet for
danger Potter, when does reluctance have the chance to set in once you get
involved? Once your sixth sense for danger is set off, you are in there before
anyone has the chance to stop you. And it is like a sixth sense Potter as no
one can get into that much trouble like you are known to naturally, it is
likely the Gryffindor influence in your blood more than anything else."
Harry narrowed her eyes and replied irritably, "It is not as if I deliberately
go out of my way to go looking for danger it always seems to find me whether I
want it to or not." She added, "For example first year, Voldie on the back of
Quirrell's head, or how about Quirrell letting a full grown Mountain Troll into
the damned school as a distraction tactic so he was free to go and look for
that damned stone. It is not as if I was the one who told Voldie to plant
himself like the disgusting parasite he is on the back of Quirrell's head or
told Quirrell to let that Troll in."
She shook her head and added, "Three headed dogs named Fluffy, oh and trust me
if he seriously thought that name would make that beast seem friendly then
Hagrid surely got his wires crossed and is in for a major disappointment." She
rolled her eyes as she heard snorts from most of the Weasley siblings, and even
Severus could not help but smirk slightly at her comment either. It was true,
what had Hagrid been thinking when he gave that three headed beast the
unfortunate and inappropriate name of Fluffy?
She went on to mention, "In the Forbidden Forest serving detention after
helping remove a Norwegian Ridgeback by the name of Norberta out of the country
without being seen, which I am certain that brings back memories for Charlie."
Charlie smirked and nodded knowingly, it did bring back memories and Norberta
was thriving in the right living conditions in Romania at that moment,
receiving the correct care she required to remain healthy.
Severus hissed, "You mean to actually tell me that Draco had told the truth
when he had said there had been a dragon involved?" Harry could not help the
smirk that curved her lips as she replied, "Oh naturally and, the beauty of it
is that he still received detention along with Hermione, Ron and I for being
out of our dorms after curfew." She snorted, "The coward bolted as soon as he
caught the first glimpse of Voldie drinking from that poor Unicorn. Oh but not
to worry Professor, the asshat had company during his very speedy retreat, Fang
was right after him."
Severus' jaw clenched he hated how she mocked his godson; it reminded him of
himself and James Potter. Harry caught onto this fact and knew that Severus
being the spy he is could easily conceal his emotions, though was deciding not
to in this case." She shrugged and said, "I apologise Professor if my evident
disgust for Malfoy bothers you, but it is not going to change anytime soon if
ever."
She added, “Besides if you’re thinking what I think you are, then this is not
the same as you and my dad. I am not a bully; Malfoy is more of a bully than I
ever could be. Nor is he a victim in anyway shape of form like you kind of was
when it came to my dad’s behaviour towards you.” She finally sighed, "Please
Professor try to think about it from my prospective here."
Severus gritted out, "Oh, and how so Potter?" Harry replied entirely
unapologetically, "Malfoy is an asshole, spoilt little arrogant brat, all of
which you have falsely accused me of being." She added disgustedly, "Let's
compare shall we?" She continued at Severus' nod. "I verses Malfoy on the
repulsive term Mudblood. A term he is more than content to throw about as if it
were the most positive and loving of compliments you could pay to another
person. Never ever would I use such a repugnant name on another being whether
they are alive or dead, makes no difference to me."
She continued, "He grew up with parents, a mother who I do not have much
information on, but I suspect if she is like any other mother out there she
would protect her son at all costs." She sneered as she added, "On the other
hand, Lucius Malfoy, now there is a classical example of majorly bad parenting
skills for you." She snorted in disgust, "A man who has raised his son to
believe in the pathetic crap that is pureblood supremacy, who thinks it is
ethical and correct to teach his son that it is his right to call another being
such a revolting name as Mudblood."
She let out a mocking laugh as she added, "A man who prides himself on being
pure, yet unknowingly is serving and bowing down and licking the boots of a
manic who is in fact a half blood, who has a muggle father.” She appeared
almost gleeful as continued, “The best part is that he has most likely groomed
his son from the cradle to serve that manic and, unknowing his teachings and
gospels of pureblood supremacy have all been for nothing as he follows and is
forced to bow and kiss the hem of the robes of a half blood lunatic."
She stared Severus down bluntly as she told him, "Speaking of pureblood
supremacy, how much would you like to wager Professor if I were to compare your
magic levels and talent to say Lucius Malfoy, I reckon you would as a half
blood outshine his pureblood in every way." She added at Severus' look of mild
surprise, "Or how about if you were to say compare Voldie and I verses Lucius
and Bellatrix, oh I'd wager you even would see and agree that they would not
even be able to make even the smallest of dents in either Voldie or my magic
individually never mind combined. We are both half blood, he with a muggle
father and I a muggle born witch for a mother."
She frowns as a thought suddenly occurs to her, "Come to think of it are we
completely certain my mother did not come from a line of squibs. I mean think
about it she was a descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw, who was a pureblood witch,
how the hell does my mum being a muggle born even work?" Severus looked
honestly surprised she had thought of such a fact, which Harry found more than
mildly insulting to say the least. What did he think she was brainless no
substance, he really did not know the first thing about her it was highly
insulting.
Albus looked thoughtful and said, "I agree, your mother having been a
descendant of a pureblood witch means there is no way she could have been
magical with only muggle descendants following the pureblood of Rowena
Ravenclaw." He added, "I would say in the very least your mother was a half
blood who received her magic after the magic in the bloodline was not strong
enough and passed many generations before becoming strong enough over the past
generations building gradually to finally resurface in your mother."
Severus added, "With your mother having muggle parents, or in the case of your
grandfather Evans so it would seem from a long line of squibs and, never
revealing her relation to Rowena Ravenclaw, that it stands to reason others
assumed she was a muggle born due to knowing no better and seeing no evidence
to the contrary."
Harry frowned as she asks, "What about Aunt Petunia and Dudley?" Severus
scowled as he replied, "They are from the same bloodline, but I highly suspect
Petunia is a squib like her father was, who has married a muggle who hates
magic as much as she does, who have passed that hate onto their son. I would
honestly be surprised if your cousin ever produces a magical child. That child
would have to marry a witch or wizard who in the very least is a half blood."
Harry nodded before saying, "Anyhow where was I, oh yes I remember, we were
discussing I verses Malfoy." Severus scowled at her, which only deepened when
Harry merely raised a brow, reminding him of Cornelia much to his annoyance.
She reminded him a lot of Cornelia he was noting since she had stumbled out of
the fireplace and into the kitchen where she had proceeded to show Albus he was
manipulating the wrong witch.
She continued as if Severus had not scowled darkly at her. "I pretty much
covered year one if you do not include Malfoy goading Neville into the hospital
wing during our first flying lesson. Malfoy trying to get Hermione, Ron and I
in trouble all year long especially at the beginning when he challenged us to a
wizards duel yet never showed up and we almost end up caught by Flitch and Mrs
Norris."
She sighed and added, "There was not much he could do in our second year except
for calling Hermione a mudblood and pissing me off on the Quidditch pitch when
he bought his way onto the Slytherin team by having daddy dearest buying the
whole team Nimbus 2001 brooms. He never got in on pure talent he had to buy his
way in and is not that good as a Seeker, I would still beat him even if I could
not fly as good as I do. The only way he has any hope in hell of beating me
would be if he cheated."
She added even as Severus scowled again, yet could not rightly dispute what she
had said unfortunately as much as he would like to have. "But the main offence
for me that year was when he unknowingly exposed my not so little reptile
problem when the little shithead conjured that snake and set it loose on me
during that apology of a wizards duel. Malfoy I am certain has the knowledge of
how to duel thanks to his father most likely, but he is even more hot headed
then I am and during our duel was quick to anger when I sent his ass flying
halfway across the platform."
She suddenly scowled darkly giving Severus a run for his Galleons when next she
mentioned Malfoy's antics of third year. “That little bastard would make fun of
me and pretend to swoon when he found out I had a fainting spell on the
Hogwarts express when first exposed to the Dementors. I wonder if that waste of
human flesh and blood would think it amusing if he ever found out what happens
when I am near and exposed to the Dementors.”
She snarled truly incensed as she added, “How about the fact I can hear my
parents last moments on that night of Halloween 81. I hear my father pleading
with my mother to take me and save ourselves while he stayed behind and fought
Voldemort. Or my mother crying and pleading with that heartless lunatic, 'Not
Harry, please not Harry, take me instead'."
Severus could not help but pale at hearing that having honestly no idea Potter
heard something as horrific as that night back in 81 every time exposed to the
Dementors. Sirius and Remus looked ill, while everyone else appeared caught
between horror and sympathy. Cedric said in a horrified tone, "Oh Merlin, no
wonder you always displayed issues with the Dementors, is it really any wonder
you fall to pieces if you are hearing that every time you are exposed to them?"
Harry merely shrugged and said, "I do not want that piece of information leaked
to anyone, Merlin forbid Voldie ever caught wind of that."
She clapped her hands together and said, "Anyhow, back to Malfoy. How about
that little bastard almost getting Hagrid fired and Buckbeak executed, beheaded
at that? I hated him for that in fact it was the start of me truly hating him
and not just a young school boy scrap and juvenile dislike, but full on proper
hate." She paused, shook her head and asked incredulously, "What did the blonde
little prat think would happen if he mocked a creature as proud as a Hippogriff
is what I want to know?"
She snorted as she moved onto fourth year, "Fourth year, I wanted to so
desperately beat the crap out of him every time he mentioned his father in any
context, which was far too often in my opinion, the little tosser needs to
learn how to fight his own battles instead of relying on his father." She
added, "Oh then he started that juvenile bullshit with the flashing Potter
stinks badges, hardly one of his glowing personality highlighting moments if I
do say so myself."
She smirked deviously, "The entire highlighting moment for me, when he was at
his best and most glowing was when Crouch Jr. Transfigured him into a ferret, a
bouncing albino ferret. It truly was a brilliant memory for me, almost strong
enough to be used as a Patronus memory, yet not quite unfortunately." This
caused Severus to scowl furiously; she was being vicious now, truly vicious.
Ron and the twins sniggered in knowing delight, enjoying just how vicious she
was being in regards to Malfoy Jr. who all hated him and the Senior Malfoy.
She then snarled as she covered fifth year next, "Fifth year, the way he would
suck up to Umbitch made my blood boil and was enough to set my teeth on edge.
That little prat spied on us and told Umbitch about the room of requirement,
even if Marietta Edgecombe was who ratted us out about the DA, but without
Malfoy telling Umbitch where the room was, Edgecombe telling her of the DA she
still would not have found us. So no Edgecombe only played a small role and
made Malfoy's job much easier."
She eyed Severus and said, "Sixth year Professor, he hexed me and left me with
a bloody nose and placed me in a full body bind on the train. Fortunately
enough for me he is not powerful to the point that I was not able to fight off
the hex, which is why I was late to dinner that year." She added gravely, "Both
you and I know how that year eventually ended between Malfoy and myself, in
fact you were unfortunate enough to have a front row seat to the bloody mess
that was Malfoy after I was foolish enough to cast a curse and had no idea what
it did."
She concluded, "I loathe the fact the Malfoy's flaunt their wealth in front of
everyone, or even how they mock the Weasley's or anyone they do not deem worthy
of being in their snobby all high and mighty presence. Anyone who actually has
to work, scrimp and save to actually make ends meet is considered lower than
dirt, I am so sick of it."
Sirius snorted and commented, "Oh how I would love to see that stuck up peacock
family if they ever discovered that the Potter's are richer than the Blacks and
Malfoys combined. Ha or all of the ancestors you have, I mean ha three of the
four founders of Hogwarts once you marry Cedric. And not to forget to mention
all of those seats on the Wizengamot and of course all of those properties all
over the world and, your stocks and shares in companies all over the wizarding
and muggle world."
Severus inwardly cringed at the thought of Lucius and Draco's reactions if they
ever caught wind of that information. They would try to get in on a piece of
her wealth, especially as the Malfoy, Nott and Parkinson fortunes could only
last so long with the way the Dark Lord used funds and the families themselves
spent it as well. Severus could even see Lucius trying to get Draco to marry
Potter and when the Dark Lord supposedly killed her, they would take her wealth
and everything else she owned.
Severus said, "Wrong Black that is something Potter does not need or want to
happen under any circumstances." Harry asked, "What do you mean, not that I
want them knowing of course?" Severus replied, "Because Potter whatever funds
the Dark Lord does not spend the Malfoy's, Nott's and Parkinson's will." He
added, "And with the rate he and they spend those Galleons I do strongly doubt
any of it will last long enough for either the Malfoy, Nott or Parkinson heirs
to produce an heir of their own."
Sirius said, "In other words he is rapidly bleeding those families dry in more
ways than one." Severus nodded in agreement, "Exactly Black." He added, "The
only reason the Prince fortune and assets are safe, left to me by my
grandfather, is because I never mentioned the existence of Prince manor or the
comfortably sized fortune that comes with the name either." He added, "In a
certain light the fact those assets and the vault that come with the name were
frozen by The Ministry as they are under the impression I am still a full time
and loyal Death Eater and not a spy for The Order, which is somewhat of a
blessing in disguise."
Albus joined in on the conversation and said, "Only until we get rid of the
threat and the end of the war and, if that happens once I am gone, then I will
leave proof with Minerva and a solicitor by the name of Robert Sladden. They
should be able to prove your spying status for The Order and have your name
cleared and all of the Prince assets restored to you where they rightfully
belong my boy." Albus owed that to the younger wizard after all he endured he
knew he did.
Severus reluctantly nodded and replied, "It is all I can really ask for,
eventually I want that headship ring, but not for myself for Sebastian at some
point." Sirius said, "I get the reason why you want your son to have the Prince
assets and headship ring." He added, "The only reason that dark tosser has not
tried to drain the Black fortune is because I am the head of the family and
will not release any inheritances as long as any Black serves that psychopath."
He sneered, "Hell, he does not need any more funds to fund this bloody soul
draining war he has started for a second time."
Harry snorted, "Too bloody right he does not, ha there is no way in hell that
murdering bastard will ever get any funds or help from me. I would never dream
of insulting my family and ancestors who left that money by allowing their hard
earned Galleons to be spent on anything even remotely connected to the dark
arts and cause responsible for the deaths of my parents and my grandparents on
both sides." She sneered, "Even Arthur and Mrs. Weasley's brothers were all
killed in the first war. My godmother and her husband were tortured until they
were broken and their sanity snapped. That lunatic and this war have taken far
too much from me, Merlin be damned will I fund it to."
Harry looked truly tired as she turned to Albus and said, "I need to train
during my seventh year, there might not be a chance once I've graduated, hell
who knows when the final battle will happen or where it will take place." She
added, "The area of study I want to concentrate on is Transfiguration, DADA,
Medical Potions and Charms, and of course I will need to learn more extensive
spells, hexes and even curses." She paused before adding, "Hand to hand combat
or other physical defence appeals to as I cannot just rely on magic alone." She
continued after a brief pause, "Besides leaning self defence and extra training
will only lead to sharper reflexes and much faster response time."
She concluded, "I am willing to buckle down and learn Occlumency and
Legilimency, I need to shield my mind from Voldie and others I do not want or
need inside of my head. Who knows what information someone could be looking for
and choose how to use that information could be disastrous. If anyone looked
inside of my head and found out about the Horcruxes who is to say they would
not report back to Voldie and he then find a way to secure what is left of the
Horcruxes meaning we would never have a hope in hell of destroying him and
ending this war for good."
Severus could not help but scoff remembering all too well what had happened
during their first attempt at teaching Harry about Occlumency during her fifth
year. "How do you plan on going about that Potter when you obviously could not
accomplish it during your fifth year, so what is so different this time, what
makes you think you will succeed and have what it takes to buckle down and
learn?"
Harry replied, "Fare enough I did not properly apply myself, but Professor I
did not know of the prophecy or the Horcruxes back then, I had no real
incentive except for the fact Voldie was messing around inside of my head at
the time." She added, "But the fact of the matter is that if I am to have any
children then I point blank refuse to have them enter into a war torn world
where they could be snuffed out of existence without any real warning just for
sake of being my children."
She added, "I am so tired Professor, something which I am certain you too can
understand and relate all too well." She paused before adding at his silent
nod, "I want to be able to walk anywhere at any time in the wizarding or muggle
world without a guard trailing my every step. I want to sit in the sun with
Cedric and my family and watch as my children play, safe in the knowledge that
no harm will come to them, that I would never allow it."
She looked sadly at Severus as she told him, "I want a world where you do not
have to risk your life constantly and have to put on an act. I have a feeling
that we are only seeing one side. Everyone has a darker side to them, yet I
wager yours is on display twenty-four seven, you cannot switch it off, cannot
afford to switch it off if you do not want to be discovered and end up dead.”
She pause to frown before continuing, “If you end up dead, then the order loses
its spy, though in my opinion it is not the important reason most of all. You
need to survive, you have a son waiting for the day he can have a proper
relationship with his father, no matter what he says or how he acts towards
you."
She continued to add, "Professor Leighton she cares for you despite the spats
between you. Oh and before you ask how I know she does, well, she is not a
trained spy like you are, meaning she cannot conceal what she feels as well as
you are able. When compared to you and your skill at concealing your thoughts
and feelings she is like an open book, at least to me she is."
Severus frowned and asked, "What are you getting at here Potter, Leighton hates
my guts?" Harry shook her head and replied, "No, I do not believe she does."
She smiled sadly as she told him, "When she thinks that no one can see her I
have seen her give you brief glances I have only ever seen Arthur and Mrs.
Weasley or Remus and Tonks exchange before. That is the look of a person who
loves and is deeply afraid for that other person's safety."
She grimaced and added, "We are at war and whether we will end up under attack
without any warning is never certain. Besides, Professor Leighton has even more
to fear on that front with you being a spy and in the main thick of things
whenever you are called to a meeting or a raid."
She concluded firmly, "But mainly I need you to survive this war because you
have saved my life so many times and risked your life for this Order. You never
ask for anything in return, meaning it is more than high time that you received
something back. I mean really, I suspect some days you forget where the spy who
risks his life and has more to lose then even he is aware of and, the man who
deep down wants to be able to relax and let his guard down and love his son
begins and ends."
Severus opened his mouth to speak, but Harry beat him to it and said, "Oh and
before you verbally blast me Professor, claiming I know nothing and just as
arrogant as my worthless father then let me tell you this, I am not my father.
I do not appreciate being compared to my father and venom spat at me for things
he did to you before I was even born. No Professor, I am not my father
especially now I have changed back."
She shook her head and told him, "Oh I know more about you then you think, I am
more observant then you could imagine me to be. I mean honestly I have to be;
only Merlin knows how many of the brats of Death Eaters that psychopath has got
spying on me and reporting back to him."
Severus could not hide his surprise faced with hard to swallow evidence that
Potter was evidently more observant then he had first thought her to be. She
was correct children of Death Eaters were spying on her, Malfoy and Parkinson
to name only a few. The fact Potter had spotted and was onto them meant it
would not be long before she started keeping check of her words and actions
when not in private, which in turn meant no information and a furious Dark
Lord.
Harry snorted as she read his expression for what it was and commented blandly,
"Malfoy and Parkinson are nowhere near as subtle as they probably like to think
they are." She sneered, "Nor are Michael Corners and Justin Finch-Fletchley,
both who are DA members. I have no idea what they are up to, but Corners
started as soon as Ginny and I started dating. Justin on the other hand has
always been off with me since second year for obvious reasons, but he has
gotten even stranger since fifth year."
Albus asked, "You think those two are spying on you and involved with
Voldemort?" Harry replied, "I have no idea, I suspect Corners does not like me
because of Ginny, but then again she dated Dean Thomas after him and before me,
yet I do not see him look at Dean the way he does me. Hell I did not even have
to be seen with Ginny for him to be giving me glances and watching me." She
paused before adding, "As for Justin, well he always believed I turned that
snake on him no matter how I protested otherwise that I would never do such a
thing."
Severus asked, "What makes you think they are spying on you. Did it not ever
occur to you that Mr. Corners is jealous of you and your former relationship
with Miss Weasley, and you have just not noticed whether he has been giving Mr.
Thomas the same looks? Or perhaps he watches for some other reason that is not
sinister, you cannot know in less you confront him over it Potter." He added,
"As for Mr. Finch-Fletchley, you have already pointed out yourself he never
forgave you or believed that you never set that snake on him, it sounds as if
he is still holding a grudge for that incident back in your second year."
Harry replied, "Fare enough, you do make more than a few reasonable points,
I'll give you that. Through answer me this Professor, why during DA meetings
they practically track my every move and exchange these unreadable glances with
the other as if silently communicating something when not practicing spells or
they thought I was unaware of them and their attention on me?"
She added, "Or how about I have seen them watching me during lessons or try to
stand nearby that they do not think they are drawing anyone's attention to them
and try to listen in on my conversations with Hermione and Ron. I have even
caught them watching me when I have spoken to you or even The Headmaster and
Professor McGonagall."
Severus frowned and said, "I will look into that Potter, even if only to prove
this war is making you paranoid." Harry scoffed, "Oh and it has not you
Professor you are on your second war after all?" Severus scowled yet knew she
was right, he could not help but feel paranoia in certain aspects; he had been
a spy for so long that the weariness and paranoia could blind side him from
time to time no matter how briefly, before getting himself under control
rapidly before anyone would notice.
Harry said, "I would not blame or think any less of you if that was the case. I
wager there is many in the room who from time to time feel bouts of
understandable paranoia. Hell this is war and many wait to be stabbed in the
back by those they thought they could trust to not betray them." She laughed
bitterly and added, "With people like Malfoy and Corners is it truly any wonder
that the strains of this war are starting to give me bouts of paranoia."
She sobered and added, "Of all the things I have been forced to see happen
inside of his head, Death Eater meetings for example." She shivered slightly
and continued, "I see him placing his followers under the Cruciatus Curse,
Professor Snape unfortunately one of them, meaning it is really no wonder he is
more than a tad prickly the morning after meetings. I have been placed under
that curse and understand it would give anyone more than a prickly nature if
placed under its effects often enough."
She concluded, "Those horrific scenes I have seen, especially after sixth year
make me desperate to buckle down and learn. This also means I am giving up my
Quidditch captaincy and remain as a reserve only if I am truly needed to play,
I no longer have the time nor is it my first priority anymore there is much
more going on that is more important than a game. I need to concentrate on
getting ready to face Voldie and work towards becoming a Mediwitch and maybe
later on get my healers license too."
Hermione and Ron both looked sick yet for entirely different reasons. Ron
because he knew the house team would end up slaughtered without Harry has their
seeker. Hermione on the other hand wondered just what Harry was seeing that
would make her want to buckle down as desperately as she sounded. Truly, what
could be so grave that she would be willing to give up being on the Quidditch
team, Hermione knew how Harry loved to fly how it was freeing for her.
Ron looked horrified as he exclaimed, "Merlin Harry, we will be slaughtered
without you; it’s are last year and chance to get the Quidditch cup." Some
people actually gasped while others shot him looks of disbelief. Harry and
Hermione shot him looks of disgust, Hermione went as far as to slap him around
the back of his head none too gently. Hermione never allowed herself to commit
any violent acts, but what Ron had said was far too much for the witch to help
or hold herself back.
Before Mrs. Weasley or anyone else could tear a strip out of the red haired
wizard Harry hissed from between clenched teeth, "For Merlin's sake get your
damn priorities straight Ron. Here you are worried about not winning the
Quidditch cup, yet people are out there being killed right left and centre,
whole families being slaughtered all because he can and enjoys it." She added
growling, "Tell me Ron what will it take for you to wake up and realise we are
at war and there are more important things going on than Quidditch, a Merlin
damned game?"
She looked truly incensed as she snarled, "What will it take, how about you're
entirely family slaughtered, Fred and George trapped inside of their store as
it gets blown sky high!?" She banged her hand down on the table making some
flinch, Ron one of those people. Harry sneered, "Or maybe Bill, Charlie and
even your father all killed during a Death Eater raid." She shuddered as she
added, "Or perhaps it will take your mother and your baby sister being tortured
and sexually assaulted before killed. Is that what it will take to give you the
obvious wake up call you are evidently lacking here Ronald Weasley?"
Ron looked as if he had been slapped and hard and was bright Weasley red due to
fury and shame. Hermione was in tears yet was nodding in wholehearted agreement
and asked tearfully, "Yes Ronald what will it take for you to grow up finally
and realise there is more pressing and desperately urgent matters than a game
of Quidditch?" Hermione and Harry exchanged a tearfully angered glance, hardly
believing they put up with this childish idiot.
Harry blinked back tears as she told him, "You would never dared to of dreamed
of asking me what you just have if you had even the remotest idea of what I
have seen happen inside of his head. What I have seen him say and do to a good
man who deserves so much more than he has ever been given." A single tear
trailed down her cheek as she continued, "Did it ever once occur to you that
the man you call a greasy git and dungeon bat is the one who risks his life to
gather information for this Order every single fucking day? He never asks for
anything in return, not even sympathy, compassion or just something as simple
as respect he is more than passed due."
She sighed as she went on, "You are not the only one in this room or at
Hogwarts who has sneered and looked down on him, I to unfortunately had been
one of those people. At least I was until I realised who it was who has kept me
safe and alive, sometimes even going as far to risk his own life to do it." She
swallowed hard and concluded, "The things I have seen done and said to him
deeply shame me. He deserves our respect even if we only show it in the
smallest of ways so his cover is not blown."
Severus was rigid in his seat as he eyed Harry in disbelief and watched as she
wiped away a tear. He noticed Granger-Black, Miss and Mrs. Weasley wiping away
tears. He had no idea Potter felt that way, yes he had noticed she had
distanced and gave him less trouble after the incident when she had cursed
Draco. He had just never realised it was anything like this; it had not even
begun to cross his mind. He realised with sudden stark clarity that what he had
just seen was not James Potter, but Lily shining right out of her. He had no
idea that a similar thought had crossed the minds of Sirius and Remus, Remus
more so than Sirius.
Hermione cleared her throat and asked, "If you do not mind me asking, but what
is it you see to make you so desperate to buckle down when even the fake
visions of Sirius being tortured could not do that? No offence but its true
Harry." Harry replied, "None taken, as you have just said it's true after all."
She paused to gather her thoughts before she said, "Before I say what only
Cedric, Sirius, Remus and Professors Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall and
finally Madame Pomfrey know, I could really use a drink and I do not mean
pumpkin juice or another Butterbeer either."
Sirius without saying anything summoned a full extra large bottle of
Firewhiskey from one of the kitchen cupboards. Remus asked, "Who wants some,
apart from Ginny who is underage and can have a calming draught if she needs it
after we're done?" Mrs. Weasley asked in evident alarm, "What could possibly be
so bad that you are offering alcohol, alcohol as strong as Firewhiskey and
Ginny a calming draught?" She did not like where this was currently going,
especially Harry needing to drink strong alcohol before she revealed something.
Severus answered, "It is bad Mrs. Weasley especially if Potter mentions one
particular incident from last year." Harry nodded, "Yeah that's one why else
would I ask for something stronger than Butterbeer or pumpkin juice before
revealing anything?" Cedric paled and asked, "Just exactly how much detail are
you going to use as I only know it happened and not in any great detail?" Harry
replied, "As much as I can stand, hence the need for a strong drink." Cedric
visibly grimaced and gestured to the bottle and said, "In that case count me in
Remus." Remus returned the grimace and nodded knowingly.
Severus nodded and said, "Me to Lupin, I was there and saw it happen, but even
I do not feel comfortable discussing this one either. I have seen and done a
lot, things that would give many of you nightmares, yet this one was vile and
inconceivable even by my standards seeing as it involved such a young child, a
really young child at that. It was not just this time, but many other incidents
over the years, though this one especially makes it impossible for me to forget
what a monster the Dark Lord is without even having to try."
In the end before it began everyone except for Mrs. Weasley and Ginny accepted
two fingers full of Firewhiskey. Mrs. Weasley refused to accept any alcohol
regardless of how bad what Harry revealed would be. Harry took a small sip of
her whiskey barely wincing at the burn that traveled down her throat,
especially when she had been under the Cruciatus curse the burn from the
Firewhiskey was nothing in comparison.
Hermione noticeably winced and asked, "How are you not reacting more to the
burn Harry?" Harry shrugged as she replied, "When you have been subjected to
the Cruciatus curse the burn from Firewhiskey is hardly anything in comparison
or to split hairs over." Severus snorted, "Too bloody right that is Potter."
Harry returned the snort before taking another sip before she added, "Besides,
compared to the pain I have felt over the years the burn from the whiskey is
more than welcome.” Severus nodded and said, “True Potter all too true that
is."
Harry took one more sip before forcing and bracing herself to begin. "First of
all the things I have seen happen, seen him do this his followers, hell seen
him allow his followers to do to each other is enough to turn my stomach and
afterwards have featured in some of my worst nightmares to date." She closed
her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing, "For example one of the
female Death Eaters failed to gather information and capture the witch and
wizard Voldie had ordered her and a male Death Eater to bring to him alive.
They failed and were punished for it and, believe me when I say what was done
to them gives a whole new and warped meaning to the term punishment."
She paused to take another sip from her glass before continuing, "How might you
ask did he punish them for their failure?" She stared down at the glass in her
hand and studied the dark coloured amber liquid as she revealed, "The female
Death Eater was tortured first by Voldie under the Cruciatus curse for at least
five minutes before he lifted it and the more she screamed until she was hoarse
the more satisfied and deranged Voldie become."
Harry grimaced her disgust was very much evident for all to see. She next
revealed, "If that was not enough all of the male Death Eaters except for the
one being punished, took turns brutally raping her, while Bellatrix cast
cutting hexes at her chest, her thighs and even one right between her legs
after her husband was the last to pull out of the other witch." She took a
large sip of the whiskey before adding, "The insane lunatic bitch cast a curse
that seemed to cause the skin between her legs to become inflamed and break out
in huge blistering boils, I imagine that woman must have been in pure
unimaginable agony."
She breathed in deeply before letting it out and concluding, "To finish her off
Bellatrix flayed her alive, which was what finally killed the other witch.
Thank Merlin for her sake that she was already dead, seeing as soon as the
other Death Eaters stepped back from her was when Voldie allowed Nagini to eat
her remains, swallowing her whole. Regardless that she was a Death Eater no one
deserved to die at Bellatrix's hand as she had and be ate by a huge fucking
viper"
I few people gagged, while others gasped in horror, but most drank from their
glasses. Severus took a huge swallow from his glass before he said, "I was not
present for that meeting I had been brewing certain potions needed for some
ritual he was going to conduct during the next meeting, which I was called for
to give the potions to him." It really was just as well he was not present for
that meeting seeing as watching women and children tortured and raped was
enough to make Severus ill. He truly loathed that part of being a Death Eater
even when he had been an actual Death Eater and not a spy.
Harry nodded before taking another sip of her whiskey. She lowered her glass
and said, "As for the male Death Eater, well, they beat him brutally, broke all
ten fingers and toes. Lestrange Bellatrix's husband poured all over his back
what I suspect had been some form of flesh eating potion, which made the skin
and muscles disintegrate revealing bones, muscle and gore." She concluded
around a sickened grimace, "He was not as lucky as the witch to be dead before
fed to Nagini. No, he was very much alive after having his kneecaps blown away
with the Bombarda charm. So yes he unfortunately was very much aware he was
being swallowed whole buy a huge fucking viper."
Harry finished off the last of her whiskey in her glass before wandlessly
summoning the bottle to her before topping up her glass with more whiskey then
was strictly decent, but no one commented not even Mrs. Weasley or Minerva and
Hermione. Harry levitated the bottle over to Severus and said, "Top up, you'll
need it, you know what I am about to say next and, were there for that meeting
and I know you hate it when you have to watch women and children being harmed.
I know this because I have seen those meetings and you were particularly
venomous the morning after that meeting I am about to mention, not that I
honestly blame you for that."
Severus nodded and topped up his glass knowing Potter was right he had been
especially venomous that following morning after that unfortunate meeting. He
had made more than a few first even a few sixth years burst into tears that
morning and when compared to the first years to make sixth year students react
in a similar fashion had to be saying something extreme. Through it had to be
said what had happened to Potter by no means helped cool his anger, but had
only ignited it even further when she had end up in the hospital wing for two
days under sedation after that meeting.
Harry explained at everyone's questioning glances, "He was there for that
meeting, plus that was when I end up in the hospital wing for two days
afterwards." She grimaced deeply and added, "It was bad to the point that I was
traumatized and had to remain under sedation for two days straight and, even
after that I was a complete wreck for months afterwards and nearly became
addicted to Dreamless Sleep potions. Professor Snape was the one who helped
wean me off them. Even now I try to avoid stronger doses of that potion and
only use a weak variety brewed by Professor Snape as a desperate absolute last
resort if everything else fails."
There were gasps of horror and, Hermione exclaimed tearfully, "Oh god Harry why
did you never say anything, Ron and I could have helped you." Ron nodded and
added, "We would have been there for you, we knew it was sometimes bad to the
point that your scar would bleed and pained you, but never anything like that
Harry." Harry grimaced and replied, "I could not tell you, I felt so violated
and ashamed and did not want you two to have to know what I had seen."
Mrs. Weasley asked, "What did you see dear that left you feeling violated and
ashamed and you almost completely become dependent on Dreamless Sleep and
Severus had to wean you off them?" Harry exchanged a knowing glance with
Severus who nodded and said, "Put it this way Mrs. Weasley, it involved that
damned viper and a young little girl no more than possibly three or four years
of age." Mrs. Weasley gasped in horror, placing a hand over her mouth and
looked dreadfully ill as her mind went over several scenarios of what could
have happened, each more terrifying than the one before it.
Harry cleared her throat before taking a huge sip from her glass and then
revealed, "Voldie had this muggle family brought to the meeting from one of the
muggle raids, a man, his wife, and their daughter." She added, "Both Professor
Snape and Lucius Malfoy never took part."
Severus spoke up and said, "This may come as a shock to you all, but Lucius
cannot stomach harming really young children, such as was this child that
night. He will watch yes, but will not take part, and because he is the Dark
Lord's right hand man he is allowed to do this." He paused before adding, "As
for me, he knows I do not enjoy it either, yet lets me get away with it because
he values my work in front of a cauldron and because I always force myself to
take part when it is a male being tortured. I do not enjoy it, but rather
another man than a woman or child."
The others nodded realising where he was coming from, Severus might act like a
bastard, hell is one for that matter, but he was by no means a monster, even
Sirius could see and admit this. He was by no means a fan but he could
understand Snape and his reasoning behind torturing another man compared to a
defenceless woman or a child. He was surprised to hear the same said for Malfoy
when it came to young children.
Harry drank from her glass again before she continued, "Anyhow as I have
already mentioned he had a muggle family from the raid that same night, a raid
I also saw. That was one hell of a long night and one of my absolute worst to
date." She took another huge swallow of whiskey before adding, "He had all
three under the Cruciatus for well over five minutes, the man first followed by
the woman and finally the little girl. It was as if Voldie took sick pleasure
in making the parents beg and plead for him to stop making their daughter
scream and cry out in agony."
Harry far too lost in her memories to notice Hermione, Ginny and the other
woman were in tears, even McGonagall. She continued as if in some sort of
trance, "After he released the Cruciatus from the little girl was when the
scene turned truly sinister." She clenched and unclenched her hands around her
glass, her knuckles were stark white, yet had enough sense to let go of the
glass before it cracked under the pressure.
"Next the woman and man were tortured, he had left the little girl alone, I
suppose he was saving her for last as some kind of sick treat for her parents."
Harry revealed, her tone emotionless much to the alarm of most, Severus
included. She continued in the same tone, everyone could see a truly haunted
look in her green eyes, which had dulled as she remembered that night in vivid
detail, far too vividly for her peace of mind without the Firewhiskey.
"First Bellatrix placed a full body bind on the man and the woman, while
another Death Eater held the child still. It was then that Bellatrix raped the
man making sure his wife and daughter had a perfect view of her violating him."
She added, "In case anyone was wondering how the hell he was able to get an
erection, especially after being tortured under the Cruciatus, well, Bellatrix
cast some spell that forced him to have an erection against his will."
She drank some more before adding, "Next was the woman, Lucius did take part in
this, but not Professor Snape." Severus gritted out, "No, it was me who held
the child in place, the Dark Lord insisted if I was not going to take part,
though I did cast a few curses on the man nothing more." Everyone watched as he
took a long swallow of whiskey before reaching for the bottle and topped up his
glass then levitated the bottle in Harry's direction; she gratefully accepted
it and topped her own glass once more.
Harry and Severus both drank deeply from their glasses before Harry reluctantly
continued and Severus made himself remain in his seat and listen. "Lucius,
Nott, the Lestrange brothers, Macnair, Crabbe and Goyle and four other male
Death Eaters raped the woman one after the other" Harry angrily gritted. She
added, "Bellatrix sent cutting hexes at both the man and woman, on their faces
and their privates. She even sent some really dark curse at the woman's
stomach; I do not know what it was."
Severus gritted out darkly, "It was a dark curse, which destroys the womb,
uterus, and ovaries, making the woman infertile if she had survived." He added,
"It's a favourite of hers, she is infertile after she slept with the Dark Lord,
but his DNA and sperm is so messed up after all the rituals he has performed on
himself that Bellatrix nearly haemorrhaged to death during the birth. The child
was not compatible with her body and end up deformed and still born." He paused
after drinking from his glass. He added, "She cannot have children, meaning she
takes extra pleasure torturing women with that curse. If she cannot have
children then no other woman on the receiving end of that curse will either."
He concluded, "At the moment the Dark Lord is researching for a way to return
him to his original body and correct his DNA to the point he can have an heir
without the child being still born and deformed. He wants an heir to carry on
the Slytherin bloodline, a male heir at that. He could honestly care less for
whoever the mother turns out to be just as long as she is a magically powerful
witch, beautiful and has wealth and influence."
There was several yells of protest, horror and disgust. Harry looked as if she
was going to be violently sick, Severus could honestly not blame her, it made
him feel sick to his stomach at the thought of anyone forced to carry the Dark
Lords offspring, not every witch out there was a psychopath and in love with
him like Bellatrix. He could not help but wonder how messed up in the head that
woman was at this point after all the years of service to the Dark Lord and her
lengthy stint in Azkaban on top.
Harry cringed and snarled, "Not if I sure as hell can help it he will not."
Severus visibly grimaced as he said, "I truly dread the thought of him
discovering that you are a witch, need I say more Potter?" There was even
louder exclamations of horror and disgust and Cedric spat, "You do not actually
mean he would try to impregnate Harry with his disgusting spawn do you?"
Severus raised a brow, but it was Albus who answered, "Yes Mr. Diggory that is
exactly what he means. Truly think about the immense raw magic and talent this
child would have." He shook his head and added gravely, "The wizarding world
would never survive if that child ever ended up like Tom, if it even existed
period and Tom had the chance to corrupt it."
Harry upturned the glass quickly draining the whiskey before refilling it. No
one commented her reaction was very understandable; anyone would be compelled
to drink after hearing that. Harry snarled turning bright red in disgusted
fury, "Screw that! That foul psychotic creature is not going to get the chance,
over my dead body." She added around a furious growl, "Another reason he and
his followers need to be eradicated, to hell with sending them to Azkaban,
that's far too good for the likes of them."
She shook as she seethed in pure fury like nothing she had ever felt in her
entire life, not even the Headmaster with his manipulations could rouse this
kind of fury in her. She continued on telling them about the Death Eater
meeting, but the cold stone fury was evident behind every word spoken. "After
they finished torturing the parents they were forced to watch as Nott, Macnair
and the Lestrange brothers took turns raping the little girl, practically
ripping her little womb to shreds beyond repair. If she had survived she would
never had children, those monsters caused that much damage and trauma,
especially as she was still growing and developing and those men were fully
grown."
Many around the table looked as if they would be sick and many drank from their
glasses. Harry and Severus knew the little girl would suffer much more before
Nagini swallowed her whole. Harry added, "Unfortunately her torture did not end
there, Nott and Macnair peed all over her, even the Lestrange brothers
ejaculated all over her face and in her hair. They did all of this even as she
sobbed and her parents were forced to watch in silence as they had been placed
back in a full body bind again."
They watched as tears rapidly filled her eyes and her face scrunched up in pure
emotional agony, even Severus looked paler than normal for him as he drank from
his glass everyone noted. Harry's voice sounded raw as if she was forcing the
next words from somewhere deep and a very dark place. "Finally, Voldie ordered
Nagini to eat the little girl, she swallowed her whole and I and Professor
Snape had to watch as she screamed in terror and agony as that viper made snake
feed out of her."
She concluded, "The body bind was lifted from the parents as Nagini ate their
child whole, Voldie wanted to hear their screams and cries of terror and
heartbreak. I never wanted to kill Voldie so bad when he told Nagini that he
would preserve them once killed and that she could eat them when she had
finished digesting the child and wanted the parents. He made certain the
parents heard this before he cast the killing curse on them."
Hermione, Ginny and Cho bolted from the room while sobbing. A dreadfully ill
looking George and Bill were holding Angelina and Fleur, while Fred and Ron
stood and quickly went after Hermione and Ginny. Tonks on the other hand was
far too numb with horror to be sick or to cry as she drank deeply from her
glass. A very sick looking Cedric leaned over and took Harry into his arms; she
did not return the embrace, just sat there whilst tears silently trailed down
her sickly pale cheeks, pale underneath even her makeup.
Severus had summoned the bottle and filled his glass before standing. Sirius
surprised everyone still present when he suggested, "Take the rest of the
bottle if you want." Severus merely nodded and picked up the bottle and told
Albus he was flooing back to his rooms at Hogwarts. Albus told him they would
speak tomorrow morning, which Severus nodded in relief that he could head back
to his rooms and drink himself into a stupor.
***** Chapter Eight: Let's Buy a Newspaper Cedric, Life with the Dursley's,
Useless Wards, Harry's New Bedroom & Bathroom, Hermione Feeling Inferior, &
Mocking Lavender *****
Chapter Summary
     Harry is struck with an idea for the Daily Prophet and reveals just
     what went on at Private Drive growing up and exactly how useless the
     supposed wards for her protection in fact are. Harry sees her new
     bedroom and bathroom, while Hermione has a brief bout of envy. Harry
     enjoys mocking and letting it be known what she thinks of Lavender
     Brown.
Chapter Notes
     Here is the links for pictures of Harry's new bedroom and bathroom.
     This is what Harry's new bedroom and bathroom will look like or at
     least in my mind what I pictured some of the items in the bedroom as
     white but are ivory I also imagined all white or copper and vintage
     in the bathroom use your imagination. Also there is pictures of Artex
     used on ceilings. Let me know if there is a issue with any of the
     links:
     http://www.islandfurnitureco.com/Collections/Cezanne-French-White/
     Cezanne-Mirror-Door-Quad-Armoire-French-White
     http://www.islandfurnitureco.com/Collections/Cezanne-French-White/
     Cezanne-Dressing-Table-Stool-French-White
     http://www.islandfurnitureco.com/Collections/Cezanne-French-White/
     Cezanne-Dressing-Table-Triple-Mirror-French-White
     http://www.islandfurnitureco.com/Collections/Cezanne-French-White/
     Cezanne-4-Drawer-Chest-French-Ivory
     http://www.islandfurnitureco.com/Collections/Cezanne-French-White/
     Cezanne-Bedside-Cabinet-French-Ivory
     http://www.islandfurnitureco.com/Collections/Cezanne-French-White/
     Louis-Xv--Genevieve-7ft-Emperor-French-White
     http://www.islandfurnitureco.com/Collections/Chantilly-Ivory-
     Collection/Louis-Xv-Glazed-Bookcase?cPath=80
     http://www.rugscentre.co.uk/textures-realm-purple-rug-p-4075.html
     http://www.decorsupplies.co.uk/aubergine-121203-dazzle-stripe-muriva-
     wallpaper.html
     http://www.homebase.co.uk/
     ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10201&partNumber=075442.P
     http://www.littlewoods.com/savannah-bedding-range-plum/1438749493.prd
     http://www.havwoods.co.uk/search/havwoods-design-herringbone-blocks/
     hw048-solid-wood-flooring-unfinished-oak-wenge
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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of
this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The
movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.
 
Sirius downed the last of his drink and said, "No more Harry, I realise you are
in pain but drowning yourself in alcohol does not help in the least your
problems will still be there tomorrow." Harry emptied the last of the whiskey
in her glass and replied, "I do not want anymore anyway, I am not about to
become an alcoholic because of this damned war." Her words were not slurred,
but it was evident she had a lot to drink, her eyes had a slight glazed over
quality and her face was brightly flushed from drinking so much.
Mrs. Weasley asked, "There is a large treacle tart I made special for you, how
about a large slice with some cream to help soak up some of the whiskey dear?"
Harry merely nodded and stood up and said, "Sure, but I am going to make some
strong coffee and try to lessen some of the whiskeys influence."
Amos commented, "I am honestly amazed you can even stand and are not slurring
your words after what you just drank." Harry shrugged and replied, "I have a
fast working metabolism due to my high magic levels as Madame Pomfrey
discovered last year, which means I burn off calories faster than I could
possibly gain weight, which means I will never be overweight a day in my life,
and I assume the same must be true for alcohol. It would take an awful lot more
than I just drank to truly get me wasted."
Tonks and Fleur eyed Harry as she got up from the table. They noted how haunted
her eyes looked, eyes that told many stories even whilst her facial expression
remained blank. Angelina lifted her face from George's chest and wiped away her
tears. She eyed Harry and could see the haunted and old experienced eyes in
such a young looking face. Eyes filled with such experience and weariness that
no one with such a youthful face had any business having.
She felt ill and all she and everyone else had done had listened as Harry had
told them what she and Professor Snape had seen happening. She could not begin
to imagine what she would do and how she would cope if she had seen and not
just been told. It really was no wonder the younger witch looked so haunted and
weary down to her bones.
Amos and Cedric exchanged a worried glance, honestly never imagining that Harry
could have seen such horrors, yet still somehow managed to function normally on
a daily basis. They had no idea how she had continued to do it whilst remaining
sound of mind. Anyone of lesser strength and determination would have surely
snapped and given up at this point, but no, not Harry Potter, never would she
give up if there were other options.
Harry soon returned to the table with her coffee in hand, and Mrs. Weasley was
already placing a plate with a big slice of treacle tart with fresh whipped
cream in front of Harry as she retook her seat. Harry placed her mug down on
the table and accepted the spoon handed to her from Mrs. Weasley and gave the
older witch a slight smile in thanks. The smile was a half-decent effort on
Harry's part at best, and all could clearly see just how fragile that smile was
and did not even reach her eyes.
By the time Harry was slowly making her way through the tart bite by bite,
pausing now and then to drink from her mug, everyone else except for Severus
had returned to the kitchen and sat back down around the table. All were trying
to act as if they were not studying her so intently, almost seeming to Harry as
if they were trying to see inside of her head to see how she ticked and what
she was currently thinking. If Severus had still been present he surely would
have told them to quit staring and mind their own damn business, but with
sharper and more insulting words.
Harry stopped eating mid-bite and let out an exasperated sigh, while silently
wondering where professor Snape and his venomously sharp tongue were when you
needed him. She lowered her spoon onto her plate and said in a tone of pure
exasperation, "Alright let's hear it all, otherwise you'll continue to bloody
stare and I will never be able to eat in peace at this rate." Merlin they were
not half bloody exasperating the whole lot of them she noted somewhat sourly.
Cho looked disturbed as she asked, "How can you be so calm and even stand to
eat after what you have just told us? I Mean I feel sick from just hearing you
describe it, yet you have actually seen all of that first hand." Harry shook
her head and replied, "I'd be really worried what state you would have been in
if you still feel sick even whilst under the influence of a calming draught if
you Hermione and Ginny had not taken one."
Cho looked surprised and Harry answered her unasked question and said, "You are
too calm considering how you, Hermione and Ginny bolted from the room to be
sick I'd wager that is how I know you three have been given a calming draught,
which understandable really when considering the circumstances and what you
have just learned."
She added after taking a long pull from her mug and asked, "Through I will ask
you this Cho, are you suddenly forgetting what I said about spending two days
in the hospital wing under sedation." She added with a slightly pained looking
grimace, "Or how I almost end up completely dependent on dreamless sleep
draughts, until professor Snape caught onto what I had been doing, how I had
been abusing the use of the draught and immediately stepped in to wean me off
it before any serious or irreparable damaged could be caused." Cho could not
answer that, honestly what did one say when it clearly spoke for itself, as had
the sheer amount of Firewhiskey she and professor Snape had consumed between
them.
Angelina asked, "How can you continue day to day having seen all of that?"
Harry snorted as she shook her head and stated rather quite plainly, "It is not
as if I can just curl up in a ball inside of a deep hole and just say to hell
with it all. Where would the wizarding world be without their precious savior
to save them? A savior they would sooner turn on, yet are kissing my ass
seconds later, ha would you talk about giving someone a major case of emotional
whiplash. You know, it almost seems as if being the supposed savior means it is
one law and rules for everyone else and an entirely different set for me to
abide by."
Albus looked troubled as he said sadly, "You never said you felt like this Miss
Potter." Harry scoffed as she asked in reply, "Oh, and if I had Headmaster what
would you have said, ignore them Harry, they know no better and live in
constant fear?" Harry drank deeply from her mug, her tart long forgotten on the
plate in front of her.
She snorted in disgust as she lowered the mug and said, "They're fickle and
like sheep following the leader. If only they knew what the members of this
Order know and what they have seen, what professor Snape and I end up subjected
to during those meetings. Ha, they would never leave their homes again out of
sheer bloody terror."
She scowled as she added, "I am so tired of the blind and mindless back
stabbing fickle sheep, who would sooner believe I was turning dark and going to
marry and have Voldie's baby if some damned two-faced reporters wrote it and
they read it in the paper, makes me sick to my stomach." She laughed and added,
"I am seriously tempted to buy out the current owner of the Daily Prophet." She
smirked as the thought started to gain merit and make sense by the second,
especially the expression on Skeeter's face as she took absolute pleasure in
firing that bitch.
Her smirk widened as she jokingly asked Cedric, "Hey, fancy owning the Daily
Prophet Cedric, say fifty percent each?" Cedric returned her smirk with one of
his own as he asked in reply, "Are you serious or is that you showing your
frustration over what that paper publishes about you?" Harry looked genuinely
thoughtful as she replied, "I am strongly considering it Cedric, I mean it's
not as if I cannot afford to most likely buy the current owner out several time
over if I wanted to."
Harry suddenly nodded as the decision was set firmly in her mind and said, "You
know what I am going to do it I really am." She shook her head and quickly
added, "Oh and no this is not a combination of anger and Firewhiskey talking
here either." She turned to Sirius asked, "I need your help, and I need to know
whether I have a solicitor or do I need to find one?" Sirius was too stunned to
answer so Remus asked instead, "Are you absolute certain that this is what you
wish to do Harry?"
Harry nodded and replied firmly, "Oh yeah, I can even provide you with several
reasons." Hermione looked shocked as she asked, "Like what Harry, what reasons
could you have for buying a whole newspaper?" Harry began to count off her
fingers as she said, "One, I get control over that paper before Voldie does.
Two, I get to control to an extent what is published, not just for my own gain
and interest but for all others who have had their names and reputations
dragged through the mud."
She continued to count the reasons off her fingers and added, "Three, no more
Rita Skeeter, wouldn't that just be purely blissful Hermione?" Hermione let out
a giggle and said, "If you fired her she would not be able to write lies in the
paper anymore." Harry beamed and drawled in reply, "Exactly Hermione, exactly."
She added, "Four, I could do a major clean out as far as crooked members of the
press are concerned. I would be in the position to stop the likes of Malfoy
trying to buy his way in and influence what is published." She continued her
countdown, "Five, I could have all staff go through the interviewing process
again and if they do not meet with the new standards then they are gone."
She paused and then added, "Six, I could have all staff take a magical oath
combined with a spell, one that states they are to swear they will never write
lies, while the editor will vow to never allow lies to be published." She added
firmly, "If they break the oath then the spell part would be activated and an
alert would be placed on their personal records, which would allow every
potential future employer to see that they have been black listed and broken a
magical oath. This means the individual who breaks the oath will not be able to
gain a position of employment at any newspaper in wizarding Great Britain."
She concluded, "And finally seven, all staff will be searched for the dark mark
and checked over by a healer to see whether they have been placed under the
Imperious or have been indulging in illegal substances. There will be no chance
of claiming your misdeeds were under the influence if they weren’t, a full
medical examination will kill that sort of ploy dead on the spot."
Sirius was eyeing his goddaughter in wonder and said, "If you honestly think
you could do this Harry then I would back you all the way." He paused as a
thought suddenly occurred to him and asked, "But Harry what about Hogwarts and
the rest of your Healer training?" Harry replied, "Sirius I have no desire to
be at the paper on a daily basis, I would hire a solicitor and put him or her
along with Remus in charge until I finish my healer training. I would pay both
along with a Goblin, most likely Griphook or my accounts manager Ragnok."
Remus looked shocked, gobsmacked more like. He spluttered, "But Harry, I am a
Werewolf and no one would go for that, there is an actual reason I have major
issues finding work." Harry waved him off and shook her head and said, "That
will not be a issue or make a lick of difference, it is not as if I am asking
you to work at the actual paper on a daily basis, more like a behind the scenes
role.”
She continued to explain, “In fact, all I require is for you to work with the
solicitor and Goblin to keep track of incoming and outgoing money in the
company, and keep an eye on how the paper is circulating and how many papers
sold. The solicitor would take care of the legal side and make sure on a semi-
regularly basis members of staff remain true to their oaths."
She added, "I would also want you to come to either Cedric or myself if he
agrees, so we can see what has been written before we give the final go ahead
to the editor to publish. The editor would go through you to get my opinion or
Cedric's." She continued after a brief pause and said, "I will purchase or have
six of the mirrors Sirius showed me that you and he used to use to communicate
with my father made. I will have one mirror, Cedric the second, you the third,
the editor the fourth, the solicitor the fifth and the Goblin the final one.
They will be charmed so the six mirrors only work to communicate with each
other and no one else."
Remus looked amazed and said, "You really have thought this through haven't
you, how long have you been planning this for Harry?" Harry shook her head and
replied, "That's just it I hadn't thought of this until it jokingly crossed my
mind tonight. It seems so detailed is because this is what I would do and I see
and believe how things should be ran and progress in order to get the Daily
Prophet firmly on the side of the light and not allow Voldie to influence and
corrupt it. That damned paper needs a firmer hand to take charge and guide it,
especially during the time of war, and who knows are vulnerable or susceptible
the current owner would be to the kind of manipulative shit and threats Voldie
is likely to try and pull?"
She snorted as added, "I mean seriously the idiot whoever they are has allowed
the likes of Skeeter to work at the paper, imagine how many people she has
pissed off and had law suits risen against her? That bitch cannot be all that
popular in the office, I imagine she'd have no problem backstabbing and selling
out a number of her fellow members of the press to just get ahead, no matter
who she has to step on to climb that proverbial ladder to promotion or a raise
in Galleons.
She turned to Sirius and asked, "Does my family by any chance have a solicitor
or will I have to make arrangements to hire one?" Sirius replied, "You are in
some serious luck here Harry, yes, your family has a solicitor, who goes by the
name of Robert Sladden. He is in his mid to late twenties, had a British father
and has a Swedish born mother, and is a half-blood. In fact his mother is a
muggle born witch so you have nothing to worry from him when it comes to
pureblood supremacy bull."
He added, "He will take care of all your legal issues, just as his father dealt
with James and your grandfather's legal issues before in the war. His father
worked for your great grandfather, and his father worked for your great great
grandfather. So yes Harry you are looking at four generations of Sladden who
have worked for the Potter's if you decide to take up Robert's services."
A few around the table let out low whistles and Sirius nodded before he added,
"Anyhow Robert has been waiting for you to contact him and to meet you. Oh and
yes, he is aware of your newly returned status, you will be his client if you
renew the legal paperwork with him, so he needed to know where he stood with
you. Do not worry that lad is a good man and can be trusted, his father was a
good man, as was the previous Sladdens before him too and all light
orientated."
He concluded, "He wants to discuss your assets both wizarding and muggle too.
He could also help you if you mention the Daily Prophet to him when you meet
with him and he could take care of the legal requirements as well as arrange
for a meeting at Gringotts between you, your accounts manager and the current
owner of the paper. Robert would be present in the meeting as would I and Remus
if you want us to be."
Harry nodded before her eyes suddenly lit up with a sort of unholy glee, and
all but purred, "In that case I will definitely be using his services, trust me
he will be a valuable asset when it comes to dealing with the Dursleys. Trust
me they will not leave Privet Drive without a fight, even if that will
officially make them squatters in my property." She sneered, "They do not
deserve to live in that property, and I may well have reconsidered if they had
not treated me like shit, worse than even a house elf whilst growing up under
the same roof as them."
Hermione asked, "How long are you giving them before they have to leave the
property and find elsewhere to live?" Harry replied, "A month, hell and even
that is far too generous in my opinion. I swear I was more than half tempted to
kick them out on their asses today when Ragnok first informed me I own the
property." Ron nodded and said, "I don't blame you not after what me and the
twins saw when we came to get you and bring you to the Burrow just after first
year."
George added, "There was bars on the window, we had to use the car and a tow
rope to rip them off so Harry could climb out." Fred nodded and added, "There
was even a padlock on Hedwig's cage, the cruel bastards keeping an owl locked
up and confined like that." Ron sneered as he added, "There was even a cat flap
in the bedroom door for Merlin's sake, and Harry told me that family does not
own any pets never mind a cat. Really that was not us lying or trying to get
Harry from those muggles quicker each summer, that really was what was going on
in that house."
Harry said to Hermione, "Hermione they would even put my trunk in the cupboard
under the stairs where I used to sleep until first year. My schoolbooks, wand,
and even my invisibility cloak locked away in my trunk. Why else do you think I
always left my homework until the last minute and not at the beginning of the
holidays? I had no access to magic of any description, none Hermione.”
She shook her head as she told the other witch, “They were determined as long
as I resided underneath their roof I would not have access to my magic.
Naturally I can cast wandless and none verbal to an extent, but I daren't
aggravate the ministry as at the time I had already had two warnings for
underage magic, even if Dobby had been responsible for the first warning."
Hermione was evidently fuming, as were many others around the table. Minerva
turned on Albus and hissed, "See, do you see now, why did you keep on sending
her there Albus every summer?" Albus frowned and replied, "Because of the blood
wards Minerva, Harry needed to stay there a month out of each summer to
strength and rejuvenate the protection wards. Lily's sacrifice means Voldemort
cannot touch Harry because she and her aunt share blood the same blood as Lily
Potter. The wards required Harry's blood more so than Petunia's because of
Harry's magic in order to keep Voldemort out and protect the residents inside."
Harry snorted and drawled, "So hate to burst your little bubble of knowledge
Headmaster, but those wards have been beyond useless ever since that graveyard
encounter during the Triwizard tournament." Minerva frowned as she asked, "What
do you mean by useless Miss Potter?" Harry replied, "Oh exactly what I say
Professor McGonagall.” She paused before asking the elder witch, “Did the
Headmaster not ever inform you as to what exactly happened in that graveyard
between Voldie and myself?"
Albus looked uncomfortable again, Harry was doing it again. He avoided the
narrowed eyed glance Minerva shot his way as she replied, "As a matter of fact
he did not go into great detail. All I know was that you were cut up quite
badly and he forced you duel with him, and of course your wand and his wand
share the same Phoenix feather core from Fawkes, which caused a Priori
Incantatem and for the spirits of his recent victims to appear and speak to you
in order from first to recent."
Harry nodded and said, "That is all true, but I take it he never bothered to
inform you how a student from your house received such wounds did he
professor?" Minerva merely shook her head, and Harry swore she could
practically see and hear the cogs turning inside of Minerva McGonagall's head
as she tried to make sense of what Harry was telling her. This was by no means
a good thing as far as Albus avoiding all hell reaped upon on his person by his
deputy.
Harry continued before Albus could and said, "I will tell you exactly how I got
those wounds, for example, when Cedric and I arrived via portkey aka the
Triwizard cup, Voldie and Pettigrew were waiting for me, they had not been
expecting another to be transported with me. That was when I heard Voldie's
voice, I did not see him, but heard him call out to Pettigrew to kill the
spare. Naturally I was not about to allow that to happen, not if I could help
and prevent it I wasn't."
She shook her head as she continued, "It was a close call and as a last minute
decision I cashed in the life debut Pettigrew owed me. Because he owed me that
debut, he could not kill Cedric after I demanded he was under no circumstances
allowed to harm a single hair upon Cedric's head. Naturally Voldie could not do
anything against this as Pettigrew was using his wand for some reason instead
of his own." She smirked at her fiancé and added, "Cedric and I had a very
brief argument, but in the end I won and Cedric used the cup to take him back
to Hogwarts where he obviously gathered help to come to my rescue."
Harry leaned back in her chair and continued; "Now this is where it gets
interesting Professor. When Cedric left, Pettigrew captured me and tied me to
rest over Tom Riddle Senior's grave. You see in order for the ritual to work he
needed to give him back a body he needed the bones of his father, a sacrifice
from a ally given willingly, which was when Pettigrew cut off his hand and put
it into the cauldron he had lowered the small corpse-like body at the beginning
of the ritual."
She paused once more to look McGonagall directly in the eyes and then said,
"But do you know Professor what the final part of the ritual that was required
to provide him with a new body?" Harry noted how Minerva's jaw was clenched, oh
Harry did not for one single second envy the Headmaster, especially with what
she was about to reveal to the older witch.
Harry crossed her arms over her chest and finally revealed, "The blood of his
enemy taken by force. Blood which Pettigrew acquired by taking a knife and
creating slashes across my arms and chest, and then allowed the blood to drip
into the grave I was extended over and onto the skeleton of Riddle senior."
Both Minerva and Molly Weasley let rip instantaneously, "ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!"
They had both figured it out when Harry had mentioned it was her blood used in
the ritual to bring Voldemort back into a body, meaning he had her blood
running in his veins, in turn making the blood protection wards around Privet
Drive beyond worthless. Harry had been no safer in that house then she would
have been walking down Diagon Ally without a guard.
Hermione looked sick and exclaimed in horror, "Oh my god that means you know
who has Harry's blood, and the same blood Lily Potter and Harry's aunt have.
This ultimately means he could have breached those wards and gained access to
Harry at any time after fourth year, even if his Death Eaters could not.
Something tells me ‘You Know Who’ is a much greater threat to Harry then any
Death Eater could ever hope or try to be to her."
Harry nodded and clapped her hands and said, "Exactly, bravo Hermione. Hence
why those blood protection wards were beyond useless, I mean really with him
now having my blood meaning the blood protection my mum used on me no longer
affects him." She added smirking, "This also means ladies and gentlemen, boys
and girls, I was no safer in that house with the combination of my relatives
behaviour towards me and Voldie having my blood, verses me putting out an
advertisement to Voldie telling him a date and time and ask if he wanted to
meet up for another friendly duel."
Harry's smirk widened as she added the final nail in the proverbial coffin and
said, "The Headmaster did not wish for me to grow up in the wizarding world
because he did not wish for me to know I was famous. He did not want me growing
up with love and affection, all which he knew I would not receive growing up in
a household with my jealous magic loathing aunt and her muggle magic hating tub
of lard husband. Add to the fact their equally tub of lard son was raised on
that same hatred and fear of magic that it turned poisonous."
She sneered as she continued, "Oh no, he wanted me starved for love and
affection, simple human contact. He figured that it would make me easier to
control, make it easier to follow his lead and every whim, and to trust him
when he would show me attention and tad bits of affection." She snorted and
added, "Oh no, he did not want me wilful or confident, able to think for myself
without direction, no he wanted me vulnerable, docile and reliant on him."
She concluded icily, "Through here is where you plan majorly backfired on you.
Yes when I first came to Hogwarts I was vulnerable and reliant, but not for one
single damned second was I docile. Seriously, anyone who knows me will know
docile and Potter does not belong in the same sentence. I am the daughter of
James and Lily Potter, the daughter and goddaughter of two of the Marauders you
old fool." She shot the Headmaster a wickedly black glance as she said this
last part.
Sirius and Remus were hard pressed not to laugh out a loud at hearing that last
part, it was priceless but oh so true. Albus on the other hand looked like he
had been slapped harder then she had verbally hit him all evening long. He was
beyond dumbfounded honestly not realising that Harry had more than caught on
and proven herself to be a hell of a lot more observant than he had ever given
her credit for, which had been a major mistake on his part right from the
start.
Harry looked The Headmaster in the eye and said in a firm and icy tone of
resolve, "No more, no more manipulations, no more treating me like a weapon to
wield at your convenience. If you do continue then I will leave in less time
than it takes your heart to beat a single beat Headmaster to fight this war on
your own. I promise and guarantee you will never find me, nor will The Ministry
have a hope in hell of being able to track me by the means of my magical
signature, completely dark and off the magical grid."
Hermione looked truly disturbed over how the night had gone. She asked, "How
would you mask your magical signature Harry?" Harry shook her head and replied,
"Sorry Hermione, not that do not trust you, I do, but a girl has got to have
some secrets for security purposes, especially around a manipulative old goat
Headmaster trying to use you as his own personal weapon of destruction."
Cedric, Sirius, Remus and Tonks knew as long as she wore the locket from her
parents, that she would be able to conceal her magical signature from everyone
and anything except for Cedric when they married.
Albus looked troubled at his carefully crafted plans were disintegrating right
before his eyes. He said, "We need to trust each other if we are going to win
this war." Harry shook her head and asked, "Why should I when you continue to
manipulate my life and keep important information from me, even going as far as
to get my family to do the same?" She was pissed over how he influenced Arthur
to keep such information from her, not just her but his wife and children as
well.
Albus sighed and replied, "I did not want to reveal certain information because
I did not wish for you to dwell on things that must come to pass if we are to
win this war." Harry frowned and asked, "What are you not saying here
Headmaster?" Albus sighed and said very reluctantly, "Come to my office before
your wedding and I shall gather Severus and Minerva and I will inform you of
plans to put into action concerning you, Severus and myself. But know this I
will not inform you until then you would never be able to train and properly
prepare to defeat Voldie if you are made aware too soon."
Harry nodded and said reluctantly, "Fine I do not like it, but I will take it,
but will be using everyone at this table as my witness so no going back on your
word Headmaster." Albus fumed knowing she had him in an awkward position, and
reluctantly nodded and said, "Very well, as you wish Miss Potter."
He knew when he was cornered, and it was not as if he could cast memory charms
on his Order members, even if the thought had crossed his mind once or twice.
However, surprisingly even Albus Dumbledore had no reached those levels of
manipulation, well, not yet his desperation had not quite reached that sort of
fever pitch, though in Harry and Severus secretly shared opinion it was only a
matter of time.
After that, Molly suggested just because it had not turned out to be an ideal
birthday did not mean she should skip out on having a birthday cake. Everyone,
even her children felt struck in disbelief that Mrs. Weasley would even suggest
Harry celebrating and blowing out her candles on a birthday cake after the day
she had and what she had revealed. Harry reluctantly agreed to blow out the
seventeen candles and allowed the others to sing happy birthday to her to
please Mrs. Weasley, even if she did not feel like celebrating.
Mrs. Weasley brought out a cake much like the one from her first birthday she
ever had an actual real birthday cake. The cake was large enough to feed
everyone at the table with enough for everyone to have seconds and thirds. The
fondant Gryffindor red, while the cake shaped like a golden snitch with a life-
size golden snitch placed in the centre of the cake. The wings on the snitch
moved slowly with a low humming sound aided by a charm. There also was a thick
golden sheer glittery ribbon wrapped around the cake.
It was very Quidditch themed cake something her male self would have loved, but
as a female, it was not what she would have chosen. Only the glittery ribbon
seemed to appeal and did catch her eye. However she was not about to say
anything to the older witch and seem as if she was ungrateful for the efforts
Mrs. Weasley had obviously put into the cake. The older witch must have assumed
when she changed back the changes to her personality would not be that strong,
but they were that strong no two ways about it.
Once everyone had finished singing a somewhat off-key version of the birthday
song, Harry blew out seventeen bright gold candles. She did not bother making a
wish, what was the damned point she figured sourly. There was nothing she
wanted more than Voldemort to drop down dead and his disgusting mutilated soul
hauled off down into deepest and darkest pits of hell itself. No ridiculous and
childish birthday wishing would not be able to grant her that
Mrs. Weasley cut the cake after everyone clapped with half-hearted enthusiasm,
and accepted a slice from Mrs. Weasley, though Harry declined her own slice.
She asked to have hers preserved and have it tomorrow as she had already had
treacle tart she had not finished, and did not fancy the thought of mixing both
treacle and her birthday cake together. Mrs. Weasley had no choice but to
reluctantly agree not wanting to make the younger witch ill.
After everyone was finished with their slice of cake, the Weasley's and Amos
Diggory who had not sent presents along with everyone else at midnight gave
them to her at the table. Firstly after leaving the kitchen to retrieve it from
his office Sirius handed Harry the new firebolt as promised to go with her new
broomstick polishing and grooming kit.
She had removed the red and gold coloured swirled paper and found a long and
large rectangular box, and inside the content was as expected, the newest and
most recent addition to the Firebolt series. Harry thanked Sirius and called
Dobby to collect her broomstick and place it somewhere safe.
After Dobby left with the broomstick, Bill and Fleur went next and handed her
their joint gift which they had gone halves. Harry removed the black and green
wrapping paper revealing a black shiny rectangular box, she lifted the lid to
reveal a cashmere wool emerald green and midnight black tasseled coloured scarf
of expensive quality. Resting on top of the scarf was the second half of the
gift, a voucher to spend in Honeydukes worth five galleons.
Fleur explained, "We honestly had no idea we were buying a gift for a witch,
but it is lucky the scarf appears to be suitable for both sexes to wear which
is a relief to say the least.” She paused before adding, “Oh and the reason the
wrapping paper is not red and gold, well, I wanted to be different, thought
most would have chose your house colours. The other reason was that I thought
of your eyes and hair colour, and just because the colours make an attractive
combination."
Bill added, "Fleur insisted the cashmere would keep you warm in the winter and
the colours would bring out your eyes, hair and your pale skin tone perfectly,
and I am certain looking at you right now that she was correct." He chuckled as
he added, "The voucher for Honeydukes was my idea, it will allow you to choose
your own chocolate in case we had end up choosing something you did not like.
One of the worst things is receiving a present that you do not like, but feel
that you have to put up a front in order to not hurt the others feelings."
Harry returned the chuckle at the thought of Fleur choosing that colour
combination for the wrapping paper because of her eyes and hair, and she wanted
to be different from everyone else, trust Fleur. She agreed with what Bill said
about receiving something you do not like. It was one of the worst situations
to be in, for example Hagrid's rock cakes that are always not consumable. She
never has the heart to mention it, and is why he continued to make them.
Harry genuinely thanked them for such a thoughtful gift she loved the colour
combination, and reached out to finger the material and instantly loved the
silky soft texture of the cashmere wool. Wool had never felt so glorious to the
touch. To prove this point and show just how grateful she was, Harry took the
scarf from the packaging and draped it around her neck loosely. It felt
wonderful against her bare skin; it would serve her well during the cold
Scotland winter.
Seeing Harry wearing the scarf was enough to have Fleur gushing in delight,
"Ooh you see Bill, I was right that shade of green combined with the black
compliments her eyes, hair and pretty pale skin tone even more beautifully then
I had first thought." Bill nodded in agreement, affectionately amused by his
fiancées enthusiasm.
Through he had to agree Harry looked lovely with the scarf draped loosely
around her neck, it almost seemed as if her emerald green eyes, midnight black
hair and pale skin illuminated. He could tell Diggory more than agreed if his
appreciative glance in his cousin's direction was anything to judge. He
inwardly smirked at the thought and sight of the former Hufflepuff seeker who
was evidently smitten.
Mrs. Weasley on the other hand nodded in agreement and said, "It looks stunning
on her and would have been appropriate even on her male self too. That was a
lucky and excellent buy I have to admit." Fleur concealed her smugness barely
at the thought of Molly Weasley admitting such a thing to her, even if their
relationship had greatly improved since Greyback attacked Bill. Fleur Delacour
soon to be Weasley never forgot anything once slighted.
Charlie went next after Harry removed the scarf and placed it back in the box
it came in for safekeeping not wanting it to get dirty. He handed over his
gift, which Harry accepted with a small appreciative smile. She removed the
black and gold wrapping paper from the box shaped gift. She found obviously
what the shape of the gift suggested, a box, and lifted the lid. What she
discovered amazed her; it was a large sized fine quality glossy picture, a
wizarding picture at that, evidently taken during the first task of the
Triwizard tournament. It was of her male self on their firebolt, barely
avoiding a huge and impressive sized blanket of fire bellowed out by the
Hungarian Horntail. You could clearly see in the background a part of Hogwarts
castle.
Harry asked clearly awed, "Merlin Charlie, how did you get your hands on this?"
Charlie grinned pleased with her reaction and replied, "One of the tamers was
there documenting the first task with a camera, and managed to snap this shot
out of pure luck. I told everyone back on the dragon reserve that your
seventeenth was coming up soon. That got the witch thinking and she showed me
the pictures she had taken from the Triwizard tournament. I chose that picture
and decided to give it to you as a birthday present." Harry beamed and said,
"Thank you Charlie this is beyond amazing." Charlie winked and said, "Your
welcome, and I knew you would appreciate its worth."
Hermione asked, "What is it a picture of Harry, which moment from the first
task is that from?" Harry turned the frame around and held the picture in front
of her for everyone to see. There were gasps of delight as they realised what
they were seeing. Tonks laughed and commented, "That is the exact scene you
described to me on the way down to the Potter vaults." Harry grinned, nodded
and replied, "Exactly, what are the odds that we would see it here larger than
life?" Tonks nodded knowingly.
Arthur said, "I would like to go next if you do not mind, I really wish for
Harry to see this." He added, "I informed my mother how you were coming to
visit for your seventeenth, and she gave me a copy of a very important portrait
and I had it enlarged and framed." He added at Harry's surprised expression,
"Yes Harry, before you ask my mother, your great aunt is very much alive and
well and looking forward to meeting you this summer since you were a baby. She
wants to meet up so she can give you her birthday present in person before you
head back to Hogwarts for your final year."
Arthur walked over to Harry and gently placed the green and gold coloured
wrapped gift. The paper was a lovely emerald green with a big golden bow placed
in the centre. She carefully removed the bow and paper from the frame, which
was nearly twice the size of Charlie's gift. She noted the frame was a
beautiful solid black polished fine wood with a golden floral theme around the
edges. She was unaware that her great aunt had provided the frame as well.
Harry took one look at the content of the picture and nearly dropped the frame
in shock at what she discovered. She placed a hand over her mouth and stifled a
sound caught between a gasp and a sob. Some were alarmed at her reaction, but
not Arthur whc had honestly been expecting this reaction considering who the
people in the picture were. Arthur suspected this was worth more to Harry than
all the gold in Gringotts combined.
Cedric asked alarmed, "What's the matter Harry?" Arthur shook her head and
said, "Do not worry; she is just overwhelmed, after all this is a picture of
some very special people to Harry." And it truly was, it was a picture of her
great aunt whose arms her baby self was cradled, while her parents stood on
either side of her aunt who sat in a high back chair made of a Chinese floral
print in cream and gold. The adults were smiling gently at the camera, whilst
occasionally the three would looked down lovingly at a sleeping Harry, who was
dressed in a matching bonnet and long gown made of white and gold lace and
satin with ribbons.
Arthur said, "That was your Christening Harry, your mother had wanted you to
wear a muggle bonnet and gown instead of robes." He added, "That was a private
day, small to, you were not ‘The Girl Who Lived’ there you were just Harriet
James Potter." He concluded, "You and your parents had not even gone into
hiding yet, you were barely three months old and still the real you who had not
gone under the glamour for a couple of months yet at that point the picture was
taken."
Tears slowly trailed down her cheeks as she lovingly smoothed her fingertip
over her parent's faces. She noted how her aunt looked quite a bit like her,
same hair, but her eyes were a blue-grey colour and her skin tone more of a
golden sun kissed glow. She never doubted her looks had mainly come from the
Potter side, but Merlin looking at her aunt was striking to say the least it
really was. Her aunt was beautiful, elegant, and looked positively refined it
was unreal. Would she ever look like this when she was older if she survived
the war she wondered?
Harry slowly turned the frame around for the others to see, and this action
followed by gasps of amazement. Sirius and Remus looked somewhat choked up,
while Minerva looked positively tearful at the stunning sight. Albus closed his
eyes and thought sadly, 'No wonder her reaction was so emotional' Hermione
looked tearful as she said, "Oh Harry that's beautiful, and look at that
christening gown and little bonnet your mother had you wearing its stunning."
Harry said, "I know, I wonder whether that set is in one of the Potter vaults
or at Potter manor?" She turned to Arthur and gave him a hug after passing the
portrait to Cedric. Arthur returned the embrace as Harry said, "Thank you so
much Arthur it is stunning and more than I could have hoped for." Arthur nodded
as they broke the embrace and said, "You're most welcome, you deserve to have a
picture of that moment. It was a perfect day regardless that ‘You Know Who’ was
still at large at the time."
He added, "We would have loved to have attended the christening but we had no
one to take care of Bill, Charlie, Percy, the twins, and Ron, who was a little
older then you were in that picture. He was far too young to attend a
christening that was not his own. Besides even at the age of two almost three
the twins were troublesome and Merlin knows what they would have gotten up to."
Harry snorted at the thought of miniature Fred and George causing chaos, as did
a few others, while the twins in question smirked widely. Harry nodded through
in understanding about Ron, realising a christening was not the place for and
would have been too much for a young baby that was not the one christened.
Last but by no means least, Amos handed Harry a pale coloured envelope, along
with a present shaped like a picture a little bigger than Charlie's gift but
nowhere near the size of Arthur's gift. The gift Harry happily noted wrapped up
in a gorgeous pale cream paper with big yellow roses in full bloom and a dark
cream satin ribbon wrapped around the package. There was also a second
Gryffindor red coloured envelope from Amos.
Amos explained, "The wrapped present is from Lara, Cedric's mother, as is the
cream coloured envelope which is a letter from her." He added, "The red
envelope is from me." Harry nodded and opened the red envelope first and
discovered a certificate worth twenty Galleons to spend in quality Quidditch
supplies. Twenty Galleons was the equivalent of one hundred pounds in the
muggle world. Harry said, "It's too much Mr. Diggory, are you aware that twenty
Galleons is in fact the equivalency of one hundred pounds in the muggle world,
not that I do not appreciate the amazing gesture?"
Amos waved her off and said, "Nonsense Harry, I think I can afford twenty
Galleons on your seventeenth birthday, you only turn seventeen once, and who
would I be if I did not treat my future daughter in law on the birthday which
she comes of age finally?” He added looking satisfied, “Of course, I knew I
could not go wrong with a certificate for a Quidditch store, whether you are a
witch or a wizard, especially you being the youngest seeker in a century.” He
concluded after a brief pause, “As for the amount, well, if you want something
half decent in there you need to spend more than a few Galleons in the process
Harry as I am sure you have seen the prices for yourself."
Cedric shot his father a smile of approval. Cedric and even a few others
thought it was rather appropriate gift considering it was bold as brass Amos
Diggory, which was genuinely surprising. Harry thanked Amos for the gift, all
the while secretly surprised how thoughtful and useful the gift was, not that
she would mention to Amos that he had surprised her, there was some things
which her future father in law to be did not need to know.
Next, she opened the gift from Lara Diggory carefully not wanting to destroy
the paper it was beautiful as was the bow. When she revealed the gift, she
genuinely felt hard-pressed not to giggle or tear up again. Both emotions
seemed to win out in the end, and she giggled tearfully. The giggle actually
surprised those who had been close to her as a wizard, namely Hermione, Ron and
Ginny. Cedric remarked, "I do not know whether I should be worried about those
tears or amused by that giggle you just let loose."
Harry replied teasingly, "You were such a cute and sweet looking little boy
Diggory." She sobered slight and added, "Your mother was very beautiful, I can
see a lot of her when I look at you, really are your mother's son." Cedric's
eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Whoa wait a minute, exactly what has my mother
left to you that you are making comments like that Harry?"
Harry smiled gently and turned the medium sized landscape picture for everyone
to see. The reaction was immediate, there was gasps and giggles and chuckles,
but Cedric's reaction was the best, he was bright red with embarrassment, yet
looked noticeably awed. He covered his cheeks with his hands and said in awe,
"Oh Merlin, I had honestly forgotten about that, mean I know my dad has a copy
on the living room wall at home, but that was the last thing I expected her to
leave you."
He added, "That was taken if I remember correctly after our parents and your
god and grandparents and other witnesses signed our betrothal contract, meaning
we were only just officially betrothed in that picture. But I was too young to
truly understand why I was there and what you and I would become to each other
when we were of age."
The gift was a picture of Harry and Cedric and Lara Diggory too. In the picture
a three year-old Cedric wrapped in his mother's arms as she sat in an
overstuffed chair and he sat in her lap. However, in Cedric's arms was a three-
month-old Harry, while Lara carefully supported them both so Cedric did not
accidentally drop Harry. From time to time Cedric would look down at Harry in
awe, while Lara looked down at Cedric lovingly. Yet the sweetest moment of all
was when baby Harry reached up with her little hand to touch Cedric's cheek.
Amos smiled sadly, "I was the one who took that picture, and there were no
others only one was ever taken. I kept the original and Lara insisted you Harry
have a copy. Ultimately, I am glad I did, as that is the only picture of you
three together and only ever will be. The original is twice as big as that and
proudly displayed on the living room wall at home.” He beamed as he added,
“Therefore, Harry you were a part of us Diggory's before you ever truly knew it
and you and Cedric met up again at Hogwarts but did not really have any real
contact until your third and Cedric's fifth year. That was truly disappointing
when you consider all of the time you two could have had to get to know the
other better."
He added, "If Lara and your parents had lived Harry then I assure you that you
and Cedric would have grown up together, Lara and Lily would have surely set
you two up on constant play dates that I do not doubt for a single second." He
smiled gently as he continued, "Lara wanted you to have that picture Harry
hoping you would share it with Cedric, regardless that there is a huge copy on
the living room wall.”
He continued and added after a brief pause to get his emotions under control.
“She wanted you two to have a memory of how you first met and document such an
important and life changing event. It was something she thought could be
something you look on later on in life, to show your children and grandchildren
how their parents and grandparents met for the first time, even if they were
too young to remember until years later." He paused before continuing, "But her
main sentiment was that it was your first picture together and hopefully more
to come."
Harry and Cedric were clearly overwhelmed, even more so when Amos concluded,
"In that letter Harry are words for you, she wanted to leave her future
daughter in law something meaningful behind just in case she did not survive
the war, after all we were at war when that picture was first taken. You will
notice Harry that you are still wearing your christening gown and bonnet as the
betrothal contract was signed during the evening after your christening."
Everyone noticed he was right, Harry was dressed in her christening gown and
bonnet, while Cedric wore little black robes with a white shirt and a little
bow tie the same colour as the lace and ribbons on Harry's christening set.
Lily and Lara had wanted them to match for their betrothal, which just made for
a nice feature when Amos had taken the picture. The pair looked beautiful
together even when they had only been miniature versions of themselves.
Cho could not help but feel sick again with such burning jealousy for the
second time that night. They shared a history she and Cedric never would even
if Cedric and Harry had been too young to remember. She would not ruin the
moment that would only cause her to look worse and more bitterly jealous then
she had already proven herself to be in front of everyone and Cedric. That
Weasley bitch had already slapped her once that night she did not require a
repeat performance thank you very much. She decided to wait until later when
she was alone and would put up silencing and locking charms so she could grieve
for the loss of her love in peace and no one would see or hear her and judge
her.
After that, the meeting pretty much broke up for the night. Albus insisted
there was not much else to discuss that could not wait until tomorrow or
another night. Harry on the other hand knew better The Headmaster wanted to
escape, not wanting to give her the chance to say anything else and paint him
even more badly then she already had.
She inwardly snorted, but figured she would cut back on the torture that night,
after all there was always the next day and the next. Oh no, Harry was by no
means finished with that manipulative old bastard not by a long shot, he messed
with and manipulated the wrong witch and soon as he fully realised this the
better in Harry's opinion.
Harry handed Albus the sword of Gryffindor before he left to take back to his
office for safekeeping until needed again. Everyone cleared out of the kitchen,
Amos flooing home while Albus and Minerva flooed back to Hogwarts. Even as she
flooed back to her rooms, Minerva silently made a mental note and promise to
show Severus the rest of the meeting after he had left. She would borrow Albus'
pensive, she did not need to tell him exactly how she planned to use it. She
thought it high time that Severus revised his opinion of Harry even if only in
private.
Everyone who was staying at headquarters went in different directions either to
their bedrooms, or to other rooms in the house. After Harry shrunk down her
birthday gifts, she handed them to Bill who said he would put them in her new
study after Sirius told him which room to go. Then Sirius and Remus led her to
her new bedroom wanting to show her all they had done.
Cedric, Hermione, Tonks, Angie, Fleur and Ginny joined them either wanting to
see the room or Harry's reaction to it once she saw it. Sirius and Remus could
not wait to see her reaction; they hoped she approved of what they had done. To
say Harry and the other witch's had been in awe was an understatement; its
beauty shocked even Cedric. Sirius and Remus had really gone and out done
themselves here, and showed just how much they loved Harry.
First Harry was relieved to note Hedwig had made it back and was in the far
corner of the room closest to the door perched on her new sleeping post, made
out of a glossy wood in a similar colour to the flooring. She had tucked her
head under her wing as she slept. She also noted that someone, most likely
Remus had already placed newspaper down to catch her droppings and filled the
food and water bowls attached to the post.
The walls had a glittery sheen and coloured pale plum and gold. The floorboards
were made of pale glossy gold oak and had a black boarder all the way around
the edge, while a square shaped rug in colours dark purple and pale lilac that
a floral pattern took up most of the floor at the foot of the bed. The
furniture was white and in a style straight out of the mid to late seventeenth
century, around the era of King Louie XV of Versailles, France.
The bedspread, pillows, throw and shams, two Boudoir cushions, valance sheet,
and long full-length curtains matched. They were dark plum with a pale green
and pale lilac stripe and had a big metallic lilac floral pattern. The ceiling
painted a dark ivory and had Artex in a figure eight pattern and a fanned rose
pattern around the light fixture. The lighting consisted of a five light plum
coloured glass and metal chrome.
Harry and the others noted the bed was big enough to fit three fully-grown
people in it. It was a 7ft sleigh bed, hand carved from solid mahogany wood and
hand polished and finished to a beautiful satin patina. The design is from the
Louis XV era of French furniture circa 1745, and had scrolled ends and
delicately carved. It was not a double or even a king it was emperor sized.
Cedric had to resist the urge to smirk at the thought of what he could and
would honestly love to do to Harry in a bed that large, the possibilities were
surely limitless.
Fleur and Angelina nearly swooned at the sight of the quadruple armoire that
had full length mirrors and solid doors inlay made from solid mahogany wood,
hand polished and finished to a beautiful satin patina in French white. The
design is from the same era as the bed and other matching furniture. Fleur
could tell it was an authentic reproduction. It had centre full hanging, and
side drawers providing what she knew would end up being great storage space.
Hermione and Ginny noted with barely concealed envy, that there was matching
three-mirror dressing table that had three small draws. There was even a stool
and a unit with set of six draws, a side table with also two draws and even a
bookcase with two lower draws and had three layer shelves and two doors. It was
all French white mahogany and hand polished to a beautiful satin patina just
like everything else.
This room was a little girls or young woman's fairy tale come to life in its
purest form. To Hermione this was a representation of just how much Sirius
loved and adored his goddaughter, no expense had been spared in this room, none
whatsoever. Sure she was a little envious of such beauty, but mostly the
thought filled her full of genuine warmth that someone had taken the time and
effort and loved Harry enough to do all of this.
Sirius grinned at Harry's evident approval, and yes he had caught onto the fact
Fleur and Angelina had been practically swooning at the sight of the quadruple
armoire. He commented, "Glad to see you approve." He added, "Oh, and by the way
while there is a light switch near the door for the light, but if you ever get
lazy and just do not want to move from the bed or stool then the light will
respond and switch itself off if you clap your hands together twice quickly."
He demonstrated and clapped twice, the light went out, before clapping his
hands again and the light turned back on again. Harry drawled in amusement, "A
clapper feature Sirius honestly." Sirius smirked and shrugged as he replied,
"Hey, do not knock it, its bloody handy, trust me I have one in my room too."
Remus chuckled in amusement before he commented, "Oh by the way, I thought I'd
mention that when quite a few parcels arrived earlier on Dobby was kind enough
to put them away for you and those for Fleur in her room to. He kept muttering
something about lots of dragon." Harry, along with Tonks, Angelina and Fleur
laughed knowingly, knowing exactly what the elf had been going on about. It
would seem Harry and Fleur's orders at been delivered as promised.
Harry walked over to the armoire and opened all of the doors, and instantly
noticed how vast it appeared, more so than even the size of the furniture
suggested. Sirius explained at her questioning glance in his direction,
"Extension charm Harry, practically limitless at that, had to cast two of them
to get the amount of space I was aiming for."
Harry nodded noticing there were two long and wide racks along the bottom of
the armoire for shoes, ridiculous amounts of shoes she wagered. She also
noticed that Dobby had placed her broomstick in the far corner of her armoire.
She was considering mounting both of her brooms on her bedroom or office wall.
While Harry examined that feature, the others had spotted the dragon hide.
Cedric let out a low whistle and commented laughingly, "Well, well Harry is
there something you have neglected to mention about yourself?" He gestured to
the dragon hide, and Harry rolled her eyes and drawled, "Har bloody har." She
added as the others chuckled, "I just for some reason seem to have a taste for
dragon hide since changing back, it just appeals I have no idea only that it
does."
Hermione was amazed and commented, "You have dragon hide high heels and boots,
even waistcoats, dresses, skirts and trousers, not just jackets and coats."
Ginny added, "Look on the book shelf, there is even folders and photo albums."
Sirius asked, "And bags, purses and wallets Harry?" Harry nodded and replied
sheepishly, "Yes, I more than kind of splurged in that shop, like several
hundred Galleons kind of splurge. The Galleons that came out of the vault that
was mum’s personal vault that I am now dubbing my Evans vault actually."
Hermione and Ginny gasped, while Sirius and Cedric chuckled and Remus shook his
head, but there was a small grin curving around the corners of his lips.
Remus suddenly remembered the portrait and the pendent and chain for Cedric he
had collected that afternoon from Gringotts. He cleared his throat and said,
"Oh and Harry the packages you asked for me to collect from Gringotts are in
your study waiting for you." Harry's eyes widened before she said, "Ok thanks
for that; I will see to them as soon as I get the first chance and the time, I
am in no rush now that I know they are secure in my study."
Tonks shook her head and said, "Okay why don't you Sirius show Harry her new
bathroom suit and Hermione and Cedric can help me return the packages from my
bag to their regular size." Sirius look caught between sheepish and
uncomfortable as he said, "Actually Cedric might want to join me and Harry in
the bathroom he'll see why when he sees it." Harry and Cedric looked at Sirius
puzzled but Remus knew why, and glanced briefly in Ginny's direction before
grimacing, knowing she did not need to see the double fixtures been put in the
bathroom.
Remus exchanged glance with Sirius who grimaced and nodded uncomfortably,
before he said to Ginny, "Ginny how about you go with Remus and make some hot
chocolate, Angelina and Fleur could come to if you like." Angelina and Fleur
knew what was happening as did the others. Sirius wanted Remus to take Ginny to
one side to see how she was coping, and for some reason he did not want her
seeing the bathroom. Angelina said, "We could invite George and Bill, and even
Fred and Ron if you want."
Ginny knew exactly what they were doing, but was far too overwhelmed with how
female the room and the dragon hide clothes looked. Merlin there was even high
heels, and if nothing else had been able to bring it all home then the high
heels, skirts and dresses surely had. However, the final nail in the proverbial
coffin was the sight of Harry's trunk at the end of the bed. She remembered
watching last summer as Sirius had used a carving spell to beautifully carve
the initials H J P into the lid of the trunk."
Ginny found herself nodding and smiling weakly, barely keeping the tears a bay
as she asked, "Can there be whipped cream, marshmallows and cinnamon powder
to?" Remus looked at her sympathetically clearly seeing her struggle with tears
and said, "Absolutely, anything you want you can have it, just name it."
Anything she wanted she pondered, ha, yeah right if only, if she could have
anything she wanted Harry would still be hers and very much a wizard.
As soon as her bedroom door had closed, Harry's jaw clenched as she blinked
back tears of guilt and fury. She gritted out from between clenched teeth,
"There you go, did I not say by any chance already that I hate what this is
doing to her I never wanted this for her." She hissed as she added asking, "Now
do you see, now do you see why it would have been better if you had discouraged
me from getting too close and involved with Ginny in the first place that was
not strictly innocent and platonic?"
Hermione looked tearful and troubled as she tried to console her friend, "Now
listen here, this is by no means your fault, none of it. It is not as if you
knew this was even a possibility and could happen to you, which means you did
not go out of your way to lead her on and cruelly and carelessly play around
with her feelings. Her parents know this as do her brothers, and do not hold it
against you they have no reason to." She concluded, "Ginny does as well, only
she is too much in emotional pain and shock to tell you that just yet, give her
time."
Cedric added where Hermione left off and said, "Hermione is right Harry, please
do not go taking blame for what was out of your control, it will only end up
eating you alive when it should not have to." He added and asked as an idea
suddenly came to him, "You need to relax, how about running yourself a bath and
have a soak while Hermione and Tonks put all of your new clothes and other
thing away?" He would help to but Sirius said he needed to see the bathroom as
well, he wondered why when it was decorated and adjoined to Harry's room.
Harry and Cedric followed Sirius to the other end of the room where there was
another door. Harry smirked halfheartedly as Sirius clapped his hands after
opening the door, and the bathroom immediately illuminated with a soft glow.
Before Sirius could explain the lighting features, Harry and Cedric spotted an
antique white coloured double vanity made of wood that had solid cream marble
counter-top and two round under-mounts white porcelain sinks. The two sets of
taps were made of antique brass that had a coppery hue; while above the taps
were two large identical oval shaped mirrors. The detailing on the wood and the
handles were stunning and brass coloured leaves with what appeared to be fans.
There were four cupboard doors under the sink with four smaller draws stacked
in the middle of the cupboards.
Sirius saw where there gazes had landed and scratched behind his ear nervously
and said, "Well, that I can explain. You see Harry you are engaged and I
figured at some point when you and Cedric are more comfortable and accustomed
to each other that Cedric might what to stay over occasionally or move into
your room. Why do you think the bed is so big, or another example of being made
for two, your bathtub and shower?" He gestured to the bathtub, slash shower
combo in question.
He saw them eye the size of the freestanding acrylic cream oval shaped tub and
asked, "That is 6 foot and one inch in length, why would I purchase such a long
tub for you Harry, when you do not even reach passed 5 foot 4 inches in
height?" He grimaced and added, "Normally I would not be encouraging you to
start sharing baths and a bed with a wizard Harry, but you’re of age now and of
course Cedric is not just any wizard but your fiancé, a fact Tonks has made a
point of pointing out to me rather quite firmly at that." Harry and Cedric
flushed at what Sirius and been implying, it did not take a genius to figure it
out.
He explained some of the features of the tub, "The tub has an air option the
Sales Assistant informed me, which features strategically placed jets that
effectively massage you, I think she said it was like a Jacuzzi was the word
she used. There is even an overflow option, meaning it can reach a deep water
level. Finally, she also mentioned an insulation feature that means the tub
stays warm, even during temperature fluctuations, well, they were her words not
mine.”
He shrugged as he concluded, “Apparently, it is state of the art and the recent
addition in that class of tub. It even has a shower feature as you can see for
yourselves, the tall deck mount is an English telephone style faucet with a
hand held shower cross handles near the tub and matches the vintage copper
theme in here."
They continued to take in the rest of the bathroom they were now learning was
not only for Harry but for Cedric to if they wanted it to be. It was even more
evident as they took in the matching vintage copper coloured robe hooks side by
side of the other on a wall covered in luxurious and glossy Mocha coloured
marble effect ceramic titles that had a natural stone effect and, noticed that
even the floor had the same matching titles.
The toilet holder, towel rail, shower caddy and glass shelf that were secured
to the wall were all made of the same vintage style and copper colour. Harry
raised a brow when she noticed the toilet brush and toilet handle were even
made of the same vintage copper colour and style. The toilet was cream coloured
the same shade as the tub. It was 1940 – 1950's style toilet and had simple
embellishments on the tank lid and bowl base.
Harry and Cedric really liked what they saw Harry especially liked how the
ceiling painted pure white and had an Artexed pattern of fans. She would even
go as far as to say she liked the design more so than the one on her bedroom
ceiling. She had never really seen Artex before Petunia had hated it so it was
never used or seen in Privet Drive, but that would change she would see to
that, putting Artex up in Private Drive would give her immense pleasure
considering how much her aunts hates it.
Harry cleared her throat and said, "It's lovely in here, I love the Artex on
the ceiling more so than the one in my room." She added, "As for it being
decorated with not just me in mind but Cedric to, well, we have only been
engaged for a day. I figured that maybe we could start out with a night or two
during the Christmas holidays when we come back here. Start out slowly and
become accustomed to each other. I mean sharing a bed is one thing but a
bathroom, a tub in particular is something else I am not ready for yet and sure
Cedric is not either."
Cedric nodded as he added, "I agree that we should wait until the Christmas
holidays then see about sharing a room maybe a night or two out of the week,
maybe during weekends. We can cross the proverbial bridge that is sharing a
bathroom and taking a bath together when we come to it. It is a big step, we
need to wait and decide when we are ready to become that intimate, as that is
what it will be intimate. Sharing a bath with someone, especially if they are
eventually going to be your spouse in my eyes is very intimate."
Sirius looked noticeably relived, which had the younger pair smirking
knowingly, poor Sirius. Sure, it was cruel to tease him but Harry was more than
half tempted to goad her godfather. Cedric playfully narrowed his eyes at her
as if knowing exactly she was thinking and shook his head in fond amusement. As
if also sensing she was about to do something to annoy him Sirius quickly went
back to what he was going to explain before distracted.
He told the younger pair, "Anyhow as I was about to say before distracted, the
lighting ambiance can be altered in here. There are four different settings to
chose from, such as one would be soft, a second option personal, a third is
romantic and the final setting normal, the kind you would find in any muggle
bathroom, not that this is a muggle bathroom, far from it." He added, "For
example just say romantic out aloud and this will happen" As soon as the word
had left his mouth the ambiance of room rapidly shifted to resemble a room full
of flickering candles, yet obviously there was not a single one present in the
room.
Harry loved it and made a mental note to buy some candles at the first
opportunity she got. She looked up along with Cedric at the ceiling and saw a
set of eight small circular lights mounted into various parts of the ceiling,
and knew magic was responsible for that. Muggles would not be able plausibly to
pull that off in the same way Sirius had managed in there. Muggles used
electricity though this was clearly accomplished using very complicated charms
and other such lighting spells as Sirius had proven when he had demonstrated
how the feature worked.
Harry said to Sirius, "Leave the lighting like this, it reminds me that I need
to buy some candles, maybe some different coloured and scented ones." Sirius
nodded knowingly and said, "Naturally you are no different from your mother or
your grandma Potter, both had collections of candles. I saw your Grandma
Potter's collection on my fifteenth birthday when I was given permission to
take a bath in the master bathroom at Potter manor."
He added around a smirk, "Oh and by the way if you two enjoy the prefects'
bathroom at Hogwarts, well the master bathroom at Potter Manor has a bath
modeled off that design, the same size and multiple taps with different scented
and coloured bubble baths included." Harry and Cedric's eyes lit up at the
thought of that bath, the bath in question that would be theirs once they
married and moved into Potter Manor.
Harry suddenly eyed the big and small fluffy purple towels on the towel rail,
and wondered what was with the colour purple all of a sudden. First Remus sent
a photo album in purple and lilac, and the makeup box Tonks sent also purple.
The bedding and curtains, walls, and even the rug were purple or plum. She
asked Sirius as much, "Why all purple all of a sudden, first the photo album,
makeup box, and my tank top even my shoes, and finally my bedroom decor, all
purple, lilac or plum?"
Sirius replied, "We had no idea what would be to your tastes when you changed
back, we instead used some of Lily's favourite colours as a guideline. If you
do not like the colours its fine, just say so Harry and we can change it to
whatever you want with a colouring charm. We will not be offended there is no
use putting up with what you do not like, you are the one who is going to have
to sleep in that room, and so if there is an issue then speak up now."
Harry shook her head and was quick to reassure him, "Oh no, you misunderstand
me here, I do like the colour, more so since changing back believe it or not,
but never mentioned it as a wizard." She added, "I like black, gold, cream,
almost any shade of green, shades of blue and lilac and silver, but my main
favourites our emerald green, cream and gold." Sirius and Cedric both made a
mental note to remember that for future reference and pass the information onto
the others.
Harry called out to Tonks and Hermione, "Tonks could you please bring me in the
bags from Boots" she added, "And Hermione could you please find my pink and
white striped satin nightshirt, you'll find it in one of the bags from Victoria
Secret?" She received two positive answers in reply a few moments later and
Tonks added, "I know which nightshirt you mean I will show her." Harry called
back, "Thanks."
Sirius cleared his throat and said, "Alright, Cedric and I will leave you to it
and go downstairs for awhile." Harry nodded and thanked him with a hug for
everything he had done, but it did not mean he was to think he and Remus for
one second were completely off the hook for keeping things from her, strict
instructions from her parents or not.
He grimaced as he returned the hug and said anything for her. He added as he
pulled away, "And yes, I am aware Moony and I are not off the hook yet, life is
not that fair nor are you that merciful, and your mother was not either for
that matter, you both share that in common, trust me on that." Harry snorted,
as did Cedric, before they left Harry alone in the bathroom.
Harry sighed and scrubbed a hand across her face tiredly before looking back
over at the round tub, which had her eyes suddenly lighting up and her lips
curving into a smirk. Oh yes it was definitely time to use that tub, it would
be crime to just leave the tub standing there and not fill it to the brim with
blissfully hot water and scented bubbles.
She made her way over to the tub and placed the plug in the hole before turning
on both taps, the hot a little more so than the cold. She stood back slightly
caught off guard as the water came gushing out of both taps in a rush. Wow,
even the water at the Dursleys had never come out that fast, and only ever seen
that happen when at Hogwarts she noted happily.
Harry watched the tub fill for a few minutes, before there was a knock on the
still open door. Harry turned to see Tonks standing near the open doorway and
holding at least four bags with the Boots logo on them. Harry gestured for her
to enter the room and Tonks nodded and handed Harry the bags once inside. She
then turned her attention to the huge currently filling bathtub, which was when
she got this sudden dreamy look in her eyes.
Harry wondered why Tonks was silent, but snorted when she noted the dreamy look
of the older witch and exactly where her gaze currently lingered. She called to
Hermione, knowing the other witch would be amused as well, but would also most
likely gush over the tub as well. "Hermione, you have to come in here and look
at this, especially the look currently plastered all over Tonks face, I mean
really her face is saying a hundred and one things all at once."
Hermione entered the bathroom moments later, and took one look at Tonks and let
a giggle of amusement at the dazed look of the older witch. That giggle cut off
seconds later and turned into a gasp of delight when she saw the tub and really
took in the bathroom for the first time. Her gasp knocked Tonks out of her
dreamy stupor, turned to face the younger witch, and of course got her first
look at the rest of the bathroom since Sirius and Remus had completed it.
Tonks moaned and said, "Oh Merlin that is gorgeous, the whole bathroom is in
fact." Harry smirked and remarked teasingly, "If you play your cards right I
might let you and Hermione take turns using the bathroom once over the summer."
Hearing this was enough to have Hermione and Tonks lighting up like a Christmas
tree at the thought of sinking into that bathtub filled with hot scented water
full of bubbles, the very thought was heavenly.
Whilst they were busy imagining using the bathtub, Harry turned her attention
to the bags still in her hands. She placed them on the counter besides the
right hand sink and searched around the bags until she had located the green
coloured Radox bubble bath. She unscrewed the top off and poured two caps full
under the rushing hot water tap. She replaced and secured the top back on the
bottle and placed it on the counter-top.
Hermione and Tonks snapped out of their daydream as Harry was using her hand to
mix the bubble bath into the water more evenly. They looked around the bathroom
taking in its decor as Harry straightened up from her bent position over the
tub. Both instantly noted a common theme in the bathroom, the design evidently
intended for a couple. His and hers matching sinks and mirrors, even matching
robe hooks side by side. The size and length of the tub was another telltale
sign that this bathrooms design had two people in mind and not one.
Hermione gasped and cringed in part sympathy and part mortification as it
suddenly become very apparent as to why Sirius had wanted Cedric to view the
bathroom along with Harry. As to why he, Remus and Tonks had wanted Ginny out
of the room and had Angelina and Fleur distract her before she had the chance
to see the bathroom, to see all of the couple orientated fixtures throughout
the whole room.
That would have not only been a disaster of epic proportions, but would have
also good as been rubbing in Ginny's face the nature and direction Harry and
Cedric's relationship would eventually be taking. The bedroom must have shown
that as well, for example the size of the armoire and the bed, Merlin that bed
could easily fit three never mind two.
Harry removed her denim jacket and draped it over the towel rail, before asking
Tonks if she could remove the charms keeping her hair and makeup in place, but
leave the one on her nails intact. Harry removed her glasses and placed them on
the counter-top, before Tonks pointed her wand first at Harry's face removing
all makeup leaving her face clear and fresh.
She next removed the charm that kept her hair secure. Harry removed the pins
keeping the braid in place before loosening the braid and leaving her hair to
flow down her back in a long riot of gorgeous curls. Hermione and Tonks
marveled at its beauty, especially with all of those stunning curls from the
braid.
Tonks marveled at her hair for a few more seconds before she said she and
Hermione would leave her to it and would be back in her bedroom putting away
the rest of her purchases. Harry nodded and said she would be awhile, they
nodded and said to take her time and just relax after everything that had gone
down that day, especially after that evening meeting. She watched as they left
the bathroom, Hermione closing the door all the way behind her.
Harry leaned over the tub to turn off the taps before grabbing her Molton Brown
shampoo and conditioner and a bar of orchid and coconut musk scented soap. She
placed the bottles and soap on the edge of the tub before removing her
jewellery and putting them securely on the counter-top nearby her glasses. She
then stripped down throwing her dirty clothing and her jacket off the towel
rail into the big and tall dark wicker clothes basket near the vanity.
She took extra care due to blurred vision without her glasses to step into the
tub and lower herself down into the steaming water. She lay back in the tub and
the water submerged her up to her shoulders, and soon as she felt hot water and
the sensation of the bubbles touching her skin and the deep soothing scent of
the Radox hit her nose she could not help but let out a loud sigh of relief.
The feeling of her tired muscles encased in hot bubbly and scented water was a
form of bliss. It was not long after she settled that she was closing her eyes
and deeply breathing in the Radox.
She remained laying in the tub relaxing for half an hour before the water
started to cool somewhat. She pulled the plug draining the dirty water away
before picking up the shower head and quickly figured out how to use it and
turned it on. She stood up and grabbed her shampoo and washed her hair followed
by conditioner and used the shower head to rinse well until the water ran
clear. She lastly picked up the dark butter cream coloured soap and coated her
body in thick lava before rising off the soap that flowed down the plughole in
murky suds.
Harry turned off the shower head and placed it back in its resting place near
the taps, before carefully stepping out of the tub and making sure not to slip
on the tiles. She then made her way over to the vanity, picked up her glasses
off the counter-top and put them on. She made her way over to the towel rack,
using the smaller towel to wrap up her hair and wrapped the larger towel around
her body and secured it underneath her arms.
She went back to the tub grabbed the shampoo and conditioner, along with the
bar of soap, and placed them inside of the shower caddy attached to the wall.
Her aunt being the snob and neat freak that she is always demanded that the
soap was never left wet on the side of the bath, due to leaving horrible
unsightly soap scum marks behind for guests who asked to use the toilet to see.
Sure Harry could now use her magic to remove any scum marks left, but it was
pure habit ingrained into her to place the soap in the caddy dish. Oh well, it
was not a habit she was about to break, it was hygienic after all, so why stop
now that she no longer lived with her aunt and had her own personal bathroom?
Harry called out quietly, "Normal" and the lighting shift from flickering
romantic and brightened to normal general lighting found in any bathroom. She
then sat down upon the closed toilet seat, and searched through the bags for
her new hairbrush. Once she had it, she removed the plastic packaging and threw
it into a bin, which matched the clothes basket.
She called out, "Tonks could you please come in here a moment as I need the
correct wand movements for the drying and de-tangling charms." Tonks knocked
and entered a few moments later. She was carrying the nightshirt Harry had
asked for earlier on and a pair of plain white cotton briefs for comfort and
decency.
She noted Harry sat on the closed toilet seat wearing only a towel. Harry
gestured to the nightshirt and underwear and said, "Thanks." She added, "As I
said I need the charms to dry and detangle my hair, I am far too tiered
emotionally and physically to do it the muggle way." She looked truly tired as
she said this that Tonks had no trouble believing the younger witch was not
just being plain lazy.
Harry reached up to remove the towel from her hair and nodded to Tonks to go
ahead. Tonks lifted her wand and slowly pronounced the charm for the detangle
charm and the correct wand movements slowly so that Harry could mentally take
note for future reference. She repeated the same process with the drying charm,
which Harry also took note of how to pronounce it and the correct wand
movements.
Hermione stood near the open door and watched as her best friend sat on the
closed toilet seat wearing only a towel as she effortlessly thanks to the
detangle charm pulled a hairbrush through her dry and silken strands of hair.
She shook her head as she marveled at the long and straight stands of midnight
black silk, and could not help but feel a slight stab of envy.
She especially felt this as she took note of how the towel wrapped around the
other witch did nothing to hide the beautiful and trim body her best friend had
gained. Those legs and her breasts made Hermione feel more than a slight stab
of inferiority, not that she would ever willingly admit to as such, especially
never to Harry herself.
Harry glanced up briefly just in time see how Hermione was eyeing her. She
inwardly moaned, oh Merlin did she know all about that look that currently
showed on her best friends face. She could see Hermione was desperately trying
to conceal it for Harry's sake and Harry knew this. It was no use Harry had
seen it and knew the reason behind the look, and knew it needed to be nipped in
the bud very quickly before any real jealousy and feelings of inferiority could
have the chance to develop.
As she finished brushing her hair, she commented to Hermione, "Do not over
think it Hermione you are so much better than that, better than the likes of
Lavender bloody Brown." Hermione frowned as she shot Harry a puzzled glance and
asked in reply, "What do you mean Harry?" Tonks knew what Harry was saying and
had seen that look, was the same one she had seen on many witches when looking
at the likes of Angelina and Fleur, especially Fleur.
Harry placed the hairbrush down on the counter-top and replied to Hermione's
question, "That look you are currently giving me, yet trying to conceal it, I
know it, know it from watching Lavender use the same look on you and Luna when
she was after Ron.” Hermione's frown deepened as Harry went on, "She would look
at you as you and Ron would do homework together or laugh along with each
other. She had no idea you did not want or see Ron romantically, and this
caused her to feel inferior to you, wondering what was it about you that
attracted Ron, why else do you think she was such a bitch to you in fifth
year?"
She added, "Naturally it was Luna he wanted the whole time since fifth year.
When he got together with Luna I would watch Lavender eye Luna and then finger
a strand of her own hair, and you and I know her long and pale blonde hair is
one of Luna's finer features besides her blue-grey eyes." She snorted in
disbelief as she asked Hermione, "You remember when Lavender started wearing a
pair of coloured contracts she had charmed to match the colour of Luna's eyes,
and thinking it would catch Ron's attention if she straightened and lengthened
her hair like Luna wears hers? Ha if only it were that simple, I mean Merlin
not even Ron is that thick or shallow."
Hermione snorted in disgust and added, "She was a right bitch to Luna
especially after Romilda Vane spiked those chocolates meant for you with a love
potion, only for Ron to find them and eat them instead. I think the last straw
that broke the camel’s back for Lavender was when Ron called out Luna's name in
his sleep during his time in the hospital wing after he received the antidote
to the love potion. I thought Lavender was going to pitch a fit when she
started wailing in front of Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape." Harry
returned the snort of disgust remembering that unfortunate episode all too well
during their fifth year.
Tonks added as she turned to Hermione, "I and Harry saw the way you were eyeing
her hair, even her body, especially her legs and her breasts. Trust me Hermione
I can understand why looking at her legs and breasts can make you feel envious,
especially on such a petite witch that Harry is." She continued, "Even I felt a
stab of envy this morning when I helped her get ready at the Leaky Cauldron."
Harry shot Tonks an exasperated glance and the older witch rolled her eyes and
said, "Do not look at me like that, it is understandable try looking in a
damned mirror sometime Harry."
Harry grimaced and shook her head before saying, "I can understand and
sympathise Hermione, and that is not me being conceited either. For example
when I was male I would feel really bad and self conscious when Cedric and the
twins would walk around Hogwarts looking as gorgeous and attractive as they
are, and receiving all of that female attention in absolute spades. They would
receive attention because of their looks and personality not because of a
stupid ugly scar on their forehead from supposedly defeating a lunatic when he
murdered their parents."
She added, "That feeling of being inferior of not comparing or measuring up
only increased when Sebastian came to Hogwarts during our sixth year.” She
cringed as she next revealed, "It was sometimes downright painful to be stood
in a room with wizards as tall as professor Snape, The Headmaster, Ron and
Sebastian. Hell, even Angie and Fleur are taller than me in both my male and in
this body." She concluded, "I felt like this skinny short freak, I did not feel
attractive in my male body, unlike I do in my current female body."
Hermione sighed and said, "Anyone would feel attractive in your body Harry."
She added, "I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, I am sure I will get
it out of my system soon." Tonks shook her head and said, "It is perfectly
normal Hermione. I have been there, I even bet at some point in her life your
mother would have experienced the same kind of feelings as well." Hermione
nodded and Harry sent her an encouraging smile before standing from her seat on
the toilet.
The three turned to face the bedroom when they heard a knock. Harry called out,
"Who is it?" Angelina could be heard answering from the other side of the
bedroom door, "Its Angie and Fleur, we come bearing large mugs of hot chocolate
with whip cream and Marshmallows for the three of you." Fleur was heard adding,
"It is only ten o clock, and I and Angie figured the five of us could have a
pyjama party, we thought we might as well make the most of it until midnight
when your birthday is over Harry."
Harry inside of the bathroom exchanged a grin with Hermione and Tonks as she
asked, "You two up for it?" Hermione nodded as did Tonks, and Hermione said,
"You finish drying up and get changed for the night and Tonks and I will go and
get changed into our nightwear." Harry nodded in agreement, while Hermione and
Tonks left the bathroom and went to allow Angie and Fleur in on the way out.
They informed the others that they were all up for it and were just going to
change into their nightwear, and that Harry was still in the bathroom finishing
getting ready for bed.
Angelina and Fleur entered and placed the three mugs down on one of the bedside
tables. Both witches were already dressed for bed not wanting to head to their
separate rooms and get dressed for bed after midnight whilst tired. While they
waited for Harry to finish up in the bathroom, they took the time to have
another look around the room and admired the stunning furniture and decor once
again.
In the bathroom, Harry was dressed for bed and brushing her teeth with her new
brush before rinsing her mouth out with mouthwash then water. She made a mental
note to floss and of course put her toiletries away in the vanity in the
morning. Before exiting the bathroom, she chose one of the coloured glitter
hair elastics and put it around her wrist. She picked up her shoes in one hand,
threw the dirty towels into the clothes basket on the way out of the door and
flipped the switch near the door turning out the lights.
She spotted Angelina and Fleur the moment she entered the room and head
straight for the armoire to put her away her flats with the rest of her shoes,
and picked up her slippers and slipped them on comfortably. She next spotted
the three tall mugs of hot chocolate topped with lots of whip cream and
marshmallows. Her eyes lit up and her mouth watered at the sight of the sweet
treat.
She faced Angie and Fleur and asked, "So how is Ginny?" Angelina picked up one
of the mugs having seen the younger witch eyeing it, and handed to Harry who
thanked her and took a small sip. Angelina replied to her question and said,
"She is pretty cut up, but did not want to show it anymore in front of you then
she already has."
Fleur added, "She does not want you to feel guilty, and knows it is not your
fault, if anything she blames Sirius, Remus, and her father for not warning you
off and allowing you to date her in the first place." Angie finished, "She asks
if you will grant her sometime alone to come to terms with everything before
she can think of trying to just be your friend and nothing more."
Harry replied firmly, "Oh course, it goes without saying, and had been my plan
anyway. I know me hanging around her would not be wise and just downright cruel
for the next couple of weeks. The fact I look as I do, and learning of our
actual relation to the other just adds to the pile of unwanted shit already
happening."
She added, "I am going to use the same method with Cho to, especially around
Cedric. Just because she really pissed me off tonight does not mean I am going
to act like a cow towards her. I know she is hurting and cannot help how she
feels for Cedric." She grimaced and concluded, "Jealousy, particularly when it
turns cold and bitter is one of the worst feelings you can feel, and it can
consume you if you allow it to fester."
They all turned when they heard the wizard of topic say from the open doorway,
"I am glad you feel that way Harry, and you are not going to use the fact she
pissed you off tonight against her, she was way out of line, even by my
standards of her. So thank you for understanding and not letting her have it
even more so than you already have, we both know she would deserve it after
what she said to you tonight. Thank you, I appreciate it, even if she is too
blinded by her feelings for the situation."
He added asking, "You mind if I come in?" Harry shook her head and gestured for
him to enter. She noticed he was not alone, but in fact, all of the Weasley
siblings were present except for Ginny and Charlie. Sirius and Remus had also
returned with them to. Tonks and Hermione also arrived back at that moment
dressed for bed, and Tonks asked, "Hey, who invited our men and my troublesome
cousin?" Sirius shot her a mock look of hurt; Tonks in return rolled her eyes
at him.
Fleur gestured to the hot chocolate, whilst laughing with the others at Tonks
comment and Sirius's playful and mocking reaction. Tonks and Hermione each took
one of the two remaining mugs and took a long sip. Tonks made a sound of
approval as she licked cream from her upper lip and all but purred, "Oh, thank
you that is absolute perfection." Remus chuckled and commented teasingly as he
eyed his wife in amusement, "Why thank you, I aim to please." Tonks smirked in
reply knowing her husband made the hot chocolate; she would know the taste of
her husband's favourite brand of chocolate anywhere.
Harry's eyes widened as she for some reason suddenly remembered her Lavender
issue after her conversation with Hermione. She placed her mug down on the
vanity table and kneeled on the floor, sitting on her feet as she opened her
trunk and searched for the letter that come with her Hogwarts letter from
professor McGonagall. She did not have the chance to mention it to Sirius and
Remus earlier, well, no better than the present she supposed.
Once she found it, she straightened and stood, before handing the letter to a
puzzled Sirius. She said at his questioning look, "Read the part about the
girl's dormitory, I majorly need something done about that as I mentioned
already in your letter you received this morning. I was not kidding Sirius I
meant what I wrote every single last damned word at that. I will not do it in
less you fancy visiting me in Azkaban." Sirius grimaced deeply at hearing that
last part.
Bill asked, "Why what's happened Harry?" Everyone who did not know about the
letter she sent to Sirius turned to face her. Only Cedric, Sirius, Remus and
Tonks knew what she thought on the whole matter. Harry picked up her mug, took
a long drink and chewed one of the marshmallows before licking the cream and
chocolate from her upper lip. The sight she made licking at that chocolate and
cream made Cedric very uncomfortable for many reasons. Damn Harry and her
unknowingly teasing him he thought less than charitably.
Harry replied to Bills question once she lowered the mug, "Professor McGonagall
sent me a letter with the usual Hogwarts letter. It is the content of the
letter that is the issue, namely she wants to remove me from what will be the
seventh year boy's dorms, and place me in the girl's dorms instead."
Bill frowned wondering why she had an issue with this, she was now female, and
why would she not feel comfortable sharing with her own sex? He asked as much,
"I do not see the problem Harry, it makes sense, and you cannot stay in the
boys dorms, not only is it against Hogwarts rules, but would also be highly
inappropriate." He added, "Plus with you now being female I figured you would
be more comfortable around your own sex."
Harry replied, "I have no issue being around my own sex Bill. I also have no
issue with being moved from the boy's dorms, in fact I agree with it, and do
not wish to stay there anymore than professor McGonagall wants me to." She cut
a glance at Ron and added, "No offence, but really." Ron shrugged and said,
"None taken, I do not want you in there anymore than you want to be there. I am
damn certain Nev, Seamus and Dean will feel the same when they find out. It
would be just plain wrong and weird." Harry nodded and said, "Exactly."
She paused and continued to explain her issue, "No, the issue with the girl's
dorms is not the dorms personally, but in fact the girls who sleep in there,
namely one Lavender Brown and her little ole merry side kick Parvati Patil.
That is something I cannot get on board with; especially considering Hermione
will not be there to stop or hold me back or talk me out of cursing Lavender to
the hospital wing. Hermione will probably end up as Head Girl this year."
Hermione's eyes widened as she said, "Yes I can see how that would be a problem
in regards to Lavender. But I thought you got along with Parvati, I mean she
was your date to the Yule ball during the tournament?" Harry shook her head and
replied, "I have not really got any issue with her personally, no it is down to
the fact she follows Lavender like a damned sheep and is not usually for behind
when it comes to Lavender gossiping and spreading rumours like the air-headed
slut she is."
Sirius lowered the letter and said, "Minerva has written that if the girls do
not feel comfortable with sharing a dormitory and shower room with you, after
all they knew you as a wizard, she said they could provide you with a set of
your own rooms." Harry snorted and said, "I will force the damn issue with
Lavender if I have to. I am not kidding, I honestly think I will go off at the
deep end in no time at all, probably long enough for Lavender to make some air-
headed comment."
She shook her head and added firmly, "I cannot stand her, especially after
fourth year when she pulled that crap with Skeeter, about me, Hermione and
Viktor Krum, something I never for one second forgot or forgave her for. Why
the hell should I, not only did it cause major headaches and annoyance for me,
but Hermione end up the hospital wing because of the shit Lavender and Skeeter
had caused.”
She shook her head as her lower lip curled in distaste, “On top of that, she
would sneer at Hermione and try to throw herself at Ron, even when he and Luna
started dating.” She paused to snort before adding, “Oh and do not get me
started on the way she would make a point of trying to flirt and act all
friendly with me, just so she could be seen hanging out with the ‘Boy Who
Lived’ and earn her fifteen minutes of fame."
She concluded around a revolted looking grimace, "Her disgusting and constant
attention seeking, the way she whores herself around so freely, and went after
Ron and Seamus until they turned her down. It makes me sick and want to curse
her bald for Merlin's sake, and then see how many wizards will be waiting and
gagging to shag the blonde air-headed bint then. It would be perfect seeing as
how vain and hung up on her looks Lavender is."
The twins were grinning widely and crowed in delight, Fred drawled, "Whoa baby
cousin." George added also drawling in delight, "You really are a bitch as a
witch." They added together, "Hell yeah, we like it!" Harry snorted and rolled
her eyes as she replied, "I am not usually, not even in this body either I
suspect. It is down her that brings the inner female bitch out in me. She makes
my teeth hurt and set them on edge, hell I can practically feel my magic
itching under my skin wanting to curse her to hell and back again." She
shrugged as she added, "The only other capable of making me feel this way is
Draco Malfoy."
Cedric and the twins laughed, even Bill could not help the chuckle that
escaped. He was starting to see what Harry's issue with the other witch was all
about. Angie and Fleur looked at Harry knowingly; they had felt that same urge
many times during their time at Hogwarts and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.
Hermione on the other hand was caught between shock and knowing sympathy, she
knew all too well about the urges that Lavender and Malfoy were capable of
provoking. She nodded and said, "I know the feeling, Malfoy since first year
and Lavender since fourth year."
Ron exclaimed, "Hermione!" Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Oh honestly
Ronald, Lavender is all Harry described and much more as well. As for Malfoy,
I'd think you of all people would know about the urges that come with wanting
to hex him." She concluded, "Normally I do not condone such violence, but there
is just something that has to be said about those two that make a person go
against their usual nature and rules."
Harry laughed aloud and nodded, and after a moment, Ron could not help but nod.
He asked, "Fair point about Malfoy, but Lavender why?" Harry scoffed in
disbelief, while Hermione's jaw clenched and she ranted, "Lavender is foul
Ronald, she sleeps around as if sex is about to go out of style or made an
illegal public offence." She spat, "Surely you could not have enjoyed
Lavender's advances that much, or not disgusted over the way she tried to get
you to date her by putting in those stupid coloured contact lenses and doing
her hair like Luna's?"
Harry could not help but giggle and remarked slyly, "I would not be honestly
surprised if the straight and bi-sexual male residents of Hogwarts have to take
a number and wait in line, hell, her legs must be spread on a daily basis. I
bet she has little black book, or in her case a pink one, whatis name on Monday
after dinner check, that cute Hufflepuff on Tuesday on the Astronomy tower
check." She could not finish, Angie and Fleur lost it and their fits of giggles
cut her off before she could.
Hermione and Remus yelped in disbelief, "Harry!" Sirius and the twins burst out
in laughter, even Cedric and Bill were in stitches. Tonks tried to keep a
straight face, she really, really did, but it was no use, just one look at the
shocked expressions on her husband and Hermione's face did her in and set her
off with the others. Harry was being a bitch, truly vicious, but it was hardly
surprising considering all the other witch had done to Harry and Hermione, and
even Luna too it would seem.
Harry calmed a little when she saw the shocked expressions on Remus and
Hermione's faces. She was entirely unapologetic as she told them, "As I have
already mentioned she brings the worst out in me, the absolute worst, and a
side not even I was aware of until I changed back and found out what Professor
McGonagall is planning. I point blank refuse to feel any guilt or be apologetic
over my less than grand and wholesome opinion of her."
Remus asked worriedly, "Do you really hate her that much Harry?" Harry replied,
"Yeah, I really do, I am sorry Remus I just cannot help it, everything about
her just rubs me up the wrong way in the extremist sense. The only other who
possibly makes me react and feel worse is Malfoy." She concluded, "There seems
to be something hard-wired deep down inside of me that just cannot stomach
being civil with those two.”
She paused only to add rather quite plainly clearly stating the honest
seriousness of her words, “Lavender will be in for a rather rude wake up call
if she tries anything. I swear I will hold back until she does something, but
when she does, oh and believe me she will, I promise you all bets are well and
truly off."
Remus looked even more troubled as did Sirius, through not as strongly as
Remus. Remus sighed and said, "There is only one thing for it, Sirius is going
to have to speak with Albus and Minerva." Sirius nodded in silent agreement,
even whilst being strongly reminded of the way he and James had felt about
Snape when at Hogwarts. Years in Azkaban had tamed that feeling somewhat in
Sirius, but he knew he and Snape would never be the best of friends, and their
personalities designed to clash if not careful.
After that Sirius and Remus were about to say good night when Cedric decided to
ask Harry whether she wanted to come to Diagon Alley with him tomorrow shopping
for their books and maybe go and eat and shop in muggle London. Harry said she
would love to, and she wanted to buy a new trunk like the one Moody had with
all of the compartments. She also wanted to buy more books both wizarding and
muggle ones.
Cedric nodded, but then frowned and commented, "Oh damn, I forgot, you are
going to need a guard Harry.” He paused when he saw her frown before quickly
adding, “I know you hate it, but I would rather hear you complaining then be
kidnapped or worse killed. Your safety is more important than in my opinion a
minor annoyance due a lack of privacy whilst out."
Harry sighed, but before she could comment Remus spoke up, "Tonks and Sirius
have work tomorrow, plus Sirius needs to arrange for someone to fill in for him
for the whole of Monday morning when he takes you for your apparition licence."
He finished, "I could do guard duty and promise to keep my distance so as not
to crowd you two if you prefer." Tonks decided to add having come to a
decision, "I can get the day off as long as I inform the head auror that I am
on guard duty for Harry. Kingsley being the head will immediately agree wanting
you kept safe.
So they agreed, and Cedric, Sirius and Remus said their good nights before
leaving the room. Before the Weasleys left Bill said, "We just want to thank
you for being so good about this whole situation with Ginny." Ron added, "Yeah
mate, we all appreciate this and realise it was no easier for you then our
Ginny, so thanks."
Fred and George had their say, and for once did not start and finish each
other's sentences. Fred said, "We realise this must be majorly awkward for you
Harry, but we're grateful you tried to break it to her as gently as you could."
George nodded and added, "None of us are mad about the way you revealed that
you did not want to shag her anymore. We know she pushed you too far and that
you are a private person, so her wanting to discuss that in front of everyone
we totally get pissed you off."
Bill finally concluded, "Finally, we understand why you laid into her when she
all but demanded you change back, that was seriously wrong and selfish of her,
regardless of how she is hurting, it still does not give her any right to ask
such a thing of you. So we agree your reaction was more than justified,
considering I imagine if it had been anyone except Ginny you would have hexed
them back into infancy."
Harry evidently relieved that it would seem she would not have to lose the
Weasleys because of the situation. Through Harry could not help but snort as
she said, "I am glad you realised that Bill, even though I will say this, I
would have hexed her if I did not realise she has perfect cause to be as upset
as she is. The fact it is Ginny was not what stopped me, just so we're clear on
that." She noticed all four Weasleys eyes widen as she admit to that, they
evidently had not expected her to say or even admit to that for that matter at
least of all in front of them.
After saying good night and telling the women jokingly to not stay up too late
or they would really feel it in the morning, they said their good nights. No
one missed the look Fred and Hermione exchanged before he left with the others.
Harry and the others teased Hermione well naturedly, while Fred fended off his
brother's questions and good-natured taunting after they had left the women
behind.
Harry, Hermione and Tonks finished their hot chocolate, settled on the large
bed along with Angie and Fleur, and ate some of the Thorntons chocolate Harry
had bought that day. While they sat and talked, Hermione braided Harry's hair.
Hermione marveled once again at how lovely the dark strands felt against her
hands, it truly was stunning.
She and Harry never had a sister growing up, so braiding Harry's hair was like
a bonding experience for the pair, which they both hoped become a regular thing
for them, especially when Harry learnt how to return the favour. What was even
better was that it was something for just Harry and Hermione that Ron would not
want to take part.
A little after midnight Tonks, Fleur and Angelina left, taking the empty mugs
with them. Hermione and Harry decided to have a sleep over the bed plenty big
and wide enough for the both of them to sleep comfortably without accidentally
ending up in each others personal space. Both were shocked and delighted at how
soft and luxurious the mattress felt and practically sunk into the heavenly
soft depths. To despite everything Harry slept better than she had in a long
while, probably ever since sixth year.
***** Chapter Nine Part One: Cho's Troubled Thoughts & Childish behavior,
School shopping with Cedric, Severus's Offer *****
Chapter Summary
     Cho's thoughts continue to remain troubled especially as she realises
     not only is Harry less than impressed with her but worse neither is
     Cedric. Harry gets the rest of her school supplies and Severus has a
     surprising offer to make.
Chapter Notes
     AN: After chapter eleven the timeline will skip ahead somewhat so it
     will not be based on the next day. This is part one of two parts
     because nine is one of the longest chapters and will most likely be
     the last of this length. I am still on the look out for a beta reader
     who has enough patients to make their way though these chapters
     considering how long they are.
     Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the
     writing of this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong
     to J.K. Rowling. The movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures
     and Heyday Films
Early the next morning Cedric knocked on Harry’s bedroom door, but when he
received no reply, he knocked again. He exchanged a glance with Tonks who was
standing beside him. He commented, “I know it is only eight thirty in the
morning, but surely Hermione is awake as I got the impression of her being an
early bird.” Before Tonks could comment in reply, the door opened to reveal a
half -asleep and very ruffled Hermione.
Cedric bit his lower lip and decided to keep to himself the fact Hermione’s
hair looked as if she had received an electrical shock. Yes, Cedric knew what
electricity is he after all had taken muggle studies during his third and
fourth year but got rid of it before fifth year and replaced it with Arithmancy
wanting more of a challenge during the year of his owls, something he had found
sorely lacking in muggle studies.
Hermione asked sleepily, “What time is it?” Cedric told her, “Eight thirty, and
yes I realise it is early especially for those of you who did not go to sleep
until after midnight, but I want to invite Harry to The Leakey Cauldron for
breakfast before heading into Diagon Alley.” Hermione nodded in understanding
and said, “Okay I will wake her.” She added asking Tonks, “Tonks will you help
me, I have no idea how Harry will react to being woken so suddenly, especially
with the nightmares she is prone to have. I do not relish the thought of being
hexed if she reacts badly?”
Just as Tonks was about to agree there was a snort from the bed, followed by
the sound of a sleepy groggy reply, “Relax Hermione, I am a light sleeper ever
since the beginning of the war and the nightmares started.” She sat up in the
bed as she added, “Besides the second knock combined with you getting up to
answer the door woke me.” She raised her arms above her head and stretched as
she let out a loud yawn before reaching for her glasses off the bedside table
and placed them on her face.
She turned her gaze to the open door and said, “Oh by the way, the answer to
your question Cedric is yes, I would like to go to breakfast at The Leaky
Cauldron before heading into Diagon Alley. Just let me get up and dressed and I
will meet you in the kitchen.” Cedric nodded and said he would see her
downstairs and left for the kitchen. Hermione also left so she could get
dressed for the day and go down to breakfast.
Harry got up from the bed and made her way to the bathroom without saying
anything as Tonks entered the room. Once inside she made quick work of
relieving herself and flushing. She washed her hands, followed by flossing,
brushing and rinsing her teeth clean. Lastly, she washed her face clean before
heading back into the bedroom. She wondered what she was going to wear that
day, maybe jeans and not a skirt, definitely something new from her purchases
from the day before.
She found Tonks sat on the stool in front of the vanity when she re-entered the
bedroom. The older witch asked the younger witch, “So what are you wearing
today, and are you wearing glasses or contracts, and hair up or down?” Harry
replied, “I was just thinking about that actually and think black jeans, my
emerald tank top with my black leather jacket, my muggle leather jacket and not
dragon hide, along with my emerald flats to match with the tank.” She added, “I
am thinking contacts instead of glasses. As for my hair, I think down with
maybe pair of my new hair grips to pin my hair back.” Tonks eyed Harry’s hair
and nodded as she commented, “Yeah, your hair definitely down, especially as it
will have a gorgeous wavy curl because of the braid Hermione did last night.”
Harry nodded and walked over to the set of six draws and asked, “Which draws
did you put my knickers and bras in?” Tonks replied, “Fancy lace, brocade, silk
and satin bra and knickers sets are in the first draw, while your cotton bra
and knickers sets used for that time of the month are in the second draw. Socks
are in the third draw and your tights and stockings are in the fourth draw.
Your pyjama and short sets and camisoles are in the fifth draw and finally in
the sixth draw are your night gowns and shirts.”
Harry nodded again before choosing and opening the first draw. She fancied
something fancy and a little sexy, just because Cedric would not know what she
was wearing underneath her outfit, she would know and could secretly enjoy
imaging his reaction if he did know. With that in mind, she smirked deviously
and decided on a bra made of dark emerald green coloured satin that had jet-
black straps, with beautiful black brocade lace arranged artfully on the cups.
Her smirk widened as she picked up the matching Brazilian knickers to complete
the set.
She closed the draw and next opened the armoire doors and searched though the
hung up garments until she found a pair of dark black skinny jeans that had a
bootleg cut in the legs. She also selected a dark emerald green tank top that
had a round low cut neckline, but was not too low cut that she looked like she
was putting on a show and flaunting her ample assets. Lastly, she selected her
jet-black waist length zip up muggle jacket along with a pair of dark emerald
green painted leather ballet flats.
She closed the armoire doors and draped the leather jacket over the bed before
taking the rest of her clothing and shoes and heading inside of the bathroom.
She made quick work of removing and throwing her nightshirt and knickers into
the clothesbasket and dressed in her chosen underwear, jeans and tank top.
However, she did note the emptied clothesbasket, and another thing she noted
was that all of her toiletries and hygiene products put away in all the correct
places.
It must have been Dobby when she was asleep, and could not help but flush
embarrassedly at the thought of the loyal elf putting away her towels and
tampons and handling her dirty underwear. She shook the thought away, knowing
Dobby would not have cared or thought twice about what he had been touching and
putting away. What counted to the crazy, excitable and loyal elf only was that
he was helping his mistress and being a good house elf. The fact he was
touching such personal female products most likely never crossed his crazy
loyal mind.
Harry sighed and shook her head before grabbing a new bottle of lily and musk
scented perfume and spraying it sparingly on her pulse points of her wrists and
her collarbone. The scent was lovely and something she had picked up whilst in
Boots yesterday. As she replaced the bottle on the vanity she made a mental
note to look into some different scents and brands when she had the time.
Tonks stood from the stool as Harry re-entered the bedroom and allowed Harry to
sit down instead. Tonks asked Harry what makeup she wanted applying, and Harry
replied, “All of it, only in more neutral colours on the eyes but dark on the
lips.” Tonks nodded and with permission removed the locking charms from Harry’s
trunk and retrieved her makeup set.
 
As she scanned the colours in the pallet, she told Harry, “In a way this is
like a first date for you and Cedric so I think something natural enough for
daytime but still considered fancy enough for a date.” She paused and
continued, “Speaking of dates, I and Remus will try to keep as much of a
distance as we can and give you two some privacy, well as much as it is
possible whilst still guarding you Harry.” Harry nodded and replied, “Thanks I
appreciate it.”
After a few more moments of decision over the choice in the pallet, Harry
finally decided on a liquid foundation in a shade compatible with her skin
tone, along with a nude coloured blusher. She decided on a skin tone coloured
shimmer based shadow for her lids, paired with ebony black mascara for her
lashes, and liquid liner on her lower lids and black pencil on her lower eyes
on the water line. To finish she selected a pale fudge lip pencil with a liquid
lip colour in a darker shade of fudge, and a clear gloss for the desired shine
and perfect pout. Once she finished applying the gloss, she cast a preserving
charm to keep it all fresh as well smudge and flake resistant.
Tonks loosened the braid and let the lovely wavy strands flow down her back and
shoulders. She cast a charm to neaten out and keep the waves from flattening
and falling out later on. She next took a set of Harry’s new hairgrips the
silver coloured ones that had rose shaped emerald green coloured diamantes on
them. She pinned some of her hair back from her face with the grips on either
side of her head before casting a preserving charm to keep it all in place.
Tonks then cast a concealing charm on Harry’s forehead to conceal her scar.
Lastly, Harry had Tonks grab her contacts from her trunk before Harry put them
in each eye. As soon as her vision had cleared, she stood up from the stool,
picked up her leather jacket from the bed and slipped it on leaving it
unzipped. Next, she retrieved her Hogwarts letter from her trunk, taking out
the book and equipment list but leaving the personal added letter from
McGonagall in the envelope. She placed the envelope with her other letters and
closed the lid and recast the locking charms on the trunk.
She asked Tonks where her Gringotts cards and money pouch were stored
yesterday. Tonks told her that the cards and her new money pouch were inside of
the left hand draw of her vanity table. Harry retrieved her money pouch and the
card for her mother’s personal vault that she was now calling her Evans vault.
Lastly, she grabbed her Hungarian horntail wallet for her Gringotts card, and
stuffed her money pouch, along with one of her new purses, one made of the same
hide as her wallet, to store any left over muggle cash from her shopping trip
in her medium sized Hungarian Horntail backpack.
Before she and Tonks left the bedroom Harry neatly made the bed, by pointing
her wand and with a careless flick of her wrist the bedcovers and pillows
rearranged themselves flawlessly and crease free. She took her wand and
carefully secured it up her jacket sleeve, a temporary fix until she visited
Ollivanders. On the way downstairs, Harry asked Tonks to place an extension
charm on her backpack so it was deep and large enough to hold her purchases
from both Diagon Ally and muggle London.
When they reached the kitchen, it was to see everyone was up and already
eating, even a half asleep Ron, which did not hinder his ability to eat as only
Ron knew how. Harry took note that neither Ginny nor Cho would look up at her,
except for the brief glance when she had entered the kitchen. She understood
Ginny’s reaction, but Cho was just going to have to get used to her if she did
not want to end up placing Cedric in the middle of a huge and unnecessary mess.
Mrs. Weasley took one look at Harry and gushed, “Oh look at you, you look
positively lovely, and all of that long flowing hair, simply stunning.”
Hermione added, “Your eyes look even a bigger and brighter shade of emerald
green without your glasses.” Harry flustered slightly and shrugged as she
simply replied, “This is how I was always supposed to look, I never actually
got to choose how I look, was already a done deal underneath the glamour.”
Cedric grinned in evident approval as he asked, “Are you ready to leave and
floo to the pub, Remus and I are ready and waiting on you and Tonks?” Tonks
said, “Just let me grab my muggle jacket and my bag and I will be ready to
leave.” Harry added, “Yes I am ready to go, even if that means having to travel
by the ruddy floo for Merlin’s sake.” Her expression, ranged between the
emotions of grim and pure annoyance.
The others around the table sniggered knowingly, while Hermione and Mrs.
Weasley winced in sympathy, even Mr. Weasley could not help chuckle in
amusement yet felt mostly sympathetic. Harry caught onto the fact Ginny had yet
to make any comment, but she had seen the tiny and knowing smile that briefly
twitched at the corners of her mouth, yet still tried to conceal.
Cho on the other hand, her reaction made Harry bristle slightly, the other
witch saw the smug smirk she was trying yet evidently failed to conceal. Harry
knew Cedric had seen it to if the way his eyes narrowed subtly was anything to
judge. Cho had to realise somehow that kind of childish and petty attitude
would do her no favours with nor garner any sort of sympathy from Cedric, and
it definitely would not with Harry in any case.
Cho glanced up just as Tonks left the kitchen, and paled as she noticed Cedric
was eyeing her with narrowed eyes. Oh no, had he seen her look of smugness at
hearing of Harry’s hatred of the floo, he must have? If the expression
currently sent by the other witch was anything to judge, she had seen too and
was less than impressed to say the least. Cho lowered her eyes to her breakfast
and made a mental note to head back home to her parents after The Order meeting
that night.
The only reason she had stayed at headquarters was to be closer to Cedric and
find out who the witch stealing her man and going to marry him was. To find out
who her competition was, but now having seen exactly who Cedric’s betrothal was
has made her realise there was no contest, how could anyone have a hope in hell
of competing with the famous Harry Potter.
How did she fight for her love when there was the issue of a contract in the
way, and something told her if she tried anything, well, it would not go a long
way towards enduring her to him? But if she left it alone, it meant there would
be time for him to spend with Harry and possibly fall in love with her, and
where would that leave Cho in the grand scheme of things, certainly not with
Cedric falling for her instead.
Harry and Cedric felt positively relived as Tonks re-entered the kitchen in her
muggle jacket and carrying her bag in her right hand. Remus to felt relief to
see his wife ready to leave, he too had seen the smug expression Cho had been
sporting moments ago. Her behaviour was childish, and her actions made it
difficult to remember she was a young woman suffering from a broken heart and
unrequited love. He had seen Harry bristle, subtly enough that no one noticed,
except for Cedric who also looked less than impressed.
Remus knew they needed quickly to put some very much-needed space between the
younger three before an actual argument and not just exchanged looks could or
had the chance to break out in the kitchen. Something told him Molly Weasley
would not take too kindly to such happenings inside of the kitchen in front of
her. They would never make it to the fireplace if given the opportunity to
start ranting and lecturing on the appropriate behaviour when inside of the
kitchen.
Before they headed for the fireplace to floo, Harry asked Sirius if he would
place her Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Peverell headship rings in his safe until
she could purchase her own for her study. Sirius and said of course and knew
not to lose the rings knowing how important they were having his own headship.
Once she removed the rings and they were secure in his hand, Harry left with
the others and Sirius headed for his office.
Cho silently fumed as Harry left the kitchen with Cedric, Remus and Tonks. Her
fury ignited when she saw the Ravenclaw headship ring up close for the first
time. The thought of her being the only living descendent of the founder of
Cho’s Hogwarts house set her teeth on edge, especially her owning yet another
beautiful ring, the other being Cedric’s grandmother’s engagement ring. It was
just not fare in Cho’s opinion, not fare in the least.
Meanwhile Remus and Tonks flooed first and followed by Harry and Cedric came
out of the fireplace last to land in the Leaky Cauldron. He winced as he sees
Harry righting herself before scowling darkly as she cast a Scourgify on her
clothing and hair. Once he cast his own Scourgify he asked, “Where do you want
to eat?” Remus suggested, “I suppose for security purposes I would recommend a
private room upstairs out of the way of the main bar area.”
Harry nodded and made her way towards the bar and asked the barkeeper, “Hey
Tom, good morning, I was wondering do you have a private room for four upstairs
to eat breakfast.” Tom beamed as he replied, “Good morning to you all, and yes
I have three available.” He went over to where he kept the keys and returned
moments later and handed the key to Harry and said breakfast would be ready in
twenty-five minutes tops.
Before the others could offer to pay towards the hire of the room and
breakfast, Harry went ahead and paid all. On the way out of the bar and
upstairs to a private meeting room, the other three protested she should not
have to paid the entire expense for the room and breakfast. Harry in return
rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation and commented equally as
exasperated, “Look just buy me something nice for Christmas, but honestly I
expect nothing, it is breakfast and hiring a room for four. You make it sound
as if I just bought you all a house or several Firebolts each for Merlin sake.”
They stopped in front of the door with the number that matched with the one on
the key. Harry used the key to open the door and went in first followed by the
others, and Remus being the last to enter closed the door behind him. They all
took a seat around the rectangular shaped table, which had room enough for six.
Harry and Cedric sat by each other on one side, while Remus and Tonks sat
together facing them on the opposite side of the table.
As they settled down to wait for their breakfast to arrived Remus inquired, “So
what are your plans for today Harry?” Harry replied, “Well, obviously breakfast
first, and then from here into Diagon Alley. Cedric and I need to get our books
and equipment on our Hogwarts lists.” She added, “I need go back to Malkins for
robes and cloaks, not for school, but formal and informal ones, and some
business ones with the Potter and Gryffindor crests on them and some without. I
do not want anyone knowing about Ravenclaw and Peverell for the time being.”
She continued at their nods, “I also want some really pretty and feminine
looking robes and cloaks that I can wear during the evening on special
occasions.”
She paused as a thought came to her and asked, “Do I have a certain time limit
that I need to stick to?” Remus replied, “Your solicitor Robert Sladden will be
arriving tonight an hour and a half before The Order meeting that is set for
nine o clock, so we need to be back at headquarters for six thirty, seven at
the latest.” He added and asked, “Though I do wonder what time you plan to head
out to London?” Harry replied, “I’d say around two o clock no later than two
thirty. I heard the muggle shopping centres do not shut until around eight on
Fridays and at the weekends, and it is Friday so I will have plenty of time to
shop for what I am after.”
Tonks asked, “Do you still plan to go back for your furniture for your study
next week?” Harry nodded and said, “Of course, I was thinking next Saturday,
and take Hermione, Cedric and the Weasley men to help carry the larger items
out of the store and get to the nearest alley way so I and Hermione can shrink
down everything before apparating to The Leaky Cauldron and then floo back to
headquarters.” Tonks nodded and said, “Yes that is possible, we can ask the
guys first and see if they are available and up for it.”
Cedric asked, “What about after Malkins?” Harry replied, “Well, I think
Flourish and Blotts for our books, and then onto the trunk shop so I can get
the trunk I am after. Next, I thought Ollivanders, as I really need an upper
arm and thigh holsters. After that Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, before back to
the pub for lunch and then head into muggle London for the muggle half of my
shopping.”
Tonks asked, “I take it you do not plan on waiting for a taxi like yesterday?”
Harry grimaced and replied, “No, that would take too long, and it would save us
paying for a taxi, so I figured I would side-long apparate with one of you.”
Cedric said, “True. You can side-long apparate with me if you want to.” Harry
smiled as she replied, “Sure that would be fine.” Cedric returned her smile,
and whilst he and Harry exchanged smiles, Tonks and Remus exchanged a knowing
glance as they silently observed the moment that the two seemed to be having.
When Cedric broke eye contact with Harry he cleared his throat before asking,
“So what are your plans once we reach muggle London?” Harry got a sudden
excited gleam in her eyes as she replied, “I want to visit Molton Brown, I want
scented and different coloured candles and bubble baths, soaps, bath bombs,
pearls and moisturisers.” She added, “I also want to visit Harrods and
Starbucks to. Angelina said Starbucks make incredible and different flavoured
coffee and tea, and have some of the most gorgeous deserts you’ll ever taste.”
She continued just as excitedly after pausing, “I also want to visit Boarders
Books and buy lots of muggle books. Hermione recommended some authors and
titles that she thought I might like, for example, Anne Rice, Charles Dickens,
Jane Austin, William Shakespeare, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Roald Dahl.” She added,
“She even mentioned a romance series called Mills and Boon, said they were
novels that are written by women who are actual readers of the series. They are
for older women and girls in their late teens, as some of the stories can get
very steamy and sexually graphic. She let slip that she discovered the series
when she sneaked and read a few of her mother’s.”
Cedric chuckled and said jokingly, “That’s a lot of books, do you plan on
becoming just like Hermione?” Harry rolled her eyes and replied around a drawl,
“Real funny that is, absolutely hilarious.” She added, “But all joking aside I
honestly enjoy reading, maybe not on the same level as Hermione, but still I
enjoy a good book. The thing is I never got the chance to read much growing up
under the same roof as the Dursleys. Then you have school books, which until
the summer after fourth year finished were enough to give me one hell of a
blinder of a migraine.”
Remus asked, “What changed your opinion and attitude towards your school books
Harry?” Harry sighed and replied in a more subdued and quite tone, “I changed,
the war started up again. I had always followed Ron’s lead in that department,
and Hermione did no favours pressuring and pestering us to read and study. I
was a growing wizard who did not want to have to listen to some witch nagging
in my ear constantly.” The others chuckled at hearing this, knowing that
sounded like Hermione.
She shook her head as she continued, “Then during the summer before fifth year
the nightmares of the encounter in the grave yard and Voldie’s resurrection go
so bad, and because Sirius had yet to be cleared and pardoned at that point The
Order was able to frighten the Dursleys enough into leaving me alone. I of
course as you can imagine took advantage of this and brought my trunk upstairs
to my bedroom for the first time ever.”
She paused once more to gather her thoughts then added, “That summer I barely
left the bedroom, except to use the bathroom and to do my chores and cook
meals. When I was not doing that I had time on my hands, especially at night
when the nightmares would come. I decided I was not going to sleep so I took
out all of my books from first up until fourth year just gone and read every
single textbook from front to back twice on top of doing that summers
homework.”
She shrugged and continued, “Much to my honest shock I rapidly began to
discover how much smarter and how quickly I picked up and how ridiculously easy
I found the material. I enjoyed reading, and the material in my textbooks
caught my attention as they had never before. “ She paused before adding, “But
then again I sort of figured that might have been down to a number of reasons,
such as distractions, for example I did not have Ron and Hermione bickering.”
She concluded looking somewhat sheepish, “Ron complaining about boring homework
and studying, and just wanting to play exploding snap, chess, or talking about
Quidditch and The Chudley Cannons. Then there was Hermione constantly nagging
about studying or doing our homework, which I will be honest, absolutely drove
me batty crazy and up the wall. It would lead me to going along with Ron
instead, seemed like less pressure and no nagging either.
The others chuckled before Remus asked, “And now you have changed back do you
feel and think any differently?” Harry replied, “Oh yeah, Ron is to be in for
one hell of a nasty shock to the system. I will be studying and not talking
about Quidditch and to be honest if only between us, The Chudley Cannons are a
right shit team if you want my opinion.” She added as the others laughed, “I
will be studying with Hermione when I am not doing spell and combat training,
or in daily classes or medical training with Madame Pomfrey. That is the reason
I am giving up my Quidditch Captaincy and only remaining in reserve if needed
as a last resort.”
She smirked as she continued, “Ron is going to receive a nasty shock because he
will now have two instead of just one witch to contend with, two witches’
telling him to study and do his homework. I am truly determined that boy is
going to ruddy well buckle down with the rest of us and grow the hell up and
act like a man already.” She shook her head firmly as she told them, “I want
him to; no actually, I need him to survive this war, for him to have his dream
job become a reality. Finally, to marry Luna and have lots of beautiful
strawberry blond haired and blue eyed babies with her.” Tonks chuckled and
commented, “Oh poor Ron, I do not know whether to laugh or to pity him.”
As she finished and the others laughed along, there came a knock on the door
followed by Tom calling from the other side of the door, “Its Tom, I have your
ordered breakfast.” Harry called back, “Come on in Tom.” Moments later the door
opened and Tom entered wheeling in a large trolley with four plates filled with
a full English breakfast. There was also a plate with enough buttered toast to
allow them to have two slices each. There was a pot of coffee and another pot
with tea in it, and an extra large pitcher of pumpkin juice and a much smaller
pitcher of milk. There was a small bowl of sugar, bottles of red and brown
sauce and salt and peppershakers. Finally, he set down a mug and a glass in
front of each.
As soon as he received thanks from the others, Tom wheeled out the emptied
trolley and closed the door behind him. Harry’s stomach rumbled at the sight
and smell of the food on the plate in front of her. The others chuckled, and
Harry stuck her tongue out at them in reply, before picking up her fork and
knife and happily started to eat. They ate in silence, deciding just to enjoy
breakfast now it had arrived.
Once finished they returned downstairs and Harry handed the key back in at the
bar. Cedric asked as Remus tapped the bricks and they shifted and opened up to
reveal Diagon Ally, “Where to first?” Harry asked in reply, “Does anyone need
to go to Gringotts?” Cedric shook his head and replied, “No I have my Gringotts
pouch.” Tonks confirmed she had filled her own pouch up yesterday when she had
been in the meeting with her accounts manager. Remus concluded and said he did
not plan to buy anything except for his lunch later on.
Harry said, “Alright in that case how about Malkins first?” They agreed and
proceeded to make their way there, Cedric walking beside Harry and Remus and
Tonks a step or two behind, making certain there would be no sudden attacks
from either direction, and Remus’ enhanced senses were on full alert for the
first sign of trouble or something being wrong.
The fact Harry was now Harriet, that information was of yet not public
knowledge or known outside of The Order, or certain trusted individuals, such
as Tom, Malkin and healer Florence, and of course friends and family members.
It went a long way in their favour as far as Harry being unrecognisable was
concerned. Remus wanted nothing to go wrong and wanted Harry to have a day
where there were not incidents or her having to learn of any secrets kept from
her.
When they reached Malkins, they entered, and as soon as the bell above the door
sounded, the small squat, white haired witch looked up and beamed as she saw
exactly whom her next customers were. She made her way over before her Sales
Assistant could, who was in fact in store that day and not elsewhere. She
beamed and she greeted them and took silent note of Harry’s appearance. She
remarked quietly so as not to draw her assistants attention, “Now that is much
better with your scar covered and those glasses gone, it makes all the
difference and it is less likely you will be discovered before you are ready.”
Harry chuckled quietly and replied, “Yes it is much easier and I am far more
comfortable with the new changes made since yesterday. I even managed to
purchase a new pair of glasses, which are at home today as I fancied wearing
contacts, and I look even less like myself without glasses.” Malkin nodded in
agreement as it was true Harry did look less like herself without her glasses.
Malkin turned her gaze on Cedric, and noted who else was with Harry today.
Harry and Cedric inwardly moaned in exasperation as they see the sudden smirk
that curved her painted lips as she eyed them standing together, clearly taking
in and weighting them up as a couple appearances wise. Harry cleared her throat
needing Malkin distracted from her blunt and keen examination of them.
When the older witch snapped out of her observation of them, Harry said, “Today
I am here for robes and cloaks, formal, informal, business and evening ones. I
need some with the Potter and Gryffindor crests and some without.” Malkin
nodded as she led the group of four to the other side of the shop out of
earshot of her assistant, knowing her assistant was somewhat of a gossip, or
someone who Harry would meet and instantly think of Lavender Brown.
Once out of earshot, Malkin asked Harry, “What do you have in mind as far as
material, style and colours are concerned?” Harry replied, “Fleur recommended
velvet, satin, silk, lace, brocade, embroidery, some casual cotton and wool, I
was thinking wool similar to cashmere.” She paused before adding, “As for
colours, “Emerald green, mint green, black, purple, lilac, gold, silver, pale
periwinkle blue, sapphire blue, ivory, white, cream and finally a scarlet red.”
She paused before concluding, “Oh and just a tip here when it comes to the
white, ivory, gold, silver, and Lace, brocade and embroidery could you keep
them down to a minimum, say extra on detailing on the robes, such as collars,
sleeves inner lining or arranged on certain sections of the evening robes and
cloaks?”
Malkins eyes lit up in positive delight as she said, “You certainly have been
well informed and educated rather quite quickly indeed, and Miss Delacour has
done well.” She paused before asking, “What about necklines, such as perhaps,
round, square, sweetheart, v-neck, low and modest cut, and even high Chinese
style collar would look amazing on you, would put extra emphasis on those
lovely cheek bones of yours, especially if worn with upswept hair?”
Malkin all but purred as she continued, “Oh my, yes I can definitely see the
robes of sheer beauty and luxury I could and most certainly will have you
dressed in, the potential would be limitless. I have such a lot to work with as
far as your figure and body shape and your facial features are concerned. Yes I
do rather enjoy designing robes and cl0aks when the canvass I have to work with
is exquisite.”
Harry looked a little overwhelmed at the almost manic blissful glint that had
suddenly taken up residence within Malkins blue eyes. Cedric shared a discreet
glance caught between worry and sheer amused disbelief with Tonks and Remus.
Malkin sounded as if she had been given the ultimate gift or prize, but then
again he supposed any dress maker or designer would think and see it like that.
Harry is very beautiful not to forget to mention famous and rich. As soon as
she got rid of Voldemort for good and took on a more active role in the
wizarding world on a professional level, especially claimed all her seats on
the Wizengamot her influence and fame would know no bounds.
So yes he was starting to realise why Malkin was acting as blissed out as she
was, after all she was the first Harry had come to for robes and cloaks, and
currently unknown to him she would be the one to make the wedding gown of ‘The
Girl Who Lived.’ As soon as that information made public her business and
client prospects would be booming, every witch in Great Britain would want to
come and have their wedding gown or robes designed by the witch responsible for
‘The Girl Who Lived’s’ wedding gown.
Harry was measured for her new robes and cloaks, the evening robes and cloaks
were matching contrasting pairs, material, designs and colour shades were
chosen for all robes and cloaks, as well as patterns made up of brocade, lace,
and exquisite embroidery. Malkin promised all of the robes would be ready by
the end of August, but she would need to come back to the store in two weeks
time for final fittings and then collect them at the end of the month two days
before she was due to leave for Hogwarts.
Malkin was set to make fourteen robes and fourteen cloaks, making a grand total
twenty-eight garments. Four evening robes, four evening cloaks, four businesses
robes, with four business cloaks, with the Potter and Gryffindor crests on them
which Harry would have to bring with her to her final fitting. There was also
two formal robes and two formal cloaks, two informal robes and two informal
cloaks, and finally two casual one robe and one cloak made of cotton and the
other robe and cloak made of wool very much like cashmere.
The price was beyond amazing, beyond amazingly overwhelming that is, over a
thousand galleons to be precise. It was understandable though, Harry’s robes
and cloaks needed to be expensive and quality made due to the fact come
September she would be in the public eye for every witch and wizard, adult and
child to scrutinise whether she liked it or not. She needed to look like the
head of four houses, three of those houses ancient and major in status.
Cedric also purchased three new work robes and one cloak, one black robe and
cloak and one navy robe and finally a dark grey robe. He still had three robes
and one other cloak from last term, and thankfully did not have to replace
robes and clothing with the same frequency forced to in his teen years.
Naturally the beauty of finally having left puberty and adolescence behind
meant he had finally stopped growing at nineteen almost twenty, and now stood
at a respectable six foot one inches.
After leaving Malkins their next stop was the trunk store, Harry happily
purchased a twelve-compartment trunk in a lovely warm shade of dark cherry
wood. She paid extra for all of the extras that came with the trunk, including
security charms and an extension charm that would extend the depth of the
compartments even further. She chose to have the initials H.J.P.D engraved on
the lid in fancy cursive, knowing she would be using the trunk on a regular
basis once married and would use her school trunk less.
Harry definitely planned to add even more security detail personally herself,
believing you could never have too much protection when it came to precious
valuables. Harry had many of those, her parent’s letters containing their last
words to her, their wands, hers and Cedric’s marriage contract and new wedding
bands, and of course, her invisibility cloak, her golden snitch from Cedric,
her new Firebolt from Sirius, and her new books she planned to buy that day.
Harry knew the list honestly could go on. They left the shop after the
shopkeeper told them to return in an hour and half to collect the trunk.
Their next stop was Ollivanders so Harry could purchase a lower arm and thigh
holsters. Ollivander had two choices and both beautifully made, and much to
Cedric and her amusement, the hind came in a choice of Hungarian Horntail and
Common Welsh Green. Naturally, Harry chose the Horntail option. She happily
donned the arm holster underneath her jacket sleeve in the shop, loving the fit
and feel of the Horntail.
Unfortunately, she forgot to think of how Ollivander would recognise her wand.
He had sold it to her not even seven years ago; he would know it on sight. Of
course, she was right he did recognise it, and Harry paled, though Ollivander
was quick to assure her. “I will not be saying a word, no one will hear
anything from me Miss Potter, so it would seem, how very curious indeed.”
Harry was glad to pay for her holsters, store her thigh holster in her backpack
and leave Ollivanders, as was Cedric, Remus and Tonks for that matter. Remus
was more than a bit put out that Ollivander knew who Harry was by her wand
alone. Their next stop was Flourish and Blotts, and was around eleven forty
five at that point and they decided they would stop for lunch after visiting
Slug & Jiggers Apothecary and the trunk store to collect Harry’s new trunk.
Once inside Flourish and Blotts Harry and Cedric quickly went though their book
lists, before the fun really begun for Harry. She chose four advance
Transfiguration books, along with four each of advanced medical potions and
medical charms books. Six advanced DADA books, two thick bound medical books,
which one shown diagrams of wand movements for charms and spells, while the
second was an encyclopaedia of all known medical spells and charms and what
they were commonly and not so commonly used for. For those two books, Remus
asked the sales witch to get them down from the top and highest point of a
bookcase that not even he and Cedric had any hope of reaching up that far.
Lastly, she picked up two books on Occlumency and two books on Legilimency and
a final two on advanced non-medical potions.
Once all of hers and Cedric’s purchases were bagged, paid for and shrunken
down, they left the store and headed for the Apothecary for the potions
ingredients on Harry’s list. Once inside the store they much to their surprise
saw Severus Snape buying potion ingredients. The surprise was not that he was
there and buying, he was still a Potions Master regardless of the switch in
subject he currently taught. No, what was surprising was they did not expect to
see him there.
Severus eyed Harry, whilst thinking of all he had had seen and heard in the
memory of Minerva’s of the nights further conversation and revelations after he
had left. Minerva had insisted at eight thirty that morning that he had to view
her memory of what he had missed last night in Albus' pensive. Severus figured
Albus trusted Minerva to the point he did not count on her using his pensive to
show what Harry had said and revealed against him after Severus had left with
the bottle of Firewhiskey in hand.
She had insisted as only Minerva McGonagall could, that it was more than high
time he Severus Snape re-evaluated his opinion of Harry, even if only in
private. She insisted it was high time he stop seeing James or looking for Lily
and start seeing Harry for herself, for the incredible and compassionate young
woman she had become. Harry was her own person she was not James nor was she
Lily either for that matter, and her looks, personality traits and quirks she
had inherited from both of her parents they did not by any means define her as
a whole person.
Severus had viewed the memory and heard as Harry had insisted on buying The
Daily Prophet, and could not help but be somewhat impressed with her ideas and
approach towards checking for Dark Mark carriers. On the other hand, her idea
of a full medical examination being conducted in order to determine whether the
Imperious or any signs of other illegal substances abuse both wizarding and
muggle were at play was genius, not that he would ever tell her that, not even
on pain of death.
He realised her reactions to Mr Weasley, Charlie Weasley, and Amos Diggory and
apparently, Lara Diggory’s gifts had been genuine. He was ashamed to admit if
only to himself if someone had given a gift like that to his godson then his
reaction would have not been so polite or as genuine and heartfelt as Harry
Potter’s had been. He probably would have asked what use are pictures to me,
pictures would not make him look good or appealing to his male friends and
acquaintances they probably in his eyes would have seen it as sentimental and
weak, very feminine and that only witch’s were big on keeping memory sakes.
Then there was the part of the memory where Harry showed Albus up again. He
could not help but smirk as she turned Minerva and Molly Weasley’s wrath on
Albus when told what had happened that night in her fourth year. He felt such
hot burning anger when revealed the blood wards around 4 Privet Drive were
useless. The Dark Lord having Harry’s blood due to the blood ritual that
brought him back, meant he had access to her whenever he had wanted ever since
that night. It pissed Severus right off to no end, knowing how protecting her
all of those years at any moment could have end rendered useless, and for what
reason, just so Albus Dumbledore could have better control over his weapon?
He honestly felt taken back concerning her opinion that Albus made certain she
grew up with magic loathing muggles, knowing she would not receive love nor
affection or compassion. This in turn meant she would be vulnerable and docile,
making her closer to Albus when he showed her even the smallest amount of
affection and attention, she absolutely starved for it growing up with Petunia
and her whale of a husband and son.
Merlin, she was right he realised, and he knew she meant it when she had said
she would leave if Albus continued to manipulate her anymore, and would allow
them all to fight the war on their own. He believed her when she said she would
grantee they would never find her if she did not want to be, not even by
searching for her magical signature. He realised what she had not said aloud,
even if no one else had, if she left she would stay gone, and not being able to
trace her magical signature would be the absolute least of The Orders issues
without her to kill Voldemort.
He smirked and thought appreciatively, ‘Bravo and good girl’ when she had told
Granger-Black when asked how she planned to mask her signature, that a girl had
to have some secrets, especially when an old goat manipulative Headmaster was
around. He understood why she had held back even from her best friend, most
likely her sister in all but blood. Granger-Black was far too reliant, believed
far too much, and put too much weight in authority figures, and for all her
intelligence, she could not even spot or realise when she was being manipulated
or those close to and around her were too.
His smirk had widened considerably when Harry had called Albus an old fool for
assuming that she a Potter could ever be docile. Merlin, Harry Potter was an
awful lot of things, but docile, ha not blood likely. She mostly like knew
about being docile as much as his godson knew about being humble and genuinely
compassionate. That boy would not know how to be genuinely compassionate or act
humble even if his life depended on it.
It was after hearing and seeing all of this in the memory that he decided to
change his mind about training Potter in Potions, Occlumency and Legilimency.
However, he had to admit if only to himself, the deciding factor for him had
been when she said she owned the property where Petunia lived with her whale of
a husband and son. He had felt immense satisfaction when she had
unapologetically admitted to feeling half tempted to have tossed Petunia and
her disgusting family out on their arses that exact same day, unlike the month
she had granted them to find elsewhere to live. He had inwardly felt pure
smugness when she had said the month was far too generous and long even in her
opinion.
Severus had hated Petunia Dursley nee Evans ever since he had first met her,
and still did hate her for that matter. The fact her niece, Lily’s daughter was
set to evict her and her disgusting family was the sweetest music to Severus’
ears. That horse bitch of a woman was finally getting what had been due and
coming to her for years in Severus’ opinion. There was absolute no way her
appalling behaviour towards both her sister and her niece should continue or
allowed to remain unpunished permanently.
He made his way over to Harry and noticed she was with Diggory, and Lupin and
Tonks were on guard duty. She had her list of potions ingredients with her
needed for the year seven level potions Cornelia was going to have the class
make that year. He would make the offer today and whilst in Sluggers and
Jiggers would direct and show her what equipment was going to be required in
his private lessons with him.
Harry was honestly surprised when he approached her and was not sneering at
her. He silently nodded towards the other far corner of the gloomy looking
store. She silently followed him, as did the others just in case Harry and
Severus started an argument and they had to break it up. Severus rolled his
eyes at the presence of the others, but decided not to make any sarcastic
remarks and just get on with what he needed to say and tell her what equipment
to buy.
When they were out of complete earshot of the sales wizard behind the counter,
he discreetly cast a silencing charm. He then said to Harry, “After recent
events and seeing the way you handled Mr. Weasley’s reaction after learning you
are going to give up your Captaincy on the Quidditch team and restrict yourself
to a reserve, I decided you were finally ready to truly buckle down and learn
and not waste my time.” He paused before adding, “I knew how serious you were
being, seeing as we all know how you feel about Quidditch. The fact you are
willing to only be a reserve in your last year at Hogwarts, tells me you have
finally grown up, unlike young Mr. Weasley seems yet to have done.”
Harry asked, “And because you have realised this what does it mean overall for
me Professor?” She added quickly looking around as discreetly as she was able,
“Oh, and are you sure you should be seen with us, me in particular?” Severus
simply replied, “If seen I will just say I was keeping an eye on what you are
up to, and keeping up with appearances as my role as spy requires me to, The
Dark Lord and any Death Eater will think nothing of it just me doing my job.”
Unknown to Harry and the others, that The Dark Lord had given him the task of
keeping an eye on not only Draco in his task to kill Albus, but Potter too, and
was to report to him what she was doing or anything of value she had let slip.
Unknown to The Dark Lord Severus had kept an eye of his own accord on Harry
ever since she first came to Hogwarts in her first year and needed no actual
orders on that front.
He added, “As for what my decision means for you, well, it means I will agree
to tutor you again, and not only in Potions either, but also in Occlumency. If
you can master that I will teach you how to perform as a Legilimens, but only
if you master Occlumency beforehand.” He continued to add, “You are to purchase
your potions ingredients for class, but also I recommend a new cauldron and
equipment for both class and your lessons with me.” He paused and added, “I
recommend better quality for the equipment you plan use in my private lessons
due to the fact I will be teaching more advanced and time sensitive potions.
You will study both the method and how to brew poisons and the antidotes that
go with each poison. In short you do not want to end up contaminating the
cauldron or knives which you will use in Potions class with the equipment used
in private lessons.”
He paused once more before continuing, “Though Potter, know this you will be
expected to floo to Hogwarts four out of seven evenings from six pm until ten
pm, a total of twenty hours per week private tutoring. On the nights we will be
in the Potions lab Professor Leighton will be present as back up if I am called
away to a meeting during our lessons.” He added at her silent nod, “I will have
something for you when you arrive to the first lesson, which will help with
knowledge in the hexes and curses department.”
He paused once more and narrowed his eyes slightly as he told her, “Also
Potter, if and only if we can manage to conduct ourselves without engaging in
any kind of verbal abuse and invading the others privacy without due cause by
the time of our fifth Occlumency lesson I will agree to first name basis but
not before.” He continued in a somewhat bland and pointed tone, “I say fifth
lesson Potter because both you and I know exactly what happened and the end
result was after even one lesson during your fifth year.” Harry grimaced
knowingly, and Severus nodded as he raised a brow of acknowledgement of her
grimace.
He paused once more before concluding, “Finally, I will be arriving tonight
with a list of all the potions we will be covering tomorrow night, along with a
list of books I need for you purchase and potions ingredients required. I say
buy your own ingredients because I will not go about wasting my private stores
on what might be a successful potion or may well turn into a bloody disaster.
We cannot use the school stores because the ingredients will not be fresh
enough for what I have in mind.”
With that said, he proceeded to show her which cauldron and other equipment was
required for his private lessons, giving a quick explanation as to why certain
products were better verses other options sold in the apothecary. Once she had
everything, he then left her to it and carried on with what he had originally
come to the store for.
To say Harry felt caught off guard was a sure understatement, and exchanged a
glance with the others when Severus had exited the store with his purchases.
Harry asked Remus, “Surely there has got to be more to this regardless of what
he has already said, what’s the catch?” Remus shook his head and replied, “I do
not know, though I do not honestly think there is any catch.” He paused then
told her, “Remember you will do well to take him up on his offer of private
lessons. It will help you along as a Mediwitch if you can not only identify
poisons and know of their antidotes, but brew both the poisons and antidotes.”
Cedric chuckled and added, “Do not knock it Harry, it is an opportunity of a
lifetime, he after all is one of the best Potions Masters in the whole of Great
Britain. I am pretty damn certain a lot of Hogwarts graduates would have been
willing to ignore his less than warm and welcoming personality in favour of
becoming his apprentice and learning all they could from him.” He concluded
with a smirk, “Harry remember, that though yes he can be immensely cutting with
his insults, but regardless of that the man is a bloody genius at what he
does.”
Harry sighed and replied, “I know it was just so unexpected after the disaster
that my fifth year attempt at private lessons with Professor Snape turned out
to be in the end.” Cedric replied, “True, but Harry you are older and more
grown up and focused on the task at hand then you were back then. You now know
better and understand just what is at stake if you fail to learn this time. You
did not have the terrible knowledge and experienced what you now have.”
When they left the apothecary Harry said, “Ok we need to collect my new trunk
and stop for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron.” She added as they started to make
their way back towards the trunk store, “I was thinking of dropping off all my
purchases back in my room at headquarters before we head into London.” Tonks
suggested that they head back to the pub after the trunk store, and whilst they
ordered and grabbed a table or room, she would floo to headquarters with all of
Harry’s new purchases.
***** Chapter Nine Part Two: Shopping in London, Harry Puts Mrs. Black in Her
Place, Ron defies Mrs. Weasley, Albus's Offer *****
Chapter Summary
     Harry gives Mrs. Black's portrait a verbal smack down of both her
     life and afterlife, while Albus stirs the shit up between Ron and
     Mrs. Weasley. Ron finally takes a stand against his overbearing
     mother and lets it be known where he stands as far as the war is
     concerned. Harry reveals more than a few colourful truths and her
     opinion on Lavender brown.
Chapter Notes
     Okay here is part two of chapter nine. I have no idea when I will
     next update but I am half done with chapter ten I am hoping to have
     it ready for posting within the next two weeks or so. please be
     patient with me I will post it at some point.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of
this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The
movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.
 
After collecting the trunk and leaving the store, they made their way back to
the Leaky Cauldron. While Cedric asked for the same room from breakfast, which
he paid for before anyone else could Harry handed her purchases to Tonks.
Before she left for the floo Tonks gave her order of Gilly water and a Lasagne
with chips, peas and sweetcorn, before giving her share of Galleons towards her
meal to Remus.
After Tonks left, Harry added her share of Galleons to the order before
ordering a Butterbeer, with Spaghetti Bolognaise and meatballs and a side order
of garlic bread. Cedric added his own Galleons to the order and ordered a
Butterbeer, with Cottage pie (Shepherd's), chips, peas and gravy. Remus was
last, added his own Galleons to the order, and ordered a small pot of tea, and
a medium rare stake with chips, peas and sweetcorn.
As they headed upstairs Harry asked Remus, “How come you only got medium rare
instead of just rare?” Remus replied as Cedric opened the door, “Because some
people become uncomfortable eating when someone else is eating meat when blood
is practically swimming on their plate. With Werewolves we do not just have it
rare; we have it really rare with minimal amount of cooking.” He added as they
took the same seats around the table from breakfast, “Plus, the full moon is
not due for another two weeks yet, which is when I usually have my meat extra
rare.”
Tonks arrived back from headquarters fifteen minutes later and joined the
others upstairs after Tom told her they were in the same room from breakfast.
She entered the room to discover their drink order already delivered to the
room. She took the same seat next to her husband that she sat in at breakfast.
She told them, “Mrs. Weasley has made Beef Hotpot, Corn on the cob with freshly
baked bread rolls for lunch back at headquarters.”
Remus moaned and said, “Of course she would make her Beef Hotpot on the day I
am eating out and Sirius is at work, of course she would. Sirius will be
annoyed when he finds out she made it for lunch instead of dinner.” This caused
the others to laugh at the annoyed and clearly put out Werewolf. Remus and
Sirius were very fond of Mrs. Weasley’s Beef Hotpot, and the fact she made it
when they were not around to eat, well, that in the two Marauders eyes was a
form of betrayal on the older woman’s part.
After their food had arrived, Tonks asked where and in what order she wanted to
visit first once reaching muggle London. Harry had replied and said, “Well, as
for today, to start I want to visit the biggest book store I can find, which
according to Hermione one of if not the biggest is Boarder Books.” She paused
before adding, “I want to buy a portable CD player and some headphones to, but
figured I’d wait until next Saturday after getting my office furniture at
Pottery Barn, and go back with Hermione and Angelina and pick out some muggle
music at HMV. They are best as they allow you to sample the music before buying
it to see if you like it.”
She drank from her Butterbeer before adding, “As for where first today I would
love to visit Starbucks as I mentioned this morning about the coffee and
desserts, and Angelina recommended it during our talk last night. “ She paused
and added, “Molton Brown will be our first stop after Boarders Books and
Starbucks.” She concluded after pausing to twirl some spaghetti around her
fork, ate the bite, swallowed and said, “Hermione on the other hand recommended
Harrods, which is a large high end department chain store that sells just about
everything you can imagine in the muggle world. I figured that would be our
last stop before returning back to headquarters, in less you three have some
stores in mind that you want to visit.”
Tonks shook her head no, as did Cedric and Remus. Through Cedric did ask what a
high-end chain store meant and that he figured by her tone that it did not sell
actual chains. Harry chuckled and explained, “No Cedric it is not, no a chain
store is when a store with the same company name and owner have opened multiple
stores all over the world in different locations.”
She paused before continuing to explain, “While a high-end store means it sells
posh and very expensive items, for example designer name brands, which are
clothes and other accessories designed by famous people. For example a single
pair of shoes with a designer name could cost a lot more than even one hundred
Galleons, which in muggle currency is four hundred pounds.” Cedric looked
incredulous, as did Remus, while Tonks looked as if Harry had slapped her.
They left the pub after eating and handing in their key at the bar, and walked
to a nearby alleyway. Harry took hold of Cedric’s arm after Tonks gave Cedric
the co-ordinates for the apparition point that Kingsley had given to her when
she had floo called him earlier on that morning. Within moments, Cedric was
turning them on the spot and they disappeared with an almost soundless popping
sound. Harry clutched onto Cedric’s arm for grim death as she experienced the
darkness and absolute horrid sensation that is apparating.
They met up in another alleyway ten minutes away from the nearest shopping
centre. From there they walked for ten minutes until they reached the huge
shopping outlet centre. Their first stop after a further fifteen minutes of
walking was an absolute huge store, Boarders Books. The four of them were
impressed with the set-up, and noted many huge, tall, wide and long bookcases
full to the brim with all kinds of books, even large displays of CD'S and
different kinds of stationary and folders. No wonder Hermione had recommended
there, and wagered Hermione must enter some kind of heaven every time she set
foot inside of the store.
Harry looked around as if a child inside of a candy store at the choices she
had to choose. Harry instructed them to each grab two baskets and place
discreet enlargement, extension and feather light charms on them as she was
going to need all of them. The other three exchanged amused glances, which
Harry was sure to make a point of pretending she had not seen happening. It was
hardly amusing, just because they had never seen this side of her before did
not mean it had not existed pre-female Harry, she just preferred to not hide
that trait she had inherited from her mother now she had changed back. Oh no,
there definitely would be no more hiding what she liked and was capable of, the
time for concealing who she really is would soon be long in the past if she had
any say in the matter, and she’d bloody make certain she did.
As soon as they had two baskets each and cast the required charms discreetly,
in other words none verbal and wandlessly, Harry went through her mental list
of what Hermione had recommend and what she thought Harry might like. Her first
choices were the whole Charles Dickens collection, displayed in full collection
of all thirty-six works, written by the author. For example, Great
Expectations, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, A tale of two cities, and David
Copperfield among the whole collection. That collection alone was over eighty
pounds, which amazed the others that one muggle author end up writing so many
stories.
Next was the whole Bram Stoker collection of twelve novels, Dracula among them.
She even placed the whole Roll Dahl collection consisting of all fifteen known
titles into one of Remus’ baskets. Next was the whole William Shakespeare
collection consisting of all twenty-seven titles, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth,
Hamlet, The Tempest, The Twelfth Night, and Taming of the Shrew to name some of
the titles, which all found a place inside one of Cedric’s baskets.
She next selected the whole Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, Interview with a
Vampire and the Queen of the Damned to name a few in that series. She even
spotted a huge collection of muggle fairy tales such as Peter Pan, Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Red Riding Hood, Alice in
Wonderland, and many other titles included of the same genre. Lastly, she
picked up The Count of Monte Cristo, Dangerous Liaisons and twenty-five titles
from the Mills and Boon collection.
After that, she decided to head to the till to pay, and told the others what
she did not get today she would come back another day or once the internet was
up and running she would look online. Once they reached the till they made a
point of placing the books on the counter out of the basket themselves so the
Sales Assistant did not noticed how more books fit in the basket then
rightfully should have. There was one hundred and fifty two books, the Sales
Assistant was stunned but never commented knowing she was going to make one
hell of a commission off this customer.
Whilst the Sales Assistant scanned each book, the others discreetly removed all
of the charms from the eight baskets. Remus made a mental note to place a minor
charm on the Sales Assistant when they left the store, which worked so the
woman knew she had just made a huge commission but would not think about how so
many books had fitted inside of those eight small baskets. It was not a memory
charm just a distraction kind of charm so the assistant would not become
suspicious.
When she scanned all the books, the total came to four hundred and eighty
pounds, but because she had spent so much and seem to like books, she explained
to Harry if she filled out some short and brief paperwork she could register
and join the Boarders Books book club. It allowed customers to purchase
multiple books either online or in any Boarders Book store in the country and
get a discount. The size of the discount depended on how many books and how
much spent.
Harry agreed and filled out the paperwork and signed her signature on the blank
strip on the back of the black and silver club card. The woman then swiped it
through a slot on the till and activated the card. The new club card earned her
a discount worth eighty-five pounds off the original price before paying three
hundred and ninety five pounds.
After accepting her new club card and signing the stores copy of the receipt,
she took her own copy. She then helped the others and picked up four of the
bags full of books, two in each hand. Tonks took the same, while Cedric and
Remus had three in each hand. Luckily, the Sales Assistant had the sense to
double up on each of the bags, seeing as she had placed ten books in thirteen
of the bags and twelve in the fourteenth of the extra large bags.
They assured the Sales Assistant that they had come by car and did not have far
to go so the risk of any of the bags splitting was minimal. When they left the
store after Remus discreetly cast a charm on the Sales Assistant they quickly
made their way to a nearby corner in the shade. Harry and Tonks stood in front
of Cedric and Remus sheltering them from prying muggles eyes as they quickly
shrunk down all fourteen large carrier bags and then placed them inside of
Harry’s backpack.
Cedric shook his head amazed as Harry zipped up her backpack. He said, “I
cannot believe you just bought that many books and spent three hundred and
ninety five pounds, hell would have Hermione done that.” Harry replied, “It was
more than worth it, and now that I have them I do not have to buy them again.
All I will do is add to the collection repeatedly once finished with what I
have bought today. Though what I have there I do not honestly think I will buy
more until well after the war, it will take me a long while to read even half
of that, what with it being my last year at Hogwarts and my training and
medical training on top of reading and studying for class.”
She paused before adding, “As for Hermione, no she normally does not splurge,
but if she could afford it and seen what was inside of that store I hardly
think she would have been able to stop herself, or anyone been able to hold her
back. I know I could not there was so much to choose from, and I love to read
but nothing even close to the level Hermione does, so you can well imagine what
damage she would have done in there.”
Their next stop was Starbucks and after ordering their choice of drinks and
desserts, Tonks and Remus sat three tables down from Harry and Cedric, wanting
give the younger pair some privacy, yet still be able to see and get to the
younger witch if any trouble was caused and they needed to protect her. The
older couple drank their drinks and ate their desserts, all whist keeping a
discreet eye on Harry. The younger pair talked and laughed as they ate and
drank, and had the chance to learn and ask things about the other they would
never dreamed of before engaged to each other.
After finishing their drinks and deserts, their next stop was Molton Brown, and
Harry positively had the time of her life inside of that beautifully perfumed
scented smelling store. She purchased multiple candles in different colour,
size, shape and various stunning scents. She also purchased the same shampoo
and conditioner she found in Boots but only bigger bottles and much more
expensive. Her purchases included bath salts, bombs and pearls, along with
shower gels, bubble baths, moisturisers and lotions of various size, colour and
scent.
Even Tonks had enjoyed what the store had to offer and purchased four candles,
two body lotions and finally two bubble baths. Her purchase did not cost near
as much as the two hundred pounds Harry had spent. The difference being Harry
had all of her inheritances, whereas Tonks relied on her wages as an Auror.
After they left the store and Harry’s purchases with shrunken down and stored
in her backpack, they headed for their final destination, that being Harrods.
In there she picked four lovely cashmere cardigans, one in black, another in
sapphire blue, a cream coloured one, and finally one in a shade of deep emerald
green. She also selected four pairs of dress pants that had a silky sheen to
them, in colours black, deep navy blue, a silvery dove grey and finally a pair
in deep chocolate brown. She also selected six pairs of jeans each slim fitting
and boot cut legged, in colours deep purple, black, deep blue, white, dark red
and dark emerald green. Lastly, she picked up six silk blouses and six long
sleeved t-shirts in colours purple, black, cream, emerald green, white, and
finally blue.
After leaving the store, shrinking and storing her purchases in her backpack,
it was at this point they decided it was time to stop for the rest of the
weekend. Harry needed a break, as did the others, as it had been a long and
tiring couple of days. Harry sidelong apparated with Cedric back to the same
alleyway behind of the Leaky Cauldron they had come from earlier on that
afternoon.
She moaned and buried her face in his chest as she grumbled around an irritable
growl, “I hate apparition, damn it, I hate it!” This was how Remus and Tonks
found them when they appeared in the alleyway a few moments later. Cedric at
some point had wrapped his arms around Harry, whilst burying his face in her
hair as he tried to stifle an amused grin.
Remus raised a brow and asked as Tonks smirked wondering what they had missed,
“And what’s this I see?” Cedric replied as he lifted his face from Harry’s hair
and said with ill concealed mirth colouring his tone, “Oh you mean this, well,
this would be one Harry Potter bemoaning apparition again, for example,
‘Apparition I hate it, damn it, I hate it’ which is a direct quote from the
witch herself by the way.”
Harry finally removed her face from his chest and made a point to deliver a
sharp jab with her elbow to his side as she pulled back, causing him to let out
a brief grunt of both amusement and slight pain. She grumbled as she looked up
at the others and said, “Quit mocking me, it is no laughing matter apparating
to me is a right ruddy foul way to travel. Traveling from one place to another
has no business being this disconcerting or unpleasant whatsoever.”
Harry sniffed looking generally disgruntled and ruffled as Remus and Tonks
chuckled. Remus signed and ran a hand though his hair as he asked amused yet
there was a slight undertone of worry as he said, “Oh Harry, I cannot begin to
imagine what you will be like and how you are going to cope come Monday during
your apparition testing.” He shook his head as he added, “The method and
written part to be honest I can see you passing with flying colours, yet the
practical part of the examination, well, that’s where I am really starting to
worry and wonder whether you can do it, or should I say will you want to do
it.”
Harry grunted and shrugged as she replied, “That’s just it I don’t honestly
know until I am there doing it, though I do know I absolutely despise sidelong
apparating, which is all I have been subjected to at this point. Perhaps sole
apparition might piss me off less and feel less like as if I am being
dismembered and shoved though a really damn narrow tube before being rearranged
and spat out again at the other end.”
Cedric had to stifle a snort as he tried to get his head around the particular
mental images his currently disgruntled fiancée had just ever so graciously
painted for him. Harry let out a tired sigh before remarking in a somewhat
disgruntled tone, “Now, when you have quite finished mocking me I would like to
get back to headquarters so I can set up my new trunk with my new books. And
after that if I have time before my solicitor arrives and to nights meeting I
would like a nap before dinner.”
They made their way to the pub all the while not mentioning the floo trip they
were about to take, especially as Harry looked about ready to hex the next
person to look at her wrong. Cedric considered that perhaps his fiancée had
reached her limit for the day, for example sidelong apparition twice
accompanied by flooing also twice by the time they reached headquarters. Yes,
he decided as he took in the weary grimace on her face, he definitely would say
she had more than reached her limit and the near end of her tolerance.
Harry went though the floo first and as soon as she stumbled out at the other
end at headquarters, the first thing she heard was the sound of the infuriating
screeching and disgustingly racist and discriminating slurs of Walburga Black
inside of her portrait.
Ok, now let it be said that before she changed back and on a normal day she
would have ignored the current ongoing scene having had the time since fifth
year to become accustomed to it. However, she had changed back and it was not
considered a normal day, hell more like not a normal last couple of days, so it
was hardly surprising at least to Harry that what happened next did.
Harry narrowed her eyes having heard and had enough of what was happening right
in front of her. It was without any warning to those currently present in the
main hall that she barked irritably at the foul older witch in the portrait,
“Oh do shut your damned mouth Mrs. Black!”
She added in a very biting and waspish tone, “Whether you realise this or not,
let me tell you this, that your ranting and raving disgusting discriminating
and racist slurs have become such old hat that they are practically falling
upon deaf ears.” She paused and let out a heaving breath before sneering
cruelly, “Get over yourself and get yourself a new campaign of insults already,
no one cares or gives an actual damn in this house about pureblood supremacy
crap any longer, except for that old house elf of yours, Merlin you have well
and truly brainwashed that elf.”
She walked to stand almost nose to nose with the witch in the portrait and told
her in a tone dripping with icy cruel malice, “Get the picture already you, you
foul banshee are stone cold dead, have met your maker, are worm food, pushing
up the daisies, and are a bloody portrait for Merlin’s sake.”
She paused to grit her teeth as her anger increased by the second, “Get it
though to your thick and obstinate mind that this is no longer your house and
has not been ever since your death. You are a disgusting blight on what could
be a perfectly good home if only your portrait was not stuck hanging on this
wall for all to see and hear whenever they enter though the front door or the
floo.”
She said around a fierce snarl once pausing to catch her breath, “Finally, make
no mistake here Mrs. Black, that if it were not for the fact you have had
something done to your portrait that is preventing its removal from the wall, I
would gladly help your son tear it down and burn it to cinders.” She concluded
in a deadly calm tone that was decidedly worse than if she had snarled or
shouted, “Now you take the time to think about that before you mention the
terms filthy Mudblood or blood traitors in my presence from now on.”
Before a shocked and positively enraged Mrs. Black could say a word in reply
Harry sent a powerful wandless and none verbal silencing charm at the portrait
with a careless flick of her wrist of her wand hand. With that done, she turned
from the now very much silenced portrait and ignored a stunned Sirius and a
smirking Severus. Albus, Minerva and Mrs. Weasley eyed her in shocked wonder as
if they had never seen her before.
The final two were Hermione and Ron, Hermione looked troubled, while Ron on the
other hand was caught between gobsmacked and wanting to cheer out aloud that
finally, someone had shut that ruddy portrait up and done it in style. In Ron’s
eyes, what she had just done had been beyond sweet.
Unknown to Harry, Cedric and the others had come though the fire just in time
to witness Harry delivering Mrs. Black’s portrait a positively scorching verbal
blasting of both her life and afterlife before wandlessly and silently
silencing the portrait with a careless flick of her wrist. Meaning when she was
out of earshot and had gone upstairs to her bedroom, they were just as stunned
as everybody else present was.
Sirius looked incredulous when he turned to the other three and asked, “What in
Merlin’s name has happened since this morning to put her in a mood like that?”
He added quickly around a wide smirk, “Not that I am about to complain about
what she just said to and how she handled my disgusting excuse for a mother of
course, oh no believe me when I say I definitely feel the utter most gratitude
for that?” Truly, he did and was absolutely blown away, yet was also worried as
he wondered what must Harry being feeling and going through right then to let
loose like she had, even if it had been his inhuman beast of a mother on the
receiving end.
Cedric and Tonks were caught between laughter and cringing at what the older
wizard had just said. Remus on the other hand replied to Sirius’s question,
“Padfoot, I honestly think it is a mixture of things that have made Harry blow
like she just has. For one it has not been two days yet since she went through
a life changing and altering transformation, which unfortunately she had no
ample prior warning of beforehand.”
Tonks added wincing in sympathy, “On top of not only discovering for
practically her whole life she was not who she thought she was, combine that
with discovering she still actually has living relatives that were concealed
from her up until yesterday. Worst of all she has been made aware that the
house which she spent over a decade and a half being mentally and physically
abused in was in fact all along meant to be hers to inherit when she came of
age.”
Cedric sighs as he added, “Finally of course, there is today, and put it this
way she in total sidelong apparated twice with me and also had to use the floo
twice as well. Now considering how she feels about any form of wizarding
transportation that is not a broomstick to say she has reached the limit of her
tolerance would be a major understatement.” He paused and smirked before
adding, “Finally, after what she said before we flooed back here also gave me a
real clue to her current mood, for example, ‘I hate apparition, damn it, I hate
it’ which was a direct quote from the witch herself.”
Ron sniggered, while Hermione’s lips twitched ever so slightly as if trying to
suppress the urge to smile, though something told her the other witch would not
appreciate amusement at her expense about this. Though what Cedric pointed out
next was truly sobering for them as they realised the very valid point he made.
Cedric concluded, “Now combine all of that with everything else we know but
have not mentioned so far, hardly surprising she truly lost it when she heard
your mother sprouting all of that pureblood, Mudblood and blood traitor crap.
I’d say she made it perfectly clear only last night what she thought of that
subject when she was mentioning Malfoy Junior, and a certain nutcase, namely
Voldie as she has taken to calling that monster.”
Sirius on the other hand moaned out aloud and covered his eyes with his right
hand in exasperation as he said, “She has her apparition test Monday morning
for her licence.” He cringed as he added, “I dread to think how that process is
going to turn out.” He continued sadly asking, “But how can we help her
whenever we mention all we kept from her she verbally tears us to shreds, not
that I can honestly blame her for her reaction, but still?”
Hermione said worriedly, “Perhaps it would help if she spoke to someone who is
more removed from the situation and is willing to talk to her and give her
advice, yet at the same time will not mollycoddle her and has no issue telling
her the truth whether she wants to hear it or not.” She added, “Besides we all
know what mollycoddling Harry gets us, she hates it, probably because she never
received any of that with her dreadful relatives and had no choice but to be
self-dependent.” She concluded asking in an incredulous tone, “I mean really,
who in their right frame of mind would dare to consider actually relying on the
Dursleys as a plausible or sane option?”
Ron asked, “What I wanna know is how she is going to take the apparating test
on Monday without being seen, and her being a witch from getting out before she
is ready?” Everyone looked at Ron incredulously, that it was he of all people
to show the surprising common sense to think of never mind actually bringing up
an actual real concern. Ron snorted and rolled eyes and drawled out in pure
sarcasm, “Yeah, I know what you’re all thinking and it’s not the least bit
ruddy insulting.”
Sirius stifled a snort before quickly interrupting when he saw not only
Hermione and Mrs. Weasley open their mouths to comment, but worst of all Snape
as well which he knew without a doubt would not go down well at all. “To answer
your question Ron, very simple actually, considering how I called in a favour
with an Order member, who by chance happens to be the head examiner for the
apparition board. He is going to be the one to test her in private and have her
paperwork and licence processed personally if she passes so no one will have
access until Harry is back at Hogwarts” he said.
He added, “In fact, he will be coming tonight and wants to meet with Harry and
explain what will be expected of her Monday, even says he has a book with the
exam questions for her to go through so she can revise for the test and be
prepared for the written and actual practical. I just hope that talk will not
be long as Robert her solicitor will be arriving within the next half an hour
to meet and to debrief her on her assets both wizarding and muggle.” He
concluded, “And perhaps to discuss Harry’s ideas for the Daily Prophet and get
the process started with the current owners.”
Albus cleared his throat thinking it high time they got down to business, they
had been standing talking in the entrance hall for the past ten minutes or so,
and could probably go on for longer if he did not interrupt, and he still
needed to speak with Harry and to prepare for the Order meeting later on.
He said when he had everyone’s attention, “I will need to speak with Miss
Potter when Severus does about her studies with him. I on the other hand wish
to speak with her and offer her the opportunity to join the Order tonight,
along with Miss Granger-Black and Mr. Ronald Weasley.”
Molly opened her mouth to protest and let her horror and how much she greatly
disapproved of such a concept of what Albus was planning be known. Albus was
having none of it, there was absolutely no way he was going to allow Molly
Weasley to interfere and try to stop his plans from coming to function.
He held up a hand and said, “I am sorry Molly, but they are the age of
consenting adults, which means the decision of whether to except my offer or
not is their decision to make.” He added at Molly’s continued expression of
pure stubborn disapproval, “I am certain he along with Miss Granger-Black and
Mr. Diggory will be the individuals who will be by her side and accompanying
her when she searches for the Horcruxes no matter how she will protest their
presence. I am certain neither will ever allow her to partake in such a task on
her own no matter how she will undoubtedly try to persuade them otherwise.”
The three in question nodded firmly confirming what he said to be correct.
Cedric said firmly, “Oh trust me when I say she is stuck with me, Hermione and
Ron whether she likes it or not. She does not get a say or allowed to question
it.” Hermione added, “To search for the Horcruxes on her own would be pure
insanity and nothing short of suicidal.” Ron snorted as he said, “Ha, oh please
I and Mione have not spent almost seven years arguing against Harry trying to
play the lone hero or now I guess lone heroine, to stop now, not ruddy likely.
And something tells me Diggory will be more than happy to join us.” Cedric
returned the snort and drawled, “Goes without saying that does.”
Molly fumed and was not about to allow this to continue further for a moment
longer, it was positively preposterous. Before she could voice her objections
Albus quickly said, “They will not be the only young members to join, as after
all we do have Mr. Diggory and even Miss Chang, Miss Delacour, and Miss
Johnson, and will even have Mr. Longbottom after tonight.”
He added at Ron and Hermione’s surprised expressions, “His grandmother believes
that it is high time he joined the war effort now he is of age, that keeping
him behind the scenes and oblivious to what is happening around him will not
increase his chances of survival, only being able to defend himself will do
that.”
He concluded, “I happen to wholeheartedly agree that hiding and mollycoddling
him will not keep him alive any more so than it will Miss Potter or Miss
Granger-Black and your son. Besides, Mr. Longbottom has expressed the interest
to join when I represented the offer, he is all for it as long as he is able to
watch and keep an eye on Miss Potter’s back, wanting to return the favour for
her teaching him to defend himself during DA meetings was what he informed me
when we spoke this afternoon.”
Mrs. Weasley finally found the opportunity to voice her opinion and Merlin did
she voice it. “I will not have another child of mine risking their lives, it is
bad enough the twins, Bill and Charlie have joined already, I will not have my
youngest son going down the same dangerous route not if I have any say in the
matter he will not. They are children Albus not even yet finished with their
education what help could they possibly be to the Order? No I absolutely forbid
it Albus, forbid it!”
Ron quickly interrupted his mothers ranting and said firmly, “I hate to break
it to you mum but I am seventeen and legally of age, meaning I am old enough to
make my own decisions without your input. Trust me mum I am making a decision
right now, and will be accepting the Headmaster offer to join the order of the
Phoenix.”
He paused before adding at her furious scowl of disapproval and said, “Nothing
you can say or do will make me change my mind. Believe me despite what you all
seem to think of me, I know we are at war and war is not a game, that people
can and do end up dead every single day without so much as a warning.”
He sighed and took a deep breath before continuing unflinchingly under his
mother’s furious and blistering gaze, “I know what I am getting myself into,
believe me I do, and am not about to walk into this blindly. I have been in
almost constant danger since my first year at Hogwarts, and not about to stop
now that the war has finally taken a serious and more lethal turn.”
He shook his head and continued with such vehemence that Hermione had to stifle
a gasp of shock. “I will be by Harry’s side until the end, and whether I live
or I die I will fight in this war, at the end of the day it is my right as a
wizard to defend my world as is it anyone else” he told his mother.
He bit his lower lip before saying, “I am sorry mum but you are not going to
get your way, not his time and at least not about this. If you need to stop one
of us kids so desperately from joining the war effort then our Ginny at
sixteen, she is the only one of us left that you can have a say and actually
overrule. Percy does not count at this point seeing as he is of age and the
traitorous prat has already deserted and turned his back on his family.”
Mrs. Weasley was bright Weasley red from fury and sheer indigence of her second
youngest child daring to defy her to such a degree. Just as she was about to
open her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, was when he held up his hand in
a silent plea as he told her in a fierce tone. “Enough just stop already. I
love you mum and know that you think you are only protecting me and know what
is best for me, but in fact you need to know that you are smothering me. Please
you need to let go and let me live my own life and makes my own mistakes. You
need to finally realise I am not a little boy anymore.”
He added in a more subdued tone and said, “I do not want to die anymore than
the next wizard or witch does, but if I do die during this war then I want to
go out fighting for what I know is the right thing to do.” He finally concluded
in pure exasperation having said all he was going to, “Really mum we could do
this all night long but I reckon that everyone else wants to get out of this
hallway already and stop having to listen to you fighting against something you
cannot change.”
Molly had tears streaming down her cheeks and looked as if she had been
slapped. Ron did not bother comforting her, he could not and knew he was in the
right, and would not change his mind because he made his mother cry as much as
that made him feel terribly guilty he would not back down or cower to his
mother’s demands. His mother, Harry and Hermione wanted him to finally grow up
and realise that this was a war and more important than a Quidditch game, well
he was doing that now, better late than never he figured.
Ron spared his mother one last glance before turning on his heel and leaving
the front hallway. Hermione looked troubled yet she knew Ron was right and she
was ever so immensely proud of him for taking a stand finally and showing there
was potential for maturity in Ron. She cleared her throat and said to the
Headmaster, “Thank you for the offer, and yes I will be taking you up on that
offer Headmaster.” Finally, before leaving to follow Ron she shot a truly
apologetic glance at Mrs. Weasley.
Ron had left a decidedly stunned silence in his wake. Molly Weasley clenched
her jaw as she shot a firm yet apologetic Albus a furious black filled look.
She spat waspishly, “I hope you know what you have done Albus Dumbledore. If my
son dies it will be on your conscious, his blood will be on your hands for
involving him in this Order, this war, make no mistake of that!” She then
stormed away heading for the kitchen before she cursed the older wizard.
Severus was mildly surprised with how the youngest Weasley male had handled
himself, and apparently was some hope for him yet, would wonders ever cease he
mused in mild amusement. He wondered if the red haired wizard could keep up his
sudden streak of maturity, or would it fall by the wayside when the time for
action truly counted and needed and the pressure that came with making life and
death decisions were involved.
He cleared his throat and asked Albus, “Shall we visit with Miss Potter; I have
a list of books and potions ingredients for her buy for her private lessons?”
He added, “I would prefer to deliver the list and answer any questions she will
no doubt have before everyone else arrives for dinner and the meeting.” Albus
replied, “Of course, seeing as if you she agrees to my offer she will be
expected to not only attend dinner but the meeting to, so best to get your
business with her sorted when I extend my offer.”
Sirius did not appreciate the thought of Snape teaching Harry one bit, but knew
he had to face facts; Snape was a master Occulmens and Legilimens. On top of
that, he was one of the best and most talented Potions Masters in all of Great
Britain. Harry deserved the best, and unfortunately in Sirius’s opinion Snape
just so happened to be the best. He knew he needed to put aside his dislike for
Snape and allow Harry to get the best education and training available.
He cleared his throat as he remembered Harry’s living arrangement issues for
the up and coming year at Hogwarts, and knew Minerva would need to join the
other two when they saw Harry. “Oh actually Minerva you might want to join
them, seeing as I feel you need to discuss sleeping and living arrangements at
Hogwarts for the up and coming school year with Harry.” He paused and grimaced
slightly as he added, “She hates Lavender Brown one of the seventh year girls
she will be sharing a dormitory with.”
Minerva raised a stern brow as she asked, “Are you saying that Miss Potter is
refusing to share a dormitory with Miss Brown?” Sirius nodded and told the
older witch, “That’s exactly what I am saying here Minerva. She hates her and
insists she will not be hold accountable for what she will end up saying and
doing if the Brown girl provokes her. She has promised she will refrain from
doing or saying anything until Brown does, then all bets are well and truly
off.”
Minerva replied firmly, “I cannot move Miss Potter to a private set of quarters
of her own in less Miss Brown and Miss Patil display any protest about sharing
a dormitory, considering that they knew her when she was a wizard.” Sirius
smirked as he replied in a somewhat grim tone, “Ah yes, about that, Harry says
she would be sure and glad to make certain both witches, Brown in particular,
had something to protest.”
Remus grimaced grimly and added, “In fact she has expressed the urge to curse
Miss Brown Bald. I truly worry over the fact of Hermione most likely not being
in the same dormitory to hold her back means Miss Brown might in the future be
seeing the hospital wing on a regular basis. Apparently even though she has
never shown such behaviour in the past Harry knows how to hold onto a fierce
grudge, namely fourth year during the Triwizard tournament and those
unfortunate articles Miss Brown commented in of Rita Skeeter's about Harry,
Hermione and Viktor Krum. Now being female seems to have escalated these ill
feelings in Harry towards the other witch.”
Minerva spluttered indignantly, while Severus let out a loud snort, and knew
that ability to hold onto a grudge with such fierce and firm determination came
from both of her parents. He on some level understood where Potter was coming
from. Lavender Brown was as blonde as her hair suggested, and was only
moderately better then Longbottom at potions, and that was not saying an awful
lot as far as Severus was concerned.
Sure he supposed she had a somewhat firm grasp on DADA but it was nowhere in
the same league as Potter was capable of. She did not have a hope or prayer in
hell of producing near a fourth of the power Potter was mostly likely capable
of after her magic surge on her seventeenth birthday. He wagered she had
received the lions share if the wandless and no verbal silencing charm she had
cast with such effortless ease on Walburga Black’s disgustingly annoying
wailing portrait was anything to judge.
Albus cleared his throat and said to his clearly ruffled Transfiguration
Professor and deputy, “Perhaps Minerva dear it would be best to allow Miss
Potter the use of her own rooms and space considering her schedule this year.
It would not do for her to arrive from a training session after curfew and wake
up her dorm mates.” He added after a brief pause and said, “I understand that
Miss Brown has burnt more than a few valuable bridges with Miss Potter during
the tournament when she allowed Rita Skeeter to use her services.”
Minerva asked, “But which set of rooms would we set her up in?” Albus replied,
“The set nearby to the hospital wing, it has its own common room, a small
kitchen, a rather quite large bedroom and adjoining bathroom, you know the one
with the tub half the size of the bath in the prefects bathroom, even has all
of those taps to. The very same rooms we use when we have special guests visit
the school. I feel Harry deserves a little luxury and comfort considering how
strenuous her training sessions are going to be.”
He added, “Of course there is the added bonus of it being nearer to the
teacher’s wing, meaning she will be far from the students staring and
gossiping. On the plus side, her rooms will not be that far from Mr. Diggory’s
either, which will allow them to spend more time getting to know the other
before they marry, and without the stares and whispers of others. I am hoping
he will be able to give her an extra helping hand with her studies.”
He concluded, “We will also be able to keep an eye on her progress with her
training and make certain she is close to my office and to the hospital wing
should she need of Poppy or I if Voldemort sends her anymore unfriendly dreams
or visions through her scar. If she is close by means that Poppy can treat her
much more quickly.”
What he was not saying out aloud was the fact if he allowed Harry to have her
own rooms then not only would it mean that he could keep an extra close eye on
her whereabouts and other activities. It also would earn him better standing
with her and might defrost some of the frosty reception he was on the receiving
end of from Harry. If only he knew it would take more than a set of fancy
pretty rooms for her to decorate to heart’s content to get back in her good
standing, she never was much for being bribed or buying your way back into her
good graces.
Therefore, with that decided the three of them made their way upstairs after
Sirius informed them which door was to Harry's bedroom. Sirius and the others
finally left the main entrance hall and decided to head to the kitchen and
brave the possible wrath of Molly Weasley who was fuming as she made that
evenings meal knowing she was cooking for the Order as well as the usual
residents of Grimmauld Place.
Upstairs outside of Harry’s room Albus knocked on the door and called out to
her asking, “Miss. Potter it is professor Dumbledore, would it be possible for
I and Professors McGonagall and Snape to enter and discuss some important
business with you, all which I believe will benefit you greatly?” There was a
noticeable yet brief pause before an audible sigh, followed by the reply, “The
door is unlocked.”
Albus opened the door and entered followed in by Severus and Minerva, who
closed the door quietly behind her. The three could not help but take in the
room, and noted how big it was, clearly the result of an extension charm.
Minerva could not hide her honest delight at the array of French furniture; it
was truly stunning and positively elegant. If this was her bedroom at
headquarters then she could well imagine what the younger witch would do with
the set of rooms she would receive at Hogwarts.
They noticed Harry’s leather jacket draped over the neatly made bed, while the
witch in question was kneeling and sat on her bare feet on the rug at the foot
of her bed. She appeared to be busy placing numerous books inside of an
evidently new, larger, and undeniably expensive trunk. She looked right at ease
and clearly at home in her surroundings they noted, and had never seen her look
like this before, especially when she had been a wizard.
Severus eyed the various titles he saw her placing inside of one of the trunks
large and vast compartments. For example, he spotted Charles Dickens, Roald
Dahl, and William Shakespeare. He quirked a brow at the other tiles he spotted
such as Ann Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles, Bram Stokers Dracula, The Count of
Monty Cristo and Dangerous Liaisons, even Mills & Boon.
What also surprised him were not only the romance novels but also the fairy
tales he spotted such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs, Little Red Riding Hood, Peter Pan, and finally Alice in Wonderland. He
even took quick note of the Medical Charms and Potions texts, including a
medical encyclopaedia. Even advanced Potions, Transfiguration, Charms and
DADA’s texts, and was pleased to note the sight of the Occlumency and
Legilimency texts.
He commented, “Quite the collection you have here Potter, well, you’re about to
add to it.” He took out a piece of rolled up parchment from his pocket of his
robes and handed it to Harry, who at this point had stood and moved to sit down
on the stool in front of her vanity.
She accepted the rolled up parchment, unrolled it, and scanned its content,
discovering eight titles of different texts. There was also quite a long list
of complex potions ingredients that she had no doubt would also be expensive.
She instantly knew that the ingredients were the sort only found inside of
Professor Snape’s private stores, which even students in Newt level Potions did
not use or have access to.
She looked up from the parchment and asked, “When will all of this be needed?”
Severus replied, “Like I said in Diagon Alley I recommend you purchase the
texts and ingredients Monday after your apparition testing. Also your mind
better be clear by the time of our first lesson, I recommend practicing
clearing your mind for an hour before you to sleep tonight.” Harry nodded as he
added, “I have also decided that during the school year you will be having not
only private Potions lessons but also DADA lessons as well.”
He paused before concluding, “I admit I did not mention that I am also under
strict orders from the Dark Lord to get closer to you Potter, in order to lead
you into a sense of false security. I am to report to the Dark Lord about your
extracurricular activities, to report on what you have said or done in hopes of
finding any sort of weaknesses to use against you. I only plan on giving him
the bare minimal information and definitely will not be mentioning the private
lessons, that’s not what the Dark Lord wants, as obviously he does not want you
prepared or even given the remotest chance of being able to defeat him.”
Harry nodded knowing he was right. Before she turned her gaze on Albus
wondering what he wanted and was planning for her now when the elder wizard
cleared his throat gaining her attention. He said, “I have two things to
discuss with you the first involves Professor McGonagall she being your head of
house.” He continued at her nod and said, “Now it has been brought to mine and
Professor McGonagall’s attention that you are very much against sharing
sleeping quarters with the seventh year girls in your house, one Miss Brown in
particular.”
Harry screwed up her face in disgust at the sound of the name and the very
thought of they not agreeing to letting her have her own living and sleeping
space for that up and coming school year. She told them straight, “Sorry to be
of an inconvenience, but I have to be honest here when I say I have the
overwhelming urge to curse or hex her bald, followed by the much needed casting
of a chastity charm lasting until she is least in a stable relationship and not
spreading herself around and graduated from Hogwarts. I mean seriously I can
easily see her ending up pregnant before graduation next year and will truly be
amazed whether she will actually be able to identify the father.”
Severus could not help but smirk appreciatively and knowingly, while Minerva
flustered scandalised. Everyone in that room knew what she was not so subtly
implying Lavender liked to sleep around, or as Molly Weasley would say, a
scarlet woman. If Molly had called Lavender that now instead of Hermione at
fourteen then she would have been completely correct.
Albus asked, “Are Miss Brown’s relationship habits the only issue?” Harry
looked incredulous as she replied, “Far from it Headmaster.” She added, “I
cannot tolerate the way she gossips and spreads rumours, rumours that are often
harmful and have far reaching consequences then even she is aware of.”
She shook her head and scowled as she asked, “Remember last year that poor
Ravenclaw who end up trying to rearrange Lavender’s face that she end up in the
hospital wing?” She paused and grimaced as she added, “She actually slept with
the wizard the witch had been dating, and after that to add insult to injury
Lavender spreads around the whole school that the other witch was a lesbian and
would not know how to pleasure a wizard, not even one old enough to be her
grandfather. That right there Headmaster, that’s a classical example of why
Lavender Brown is poisonous.”
She spat irritably as she continued, “The way she eyed and would act around
both Cedric and Viktor Krum during the tournament, and only went after Cedric
because his name came of the Goblet of Fire and is very easy on the eyes. As
for Viktor, she followed him around trying to get him to take her to the ball
as his date all because one he is a famous seeker and second he was one of the
Triwizard champions. She in short wanted to extend her fifteen minutes of fame
in the spotlight, and naturally she could not get it with me after her stunt
with Skeeter and I turned her down letting her know exactly what I thought of
her, so why not go after the next best thing.”
She paused to scowl before saying in a waspish tone, “But what mainly makes me
want curse or hex her into a lengthy stay in the hospital wing, well, that was
when she allowed that foul bitch Rita Skeeter into the school. She allowed her
to spy on me, even on Hermione, whilst in her unregistered Animagus form, which
by the way is a beetle with circular markings around her eyes where those
Merlin awful ugly glasses of hers would be.”
She glowered and clenched before unclenching her hands into fists round the
parchment from Severus still in her hands, and quickly placed it down on her
vanity before she could tear it. She spat, “Lavender told Skeeter how Hermione
was supposedly dating me and Viktor at the same time. I am certain you all
remember all too well that several readers of the Daily Prophet, Mrs. Weasley
included, referred to Hermione as a scarlet woman that year. If that was not
enough one crazed fan even went as far as to send Bubotuber Pus in an envelope
to Hermione who end up in the hospital wing for Merlin’s sake.”
She gritted her teeth as she continued, “I despise the way she would try to be
seen with me so they believed she was a friend of the ‘Boy Who Lived’, even
went as far as to be among those other witch’s who asked me to the Yule ball.”
She snorted and sneered incredulously as she asked, “Merlin how dense and air-
headed would she actually need to be to even dare to dream I would accept her
offer to go to the Yule ball with her after her little childish bid for the
spot light and her fifteen minutes of fame by talking to Skeeter of all damned
reporters?”
She added, “Then there is the ways she snubs both Hermione and Luna Lovegood.
She is jealous of the close friendship Hermione has with Ron, and jealous of
the fact Ron loves and is dating Luna and turned her down at the end of sixth
year when she tried to get him back after their pathetic excuse for a fling
during the beginning of sixth year until the middle.”
She paused and grimaced before saying, “I am certain you all, particularly
Professor Snape, remember and seen for yourselves her antics after the love
potion laced chocolates incident during the middle of the year. Ron ate those
chocolates and when he was in the hospital wing after the antidote Lavender
started wailing when Ron called out Luna’s name in his sleep alerting everyone
to exactly whom he wanted to be with and not who he currently was with.”
She finally concluded, “Finally let me make this clear if you were not aware
already, Romilda Vane was the one who laced those chocolates meant for me, but
Ron got to them first. That was always going to be the case, and if he had not
eaten them, they would have gone stale and to waste. I think the chocolates she
sent me are disgusting on the best of days. Oh and Merlin the thought of what
she must have thought of me to give me love potion laced chocolate is even more
disgusting and makes my skin bloody crawl.”
Severus inwardly sneered oh yes he remembered that all too well after all he
had been the one to administer the antidote after the disgusting display gone
wrong. Cornelia had been off grounds for the afternoon having business to take
care of at Gringotts so she had not been present or able to give the antidote.
However, she had been more than happy to agree to sit in on and monitor the
detention Minerva a given Romilda Vane. She disliked those who made fools and a
mockery out of the art of good Potion making. The fact those chocolates had
originally meant for Harry had helped as well, from the moment she met Harry
Cornelia had been quite fond of the raven-haired witch, then wizard.
Minerva sighed and said, “I see the point Miss Potter that placing you in the
same dormitory as Miss Brown would be more disastrous then I or the other staff
are strictly willing to condone or deal with the consequences.” Albus added,
“So that means Miss Potter you will be provided with unused guest rooms in the
teacher’s wing. It helps in any case, we do not need for you to be seen out
after curfew and others start to become suspicious and spread rumours.” He
paused before adding, “In fact you are very much welcome to redecorate as you
see fit, perhaps over the summer holidays when you floo to Hogwarts for your
private lessons.”
Harry looked positively relieved as she looked around her bedroom and said,
“Much appreciated, and pretty much this is the style I’ll be using to decorate,
but black instead of white furniture, and emerald green, black and cream with
soft gold ascents instead of purple, plum and Ivory.” That sounded even
appealing to Severus, and Minerva and Albus, Severus could imagine it perfectly
and was mildly surprised of her choice of colours having figured she would have
pick Gryffindor red and gold.
Harry asked the Headmaster, “So what was the second thing, you said there were
two things you wanted to discuss?” She quickly added, “Oh and one more thing
will I be able to keep the rooms once I graduate and start my medical training
full time after the war is over, and possibly expand them to fit Cedric to
after we are married?” She added, “It after all makes sense with them being in
the teacher’s wing.” Albus replied, “Actually those rooms are located
practically next door to the hospital wing, so yes.”
He added, “As for the second order of business, I need to discuss with you the
invitation I wish to extend to join and become a member of the Order of the
Phoenix. The same invitation I have already extended to Miss Granger-Black and
Misters Weasley and Longbottom, all whom having already accepted the
invitations to join. All three were especially accommodating and accepting when
I mentioned they would not be kept in the dark and would be able to help and
cover your back with all of the information represented to them.”
Harry nodded and gave her answer immediately after all she had been waiting for
the opportunity finally to be in on the inside instead of constantly left
outside in the dark and completely unaware of what was happening in the war.
She said, “I am up for it, I need all of the information I can get my hands on,
including the cooperation of The Order, especially if am to succeed in taking
down that psychopath for good this time.”
She shook her head firmly as she informed the Headmaster, “There will be no
third or even fourth chances this is it, Merlin sake he is already on his
second attempt as it is.” She paused before asking coldly, “Truly you have to
ask yourself Headmaster, how many more innocent and not so innocent people have
to needlessly die before he is finally stopped?”
Albus nodded and replied, “Of course, no one needs or wants a third or even a
fourth repeat of this war, and once he is taken down it will be permanently as
he has repeatedly proven he is passed redemption and for the wizarding world to
consider him even fit to go to Azkaban. I strongly believe not even Azkaban
will be able to hold him for long if at all. No I am afraid he must be stopped
to the point that there is no chance of him ever being able to return.”
Harry nodded firmly in agreement, before suddenly cringing as she remembers him
mentioning the same offer to join the Order extended and accepted by Ron. She
commented around a smirk, “Speaking of joining The Order, I wager Mrs.
Weasley’s reaction was less than pleased considering how over protective she
can be. Then there is the fact I have never heard of anyone being allowed or
asked to join The Order whilst still not a graduated Hogwarts student.”
Albus looked wry as he replied, “Quite, she did not take it at all well as
expected before I even asked. However, I must admit young Mister Weasley
handled the situation rather quite admirably and with more maturity then I have
seen from him so far. It seems there is hope for him, and that you and Miss
Granger-Black telling him off seemed to have done some good and finally gotten
through to him.”
Harry raised a brow of surprise, which had Severus smirking and commenting with
a mildly humorous tone, “Yes Potter I too was mildly surprised at the level of
maturity he displayed considering his immature display about Quidditch of all
things the previous evening.” Harry returned the smirk and shook her head, oh
no, she definitely was not going to go there. If Ron could show some maturity
then good for him she was not about to knock it, whilst at the same time
wondering how long such a display of maturity in her best male friend could
possibly last.
Albus chuckled before saying, “Oh yes and you would be correct about The Order
not recruiting members yet to have graduated Hogwarts.” He paused before
adding, “Unfortunately the war has escalated more so than last time. In
addition, it will be you who will need to finish off Tom, which is why I
believe having Misters Diggory, Weasley, and Miss Granger-Black in The Order
will be for the best.”
He paused once more before saying, “They alongside you will be the ones
accompanying you with your search for the Horcruxes.” He paused again as he saw
the look of protest come over Harry’s face, “Now, now Miss Potter it is a must,
you cannot search for the remaining Horcruxes on your own, it is by no means
shameful to ask for help when genuinely needed.”
He continued, “Besides, I need members on the inside who have closer contact
with the student body then say members of staff. I say who better than actual
members of the student body to keep a discreet eye on certain members we have
suspicions to believe have dark intentions.” He concluded, “Then of course if
Tom decides to send you more unfriendly visions or dreams I will need you to
report it during Order meetings.”
Harry nodded and said, “Fine.” She added, “Oh and whilst on the subject I still
stand by what I said last night, I still say and believe you should check out
or in the very last keep a close eye on both Corners and Finch-Fletchley.”
Severus rolled his eyes and asked exasperatedly, “You are not going to let that
go are you Potter?” Harry shook her head as she replied firmly, “Not a chance,
least not until I or someone else has sold proof that I am wrong I won’t.”
Severus shook his head in even deeper exasperation and drawled silkily, “I
reserve the right to say I told you so when it turns out you are wrong Potter,
just you know and remember that.” Harry instead of becoming offended smirked
and replied just as silkily, “Oh believe me when I say Professor that we will
most definitely see about that.”
Albus and Minerva on the other hand inwardly sighed at the situation and the
stubborn and hardheaded antics of the pair, knowing without a doubt that one
was just as bad and unrelenting as the other was.
***** Chapter Ten: Introducing Robert Sladden *****
Chapter Summary
     Harry finally meets her solicitor and discovers not only is she
     ridiculously wealthy but apparently there are yet again more
     relatives kept from her. Cedric has an extremely enlightening wake up
     call to exactly what he is marrying into, and what his wife has
     inherited is beyond anything either she or he could have ever
     imagined.
Chapter Notes
     Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the
     writing of this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong
     to J.K. Rowling. The movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures
     and Heyday Films.
     AN: Chapter four it has adjustments made for example there will be a
     two-story penthouse in Paris instead of a cottage. Lily’s vault will
     be the one with the Gringotts card and not the vault Sirius opened
     for Harry. In other chapters where it says the Gringotts card for the
     Black vault will change to the Evans vault. Chapter eight has also
     had an update also, just mentioning Sirius giving Harry the Firebolt
     when everyone else gives her their gifts in the kitchen and a brief
     mention of Dobby placing the broomstick in the armoire.
     I want to get this section of the story out of the way before I move
     the timeline along and start writing shorter chapters.
     Hey its the long awaited next chapter I will try and get the next up
     by either the end of January or the beginning of February it is
     already partially written.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of
this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The
movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.
 
There came a knock on the door and Harry called out, “Who is it?” Sirius called
out back from the other said of the door, “Harry I hope your meeting with
Albus, Minerva and Snape is done with, you are needed downstairs as your
solicitor has arrived.” He paused before adding, “Also the wizard and head
examiner from the apparition board has arrived too, he’s an Order member but
also here tonight due to owing me a favour. He has agreed to speak with you
about what is expected of you on Monday and give you a book to read, practice
and memorize the written test questions.”
Harry sighed and grimaced before calling back, “Tell my solicitor I will speak
with him first before the meeting, and ask if he minds if we have dinner in
your study as we discuss business.” She paused before adding, “Oh and tell the
apparition board examiner that I will discuss Mondays testing with him after
the Order meeting.” Sirius called back, “Alright I’ll ask and pass it on, just
get downstairs there is no use in keeping your solicitor waiting longer than
necessary.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes at door that Sirius had been standing on the
other side of, regardless that he could not see her doing it, but it was the
principle of it. “So much for putting my books and other purchases away and
having a nap before dinner and the Order meeting,” she grumbled to herself.
Severus rolled his eyes at her grumbling as he made his way to the door, opened
and exited out of it, and Albus and Minerva followed close behind.
Harry shook her head and with one last look of longing in the direction of her
new trunk and books, before she levitated the remaining unsorted books onto the
bed with a quick flick of her wand, and made a mental note to deal with them
after the Order meeting. She placed her wand in the back of her jeans, before
grabbing her slippers off the floor at the side of the bed and slipped them on.
Lastly, she turned the light off with a clap of her hands and made her way to
the door, exiting through it and closing it shut behind her.
She reached the upper landing of the front hallway and came to a stop; leaning
over the banister quietly observing the two other wizards she had never seen
before stood talking with Sirius. The older of two was around Mr Weasley’s age,
he had an olive skin tone and was of medium height, and his short wavy salt and
pepper hair was starting to thin out slightly on top of his head. She assumed
he must be the head examiner for the apparition board that Sirius mentioned
owing him a favour.
The younger of the two appeared to be in his mid twenties around Charlie’s age.
He was tall, around Cedric’s height maybe an inch or so taller. He was slim,
but perfectly muscular, toned and proportioned. Dirty blonde hair slicked back
as Malfoy used to have his, yet did not make him look like a stuck up asshole
unlike Malfoy. He had a long straight nose, high cheekbones and thin yet
attractive looking lips. Finally, she saw that he was sporting lovely bright
hazel eyes with hints of bright forest green tints, which complimented his hair
and his clean-shaven sun kissed coloured skin. (Think Joel Kinnaman)
Overall, he was handsome oh Merlin was he handsome, which was a thought that
made her feel somewhat guilty, after all she had only been engaged to Cedric
for less than forty eight hours. However, it could not be denied he was
handsome, a fact she was sure even Tonks, Hermione, Angelina, and Fleur would
notice as well. Just because she was newly engaged that did not mean she could
not look or admire as long as that was all that did happen. It was hardly her
fault that constantly there were handsome wizards around her, for example
Cedric, the twins, Bill, and now her solicitor. She was human she would need to
be blind, a lesbian, or even asexual to not notice the positively delicious
breed of wizard she was constantly in the company of.
Sirius and the other two looked up when they heard a female voice clearing
their throat pointedly. They saw a stunningly attractive dark haired witch
leaning casually over the banister, one of her perfectly manicured dark brows
raised in acknowledgement of their attention. Only Sirius of course knew it was
Harry, though the dirty blond haired wizard had a very strong inkling as to who
the witch was.
Harry asked, “So gentlemen tell me which one of you has an appointment with me
to talk about and view my family’s wizarding and muggle assets?” She paused to
scowl as she added asking, “And which one of you is here to talk and fill me in
on what is expected of me Monday during my apparition test?” She paused once
more before concluding, “Oh and word of warning no matter what you tell me and
how you try to persuade me otherwise I will not change by mind when I say and
think apparition is the pits.”
Sirius could not help smirking at Harry’s no nonsense and direct approach, no
there certainly was no beating around the proverbial bush with his goddaughter.
He grinned as he gestured to the upper level of the house and said, “Robert
Sladden, Carrick Wells, allow me to introduce my goddaughter Harriet James
Potter.” The other two men were stunned, and first eyed Sirius who was sporting
a knowing grin, followed by Harry who merely smirked and raised a single dark
eyebrow. She scowled briefly at Sirius for using her full first name, yet did
not comment and remained silent.
The two men felt struck speechless that the dark haired petite beauty was Harry
Potter; ‘The Girl Who Lived’ Girl Harry Potter was as beautiful as boy Harry
had been handsome, and if possible was even more attractive now than before.
Harry cleared her throat pointedly snapping the two wizards out of their
stunned observation of her; it was starting to get more than a tad ridiculous.
Merlin sake they acted as if they had never seen a female before.
They snapped right out of their stupors and Carrick felt shock turn into amused
disbelief as he suddenly recalls her description of apparition being the pits.
He chuckled and commented to Sirius, “Merlin Black you weren’t half kidding
when you told me that she hates apparition, I’d say we are going to have our
work cut out for us come Monday morning, let’s hope she can place aside her
hatred long enough to pass the written and practical, especially the
practical.”
The younger wizard grinned and added his own two cents, “My younger sister
Mckayla (Character will be played eventually by a British/Swedish blonde
Scarlet Johansson) is not much of a fan either, and she and I grew up with both
wizarding and muggle travel. So no you are not on your own in your dislike of
apparition, though I think yours possibly outstrips even her dislike for it.”
Harry shrugged and said, “I do not like the sensation nor do I think much of
the fact I could end up splinching myself or possibly come out at the other end
missing a few limbs or they be in the wrong places if I am not careful.”
She slowly started to make her way down the stairs and as she came into full
and closer view, the younger wizard felt taken back one again at seeing her up
close. Sirius smirked, shook his head and commented, “Oh come on Sladden I did
warn you via floo that you would not be dealing with the Harry Potter you have
seen in the newspapers. Oh no, this is a whole and entirely different brand-new
breed.”
Harry rolled her eyes playfully in Sirius’ direction as she stepped down from
the last step. The older wizard who Harry now knew to be Carrick Wells and the
head examiner for the apparition board noticed how he was eyeing her in pure
amazement. She figured from his expression that seeing her up close now meant
it had finally sunk in and hit home with the wizard exactly who was standing in
front of him.
Harry snorted as she asked, “I wonder what would happen if I never let on who I
am, truly I could have my last name changed to Evans or even Peverell and use
Jamie as a first name?” She turned to face who she now knew to be Robert
Sladden, and asked only half jokingly, “You’re apparently my solicitor, so what
do you think, think it is doable and could I get away with it?” The other three
instantly knew from the young witch’s tone that she was not entirely joking,
and that was enough to have Sirius frowning slightly.
Robert looked somewhat amused, yet also noticed with slight worry that she was
not entirely joking. Had turning back really left such an impact that she did
not want anyone knowing whom she truly is? He replied lightly as he could when
considering what she had just asked of him, and asked in return, “Oh I do not
know, what exactly do you hope to gain from it if it was possible?” He added,
“Though I have to ask how you plan to hide that very famous scar of yours, as
glamour charms will only get you so far?” He paused again before concluding,
“Then there is the fact of the wizarding world wondering where and what has
happened to their savior.”
Harry scowled at the term savior as she replied, “My scar is currently covered
by a glamour charm, and apparently my magic boost has provided me with more
than enough power to keep a glamour charm in place long term.” She paused
before continuing, “I assure you I have plenty of reasons for the wizarding
world not finding out who I now am. For example, how about not having to go
back to Hogwarts and listen to the student body whispering or gossiping
whenever I come into view. Even better example the whole of wizarding Great
Britain finding out and asking questions, personal questions that are none of
their damned business.”
She paused and then added, “Finally, if everyone finds out then that psychopath
Voldie will to, who I recently heard is in the process of wanting an heir. As
the same source has unfortunately pointed out, I apparently measure up to what
he is after for the mother of his heir, which means he could possibly try to
use me as his personal broodmare willingly or not.” She concluded, “So yes, as
you can see I have plenty of incentive to not want the wizarding world to know
who I now am.”
The three wizards looked horrified, and yes, they could definitely see and
sympathise with her wanting permanently to conceal whom she is from the
wizarding world, especially from ‘He who must not be named’. Robert also
realised another reason why she would not want the wizarding world discovering
who she is, namely if they were ever to discover just how wealthy and how far
her influence would eventually extend she would never get a moments peace out
in public. He figured even she had not quite realised just how much influence
and weight her name and wealth would soon carry.
He could not help but shudder in revulsion as he said to Harry, “Oh Merlin, any
offspring of his would be an abomination regardless of any sane and redeeming
qualities or saving grace whoever ends up being the unlucky candidate to carry
his heir. Though we all know whoever that person ends up being it will be by no
means consensual in less they are as dark and demented as he.” Harry snorted,
“Ha! Too damned right you can definitely say that again.”
He shook his head before saying, “Anyhow, Sirius has mentioned that you want to
take dinner and discuss legal matters in his office, which is perfectly fine
with me.” He gestured to his briefcase and asked, “Shall we get started and
head to your godfather’s office?” Harry nodded and said, “I will have Dobby
deliver our meal to the office.” Robert said, “Actually better make that for
three as I strongly advise that Mr. Cedric Diggory be present during the
meeting.” He added, “I feel it only prudent that he is made aware of exactly
what he is going to be marrying into.”
Sirius said, “I will get him and send him to my office.” He added as he
gestured for Carrick to follow, “Also, what would you like me to tell Albus,
will you be accepting his offer to join the Order or will you be declining?”
Robert replied, “Accepting, though my wife Clara declines, her message for
Albus is to say thank you for the invitation but no thank you she will not
place a target on her back. She says its bad enough I will, but she will remain
neutral like the rest of her family has, as all Leighton’s since Grindelwald.”
When Sirius and Carrick left, Harry looked thoughtful, but quickly blinked a
moment later as she suddenly recalls that he had said a very familiar name. She
asked as they made their way to the office, “Wait a minute, correct me if I am
wrong but did I hear you right and you just said the name Leighton?” Robert
grinned and replied, “If you are thinking the same Leighton as your Potions
Mistress Cornelia Leighton and her son Sebastian, then yes you’d be correct.”
He chuckled and added at her surprised glance, “Cornelia (Played by a red
haired Alex Kingston) is my sister in-law, the older sister of my wife Clara
(Played eventually by Abbie Cornish but with red hair similar to Alex’s).
Sebastian is my nephew, which means I have family ties to Severus Snape though
marriage.” Harry smirked and said, “And your family has been working as my
families solicitors for four generations, Merlin talk about a small world we
live in.” Robert chuckled and replied, “Very true that is.”
When they reached the office, Harry called out to Dobby, “Dobby.” Seconds later
the excitable elf appeared with a pop and squeaked excitedly, “What can Dobby
be doing for Mistress Harry?” Harry noticed Roberts barely concealed amusement
at how excitable the elf was to serve, and he had never seen an elf so excited
to serve another, even if they did live to serve. She asked, “Dobby could you
bring three plates of Mrs. Weasley’s dinner to Sirius’s office please for
Cedric, my solicitor and I?” Dobby nodded his head rapidly, his bat like ears
flopping at the motion and said, “Oh yes, Dobby will be getting dinner for
Mistress Harry, her Cedric, and guest.” With that said, he disappeared with a
pop.
Once inside the office Robert made his way behind the desk and placed his
briefcase on top of the desk. Harry took a seat in one of the two black high
back leather chairs in front of the desk. Just as Harry settled and Robert had
removed all of the necessary paperwork from his briefcase and settled in the
seat behind the desk there came a knock on the door. Harry called out, “Come on
in Cedric.” A few moments later, the door opened and Cedric entered before
shutting it behind him.
Cedric took the remaining seat next to Harry and looked from his fiancée to
Robert and asked, “What am I doing here I thought you were here to discuss
Harry’s family assets?” Robert nodded and replied, “Oh I am, but you Mr.
Diggory are her fiancé, which means you are entitled to know exactly what you
are going to marry into, both wizarding and muggle assets.” He chuckles as he
added, “I know my wife and I wanted to know where we stood financially before
we were married.”
Cedric nodded and replied, “I have a strong impression she is far from
destitute if the amount she spent on books, a trunk with twelve compartments,
and even an hour long trip to Harrods is anything to judge.” Robert chuckled
and replied, “Oh yes I have one of those trunks with the same amount of
compartments, the wife and I share its space. I also admit she and I enjoy a
good long look around Harrods as well.”
He cleared his throat to get the official meeting started when Dobby returned
with all three plates stacked high with roast beef, gammon, roast potatoes,
root mash, turnips, peas, carrots, sweetcorn and gravy, and a small basket with
freshly baked bread rolls. Floating in front of Dobby was a tray with a large
bottle of medium sweet white elfin made wine, very expensive wine, and large
enough for them to have two glasses full each. Standing tall with the bottle
was three large muggle wine glasses.”
Robert and Cedric looked taken back as did Harry, who asked Dobby, “Dobby
what’s with the wine?” Dobby looked confused as he replied, “Your godfather be
sending it with Dobby, he say you Mistress Harry be needing drink to celebrate
or to calm Mistress Harry’s nerves.” Harry and Cedric exchanged a confused
glance, while Robert on the other hand nodded knowingly, agreeing with and
knowing where Sirius was coming from.
As soon as the plates, breadbasket, bottle of wine and glasses were set down
Dobby asked, “Will Mistress need Dobby for anything else?” Harry shook her head
and said, “No thank you Dobby you may go now; however I will need for you to
collect the dishes and glasses when we leave the office, but after that will be
all and you are free do whatever you wish for the rest of the night.” Dobby
beamed and looked close to tears at his Mistress’s kindness before bowing so
low his bat-like ears practically touched the floor then disappeared with a
loud pop.
Once Dobby disappeared, Robert chuckled and said, “I do not think Sirius was
wrong to send the wine, trust me I have been though all of the paperwork with a
fine tooth comb and know exactly what it contains and exactly how wealthy you
are. The shock you will no doubt receive is going to pack a mighty punch, for
both of you in fact, so I thought I might as well warn you before we begin.” He
watched Harry closely as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose
before removing her hand and gesturing for him to continue.
Cedric cleared his throat and suggested, “How about we eat before we start to
discuss business?” Harry and Robert agreed and reached for the cutlery Mrs
Weasley had wrapped in napkins and placed on the tray with the wine and
glasses. Soon they were busy eating in silence, except for the occasional
comment about the food and the wine, which they agreed to save a glass full
each for when they discussed Harry’s assets.
As soon as they finished eating, they moved the plates and cutlery to the tray
and pushed it to one side to make room for the paperwork. Once settled with
their second glass of elfin wine each, Robert picked up the first file, which
contained a four page long contract and handed it to Harry. Harry accepted and
asked, “What is this?” He replied, “That there is a contract, an agreement that
states you are willing to use my services and continue the Sladden and Potter
partnership and dealings for another generation. Once signed, it will be legal
and binding, and there has not been a contract in place tying us together as
solicitor and client since our fathers Harry.”
Cedric suddenly had a thought and figured Harry would want to know before she
signed knowing how she currently felt about the Ministry and how it was being
ran. “Do you have anything to do with the Ministry?” Cedric asked. Robert
snorted looking decidedly insulted and replied, “Merlin no, absolutely not, I
did not go to a wizarding university followed by a wizarding law school after
Hogwarts so I could take over my father’s law firm Sladden and Co.” He paused
before finally asking incredulously, “What would be the honest point, only to
go ahead and sully my family’s good name and reputation in that corrupted stink
hole of Ministry, thank you very much?”
Harry and Cedric snorted and exchanged a knowing look, it was a relief that
someone else seemed to share their point of view in regards to the Ministry.
Harry said, “You got that right about the Ministry, they need to put someone in
power whose knows the difference from their ass and their elbow and cannot be
bought and fall for blackmail and handouts from the likes of Lucius Malfoy if
you want my opinion.” Robert nodded and said, “Absolutely, it is beyond
corrupted and has only worsened ever since the beginning of this second war.”
After taking a sip of wine, Harry asked, “So if you have your own firm that
means you have other high paying clients?” Robert replied, “Your godfather for
one, he signed up with me after the ministry cleared his name. In fact, if I
had not been 11 going on 12 in 1981, having just finished my first year at
Hogwarts, I would have demanded a trial. Even though Severus Snape had yet to
create the truth serum at that point, your godfather should have still been
granted a trial and searched for the dark mark instead of just assuming he was
guilty and in turn throwing an innocent man into that Dementor infested hell
hole.”
He added, “As for other clients, I have the Leighton’s as clients and even
promised Severus if he survives this war, ha if I even survive this war to for
that matter, then I will help see to it that he will not end up in Azkaban and
given the Dementors kiss. Plus I am certain Headmaster Dumbledore will leave
material for me to work with if something should happen to him before the end
of the war.”
Cedric took a drink from his glass before asking, “So you take on a lot of high
profile clients?” Robert smirked and said in reply, “Harry Potter is about as
high profile as anyone at this point in wizarding Great Britain, especially
with the second war ongoing.” Cedric returned the smirk, while Harry scowled
darkly as she muttered sourly, “I just cannot catch a break here for Merlin’s
sake.” This caused the men to smirk even wider at her sour muttering.
As soon as Cedric and Robert had calmed and Harry had ceased her sour
muttering, Robert took on a more serious tone. He said, “The Potter’s are my
most highest profile clients, you lot have always been beyond stinking rich,
most likely the richest and oldest line in wizarding Great Britain to date. You
lot go as far back as Merlin even though you have no relation to him, still
you’ve been around a real long time, as far back before you family name was
even Potter.” Harry paled, while Cedric eyebrows practically disappeared up
into his hairline, and Robert sighed and nodded as he said, “Yes, exactly.”
He look directly and intently at Harry as he revealed, “Just know this, even if
you had no need of my services I would have still kept a close eye on you,
after all you are so much more than my highest paying client, in fact the truth
of the matter is that we share blood Harry.” Harry’s eyes widened and she said,
“Hold on second, when I was scanning through the list of my closest relatives
and my ancestors, I noticed the name Sladden, but thought nothing of it until
now that is.” She paused before asking, “Are you actually telling me that you
are one of those Sladdens?”
Robert smiled and replied, “Yes I am, the head of house actually, my father was
a British English pureblood, while my mother is a Swedish muggle born.” He held
up his right hand displaying on his right ring finger his head of house
headship ring, which was a oval shaped males signet ring made of yellow gold
and had a ‘S’ in the centre made of small yet bright and beautifully clear
Emeralds. Harry liked the look of the emerald and gold combination very much.
Cedric was shocked as was Harry, but he was the one to ask the questions on
both of their minds. “But how, and what relation are you?” Robert asked in
reply, “You mean how Harry and I are related?” Cedric nodded and asked, “Yes,
how are you related and which side of her family do you come from, Potter or
Evans?” Robert replied, “Potter actually, seeing as my father had a younger
sister Rosalie Sladden, my aunt, who met and married a Charlus Harrison Potter,
and she gave birth to a son, James Charlus Potter, who in turned fathered a
daughter Harriet James Potter.”
Robert grinned as he added, “We are second cousins, regardless of the ten year
age gap between I and James, also between Harry and I in fact. We are even more
closely related then she is to the Weasleys. I have a younger sister who is
twenty-three, and as you know, James was an only child. Her grandmother Potter
was my aunt, meaning she has Sladden blood in her because her father had it to.
That Cedric is how she and I are related.” (I know Harry’s grandmother was
originally Dorea Black, but in my story, she will be Rosalie Sladden an OFC.)
Cedric also asked the next question, clearly being able to see that Harry was
too shocked as well as angered over discovering even more relatives hidden from
her and was occupied taking a sip of wine. “How do you mean when you say you
and Harry are more closely related then she is to the Weasleys?” Robert leaned
back in his chair and said, “Because there is over thirty years separating
Harry and Arthur Weasley, and he is her cousin once removed because of the
generation gap separating them. She and I only have an age gap of ten years
verses the thirty years she and Arthur Weasley have between them. Harry has no
Weasley blood, though Arthur Weasley does have some Potter blood though his
mother.”
He paused to drink from his glass before continuing, “She is related to Arthur
Weasley through her great aunt, his mother, and that is not the same
generation. My father on the other hand and Harry’s grandmother Potter were
siblings, the same generation, as were James and I regardless of the decade age
gap. That is how I am closer and blood related to Harry unlike she is to the
Weasleys. This also means she and my twin sons Joel and Alexander are third
cousins and from the same generation regardless of the age gap.”
He took another sip of his of wine before clapping his hands together and said,
“Anyway down to business, the actual reason we are here in this office. Harry
still needs to read though the contracts and sign, and we also still need to go
though her assets, shares, and holdings both wizarding and muggle.” He
concluded, “In fact you two are not only the ones expected at the Order meeting
tonight, I am too, I will be joining The Order of the Phoenix.”
Harry and Cedric nodded, and Harry started scanning all four pages quickly yet
thoroughly making sure she read all the important parts and did not miss
anything vital. While Harry scanned through the contract, Cedric drank from his
glass as he eyed Harry followed by Robert, and could instantly see the family
resemblance between the two. He realised as placed his glass back down on the
desk that this time next year he would not only be married to Harry, but also
related to Robert through Harry and marriage.
Five minutes later Harry looked up from the last page of the contract, and then
took a drink from her glass before saying, “Someone hand me a quill so I can
sign this.” She added, “Regardless of our relation I would have signed anyway,
everything stated in the contract is sound and I agree.” She continued as she
accepted a self-inking quill from Robert, “It says here that I will pay you
eighty five thousand Galleons per year.”
As she signed her name on the dotted line in the two separate spaces she went
on to say, “If you can perform beyond my expectations during the meeting
between my accounts manager at Gringotts and the owner of The Daily Prophet
then I will increase your salary by ten thousand a year. That is ninety five
thousand Galleons a year, think you can do it and earn that raise?”
Cedric was stunned to hear the amount, but something told him his fiancée could
more than cover it. Just what kind of wealth did his fiancée have at her
disposal, most likely more money than he had ever seen or imagined in his life
so far, more than Harry had had most likely seen or imagined either for that
matter. Well, they were about to find out and he had no idea which of them it
was going to shock the most.
Robert raised a brow and replied, “No problem at all, but remember I make that
eighty five thousand just looking after your wizarding affairs and assets, not
your muggle. Then of course there are my various other clients as well, many
others, seeing as I do not just cater to purebloods, but half-bloods and muggle
borns to. I could honestly care less about your blood only that you are a
wizard or witch and can put forth my fee, which differs depending on what my
client is worth, and then I will accept them as one of my clients.”
Cedric commented as he shook his head, “You must make quite an earning in your
line of work.” Robert smirked as he replied, “My firm brings in so many new
clients a year, it is one of the biggest in Great Britain and is the second
longest running in London, the first is over six generations and has more than
twice my staff, but then again it has been established in business longer.”
Harry asked as she handed the quill back to Robert, “If you do not mind me
asking, but what does your wife do for a living?” Robert replied, “She is a
solicitor.” He smiled gently as he added, “Actually university was where we met
and then went on to law school together.” He shook his head and said, “Anyhow
back to business we are far from done but have so little time before the
meeting starts and I at least want everything signed and for you to have a
brief look at your assets.”
Robert took out two more files and handed them both to Harry and said, “One is
your wizarding assets, such as Galleons, stocks, shares, and your properties,
though that does not include heirlooms, precious jewels, jewellery, weaponry,
books, antiques, and other such precious artifacts.” He paused for a moment
then continued, “The second on the other hand is the same but is your muggle
based assets, such as stocks and shares in various companies that took your
grandfather and your fathers interest, but mainly your grandfather.”
He added, “Read both of those and you will understand immediately why my firm
and my family are envied for having the Potters as our clients, or especially
why for four generations a Sladden has worked to secure the Potter assets, or
why we end up so close that we are now related to them by blood.” He looked
positively smug, could not help it as he concluded, “Oh and to add icing to the
already huge and profitable cake you are Harry Potter ‘The Girl Who Lived’, and
ridiculously famous.” Cedric chuckled as Harry rolled her eyes in exasperation.
She opened the file on top of the small pile and discovered it was her
wizarding assets and just as she was about to scan through it Robert gave her a
warning. “That does not only show what is in your vaults at Gringotts, but also
shares and stocks you own in companies here in the wizarding world.” Harry
nodded and went back to scanning the parchment in front of her.
She scanned the top of the parchment that stated what was in each vault. The
first Potter vault had three point six billion Galleons and that just so
happened to be the first vault. The second Potter vault had items including the
deeds to all of her properties all over the world inside that were yet to have
been valued, so it was safe to say that three point six billion did not even
scratch the surface when it came to the whole of the Potter fortune and assets.
The first Gryffindor vault had a total of Galleons worth one point two billion,
which did not include several unvalued jewels, weapons, books, artifacts, and
the deeds to four properties that were placed in the second vault; so honestly
who knew what the grand total worth was for the Gryffindor assets. It must be
worth an amazing lot or else why would Godric Gryffindor have such powerful and
complex enchantments and wards around the vaults? Blood magic and wards that
take serious power were not something you messed about with lightly.
As for Ravenclaw, that had noticeably less Galleons, the total amount including
interest gained over the centuries came to three hundred million. There were
more books then Harry knew what to do with, and thought that perhaps Hermione
might appreciate a look. There were even antiques, jewellery and robes listed,
and all belonging to and once wore by Rowena Ravenclaw, so those items of
jewellery and clothing alone would be worth a fortune considering how old they
now were.
There were also deeds to two separate properties, one in Scotland and a holiday
cottage in Russia. Ravenclaw apparently came from a rich family, but her mother
would not have found out about Ravenclaws vault until she had performed a spell
to reveal her family tree and taken that as proof to Gringotts, before most
likely subjected to further blood magic performed before she could even claim
the Ravenclaw title and assets.
Next was James’ Personal vault, which had twenty five million Galleons and
several older model broomsticks, along with several Quidditch memorabilia
signed by different professional Quidditch players. Before they had gone into
hiding with Harry, he and Lily had placed eight vials all with a memory
concealed inside, four which were his memories and the other four Lily’s. The
memories were there if he and Lily did not survive, along with instructions for
Harry to retrieve the pensive from the second Potter vault to view the memories
when she was older.
Memories of Harry when she was newly born and held by Lily, while another was
of Harry being held by James for the first time. There was also a memory of her
christening, and another of her first birthday. Other memories were of her
first word and her first incident with accidental magic, her first time
crawling, and finally a last message each from James and from Lily, containing
words of love, advice, and support for the future.
Then there was Peverell, that one vault had a total of twelve million Galleons
and a few heirlooms. Then the Evans vault was next, left to her by her mother
and had a grand total sixteen million Galleons. There were books, many books
naturally, after all this was Lily Potter-Evans a bookworm as big and invested
in learning as Hermione. The reason there was so much in the vault was due to
an uncle on the Evans side of the family, who had invested in different
business ventures and hit the jackpot so to speak. When he had died from cancer
when Lily had been sixteen, he had been a widower and childless as his wife had
died in childbirth and the child along with her.
He had been very fond of Lily, but something about Petunia had never appealed
to him. He despised the way she treated her sister, her own flesh and blood.
Also at that point he knew of and had the misfortune to be introduced to Vernon
and insisted there was no way in hell that bloated and abusive excuse for a man
would ever get his fat grubby paws on a single penny of his hard earned money.
He also met James twice before he died and approved of him, he knew the young
man’s family was wealthy, immensely wealthy, so he knew James would not be
liable to steal from or hold it against Lily if she received his entire
fortune.
So naturally, everything he had, his entire fortune went to Lily. He had stated
in his will that none of his fortune was to go to Petunia and her disgusting
money-grabbing husband was under no circumstances to see or even touch a single
penny. This in turn naturally went an awful long way towards fueling Petunias
hatred of her younger sister even more so then she already had. She was
furiously jealous of the wealth and sheer comfort her younger sister lived in
up until her death. It was one of the main reasons Harry end up treated so
badly and why she and Vernon had not wanted Harry knowing about the wizarding
world, if she did not find out about her heritage, then in return she would not
learn of her incredibly vast wealth either, least of all that she would
eventually inherit their home.
The second to last vault listed was set up for her by Sirius that she had
dubbed her Black vault, which had total five hundred thousand Galleons and
counting seeing as Sirius still had it set at five hundred Galleons a month
until her next birthday and wedding day. The final vault was the vault set up
for her by her parents, the vault used for school supplies and now her own
personal vault. It had clearly updated since her last visit to Gringotts and as
promised the money she wanted transferred had been, and now had forty five
thousand Galleons.
The next page showed her stocks and shares. She discovered and was surprised to
note she owns ten percent stocks and shares in The Nimbus Broom Company. There
were a further five percent stocks and shares in Flourish and Blotts. However,
what truly shocked her, and she swore her heart had skipped a beat, apparently
the Potters owned the land in which Diagon Ally now resided.
She could not help but let out a small scream, shocking the two men present.
Cedric looked alarmed as he asked, “What could there possibly be on there to
cause that reaction Harry?” Harry hissed from between clenched teeth, “Diagon
Ally.” Robert let out a low chuckle and commented, “Ah yes, Diagon Ally, I did
wonder what your reaction would be to that not so small piece of information. I
on the other hand definitely felt taken back, and nearly dumped a full mug of
hot coffee down my front. I almost gave my wife a heart attack when I started
coughing on thin air before swearing to the point she had to put up a silencing
charm inside of my home office so Joel and Alex could not hear me.”
Cedric chuckled and shook his head at hearing that before asking, “What about
Diagon Ally?” Harry drank deeply from her glass before she shook her head and
muttered, “Oh hell, I daren’t say it, reading it had been enough.” Robert let
out a loud laugh as Harry lowered her glass to the desk and covered her face
with her hands as she shook her head in stunned disbelief. When he calmed to
the point he could speak clearly he told Cedric, “Your wife to be is the sole
owner of the land Diagon Ally was built on, in short meaning when the rent on
the shops are due on a monthly basis that money is transferred into the second
Potter vault.”
Cedric suddenly felt numb and was beyond glad that he was already sitting down.
Harry removed her hands from her face just in time to see the colour drain from
her fiancés face. He let out a strangled sound in the back of his throat before
promptly covering his eyes with his right hand. He was silent for several
lingering moments before finally muttering, “Merlin what the hell have my
parents let me in for when they signed that contract?”
Harry snorted as she pretty much wondered how she was supposed to wrap her head
around this not so little piece of information. Robert on the other hand
commented seriously, “Yes when I read a copy of your betrothal contract I
wondered whether your parents had been aware of what they were doing. Through
honestly I do not see how they could have known, it’s not like the Potters
would have mentioned it, it is not a piece of information that can easily be
mentioned and slipped into a conversation.”
Cedric removed his hand from his eyes and said, “I will ask my dad after the
Order meeting whether he and mum had been aware just how rich and influential
in the wizarding world you would be, even without being ‘The Girl Who Lived’?”
He paused then added, “But like your cousin said about doubting that such
information would have been easily mentioned in a conversation, I agree, but
will still ask my dad anyway.”
As Cedric sipped his wine, Robert nodded and said, “Your right about her being
influential even without being ‘The Girl Who Lived’.” He paused and turned to
Harry and said, “You are a very powerful young woman indeed in more ways than
one. You were never meant to be out of the public eye Harry, you would always
be recognised, even though it would have been to a much lesser degree if your
parents had been alive and you had not defeated that monster as a baby.”
He paused once more to sip from his own glass before continuing, “You own the
land Diagon Ally is built on, and Merlin’s sake you have four seats you can
claim on the Wizengamot.” He shook his head, lowering his glass to the desk
before concluding, “I am sorry Harry, but whether you had been marked by that
psychopath or not, you would have been an influential public figure in
wizarding Great Britain.”
Cedric shot Harry a sympathetic glance when he saw how pale and defeated she
suddenly appeared, Robert was eyeing her with a similar look. He hated seeing
her look so defeated, and could see from Roberts expression he did not in the
least appreciate seeing his cousin looking like that either. She was right
Cedric realised when she claimed she could never catch a break, it would
honestly seem like she could not.
Cedric suddenly had a thought and asked Robert, “I wonder would have Helga
Hufflepuff had a seat on the Wizengamot?” Robert nodded and replied, “Yes I
highly suspect so, after all she was a pureblood and also one fourth of the
founders of Hogwarts. Though her family while not as wealthy as say the Potters
or Gryffindor, she was by no means a pauper either, not by a long stretch of
the imagination if history is correct about her.“ He eyed Cedric thoughtfully
as he asked, “Why would you want to know this?” Cedric looked uncomfortable,
especially when Harry shot him a knowing glance from out of the corner of her
eye.
He took a deep breath and revealed, “Because my mother had apparently been a
descendant, not only a descendant but the heir. When she ended up killed in a
freak accident in the Department of Mysteries, she left my father not only a
widower but also me as an only child. Yes I have an uncle on my mother’s side
of the family and he has children, but he was born second and my mother was the
oldest making her the heir, and now me.”
There was a lingering silence as he finished. Harry already knew her fiancé was
the heir having been present when Amos had let that piece of information slip.
Robert on the other hand had not been, so he was eyeing Cedric incredulously.
After a few moments of tense silence, Robert broke it with a loud bark of
laughter, and threw his head back and laughed long and hard. Cedric frowned and
asked Harry, “Do you think I somehow broke him?” This caused Harry to let loose
with an unladylike like snigger.
After a minute or so, Robert and Harry calmed down, and Robert wiped tears of
pure incredulous mirth from his eyes. He let loose one last brief chuckle
before apologising and explained in a breathless tone from his laughter, “Sorry
about that but I am afraid it was unavoidable.” He paused again before adding,
“You see, here is Harry wanting anonymity, but surely you and she must
understand that is now less likely to happen. I mean seriously between the two
of you, you have the right to lay claim to a third of the four founders of
Hogwarts Wizengamot seats.” He paused to shake his head and shot Harry an
apologetic yet sympathetic glance and concluded, “No little cousin dearest that
alone would surely be enough to draw attention not only from the public, but
also from The Ministry.”
Harry visibly slouched down lower in her chair as she covered her face and let
out a deep sigh of pained exasperation. She silently wondered why she could not
catch a break, and whom she could have possibly pissed off so majorly in a
previous life if such a concept existed. She asked a much out aloud as she
removed her hands from her face and asked, “You know you’ve got to wonder just
who and what I did to majorly piss off someone in my previous life, if such a
concept of a previous life actually does exist?”
This earned chuckles from the men, before Robert commented around a slight
frown, “You know what you aren’t the only one to wonder that about themselves.
I too briefly had wondered the same when it had first dawned on me that I had
fallen in love with a witch born and raised by a family of neutral grey wizards
and witches. And here I am born and raised in a dominantly light family just
like the Potter’s and the Weasleys.”
Harry and Cedric winced, and Harry said, “Merlin that must have been a cause
for some rather interesting conversation when it was time to meet and greet the
parents.” Robert let out a cynical sounding laugh as he replied, “Oh you
honestly have no idea you’re from a dominantly light family as is your fiancé
too.” Cedric nodded and commented, “Yeah, it is true the Diggory family and my
mother’s side of the family are dominantly light at least as far as I am
aware.”
Robert shrugged after taking another sip of wine and saying, “It is all worth
it, she is my wife and the mother of my identical twin sons, which can be a
pain in the ass trying to tell them apart if you know no better. Though their
personalities tend to give away whose who, seeing as Joel is slightly lighter
natured compared to Alex.” He paused before adding, “Anyway as my wife’s
parents pointed out it could have been much worse meaning I could have come
from a dominantly dark family and background. They do not necessarily agree
with all of the light side methods and quite a few of the dark sides methods
even less, hence why they are a neutral grey family.”
He suddenly smirked as his voice took on a slightly devious undertone as he
informed his cousin, “Oh by the way both of my sons happen to be major Harry
Potter fans. Ha, imagine their reactions when they find out you’re their
cousin?” Cedric laughed at the expression on her face, she clearly could not
decide whether she was flattered, amused, or exasperated at the thought of
their reactions, or how she was supposed to deal with it when she eventually
meets them.
Harry settled for shaking her head and asked, “How do you think they will take
the news that I was never actually ‘The Boy Who Lived’ but instead ‘The Girl
Who Lived’?” Robert smirked as he answered, “Oh I am sure they will not mind
just as long as they will have the bragging rights to say that their cousin is
‘The Girl Who Lived’.” Harry in reply let loose with a slightly pained sounding
chuckle and moaned, “Oh Merlin, there is just no escaping that ridiculous title
no matter my sex.”
After exchanging a few more chuckles, Harry sipped from her glass before she
turned her attention back to the file in front of her. She revealed,
“Apparently I own ten percent stocks and shares in The Nimbus Broom Company,
and a further five percent in Flourish and Blotts.” She paused before adding,
“Ha, would you fancy that, I even own fifteen percent in Quality Quidditch
Supplies, and even a further five percent in Madam Malkin's Robes for All
Occasions. I wonder if she is aware I have stocks and shares in her store?” She
added, “I even have a further ten percent in Gladrags Wizardwear that has
stores in London, Paris and Hogsmeade.”
She could not help but smirk as she asked Robert, “Hey, you think we might be
able to look into buying some stocks and shares in The Firebolt Broom Company?”
Robert returned the smirk and replied, “I could look into it, but yes I suspect
it would be possible. Think about it the company would want bragging rights
that the girl who lived was a shareholder and most likely try to outdo Nimbus
by selling you more stocks and shares then they have. Ultimately it would mean
a free broom as soon as a new model came out on the market.”
Harry rolled her eyes and Cedric chuckled knowingly as he sipped from his
glass. She closed the file and moved onto the second file, this one containing
her muggle assets. First, she scanned the amount she was worth and yelped as
soon as she saw the figure, “You have got to be kidding me it says here I am
worth thirty point six billion!” Cedric started to choke on his wine, and Harry
reached out and smacked him on the back as soon as he lowered the glass back to
the desk.
Robert could not help but laugh at their reactions. He pushed forward another
four-page contract and said, “Scan and sign before you read that file any
further.” Harry raised a brow and Robert rolled his eyes at her unasked
question and said, “Think about it Harry, it is two entirely separate and
different worlds wizarding and muggle, so of course they will to have separate
contracts and fees. Your family never went elsewhere in the muggle world to
deal with their assets that are not wizarding, which means I have to deal with
muggle stocks and shares, and the exchange rates are different over there in
the muggle world then they are here in the wizarding world.”
Harry looked somewhat sheepish for not figuring that out to begin with without
any prompting, but did not comment realising it made sense. Cedric thought so
too, and watched as Harry quickly yet thoroughly scanned the pages without
missing anything. Harry raised a brow when she saw the fee for her muggle
assets were seventeen thousand Galleons, which was the equivalent of eighty
five thousand in muggle pounds, which was around the going rate for a muggle
solicitor on a yearly basis. She could definitely afford to pay Robert eighty
five thousand considering she was apparently worth thirty point six billion
pounds, which was around the equivalent of six billion Galleons.
Harry signed her name on the dotted line in two different spots and smirked as
she commented, “I really do line your pockets don’t I?” She added, “In total I
give you eighty five thousand Galleons a year which will go up to ninety five
thousand if I add that extra ten thousand. Ninety five thousand Galleons are
four hundred and seventy five thousand muggle pounds, and add another seventeen
thousand Galleons which is the equivalent of eighty five thousand muggle
pounds, which is one hundred and twelve thousand Galleons equals five hundred
and sixty thousand muggle pounds.”
Robert laughed and said, “Of course, but know this, no one besides occasionally
Clara my wife sees your files, and one of my accountants has access to, but
even then he is sworn to secrecy by a magical oath meaning he risks losing his
magic if he goes to the newspapers or even tells one of his fellow
accountants.” He smirked and added, “Hence why I earn one hundred and twelve
thousand Galleons a year, which in turn is why you are my highest profile and
paying client.” Cedric let out a low whistle and Robert nodded and concluded,
“Exactly, but then again I am damn well good at what I do, and the better I am
then the larger the fee I can ask for from my clients, of course depending on
what their estimated financial status is.”
Robert then took the signed contract and placed it with the first one back
inside of his briefcase, before gesturing for Harry to continue reading through
her muggle assets. He drank from his glass as Harry started to scan down the
page. She commented after a minute, “I apparently have three bank accounts, and
Merlin, I even own twenty eight percent stocks in shares in one of those
banks.” Robert smirked knowingly, while Cedric looked decidedly taken back,
knowing you have absolute pure wealth when you can say you have twenty eight
percent stocks and shares in a bank and it be the actual honest to Merlin
truth.
She paused to scan further down before letting out a low whistle and said, “I
have fifteen percent shares in the technology company Microsoft.” She paused
once more but let out an incredulous laugh and said, “Oh jeez my grandfather
sure did like his muggle cars despite being a pureblood wizard.” Robert grinned
as he replied, “Oh absolutely, he loved them alright, so much so that he
invested in six different companies all over the world.”
Cedric asked with interest, “Which ones?” Harry scanned the file as she named
each company and how much stocks and shares in each company there is. “Eighteen
percent in Jaguar, a further thirteen percent in Mercedes, sixteen percent in
BMW, fifteen percent in Bentley, ten percent in Porsche, and a whopping twenty
five percent in Aston Martin.” She let out a low whistle and said, “Ninety-
seven percent stocks and shares in car companies in total.”
Harry smirked and said, “I on the other hand if I have my way I will be adding
the Daily Prophet to my wizarding assets.” She paused before adding, “Also
Cedric, today when we ate at the Leaky Cauldron it got me thinking about
whether Tom would be open to negotiations about allowing me to buy into the pub
and bed and breakfast. Of course I would be quick to reassure him that I do not
want to take his lively hood from him and that he would keep the controlling
percentage of shares.”
Cedric looked incredulous, while Robert said, “Good girl, it seems like you
have a head for business after all.” He paused to smirk before adding,
“Previous Potter heads had interests in muggle cars, or my aunt who had your
grandfather buy into Flourish and Blotts. Your father insisted on Quality
Quidditch Supplies, and for your mother as a wedding present he invested in
shares in Gladrags Wizardwear.” He paused once more before revealing, “However,
for you he invested in Nimbus hoping that you would end up as much of a fan of
flying as he had been. I would say that that was a reasonable hope and money
well spent on shares considering you are said to be the youngest seeker in a
century at Hogwarts and now you are showing interest in Firebolt.”
Cedric could not help but chuckle as he said, “And now not only do you want a
whole newspaper but shares in a pub and bed and breakfast.” Harry smirked at
Robert in a way that clearly stated I know something you do not, before saying.
“Oh that is not all you see it is not mentioned in the files because it is not
known publicly only Fred and George, Cedric, Hermione and Ron, along with
Sirius and Remus know. That being that I gave my half of the Triwizard
winnings, five hundred Galleons towards buying the store in Diagon Ally. In
short that means they made me a silent partner in Weasley Wizard Wheezes.” She
paused to grin even wider before concluding, “That is the reason why they
always send me new products yet to go on the shelves, ones that they do not
even send to Ron or Ginny.”
Robert chuckled as he shook his head and said, “Remind me to have a talk with
those two so that I can update your wizarding assets.” Cedric smirked as Harry
commented, “It is kind of fitting really that I would be a silent partner in a
joke shop, after all my father along with Sirius and Remus were three thirds of
the Marauders, the exact group of people the twins got their most inspiration
from.”
Cedric hooted, “Damn it really is fitting, I mean even I have heard of the
infamous Marauders and that they were pranksters. I heard Minerva mention once
that they practically had her wanting to rip her hair out of its roots during
their time as students at Hogwarts.” He paused to snigger before adding, “Oh
and that one time Sirius called her Minnie, I honestly thought she was going to
hex him.” Harry and Robert could not help join Cedric in laughter at the mental
images that suddenly came to mind at hearing that.
Harry asked once they had calmed down, “So how do we go about setting up a
meeting with Ragnok and the owner or owners of the Daily Prophet?” Robert
replied, “I will get in contact with Ragnok, and he in turn will see to it that
the manager of the Daily Prophet owner's accounts will get in contact with he
or she. After that we will be summoned by owl to attend a meeting where
everyone who needs to be there can come together to discuss most likely the
reasons you have for wanting to take over the newspaper and not just buy stocks
and shares.” He paused before continuing, “If the current owner or owners agree
to allow you to buy them out his or her company, documents such as contracts
and transfer papers and the deeds will need to be signed. Finally, you hand
over the Galleons for the business which will then be transferred over to the
former owner's vault.”
Harry nodded and looked thoughtful before she said, “If it is successfully
taken over would you two be willing to buy shares in the newspaper, say twenty
five percent each, and I will hold onto the remaining and controlling fifty
percent?” Cedric and Robert looked shocked, Cedric more so than Robert. Robert
cleared his throat and asked, “I suppose I could yes, but are you certain,
because if you are I will need to discuss this with my wife before I give a
definite and final answer?”
Harry nodded and replied, “Yes I am, I do not want to control all one hundred
percent even if I do keep the controlling percentage. I rather that there are
one or two people who have shares and stock, I suppose to share some of this
ridiculous amount of wealth as I wager that paper must rake it in, I mean it
has been around for centuries.” Robert nodded and said in reply, “Oh believe me
it has been, and in my opinion could do with a more modern upgrade and someone
with a firm hand to bring that paper swiftly into the twentieth century,
especially as in the next two years will be the start of a new Millennium.”
Cedric shook his head and said, “I have no idea how I would buy stocks and
shares, it would all depend on how much the paper is worth to begin with.”
Robert asked, “Do you have any savings or an inheritance you have received?” He
paused as he realised the younger wizard would also have the right to claim
Helga Hufflepuffs fortune assets and the title of being her currently only
living heir. He said and added, “You said you are the heir to Helga Hufflepuff,
well she will be worth a couple of million Galleons at least when you go to
Gringotts and claim the title and assets.”
Cedric looked honestly surprised and said, “Oh, I honestly had not thought of
that.” He paused before adding, “As for inheritances, well, my grandparents on
my Mums side of the family had been comfortable financially though nothing like
the Potters or Blacks. They left to me an inheritance of two hundred and fifty
thousand Galleons, which I will receive on my twenty first birthday. They left
the same amount to each of my cousins, while my uncle and mum each received
five hundred thousand Galleons each.”
He added sadly, “My mother left that money to my dad to raise me, on top of the
compensation The Ministry gave to all of the families who lost a family member
in the accident that day in the Department of Mysteries, and trust me that was
quite the payout. My dad and I could more than comfortably live off that, but
dad insists on not making it known publicly how much the payout was.” He paused
at Harry’s raised brow and said, “Yes Harry before you comment I realise that
sounds unlike my dad who usually likes to brag, but not in this case seeing as
how we came by the money, he loathes that it took mum being killed in order for
us to be financially secure.”
He paused as he saw the sympathetic glances Harry and Robert gave him, before
he continued, “As for my father’s side of the family, only my grandpa Diggory
is alive, which is how Harry has my Grandma Diggory’s engagement ring.” He
concluded, “Because I am the only Diggory heir I will receive a total of one
hundred and twenty five thousand Galleons, separated into two payouts. I have
already had one payment of six hundred and twenty five Galleons that I received
on my seventeenth birthday. There will be a further six hundred and twenty five
Galleons which I will receive on my twenty first.”
Harry told him, “Well it seems you will have a rather nice tidy sum as soon as
you lay claim to the Hufflepuff assets and title as heir, and of course soon as
you receive your inheritances from your grandparents on your twenty first.” She
added, “Once I have control of the paper, if I get control I should really say,
then I can hold onto those shares for you until you are ready to claim them.”
Cedric nodded relieved that she had come up with a suitable solution, and
beyond relieved that neither she nor Robert had asked anything about The
Ministry payout for his mother’s death.
Robert told Harry, “In any case I would like to give you an answer now and say
that I am in, but as I ready mentioned I need to run it by Clara first.” He
paused before adding, “If you get the paper and she agrees then she and I could
arrange for a meeting at Gringotts with your accounts manager, who just so
happens to be mine too, seeing as Ragnok took on the Sladdens as clients as
well not long after my aunt married your grandpa Potter.”
He concluded after a pause, “At the meeting it would be agreed how much stocks
and shares she and I would be buying and splitting between us. Clara and I
would make sure to provide a contract in advance, which she and I would sign
along with you and our accounts manager and whomever you have witness the
signing and whom Clare and I chose as a witness. Then once signed Clara and I
would sign over the Galleons to your vault.”
Before Harry replied, there came a knock on the door and Robert called out,
“Yes?” Tonks answered from the other side of the door and said, “Sorry to
interrupt but the meeting is due to begin in fifteen minutes.” Robert called
back, “Sorry about that we obviously lost track of the time.” He paused before
adding, “Please inform the Headmaster that we will be along in ten minutes.”
Tonks called back, “Alright I will pass the message along.”
As soon as Tonks left, they drained the last of the wine from their glasses and
placed them on the tray with the dirty dishes and wine bottle. They stood up
from around the desk and Harry called out, “Dobby.” Seconds later the elf
appeared and Harry said, “We are finished in here now, you can take away the
dishes and after that the rest of the night is yours to do with as you like.”
Dobby nodded rapidly and squeaked excitedly, “Oh thank you Mistress is too
kind, and Dobby will be cleaning dishes away for Mistress Harry like a good
elf.”
Harry nodded and bit her lip as she stifled a slight smirk and said, “Thank you
Dobby.” She then headed for the door followed by Cedric and Robert. As soon as
Robert closed the office door behind of him, he let out a low chuckle and
commented, “Merlin I have never seen an elf show such dedication to its Master
or Mistress before.” Cedric let out a quiet snort and added, “Oh Dobby
practically worships Harry no doubt about that.”
Harry rolled her eyes at them and said, “Everyone has their eccentric quirks,
house elves too, especially Dobby.” She added in a dark and disgusted tone, “Oh
and the only reason he is like that with me is because unlike Lucius Malfoy,
his previous Master who I made certain to free him from when I was twelve, I do
not make Dobby punish himself. I do not insist he hit himself with or bang his
head against solid objects or fucking do something as demented and cruel as
ironing his own hands.” Cedric and Robert scowled at hearing of Malfoy’s
disgusting and positively barbaric treatment of his house elves.
***** Chapter Eleven: Order Meeting & Miss Hestia Jones Learns whom she is
dealing with *****
Chapter Summary
     Harry and the others receive their introduction into The Order of the
     Phoenix. Neville and the others find out about Harry now being female
     and their reactions. Hestia Jones learns just how easy it will not be
     to flustered and upstage this new Harry Potter.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of
this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The
movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.
When they reached the kitchen where most Order meetings usually took place,
they entered and each took a seat around the magically enlarged and extended
dinner table. Robert and Cedric sat on either side of her in the last remaining
seats. The three noticed two things, first it was apparently a full house that
night, and secondly there was a decidedly lingering silence throughout the
room. No one needed to ask why either, after all the reason was female and sat
down between her fiancée and her cousin slash solicitor.
Hestia Jones spoke up breaking the silence, her tone evidently confused as she
asked, “Albus I thought you said we were being joined by Harry Potter, so where
is he, we need to get the meeting started it is rude to be late and keep people
waiting.” Those who were aware felt caught between smirking and cringing at
what the older witch had just said, and in front of the one who she was good as
accusing of being rude.
Harry raised a brow, cleared her throat, and said in a cool tone, evidently
telling all she had not in the least appreciated the older witch implying she
was being rude and holding up the meeting. “If you were expecting a wizard Miss
Jones then I regret to inform you there has been a major and unexpected change
in status.” She paused before adding in a even cooler tone, “As for I being
supposedly rude and holding up the meeting, you will find if you took the time
to find out the facts before making such accusations that I am in fact on time
and not holding up the meeting, that hardly makes me rude now does it Miss
Jones.”
Harry turned her gaze from a confused yet indignant Hestia Jones and turned to
face Kingsley Shacklbolt, who whilst knowing who she was had yet to see her as
she now was. He was caught between the feelings amusement and cringing at what
Harry had just said to Hestia and in the tone that she had used. He could see
the two of them seriously butting heads if Hestia made anymore unjustified
comments no matter how unwittingly done so.
“Kingsley thanks for allowing Tonks the day off to do guard duty for me it was
most appreciated,” she said to Kingsley. Kingsley could not help but let out a
low deep sounding chuckle and commented, “Look at you; this must have surely
come as a shock and a major change of pace for you.” Harry returned the chuckle
and replied, “You have no idea, oh trust me you really do not and could not
until you are the one who is experiencing it.”
Kingsley nodded and said in reply, “Entirely understandable, but before we
continue I think you need to let those who do not know who you are know, truly
poor Hestia looks terribly confused and has no idea that she unknowingly
insulted and made wrong accusations without even realising she had.” Harry was
not the least bit amused but none the less without replying verbally waved her
wand hand at her forehead and cancelled Tonks’s notice me not charm, which
instantly revealed her Merlin forsaken scar that anyone living in Great
Wizarding Britain would recognise on sight and know exactly who she is.
Hestia noticeably paled, while Neville all but blurted out, “Merlin is that
really you Harry!” He added, “What happened did you accidentally eat or drink
one of Fred and George’s creations?” Fred and George snorted as did Harry. Fred
said, “Oh Neville old boy, we did not do this, if only.” George added, “Oh but
what an idea for a product right there, it has potential.” Harry snapped and
said, “Hell no do not even think about it you two, what happened to me is not
just physical but also on a mental scale as well, it is no laughing matter and
would make an absolutely Merlin awful prank product.” Fred and George much to
everyone’s genuine surprise did look more than genuinely chastised and
apologetic.
Moody could not help but drawl in amusement as he asked, “My my Potter what
have you gone and done to yourself?” Harry snorted and replied, “Ha, as if I
would willingly mess about swapping my sex. Oh no this was not by any choice or
design of my own making.” She added incredulously, “I mean honestly why the
hell would I want to knowingly and of my own accord do such a thing to myself
for any reason?”
Hestia finally found her voice as well as her wits right along with it. She
asked, “Then how and why?” She quickly added giving Harry an evidently
begrudged apology, hating it when she was wrong and knew she had to apologise.
“Oh and sorry about unknowingly accusing you of being late and rude, but still
I was not to know you were already present.” Harry nodded knowing the apology
from Hestia was definitely extended begrudgingly and to save face with The
Order. She in turn replied equally as begrudging, “Fair enough and apology
accepted.” The two witches eyed each other silently between narrowed eyes and
instantly knew where they stood with the other as they sized the other up, and
knew neither was about to give an inch, especially in front of everyone else.
Harry turned her gaze from Hestia, and noticed the worried look Albus and
Minerva exchanged, and wondered about that. Unbeknownst to Harry and Hestia
that Albus and Minerva had both made a note to keep them apart as much as
possible and try to avoid pairing them together for Order missions. Evidently,
both witches liked to have control of the situation and neither one was about
to hand it over, especially not to the other, this Albus knew.
Albus knew that Harry would have no trouble keeping up with and dealing with
Hestia, especially if there was a struggle for control. He knew without a doubt
that his Galleons would be on Harry every time, not only was she more magically
gifted by far, but also had more wealth and influence then Hestia ever would
regardless of her age and experience. He hoped the older witch did not try to
upstage Harry he knew Hestia would come off much worse out of the two of them.
There was a reason after all why he had chosen Harry and not Hestia to co run
the Order alongside Alistair if the curse from Tom’s Horcrux killed him before
Harry could destroy Tom permanently.
Harry proceeded to give a brief summary of how the glamour, a combination of a
potion and charm worked, as well as her parents reasons for doing it. She
commented more than a tad coolly, “Apparently no one bothered or thought it
necessary to have informed me of what I had coming, so you can well imagine my
shock and also my absolute fury at the turn of unexpected events.”
Sirius spoke up, “But if we had informed you then you would have worried and
added even more stress on top of what you would have felt during the changing
process.” Harry snarled out in disbelief, “That was not your call to make, and
one seriously bullshit excuse if I ever heard one. Oh and whilst we are on the
subject, I do not give a damn about what you thought was best for me. If I had
known then I could have had the chance to prepare myself for what had been to
come, but oh no, instead I was completely fucking blindsided.”
She paused before hissing incredulously, “I mean come on for Merlins sake one
minute I was a wizard and the next without a single damned iota of warning I am
this.” She angrily gestured to herself, and waved off Sirius as he opened his
mouth to speak, and said, “You know what I am done discussing this, after all I
was under the impression that this was supposed to be an Order of the Phoenix
meeting and not the lies and bullshit files of Harry Potter.”
Albus cleared his throat seeing how frustrated Harry was starting to become and
decided to spare her knowing he needed her in a better humour for what he was
going to mention about her up and coming training. He commented, “Well said
Miss Potter, though I am certain we could have done without the colourful
language.” Harry cut a glance at Albus and replied, “Oh I am sure you could
have Headmaster, just as I to could do without an awful lot of things.” She
shrugged and added, “Oh well what can you do, proceed.”
There was the sound of a few choked gasps of disbelief around the table, but
Albus did not bat a mere eyelid and continued as if he had not just been on the
receiving end of a crap load of sarcasm. Even the not so causal reminder of
what she deemed unforgivable lies and secrets kept from her, clearly telling
him and everyone else around the table she had not forgotten, and all was not
entirely well or considered happy sunshine and rainbows at camps Potter and
Dumbledore.
First Albus cleared his throat and then began the meeting, “Tonight we will be
introducing five new members into the Order to help fight for our cause against
Tom and his Death Eaters.” He paused before adding and firstly gestured to
Robert and introduced him. “Please allow me to introduce our first new member
tonight, a Mr. Robert Sladden, a solicitor and the owner of the law firm
Sladden and Co.” He paused once more before continuing and adding, “He is also
the solicitor and legal counsel of Miss Potter at present, and his father and
grandfathers before him the same to the prior Potter heads of house for now the
last four generations.”
Robert and Harry exchanged a glance before Harry nodded. Robert cleared his
throat and said, “Yes I am her solicitor, but not only that, I am also her
cousin from the Potter side. My aunt Rosalie, my father’s younger sister was
married to James Potter’s father Charlus, and in turn Harry’s grandfather.”
Hermione could not help but gasp and say after a few moments of observing them,
“You must be quite close in blood if the fact I can see the family resemblance,
your noses and cheekbones for example.” It was true the others realised as they
glanced between the cousins.
Albus as soon as he had everyone’s attention again continued to add, “Mr.
Sladden will be keeping a discreet eye on some of the clients of his firm, and
will also be the one from now on who will be keeping track of the funds
incoming and outgoing for the Order.” Robert added, “I have suspicious to
believe that two of my prosecutors for my firm are very possibly Death Eaters
or at the very least have taken clients who are or have some form of allegiance
with ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’.” He paused to scowl before concluding, “I will
not just stand back and allow those who support that psychopath to tarnish the
good name and reputation of my business, which is obviously my livelihood.”
Everyone nodded they could at least in some measure get where he was coming
from, no one wanted to have corrupted employees or clients. Albus continued,
“Our next new member is Mr Neville Longbottom. His grandmother believes it high
time he got involved in the war effort now that he is of age. I wholeheartedly
agree with her reasoning that keeping him ignorant will not keep him safe in an
emergency.”
Neville added, “If I can help then I am going to do it, and has the Headmaster
has pointed out I am of age and ignorance will not keep me alive. I will not
sit back and watch from the sidelines while people are killed savagely in the
streets and in their homes, and for what, for the sake of the sick and twisted
pleasures of people who want to change and shape our world for the worse.” He
paused before adding vehemently, “So no, I will not sit back as the supposed
blood traitor I am while ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’ and his Death Eaters
terrorise and wipe out those who oppose their ideals. Kill and persecute those
that they call blood traitors or lacking supposed pure and clean blood, and are
considered not fit to live or be allowed in the wizarding world and call
themselves a witch or wizard as is their natural born right?”
Everyone was shocked that it was shy and clumsy Neville Longbottom who up until
fifth year would jump and yelp if someone so much as said boo, and he had just
said and got down to the heart of this wars main centre issue and reason for
being. Severus could not help but raise a brow of mild surprise and realise
that apparently the ongoing war, death and bloodshed was the cause of not only
Ronald Weasley starting to grow up and take a stand for what was right but now
also Neville Longbottom to.
Albus cleared his throat even as he mentally congratulated himself on his
choice of members. “Our Third and fourth members are Miss Hermione Granger-
Black and Mr. Ronald Weasley.” He paused knowing the final name will get the
biggest reaction. “Finally, our fifth and final new member tonight is Miss
Harry Potter” he revealed to those present.
He paused once more before continuing and saying, “They are to be our eyes and
ears inside of Hogwarts. They will keep a discreet eye on their classmates and
shall report to me if they have any reason to believe there are students who
have dark intentions.” He paused for the final time before concluding in a firm
grave tone, “We do not need or want for more of our younger generation to offer
their services to Tom and allow the Dark Mark to permanently brand them as
Death Eaters.”
Hestia looked incredulous as she questioned Albus, “Albus are you fully certain
that is a wise cause of action to be taking, they all except for Robert Sladden
are not yet graduated from Hogwarts and are barely turned of legal age?” Molly
exclaimed triumphantly that finally someone saw it from her point of view,
“There you go do you see Albus even Hestia agrees with me they are still
students, not even yet completed their education never mind actually graduated
from Hogwarts?”
Harry sighed tiredly, but before Albus could say anything to defend his
reasoning, she commented instead. “Mrs. Weasley and Miss Jones we are all of
age regardless of completing our education and graduating Hogwarts, and we have
as much right to fight for our worlds safety and survival just as much as you
do, a future hopefully not governed by the likes of Tom Riddle. A world like
that is not a world I or anyone else wants future generations to have to live
and grow up in.”
She added, “It makes more sense for the students to be the ones to observe
other students.” She paused before saying, “Members of the student body will in
the very least not ever expect those other members of their fellow student body
and not a member of staff to be the ones watching over them. Those under
suspicion are not going to believe the adults are going to allow those who
share meal times, classes, study time and common and dorm rooms with them on a
daily basis to be the ones they should be on their guard around and in front
of.” Harry said all of this as she tried to reason with the stubborn and old-
fashioned witches.
She added with a pointedly raised brow as she asked in a cold tone, “You think
that they are too young, well, tell me what about me, I am the same age as
them, yet you lot are fine and quick for me to kill a fully grown wizard with
several decades of experience on me. Hmm, a little double standard and
hypocritical if you ask me and want my opinion, just a tad bit do you not think
so?” Hestia and Mrs. Weasley both went bright red, as they realised that yes
unfortunately when stated in that context it did indeed sound more than just a
tad bit hypocritical and doubled standard.
Harry shook her head as she leaned back in her chair and continued as she
pointed out, “Oh sure having a lot of magical power is all right and all, but
what use is it to me if he knows all of those dark spells, hexes and curses,
verses my not even seven years worth of education?” To demonstrate her point
she casually flicked her wrist and levitated Hestia’s mug of tea then just as
effortlessly lowered it as she had levitated. “What use is that to me when in a
fight with a psychopath who uses the three unforgivables as often as someone
would use a levitation or cleaning charm on a daily basis, trust me having
faced him as many times as I have now I have firsthand experience of it.”
Harry not quite done making her point yet decided casually flick her wrist of
her wand hand at Hestia and levitated her along with the chair, causing the
older witch let out a startled gasp as she gripped the arms of the chair. Harry
just as casually lowered her and the chair back down to the kitchen floor. She
lowered her hand and calmly placed it on the table in front of her with its
twin.
She asked, “See what I mean, having all of that power is all good and all as I
have already said, yet but what good is it if I up until sixth year in DADA
have only been taught how to disarm an opponent and not properly defend against
until Professor Snape took over.” She snorted and commented incredulously, “I
think everyone here is more than aware that a disarming or a body binding spell
will do me no favours when that psychopath will just go ahead and put up a
shield.”
Albus looked honestly surprised even Severus and Moody looked intrigued by her
effortless display of such raw magical power and talent. Albus commented, “I
had no idea you knew how to levitate such large and heavy objects and without
your wand and also none verbally to.” Harry merely shrugged as she replied, “It
is just like levitating smaller and lighter objects only difference being there
is the amount of power and concentration that needs to be applied.”
She paused before adding, “As for the use of my magic without my wand, well,
that at first was more difficult, but ever since my magical boost on my
birthday, well, wandless magic comes with an ease even I had not thought
possible or me capable of. Then there is none verbal spell casting, well it is
really just a matter of when casting the spell thinking the words instead of
saying them out aloud. My magic just seems so attuned to me these days that
it’s almost as if it knows what I need and want before I even do.”
That last part earned a few raised brows of interest before Harry smirked and
clapped her hands together. Her smirk widened as she said, “Here is how I see
it boys and girls I am by no means in short supply of magic flowing in my core.
No, all I require at this point is the instruction gained through training and
not just having the method constantly shoved down my throat.” She continued
after a brief pause before adding, “Do not get me wrong I am all too aware the
method at first is required before the practical side can be approached. Still
constant reading, writing and constant talk and no action is not going to help
me hone the required knowledge, skill and reflexes I require to have a standing
chance at not only surviving but seeing to it that our common enemy is not
granted the same luxury this time around.”
Moody asked in his usual gruff tone, “What do you want to learn Potter?” Harry
replied, “Well, I am already set for Occlumency and Potions with Professor
Snape, but I really need Defence against the Dark Arts, regardless of it being
my strongest subject besides Transfiguration.” She added at Moody’s nod and
said, “I do not just require knowledge in more spells, hexes and curses, but
also literal physical defence, hand to hand combat, I want to have the option
of using my hands and feet and possible training with a sword or daggers.”
She shook her head, and concluded firmly, “It all helps especially if I find
myself in a situation where my magic is not an option. Relying on my magic
alone and not considering other methods of defence for not only myself but for
those around me would be considered in my eyes an unnecessary disadvantage I do
not want to find myself stuck in, as the less advantages I allow the opposite
side against me the better off and secure I will be.”
Moody look thoughtful, before he spoke up first and said, “Well lass if Tonks
agrees she and I could cover combat training.” Tonks said in reply, “Of course,
I am hardly going to allow her in good conscious to face off against that
megalomaniac unprepared. She needs to stop him not end up a corpse, and add to
his numbers of people already dead because of his need for absolute power that
no one should ever have.”
Kingsley added next and said, “I am willing to pitch in and teach you how to
fight with daggers, though swords are not really something I have experience
with.” Severus added, “I’ll add Defence against the Dark Arts to our list of
lessons and Lupin can co-assist me if he agrees.” Remus nodded and said, “Of
course I agree to co-assist with her training, I am available and willing to
teach her all I can.”
Albus looked satisfied as he said, “Excellent all help is welcome and goes a
long way towards our common goals.” He paused before adding, “Of course I am
certain your fiancée and Filius our very own Charms Professor will assistant
you in learning more advanced Charms.” He continued, “Naturally speaking of
Filius being the dueling champion he is will be the perfect candidate to teach
you how to properly duel.”
Minerva added next, “I am willing to instruct you in the art of more advanced
Transfiguration Miss Potter.” She paused before adding, “Of course not
forgetting that Madame Pomfrey is still taking care of your medical training,
and surely will add the knowledge of field medicine as a part of the lesson
plans she has in mind for you. Trust me Miss Potter before this war is over you
will have no doubt administered many potions and applied many field dressings
to those out there in the thick of it.”
Severus also added, “I was going to discuss it with Albus and your godfather
first before mentioning it to you, but might as well bring it up now.” He
paused before revealing, “I have the idea of training you up in the grey arts,
grey and not dark. I will teach you many spells, hexes, charms and curses that
are most certainly not a part of the school curriculum either. They take more
power and skill than their lighter counterparts due to some bordering on dark
yet do not quite reach it.”
He continued to add, “I am fairly confidant after seeing the display with
Hestia and her chair that you are capable of performing and casting grey magic.
Yet the real question is whether your magical core will healthily accept magic
that is not purely light. You’ll need to see a core and aura reader to
determine that Potter.” He finally concluded, “Finally Potter you have to ask
yourself if you’re willing to learn and take in knowledge that The Ministry
will not approve?”
Harry let out a rude sounding snort as she finally spoke up and said, “To be
honest Professor I have all but washed my hands with The Ministry. I have no
faith or confidence in how it is being run, it is surely corrupted and I fear
it will not be long before Voldie manages to take over.” She shook her head, “I
could care less who I offend, but Rufus Scrimorge former head of the Aurors or
not is just like any other power hungry politician out there.”
She sneered as she continued, “I like him no better than I had Fudge. I mean
Merlin’s beard the fool came all the way to Hogwarts in order to meet me in The
Headmasters office and tried to persuade me to become some ridiculous and
asinine poster child for this war. It’s bad enough it is me who is going to
have to kill the cause of this war, I do not need that sort of shit added on
top.”
She let out a bitter incredulous laugh as she added, “Ladies and gentleman,
boys and girls, answer me this why the hell would I want to willingly paint an
even bigger target on my back. For what a Merlin forsaken war which has left me
without not only my parents but all of my grandparents, and even my godmother
and her husband permanently reside in ST Mungos after being tortured and their
sanity snapped?” She concluded, “So no Professor I could honestly care less if
The Ministry approves or not.”
There was a lingering and shocked silence as everyone realised that truly no
one had any idea the extent which Harry Potter’s bitterness and her anger ran.
This was clearly a young woman who had evidently had her fill of pretty much
everything in general yet she still continued to push on and fight for what was
right. Though how much longer she could keep it up before she snapped and told
them shove their war and left them to get on with it was anyone’s guess.
Moody grunted as mulled over what Potter had just up and said without a care to
those she pissed off. The kid had some guts he would give her that. Secretly he
had to agree with her, Rufus was an excellent Auror an even better head, yet as
a Minister of Magic Moody did not hold much hope for him when it came to
stopping Voldemort taking over the Ministry. Potter was right The Ministry was
corrupted and it would not be long or take much for Voldemort to have The
Ministry in his control if major and vital actions are not took on board and
fast.
He informed Harry, “You’re going to need a second wand for that Potter if you
go through with it or else you will get caught breaking the ruddy law as you
will not be registering this second wand. The Ministry cannot know you have it,
or else if caught you do time in Azkaban. The only way you will learn grey
magic Potter is to do it in secret, and no one outside of this Order can ever
see evidence of that second wand.”
He added, “The Ministry have Ollivander and any other wand makers in Great
Britain register which wand and who they have sold it to as you full well know,
the tracer charm you have only just recently gotten rid of.” He added, “They
will not even ask your permission to do it, why would they when they say it is
the law and have done so since the war with Grinderwald ended in 1945, fifty
two years ago this year.”
He continued, “Why else do you think they have wand makers put a tracking charm
on your wand when you first buy it up until your seventeen. They want to keep
track of what you cast and stop you casting magic outside of school. They
cannot do it with the adults so they do it with the children in some attempt to
try to prevent and detect potential dark users earlier on. Only those dark
families place illegal wards around their homes to stop The Ministry from
detecting their children’s underage magic casting”
He concluded grimly, “Oh and Potter I am certain you noticed when you entered
The Ministry your wand goes through a scanning process, they never started
doing that until after the first war that manic caused. Now they search your
wand and what you have cast, whether it light, grey or dark magic they record
it. They have now upped those scan levels by the orders of The Minister of
Magic ever since it has been confirmed he is back and starting up another ruddy
war.”
Harry looked startled even as Cedric looked grimly apologetic as he informed
her, “If a Ministry official or Auror were to scan your wand and you cast grey
magic with your current wand they would not only see those grey spells been
cast but would know the wand was yours and not someone else’s.” He concluded
around a grimace, “As Moody said Ollivander would have registered your wand
with The Ministry when you purchased it from him back when you were eleven
without you even being aware of it. Had your parents been alive they would have
definitely been aware.”
Robert added looking just as grim as Cedric had. He told her, “The reason for
these deep scans when you enter The Ministry Harry was due to the fact people
during the war would use someone else’s wand and cast grey and dark curses.
However, because at the time no one bothered to really thoroughly check what
others cast and looked deep enough to not only see what was cast but who cast
it, meant that people were able to frame others for crimes they had committed.”
He continued, “They never bothered searching for an actual magical signature
just what was cast, yet nowadays if your wand registered someone else’s
signature during the scan, and they found traces of say Lucius Malfoy’s
signature the scan would show it was he who cast it and not you. It is
intrusive yes, but it has gone a long way towards preventing the wrong person
being convicted for crimes they have not committed.” He concluded exchanging an
equally grim glance with Sirius as he said, “It is a true travesty they did not
have this in place when they wrongly convicted your godfather.”
Severus took over and reached into his cloak and pulled out a wand followed by
a concealed holster on his thigh and removed a second wand. He said, “All they
have told you Potter is the reason you need a second wand, we cannot have you
getting caught breaking the law and sent to Azkaban it would defeat the entire
purpose of getting you a second wand in the first place.”
He added, “Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures, and if
learning grey magic gives you an advantage you do not currently have then so be
it.” He concluded as he shot her a knowing glance as he said, “I am by no means
about to teach you how to cast the unforgivables, but both you and I know The
Dark Lord certainly will not hold back and take care with what he casts as you
yourself have already discovered.”
Harry grimaced knowingly, before she gestured to both wands as she asked,
“Which one is your second wand?” In answer, he lifted up a wand that had a dark
wood and slightly shorter in length compared to the other wand on the table.
“This potter is an Ollivander creation which I purchased when I was eleven.” He
paused and smirked slightly as he said, “Yes Potter it is indeed still
registered with The Ministry and no grey or dark magic has been cast with this
wand since that Halloween night of 81 when the first war ended.”
Harry nodded in understanding and watched as he picked up the second wand,
which was longer in length than the Ollivander creation. The wood along the
length was lighter, yet the handle was a similar wood yet darker and contrasted
beautifully with the lighter wood. Harry noted there was a pattern that looked
like runes she had never seen before finely carved around the handle.
Harry knew this was the wand used during Death Eater activity. The wand that
mostly like cast more than a fair few dark and painful curses worse than any
grey magic. Harry had a hard time reconciling with fact this attractive looking
wand had caused pain real serious pain, even if the owner of said wand had not
wanted to use it for that. In Harry’s opinion, it was a true shame to use such
a beautiful looking wand for such dark and cruel acts.
Severus added, “As I am sure you have already guessed Potter this is my second
wand, and made by a wand maker in France almost four years ago when the second
war started up again and I returned to being a spy.” He continued and said, “It
is to this wand maker I will be taking you Potter. He is one of the best in all
of France and he has you choose the wood and core, sometimes multiple cores
that are most compatible with your magic.” He paused before concluding, “He
builds the wand from scratch, which makes it more compatible and will respond
to your magic better than any Ollivander creation ever could due to the fact
the wand is made to respond to the owner’s strengths and weakness.”
Harry nodded before asking him, “What is that pattern carved into the handle it
looks like runes but not any I have seen before, not that I have seen many?”
Severus replied, “That Potter is because they are runes. He embeds them into
the wood and core of each wand he creates. The combination of runes differs
with each individual as no wizard or witch is the same, similar yes but the
same no.” He added, “For example, Misters Weasley are twins, but if you were to
examine their magical cores and signatures, yes you would find similarities but
they would not be identical.”
Harry asked, “What difference do the runes make to the performance of the
wand?” Severus replied, “Depending on the wizard or witch they help to channel
your magic better, and the more powerful the wizard or witch the potent the
flow and result will be.” He added, “Other runes are put in place to prevent
others who are not the owner from using the wand. The fact the runes on some
level bond with your magical core and your signature to means that when the
runes register a signature that is not your own it will not perform properly
and probably cause any magic for the one using it to most likely backfire on
them.”
Robert commented and said, “The Leighton family being grey have two wands each.
A Ministry registered one they would have gotten when they were eleven and a
second French made wand that is unregistered with The Ministry and that allows
them to cast grey magic without getting in trouble with the law.” He shook his
head as he added, “I honestly have no idea whether their wands come from the
same wand maker as yours will or not.” He concluded, “I will most likely be
acquiring a second wand of my own, I promised my wife I would if I joined the
war effort on the side of the light.”
Fleur added, “It is unlikely it is from the same wand maker. All of ours wand
makers in France make wands the same way. Our wands have no trackers monitoring
what our children cast during the school holidays they can perform outside of
school before they come of age.” She added, “When I applied for a job at the
London branch of Gringotts I had to purchase a wand from Ollivanders and
register it with your Ministry.” She concluded, “Just because I am a foreigner
does not mean I am exempt from that law, if I am going to live and work here
than I have to have a wand that is registered.”
Severus said, “Cornelia and Sebastian both have two wands, an Ollivander
creation that has been registered with The Ministry and a second unregistered
French wand. Cornelia raised Sebastian to perform both grey and light magic. My
son is a neutral party in this war and The Dark Lord accepts this as long as he
does not suddenly decide to join The Order.” He concluded after a pause and
said, “He has friends and acquaintances on both sides, but he will not act in
this war for either side. I have no problem with this and more than content
with the knowledge that my son will never take the Dark Mark.”
Harry decided to change the subject seeing just how personal it was starting to
become. She asked, “Will I be the only one to get a second wand or will others
in the group be having one to?” Albus was the one to answer and said, “No Miss
Potter, I feel it necessary for Miss Granger-Black and Misters Weasley and
Longbottom, along with Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood to also purchase second
wands.” He added, “I also recommend some of my Order members to purchases a
second wand, such as Mister Cedric Diggory and Mister Robert Sladden and
finally Misters Fred and George Weasley.”
He concluded,”They will all be a part of your core group, those that you can
trust and will have your back. Those unfortunately to be the most likely to be
used against you, that the children of Death Eaters have reported back to Tom
that they have seen you have the most contact with. They shall all receive
training alongside you to give us a better chance.”
Molly asked in a truly worried tone, “Albus why is Ginny involved, she is not
even a member of this Order, nor shall she be until she graduates Hogwarts if I
have any say in the matter she will not?” Albus replied, “Because she dated
Miss Potter until she changed back.” He added, “Naturally the children of Death
Eaters Tom has spying on Miss Potter and reporting back to him will have surely
informed him of Miss Potter and Miss Weasley’s former relationship. This
unfortunately will make your daughter a prime target for any and all schemes
Tom will no doubt have to cause Miss Potter pain.”
He looked truly grim and sound equally as grim as he concluded, “However we
must not forget the fact Tom never forgets a face, and a memory of his younger
self has in fact already targeted young Miss Weasley during her first year at
Hogwarts. He possessed her and almost succeeded in draining her life, had it
not been for Miss Potter’s quick and brave actions when she risked her life and
she along with Ronald went down into the chamber Miss Weasley would be dead.”
Molly looked ill and tried rapidly to come up with another excuse to prevent
her daughter getting involved in the war effort. The answer quickly came to her
and she said, “But Albus how do you expect Arthur and me to afford new and more
expensive French wands for not only Ginny but Ronald to?” She scowled when she
heard Fred suddenly speak up and say, “George and I will take care of
everything mum, we’ll be going with the others when they buy a second wand and
get our own.”
Molly inwardly fumed she did not want her daughter in the war. Ronald already
overruled her as had Fred and George. Bill and Charlie had pretty much told her
what Ron had when she tried to stop them. It always came down to the same
answer against her argument, they were grown up and of age, she was their
mother but not their keeper. Merlin be damned would she allow her youngest and
only daughter to go against her. As long as Ginny was underage and still in
education at Hogwarts Molly Weasley would be putting her foot down firmly
whether Ginny or even Albus for that matter liked it or not.
Harry asked the twins, “What about your store, who’d run that whilst you were
gone?” George answered this time and replied, “Verity, Angie and Lee will take
care of it after all we’ll only be gone half a day at the most.” Angelina spoke
up and said, “He’s right Harry, we’ll take care of it whilst he and Fred are
out, and I know for a fact Lee will not turn down the chance to be inside of
that joke shop.”
After that, the meeting progressed and each Order member reported any news
found out from various sources of theirs. Kingsley confirmed what said in the
newspapers about constant Death Eater raids, some taking place two or three
times a week, but with more information than newspapers obviously had access to
or missed. Information only an Auror would be aware of having been present at
the scene of the crimes or in Kingsley case being head of the Aurors.
Moody confirmed that some of his contacts had heard talk of Voldemort trying to
not only sway the Werewolves to his side but the Trolls, Giants and Vampires,
even Harpies and Banshees. Every creature imaginable that The Ministry had
forced to declare their status Voldemort was after them for his side of the
war. That combination would surely be an army amounting to a deadly force to
reckon with if Voldemort managed to persuade them to his side.
Severus said The Dark Lord was becoming impatient that there had been no sign
of Potter. He also expanded on what he had mentioned the previous evening. The
Dark Lord was still searching for the mean to return to his original body,
possibly a ritual to cleanse his DNA and sperm so he could have an heir that
would not be still born or deformed. Lastly, he confirmed what Moody’s contacts
had found out to be the truth, The Dark Lord was indeed in the process
recruiting new followers and allies for his cause and war against the light
side.
Hestia cringed as she asked, “What sort of witch would that monster choose as a
potential mother of his heir, it is truly too disturbing to contemplate that
there is possibly such a witch that exists?” Severus answered her question as
bluntly as possible and said, “Well not another of his followers that’s for
certain, after all Bellatrix is now unable to bare children much to her
husband’s fury. She almost died during the birth, almost haemorrhaged. The
child was stillborn and deformed and not compatible with her body.”
He added at many looks of horror and pure disgust, “He has mentioned wanting
someone younger and more beautiful than Bellatrix, who is very powerful both
magically and influentially and has a vast fortune. In short, someone who is
not Bellatrix, who is enraged over the fact she has been passed over for the
supposed honour of baring the Dark Lords heir. She is supposedly heartbroken
and raging with jealousy, that The Dark Lord has discarded her for a younger
and prettier model. She had been hoping he would have ordered me to create a
potion to cure her of her inability to have children so she could try again and
provided The Dark Lord with his heir.”
Hestia asked in horror struck tone, “If not Bellatrix Lestrange then who could
possibly fit such requirements?” Severus looked somewhat grim as he glanced
pointedly in Harry’s direction. He drawled, “Hmm, what do you think Potter,
know of anyone who fits that description?” He added in a truly grim tone, “Then
again maybe you see all of that when you look in the mirror nowadays.”
There were shocked gasps from the woman and murmured cusses from the men. Harry
on the other hand growled in reply, “As I have already pointed out the previous
evening, over my dead body.” She sneered as she added, “Trust and believe me
that when I say I would need to be dead before I ever let him close enough to
violate me. He has not a snowballs chance in hell if I am alive and consciously
aware of his actions against me.”
Hestia wished she could honestly say she could not see what Severus pointed
out, but the fact of the matter was that she had absolutely no problem seeing
it. The younger witch is youthful and very beautiful, and without a doubt
magically gifted if, her earlier display is anything to judge. Yes, and she
also definitely had power and influence in spades being ‘The Girl Who Lived’ If
that was not enough to make her unfortunately a suitable candidate, then the
fact she was currently the only living heir to a very old and rich bloodline
definitely was.
Harry asked Severus, “Hey Professor, do you know of any chastity charms that
are not permanent and can be safely removed afterwards? I still want to have
children if I survive the war, I just do not want them with that psychopath, ha
not a snowballs chance in hell do I need or want the other half of my
children’s parentage to be made up of him. No living being or creature deserves
the misfortune of sharing DNA with that monster.”
Severus smirked somewhat grimly as he replied, “As a matter of fact Potter yes
there is a few charms, and one of those in particular is self casting, so you
can be the one to remove it and not someone else.” Severus did not honestly
blame Potter for asking and wanting such a charm. As she already rightfully
pointed out that, no living being or creature deserved the misfortune of
sharing DNA with a monster. No one of their own free will would ever allow
someone like The Dark Lord to impregnate them in less you are Bellatrix
Lestrange, through the less said about that the better for everyone’s peace of
mind and sanity.
Hermione looked suitably horrified as she asked her friend, “You’re not really
considering it are you Harry?” Harry replied, “Hermione the first sign I am
given that it is me who he intends to violate, and it is not speculation during
an Order meeting, then yes I will cast that charm on myself until the threat
has been entirely eliminated. At this point I am unwilling to take any chances
or unnecessary risks with either my physical or mental well being Hermione.”
She turned to Severus as she asked, “Could you get me that charm Professor so
that I can learn how to cast it wandlessly at a moment’s notice as a kind of
self insurance policy?” Severus nodded as he replied, “Yes I can get you the
charm Potter, but you will have to have Poppy help you learn and practice how
to properly cast it as it is the sort of charm you do not want to end up
casting on yourself wrong.”
Tonks asked, “Just asking here, but what would a child of his look like if he
did succeed in getting back his original body and cleansed his sperm and DNA?”
The question caused Harry to cringe even as she answered, “I loath to admit it,
and feel physically sick at the thought of it, but when I saw that memory of
him in the diary at seventeen he was handsome and I do mean truly handsome.”
She added around a grimace, “For example, dark wavy hair with dark blue eyes,
cheek bones high and sharp you could cut glass, and pale skin a lot like mine.”
She paused before adding, “Even as a teenager his voice was rich, smooth and
deep.”
She looked genuinely ill as if her next words had to be forced passed her
throat. “So Tonks if he was all of that as a teenager try to imagine what he
would be like as a fully grown and mature man if he had not gotten all power
hungry and refused to die, and ultimately leading him to becoming the batshit
crazy psychopath we know him to be nowadays?” She concluded grimly, “Trust me
that when compared to how he was pre-Horcruxes and how he is now, that monster
has well and truly destroyed himself both mentally and physically. Not that it
took much to destroy himself mentally, from what I have learned of him he was
not soundly all there mentally before he messed with his soul.”
Hermione blanched as she asked, “Worse yet imagine what a child of he and Harry
could look like and be capable of?” Cedric snorted he said, “How about an
insanely beautiful dark haired with possible emerald green or dark blue eyes,
high cheekbones and pale skin.” He added grimly, “An insanely powerful child
with major psychological issues wider and longer than the Quidditch pitch and
The Great Hall combined.”
Albus looked grave as he added. “Yes if he returns to his original body and his
rituals succeed then he and Harry would make beautiful children. Children likes
of that could end up with either their mother’s compassion and sense of justice
and great and powerful potential, or worse the terrible dark ambitions of their
father.” He concluded gravely, ”A child with his parents magical strengths and
talents combined, but unfortunately with more of Tom’s ambition, intentions and
views, now that is a child I fear would be a much greater threat than Tom and
Gellert combined.”
Harry nodded and added firmly, “Hence the reason for the chastity charm
Hermione. I will not allow a child of that description be brought into this
world. I mean Merlin their father would have killed not only their grandparents
but all of their great grandparents on top.” She concluded as she asked, “What
sort of message is that to send to any child and they not end up as Cedric as
pointed out with physiological issues wider and longer than the Quidditch pitch
and The Great Hall combined?”
Neville shuddered as he commented, “It would truly be a sick kind of cruelness
to allow such a child like that to exist. Really, imagine the struggle he or
she would suffer between light and dark, a light mother and a dark father.
Merlin I do not believe there would even be the potential for this child to end
up with grey intentions never mind light intentions with that monster for a
father.”
Ron visibility cringed in revulsion and said, “Yeah Harry you really should and
need to learn how to cast that chastity charm. I mean it is not as if it will
stop you having children later on with Cedric once you remove it if you cast
properly and remove it properly afterwards.” He added,”Harry you do not want to
end up like that crazy bitch Lestrange, one of her is definitely one too many
in my opinion.”
Harry snorted and said in a purely incredulous tone, “Oh trust me no one knows
and agrees with you more than I do on that score Ron.” She added, “Anyway at
the moment it is just speculation, but soon as it comes reality and a serious
issue then yes I will cast that charm on myself. Learning how to cast that
charm will become my number one priority besides sending that monster to
deepest and darkest circles of hell.”
After that, the meeting commenced on as normal for an hour more until everyone
parted ways. However, the apparition examiner Carrick Wells stayed back to
speak to Harry briefly before he left after giving her a booklet with the test
questions needed for the written part of the exam for her to revise ready for
Monday. Robert told Harry he would be in touch with her tomorrow before he left
for home via the floo.
Chapter End Notes
     Finally! I bet that is the though on my readers minds after this long
     awaited update. Good news this is the final chapter of this section
     of the story and I will move the timeline along by a week and start
     writing hopefully shorter chapters. Let me know what you think. Trust
     me Harry and everyone will definitely have no doubt just how female
     Harry now is during the next chapter. Oh by the way those of you
     interested you will need to go back and read over the chapters again
     as adjustments have been made such things that were before or gone or
     edited. A few other new things have been added. There is less
     swearing, through not all is gone Harry is still a teenager I just
     made her slightly less potty mouthed.
***** Chapter Twelve: Harry gets her first Period, Blunt Discussions in the
Kitchen *****
Chapter Summary
     Harry finally gets her first period and is zero percent happy about
     it.
Chapter Notes
     Here is the next chapter. In chapter fourteen I will be starting with
     the first of Harry's diary entries.
A week later, Harry woke early in the morning and physically recoiled as she
curled herself practically into a ball, as she felt a positively awful cramping
sensation throughout her midsection. Her sleep-filled mind managed to wonder
whether she had eaten something the previous night after her potions lesson
that had not agreed with her.
After a few moments of wondering about what she had ate, she forced herself to
uncurl from around herself. She rolled over towards her bedside table, reached
for her glasses, and slipped them on and turned on her new bedside lamp. She
looked up at the new clock on the wall and scowled in disbelief at the time
displayed on the face of the clock apparently; it was only four am in the
morning.
The clock and lamp she purchased from her trip to Pottery Barn to buy her new
office furniture two days ago instead of Saturday. Wednesday had been the only
time when everyone had days off or half days from work and available to help.
She had not minded just as long as she got her furniture for her study, and the
fact she managed to find a new table lamp, and even clocks for both her bedroom
and study had not hurt either.
She suddenly braced herself as her stomach seemed to curl over and feared she
was going to vomit. ‘Ah’ she thought sourly ‘That’s the reason I am wake a four
am then’ She rolled over again and sat up very slowly in the bed, realising she
needed to use the bathroom as her bladder was being annoyingly persistent that
it be relieved. She did not want to leave the bed, but her need to use the
bathroom outstripped her desire to remain in bed. Therefore, she forced herself
to move the covers to one side and swing her legs over the side of the bed and
stood up.
She sleepily and unhappily staggered across the room and straight for the
bathroom. When she reached the bathroom, she clapped her hands and muttered
normal and the bathroom lit up. She lowered her white cotton underwear and sat
herself down on the toilet. Just as she was finishing with her business, she
noticed something red out of the corner of her eye. She frowned as she looked
down wondering what it was that had caught her attention. What she found had
her more awake than she had been not five minutes ago.
She scowled feeling absolute zero percent happiness as she took in the small
red mess that had stained her white cotton underwear. She knew instantly what
the issue was, and caused the Merlin awful cramps in her stomach, and the sheer
audacity to wake her up at four am. If she had any lingering doubts about just
how female she now was, had obliterated at the sight of the mess currently in
her underwear. It was finally official, Harry Potter had just gotten her first
period, she was a female and there was no going back.
Luckily, she was not entirely in the dark on the subject of what do and expect.
Angelina had finished her own period yesterday and had gave Harry a brief mini
crash course on how to use and how often she needed to change to avoid
accidental and embarrassing messes. She scowled again as she realised there was
only one thing for it, she was going to have to pull up already stained
underwear and go back into the bedroom for another pair of clean underwear.
She stood from the toilet and grimaced in disgust as she pulled the toilet
chain followed by her stained knickers back up. She figured the quicker she
could take off her bloodstained knickers the happier she would be. She left the
bathroom and quickly headed for the drawer that had her clean cotton briefs in.
She opened the drawer and selected a pair from the bundle she had purchased
specially for this reason as she was not about to wear her more expensive lace,
silk and satin underwear during a period. She needed comfort damn it and her
more expensive and luxurious underwear was not going to get the job done.
Once back in the bathroom she quickly removed her stained kickers before
sitting back down on the toilet so she did not make a mess. She sent a quick
scourgify at the briefs before aiming and throwing them into the clothes
hamper. A cleaning charm was not enough in Harry’s opinion, but Dobby insisted
on washing her clothes, her underwear included. Whilst he continued to do that
she would cast cleaning charms, as house elf or not she was not going to allow
him to handle her blood stained underwear. That was crossing a line of privacy
for Harry, even if Dobby did not realise this.
She grabbed a wad of toilet paper and wiped herself clean, and decided that
before she put on her clean underwear she was going to shower. That decided she
stood back up from the toilet threw the toilet paper in the toilet and flushed.
She next discarded her nightdress into the clothes hamper, and draped her clean
briefs over the towel rail to wear after her shower. She then walked over to
bathtub and turned on the taps making sure to turn on the showerhead setting.
With the water turned on ready, Harry opened the doors of the larger cupboard
underneath the sink where Dobby stored all of her clean towels. She pulled out
two fluffy towels in purple, a large one for her body and a smaller one for her
hair. She draped both over the towel rail before turning to the vanity to
remove her jewellery, glasses, and placed them on the vanity counter top. She
removed her hair elastic from her ponytail and put the elastic with her
jewellery and glasses.
She made her way over to the shower caddy, took her shampoo and conditioner
along with her soap, and placed them on the side of the bathtub within reach.
She then climbed inside and picked up the showerhead and started to wet her
hair. Once wet she placed the showerhead in the tub, reached for her shampoo
and squeezed a fare amount into the palm of her hand before putting the bottle
back down. She rubbed her hands together before running them through the long
strands of her hair, and once she had thick lava she picked up the showerhead
and rinsed out all of the soapsuds before repeating the process with her
conditioner.
Her hair now clean and free of all soapsuds she picked up a fresh bar of soap
and covered her body in the soap, paying more attention to her lower half
considering why she was in the shower at four twenty five am in the morning.
Once she was clean and rinsed away all of the soapsuds she placed the
showerhead back in its cradle and turned off the water. She was extra careful
when she stepped out of the tub due to not wearing her glasses.
Her glasses were the first thing she picked up before heading over to the towel
rail. She picked up the larger of the towels, wrapped it round her front and
secured it under her arms before grabbing the smaller towel and rubbing it
through her hair. Once satisfied her hair was as dry as it was going to get she
threw the towel in the clothes hamper. She reached for her jewellery and put it
all back on before reaching for her hairbrush and hair elastic.
After brushing her hair, she styled it in a simple plait that Hermione had
taught her do, and had not been as difficult to learn as Harry had thought it
would. She bent down and reached under the sink where she kept all of her
hygiene products and selected a packet of ten small pads. She opened the pack,
selected one pad, and placed the rest of the pack on top of the toilet system
for easy reach.
She reached for and grabbed her briefs off the towel rail, and removed the
towel and threw it into the hamper, before stepping into the white cotton. She
removed the sticky strip off the pad and threw it inside of the bin, before
arranging the pad carefully in her underwear and then pulling them up. She made
quick work of washing her hands and putting her shampoo, conditioner and soap
back in the caddy, and then brushing her teeth and flossing.
She clapped her hands on the way out of the bathroom putting the room into
darkness. She glance brief at the clock and saw it was five am, and knew she
would not be able to get back off to sleep, her shower had managed to wake her
up completely at this point. She decided to get dressed as she was not getting
back to sleep anytime soon that was for sure. Perhaps she could pass the time
until everyone besides Mrs Weasley and Remus was up in another two and half
hours. She would read one of her new books in bed and would start Bram Stokers
Dracula the choice appealed.
She dressed in a comfortable white cotton bra similar to her briefs. She
decided she was going for comfort, so she chose a loose fitting back and white
checker lounge pants with a long sleeved loose fitting white plain v-neck t-
shirt. Lastly, she selected a pair of soft thick black woollen socks and
slipped them on completing the perfect comfort outfit. All she needed now was
her bed, book and definitely something for the annoying cramps in her stomach,
and perhaps some chocolate. Sadly, the pain reliever and chocolate would have
to wait until later.
Once she located her book of choice from her new trunk, she headed for the bed
and slipped inside. She picked up her wand off the bedside table and cast a
quick heating charm on her covers. Once she replaced the wand on the table and
settled back to read she sighed as she pulled her covers up to her waist and
luxuriated in the soothing heat generated from her charm.
She inwardly scowled as she opened the cover of her book, and thought of how
she knew the monthly crimson visitor aspect was something she was going to
despise about being female. The thought of bleeding, sensitive nipples, stomach
cramps and the mood swings were surely not her idea of a good time and
something she could more than happily do without for the next four to five
days.
The cramps were not minor by a long shot, Hermione and Angelina had described
to her about how they can get bad to the point you feel sick, well, she was
already experiencing that. If that was the case, she was not leaving this bed
until someone knocked to get her out of it. She could care less that Professor
Snape and Robert would be downstairs for breakfast as they were heading for
France via international portkey that day for hers and everyone else’s new
wands.
Two and a half hours later Harry was, a little past halfway through the book
when there came a knock on the door. Harry asked, “Who is it?” The reply came
moments later, “It is Mrs. Weasley dear, breakfast is ready. You should come
down now if you want to have a hope of getting any as you know how my boys are
when it comes to eating.” Harry snorted as she marked her page and placed it on
the bedside table. Oh yes she knew what the Weasley men were like when it came
to eating, it was a major case of hollow legs then some to put it mildly.
She called out to Mrs. Weasley has she pulled the covers to one side and got
out of the bed, “Alright I am on my way just let me grab my slippers, dressing
gown and wand.” She quickly added asking, “Oh and Mrs. Weasley do you have any
pain reliever potion for cramps?” Harry was quick to find and put on her
dressing gown and slippers, and grab her wand off the bedside table and slip it
inside of the pocket of dressing gown. She made her way to the door and opened
it to find Mrs. Weasley standing on the other side.
Mrs Weasley noticed instantly how a wake Harry appeared, and had expected to
find messy hair and sleep glazed eyes. However, no if anything she looked
fresh, put together as if she had been up for a while, and even showered. Mrs.
Weasley remembered her question asked, “Why do you want a pain reliever potion
for cramps?” She paused as she gave Harry another look over and noticed how
pale she appeared, paler than normal even for her. She added, “Through you do
appear to be paler than normal.”
Harry could not help but blush as she secured the belt of her dressing gown
around her waist and then closed the bedroom door behind her. She answered Mrs.
Weasley’s question quietly and said, “It’s just that my body decided to tell me
I am female on the inside and not just show me on the outside, and sent to me a
painful crimson reminder and left me to get on with it.” Mrs. Weasley’s
eyebrows rose before she winced and said sympathetically, “Oh poor dear, I had
wondered when your first period would show itself.”
She led Harry downstairs and into the kitchen where she told her to take a
seat, while she made her some camomile tea, a family Prewett recipe. She
promised a pain reliever potion with the camomile tea that should hold her over
until the afternoon, as it was not strong enough dose as she did not want to
knock her out before the day had even started. Being knocked out at this point
did sound amazingly appealing to the younger witch.
Harry noticed that the table was practically full, and all the Weasley’s except
for Ron were present as were Remus, Hermione, Angelina, Tonks and Fleur. It was
not long after everyone had wished her a good morning, and Mrs. Weasley had
returned with the pain reliever potion and a mug full of camomile tea, and not
only had Ron shown himself, that Robert arrived though the floo for breakfast.
He was there so early in the morning was because he was going with the others
to France to buy a second wand. They would travel by floo part of the way, and
then meet up with a friend of Kingsley from the International Travel
Department, who he had cashed in a favour with, and was going to provide them
with a portkey to get them the rest of the way and back again. They had half a
day before The Minster was informed, so if they went over the time limit then
there plans and trip to France would be discovered.
Harry looked up from her mug and noticed that Robert was dressed in a casual
white button up cotton shirt with a pair of dark black jeans and a black
leather jacket and black dragon hide boots. He looked different in casual
clothes and just as handsome as he had in his work robes the previous night.
Cedric looked better in jeans she thought, especially the arse and hip hugging
ones he had wore when they had gone to Pottery Barn on Wednesday.
Robert had taken a seat opposite his cousin and took one glance at her peaky
complexion, and noted a small bottle on the table that he was willing to wager
was a pain reliever potion. Finally, the scent coming from her mug could only
be one thing, Camomile tea. He was all too familiar with the scent his wife
would be in a similar position every month like clockwork. He decided not to
say anything realising her hormones must have been playing havoc, so he was
more likely to be hexed something painful if he did not keep his mouth shut.
After downing the potion and grimacing at the foul taste, Harry glanced up from
her mug again at Robert and caught the knowing look he eyed her with. Of bloody
course, he would know the signs he was married to a witch for Merlins sake. She
grimaced at him and drank from her mug. Robert had to stifle a grin behind his
hand and knew he had been right, especially after seeing her down that potion.
He winced in sympathy as it suddenly occurred to him that this must have been
the first time for her. Ow, that must have been unpleasant and a nasty shock to
the system for someone who had spent the majority of their life so far as a
male.
Ron when he noticed Harry was not eating asked her, “Are you going to eat
Harry?” Harry grimaced and called out to Mrs. Weasley, “Mrs. Weasley do we have
any of those huge double chocolate muffins left?” Mrs. Weasley looked up from
the stove that she was cooking the last batch of sausages, eggs and bacon that
would be for Robert, Cedric, and Severus when he arrived.
She reached into one of the upper cupboards and took out a big plastic
container that she had placed a preserving charm. She removed the lid and
selected the largest one left out of the four remaining muffins. She placed it
on a side plate and then down on the table in front of Harry as Cedric entered
the kitchen and took a free seat next to Harry. Harry said to Mrs Weasley,
“Thanks” after Mrs. Weasley had suggested and said, “Try to at least add a
slice of toast with that Harry dear.”
Mrs. Weasley asked Cedric, “Do you want a full breakfast Cedric dear?” Cedric
shook his head, as he replied, “No thank you Mrs. Weasley I’ll just have some
toast and jam with a mug of coffee.” Mrs. Weasley nodded and turned to ask
Robert, “And you dear?” Robert replied, “I am all for the works if you’re
offering Mrs. Weasley.” He paused before adding, “Oh and a mug of black coffee
one sugar.”
Harry looked mildly ill as she asked, “How can you stand to drink it so
bitter?” Robert chuckled as he accepted an empty mug and a teaspoon from Mrs.
Weasley with a nod of thanks. He started to prepare his coffee how he liked to
drink it, and reached for the coffee pot and poured himself a mug full before
using the teaspoon to scoop up a spoon full of sugar from the bowl on the
table, poured it into his mug and stirred.
Before Robert could answer Harry’s disgusted question, Severus entered the
kitchen after arriving through the front door, and took a seat next to Robert.
Harry was shocked to see that while he still wore his black trousers and shirt,
his waistcoat and robes were missing. However, what took her back in particular
was the glamour he was evidently using to disguise some of his features and
change the colour and length of his hair.
His hair was shorter almost the same length of Cedric’s and now a dark brown
instead of the usual black, and his onyx eyes were now a deep shade of blue. He
had exchanged his pale skin tone for a sun kissed glow while his nose was
noticeably smaller and missing its usual crooked edge, and finally his lips
were fuller and his cheekbones higher. The only way Harry knew this was Severus
Snape was because of his height, build and of course, the usual evermore
present black clothing.
Everyone was eyeing Severus in disbelief, and Sirius who was just entering the
kitchen took one look at Severus and instantly recognised the black clothes and
scowl. He could not help but ask incredulously, “Great Merlin Snape where did
you get the idea for this look?” Severus hissed irritably in reply, “I did not
Black, Cornelia got her hands on me and took my waistcoat and robes from me.”
If Sirius’s question had not been enough Robert just had to add, “You look a
lot like a Leighton male would.” Severus could only scowl as his grumbled his
reply, “I know Sladden, and she insisted and even had Sebastian on her side
damn it.” He added, “I had no choice, if anyone was to see me with four
Weasley’s and Hermione Granger-Black, then even The Dark Lord would not believe
for one second the holding up my position as a spy excuse.”
Harry could not help but say, “Even your voice and accent sound like someone
who is both of English and French descendant.” She smirked as she added
somewhat deviously, “The only way I recognised you is your height, build and
your evermore black clothing, oh and not to forget that scowl of yours.”
Severus rolled his eyes and dryly drawled out his reply, “Funny Potter, that’s
real funny.” This earned more than a few stifled smirks around the table.
After breakfast, and Severus had fought off Mrs. Weasley, and insisted he was
fine with toast and coffee, he told Harry to go and get dressed. He was not
going to be seen out in France with her dressed in a t-shirt and lounge pants,
even if no one would be able to recognise either of them, it was the damn
principle of it. He held firm even as she shot him a glance that clearly told
him and everyone else she was barely resisting the urge to send him a one-
finger salute, for not only his words but also the tone he had used.
After leaving the table and kitchen, she returned fifteen minutes later fully
dressed. She had chose dark slim fitting boot cut black jeans and a black v-
neck short sleeve blouse and paired them with her Hungarian Horntail kneecap
length coat and matching ankle boots that had two and half inch block heel. She
wore no makeup and was wearing her glasses instead of her contract lenses. The
only colour seen was her eyes, her glasses and the coloured stones in her
sleeper studs. She still looked paler than normal, meaning without any makeup
meant the black of her clothing and her hair appeared even more vivid.
Sirius asked around a frown, “What’s with all the black Harry?” Harry raised a
brow before drawling her answer, “They’re just clothing Sirius, and it means
nothing.” She paused to roll her eyes before adding dryly, “At least I have not
pieced my nose, eyebrow, chin or tongue. I have not coloured my eyes and lips
with black makeup, so when I do all of that then you can worry I am turning
Gothic.”
This caused a few sniggers and snorts around the table. Robert even managed to
slip in a comment and say, “The black makes you look paler than normal, and
besides you look peaky this morning as it.” Harry narrowed her eyes at him,
before smirking deviously and patting her bag in a way considered almost
affectionate, that matched her coat and boots. She took a certain pleasure in
drawling her reply, “Do not worry cousin dearest, I am all stocked up and
prepared for all those little nasty and embarrassing accidents, hence all of
the black as red does not show through black.”
Robert snorted and rolled his eyes as he muttered, “You just could not help
herself could you Harry?” Harry’s smirk only widened as her tone took on a
sharper edged drawl, “What can I say, I reserve the right to blame my hormones,
naturally they are to blame, little ole me would never do this otherwise.”
Robert let out a loud snort at hearing this and drawled back in reply, “Yes you
and Clara both when you are being particularly taunting and vindictive little
bitches, acting the typical bloody witch.
Harry merely winked and smiled sweetly, far too sweetly in fact, as she gave a
mock bow. Robert snorted again as he turned in Cedric’s direction and told the
younger wizard, “Welcome to my world where your woman is a taunting and
vindictive creature who uses the excuse and blames her hormones and her monthly
crimson time of the month for being a witch in more undesirable ways than one.”
Harry let out a brief laugh even as Tonks frowned and asked, “Monthly crimson
time of the month?” She suddenly clapped her hand over her mouth and let out a
giggle. She mocked reprimanded him through her giggles, “Sladden how typically
male of you, though I am surprised you are not a blushing uncomfortable mess at
the thought of discussing said monthly crimson visitor, I suppose that’s a
point in your favour.”
Robert smirked in reply, “Oh I knew the moment I saw her, she has no experience
of concealing the truth yet. She looks peaky, and she accepted what I suspect
was a pain reliever potion from Mrs. Weasley.” His smirk widened notably as he
added, “Of course she downed said pain reliever, and the scent of Camomile tea
coming from her mug, or when she asked for chocolate of all things for
breakfast, ha dead giveaway.” He concluded rolling his eyes and said knowingly,
“I am married to a witch Tonks; this crap does not even faze me anymore,
especially after nearly nine years of marriage.”
Tonks asked Harry, “When did you first notice it?” Harry scowled deeply as she
remembered her little nasty unappreciated wake up call and said, “When I was
rudely woke at four am this morning with Merlin awful cramps in my stomach and
felt like vomiting.” She added around a grumble, “I knew it was bound to be
coming soon, you and the others warned me, but it is still bloody annoying and
inconvenient as hell when it finally did decide to happen.”
Angelina asked, “Has what I think we’re talking about finally arrived?” Tonks
smirked and nodded, and Angelina returned the smirk and said to Harry, “Its
official Harry, you’re really a witch, welcome to our world.” Harry scowled at
her reply, but that scowl all of sudden turned into a smirk as she asked
somewhat gleefully vindictive, “What’s wrong Cedric, you look a little
flustered over there?”
Angelina let out a cackle as she noticed the red cheeks and slightly pained yet
annoyed expression Cedric was sporting. She exclaimed, “I was right! I have no
idea whether to laugh at you or pity you Diggory.” Tonks giggled as she added,
“Just be sure to look out for those sly and nasty hexes when you’re not
expecting it.” They laughed even harder as he appeared as if he had swallowed a
very large lemon.
Robert grimaced and told him sympathetically, “Do not worry you’ll get used to
it and learn to avoid them, and know when they just need some chocolate or a
heating pad or pain reliever potion. Oh and when she asks you to buy her female
hygiene products just remember that you love her and you married her, and grit
your teeth and get the hell on with it. It is the only way to deal with it for
years without going off at the deep end.”
Severus, Remus and Sirius had caught on at this point, as had the male
Weasley’s with girlfriends or in Bills case a fiancée and Arthur's case a wife,
except for Ron who was typically oblivious as perusal. Severus rolled his eyes
as he asked Harry, “I take it your body has finally settled along with your
hormones and decided to provide you with your monthly visitor?”
Harry actually blushes bright red, it was alright and all mocking and winding
up Cedric and Robert, but this was Severus Snape her DADA Professor and former
Potions Master, and now her tutor and mentor.” She could only nod and cringe in
reply. Severus snorted and said, “No need for embarrassment Potter, I have
female students in my house come to me for pain reliever potions all the time.
I am a Professor and not just a Potions Master but a licensed Mediwizard.” He
paused before saying, “As Sladden pointed out, the mention of a females monthly
visitor does not even faze me anymore.”
He continued to add and said, “I am in the process of restocking the medical
wing, so when you come tonight for your Potions lesson you can brew your own
batch of pain reliever, a stronger dose than Mrs. Weasley keeps around.” Harry
nodded and said, “Thanks I appreciate it, and yes I could use a stronger does
of pain reliever as Mrs. Weasley said it was not a strong dose she gave me.”
Severus stood up from around the table and said, “Right let’s get moving we
still need to floo to the halfway point where will meet up with Kingsley’s
contact and receive our portkey to finish the rest of the journey to France.”
He paused before adding, “I have been led to believe that we only have half a
day before The Minister finds out and our plans of keeping the second wands a
secret is blown out of the water.”
Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins and Remus and Tonks went to grab their
coats, while Harry waited for them with Robert and Severus near the fireplace.
Just as the others were ready to leave when the floo activated and the flames
in the fireplace turned bright emerald green. Neville and Luna stepped out and
dusted themselves off. They received an escort from Moody to the Leaky Cauldron
and were seen over to the fireplace and left to floo over to headquarters and
floo along with everyone else to France.
Before he left them, he had whispered the pass code needed to gain access to
Grimmauld Place to Luna. The pass code would only work for her, and changed
daily until she joined the Order. You quietly have to say the pass code before
you call out the destination for headquarters. If you did not you would be
trapped between fire gates due to the wards and enchantments around not only
the house but the fireplaces as well.
Ginny had a new code given to her every time she left headquarters through the
floo because she was not an Order member yet. Only Order members sworn in were
the only individuals in the Order to have a pass code that did not change daily
in case of emergencies. However, those pass codes had been magically embedded
into their memories of each individual, and if they tried to tell anyone their
unique pass code their jaws and tongues would lock and rendered unable to
speak.
Luna eyed Harry, she knew straight a way that it was Harry, regardless that
Neville had informed her of what had happened to their friend, and insisted it
had to remain a secret until Harry went public. She smiled dreamily and said,
“You never looked better Harry.” Harry could not help but chuckle as she
humoured her eccentric yet very loyal friend, knowing she looked peaky at best.
At least Luna had not mentioned any fantasy and weird named creatures yet. She
said, “Thanks Luna, glad you could join us.” Luna walked over to stand by Ron
and exchanged quick kiss hello and a smile.
Once everyone was present and accounted for Severus told everyone what the
first destination to call out was. Therefore, everyone lined up and grabbed
some floo powder from the pot on the mantle, stepped into the fireplace one by
one and threw down the powder turning the flames emerald green and calling out
their destination before disappearing as green flames rose up. Severus was the
last to leave just as Remus and Tonks had been the first two to floo out of
headquarters.
***** Chapter Thirteen: Wand shopping, Core and Aura reading in France *****
Chapter Summary
     Harry and the group head to France to buy new wands. Harry whilst
     there discovers something about herself and Robert. Everyone learns
     what sort of witch or wizard they are. Harry's overachieving magic
     rears its ugly head in the most inconvenient and unexpected way much
     to her annoyance.
Chapter Notes
     Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the
     writing of this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong
     to J.K. Rowling. The movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures
     and Heyday Films.
     Okay here is chapter thirteen. I know I promised shorter chapters,
     but once I start to write and get into the zone it seems to get away
     from me. Anyway as promised the next chapter will be the start of
     Harry's diary entries, and will show in a flashback a moment shared
     between Harry and Cedric. Still no kiss and nothing sexual, but more
     intimate then they have been so far.
Severus met up with the others after ten constant minutes of travelling at top
speed though the network, just going to show how far to the first travel
halfway point to France was. He stepped out and inwardly grimaced as he dusted
himself off and cast a cleaning charm to be thorough. After that trip, he was
starting to realise what Potter’s issues with most wizarding travel was all
about.
He saw that the other eleven of their group had arrived at the halfway point
safely and in one piece, even Potter. Well, saying in one piece might have been
exaggerating somewhat as Potter looked green and mightily annoyed. Sladden on
the other hand was right as rain, proving the cousins did not share certain
traits. He stood talking with the wizard who was going to provide their
portkey, and said portkey was a rolled up copy of that days Daily Prophet.
The wizard said, “This portkey is a two way journey to France from here and
from France back to this point.” He paused before adding, “Once activated it
will reactivate at one o clock, and it is nine o clock now which gives you a
total of five hours no more and no less. Do not be late or get separated, if
you do and are not touching that newspaper by the time the clock strikes one
you will be left behind.” He paused to look at his wizarding style watch given
to him by the head of his department. “You have exactly fifty seconds to all be
touching that newspaper before it activates,” he told them finally.
Everyone nodded as the wizard handed the portkey to Severus who nodded his
thanks as he accepted it from the other wizard. Severus then held out the
portkey as everyone gathered around in a circle and placed a finger firmly on
the newspaper and waited. It was a tight squeeze causing everyone to be
touching shoulder to shoulder as they all waited the final fifteen seconds for
the portkey to activate. It did without so much as a warning, and set Harry’s
world spinning in all directions as she felt the familiar tug behind of her
navel.
They landed in an alleyway less than five minutes later and ten minutes away
from the wand makers. Hermione end caught in a tangle of limbs with the twins,
her landing had been less than graceful this time due to their being more
people using the portkey and the trip taking longer than the one to the site
for the Quidditch world cup had. She felt flustered at being so up close and
personal with both twins, though for obvious reasons Fred was having a much
bigger effect on her than George was.
Ron was pretty much in the same situation with Luna, his sister and Neville.
Severus, Robert, Remus and Tonks stood straight having landed more gracefully
and less ruffled than everyone else appeared to be. Remus luckily held up
Tonks, though Harry was an entirely different story. She appeared positively
green as she clutched her hands into fists in the front of Cedric’s jumper
holding on for grim death. He held her around the waist so she remained upright
on her legs that felt like jelly.
Harry moaned pitifully as she said, “Floo and apparition are the pits, though
now you can add a portkey to that category as well.” The others chuckled or
smirked as they stood and righted themselves. Whilst they were doing that, no
one except for Neville saw the look of pained jealousy Ginny shot Harry and
Cedric at how close they stood against the other. Neville felt a twinge of
sympathy for the red haired witch, knowing that she was hurting badly with
loss.
Hermione asked Harry incredulously, “Harry how exactly did you manage to pass
the test with flying colours, the practical part of it at least, gained your
apparition licence and yet still hate the whole process at the same time?”
Hermione wondered how she managed to pull it off considering how deeply the
other witch’s hatred for apparition went. She had no trouble understanding how
she breezed through written part of the test, but the practical now that
honestly had Hermione pausing and seriously wondering.
Harry let go of the front of Cedric’s jumper as she replied in a bland tone,
“As you already know Carrick Wells the head examiner gave me a booklet with the
test questions in it to study over the weekend. You and Cedric tested me
several times over the weekend after reading it cover to cover a couple of
times.” She shrugged as she added, “Plus on the day of the testing Wells was
held up due to some family emergency, meaning Sirius and Tonks quizzed me until
Wells arrived. The test questions were still fresh in my head when I did the
written test.” She paused before concluding, “As for the practical, just
because I hate apparition does not mean I do not know how to do it correctly.”
Well, there you go what more could anyone say to that, it was true just because
you hated something did not necessarily mean you were not capable of doing it
as Harry had more than proven. After that enlightening information on Harry and
apparition, they left the alleyway and walked in a close group to the wand
makers, Severus walked in front and showed the way as he had been before.
Once inside everyone looked around while Severus talked with an elder silver
haired smaller built man appearing to be in his late seventies. Severus was
showing the wand maker is wand, in fact the very same one the man had made for
Severus. He beamed and chuckled as he exclaimed in delight and asked, “Severus!
Back again, what can I do for you my boy on this fine day?”
Severus smirked in acknowledgment of the elder wizard’s enthusiasm as he
replied, “I’m not here for me today Louie, no actually all of them bar two need
a new wand” he gestured to the others. Louie’s eyes widened at hearing this, at
the thought of that many customers in his store in one go. He knew his store
would make quite a sizeable sale that day. He was going to need help with this
order, and called out in French towards the backroom of the store.
A moment later, a witch followed by a wizard came through into the main area of
the store. The witch had pale blond hair and deep blue eyes, and appeared to be
around Tonks age. The wizard on the other hand evidently the witch’s brother,
was also pale blonde but unlike his sister he had silver grey eyes and appeared
to be around Severus’s age.
The wand maker explained in broken English, “These two are my son and daughter
and also my apprentices. I am going to need their help with so many of you
wanting new wands made.” He added, “Though before we begin I would like to take
a look at your magical cores and auras. I could do so without asking, but I
prefer to ask permission, believing a magical core and aura are one of the most
personal aspects of a wizard and witch, it shows what type of wizard or witch
you are, and of course how powerful you are.”
Harry asked him, “What do you see when you look at our core and auras?” Louie
replied, “Magical cores register as gold, silver and bronze. Gold is the most
powerful, silver is a close second and sometimes perform feats gold cores can,
all depending on how liberally streaked with gold the silver is. However, at
the end of the day silver even streaked with gold can never quite reach the
feats of magical talent that a pure gold core can.”
He paused before continuing, “Finally, as for Bronze cores they are considered
the lower range of the scale, though sometimes all depending on how liberally
streaked with silver that bronze core can perform minor magical feats a silver
core user can accomplish, but obviously never anything resembling gold core
feats. You will never come across a bronze core streaked with gold; I have
never encountered as such and strongly doubt it is possible.”
He paused before continuing, “Now as for auras, they come in three groups of
twos, white and pale blue, which indicates a light magical aura and user.” He
paused once more before adding, “Grey and mid-blue are the second group and
indicate a user that is neither light nor dark, they are the group some call
neutrals, they are the users that are towing the line between light and dark,
though they never crossover entirely into either spectrum.”
He paused once more before adding somewhat grimly, “Finally, dark blue almost
bordering on black and black the blackest of black. This indicates a dominantly
dark arts magical user, and are these types of wizard and witch I feel ill at
ease making a wand. Such an instrument used for such terrible and despicable
acts, I do not like imagining the body count those wands have stacked up.”
He paused looking even grimmer as he added, “It is not often you will meet a
wizard or witch and they have a dark aura and not be murders, rapists or some
other kind of criminal, pure evil. “ He finally concluded, “However,
occasionally I will see a darker aura on a magical creature such as vampires
and werewolves, but they are not always necessarily evil, and just the creature
in their blood that causes me to see that unfortunately.”
Harry had a nagging inkling over something about herself she had known about
since first coming to the wizarding world, but had not known what it was or how
to explain it. However, figured she just been given the answers to the
unanswered questions she had. She asked wanting to confirm what she had just
figured out, and pointed at Louie. “So you mean that silver like ball
surrounded by what appears to be streaks or veins of white, grey and mid-blue
are considered core and aura readings?”
Roberts eyes widened before nodding then saying, “That’s exactly what that is,
I see it too Harry.” He paused as he eyed his cousin in honest surprise as he
explained to her and said, “However, I do not know whether you are aware, but
not everyone can see that. It is a gift usually seen in gold and silver core
wizards and witches, and even then not everyone can do it, it has to run
through your family bloodline.”
He added looking thoughtful as he told her, “I doubt the Potter’s or the
Evans’s had the ability, though the Sladdens on the other hand are known for
the ability.” He paused before revealing, “However, it skipped my father and
three other previous generations of Sladdens, that we had honestly started to
believe that the ability had been lost to us.” He shook his head before saying,
“Obviously not, because after my father my aunt was born an aura and core
reader, and later on I to was born with the same ability.”
He paused to eye his shocked cousin before continuing, “I have no idea whether
James had it, if he had he never showed any signs of it or mentioned it, I
doubt it though. Considering up until my aunt married your grandfather the
Potter’s were known to be powerful gold core, or sometimes silver core level
wizards and witches, yet never aura and core readers.” He paused again before
concluding, “However I would say it is safe to assume that ability in your case
came from the Sladden part of your heritage, inherited from your grandmother,
my aunt.”
Hermione suddenly gushed in delighted awe as she asked, “Oh Harry, why did you
never say anything?” She added, “That is such an amazing ability to have, and I
heard healers who have it can use it to judge the state of their patients
health. For example, a live patient’s core and aura would be bright, vibrant
even. Whereas someone who is dying on the other hand, their core and aura would
be slowly dimming until nothing and would mean they were dead.”
Severus sighed as he silently damned The Order, trust The Order to have not one
but two aura and core readers, and was willing to wager that Albus most likely
had no idea. He knew that ability would be any spy or healers dream ability. He
also knew and less than thrilled at the thought of, Albus discovering the fact
he had not one but two Order members with the ability to see your inner magical
aura and core. He would no doubt attempt to use Potter and Sladden, Potter
especially for that ability.
Severus suddenly remembered Potter saying how she thought something was
seriously off with Corners and Finch-Fletchley. He asked, “Tell me Potter when
you look at Misters Corners and Finch-Fletchley what do you see?” Harry
replied, “First before I say anything, I honestly had no idea what I was seeing
even was, never mind aura and core reading.” She paused before continuing, “I
did not even know what the colour spectrum indicated until a few moments ago.”
She paused once more before revealing, “As for what I see when I look at them,
well, Corners colours besides his bronze and silver streaked core, they are
dark, mid-blue and the darkest blue shot through with hints of grey, though in
first through to fourth year he did have a few pale blue strands.” She paused
before adding, “As for Justin, besides his silver core, well, during first year
through to fourth year his aura was pale blue shot through with streaks of
grey. However last time I saw him there was considerably less light blue and
more heavily streaked with mid-blue and the darkest shade of blue strands had
started to develop.”
Severus muttered sourly, “Damn, that explains why you think something is off
with those two, regardless of not knowing the colour spectrum until now.” He
made a mental note to keep a closer eye on them. If what Potter said is true
and that their auras had started to darken after fourth year then that was a
cause for concern, and not taken for granted as Potter being paranoid. Now
knowing what Potter could do actually made Severus less inclined to believe it
case of paranoia on her part.
Regardless how grave the conversation had just turned, Louie could not help but
look as if Christmas had arrived early. It was always a pleasure for Louie when
he encountered those with the same ability as he had, especially if they were
just discovering what that gift was and actually meant. Moreover, here he was
with not one but two of them in his store right at that moment, how marvellous
indeed.
Therefore, after Louie received permission from everyone to view and reveal
what he discovered when he observed each witch and wizard present he started
and concentrated on Harry first. He could not help but gasp in delight at what
he discovered. “Oh your core is gold as can be, the most vibrant of gold I have
seen in such a long time. You my dear are one very powerful and gifted witch”
he told Harry delightedly.
He continued just as happily as he asked, “Do you might terribly if I revealed
out aloud what I can see?” Harry shook her head as she replied, “Go ahead, it
cannot be all that bad if your reaction is anything to judge.” He nodded
happily before studying her closer and smiled as he said, “Your core is a huge
ball of gold surrounded heavily with white, streaked with light blue, yet is
also streaked with shades of mid-blue and grey, grey more so than mid-blue.”
His smiled dimmed considerably and he appeared grim at what he suddenly
discovered. He cleared his throat and added, “However, there seems to be a
streak of black surrounding a spot right in the centre of your forehead, which
indicates that you have been hit with very dark magic at some point in your
past, and not you’re recent past either.”
Harry nodded and revealed in a knowing grim tone, “I know what that is; also
what caused it as well.” She paused before adding, “And you’re right it was
dark magic, the killing curse actually, back when I was a year-old. Voldemort
cast the killing curse on me and it backfired on him that was after he killed
my parents, my mother right in front of me as I watched from my crib.” She
paused, lifted some of her bangs, and pushed them to one side to reveal her
infamous scar on her forehead. She added, “This scar is what is left over from
his failed attempt back during Halloween of 1981, and also what that streak of
black is you can see.”
Louie’s eyes widened as he said in shock, “You’re Harry Potter.” His children
looked at the witch in awe as they realised exactly who she was. Louie added,
“Yes we know who you are and your history, even though you are not as well
known over here unlike in Britain where I am fairly certain you are very famous
and do not get a moments peace out in public if people see that scar on your
forehead.” He frowned looking thoughtful as he said, “Forgive me for asking,
but I was under the impression you were a wizard.”
Harry nodded knowingly before giving a very brief summary of what she had
discovered on her seventeenth birthday just gone. Louie’s daughter wrinkled her
nose and said, “Hmm, backwards lot you Britons are, demanding a male heir over
a female. Honestly, a female heir is just as capable of providing an heir to
carry on her maiden name, huh such disgusting sexist nonsense.” Harry snorted
as she nodded and said, “Ha, tell me about it, and oh don’t I know it.”
Meanwhile that topic of discussion did not have Severus distracted; no he
looked on grimly knowing Potter was wrong. He thought somewhat darkly, ‘You
think that is your scar Potter, or so you think’ No Severus definitely knew
otherwise what was causing that black streak on Potter’s forehead. Albus would
inform her before she graduated, if he did not than Severus most certainly
would whether Albus approved or not.
Louie sighed and said, “Alright back to your core and aura. Now, what I am
reading from both your core and aura indicates you are dominantly light,
thought undeniably you do have a high potential for the grey arts. In turn
light and grey magic casting will come with ease for you to learn and perform.
Make sure to practice both regularly to maintain a healthy aura and core.” He
added in a slight grim tone, “As for dark arts casting that will take a lot
more effort and will not come naturally to you or with ease. I would not
recommend it; you will just end up polluting your aura and that by no means is
worth it in my honest opinion.”
He concluded in a knowing grim tone and said, “Trust me I know. I have had a
few customers come in asking me to view their core and aura. I have had to tell
them to seek the help of a healer after they tried to dabble in the dark arts,
their auras have been too light and rejected the dark magic and made their core
and aura very ill.”
Robert nodded knowingly as he told his younger cousin, “Your father had a
golden core, and trust me he was dominantly light and had the typical white and
pale blue streaks of a light wizard, with only faint mid-blue streaks no grey.
Grey magic casting would not have come with ease to him unlike it will for
you.” He added, “As for your mother, on the other hand the few times I got to
meet her I noticed she had a gold core and her aura had light blue streaks, yet
heavily streaked with grey and mid-blue, she was dominantly grey, though she
did have light potential. Your ease that you will be able to cast grey magic
you inherited that from your mother.”
Harry nodded but before she could ask any questions, Louie had turned his
attention on Robert. He said after a few moments to observe the other wizard
and fellow aura and core reader. “You have a silver core that is liberally
streaked with gold. As for you aura, you have white streaks combined with heavy
streaks of light and mid-blue, and interconnecting with them is grey streaks
that almost seem to pulsate around the white and light blue.”
He nodded firmly as he added, “You are a light wizard with strong potential for
the grey arts. Light and grey magic casting will come with ease for you.
However as I already have said to our fellow core and aura reader, dark arts
casting will not come naturally or with ease, and of course you will only end
up polluting your aura.” Robert nodded and said in reply, “I suspected as much,
as the Sladden family are not known to be dark wizards and witches, never have
been.”
Cedric was next, and Louie studied the younger wizard for a moment or two
before revealing, “Another silver core liberally streaked with gold. As for
your aura, you have white streaks that are liberally mixed in with light and
mid-blue streaks though no grey streaks.” He paused before adding, “All of this
indicates that you are dominantly light and light magic comes with natural ease
for you. However, you have no grey streaks means grey magic casting whilst not
impossible will not come with ease, and you will have to work and practice grey
magic to strengthen the mid-blue streaks you do have.” He paused once again
before concluding, “As for dark magic if I was you I would avoid it your aura
is too light to produce much of anything and I suspect will be close to
impossible to achieve any success.”
Cedric looked generally glad at hearing this and also relived he had grey magic
potential, and that he would be able to help Harry. He knew he would have to
work extra harder to learn how to properly cast grey magic, and that he would
not have an easy time learning as he had with light magic. As for the dark
arts, he was not heartbroken over what the wand maker had said it was no loss
to him.
Even though Louie knew that Severus did not need another new wand that day,
still he could not resist looking at the younger wizard’s core and aura. He
said around a grin, “Now you I have already read before.” Harry and Robert eyed
him closely and Severus knew what they were seeing as Louie when he had first
come to get a second wand off the wand maker had told him what state his core
and aura were in.
Robert asked, “Do you mind if we reveal what we see to the others. I suspect
most juvenile idiots would think you have a black pulsating mess, when in fact
it is quite the opposite?” Severus shrugged and had a feeling that Sladden
would not be a bastard about it, and Potter he had recently discovered
definitely would not be. Therefore, Robert and Harry took that as good as any
permission they were liable to get from Severus.
Harry went first and said after a moment, “His core is silver and heavily
streaked with gold, and his aura is grey.” Robert added, “However it is
liberally streaked with both light and mid-blue, yet there are streaks of dark
blue and black for obvious reasons, his Dark Mark and of course he has dabbled
in the dark arts to.” Harry concluded, “I guess that makes him dominantly a
grey wizard but with both light and dark potential.”
Louie nodded and said, “Very good you two, that is what I picked up on nearly
sixteen years ago when Severus first came to me for a wand. He was saying that
there was a new law in Great Britain that would cause trouble for him if used
his other wand for even grey arts never mind dark arts. You have a truly bazaar
and restricting system in Great Britain.” He shook his head in disbelief hardly
believing such nonsense enforced in the first place and still in practice
nearly sixteen years later.
Harry said, “Ha, and don’t we all know it. They should be clamping down on
dominantly dark arts practicing witches and wizards, instead of going after the
grey neutrals.” She added, “Then again The Ministry are blinded to those who
are not dominantly light.” She concluded, “For Merlin’s sake they even have our
wand makers placing trackers on our wands from the age of eleven until
seventeen so they can monitor what magic we cast.”
Louie shook his head in disbelief before turning his attention to Hermione. “We
have a silver core here my dear and a heavily white streaked aura, streaked
through with light blue and mid-blue streaks but no grey streaks. This
indicates you are dominantly light witch, my dear, though you do have grey
magic potential, yet you will have some difficulty at first until you practice
and allow the mid-blue streaks to develop and become stronger.” He concluded,
“As for dark magic, your aura is far too light for that.” Hermione appeared
obviously relieved at hearing this.
Next Louie turned his silver grey gaze on Ron, and after a moment or so said,
“Bronze core streaked through with silver my boy. Your aura is light blue with
white streaks, and there are indeed some streaks of mid-blue yet no grey
streaks. This indicates that you are a dominantly light wizard, and light magic
comes with ease when compared to its grey counterpart that will not come with
such ease. You will have to work hard and allow those mid-blue streaks to
expand and develop and your aura adapt.” He concluded, “As for dark arts, same
principle as I told the young lady, your core is too light to accept dark
magic.”
Ron was pleased with what he had learned, and glad he would be able to help
Harry. He was not looking forward to any of the hard training he knew he would
have to do in order for his aura to adept better to casting not only light
magic but also grey. Harry and Hermione were worth it he decided, ending this
war so he could live safely in it with Luna and his family was also worth what
he knew he was going to have to do.”
Louis next turned his gaze to Fred followed by George and unknowingly confirmed
what Severus had said about the twins being very similar but their auras by no
means were identical. Severus did not need to have the gift to be able to know
this. No twins were the same regardless of their practically near identical
appearances, no twins in general not just Fred and George Weasley.
Louie grinned and said, “Ah twins, identical ones at that, though boys I will
tell you this, your appearance maybe identical but your auras most certainly
are not.” He paused before adding at their surprised expressions, and pointed
at Fred first “You have a silver core, while your aura is light blue and is
very heavily streaked with grey and mid-blue, grey more so than mid-blue. This
indicates that you are dominantly grey with light magic potential, I recommend
practicing both arts equally to keep your aura healthy and balanced.” He paused
before concluding, “As for dark arts, as I told Miss Potter it will not come
natural to you and it will pollute your aura.” Fred nodded and said, “That’s
fine the dark arts have never held any appeal so it’s not a loss to me.”
Louie nodded before turning to George and saying, “As I told your twin, Silver
core, yet your aura is white with streaks of mid-blue and grey, more mid-blue
than grey. This indicates that yes you to be also dominantly grey yet have
slightly more potential for light magic than your twin. Your light magic is
slightly stronger just as his grey magic is slightly stronger than yours is.
Practice both light and grey magic to maintain a healthy balanced aura”
He paused before concluding, “As for dark arts, same as your twin, will not
come naturally to you and you will pollute your aura, definitely not worth it.”
George nodded and said, “I’m okay with that, my views on dark magic pretty much
match with Fred’s, holds no appeal meaning no loss. Besides, I hear if you sink
too deep into the dark arts then it will drive you insane. ‘’You Know Who’ is a
classical example.”
Ron looked as if someone had slapped him hard as he asked, “What the hell are
mum and dad going to say when they find out that us children not hundred
percent light as they thought?” He added, “Sure I am dominantly light, yet I
have grey potential, that is not hundred percent light.” Fred replied, “We’ll
cross that bridge when we know what we are dealing with when we know what Ginny
is.” George added, “Perhaps we could have Harry and Sladden look at the others
as well so that mum and dad can see that it is just not us.”
Harry could not help but smirk as she said, “No need, I may not have known what
exactly I had been seeing until today, yet I still remember what it was I did
see one time during that time you three took me to The Burrow for the first
time.” Fred asked, “What did you see Harry?” Harry replied, “Your mother has a
silver core and her aura from what I can remember was light blue with grey
streaks and mid-blue streaks, she had no white streaks. I’d say she is
dominantly grey with light potential, meaning if she says anything against you
three she will be a hypocrite whether she is aware of her aura or not.”
She paused before adding, “As for your father he has a bronze core that is
heavily streaked with silver, and a white aura with light and mid-blue streaks,
but no grey streaks. This in turn means he is dominantly light, but with time
and practice could probably hold his own casting some grey magic, the potential
is there.” She concluded after a moment and said, “So your mother is dominantly
grey and your father dominantly light, yet he had grey potential just not as
much as your mother has.”
Robert said, “If I have to guess I suspect your parents are unaware and only
practice light magic, which we have come to understand today is not healthy
when you have the potential for another magical art.” Louie added, “No indeed
not healthy are all, when you consider all that you are doing is nurturing one
part of your magical aura yet neglecting and to be blunt starving the other
half.”
Louie turned his gaze to Ginny next and said, “Silver core with minimum streaks
of gold. Your aura is a heavy combination of light blue and grey and streaks of
mid-blue.” He paused and said somewhat grimly, “I will be honest my dear, you
also have streaks of dark blue and some minimum streaks of black.” He continued
after a brief pause and said, “You have no white streaks, which indicates that
while you do have some potential for light magic you are dominantly grey. I
recommend the same method as I told the twins, practice both light and grey
arts to keep your aura healthy and balanced.”
He paused before saying, “As for dark arts I would not recommend it. Yes, you
have dark blue and black streaks, though from what I can see you have not
gained them from dabbling in dark magic, no, in fact you have been touched my
dear by something very dark and evil. You are not a dark witch, and those
streaks are not down to something you yourself have done personally.” He
concluded firmly as he said, “Though if you start practicing dark magic you
will only make those dark streaks expand and become stronger, please do not do
it.”
Ginny grimaced and said, “I have no intentions of doing dark magic.” She added,
“The same wizard who gave Harry her scar and killed her parents also possessed
me when I was eleven and tried to drain the life from me so he could have a
body of his own instead of being just a memory trapped inside of a diary.”
Louie looked grave and nodded. The others on the other hand looked grim and
should have expected this, as nothing as dark and as evil as Tom Riddle could
possess you never mind touch you and there not be some sort of tainted mark
left over afterwards.
Louie turned his gaze on Remus and instantly said, “Oh I see, I am sorry.” He
paused before saying, “Silver core streaked with gold. As for your aura it is
heavily streaked with white yet has no light blue streaks.” He added, “Grey and
mid-blue are both streaked dominantly, and there are thick streaks of dark blue
and thinner streaks of black. The dark blue and black streaks seem to pulse
around and wrap around the white, grey and mid-blue.”
He paused and then continued, “The dark blue and black have firmly bonded with
your aura, and just as I said earlier I only ever see the likes of this when I
have seen the aura of a vampire or werewolf that have managed to hold onto a
active magical core after being bitten and their first transformation. You are
not a dark wizard; it is just the creature inside of you that has bonded itself
to your aura, hence the dark blue and black streaks that I can see.”
He concluded, “White indicates the potential for light magic, but because of
the lack of light blue streaks indicates it is not dominate in you. All of this
indicates that you are a dominantly grey wizard with a surprising amount of
light potential considering you have what considered a dark creature bond
itself to your aura. Finally, dark magic do not do it your creature will just
feed off it. What I do recommend however is a healthy and balanced practice of
both light and grey magic on a regular basis.”
Remus nodded and said, “Werewolf, that’s what the dark creature influence you
can see is.” Louie nodded in reply and said, “Ah I see. But still it does not
make you are dark wizard remember that.” Remus nodded again in reply, somewhat
relieved that the wizard in front of him had confirmed he was not a dark
wizard, as he had feared he would become due to the werewolf in him ever since
bitten.
Tonks was next and Louie told her, “Silver core, while your aura is a liberal
mixture of white and light blue streaks, grey is entwined with the white and
light blue yet there are minimal mid-blue streaks. I can confirm that you do
not have single dark blue or black streak. This all indicates that you are
dominantly light, yet have potential for grey magic, however you aura will need
time and exposure to grey magic before grey magic can be cast with ease.” He
paused before concluding, “As for dark magic, both your aura and core would
reject it, as would it with the other dominantly light wizards and witches in
this room.”
Tonks nodded and exchanged a look of assurance with Remus who smiled gently at
her. He was so honestly relieved and happy that is wife’s aura was so light.
Tonks was just glad her core and aura were apparently healthy. The wand maker
had not said so, but she intended to keep her core and aura healthy by
practicing both light and grey magic, she would not neglect and starve her aura
in any way. She realised she was going to need a second wand, Remus to.
Tonks turned to Remus and said, “We all need a new wand, if we are going to
practice grey magic we will need a second wand. I am an auror and you a
werewolf, and The Ministry will target us, you because you are a registered
werewolf and me because I work for The Ministry. In short we cannot afford to
be caught casting grey magic or evidence that we have been discovered.” Remus
sighed tiredly and said, “I never thought about it that way, but your right we
both need a second wand.”
Louie said, “Good thing I have my son and daughter, as it looks like my order
just went up by two.” He sighed before turning his gaze to Neville and said,
“Now as for you young man, a bronze core with minimal silver streaks. Your aura
very heavily streaked with white, the whitest in room in fact. However, there
appear to be fewer light blue streaks than your white streaks would suggest.
You have some grey streaks but no mid-blue streaks. You have grey magic
potential, though the white streaks are by far more dominant, indicating that
you are a very light wizard.”
He paused before adding, “Casting grey magic is not impossible, but word of
warning you will have the most difficult time compared to everyone else when it
comes to learning and those grey streaks expanding and your aura adapting to
allow you to cast grey magic.” He paused once more before concluding, “Finally,
as for dark arts, do not even dare to attempt it, your aura is far too light,
your aura and core would not appreciate or thank you for polluting and making
it very ill indeed.” Neville’s eyes widened in slight alarm, but nodded in
understanding.
Finally, is gazed landed on Luna. He nodded and after a moment said, “Silver
core, your aura on the other hand has equal amounts of white and grey streaks
intertwined with pale blue and mid-blue. In short, your aura indicates that you
are equally both light and grey; one does not dominate over the other. In order
for this to remain as such you need to regularly practice both light and grey
magic to help maintain a healthy and balanced aura.” He concluded, “I see no
dark blue or black streaks and you could possibly attempt dark magic but I
doubt you will get very far or receive any real results, and will just end up
polluting your aura.” Luna nodded honestly glad she had no dark streaks, it
being the last thing she ever wanted.
Louie clapped his hands together before saying, “I need to see the current
wands of everyone present who plan to buy and have a wand made today by either
myself or my children.” Harry figured she would go first and get it out of the
way and removed her wand from her arm holster and handed it over to Louie.
Louie took the wand, examined it, and after a moment said, “Eleven inches, made
of holly with a Phoenix feather as its core.” He paused and added, “Hmm, a
Phoenix feather, an interesting choice I must admit.”
He handed the wand back to Harry who put back inside of its holster. He said,
“You have a gold core which means you are going to need a double core in your
new wand, same goes for those who I saw with silver cores to.” After that, he
examined everyone else’s except for Severus’s wand. Once satisfied with what he
and his children had to work with, he took Harry, Cedric and Robert into the
back room. His daughter took Cedric while his son took Robert and he had Harry.
That just left the others, and promised attention as soon as one of the three
wand makers was available.
Four hours later, Harry, Cedric, Robert, Hermione and the twins each had a new
wand. Severus realised he would have to ask that wizard who provided the
portkey that they would need another one for tomorrow, as six of their group
still needed to come back for a new wand. If the wizard in question unwilling
then Severus would just have to ask Albus to do the honours, create the
required portkey, and hope for the best The Ministry did not catch on.
The double core chosen for Harry’s wand immediately reacted to her magical
core, in fact when she had touched one of the cores on display; she had nearly
dropped it in shock as she felt a heady warm pulse give off between the core
and her magical core. The finished product was fourteen inches long, and the
length of the wand was made of Rosewood, it was a ruby red colour.
Louie explained that the wood represented protection and spirituality that
shields one from negative energy. Rosewood is associated with the heart chakra,
and can help manifest what you desire, dream and need. The wood Louie explained
known also as Madagascar rosewood (Dalbergia Maritima), known as bois de rose
is highly prized for its ruby red colour.
Lignum Vitae the wood the handle end up made from. It was dark greenish brown
in colour and had a mild, perfume-like fragrance. Louie informed her in Latin
it translates into 'wood of life' also called guayacan or guaiacum. It is a
strong, hard, durable and resinous type of wood. He also mentioned that the
wood apparently, if what said was true, that the same wood was what Merlin's
own wand once made of.
When Harry picked up the wand for the first time, Cedric, Robert and Louie,
along with his children received quite the shock. They stood back and watched
as a bright golden light practically pulsed and oozed from her very pores.
Cedric had asked in shocked awe, “What is that?” Louie and Robert both let out
low whistles, knowing all too well, what that was.
Robert choked out, “That is Harry’s magic surrounding her in its absolute
purest form.” Louie nodded as he added in a tone of awe, “The double cores in
her new wand are so completely compatible with her magic, that her magic has
rushed forward to the surface to connect with the cores in the wand. Her magic
is visible to the naked eye of those who are not even core and aura readers.”
Louie’s daughter clapped a hand over her mouth, while his son looked on in
stunned wonder. Robert said to an awed Cedric, “Go get Severus, Remus and
Tonks, they need to see this.” Cedric nodded silently in stunned disbelief as
he quickly left the backroom to go and get the other three. Robert was right
Cedric knew the other three would definitely want to see this. He returned less
than a minute later with the other three. It had taken that long to convince
the others everything was fine.
When Severus, Remus and Tonks entered the backroom with Cedric, they heard
Harry complaining as she asked, “Why can I not be normal for once in my life?”
She added asking Louie, “How long until this stops, I cannot leave the shop
glowing gold like I swallowed a crap load of fairies in process?” Cedric
inwardly snorted at this, and cringed at what Louie’s daughter said knowing his
fiancée would not want to hear that.
Louie’s daughter said in awe, “Your magic glows and pulses like fire, as
brightly as the sun.” Cedric of course was correct; she closed her eyes not
wanting to hear that. No one else had done was she was, meaning yet another
abnormality about her. Did it ever stop for just one damn second she wondered
bitterly? This was too much, and was going too far in her opinion something
just seriously needed give here, no bloody well had to actually.
Louie answered Harry question and told her, “My dear I have never seen anything
of this sort happen, at least not as vibrantly as this. It is normal for a
wizard or witch’s magic to come up to the surface so other magical beings can
sense and see a faint shimmering outline. It usually takes five to ten minutes
until the wand cores and magical core bond before settling down.” He added
after a brief pause, “You on the other hand are so powerful that your magic has
made itself visible in its purest form instead of only a shimmering outline
that is normal.”
Robert said, “It might be down to the fact both of her parents had a golden
core.” He paused before revealing, “My father had a gold core and my mother she
has a silver core, which is why I only display the normal expected shimmering
outline. Same for Cedric, I assume one of his parents must have had a gold
core. You on the other hand have a gold core and come from parents who also
both had gold cores. The fact your magic is so powerful is not surprising,
though how it chose to display itself that was definitely surprising.”
Harry spoke up without really thinking and said, “His mother, Cedric’s mother
Lara she was the one who had a gold core, I say this, because his father has a
bronze core streaked with silver.” Cedric raised a brow and Harry in turn said,
“What, I told you I have been able to see magical cores and auras since my
first year, I just did not know that was what I was seeing or what the colour
spectrum indicated until today.”
Robert shook his head and said, “Actually you have had it your whole life, were
born with it in fact. We are born with the gift just as someone who is a
Metamorphmagus or seer would also be born with those abilities.” He continued
to explain, “The reason you did not notice until your first year at Hogwarts
was because you were raised in the muggle world, and muggles do not have any
magic, which in turn means no magical core. Their auras are not as visible and
definitely not as vibrant either so they would not register to you.”
Harry could not help but inwardly growl in annoyance when she saw the looks of
complete awe on Remus and Tonks faces. Severus on the other hand eyed her
incredulously and commented in an equally incredulous tone, “This would only
ever happen to you, you do realise this right Potter?”Harry scowled and
clenched her jaw to stop herself from cussing him blind, double damn him for
reminding her that she was not normal.
Remus snapped out of his awed stupor and said, “There was no way absolutely no
way you would not be powerful with parents as magically gifted as your parents
were when they were alive.” He paused to shake his head and add incredulously,
“However, this gifted I had not reckoned on this being the case, I have always
been extra aware of your power due to being considered an magical creature
makes me extra sensitive. But nothing I sensed could have prepared me for what
I am currently witnessing here.”
Tonks asked, “If Harry looks like this, then what would that psychopath look
like, it truly is a terrifying thought?” Severus shook his head and said, “I
highly doubt it would look as clear and pure as what she is giving off there.”
He added in a somewhat grim tone as he said, “He has messed about with rituals
and dabbled far too much with the darkest of magic that I do not doubt that
would truly pollute even those with the darkest auras.”
Five minutes later, fifteen minutes after the whole episode had broken out,
Harry’s magic visibly reduced to a dim shimmer around her figure. Louie said,
“Ah there we go, it is starting to settle and should not be long before it
becomes invisible to the naked eye again, at least to those who are not core
and aura readers.” Sure enough five minutes later the shimmer had vanished, and
Harry let loose with a loud sigh of relief. That was so uncalled for in her
opinion, damn her and her overachieving magic.
She placed her new wand with her other wand for safekeeping until she got back
to headquarters. Harry was honestly relieved when they left the shop at ten to
one and made their way back to the alleyway they had arrived. She was so
tiered, but at least she had what she had come for, even if Tonks and Remus
would have to return the following day with Ron, Neville and Luna so they could
go and buy their new wands. She was more than glad that no one had mentioned to
the others what had happened to her in the backroom of the store.
When they reached the alley all twelve immediately gathered around in a circle
shoulder to shoulder and touched the newspaper with a finger as they waited for
the portkey to activate. Harry braced herself for what she knew was coming,
sure enough, everyone felt the familiar tugging sensation behind their navels,
and seconds later, they disappeared from the alley.
When they arrived back at the halfway point between France and Great Britain,
the same wizard was nearby, obviously expecting them as he glanced at his
watch. The wizard asked, “So did you get everything you needed done?” Severus
shook his head and said, “Only partially, only six managed to get what we went
for, another six still need it.” He paused and added, “We’re going to need
another portkey for the same time tomorrow going to the same destination for
the same length of time.” The wizard grumbled in reply, “Fine, but one of you
better be sure to tell Shacklebolt that my favour to him is well and truly paid
back in full after tomorrow.”
With that agreed on the others left through the floo network back to
headquarters. From there Tonks escorted Neville and Luna to The Leaky Cauldron
so they could floo home safely. Robert said he was heading home to Clare and
the boys, as they were due to visit Clara’s parents for dinner at Leighton
manor. He said he would return later before the start of that nights Order
meeting. He then left to head back through the floo and home.
Fred and George said they needed to get back to the store and relieve Lee,
Angelina and Verity, but would return that evening for The Order meeting. They
left through the floo to their store in Diagon Alley. Hermione said she had
some research she was working on and needed to get back to it, but would be
down for dinner and The Order meeting. Ginny said she had a slight headache and
was going for a nap before dinner.
Ron on the other hand planned to go and raid the kitchen hoping to find one of
the chocolate muffins, and hoped his mother did not catch him sneaking snacks
before dinner. Remus said he would go and inform Kingsley of what that wizard
had said and headed for the fireplace to make the floor call. Cedric said he
needed to go and take care of something in Diagon Alley but would be back later
on for The Order Meeting.
That left Harry and Severus, and before she could leave for her room and maybe
shower and a nap before The Order meeting, Severus grabbed hold of the back of
her coat and said, “You are coming with me, we might as well have your Potions
lesson early, which means we can finish earlier today.” Harry inwardly mourned
the fact a shower and a nap would have to wait until after The Order meeting
that evening.
***** Chapter Fourteen: Diary entries, Piano Flashback, and Period Pains and
Snuggling *****
Chapter Summary
     The first of Harry's diary entries. A moment between Harry and
     Cedric, and Harry is surprised to learn something new about her
     fiance. Harry's period cramps really kick in much to her disgust.
     Cedric proves to be the best fiance in the world as he come baring a
     sweet gift, and proves himself to be the best equivalent of a human
     heating pad.
Chapter Notes
     Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the
     writing of this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong
     to J.K. Rowling. The movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures
     and Heyday Films.
     Two chapters in less than a couple of days whoa I am on a roll here.
     The next chapter will take place two days later, a new diary entry
     and Harry meets her great aunt since she was a baby. Fred and
     Hermione have their first date.
Harry sighed tiredly as she returned from Hogwarts and her Potions lesson with
Severus. The lesson had ended sooner than even Severus had originally intended,
due to Harry feeling tiered after their trip to France and her period on top.
He told her to take a pain reliever potion and a nap when she got back to
headquarters, and that her leaving early was a one off and not to make a habit
of it. He made it quite clear he was not going soft, and just refused to teach
her anything when she was dozing off.
She had managed to brew a batch of pain potion enough to last the rest of her
period, before the cramps had the better of her. Still cramps or no cramps she
was relieved to be back early and able to take a pain potion and a quick shower
followed by changing into a pair of comfortable purple and black checker print
lounge pants and a white tank top with thick black woollen socks. She then
retrieved her diary from her new trunk and her new peacock feathered self-
inking quill.
She pulled back the covers on her bed and cast a wandless heating charm on the
covers to help with her cramps. She then arranged some of her pillows behind
her back and leaned backwards, before opening her diary and putting quill to
satin soft pure white parchment and started record that day’s events so far in
lilac coloured ink.
Saturday 9th August 1997
Today we traveled to France to buy a second wand. Today I discovered the
meaning behind what I had been seeing when I looked at others since re-entering
the wizarding world. The wander maker Louie was a core and aura reader,
apparently so am I, and Robert is to. Robert says it came from the Sladden side
of my heritage, and that I was born with it, but due to being mostly raised in
the muggle world I would have not been aware due to muggles having no magic and
not registering to me.
Also apparently, I now know why I felt that Corners and Justin were somehow
off, besides being jackasses of course. Merlin those two have such dark auras,
and makes me wonder what the hell have they been doing that both have darker
auras then they had in first year. I mean Merlin I am new to all of this core
and aura reading but even I know you do not have dark blue and black streaks
develop in your auras from casting light magic or even grey for that matter.
No, I think those two prats have been dabbling in the dark arts on the sly, but
why is what I want to know and will find out trust me on that.
Hermione is doing some sort of research I wonder what she is researching, ha
only Merlin knows when it comes to Hermione. On the plus side, the awkwardness
and envy Hermione showed the first night back at headquarters seems to have
passed, and thank Merlin for that. Hermione is my best friend, my sister in all
but blood, she is the last person I want ever feeling like that towards me.
Speaking of Hermione, she and Fred seem to be making progress. God I wish he
would hurry up and ask her out on a date already. Just because it is not safe
to be roaming round Diagon Alley or elsewhere thanks to Voldemort and his
disgusting murderous followers, does not mean there is not a way around that.
They could use the new conservatory that Sirius had installed in the back
garden at the beginning of the summer. It is gorgeous, all of those glass
windows that allow sunlight practically bathe the entire space, it would be
romantic during the evening, and they could have a candle light picnic.
Hermione would love it, I know she would. Maybe I could have a little chat with
George and see if he could encourage Fred to make a move.
Things are still not hundred percent right with Ginny and I, but I was not
expecting them to be. Regardless that I did not set out to hurt her I still
did, and know she is going to need time to get over me. Speaking of getting
over someone, Cho clearly is very much in love with Cedric. Merlin that is
proving to be awkward as hell, she is not even trying to conceal it either. I
know you cannot help who you love or stop loving them at the drop of a hat, but
the way she looks at him with mournful puppy dog eyes, and gives me poisonous
dagger stares is starting to really piss me off. I want to be more sympathetic
I really do, but her behaviour is doing her no favours. Surely she must realise
snubbing me is not going to endure her to Cedric. I can tell that Ginny is just
dying to have another go at her, and the part of me that is pissed off at her
attitude would enjoy seeing Ginny taking another crack at her.
As for Sirius, he seems to have his head in the clouds since Tuesday, I wonder
if he has met somebody. I hope so, Sirius really needs someone, needs
companionship only a lover can provide. Remus has Tonks, and we all know about
his issues and hang ups, so if he can love and marry Tonks then maybe there is
some hope of Sirius finding someone.
Cedric, I cannot stop thinking about our conversation from yesterday afternoon
when I found him in the library where Sirius set a new baby grand piano for
Hermione. That came as no surprise to me that Hermione as a child would take
piano lessons, it seems fitting. However, what was surprising that yesterday
when I heard the piano playing it was not Hermione who I found playing the
black and ivories. No it was Cedric, and who knew he could play and so
beautifully at that. Apparently he had been playing since he was a small boy,
his mother taught him how.
Speaking of Lara Diggory I cannot stop thinking of what Cedric said to me, that
poor woman and even poor Mr. Diggory to. I cannot imagine the agony or what it
must be like to go through losing a child not just once but twice before it
even had the chance to exist.
Harry paused there, as she got lost in her thoughts of yesterday afternoon.
Flashback previous day:
As Harry left her study, she passed the library, only to stop as she heard a
beautiful yet truly heart breaking mournful sounding melody played on the
piano. She wondered why Hermione was playing such sad music. Harry did not
recognise the piece played so skilfully on the other side of the door. She
wondered if Hermione had actually started composing her own music.
She quietly opened the door, and wondered whether Hermione would stop when she
realised she was no longer alone and had an audience of one? She quietly
entered and whom she assumed to be Hermione continued to create such beautiful
music whether she was aware she was not alone anymore or not. However, Harry
was shocked and truly amazed to discover the one playing such beautiful sad
music so skilfully was not Hermione.
Harry was far too stunned to wonder whether he was aware, that he was no longer
alone. Yes he, because the one who was manipulating the black and ivory keys so
wondrously that it astounded her was in fact her fiancé, Cedric. She quietly
closed the door behind her and walked further into the room, and seconds later
came to a silent stop nearby his shoulder.
He glanced at her briefly, yet continued to play uninterrupted and without
missing a single note. Harry looked on in awe, as she realised that he was not
looking at the keys, nor was there any sheet music. It was just him playing
from memory ever so flawlessly. Even Hermione needed sheet music, even if she
no longer needed to look at the keys.
She continued to watch as he closed his eyes and leaned forward slightly as the
low and high notes started to flow together and sorer seamlessly. She continued
to listen closely to the music, which had started out mournfully, and gradually
started to lighten and sound almost wistful if not happy. She wondered whether
he was the one who had composed the piece playing, and what had been the muse
and driving force behind it.
It was almost five minutes later when Cedric gracefully hit the final note and
slowly brought song to end on a quiet and low note. He reopened his eyes a few
seconds later, which had remained closed the whole time he had been playing. He
quietly observed his fiancée as she continued to stare unblinkingly at his
fingers as he slowly lifted them off the keys. Seeing him finally remove his
long and slim pianist fingers from the keys snapped her out of her awed stupor.
She asked clearly shocked, “Since when have you played the piano and so
beautifully and flawlessly at that?” Cedric smiled in gentle amusement at her
as he replied, “Since I was four years old. I would spend hours just watching
my mother playing.” He added at her surprised and questioning expression and
said, “She had been playing since she was a little girl, and been taught by her
own mother who had also played since she was a little girl.”
He closed his eyes and smiled a sad yet warm smile as if he was viewing
countless memories of the woman who had given him life. He continued after a
brief moment, and said, “She decided to teach me how to play one afternoon not
long after I turned four. It was a tradition that started with my great great
grandmother. When she had a daughter, she taught her to play the piano, then
when my great grandmother had a daughter, she also taught her how to play. My
grandmother in turn taught my mother to play, who in turn taught me to play.”
He added sadly, “Obviously my mother never had a daughter, never got the chance
to have any more children after me.” Harry asked, “If you do not mind me
asking, then why did your parents not have other children after you?” She
paused and said, “Its more than obvious why my parents never had more children
after me.”
Cedric looked down at the black and ivory keys on the piano pensively as he
replied, “She caught an infection that spread and was far too aggressive for
them to catch in time and to properly treat with magic or by muggle means. This
in turn left her incapable of carrying any child to full term. It was so
aggressive that she never even begun to stand a chance, that the moment it was
discovered for what it actually was that it truly was inventible that she would
lose the chance to mother a second child.”
He shook his head and added somewhat bitterly, “Oh believe me when I say that
she and my father had tried afterwards, they not wanting to truly give up hope
on not having another child after me.” He paused and let out a heavy sigh and
said, “However, it was not meant to be and they gave up after my mother
suffered through two miscarriages.” He continued, “She died a year later after
the second and final miscarriage, leaving not only me without any siblings but
worst of all without a mother at the age of six.”
Harry closed her eyes and truly wished she had not asked, and sighed in truly
pained sympathy for the woman who gave life to the brilliant, charming and ever
so caring man she was fast starting to care for and was going to marry.
Sympathy for the woman who would not get to watch her son grow up to become the
truly amazing man he was right then.
She also felt sadness for the same man who never got the chance to have any
siblings of his own, which was something they had in common. Both had wanted
siblings but circumstances beyond their control had made that impossible. It
was due to this that at times when Ron would complain about one of his siblings
that she felt like banging his thick head against a brick wall. She felt like
telling him to not be such an ungrateful prat and be glad he actually had
siblings to watch his back and to share memories of childhood spent growing up
together. So yes Ron complaining annoyed Harry, thinking he had siblings while
others who actually wanted siblings did not have them.
She listened as he continued, “As I told you she died when I was six years-old.
She worked for The Ministry as an Unspeakable in the department of Mysteries.
Anyway, there was a magical explosion that not only killed my mother but seven
other wizards and witches. Dad never did find out in any great detail how she
was killed as he was not permitted to be informed because he is not an
Unspeakable, and that lot will not talk outside of house due to a magical oath
stopping them.”
He paused before saying, “All they did tell him was that there was an explosion
when one of the top secret artefacts thought to be dormant turned out to be not
so dormant, and was accidentally set off. They did not mention how it was set
off, either because they did not know themselves, or they were just being their
usual dick selves and keeping all of that shit inside of house.” He shook his
head as he informed her, “They somehow managed to maintain the explosion to
that department so it did not blow up the entire Ministry.”
His smile looked somewhat sad as he next told her, “After she died I stopped
playing the piano for a whole year, until surprisingly my father told me if I
wanted to remember and honour my mother then I should continue to learn and not
stop playing. He insisted I was to become as good if not better than mother had
been, and that I was to teach my own daughter or daughters how to play if they
wish to.”
He shook his head in wonder of his father as he continued, “He having said that
to me truly had me thinking and I believe it was his encouragement and paying
for piano lessons twice a week up until I was seventeen that I believed all was
not lost.” He paused before concluding, “It was after The Triwizard Tournament
that I was accomplished enough of a player that I no longer needed to have
lessons. Though even after all that I never stopped playing.”
Harry smiled gently at him and said, “After I changed back and was examining my
new body, well new to me anyhow. I noticed my hands, my fingers in particular,
and thought of how they would not be out of place on a pianist. It made me
briefly think of what it would be like to learn how to play, if I live long
enough that is.”
Cedric reached out and took both of her much smaller and delicate hands in his
and examined them up close. He smiled as he realised how right she was, her
fingers were delicate, beautifully long and perfectly proportioned, and were
truly ideal for a pianist. He knew if she put the same kind of drive that she
put into her studies and training she would take to the piano in no time at
all.
Harry could not help but watch, and her hands tingled and she shivered slightly
as she felt his hands take her own in his and studied them closely. She
marvelled at the sight of both his and her perfect long and nimble fingers
gently entwined. Two sets of hands made simply to play the piano, one pale
delicate and slender, female’s hands, and one tanned and masculine yet slender,
a male’s hands, both looking perfectly entwined together as if they were meant
and belonged. There was something about the sight that seemed so right and
appealed to both Harry and Cedric on a deeper level, that somehow her hand was
made to be held in his and his by hers.
Cedric sighed as he asked her, “Would you really like to learn Harry, you
certainly have the fingers required for the task?” He smiled warmly as he
added, “I would be more than happy to teach you how to play, and would go a
long way towards helping me to continue on my mother’s families tradition with
any daughters we have.”
Harry beamed at him and gently squeezed his hands and said, “I would love that
and be honoured to help you maintain that tradition with our daughters just as
long as they are willing and want to learn.” She added smiling sadly, “I would
have loved to have met her, well met her and be old enough to remember. I feel
the letter she left for me barely scratched the surface of what she was like,
or how much she loved you and your father, and what she wanted for your
future.”
Cedric smiled equally as sadly as he replied, “Oh I am sure she would have
loved to have watched us growing up together. I really do think you two would
have gotten a long well, considering she and your mother were close friends at
Hogwarts since their first year and remained friends up until your parent’s
death.” He paused before adding, “They were all for us marrying each other, in
fact it was ideal that your grandfather wanted you betrothed. I am pureblood so
your grandfather and father probably took our mother’s friendship into
consideration.”
Harry frowned, as she asked, “Then how come she was not made my godmother and
Neville’s mother Alice had been?” Cedric sighed and replied, “I could be wrong
yet I think it might have had something to do with the fact our mothers ever
since their fifth year had promised each other that if one had a daughter or
son then they wanted their children to marry each other. I discovered that
piece of information in the letter she left to me in her will, that I received
and read when my father told me of our betrothal.”
End of Flashback:
Harry snapped out of her thoughts, and looked down to see that the ink in her
diary had dried while she had been lost in thought. She shut her dairy and
placed it and the quill on the bedside table. She removed her glasses and put
them on top of her diary. She decided to she was going to have a nap before
dinner and The Order meeting. Her stomach was all cramped and tender and she
just wanted to sleep.
It was around seven thirty when there came a knock on the door, and was enough
to wake Harry who slept on a hair trigger ever since the war started up again
and the really truly bad nightmares or visions had started. She called out
groggily, “Who is it?” Hermione called back, “Its Hermione and Mrs. Weasley is
with me.” Harry sighed as she rolled onto her back and called out, “Okay fine
come in.”
The door opened, the other two witches entered, and Mrs. Weasley asked, “Dinner
is about to start are you feeling up to it?” Harry replied, “I took a pain
potion before I slept, but I am still a little cramped, thought nothing
compared to how it is without the potion.” She paused before saying, “Though
that was three hours ago almost, so I’d say it is due to leave my system soon.”
Hermione winced in sympathy knowing all too well, what was bothering her
friend. The pain potion last six hours, and if Harry had taken it after her
shower she would have taken it two and half-hours ago. Usually after the first
three hours, the potion very slowly begins to lose its effects until the sixth
hour when it leaves the system completely. Though what some people do not take
into consider is that the more magic you have the faster your metabolism works,
meaning instead of six hours Harry’s magic ate through even a strong-based dose
pain reliever in three hours.
Hermione knew there was no doubt bound to be many things Harry hated about
having so much magic, and of course now being a witch. Having so much magic
meant she ate through pain reliever potions quicker than someone with an
average amount of magic, which was not a comfortable or convenient concept when
you had period pains to contend with on a monthly basis.
Mrs Weasley felt true sympathy for the poor girl, knowing that it was harder
for her with it being her first time, and of course being the age that she is.
Ginny and Hermione had gotten their first periods normally when supposed to and
not suddenly without warning, they would not recognise. No one had bothered to
tell Harry what to expect when she hit puberty, if someone had, it would have
not been what you tell a female that Mrs. Weasley did not doubt for a single
second.
Of course, there was the fact she had taken into consideration what Hermione
had to, that being that Harry was more powerful than her daughter was and
Hermione most likely put together. This in turn meant the poor girl’s
metabolism ate through the potion much quicker. She knew Harry was going to
need a stronger dose and more often than Ginny and Hermione did. Her Ginny went
through the potion in five hours.
Mrs. Weasley patted Hermione on the shoulder and said, “Hermione dear please go
and ask Severus if he can brew Harry an extra batch of pain reliever potion.
Explain her metabolism is burning through the potion in half the time it
should, he will know why.” Hermione nodded and called out Harry as she left,
“Do not worry Harry, we will have you sorted out in no time.” Harry grumbled
something darkly underneath her breath, though Hermione and Mrs. Weasley
pointedly pretended to have not heard her.
When Hermione left, Mrs. Weasley ran a soothing hand through Harry’s dark locks
and said, “Alright dear, I will go and get you a heating pad for your stomach,
our kind and not that subpar apology that muggles have come up with.” She
added, “I will bring some of my families camomile tea, it was my mother’s
recipe, meaning it is better than that awful weak tasting muggle kind. I swear
by it as does Ginny since she got her first period.” She concluded as she made
to leave the room, “Do not take any more pain reliever until the cramps are as
bad as they would feel without the pain reliever.”
Downstairs Hermione entered the kitchen where Severus, Robert and Cedric had
returned and were talking with Sirius, Remus and Tonks. Hermione turned to
Severus and asked, “Professor Snape, Mrs. Weasley was wondering if you could
make extra of the pain reliever potion for Harry. You see is that Harry’s magic
speeds up her metabolism due to having so much magic, and eats through the
potion in her system in half the time it is supposed to.”
Severus sighed and said in reply, “I should have realised considering I do it
as well.” Robert winced knowingly as he said, “Me too.” He added, “Gold core
wizards and witches do it, and some silver as well depending on their magic
levels or how streaked with gold that silver is.” Cedric could not help but
cringe as he asked, “Is this why I have to take pain reliever potions every
four hours instead of six?” Robert nodded and said, “Exactly, it takes four
hours for my metabolism to eat through a pain reliever potion as well.”
Severus said, “I take four as well.” Hermione raised a brow and said, “How
about the fact Harry only takes three not four.” This caused the others to
wince at the very thought of it, Merlin that was bad. Sirius winced in sympathy
for his goddaughter even as he said, “I can last four and a half hours, never
been able to make it passed that mark, bloody inconvenient that is when I
really sometimes do need that potion to last the full six hours.”
That comment had Robert eyeing Sirius and taking in his core and aura. He
discovered that Sirius’s core was silver streaked heavily with gold, and his
aura had some white streaks but no pale blue, and mostly consisted of grey and
mid-blue. Sirius was without a doubt a dominantly grey wizard with some light
magic potential. Robert silently nodded to himself and made a mental note to
have a chat with Sirius after that evenings Order meeting.
Severus told Hermione, “Inform Potter I will make more, enough to last until to
the end of her monthly visitor.” Hermione looked truly relieved as she thanked
Severus before leaving to tell Harry what Severus had said. After she had left,
Cedric stood and picked up a bag from Honeydukes. Robert asked, “What do you
have in there I wonder, a peace offering to avoid being hexed perhaps?” Cedric
felt caught between smirking and scowling at the older wizard as he removed the
item from the bag. He revealed a big bar of Honeydukes finest chocolate, one of
the best they had in store.
Robert chuckled knowingly as he told the younger wizard, “Trust me I have been
in your current position many times during my marriage. Take my word for it
that will not be the last time you will find yourself with a big bar of
chocolate or something else as a peace offering or a buffer between you and her
out of control hormones and the wrong receiving end of her wand point.”
Cedric winced as he put the chocolate back in the bag and said, “Yeah, I kind
of figured that.” He left to the sound of the amused chuckles of Robert,
Sirius, Tonks and Remus, while Severus smirked. Potter would eat that wizard
alive if Diggory was not careful. Severus over the last week or so had come to
understand that Potter could become extremely prickly when provoked or
cornered, and he could just imagine how prickly she currently was with her
hormones firing in all directions.
Meanwhile back up stairs Mrs. Weasley had returned with a heating pad and told
Harry to place it on her stomach where the cramps were worse. Just as Hermione
returned Mrs. Weasley was telling Harry that she would leave her dinner in the
oven with heat and preserving charms if she did not feel up to making it to
dinner until after the potion had kicked in. She promised camomile tea with her
dinner when she was ready to come down for it.
Hermione told her, “Professor Snape said he will make you extra pain reliever
potion to last until the end of your period.” Harry sighed in pure appreciation
and said, “Merlin and god bless Severus Snape.” She thought this, or so she
thought, yet when she heard both Hermione and Mrs. Weasley’s laughter, she knew
otherwise, she had obviously said it out aloud. Just as they finished laughing
and Harry grumbled, there came a knock on the open door. Harry turned to face
the door and saw that it was Cedric standing in the doorway.
He had taken one look at her and grimaced in sympathy and said, “Oh yeah, I
think you are going to want this hell of a lot more than I thought.” The others
looked at him questioningly, and in answer, he smirked, removed the chocolate
from the bag, and waved it temptingly in Harry’s direction. Her reaction was
immediate, and she noticeably perked up at the sight of the chocolate. She
said, “Oh yes he can stay just as long as he hands over that sweet and blissful
piece of heaven to me.”
Cedric laughed and shook his head, as did Hermione and Mrs. Weasley at her
antics. Harry apparently was a typical witch when it came to chocolate, as she
demonstrated as Cedric made his way over to the bed where Harry was wearing a
highly concentrated expression, her concentration directly on the bar of
chocolate as she insistently gestured with her hand in the universal gesture
for gimme, gimme now damn it.
Mrs Weasley after she stopped laughing reminded Harry not to use the pain
reliever until the cramps got bad, and to leave it for another fifteen minutes
or so before she took another dose. She told her to come down to eat as soon as
the potion had kicked in and she could stomach food. Harry nodded and said,
“Thanks Mrs. Weasley.” Mrs. Weasley waved her off and replied, “Oh think
nothing of it dear.”
Hermione said, “I am going to go down stairs, and will see you both when you
come down for dinner.” Harry and Cedric both nodded, and watched as she joined
Mrs. Weasley at the door before existing and closing the door behind her. This
left Harry and Cedric alone in comfortable silence. Harry took the bar of
chocolate from Cedric and placed it down on the bedside table near her diary.
Harry reached for her glasses and put them on before reaching for the heating
pad. She placed it on the lower half of her stomach, before letting out a small
whimper of relief as the heat settled against her stomach. Cedric let out a
brief and quite chuckle of sympathy, before proceeding to remove his shoes,
leaving him in his socks. He then climbed up onto the bed and settled on top of
the cover behind of Harry.
Harry instantly turned over and moved into the open and waiting arms of her
fiancé. She buried her face in his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her
and pulled her flush against his front. There was honestly nothing sexual about
this, it was pure comfort offered and gladly accepted when really needed.
Besides, it was too soon to be doing any of that, especially considering almost
nine days of engagement did not equals enough time to start physically
exploring each other, as far they were concerned. Then of course, the real mood
killer, there was the not so small fact that she was on her period, that tended
to put an immediate and serious dampener on any fun.
Harry sighed as the heating pad rested between their stomachs. She noted
appreciatively how warm he was and how amazing and very soothing his scent was
to her. Cedric placed a gentle kiss on top of her head, and gently started to
run his fingers soothingly through her hair. They remained that way for a good
half an before Harry took the pain reliever and she and Cedric made their way
downstairs for dinner.
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