Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 1

“Guys,” Harry called, as he spotted Fred and George ahead of him.  He hurried toward the twins.

“Ahh, it’s our wonderful Tri-Wizard champion,” Fred said dryly.  “How did you get past the charms?”

“I didn’t,” Harry almost screamed, before he caught himself. “What would I have to do to prove to you that I didn’t do it?”

“Run around Hogwarts, naked,” George replied instantly.

Harry sighed.  “If that’s what it takes for someone to believe me.” He undid his robe and dropped it to the floor and went for his shirt.

“Whoa,” Fred called, “we don't swing that way, no matter how cute you are.”

Harry and George both looked at Fred.

“Seriously,” Fred continued, “if we couldn't get past it, then you couldn't, which means someone else did, and knowing your history, the purpose is nefarious.”

“Good word,” George praised.

“I’d be insulted, but damn right.”  Harry was more than happy to do his shirt back up.

“Yeah,” George added.  “Besides, unlike some idiots in this school, we’re quite capable of thinking for ourselves.”

“And for others, if asked,” Fred said.  “So, my dear boy, what can we do for you?”

“Look, you guys lost your money, right?  On that bet you made at the World Cup?”

They both frowned and nodded.

“I’ll pay you a hundred galleons to get me through this thing alive.”

“Let me be blunt, my young friend,” Fred replied. "We need a bit more than that, and well, you're a Potter, and Potters have more money than “Croesus.”

“We do?”

“Of course you do,” George said. “So, here's the deal, you hire us to sort your life out, for the princely sum of ten thousand galleons, and if you win, fifty percent of the winnings.  Oh, and you pay expenses.”

“Define ‘Sort my life out’,” Harry asked suspiciously.

“Simple,” Fred replied. “The patent-pending deluxe Life Style Refresher course covers all bases.”

“Education,” George said, his manner like a game show presenter announcing prizes.

“The lucky client will get access to all our secret information, our guide to becoming an Animagus, and some very nasty things that you can do to your enemy.”

“Security,” George announced.

“Our client will get the full range of Weasley protections, from anti-eaves-dropping charms, to whoops-my-enemies-have-just-fallen-down-three-flights-of-stairs accidents.”

“Finance,” George intoned.

“The client is not just hiring us; he is buying a share of our business, on which his already considerable fortune can be increased exponentially.  Not only that, we’ll teach him all the things we didn't know three months ago, about how not to throw all your money down the drain, and how to manage it responsibly.”

“Health,” George’s voice rang down the corridor.

“We’ve noticed that the prospective client is a skinny runt, while on the Fred and George diet, your runtiness will soon be a thing of the past, and witches of all ages will be dreaming nightly of you.”

“Romance,” George continued.

“As part of the service, not only will we arrange etiquette and how-to guides with a series of attractive and competent witches, we'll also provide a high-class girlfriend for all your teenage needs.”

“This is a once in a life time opportunity,” George said, losing the game-show personality. “You’ve come to us at just the right time.”

“Is cash acceptable?” Harry asked.

Fred and George looked at each other, and then hugged him, jumping around. “You’re serious?” Fred asked.

“I trust you guys. If you'd said anything even remotely sane, I’d’ve been worried, but you were so far out there, I have no doubt that you can do exactly what you said.”

Fred playacted a sniff as he released Harry. “You say the nicest things.”

“Fred,” George whispered, “stop hitting on our employer.”

Fred winked at him.  “We are going to need authorisation to access your accounts.  We’ll bring some paper work to you tomorrow.”

George smiled.  “Right, you go to bed, we've got something to take care of for you.  Make sure you’re at breakfast first thing tomorrow.  After breakfast, you’re ours.”

“Oh, Harry,” Fred called, as Harry turned.  “Our brother is an idiot - you might want to have a look at your friends. Loyalty is the most important thing in life, and he showed a distinct lack of it.”

“He is our brother, and we love him,” George continued, “but if Lee had treated us like that, we would have him seeing if he can breathe underwater.”

Harry nodded and walked back toward the Gryffindor Tower, feeling a lot better about things than he had a few minutes before.

“So,” Fred said.  “Can we pull off what we just said?”

“The Weasley twins, with money?  I don’t see why not.  The only thing that has stopped us before is the fear of being thrown out of school.  With money, we technically don’t need school; we can open our shop any time we want.”

“Very true,” Fred agreed.  “So, in to the Slytherin dorm to sabotage the badges?”

“Absolutely.  We’ll also want to start hiring some sub-contractors.”

“And talk to the house-elves about changing his diet.”

“And get him some exercise.  Wood would be good for that.”

“The guy is insane.” Fred agreed.  “Shall we?”

As Harry arrived in the Gryffindor Common Room, he found it was deserted, with just one familiar person sat near the fire.

He walked over to her slowly.  “Hi.”

“Harry,” she said, looking slightly distracted, as she had books around her, and one on her lap.

“Researching?”

“Uh-huh,” she agreed.  “Age line wards,” She added after a moment.  “Someone is out to get you.”

Harry blinked.  “Huh?”

“Harry, you’ve hardly touched a book in weeks.  You’re also a teenage boy: lazy, unmotivated to learn, and would rather spend your time playing Quidditch.”

“Hey,” Harry protested weakly.

“Therefore,” Hermione continued, her concentration still on the book, “there is no way that you could have got past these wards.”

“Exactly,” Harry agreed.  “And, erm, still, ‘hey’.”

Hermione looked up and smiled at him.  “Go to bed, Harry.  You look tired.  You’re going to have to work hard over the next few months to survive.”

“I’ve already taken some steps to help with that,” he confessed.

“Good,” Hermione agreed.  “Now shoot, I want to finish this book before I go to bed.”

“Night, Hermione.”

“Night, Harry.”

Harry walked up to his room, feeling even better.  Not only did Fred and George believe in him, Hermione had proved to herself that he couldn’t have got in to the tournament on his own.  And things were back to being fine between them!

Harry walked to breakfast, a small smile on his face. 

As he got out of the Common Room, he was surprised to see two burly Durmstrang students standing around.  He blinked at them, and reached for his wand.

“We’re your new bodyguards,” the first one announced.

“Yeah,” the second agreed.  “For the rest of the year, we’re to make sure that nothing happens to you.”

“And if it does,” the first said, before crashing his large fist into his palm.  “It’s smashing time.”

“Well,” Harry said, “it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The Weasleys came along just at the right time,” the first said.  “We’d been looking at getting out of extortion, and moving on to protection.  And protecting you will be good for our future careers.”

Harry nodded.  “It’s always good to have motivated employees.  What are your names?”

“I’m Crusher, this is Smasher.”

“Delighted to meet you, I’m Harry.”

“No, you’re ‘sir’, or ‘boss’” Smasher informed him.  “That’s how it works.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed, more than a little intimidated. 

“So boss, ya want breakfast?”

“I think that would be good for all of us.”

Smasher looked pleased.  “Follow me, boss; Crusher will bring up the rear.”

Harry nodded, and found his path to the Great Hall was the smoothest he could remember.  Students moved out of the way of the huge Durmstrang students without even a squeak of protest.

Rather than go to the Gryffindor table, Harry was directed to his own smaller table, with space for around eight people.  “Crowds make us uncomfortable,” Crusher grumbled.

“And we wouldn’t want that,” Harry agreed, as he took a seat.  As soon as he sat, three giant plates appeared each one with what looked like a pound of semi-cooked steak, topped with four fried eggs.

“I’m gonna like working for you, boss,” Smasher said, “you get great grub.”

“Harry Potter is to be eating all!” Dobby announced as he popped in.  He put his hands on his hips.  “Great wizards should be being people sized, not house elf sized.”

“Dobby?” Harry said in surprise.  “What are you doing here?”

“Dobby is hearing that Tricksey Weazies are asking for helps for Harry Potter, so I is applying for job and gettings it!”

Harry grinned.  “I’m very pleased.”

Dobby’s eyes started to water, as he popped away, leaving behind the mountain of food.

He started to eat, wondering how on earth he was going to finish this.

“Get your ‘Support Cedric’ badges,” Draco Malfoy shouted, from the doorway.  “And show Potter who the real champions is.”  As students entered, most of them took the badges. 

Smasher and Crusher growled, but didn’t do anything.  “The Weasley’s have got this one,” Crushed muttered.

Harry watched closely, trying to remember all the students who did take one.  Some of the students looked over at him, but quickly looked away after meeting the eyes of his bodyguards.

He was a little surprised to see the Beauxbatons students completely ignore Malfoy.

“Greetings, beloved patron,” Fred said as he sat down next to George, opposite him.  “We see you’ve found your bodyguards.”

“And very good they are as well,” Harry said.  “I’m impressed so far.”

Smasher and Crusher smiled cheerfully.

“When Malfoy presses the button, those badges will really live up to their name,” Fred said with a wink.  “So we’ll just stay over here.  Anyway, we have your new timetable for out-of-class work.”

Harry looked at the piece of paper that had been handed out.  All his free time had been taken up, but there were only locations on the timetable, not any indication of what he was actually going to be doing there.

As the Great Hall filled up, Malfoy wandered in, his nose in the air, and a smirk on his lips.  “Look, Potter,” he called, and pressed a button on his badge. 

Through out the Great Hall, every button emitted a hissing noise.  Before long, students started to gag and retch.  The smell that permeated the room was incredible.  Every student without a badge moved away from the badge wearers.

Fred waved his wand, and the smell vanished from around them.

“Potter!” Snape yelled, storming over to the table.

“Is there a problem, Snape?” Crusher asked, standing and looming over the Professor.

“Yeah?” Smasher agreed; a Beaters bat that he’d pulled out from under the table in his hand. 

Snape gulped, and went a peculiar shade of red.

“We don’t like your attitude,” Crusher announced.  “And when we don’t like things, accidents happen.  Especially to Death Eaters.”

“Yeah,” Smasher agreed.  “Painful accidents.  ‘Specially to Death Eaters.”

“You can’t threaten me,” Snape hissed.

Smasher smirked.  “Sure we can, we just did.  We’re in the protection business now, and Potter’s the boss, and that’s how it stays, right?”

Snape growled and turned on his heel, storming off.  The rest of the school was too busy trying to escape the stink to notice.  Fred smiled, and casually summoned a badge, and then banished it to hit Snape in the back.  Green gas emanated from it as soon as it hit him.

“Gentlemen,” Harry said to Smasher and Crusher, “let’s talk incentive deals.”

The two huge Durmstrang students turned to look at him.

“Every time you get Snape or Malfoy to that colour of red, you get a twenty galleon bonus,” Harry offered.  “One hundred for every accidental broken bone that happens to any of them.”

“Cor,” Smasher said.  “That’s a great bonus scheme, boss.  You sure you can afford it?”

“There are 206 bones in an adult,” Fred advised.  “You could earn over twenty thousand galleons.”

“Say, boss,” Crusher said, “you gonna be looking at making this a longer term deal?”

Harry thought for a second.  “We could make it until all the Death Eaters are dead,” he offered. 

The two bodyguards looked at each other and nodded.  “So, you’ve fought the Dark Lord before, right, because Malfoy’s been claiming he’s coming back?”

Harry nodded, not bothering to explain that he had only been a baby at the time.

“And he’s going to be busy making sure he can kick his arse again,” Fred added.  “It’s all part of the plan we’ve been hired for.”

“So we get to smash and crush Death Eaters, and you take care of the big one when he comes?” Crusher asked.

“There’s a ten thousand Galleon bonus,” Harry added, wondering if he really had enough money to cover all of this.  The complete lack of worry on Fred and George’s face reassured him.

“Eat up, boss,” Crusher said.

“Yeah,” Smasher agreed.  “You’re alright, for a Gryff.”

“For students from Durmstrang, you two aren’t bad either.”

“Can we sit over ‘ere?” a new voice interrupted them.  A Beauxbatons boy was standing near them.

“Of course,” Harry agreed politely.  “You are guests after all.  Dobby?”

The hyper-active house-elf appeared.  “Would you fetch more seats for our guests?  And send an elf to France and get them something nice for breakfast.”

Dobby bounced happily, and clapped his hands.  More elves appeared, and the table expanded.

“Thank you,” the boy said.  “I am Christophe.”

“Harry,” Harry replied.  “Crusher and Smasher,” he introduced his bodyguards.  “And the Weasley twins, Fred and George, my advisors.”

“Why do you ‘ave bodyguards?” a dark haired female student asked.

“Some tosspot puts a fourteen year old boy’s name in the Goblet?” Fred asked.  “It sounds like someone is out to get him.  Being a smart lad, he immediately acquired expert help to deal with his problems.”

“Yeah,” Crusher agreed.

“Please,” Harry said, as plates of Croissants appeared.  “Make yourselves at home, I know Hogwarts hasn’t been very welcoming recently, but some of us are nice people.”

“Yeah,” Smasher agreed.

Harry wondered if he’d be able to train them out of that habit, he wasn’t Malfoy, he was confident enough to make his own statements without a chorus of echoes.  The Beauxbatons students sat down and started to converse in French.

“Hmm,” Harry said, “do I have enough time for French lessons?”

“Your first lesson is tonight at six,” George replied.

“Oh, good.” 

He looked up, and continued to eat his breakfast, amusingly watching the chaos that was the Great Hall, very pleased with what looked like a small bubble keeping the stench away from their table.

“One of our better pranks,” Fred said cheerfully, as his vastly smaller breakfast arrived.  “And don’t stop eating.  You’re only a third of the way there.”

Harry nodded and went back to eating; he was long past being stuffed now.  Eventually, the Professors managed to remove the fog, Dumbledore blowing it out the door.  The badges were summoned, and Malfoy lost some House Points.

All in all, it was about as good a breakfast as he could remember.

When he had finally finished the massive meal, Fred and George gave him papers to sign, giving them access to his vault.  They nodded to the bodyguards, who guided him to his first lesson of the day.

“Why don’t we wait here,” Smasher suggested.  “Let Crusher have a quiet word with Snape.”

“Sure,” Harry agreed.  “Bruises are worth five galleons.”

Crusher grinned and entered the Potions dungeon.  There were a few muffled sounds, followed by a silence.

“So where do you two come from?” Harry asked.

“Luton,” Smasher said.  “Our parents thought we’d get a better education abroad.  They don’t like Death Eaters either.”

Crusher walked out of the Dungeon, a pleased look on his face.  “Snape has agreed to follow the rules.

“If Snape’s not his normal polite self, or Malfoy makes a fuss, let us know.  We’ll be here to pick you up for your next class.”

“I’ll wait for you,” he agreed, and entered the Potions classroom.  Snape had a wild look on his face, and was sporting a black eye.  Rather than smirk, Harry decided to just sit at the back and get on with the lesson.  He had no reason to antagonise Snape now, as the man had been neutralised.

The rest of the students turned up much later, they avoided looking at Harry.  Hermione slid next to him.  “We need to talk,” she hissed.

“Sure,” Harry agreed.  “We can walk to class together.”

Hermione nodded, and concentrated on the instructions.  It was possibly the best lesson he’d ever had.  Snape kept well away from him, and Malfoy was at the other side of the room.  If it wasn’t for the fact that most of the students were still pretty rank, it would have been perfect.

He was pulled out halfway through for something to do with the Tournament.

As his bodyguards weren’t outside, he paused, unsure what to do.  He really didn’t want to do anything on his own.

There was a regular thumping noise, as Smasher and Crusher ran around the corner.  “They just grabbed Krum,” Smasher said.  “So we knew they’d want you as well.”

Harry smiled.  “Excellent work.”

The two beamed.  “Let’s go,” Crusher said, ignoring Colin Creevey, who looked highly intimidated.  They walked from the dungeon up to a small class room.  Harry didn’t bother knocking as he entered the room.

Cedric and Fleur were having a conversation in one corner; Fleur was playing with her hair in a distracted fashion.

Krum gave him a small smile.  Bagman was talking to a witch on the far side of the room, next to a table that had been covered by a length of fabric.

“That’s Skeeter,” Crusher sneered.  “She’s a gossip columnist.  Made some stuff up about my dad, she did.”

“Really?” Harry asked slowly.  “Why don’t you guys have a quiet word with her now, see if you can get an apology?  Maybe convince her to mend her ways?”

“And not print crap about you?”

“Exactly.”

Smasher and Crusher marched straight over to Skeeter, who squeaked in fear.  They lifted her bodily up, ignoring Bagman’s protests, and walked out, snagging a photographer on the way.

“Hi Vik,” Harry said cheerfully.

“Harry,” Viktor rumbled.  “You not like journalists?”

Harry thought for a second.  “I don’t like many people,” he admitted.

Viktor laughed.  “Me neither,” he agreed.  “I like to be alone.”

“Although you’d make an exception for my friend?” Harry suggested.  “I’ve noticed the occasional sly glance...”

Viktor gave him a shy smile as he blushed.  The door opened and Dumbledore, Karkaroff and Maxime all entered, they were accompanied by Ollivander, the man who sold him his first wand.

“Where is Miss Skeeter?” Albus asked in surprise.

“Learning some life lessons,” Harry answered quietly, causing Cedric to snigger.

Harry looked at him for a few moments, and then shrugged.

“Well, let’s get on with it,” Albus said cheerfully.  “Mr Ollivander?”

Fleur was called up first, and she swept to Ollivander gracefully, throwing a small look of disdain at Harry.

He rolled his eyes, barely paying attention.  As Ollivander finished and called Cedric forward, he realised that he hadn’t exactly polished his wand recently.  Some surreptitious polishing had Fleur looking pitifully at him.  He ignored her, wondering exactly why just rubbing a wand was producing magic. 

“Leetle boy,” Fleur muttered dismissively.  It didn’t really register, he was to busy playing with his wand.

Ignoring the way the rubbing was almost blatantly phallic, he wasn’t asking his wand to do anything, yet it was creating magic.

“Mr Potter?”

“Hmm?” Harry asked, holding his wand by the tip, and seeing if he could cast spells backwards.

The stunner he threw at the door was mistimed, as Skeeter had just opened the door, and was hit by it.

“Whoops,” Harry said.  He looked up to see everyone looking at him.  “Problem?” he asked.

“Wand,” Albus said, his eyes twinkling, “your turn.”

“Oh, right,” Harry said.  He wandered over to Ollivander.  “Twelve inches, phoenix feather, brother wand to Voldemort,” he said cheerily, ignoring the gasps that came from the associated people.

“Quite,” Ollivander said sourly.  He made a few brief waves, before creating a fountain of wine.  He handed Harry his wand back.

Harry pointed his wand at the table, and said the same thing that Ollivander had whispered under his breath.  Another wine fountain appeared.

He grinned.  “Smasher, Crusher, remind me that selling alcohol is wrong later.”

“Yes, boss,” Crusher agreed.

Harry dipped his finger in the wine and tasted it thoughtfully.  It didn’t taste bad, but nor did it taste good.  “Is that it?” he asked, ignoring the looks he was getting from the others.

“Yes,” Albus said slowly.

“Wait,” Bagman cried.  “We need photos.”

“What do I get out of it?” Harry asked.

“Your picture in the press,” Bagman replied.  “The glory and the honour.”

“Not interested,” Harry decided.  “I’m only here because some tosspot shoved my name in the stupid cup.  Frankly, you can take your glory and honour and shove it somewhere unpleasant.”  He walked out, ignoring the spluttering behind him and returned to potions.

After the lesson had ended, Smasher and Crusher were still waiting for him.  “Smasher, Crusher, this is my good friend Hermione.”

“Hi,” Hermione half-whimpered.

“Lady,” they said in unison.  “Charms next.  Let’s get going.”

“So what did you want to talk about?” Harry asked.

“This,” Hermione hissed.  “You can’t hire students to be your bodyguards.”

“Of course I can,” Harry replied.  “I’m happy, they’re happy, they’ve got a steady source of income, I have protection, and we just had a great Potions lesson, what’s the problem?”

“They’re scaring the other students!”

“The students who wore ‘Potter Stinks’ buttons this morning?” Harry asked.  “Good.”

“Yeah,” Crusher muttered.

“But…” Hermione started.

“I realised last night that I have very few friends in this school, and frankly, I don’t care for it.  What I want is to be left alone, to get through school without having to fight for my life, be able to study to learn, not to keep myself alive.  As I don’t seem to be able to do that, I’m going to make sure that I’m as safe as I can be.

“Now, let’s talk about you.”

“Me?” Hermione asked in surprise.

“We’re best friends,” Harry continued.  “And I was wondering if you wanted a job?”

“A job?” Hermione asked faintly.

“Chief researcher,” Harry continued.  “I don’t expect you to do my homework, just help research things that interest me.  I’ll pay you the same as my bodyguards; just imagine the books you could buy.”

“Yes, books,” Hermione said faintly.  “Lots of books.”

“First editions, even,” Harry added.

“Oh, yes,” Hermione giggled.

“Excellent,” Harry said.  “Now, let’s enjoy Charms.”

Smasher and Crusher, who both had poorly concealed grins on their faces, escorted them to the door.

After Charms, Smasher and Crusher were waiting, which was expected.  The surprise was the looming forms of Crabbe and Goyle.

“This is Nasher and Thrasher,” Smasher said.  “They’ve decided to become our apprentices.”

“Yeah,” Goyle agreed.  “Pays much better.”

“Right,” Crabbe added.  “We’ll be your in-class body guards.”

“Welcome to the team,” Harry said cheerfully.  “You’ve heard of the bonus scheme?”

“That applies to us?” Crabbe asked.

“Of course, this is on the side; it applies to anyone who wants to take part.”

“Just think of the brooms we could buy if Malfoy fell down the stairs a few times,” Crabbe whispered.

“Yeah,” Goyle agreed.

The formation this time was different, with Crabbe (Nasher) in the front with Smasher, and Goyle (Thrasher) at the back with Crusher.  As before, their journey through out the school was care-free.

The table was still available for them, and they were being glared at by a lot of students.  The Beauxbatons students walked over and asked to join again – Harry immediately saying yes.  Some of the other Durmstrang students came over, including Viktor Krum, who spent a lot of time staring at Hermione, who was peeking back.

Harry leant to the left, and whispered, “Remind me to check that Krum has the best intentions.”

“Righty-ho, Boss,” Crusher agreed.

Harry looked down at his plate in surprise.  He was still stuffed from lunch, and this looked like a giant steak pie.  Next to it, was a tall glass of something black with a white top.

“Steak and Guinness,” Fred announced as he arrived in front of them.  “We had a chat with the Goblins on your behalf,” he continued.  “For a fee, they’re willing to allow you access to all the family vaults.  Turns out that you don’t have any guardians that they acknowledge, so with a bit of administration, they’ll do what is needed.  And by the way, Croesus is now spinning in his grave in envy.”

Harry blinked.  “Oh.”  He thought for a few seconds.  “Offer them double if it’s done by tomorrow,” he decided.

“We thought you’d say that, so we did,” Fred agreed.  “We also hired one of the account experts for you; he’s your Friday at nine pm.”

“Good work.”

“So,” George said, looking at Smasher.  “Expanding?”

“Yeah,” Smasher agreed.  “With us allowed to hurt Death Eaters, we got to thinking.  Protection is the way to go, and working for Death Scum doesn’t pay well, they seem to think that violence is its own reward.  And it is, but it doesn’t pay the bills.  Besides, Harry’s a good guy, and he’s been great to work for.”

“Yeah.” Nasher agreed.  “And his incentive scheme rocks!”

“Guys,” Harry interrupted.  “I’ve hired Hermione as my chief researcher.  Anything we need to know, she’s the go-to witch.”

“Good plan,” George agreed. 

“Now, I was thinking, Smasher and Crusher here have pointed out that they don’t like Death Eaters.”

“Bad for business,” Smasher agreed.

“And you’ve just pointed out that I’m not poor.”

“And the winner of the understatement of the year, that guy,” Fred said, pointing at Harry.

“So, why don’t we let it be known that I’ll offer five thousand Galleons for any arm with the Dark Mark on it – preferably not attached to the body?”

Fred and George looked at each other.

“Cor, Boss,” Thrasher said, “that would make it open season on Death Eaters.”

Harry climbed up from his seat.  “Excuse me,” he said loudly.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

“Please pass this message on to everyone you know.  I will pay five thousand galleons for every arm with the Dark Mark sent to me.  Thank you.”  He sat back down.  “That should be in the press tomorrow.”

“Harry,” Professor Dumbledore said.

Smasher and Crusher stood, followed by Nasher and Thrasher.  “Is there a problem?” Smasher growled.

Dumbledore blinked.  “I was wondering if I might have a talk with Harry.”

“An official talk, headmaster?” Harry asked respectfully.

“Oh, no, just a friendly chat,” Dumbledore replied.

“What’s his timetable like?” Crusher demanded.

“Busy,” Fred said, looking at some paper.  “However I’m sure he’s willing to postpone something to talk to you.”

Albus frowned, and then nodded.  “Do you know what you are doing?”

“Nope,” Harry said cheerfully.  “This is why I’ve hired expert assistance.”

Dumbledore nodded slowly.  “In that case, please do feel free to use me as a sounding board as well.  Good luck with your endeavour.”  To Harry’s surprise, he turned and walked away.

“Fred,” Harry said, as he took a long drink of the Guinness.  “We’re going to have to have a chat soon.”

“Of course, Harry.  Now finish your pie; you have some exercises before your next class.”

Harry nodded, and wondered why he was the one being ordered around when he was paying the bills.  The answer soon came to him – he was paying them to look after him.

“Fred, George,” a female voice called.

“Melissa, our favourite Head Girl,” George said, as they turned.

“And only,” Melissa added dryly.  “So, how many of the rumours are true?”

“All of them,” George admitted.

“Dumbledore really does cross-dress at weekends,” Fred agreed.

Melissa rolled her eyes.  “Did Potter really hire you for protection?”

“No,” Fred replied. 

“Hey,” George protested.

Fred blinked, “Oh, I’m sorry, my mistake.”

“I’ll let you off, this time.”

“Thank you.” 

George turned to Melissa.  “No,” he said, “he hired us to make sure he survives the tournament.”

“Right,” Melissa said.  “Is he really rich?”

“There’s a king who once came close to ruling the world who’s green with envy,” Fred replied.

“Good.  And he’s hired those two brutes to be his bodyguards?”

“No, we hired them for him.  Sub-contracting.”

“You’ve put five hundred galleons on Harry to win the Tournament at a hundred to one?”

“Correct.”

Melissa reached up and absently ran her fingers through her hair.  “Can I get a job?”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to move home after I leave here, and I could get a deposit for a flat with the money.”

Fred and George looked at each other.  “Do we need anyone else?” Fred asked.

“We’ve got everything in hand,” George agreed.  “What can you do?”

Melissa frowned, and looked up and down herself.  “Teach him about girls?”

“That’s his daily ten o’clock lessons, from tomorrow,” Fred replied. 

The Head girl blinked at them, before a grudging smile of respect crossed her face.

“You have to understand that our little Harry isn’t like you and me,” George explained.  “He’s a boy with destiny, and with the right trusted advisors –”

“Namely us,” Fred interrupted.

“He’ll go places, many places.  Our little brother screwed up, lazy, that one, and Harry came to us, so we grabbed the opportunity.”

“Politics,” Melissa suddenly blurted.  “I can teach him politics.”

Fred pulled out a list from his pocket.  “How is today for you, at five, it’s the only spot we have left?  We pay thirty galleons a session, we will be randomly spot-checking the lessons, and any attempt to lead him down a wrong path will be dealt with by our associates.”

“And for a good report at the end of your lessons, you will receive as a lump sum, an extra thirty galleons per lesson held.  So if you do thirty lessons, you could earn close to two thousand galleons.”

Melissa gaped for a second, before her head went up.

“Oh, and no attempting to seduce our little Harry,” George added seriously.  “You minx; we’ve got his first girlfriend lined up.”

“Ginevra?”

“Hell no,” Fred replied.  “We said girlfriend, not psycho-stalker from hell!  You should have seen what she did to our puppy.”

“It’s a pain that never ends,” George agreed.

“Who, then?”

Fred and George just smiled.  “You’ll see.” Fred said.  “Oh, relax with him, as the lessons go on; start putting on tight t-shirts and the like.”

“Why?”

“Because by then, he should be able to handle it, and it will be a test.”

“Thanks, guys.”

“No, Melissa, thank you.”

Melissa turned, and then turned back.  “If you’re getting Harry to learn all this stuff, why aren’t you learning yourselves?”

“Do we look like heroes?”

“Well, no.”

“Exactly,” Fred said.  “We get to have fun, grow up, and make mistakes.  We screw up, and we accidentally make some Slytherins hate us ever more, Harry screws up and the world goes tits up.”

Melissa nodded slowly.  She smiled.  “Tonight at five.”  She nodded at them and walked away.

“Tell me, Melissa,” George said, as soon as she was out of ear shot.  “What attracted you to our rich and famous client?”

Fred sniggered.  “You think we should try and get some vaguely parental authority for this?”

“Lupin?”

“Nah, he’s a bit responsible, I was thinking more about Padfoot.”

“But then we’d have to admit that we know who the Marauders were.”

“True, but this is for a good cause, and while pretending we don’t know who our heroes actually are, and who Prongs’ son is fun, I think we’d feel better with at least a godfather’s approval.”

“You’re right.  Let’s go Floo him.”

“You do realise that we’ll have to admit we know where he lives.”

“If he didn’t want people to know, he shouldn’t have asked for it to be hooked up to the Floo.”

“True.”

The twins looked at each other, and rushed to an abandoned class room.  Through a door at the back, they entered a small living room with a fireplace in the corner.

“12 Grimmauld Place,” They called.

“Who is it?”

“Padfoot,” Fred said cheerfully.  “We need a chat regarding our client, one Harry James Potter.”

“Come through,” the voice ordered.

They smirked at each other and jumped through the fireplace.

“Sirius Black!” George screamed as he jumped into Fred’s waiting arms in mock-fear.

“Eeek,” Fred added.

Sirius blinked at them owlishly.

“Hey, he’s one hot hunk of wizard,” Fred pointed out.

“Maybe we should take him back to our lair,” George agreed.

“Heel,” Fred tried, pointing down.

“Wait a second!” Sirius yelled.

“There’s no time to wait!” George yelled back.  “We have fantasies that need fulfilling.  And that ten gallons of warm chocolate sauce isn’t going to spread itself.”

Sirius raised his hand.  “You win,” he said dryly.

“Messrs Fred and George Weasley, at your service, oh venerable Padfoot.”

“I didn’t know you knew that nickname.”

“Most people don’t, but really, you weren’t exactly subtle about who you were,” George said.  “Anyway, now that we’ve had some fun, let’s talk about our little Harry.”

“What about him?”

“You’ve heard that someone entered him into the Tri-Wizard Tournament?” Fred inquired.

“What!”

“Clearly not,” George muttered.  “Well, someone did.  And being as smart as his dear father, he came to the experts.”

“Us.”

“To ensure that he gets through the tournament alive.  We’ve agreed a fee, and we’re helping sort his life out as well.”

“How?” Sirius asked, leaning forward.

“We’ve got lessons lined up to teach him to do everything he needs to do, we’ve got a girlfriend lined up for around Christmas – she doesn’t know yet – and we’re going to teach him how to be Lord Potter.”

Sirius nodded slowly.  “This all sounds good so far.”

“It is.  His bodyguards are making sure he’s unmolested at school.  He’s taken to using his resources like a duck to water – you should hear what he’s done to Death Eaters?”

“You could tell me now,” Sirius suggested.

“Offered five thousand galleons for every arm with the Dark Mark on it.”

Sirius roared with laughter, before he sobered.  “He shouldn’t be using his money for this,” he muttered.

“He’s a Potter,” George pointed out.  “And as such, loaded.”

“But he can’t access most of that yet,” Sirius pointed out.

“Oh, we had a chat with the Goblins, a bit of bribery and corruption goes a long way.”  Fred blew on his nails and buffed the front of his shirt.

“I’ll talk to them tomorrow; I’ll make sure he doesn’t suffer from this.  I prefer the idea of funding a Death Eater bounty with Black family money.”

“There’s the Padfoot we know and love,” George said.

“Don’t think I’ve not heard about you two, either,” Sirius said.

“Our life’s work, validated,” Fred grinned, wiping away a tear.  “Anyway, to the point.”

“Which point?” George asked.

“The one we came for, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.  So, about this chocolate spread.”

“Not that one, the other one.”

“Oh, right.”

“We wanted some form of parental approval.”

“What for?” Sirius asked, his head moving from left to right as he tried to follow the rapid-fire conversation.

“Young Harry is, like most boys his age, clueless about girls.  So we came up with a solution.”

“Which is?” Sirius asked warily.

“An escort,” Fred replied promptly.

“Wait,” Sirius said.  “You want to teach Harry about girls, so you’re hiring a high class prostitute?”

“Exactly.”

“That,” Sirius said slowly, “is brilliant!  Why, with that sort of knowledge, he’d be able to cut a swathe through most of the girls at school.”

“Or a certain French Part Veela.”

Sirius’ eyes went wide.  “That’s who you’re lining up?”

“Of course,” George said.  “We asked ourselves, when we were his age, what did we want most in the world?”

“And the answer was a drop-dead gorgeous Veela as a girlfriend,” Fred responded.  “And the fact that she’s French as well, well, that’s just the icing on the cake.”

“I agree,” Sirius said.  “So, how can I help?”

“You want to help?” George asked in surprise.

“Of course.  Albus has me doing pointless busy work for him, and telling me that he’s taking care of Harry.  Clearly that’s a lie, entering the Tournament my arse!”

“And a cute one it is as well,” Fred agreed.  “His schedule’s pretty full.”

“Ahh,” Sirius said with a large smirk.  “You’re forgetting something.”

“We are?  I’ve got underwear on,” George replied.

“I am a Black, and with being a Black, there are all sorts of things laying around that the Ministry would go insane about.”

“Like what?” Fred asked curiously.

“Follow me, gentlemen.”

“With an arse like that, we’d follow you anywhere,” George purred.

“You two are making me uncomfortable,” Sirius said as he preceded them down a corridor.

“That’s the plan,” Fred agreed.

Sirius threw it open with a flourish and entered.  “Now,” he muttered to himself, “where is it.”

He threw several large objects to one side, then starting chucking things over his shoulder, including a small rubber chicken, a cup proclaiming Sirius the world’s greatest lover, a pair of spectacles, and a gramophone.

“Here we are,” he announced.  “A time dilator.”

“Which dilates time?” Fred asked.

“Exactly.”

“Wonderful,” George said.  “What does that mean?”

“I have no idea,” Sirius said.  “But I think it does something with time.”

“Dilates it?” Fred suggested.

“Precisely.”  He looked at it.  “Set the dial and press the button, time will speed up in the room to the time set, so if you set it to two, you can spend an hour in the room, for only thirty minutes to have passed outside.”

“Outstanding!” George said.  “We can double, triple, quadruple his work load.  Our Harry’s a teenage boy, given the choice, he’ll do little, but when pressed, the boy can work miracles.”

“Sounds like me,” Sirius said.

“Or James,” Fred agreed.  “You do know that he’s not James, right?”

“He looks like him,” Sirius protested.

George reached out and slapped him on the nose – hard.  “Bad Padfoot!”

Sirius blinked, as his eyes started to water.

“He needs a godfather, not a playmate,” Fred pointed out.  “He certainly doesn’t need some lunatic pretending he’s someone else.”

“He has us for that,” George added.

“Right,” Sirius agreed.  “This has been strange.  Let’s get drunk.”

“A man after our own heart.”

At five o’clock, Harry’s bodyguards delivered him to a class room on the second floor.  Inside, a witch was reading, while sitting comfortably in an arm chair.

“Hi,” he said.

“Harry,” She greeted him.  “I’m Melissa, I’m here to sort out your knowledge of politics.”

Harry nodded.

“But before we get to that, we need to see what we can do about a few of your other problems.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, you’re a fourteen year old boy.”

“Last time I checked,” Harry agreed.

“The problem with teenage boys, apart from the arrogance and the petty sarcasm, is that they don’t realise that they are teenage boys.”

“I’m not that bad,” Harry protested. 

Melissa rolled her eyes.  “So we’re going to start working on stopping that.  Take a seat.”

Harry sat obediently.

“Now, we’re going to play some role playing.  I’m going to play different roles, you’re going to react, and then we’ll go through what you did wrong.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed, wondering what would happen when he didn’t do anything wrong.

Melissa walked out the door, and through another door, Snape walked in.

“Without your bodyguards, Potter?” he sneered.  “Well, now we can have a little talk.”

Harry gulped.

“Stand, you arrogant idiot.”

Harry jumped to his feet.

“You are pathetic, Potter, just like your whore of a mother.”

“Say that again,” Harry said, his wand in his hand.

“Detention,” Snape sneered.  “You’re as arrogant as your father, pulling a wand on a Professor.”

Harry shook with rage, before Snape said, “Finite Incantatem.”  He slowly changed into the attractive form of Melissa.

Harry collapsed down.  “I think,” he said softly, “that I’m ready to listen now.”

Melissa smiled.  “The first thing you need to learn is that if you lose your temper, Snape, or anyone else, has won.”

That evening, Harry was exhausted, completely, and was barely awake.  He was on the Durmstrang ship.  Smasher and Crusher had insisted that they couldn’t protect him in Gryffindor Tower.  Karkaroff was lodging elsewhere, as really didn’t want anyone collecting the bounty on his right arm.

Harry posed a few questions to Viktor, who turned out to be quite loquacious – well, as soon as Smasher and Crusher held him upside down over the edge of the ship by his ankles.

There was now an agreement in place.  Viktor would treat Hermione correctly, and Harry would let Viktor keep his fingers.

It was the sort of deal where everyone was happy.

Harry woke and stretched.  It didn’t take him long to shower and get dressed.  He ached in places he didn’t know could ache, but it was at least a good ache, one earned honourably. 

And later, he’d punch Wood for putting him through it.

He opened his door, to find Smasher and Crusher waiting for him.

“Morning,” He greeted them.

“Morning, boss,” Smasher said.  “Your paper.”

Harry took it, and started to read as they guided him to Breakfast.  On the front page was a banner headline, declaring how much he was offering for the arms of Death Eaters.

The Ministry was roundly condemning him, the paper, on the other hand, seemed to be all in favour of it.

He smiled and tucked the paper under his arm.  “Good morning, Hermione,” he greeted his friend, as she met him on the path between the ship and the school.

“Did you really offer that bounty?” she asked him urgently.

“Yes, I did.”

“Oh,” She said, looking surprised.  “Why?”

“Because I figured that the Death Eaters were only getting away with it because people were afraid of them, and now they have an incentive not to be afraid.”

“Oh,” Hermione said again.  “That might actually work.”

Harry grinned at her.  “Welcome to the Dark Side.”

She poked him. 

“Potter!”

Harry looked up as Malfoy stormed toward him.  “What have you done to Crabbe and Goyle?”

Harry lightly put a hand on his two bodyguards, stopping them from interfering.   “Hired them?” he asked, spotting the pair in question following Malfoy.

“What!”

“Gave them a job,” Harry said. “I’ll try and keep all my words small for you.”

“They belong to me!  Give them back.”

“We don’t belong to anyone, and it’s Nasher and Thrasher,” Nasher growled.

“Get back to where you belong, or I’ll tell your parents!” Malfoy said.

Thrasher laughed at him.  “Go crying to daddy,” he advised.

Malfoy went for his wand.  Thrasher went for Malfoy’s jaw.  Thrasher won.

“That’s a hundred galleons bonus,” Harry noted, having heard the jaw break.

Thrasher smiled as Malfoy tried to get to his feet, trying to point his wand.  A sharp movement from Nasher, and Malfoy’s wand was on the floor, his arm broken.

“Two hundred.”

“That’s a good morning’s work,” Smasher said.

“Yeah,” Thrasher agreed. 

“Bonuses?” Hermione asked weakly. 

“For broken bones, bruises, and temper tantrums from Malfoy or Snape with their faces changing colour.”

“Harry, you can’t do that?”

“Tell me something, Hermione, why is it all right for Snape to abuse us?”

“It’s not,” Hermione said softly, “but he is a professor.”

Harry smiled beatifically at her, “so if you have the position, or the power, you’re allowed to use it?”

Hermione pouted at him.  “Don’t say it,” she sighed.

“I promise that I will only use my position to punish Death Eaters and scum like Malfoy – and if you ever think I’ve crossed the line, I swear I will pay everyone off, and stop immediately.”

“Really?” Hermione asked.

“I don’t want to end up like Malfoy,” Harry said seriously.  “All I want to do is enjoy school, and get through this tournament safely.”  He paused, “and get a girlfriend.”

Hermione hugged him quickly.  “You have it all in hand?”

“Fred and George do,” he said.

“Okay, what do you want me to research?”

“I’ll tell you later, oh, I had a chat with Viktor last night, he’s a nice bloke.”

“He is?” Hermione asked.

Harry pointed behind her.  “He’s looking lonely, why not have a chat with him.  He’s been taking Ancient Runes for years, and is the best in Durmstrang at them.”

Hermione gasped in excitement and dashed over to him.

“Nicely done, boss,” Smasher said with a grin.  “Now let’s get to the grub.”

“Full steam ahead gentlemen, there’s large steak and eggs waiting for us.”

“We should have switched years ago,” Nasher said to Thrasher.

The five of them headed straight for the Great Hall, leaving Malfoy unconscious on the ground.

As before, the path to the Great Hall cleared for them, allowing them to steam through. 

“Hey,” a Slytherin protested.

Smasher reached out and grabbed his robes, lifting him a foot of the floor.  “Potter doesn’t like you,” he said loudly.  “He doesn’t like most of this school, and I can see why.  So here’s the deal.  You stay out of our way, and you don’t get smashed.”  He dropped him, and they continued through to their table.

The Beauxbatons students were milling around.  “Bonjour, Christophe,” he said, remembering his lesson the previous evening.  “As-tu bien dormi?”

Christophe looked extremely surprised.

“I’ve started some French lessons,” he explained in English a little ruefully.  “I’m still appalling at it, but it’s kinda fun.”

Christophe grinned at him, and for the first time, it wasn’t an arrogant grin.  “That is good to hear.”

“Give me a few more weeks, and we’ll make French the language of the table,” Harry offered.  “My teacher said that I’d find it easier the more I hear it and am exposed to it.”

Christophe nodded and said something in French to the others that went straight over Harry’s head, something he was quite happy to admit.

“Anyway, I wanted to ask you a question.  How well do you know wine?”

“Extremely well,” Christophe said.

“Dobby,” Harry called, “can you get me a jug.”  One appeared, and Harry cast the wine-making spell into it.  “This is probably vinegar,” Harry explained, “but as what I know about wine can be written on the back of a quill, I figured I’d get an expert’s opinion.”

Christophe took a deep breath and poured a small amount into a glass.  He examined it with the light, took several deep sniffs, before drinking a tiny amount, then spitting it out into a napkin.

“That bad?” Harry asked.

“Your education is appalling,” Christophe sighed.  “I shall have to teach you appreciate wine.  Now, can you do that spell one more time, but this time, concentrate on making it older.”

Harry nodded, and as another jug appeared, he did as he asked.

Christophe repeated his routine, before smiling happily.  “Adrienne,” he called.  “Try this.”  He handed her a glass, and after a few sniffs, she took a small sip.

“Wow,” she whispered.  “This is really good.”

Harry smiled.  “I’ll create some more for each of our meals,” he offered.

“Thank you,” Christophe said.  “We asked for some wine at our table, but our request was denied.”

“Harry,” Crusher called.  “Breakfast.”

“I’ll talk to you later,” he said, as he took a seat.

“That you will,” Christophe agreed.

“Look at the size of that meal,” Nasher said excitedly.  “Crusher and Smasher were right!”

Harry laughed as he took his seat.  Fred and George stumbled in a few minutes later, looking distinctly worse for wear.

“Dobby,” Harry called.  The elf appeared in a flash.  “You have anything for a hangover?”

Dobby nodded eagerly.

“Please help my friends here.”

Dobby clapped his hands, and the two vanished.  There was a shriek from outside, before a loud splash.

Harry looked at Dobby in disbelief.  “Cold water is being bestest cure ever.”

“Dobby,” Harry said slowly, “I think I love you.”

Dobby grinned and clapped his hands again.  A very wet couple of Gryffindors appeared.

“Hangover?”

“G-g-gone,” George stuttered.

Harry pulled out his wand and cast a drying spell on them, then a warming spell.  “Two large breakfasts, please.”

“Thanks,” Fred said, and shook himself.

“Harry,” George said, “that elf of yours, he appears to have a sense of humour.”

“Good man, too,” Harry agreed.

“But he’s a house-elf,” Smasher said, looking confused.

“So?”

Crusher and Smasher both opened their mouths, but then shut them again.  “Most of the time,” Crusher said, “they’re just well, servants.”

“Lesson number one,” Harry said.  “Never judge an individual by his species, and never judge a species by an individual.  Judge people on how they act, not how others act.

“Take my friend Dobby, he’s loyal, can be amusing, and has risked his life to protect me.  All he asks from me is my friendship.  And if there is one elf like Dobby, there are probably hundreds.  And just imagine what your bodyguard business would be like with a few house elves able to pop around and keep your clients safe.”

Smasher and Crusher looked at each other, before the light came on in their eyes.  Smasher took out a small notebook and wrote the advice down carefully.  “Thanks, boss.”

Harry nodded and delved into his steak.

After breakfast, there was the normal flurry of owls, with two of them bearing a large package deviating toward him.

Smasher intercepted the parcel.

“Dear Mr Potter,” he read out loud.  “I’d like to claim me reward now.  Me Gringotts account details are inside.  Sincerely, Christian Blake.”

“Open the package,” Harry suggested.

“It’s an arm,” Crusher agreed.  He reached in and held out a ring.  “Anyone recognise this?”

“Gibbon,” Nasher said.  “That’s ‘is ring.”

“Good work,” Harry praised.  “Fred, George, make sure the man is paid, and take out an advert in the press telling them that we’ve paid him.”

“Will do,” Fred agreed.

“Harry,” Professor Dumbledore called.  “We really need to talk!”

“Fred, George, swing to the side,” Harry ordered.  “Take a seat Professor,” he offered.  “We can talk now,” he said.  “I’m going to tell them everything anyway.”

Dumbledore frowned.  “Harry, my office, please.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise this was a disciplinary event.  May I please request my Head of House accompany us?  I believe that is in the school rules.”

“Of course,” Dumbledore said.  “Shall we?”

Harry took the last bite of his food, and as he stood, Crusher, Smasher, Nasher and Thrasher stood with him.

“You may stay here,” Dumbledore said.

“Thank you,” Crusher agreed.  “But we’ll wait with Harry.”

“Don’t you have classes?”

“We arranged a more vocational time table for them with Professor Karkaroff,” Fred said cheerfully.  “You do think that it’s important for students to study their future careers, don’t you professor?”

Albus nodded curtly.  Harry followed him to his office, feeling a little nervous.

Smasher nudged him and gave him an encouraging smile.  “Say the word, boss,” he mouthed, a teasing smile on his face.

The idea of four students assaulting Dumbledore was so amusing, that he couldn’t help laugh.  “Thanks,” Harry mouthed back.

Dumbledore sat behind his desk, and Harry sat opposite, waiting for Professor McGonagall.

“How are you?” Dumbledore tried.

“Fine,” Harry responded, not wanting to say anything until his Head of House arrived.  A minute later, Professor McGonagall arrived.

“My apologies,” she said, as she took a seat to the side.  “What are we here for?”

“We are here to discuss exactly where Mr Potter was last night.”

“The Durmstrang ship, I feel safer there.”

“Safer?” McGonagall asked in surprise.

“Yes, my bodyguards are very comforting.  And as someone is clearly out to get me at Hogwarts, the less time I spend here, the better.”

McGonagall looked bewildered.

Harry looked at her, “You don’t think that someone putting my name in a competition like the Tri-Wizard Tournament isn’t a sign that someone is out to get me.”

“Well,” McGonagall admitted, “I did think you had done it yourself.”

Harry looked disappointedly at her.  “So, as someone is out to get me, I’ve hired some consultants to ensure that I get through this whole thing alive.  I’m fed up of having to worry about whether or not I’ll live to take my OWLs.”

“Oh,” McGonagall said slowly.

“You can’t stay on the ship, Harry,” Dumbledore said.

“Why not?” Harry asked.

“You’d need your guardian’s permission.”

“I hereby give myself permission,” Harry said cheerfully.  “Now that’s out of the way, is there anything else?”

“You can’t give yourself permission.  The Dursleys would have to do that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, but the Dursleys are not recognised as my family by me, or by the Goblins.  As such, their opinions don’t count.  The only persons whose opinion could possibly count would be Padfoot.”

“That’s a good point,” Dumbledore said, smiling genially.  “Why don’t we involve him?  Professor McGonagall, you do remember that Sirius Black is innocent.”

“Of course,” Minerva agreed as Albus moved to the Floo.  A minute later, Sirius appeared.  He was dressed in clean and smart clothes, had cut his hair, and shaved.

“Sirius,” Harry greeted him cheerfully.

“Heya, kiddo,” Sirius said.  “So, what’s up?”

“I invited you in, Sirius, to talk about some of the rules Harry has been breaking recently.”  Albus looked over his glasses at Sirius, his expression emphasising the seriousness he felt.

“Rules?” Sirius asked.  “Please explain.”

“Well, last night, Harry spent the night, without permission, on the Durmstrang ship.”

“Bad Harry,” Sirius said dryly.  “While we’re telling you off, let’s have a talk about your Death Eater bounty,” Sirius cried, “how could you use your money on that?  I can’t believe it.  Disgusting, that’s what it is.  Now, I want you to promise me that in future you’ll use my money for this sort of endeavour!”

The complete lack of surprise was the biggest give away to Harry that Sirius already knew what was going on.  “How about we say that, in an attempt to clear your name that you will offer the same?” Harry suggested.  “That will get the public suspicious, and then we can start to manipulate the press until the Ministry has no option but to give you a fair trial.”

“Good plan,” Sirius agreed.

“I had my first politics lesson last night.”

“Harry,” Dumbledore said, “we’re here to talk about your sleeping arrangements!”

Sirius turned suddenly, slamming his hands down on the desk.  “Explain to me why my godson is in the Tri-Wizard Tournament,” he snarled.

“Sirius…”

“Harry,” Sirius said, without looking at him.  “Lift you wand in your right hand.”

Harry did as he was told.

“Say these words:  I swear on my mother’s love that I did not enter the Tournament.”

Harry repeated the words verbatim.  There was a flash of light, and Minerva gasped.

“Harry,” Sirius continued, “get to class.  I’ll see you this evening at seven.”

“Okay, Sirius.”

He walked out, and as he shut the door, he could hear the start of a shouting match.  He smiled, clearly the twins plan involved getting him a happy home life as well.

He met up with his bodyguards, and headed toward class. 

At Ten that evening, he was taken to yet another classroom and shoved through the door.  He looked around in surprise; the room was lit by several dozen candles.  There was a noise, and through a door, a woman entered.

Later, he would wonder how he avoided a heart attack, as all the blood in his body rushed to two separate places at once. 

“Hello,” the woman said with a faint Eastern Europe accent.  “I am Kate.”

“Hi,” Harry squeaked.

She smiled warmly, her dark eyes locked on him, as she prowled over.  She was wearing  black lingerie and matching high heels.  He fought to keep his eyes on her face, and not her chest.

She took his hand, and pulled him down to a couple of chairs.  “I’ve never been with a boy your age,” she explained as she sat opposite him gracefully.  “And I’m not going to start now.

“Fred and George have hired me to help you become a man.  I have chosen to take that literally.  As such, I will be teaching you how to dance, how to act in social situations, how to be comfortable with woman, and how to seduce.

“I hope I can teach you without the mess that teenagers normally go through.”

“Right,” Harry agreed as he tried to regain his breath.

“So the first thing we’ll do is make sure you’re comfortable with a woman.”  With a few short movements, Kate removed her lingerie, leaving her only in thigh high stockings.

Harry felt his breath go again.

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 2

After a chat with Sirius, and an explanation of the Time Diluter, Harry, in a moment of madness, agreed to increase his schedule.  His favourite lesson of each day was the lessons with Kate.  It had nothing at all to do with the fact that she spent most of her time naked, that he now knew that she had b-cup boobs, and that she had amazing legs.

He smiled, he couldn’t even pretend that was true to himself.

His lessons with anyone apart from Wood, who was a psycho, were fun.  And he was finding out all sorts of things he never knew, or cared to know, before.

His Goblin based finance lessons were interesting, and would have been more enjoyable if it wasn’t for the fact that the Goblin smelled of rancid meat.

Sirius was helping a retired Auror with his duelling lessons, while several other people had been hired just to teach him new spells.

Hermione was researching who actually owned the Daily Prophet, and he was pleased to see that she worked even harder when there was money involved. 

Melissa was a lot of fun to work with.  She had produced some of the most surprising information from him, such as the fact he was a titular lord.  While he didn’t have any special political powers, or a seat on the Wizengamot, it did allow him the title of Lord Potter.

He hadn’t seen anything of Ron since this whole thing had started, and he wasn’t actually missing him.  He had enough people around him all the time to not feel lonely, and while they were employees, they seemed more like family.

Even Nasher and Thrasher – for all their limited intelligence – were amusing to be around, especially Thrasher, who made it a point of pride that he would eat anything, even spiders.

Sirius’s announcement in the Press hadn’t made much difference, but it had started to lead toward a few pertinent questions being asked by a few quiet people.  The rest had called for his money to be impounded.

But, for all the fun Harry was having, he couldn’t help but be a little afraid of the fact that the First Task was fast approaching.

“So what do you think?” Fred asked.

“That getting drunk on wine is worse than getting drunk on whiskey.”

“Agreed.  What about Harry?”

“It appears that the more that we throw at him, the better he does, and when he’s tired, he learns even better.”

“Which is useful, as he’s always tired.”

“Very true.”

“We need to have a word with the bodyguards, Melissa might have been the first to notice – smart, that one – but other girls seem to have finally realised the rich and powerful part, and Wood forcing him to run before breakfast, so he shows up at breakfast just wearing that t-shirt; showing that our diet is starting to work.”

“Sometimes, brother mine, you worry me.”

Fred grinned.  “Do you remember what Charlie told us last night?”

“No, but I recorded it.”

“A genius idea.  Should we tell any of the others?”

“Have they hired us?”

“No.”

“Then no.”

“Quite right.  Charlie’s gonna be pissed when Harry uses it.”

“Then he shouldn’t have drunk so much of Harry’s wine.”

“Speaking of which, do you think we could get him to do us a couple of casks of it?  A Harry Potter wine would sell really well, and it’s good stuff.”

“Ooo, good idea,” George said.  “Some of the Frenchies would kill us to be able to get a hold of bottles when ever they liked.”

“We should talk to that Christophe fellow, he seems reliable.”

“Right, our boy should be finishing the lesson with Kate shortly.”

“You do know that we’re in the wrong business?”

“Yes, compared to how much she gets paid an hour for what she does, absolutely.  However, imagine what would happen if we were hired by someone like Bones?”

They shuddered in unison.

“So, she lucked out this time, but deserves it because normally she deals with people like Fudge?”

“Exactly.”

“Let’s give her a bonus.”

“It’s so much more fun spending other people’s money.”

The two grinned and dashed down to the corridor outside Kate’s room.

“Harry,” they called, as he exited, a small smile on his face.  They nodded to the bodyguards, “it’s time for another lesson with us.  This one is important.”

“Aren’t they all?” Harry asked, doing his robes up.

The seven moved to the next classroom, the bodyguards sat at the back.

“Now, this is the most important lesson you’re ever going to learn.”

Harry looked interested.

“It’s how to be a showman.  It’s not enough to win; you have to win with style.  Take the first Task, when you’re dealing with the dragon.”

“Wait,” Harry said, “dragon?”

“Oh, yeah, you have to get an egg from a dragon’s nest.”

“Right,” Harry said in disbelief.

Fred and George laughed, and started to explain.

After thinking about it for a morning, Harry decided it was only fair to tell Cedric and Viktor. He tried to tell Fleur, but she just sniffed as he approached her, and walked off, her nose somewhere in the stratosphere.

At breakfast the morning of the First Task, Harry was feeling reasonably calm.  He felt that he at least had a chance of getting through the day.

Hermione was talking to Viktor, something Harry found pretty amusing. 

His bodyguards were concentrating on their lunch – steak and potatoes today – and seemed cheerful.

The French students were chatting away merrily, and he was starting to understand quite a lot of what they were saying.

His musings were interrupted by the strange sight of a small girl entering the Great Hall and looking around in awe.  She looked to be around seven or eight, with long silver blonde hair and blue eyes.  The resemblance to Fleur was obvious.

As a large group of students trampled toward her, he found himself out of his seat and lifting her up and out of danger before he could think.

“Hi,” he said.

She looked at him with huge blue eyes, and then hugged him tightly.

He carried her back to the table, ignoring the looks he was getting from half the pupils.

“What’s your name?” he asked her, as he sat down.

“Gabrielle,” she said slowly.  “I am Gabrielle.”  The words were hesitant and pronounced with a very strong French accent.

“I am Harry,” he introduced himself, using his school boy level French.

“Hi Harry, I’m … … … happy … … … boring … … … horses.”

Harry blinked, “You’re going to have to speak a little slower,” he said – or at least hoped that was what he said, he might have just insulted her mother.

Gabrielle giggled, but went still as the doors to the Great Hall crashed open, and Madame Maxime and Fleur Delacour stormed in, yelling loudly.

He felt the girl tense in his arms, then try to escape.

“Stop,” he roared at the two who had entered so dramatically.  “I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re scaring her, and I won’t stand for it.”

His four bodyguards were on their feet, their wands pointed at the two.

“My sister,” Gabrielle said in French, tugging on Harry’s shirt.

“Now that we’re all calm,” Harry said softly, “Fleur, why don’t you join us for lunch?  Dobby, two more plates, please.”

The plates appeared instantly, one opposite Harry, where Fred and George normally sat, the other next to his.  He shifted Gabrielle around.

“Thank you,” Gabrielle said in her fractured English.

“You’re very welcome, Gabrielle.”

Fleur scowled as she sat down.  In a polite voice, she started to berate Gabrielle.  Harry sighed.  “I might not speak much French, but I am starting to understand it.  I’d appreciate it if you’d stop it, now.”

Fleur’s scowl deepened, before it fell away and she smiled at him, her hair moving in a soft wind, “Harry,” she purred, “why not let me have my sister?”

A warm feeling shot through him, all he had to do was give Gabrielle up and she’d smile at him.  And wasn’t that worth it?

‘No.’ The same internal voice that had appeared when Mad-Eye had tried to put the Imperius curse on him said.

He shook himself, to find that his bodyguards were enthralled, in fact, half the school was.  He growled and pulled his wand out.  He pointed it at her, “Stop,” he ordered.

Fleur looked shocked, but if anything, the effect seemed to increase.

“Stupefy,” he snarled.  Fleur collapsed to the ground, and everything was back to normal.

“That bitch!” Smasher shouted.  “I’ll kill her; enthral me, will you?”

“No,” Gabrielle squeaked.

“Smasher, Crusher, Nasher, Thrasher, please sit down.  You’ve just been taught lesson two.”

The four boys stopped their frowning and settled down, their attention now firmly on Harry.

“It’s not enough to protect a client from physical threats; you have to be aware of mental ones as well.  Now, Fleur’s Veela charm incapacitated you, that could be bad if there is an assassin, or she was one herself.”

“So what do we do about it, boss?”

“Well, the first thing you could do is get some female help; they are immune to this particular charm.  In the long run, you need something to protect your mind from external influences.  And that seems like the perfect next project for our Chief Researcher.”

“Oooh,” Hermione said, nodding eagerly.  “That sounds fun.  I’ve got all the info about the Prophet.”

“Great,” Harry said.  “Can you write it up for me, and give it to me by Friday?  I’ll go through it with my Goblin advisor.”

Hermione nodded.

Smasher finished writing the advice down.  “Thanks boss,” he muttered.

Harry was vaguely aware that most of the school was watching him.  “Shall we wake your sister up?” he asked the quiet girl in his lap.

She started to nod, before her expression turned impish.  “Do we have to?” she asked slowly, in French.

Harry grinned at her.  “Probably.”

“If we must.”

“Rennervate,” Harry muttered.

Fleur shook herself, and slowly sat up. 

“Is that how you solve all your problems?” Harry asked in distaste, “cheap mind control?”

Fleur blushed and looked down.

Harry looked down the table, at the Beauxbatons students who were all glaring at Fleur.  “Christophe,” he called.  “You mind translating for me and Gabrielle for a few minutes?”

“I’d be happy to.”

“So, Gabrielle, what’s going on?”

Gabrielle launched into a furious speech, which Christophe translated.

“I’ve been locked in that Carriage for weeks, not allowed out because `it’s not safe`.  All I can do is read my books and they’re boring, I wanted to come to England to make friends, not see the same four walls all the time.  So this morning, when no one was looking, I ran out and came here, and then I was about to be squished, and you saved me and stopped Fleur and Madame Maxime from yelling at me, but then Fleur tried to hit you with Veela power, but it didn’t stop you and Dad’s gonna be so mad at her.”

Harry blinked, and smiled a thank you at Christophe.

“Smasher, make a note:  Use the word squished more often in general conversation.”

“Squished – I like that word,” he agreed.

Harry turned back to Christophe.  “I understand,” he said, trying not to speak to fast to let his translator catch up.  “For many years I’ve been locked in a small room all summer, often with very little food, by people who hated me.

“It was done for my own safety, but what people don’t understand is that physical safety is only part of it, and that the mental abuse can be a thousand times worse.  And that seeing the same four walls and ceiling can send you nuts.

“I can understand why you ran away, Gabrielle, I would have done so myself, and in the same situation, I’d do so again.”  He turned, and looked at Fleur, “so, what we need to do now is work out a way that you can get out of there during the day.  How about if you come to classes with me during the day, having breakfast, lunch and dinner with us at the table, and spend the evenings with your sister?”

“Really?” Gabrielle gasped in French.

“Sure,” Harry replied.  “I could do with a partner that I know more than – normally I’m with Hermione, and she’s the smartest witch in the world.”

“Wow,” Gabrielle whispered, looking at Hermione – who was blushing.

“Now, today is the First Task, and I’m sure you want to see your sister do her best.”

Gabrielle shrugged.

“So, today, Nasher and Thrasher here are your personal bodyguards.  They’ll make sure you get the best seat to watch.”

“Yay,” Gabrielle cheered excitedly.

Harry looked at Christophe.  “Thanks for translating.”

“It was my pleasure,” Christophe said slowly.  “Was that story true?”

“Sadly, yeah,” Harry said with a shrug.  “I don’t like to talk about it.”

Christophe nodded, and then flicked his eyes toward Fleur.

Harry sighed.  “The first task is dragons,” he whispered.  “You might want to do some emergency studying.”

Fleur nodded slowly.  “I know,” she said.  “T-thank you.”

Gabrielle snorted and muttered something Harry didn’t catch.  Christophe’s laugh signified that he did.

Harry put his hands on the girl’s waist.  “Am I going to have to tickle you?” he asked.

Gabrielle waited while Christophe translated, before she shook her head hard, her long blonde hair going all over the place.

“Now look what you’ve done,” Harry scolded, and pulled her hair back over her shoulders.  “Eat,” he ordered.

Gabrielle did as she was told, chatting to him as best as she could.  Despite the fact that neither knew much of each others language, they were able to understand each other – although there was a lot of laughing and repeating of sentences.

When lunch was finished, Harry looked at Crabbe and Goyle.  “No one comes near her, no one touches her, curse first if in doubt, ask questions later.  Only release her to Fleur or me.”

“Gotcha, boss,” Nasher said.  “Let’s go kick people out of the best seats for you,” he said to Gabrielle with a wink.

Gabrielle giggled, and hugged Harry, before walking over to the two boys.

Thrasher grinned and bent down, easily lifting her in the air and onto his shoulders.

Gabrielle cheered, and chatted away merrily in French to the two of them, despite the fact that the two could barely speak English.

Harry looked at his watch, “well, we better get going,” he said to Smasher and Crusher.

“Yeah, we don’t want to be late,” Smasher agreed.

Harry stood, nodded to Fleur.

“Good luck, Harry,” Christophe called.

Harry turned and winked at him.  “À cœur vaillant rien d'impossible.”

Christophe raised his eyebrows, before toasting Harry with his drink.

“Harry,” Melissa called from the Slytherin table.

“Mel?”

“Knock ‘em dead, kiddo.”

“Thanks, sis,” he replied with a grin.  At the Professor’s table, Snape turned red in fury.

“Pity you can’t give yourself a bonus,” Smasher noted.  “That’s a great colour on him.”

“I know,” Harry agreed, as they wandered out and headed toward the tents.  Viktor and Cedric followed him, with Fleur trailing after them.

Inside a large tent, they met up with Ludo Bagman.  Smasher and Crusher stayed outside.

“Come in, come in,” Bagman said, repeating himself redundantly.

Harry sighed and moved to one side, allowing the other three to enter.  Viktor and Cedric immediately started pacing while Fleur sat glumly on a wooden stool.

“Well, I’m happy to tell you that your first task is to rescue a golden egg from a dragon!”

There was a distinct lack of reaction from the four champions.

“So,” Ludo said, looking a little confused.  “Ladies first,” he said as he offered a bag to Fleur.

Fleur scowled at Lugo, and reached in, pulling out a Welsh Green.  Viktor was next with a Chinese Fireball, followed by Cedric with a Swedish Short.

“Yay,” Harry cheered as he rolled his eyes and took the Hungarian Horntail.

“Well,” Ludo said happily, “you all know what dragons you are facing.  Cedric, you’re up first.  Harry, can I have a word?”

“Go ahead,” Harry said, not moving.

“Outside.”

“No, then.”

“But…”

“You can say it here, or not at all.”

Bagman scowled and walked out, leaving the other three champions starting at Harry. 

He shrugged.  “I don’t like him.”

Viktor laughed suddenly. 

“So,” Harry said, “everyone got a plan?”

“Yeah,” Cedric replied.

“Why?” Fleur sneered, “need to steal ours?”

“Wow,” Harry said, looking at her.  “It’s really true isn’t it, what is on the outside isn’t relevant when compared to what is on the inside.  You may be good looking Fleur, but you are really not a very nice person.  Cedric, Viktor, have fun out there, I’m rooting for both of you.”  He wandered over to a bench and relaxed down on his back, staring at the roof of the tent. 

He did his best to sink into a meditative trance, so that he wouldn’t have to hear what was going on.

It hardly seemed like any time had passed before Smasher was rocking his shoulder.  “You’re up, boss.”

“Thanks,” Harry said, sitting up.

“Want us to come in with you?”

“Yes,” Harry replied instantly.  “However, that would be against the rules.  This one I have to fly solo.”

“You’ll do it boss, you’re the best.”

“Thank you.”  Harry followed him and Crusher out of the tent and through to the arena.  The noise was deafening, thousands of people staring at him, and he felt his heart skip a beat.

To the right, he could see the tiny form of Gabrielle cheering, with Crabbe and Goyle next to her, cheering as well.

He waved at her and made his way to the starting point.  He took a deep breath, and surreptitiously reached in to his pocket and grabbed a couple of smoke bombs.

The dragon was glaring at him, as Harry danced forward, moving over the rocks.  For the first time, he had a grudging respect for Wood, as he wasn’t finding the running and dodging difficult.  He tuned out the banal commentary on his actions, as the dragon launched a stream of fire at him.

He jumped to one side and let off a smoke bomb into the flame.  Thick smoke streamed out, obscuring him from the judges.

Another flame, and another smoke bomb, followed by a third, cut him and the dragon off from everyone’s sight.

Harry pulled out his wand and looked at the dragon.  “Bed time,” he whispered, before casting the spell Fred and George had given him.

The dragon looked faintly betrayed, before it lowered its head and fell asleep.

Harry grinned to himself, centuries of training by their keepers had left them conditioned to fall asleep on the use of a command.  Of course, the command was a closely held secret – all those rugged dragon handlers didn’t want their secret out.

Harry grabbed the egg, and sat down comfortably.  He cast a lightning spell and then screamed loudly.

“Potter screams,” Bagman shouted, “it’s terrible, we can’t see anything because of the smoke.”  Harry cast a spell to emulate the roar of a dragon.  “That dragon sounds enraged, can’t we do anything about this dratted smoke?  I think I see something!”

Harry reached down to a previously scorched area, and used the soot to darken his face and clothing, before he ran and threw himself through the smoke barrier, trusting his reflexes and luck.

“Potter comes flying out, must have been a hell of a hit.  He gets to his feet, and he looks mad.  He removes his robes, leaving him in a T-shirt, are you watching witches?  With his wand in hand, he dives back in.  There’s more lightning, green lighting, what spell causes that?  The dragon roars again, this is exciting.  That’s a Stunner that comes from the cloud, narrowly missing professor Dumbledore.  Is Harry taking on a dragon in magic?

“That, ladies and gentlemen, this takes guts, real pure guts!  The roaring is at a fever pitch now, and what’s this?  The smoke is clearing.  My, that was a loud thump, I could swear that the ground shook!”

Harry cast a spell to mask the effect of his sleep command.

“What’s that, has the dragon eaten Potter?” Bagman’s voice rang out.

Harry grabbed the egg, and stood over the dragon, his wand raised, as the smoke bombs died out.  The crowd had gone silent now, as they waited for the smoke to clear enough so that they could see what was going on.

Quickly, Harry bent and picked up a sharp rock and used it to slice his cheek open.  He dropped the stone and got back into his pose.

“It’s Potter,” Bagman screamed.  “He has the egg, and he’s defeated the dragon.  Potter defeated the dragon, it’s on the floor, he’s done it.  Potter’s done it.  This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.  A fourteen year old contestant gets the egg faster than the other contestants.  This is the best display of magic I’ve ever seen; normally it takes a team of wizards to defeat a Horntail!”

The crowd were going absolutely nuts.

It looked like Fred and George were right.  Humans were curious creatures.  Feed them a light show, some flashy spells, and some horrific sounds, and their minds did the rest.  He knew that the crowd would talk about this, and each time the retelling would get better, until people would swear blind that they could see through the smoke, and could describe each movement that had been made.

Harry raised his egg above his head, acknowledging the crowd, who cheered even louder in return.

He could see Gabrielle jumping up and down, before she said something to Nasher and Thrasher, who lowered her over the edge of the side.  Gabrielle charged to him, jumping up and hugging him.

He smiled and held her up with one arm, like the child she was, and headed toward the judges table.

“I think,” Ludo announced, “that we’ll do the scores now.”  The crowd quietened as they turned to the judges expectantly.  “Madame Maxime, if you please.”

Olympe raised her wand, and shot a ribbon into the air. 

“A ten,” Ludo screamed.  “A ten!”

The crowd cheered, before they died briefly.

Mr Crouch was next.

“Another ten!”

The crowd cheered again.

Professor Dumbledore, a sad look on his face, raised his wand. 

“A five, a measly five?  Are you senile, Dumbledore?  Were you watching the same thing I was?”

Gabrielle hissed at Dumbledore from his arms.  Harry stroked her hair soothingly.

In that one moment, Dumbledore lost years of hard gained respect.  The abuse from the crowd was vitriolic, and seemed to surprise the Headmaster.

“Professor Karkaroff?”  Bagman waited, while Igor looked in disbelief at Dumbledore, before he let his ribbon show.  “Another ten!”

The crowd roared their approval.

“As for me, there is only one score that I, Ludo Bagman, can give.  A ten!  This gives Potter forty-five out of fifty and puts him into first place!”

Harry offered a bow to the other guests, and then carried Gabrielle out of the stadium.  Gabrielle was waving at the crowd, who were still cheering heartily.

He met McGonagall, as Hagrid, and some other dragon handlers rushed past him to tend to his dragon. 

“Well done, Mr Potter,” Minerva said, a proud look on her face.

Harry smiled at her.

“Straight to Madame Pomfrey,” she ordered.  “Let’s check that you’re unhurt.”

“I’m fine,” Harry said. 

“You have a nasty looking cut on your cheek, and you’re singed.”

Harry shrugged.  “I feel fine.”

Gabrielle reached up and gently kissed his cut cheek.  He was surprised to find that it stopped stinging.  “Merci,” he whispered to her.

McGonagall blinked.  “Well, that was unexpected,” she announced, as Smasher, Crusher, Nasher and Thrasher surrounded him. 

“Great work, boss!”

Hermione flew toward them, and hugged him tightly.  “You idiot,” she screamed.  “That was brilliant!”

For the first time, Harry felt a bit of guilt, not much, as he’d rather not have been entered in the first place.  He resolved to tell Hermione the truth later.

Fred and George were the next to arrive, and they accompanied him to the tent, keeping everyone else from getting close.

Harry entered, still carrying Gabrielle, and looked around.  Cedric had half his face covered in some orange goo.  Cedric smiled at him.  “Good one,” he praised.

“You too,” Harry agreed.

Krum moved over and slapped him on the back.  “Brilliant,” the Bulgarian stated.

Harry grinned at him.  “Hermione’s outside, she was worried about you.”

Krum beamed and patted him on the back again.

Harry lowered Gabrielle so that she could go to her sister.  Gabrielle sighed, walked over, and hugged Fleur, who clung back to her.

“Hello everyone,” Ludo said, as he bounced in.  “Great performance, all of you.  Now, you have plenty of time before the next event.  Half past nine on February the twenty-fourth.  You will have to solve the clue inside the egg first.  All clear? Then off you go!”

Harry walked out first, Viktor behind him, and the Bulgarian fell into step with Hermione.

“Thanks, guys,” Harry said softly to Fred and George.

“We’re so proud of you,” Fred replied.

“Yeah,” George said, “and the performance was brilliant.  When the smoke cleared and you were standing there, holding aloft that egg, we got goosebumps!”

“I feel a little guilty, though.”

“Why?” Fred asked.  “The crowd came for a spectacle, and you certainly gave them that!”

“Remember, you hired us to make sure you got through this alive.  That’s what you did; everything else was just the icing on the cake.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, feeling better.  “We’ll have to try and keep the others alive as well.”  He wrinkled his nose.  “Even Fleur, I guess, I do like Gabrielle.”

Fred and George shared a slightly concerned look.

“Anyway, let’s go get some food.”

Smasher opened the doors to the Great Hall, and they entered, heading toward their table.

Harry was surprised by the cheer he received from the Hogwarts students.  He sighed and ignored them.  Just a few hours before they had been glaring at him.

“Ignore the hypocrites,” Melissa advised loudly as she walked up to him and gave him a huge hug.  “You were brilliant, kiddo.”

“Thanks,” he said.  “Sit with us?”

“Yeah, why not,” she agreed, and joined them at the table.

“Harry, impressive,” Christophe said, as he led the French students in.  “Les petits ruisseaux font les grandes rivières.”

Harry raised his glass and saluted the French boy.  “I can only think of one thing to do now,” he announced.

“Get drunk and have a party?” Christophe suggested.

Harry pulled out his wand and created a large barrel.  Another spell created the wine to fill it.

The French students cheered, as Fred and George put up a barrier between their table and the rest of the school.  The Professors hadn’t made their way inside yet, so there was no one to stop them.

“Smasher, Crusher, arrange for someone to monitor the doors.  Let in our friends but no one else.  Rotate it, so that you can have some fun, but no one gets drunk.”

“Of course not, boss,” Crusher said, looking slightly offended.  “We’re on the clock!”

Harry smiled at him.  “Good.”

Cedric, along with Hermione and Viktor were allowed straight in.  Harry passed all three a glass each, and saluted them.  “Ladies and Gentlemen, the real male Champions!”

There was a cheer, as Cedric and Viktor blushed.  Fred and George were in a corner, and a few minutes later, some music started.

The Durmstrang students were invited in, as were a couple of Hogwarts students, including Oliver Wood who had helped Harry over the past few weeks.  Everyone else was politely, or if they were persistent, impolitely turned away.

Thrasher and Smasher seemed to really enjoy being doormen.

Angelina, Alicia and Katie were allowed in, on Fred and George’s request – which Harry granted as the girls weren’t on his “Took Malfoy’s badge” list.

Snape tried to shut down the party, but the hungry looks at his arm from Smasher and Crasher sent him on his way – with a bonus face colour for the boys.

Harry, more in relief than anything else, didn’t care about anything, so much so that he found himself on the table, dancing with Adrienne and having a ball.

The dancing was interrupted by Dobby and the House Elves bringing out some food for them – and the Elves had gone all out.  The food was European, mainly Italian, and everyone ate enthusiastically, as conversations in three languages flowed around.

“Boss,” Smasher called.

Harry looked up; Gabrielle was waving at him, with her hand in Fleur’s, who looked embarrassed to be there.

Harry nodded, and Smasher stood to one side.  Gabrielle immediately abandoned Fleur, and dashed up to Harry.  He moved to one side, allowing her to sit next to him, and a plate appeared for her.

“I’m starving,” she announced cheerfully, and dug in with scant regard to table manners.

“Gabrielle!” Fleur shouted.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and started to eat more normally.  In between bites, she started to talk to him again, using the mixture of French and English they had tried earlier.

“So, how did you not fall for my sister?  All boys get stupid when she does the whammy-thing.”

“Crusher,” Harry said, “add ‘whammy’ to our must-use-more-often list.”

“Will do, boss,” Crusher agreed.

Gabrielle giggled.

“Well, it’s kinda like the Imperius,” Harry explained.  “That’s the mind control spell.  So once you can block the one, you can block the other.”

Gabrielle nodded her head.

“Did you have a good time watching?”

“Oh yeah, my guards were great.  They got me food, drinks, and the seats were brilliant.  And when someone tried to get me to stop cheering you, they threatened to shove his head up his own bum!”

Harry laughed.

“Cedric made a rock into a cute doggy.  He used the doggy to distract the dragon, but got burnt.  Can I have some wine?”

Harry blinked at the change in conversation, and then looked at Fleur.  He held up his wine glass, then pointed at Gabrielle, who was looking pleadingly at her sister.

Fleur held up her hand, and held her things about an inch apart, while mouthing, “Un petite.”

Harry poured a small amount into Gabrielle’s glass, while she bounced next to him.  She suddenly stopped bouncing and sat up straight, like a grown up would.

“Remember to sip,” Harry advised.  “The first time I tried some, I gulped it down like butterbeer, and spent the next five minutes choking.”

Gabrielle giggled, and then slowly took a sip.  She smiled at him, and continued to eat, “why did you call that girl your sister?” she asked, as she nodded toward Melissa.

“Melissa’s been helping me with a few problems; we’ve become very good friends, and she started calling me her little brother, so I returned the favour.”

Gabrielle nodded.  “She’s pretty.”

“Thank you,” Melissa said from down the table.

“She is,” Harry agreed.  “You think we should find her a boyfriend?”

Gabrielle nodded eagerly.  She leaned forward and looked past him at Christophe, before she launched into some furiously fast French that Harry caught about one in every eighth words of.

Christophe looked shocked, and then went white, then red, then white again, before he looked bemused and sat back.  “All right, all right,” he eventually said, “stop, please.”

“Did you just ask Christophe to ask Melissa out?”

“Ask, no,” Gabrielle replied happily.  “Ordered, yes.”

Harry laughed and hugged her.  “Well, I better do the same thing.”  He vaulted over the table, and squeezed into a place that didn’t exist next to Melissa.  “Christophe’s good looking,” he whispered into Melissa’s ear.  “He’s also funny, intelligent, and is Beauxbatons Head Boy.  When he leaves school, he’s going to come and work for me, although he doesn’t know it yet, so he’ll be moving to this country.”

“Really?” Melissa asked.

“Would I let anyone not suitable near my sister?” Harry asked.

Melissa looked at Christophe, who looked uncomfortable, thoughtfully.  “Why not,” she eventually decided.  “Christophe, let’s talk after dinner.”

Christophe shot her a shy smile.  “Maybe you’re right,” Melissa muttered to Harry.  “Thanks, kiddo.”

Harry grinned and walked around the table back to his plate.  As he did, he noticed the glares he was getting from the non-invited students, but couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Harry,” Cedric called.

“Cedric?”

“Can we get my girlfriend in here?”

“Who’s she?”

“Cho Chang.”

It was with a bit of surprise that he realised that he had completely forgotten that he liked her.  A few months ago, that might have devastated him, but not now, he wanted a girlfriend, sure, but he just didn’t know who he wanted.  He needed to find someone he liked first, and he hardly even knew Cho.

“Sure, go ahead,” he said.

“Thanks.”

Harry nodded and took his seat back next to Gabrielle.  It didn’t take him long to finish the meal, as he chatted with the young girl.

After they had finished, Harry looked at her seriously.  “Promise me you won’t have any more wine.”

Gabrielle pouted at him, but gave her promise.

“Good,” Harry praised, as Fred and George started the music again, “because I want to dance.”  He stood and offered his arm.  “Fair maiden?”

Gabrielle giggled, and took his hand, dragging him eagerly over to the corner.  The young Veela was a far better dancer than him, but he didn’t care, he was just having a good time.  Soon the others were dancing with them, as that party took off again.

When the party finally round down, they were the only people left in the Hall, the others long gone to bed.  Harry picked up the sleeping Gabrielle, and looked at Adrienne, “want to show me where she sleeps?”

Adrienne nodded and stretched.  “Most fun I’ve had in years,” she said.

“Yeah,” Christophe mumbled, from where he was entangled with Melissa on a bench against the wall.

“Good party,” Viktor agreed.

“We’ll do it again after the second task,” Harry said.

“Anyone got any clues as to what the task is?” Cedric asked as he yawned.

Harry balanced Gabrielle carefully as he grabbed his egg and opened it.  An unholy yowling filled the air.  Harry jumped and chucked the egg into one of the barrels of wine.

“What was that?” Gabrielle asked sleepily.

“It’s okay, princess,” Harry said, “go back to sleep.”

“Okay.”

“Can you hear that?” Cedric asked.  “It’s coming from the barrel.”

They gathered around the wine barrel, and head some faint singing.

“ Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching, ponder this:
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour - the prospect's black
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.”

“I think we’ve just solved the mystery,” Harry said dryly.  “Hermione, dear, take it away.”

“Git,” Hermione mumbled.  She yawned as well.  “Merpeople,” she explained.  “They’re going to take something of value to you, and you’ll have to rescue it with in an hour.”

“And that,” Harry said, “is exactly why she is the smartest witch in the world.”

Hermione blushed, but had a pleased smile on her face.

“So we haff to learn to breet undervater?” Viktor asked, the alcohol giving him more of an accent than he had been displaying recently.

Harry moved to the tables and perched on the edge, switching Gabrielle (who was getting heavier) to his other arm.  “If you don’t want to think outside the box,” Harry said, a wicked smile on his face. 

“Harry,” Cedric protested.  “I don’t like that smile.”

“Me neither,” Viktor agreed.

“It’s a Harry smile,” Hermione explained, “he gets it when he’s about to do something mind-boggingly brave and stupid at the same time.  And the worst thing is he’ll come out smelling like roses.”

“Wow, there was a ton of colloquialisms in there,” Christophe said dryly.  “Harry, are you going to top what you did today?”

Harry grinned and nodded firmly.

Viktor sighed.  “I vant to continue to play Quidditch.  I only entered dis silly competition because of Karkaroff.  You go first, I follow you.”

Cedric looked at him and sighed.  “I liked the idea of the glory, to impress Cho’s dad, but well, facing that dragon wasn’t fun.  I’d rather remain un-burnt.  I’ll do the same.”

“Yeah,” Cho agreed quietly.

Fleur looked down her nose at Harry.  Before she could say anything else, Christophe looked up from Melissa and said a few words.  The words Harry recognised included ‘bitch’, ’idiotic’, and ‘grow up’.

Fleur pouted at him, but then shrugged and tossed her hair over her shoulder.  “Fine,” she muttered.  “You can make a fool of yourself first.”

Harry ignored her.  “I’ve got a better idea,” he said, “I’ll not do anything for the first forty minutes, that should give you enough time to get the points you deserve, and then I’ll do my thing.  Points don’t matter to me, but doing it in style does.  Now, let’s get this one to bed, then I can collapse and look forward to my first ever hangover!”

There was some wry laughter, as the Hogwarts students went one way, and most of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students went the other, leaving a few of them to take Gabrielle out to the Carriage.

Harry followed Christophe and Adrienne into the huge carriage; he was a little too tired to appreciate what was probably a glorious interior.

He placed Gabrielle down on the bed indicated, removed her shoes, and tucked her in, before kissing her on the forehead.  Gabrielle curled up instantly.

“One more for the road?” Christophe offered, holding up a bottle of wine.

“Thanks,” Harry said, “but I don’t want my bodyguards getting a chill.”

“You’re a good man, Harry,” Christophe decided.

“I’m a `leetle boy,`” Harry corrected amiably.  “Hope to have the chance to become a man one day.”

“You’re getting there incredibly fast,” Adrienne assured him.  “And ignore Fleur, she’s a spoilt brat.”

“Night,” Harry said, walking back outside, and happily walking back to the Durmstrang ship, a little unsteadily.

“Boss,” Crusher said.

“Yeah?”

“You don’t see the world like we do, do you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you don’t care who people are, only how they are.”

Harry thought about it for a minute, and then nodded.  “If you judge people before you meet them, you over-look something.  Judging them by their actions is fairer all around.”

Smasher nodded, opening the door for him to his room.

He didn’t bother to undress as he collapsed face first on the bed.

The knock for breakfast was far too early, and he trundled, almost dead, to the Great Hall.

Gabrielle was waiting for him, and was far too cheerful.  The other students he was friends with entered and headed toward his table, Cedric and Melissa sitting on his table from the start.

“Oh sod it,” Harry said as his headache increased.  He removed his robes, and then pulled off his shirt.

“Woo,” Fred cheered.  “Take it off!”

Harry rolled his eyes at him, before kicking off his shoes and socks, and removing his trousers.

“Yeah baby,” George yelled.

“Dobby,” Harry called.  “One hangover cure please.”

There was a strange sensation, before he found himself thirty foot above the Great Lake.

“Ssssssssshhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttt!” he yelled on his way down.

The water was cold, bloody cold, but it was refreshing.  As he reached the surface, Dobby grinned at him, and there was another snap, and he was back in the Great Hall.

“Damn,” he muttered.  “That is one hell of a hangover cure.”  He pulled out his wand, only to be hit with drying and warming charms from Fred and George.  Dobby arrived afterward with clean clothes for him.

He dressed quickly, and ran his fingers through his hair.  “Now I feel human,” he announced.

“You’re a braver man than I,” Cedric announced.  “I’m quite content to just sit here and suffer.”

“Yeah,” Viktor agreed.

“If you don’t shut up, I will start cursing,” Christophe muttered from the table, where he had his head in his hands.

“I can cure that for you,” Harry offered.

“Don’t you dare, you…”

“Christophe,” Adrienne interrupted, “don’t swear in front of Gabrielle!”

“Sorry,” Christophe muttered.

Gabrielle grinned at him.  “So what classes do we have today?” she asked.

Harry blinked at her for a few minutes, before he remembered his promise.

“We start with Charms, then Transfiguration.”

“Woohoo,” Gabrielle cheered. 

“Gabrielle,” Christophe called, “please!”

“Sorry,” she apologised, and started to eat.

Harry thought that was a good idea, and after his ice bath, he was starving.  He ignored the owls that swooped in with the morning papers.

“Hey, Harry,” Cedric called.  “You’re a hero.”

Harry groaned.

“Did you really throw the Inverticus curse?”

“What’s that?”

“Turns something inside out,” Hermione replied.

“Oh,” Harry replied.  “Nope.”

“Didn’t think so,” Cedric replied.  “If you’d cast all the spells listed here you’d be dead of magical exhaustion.”

Harry groaned again.

“Harry,” Dumbledore said, as he approached the table.  “Can I have a word with you, please?”

“Is this a casual chat we can do here?”

“I think my office would be better, and I would prefer it as one on one, please.”

Harry looked at him for a moment, and then nodded.  “Wait with the guys,” he said to Gabrielle.

“Okay,” she replied, and he followed the Headmaster to his office.

“Do you know why I only gave you five points yesterday?” Albus asked, as he settled down.

“Because all I did was tell the dragon to go to sleep and put on a show?”

“Exactly.”

“Have you ever studied psychology?” Harry asked.

“A little,” Albus replied.

“Melissa is obsessed with it.  Have you read the paper today?”

“Not yet.”

Harry pointed to the Daily Prophet on his desk.  “Why not read the account.”

Albus picked up the paper, and frowned as he read through it quickly.  “This isn’t what happened.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Harry replied.  “Ask any student, or one of the other headmasters, and they’ll all tell you that the Prophet is right, and more, they will swear themselves blind that they saw it.”

“The smoke was in the way.”

“They’ve already forgotten that.  What they remember is that I fought a dragon, and that you only gave me five points.”

Dumbledore sighed and turned to page five, he showed the headline to Harry.  “Barmy Dumbledore Robs Potter!”

Harry smiled. 

“You’re growing up, Harry.”

“I’m trying to,” Harry agreed.

“Have you given any thoughts to your friends?”

“Of course, I see them every day,” Harry replied.

“I meant young Ronald, and Ginny, and your other friends in Gryffindor.”

“Oh, those back stabbing traitors.  No, I’ve not given them a single thought.”

Albus frowned at him.  “Now, let’s talk about your little spell.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed.

“Please stop using it in Hogwarts.  Alcohol is banned for children.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed again.

Dumbledore looked slightly suspicious at his easy acceptance.  “I would talk about the young Ms Delacour accompanying you to classes, however, your Professors have already agreed.”

“Excellent.  Was there anything else?”

“No.”

Harry nodded and strolled out, meeting up with his bodyguards and Gabrielle.  Now that he was awake, functional, and no longer hung over, he had to smile at the girl.  She was dressed in a full pint-sized Hogwarts uniform, complete with Gryffindor tie.  He lifted her up onto his shoulders.

“Dobby,” He called.

The elf appeared with a pop.  “You called, sir?”

“How much extra work would it be for you to serve our table on the Durmstrang ship?”

“Very little,” Dobby said eagerly.

“Okay, thanks.”

Dobby nodded and popped out.

“Dumbledore’s ordered me to stop giving out wine at meals.”

“That’s not fair,” Smasher stated.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed.  “It occurs to me that we might have better luck eating on the ship.  Maybe you can put a word or two in with professor Karkaroff, assuming that you can find him.”

Crusher smacked Harry on the back.  “Good idea, boss.”

Crusher and Smasher left them at the door, as Nasher and Thrasher were waiting for them.  Harry lifted Gabrielle off his shoulders, and went down on one knee.  “Are you ready?” he asked her.

She nodded firmly.  She opened her bag and showed him her quill and parchment.

Harry smiled and took her hand, leading her in.  He sat with her at the back, so that he could help her understand what the Professor said.  Thrasher and Nasher sat in front of them.

Filius bounced in cheerfully, waving to Gabrielle, who giggled and waved back.

“Right, after the excitement of yesterday, I thought we’d try a charm that would have been useful.  The Extinguishing spell.  Now, if you’ll watch me, I’ll do it first, and then you can practice on the candle on your desk.

Harry pulled out his own quill and some parchment, and noted down both the wand movements and the incantation.

He looked at Gabrielle’s paper, to see her faithfully copying down what was said, mixing some French words.  He whispered a few things in English for her to help.

Filius came around and lit their candle.

Harry looked at it for a second, then in one movement, waved his wand and said the words.  His candle extinguished itself, as Gabrielle cheered.

Flitwick smiled.  “Take five points, Harry.”

Harry grinned at him, and then swirled his wand in his fingers and offered the handle to Gabrielle.  She looked at him in confusion.  “Go on then,” he told her.

“But I am too young,” she said softly, her eyes betraying a yearning hope.

“I won’t tell if you don’t,” he grinned.

Gabrielle reached out slowly and took the wand reverently.  Harry moved her hand, and used the wand to light the candle again.

“Now, you know what to do,” he told her.  “Give it a shot.”

Gabrielle waved her wand and said the words, but nothing happened.

“Okay,” Harry said, “first thing we need to do is correct your movements.  Pretend that you’re dancing, and this is just a hand movement.  Watch me.”  He made the wand movements again, trying not to exaggerate them.

Nasher and Thrasher turned in their chairs to watch, and copied Gabrielle, as she repeated the movements again and again.

“Perfect,” Harry praised.  “Now, what’s the incantation?”

“Exstinctum,” the answer came from three voices.

Harry pushed the table forward a bit, and then lifted Gabrielle into his lap.  “We’ll do it together this time,” he told her.  “We’ll do the movement, you say the word.”

Gabrielle nodded and concentrated.  Together, they did the movement, but as she said the words, he mouthed them as well, and felt the slightest pull on his magic.

“I did it!” Gabrielle squealed.

Harry hugged her tightly.  He looked at his two bodyguards.  “See how easy it is?” he asked.  “Turn around and do it!”

The two turned instantly, and two movements and two words later, their candle was extinguished.  “Cor,” Nasher said.  “I’ve never done magic the first time before.”

“Now,” Harry said, putting Gabrielle back down and borrowing his wand to re-light the fire.  “You’ve already done it once, you can do it again.”

Gabrielle nodded and waved his wand, before she said the words, and the candle extinguished itself.

She moved to her parchment and wrote down, in fragmented English, exactly what had happened.

“Mr Potter,” Filius said, as he wandered over to them.

“Professor?”

“Take another twenty points for teaching two Slytherins and young Miss Delacour.”

Harry smiled at him.

“As you’ve done this, have a look through the next chapter of your charms book.”

After Charms, they met up with Crusher and Smasher, and headed toward Transfiguration.  The lesson followed the same plan, although the Slytherins were not in this class.  Harry would do the spell first and then teach Gabrielle to do it.

He was a bit surprised by the wide-eyed looks he was getting from Professor McGonagall and Hermione.

After Transfiguration, they headed down for lunch.  Fleur was sitting with the other Beauxbatons students.  “Why not go tell your sister what you’ve done so far,” Harry suggested.

Gabrielle nodded and dashed over to her sister, hundreds of words spilling from her mouth.

He could see a look of disbelief on Fleur’s face, and rolled his eyes.  “Gabrielle,” he called.

She looked up.

He passed her his wand, and nodded to the candles on the table.  She grinned at him, made the movements, and said in a firm voice, “Exstinctum!”  All five candles extinguished themselves.

Fleur looked shocked, as did the other Beauxbatons students.

As he took his wand back, and re-lit the candles, he asked aloud, “Is anyone going to tell me why I keep getting strange looks?”

Adrienne raised her hand.

“Adrienne?”

“Children haven’t got the magical control to do spells, that’s why they don’t do magic before school.”

“Oh,” he said slowly, scratching his head.  “So, anyone want to bet that I can’t get Gabrielle up to at least a second year level by the end of the school year?”

“No,” Adrienne said, “I think you can do it.”

“What d’ya think, Gabrielle?  Want to put the work in?  You’ll have to do homework.”

Gabrielle nodded eagerly.

“We’ve got Defence Against the Dark Arts after lunch,” Harry said to her, as he moved down the table to his place.

Gabrielle took up her spirited rendition of the morning’s events.

“She’s not the same child we saw three days ago,” Christophe said quietly to Harry.

“She reminds me of me,” Harry explained.  “I always wanted someone to save me.”

Christophe took another long look at him.  “Want to explain how you taught her magic?”

“I think your girlfriend would understand it more.”

Christophe grinned, and stood; he dashed over to the Slytherin table, and whispered into Melissa’s ear.

She looked at him for a second, before she looked thoughtful, then intrigued.  She stood, and walked with Christophe back to his table.  “Spill the beans, kiddo,” she ordered.

Harry leaned closer to the two.  “Magic is about belief and control.  I made her practice the control first, and then as she cast the spell the first time, I had a small amount of contact with my wand, and cast the spell wordlessly.  As far as Gabrielle was concerned, she cast the spell herself, so doing it on her own wasn’t a problem.”

“I can think of three things wrong with that,” Christophe said.

“Yeah,” Melissa agreed slowly.  “Explain this wand contact thing.”

Harry pulled out his wand.  “I was trying to polish it, and noticed I was making sparks, when I didn’t really want to.”  He flipped his wand, pointed high and to the right, and cast a stunner.  He flipped it back, “and I realised that that you only need contact.”

“Right,” Melissa nodded.  “Good work, kiddo.  So you think you can get her up to second year level?”

“Probably higher,” Harry said.  “I’ll go back through my text books and see what I did, and teach her all the spells.”  He moved back to his seat, and ate his now traditional steak and Guinness lunch. 

“Harry,” Hermione called, “can you fit me in for a private chat before Defence?”

“Of course,” Harry said.  He picked up his plate, drink, and a knife and fork, and headed toward the end of the table.  As he expected, a new table appeared at the end.  He’d suspected for a while that Dobby was taking his fanatical service to a new level.  “Thanks, Dobby,” he whispered.

The air to the right seemed to vibrate in happiness.

Harry sat, and the sound from the rest of the Hall died down.  Hermione shook her head and sat opposite him, a couple of sandwiches on her plate. 

“So, should I call you Mr Potter now?” she teased.

“Why?”

“Because you’re growing up,” Hermione explained.  “And what you did at the Tournament, it was amazing.”

“And fake,” Harry said.

“Oh, I know that,” Hermione replied airily.  “But you still pulled it off.  I was in the crowd Harry, the energy was palpable.  Everyone suddenly realised that you can be Harry Potter, the symbol, as well as Harry, the lazy but powerful, wizard who picks up strays like me and makes their world better.”

“Hey,” Harry protested, blushing furiously.

“Gabrielle,” Hermione pointed out with a grin, “who is pretty sure that you are Merlin.”

Harry rolled his eyes.  “She’s a great kid.”

“Harry, I know I was a bit against this idea, but well, I’ve seen you start to grow.  You’ve worked so hard, all your school work is excellent, you’re getting great marks on everything you do.”

“I am?” Harry asked in surprise.  He hadn’t been paying attention to that.

Hermione put her hands on her hips.  “You might not notice these things, Mr Potter, but I do!”

“Please,” Harry begged, “just call me Harry.”

Hermione grinned.  “Anyway, can I do some of your lessons with you?”

“Some of them,” Harry agreed.  “The ones where I’m learning to grow up probably wouldn’t be good for you.”

“Yeah,” She agreed.  “I’m just interested in the spells.  I really don’t want Oliver yelling at me to run around the lake one more time.”

“Nor do I,” Harry muttered.

“Harry,” Hermione said softly.  “I think you have some real friends over here.”

“I have the best one in front of me.”

“Git,” Hermione whispered again, smiling at him softly.  “But I thank you all the same.  My point is, I was going to speak up for the other Gryffindors, but I’m not now.  Ron’s convinced that you are now Malfoy Mark Two, and most of the others agree.  They’re jealous because you’re doing something that they’re not.  They’re saying that you’re flaunting the fact you’ve not poor, despite the fact that someone is out to get you, they accused you of showing off yesterday, when they were cheering you before they didn’t get access to your party.  Its petty, it’s hypocritical, it’s nauseating, and I’m fed up of it.”

“Me too,” Harry agreed.

“You’ve got Christophe, Adrienne, Melissa, Viktor, Cedric, Fred, George, and of course Gabrielle, who are viewing you as Harry, nothing more, nothing less.  And as they are older, they’re treating you like an adult, and you’re responding.  I’ve had so much fun talking to people over here, and learning from them.

“The other day, Ron and Ginny started bad mouthing you, and we argued.”

Harry growled.

“Stop that,” Hermione ordered, “I’m quite capable of looking after myself.  Anyway, a couple of Slytherin Prefects stepped in and ordered those two to back off.  They checked that I was alright, and walked with me to class.  They said that if Melissa liked me, that was good enough for them!”

Harry smiled.  “Technically, you two could be sisters.”

Hermione grinned massively at him.  “I love you, too, Harry,” she said softly.  “Even if you have to wrap your declaration in silly boy words.”

“Silly boy words?” Harry protested.

“Yep,” Hermione agreed cheerfully.

“Hermione,” Harry said, looking at her.  He took a deep breath.

“Hold on a second,” Hermione ordered.  She braced herself dramatically.

“I’m not planning on coming back to Hogwarts next year.  I’m going to go to Beauxbatons.”

Hermione blinked and then relaxed.  “Right, I’ll start brushing up on my French immediately.”

It was Harry’s turn to look shocked.  “What?”

“Beauxbatons has the largest library in Europe,” Hermione explained.  “And my parents would be so proud if I was to learn in France.”

Harry smiled at her.

“I’ve started my research on protecting your mind, for those of us who don’t have a will of stone.  There’s a whole branch of magic called Occlumency based on defending your mind, and Legilimency, which is getting into someone else’s mind.  I’m sure that you can do it, but I’m not sure that Crabbe and Goyle could.”

“Nasher and Thrasher,” Harry corrected amiably.  “They like their new names.”

Hermione giggled.  “Did you know that Draco’s lost a load of influence in Slytherin House?  With out Crabbe and Goyle, he has to rely on his dad, and well, rumour has it that there are gangs of wizards roaming the streets looking for Dark Marks, and his dad has one.”

“I wonder if he recognises that turnabout is fair play.”

“How many arms have you received now?”

“Eight.  I’m splitting the cost with Sirius.  Which is eight Death Eaters that aren’t hurting people any more.”

Hermione nodded.  “Did you really have a word with Viktor?”

Harry smirked.  “You’d think I’d let just anyone near my sister?”

“Git,” Hermione said fondly, for the third time.

Harry looked up, as Crusher and Smasher hovered nearby.  “We finished?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said.  “Thanks.”

“Hermione,” he said softly, “I am always available to my friends.”

She smiled at him.  The noise level increased as the charm died down.  “Boss,” Smasher said, “We’d like to introduce Squisher.”  They moved to one side, revealing a fourth year Ravenclaw that he thought was named Lisa Turpin.  He mentally wound through his list of people who had taken the badge, and she wasn’t on it. 

“Welcome,” Harry greeted her.

She looked at him in surprise.  “Just like that?” she asked.

“Crusher and Smasher are professionals.  They wouldn’t have hired you if they weren’t sure that you couldn’t do the job.”

Lisa smiled and nodded.  “Thank you,” she said.  “As my future is now invested in yours, may I enquire as to your fighting training?”

“I’m practising duelling two times a day, and working on my fitness as much.”

“Can you stand, please?”

He nodded.

“And throw a spell at me?”

Without changing expression, he smoothly pulled out his wand, only to find that Lisa had his wand reversed, and in her control.  He lightly touched the tip of it, “Stupefy.”

Lisa started to fall, only for Crusher and Smasher to catch her.

“Rennervate,” Harry said softly.

Lisa shook herself and looked at him for a long moment, a hint of awe in her eyes.  “Damn,” She muttered.  “So much for being impressive.”

Harry grinned at her.  “Don’t worry, you were, and I get your point; if you’d stepped back a few inches, I would have been defenceless.”

She looked at him for a long moment.  “No,” she decided, “you will never be defenceless.”

“Fred, George,” Harry called.

The two wandered over.

“We need to fit Lisa into my schedule.”

“Why?” Fred asked.

“Pull your wands out.”

They looked at each other, and did, only for Lisa to do her speed trick again, this time retreating several steps afterward.

“I see,” George said.  “Well, sleep is for wimps anyway.”

“Yeah,” Harry said dryly.  “Make sure she gets paid for that as well.”

“Wait,” Lisa said, “that is part of my bodyguard work.”

“No, it’s not,” Harry stated.  “I’m the boss, I choose.”

“Yes, boss,” Lisa agreed, smiling a little.  “Shall we go to Defence?”

Harry nodded.  “Gabrielle,” he called.  The girl came running, skidding to a stop next to him.

“Hi,” she said brightly to Lisa and Hermione.

“Gabrielle,” Hermione greeted her.  “Looking forward to Defence?”

Gabrielle nodded hard, her hair going all over the place.

Harry sighed, and dropped to his knees.  He stroked her hair back over her shoulders.   “There,” he said.  Gabrielle beamed at him, and he stood and they walked out of the Great Hall.

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 3

That night, Harry found himself staring at the wooden beams above his head.  As everyone had repeatedly informed him, his biggest problem, was that he was a teenage boy.

And he didn’t really want to be a teenage boy – not anymore.  He was bored of it.  Besides, he was a fake teenager anyway.  Teenagers didn’t have to fight for their lives every year.  Teenagers didn’t have people trying to kill them.

“Dobby,” he called.

The elf appeared instantly, looking wide awake, despite the hour.  “Do you ever sleep?” Harry asked.

Dobby nodded enthusiastically.  “Dobby hadest a great ten minutes of sleep before earlier!”

“I need your help for me to do something really stupid.”

Dobby nodded again, a little less enthusiastically. 

“I need food and drink for around six months, and I’d prefer it if I could just heat the food up with a charm.”

“Harry Potter sir is going away?” Dobby gasped.

“What? No,” Harry said.  “There’s an extreme button on the Time Dilator, and I’m going to use it.”

Dobby looked relieved.  “Dobby can be’s doing that.  All house elves are being bored as nightest time.  I’s get them all to start cooking and charming, and your foods will be ready in two hours.”

“Brilliant!” Harry said.  “Make sure you get Fred and George to give you money in the morning to cover all the food.”

Dobby nodded and popped away.

Harry climbed out of bed, and with a wave of his wand, shrunk his trunk, and before he could talk himself out of it, he snuck into Hogwarts, and up to the library.

He placed the Dilator on the table, and looked around.  It was probably big enough for what he needed to do.  And more importantly, it had the books he needed.

He picked up the book he was currently reading, and started to read.

Elves started to pop in and out, filling up a corner with charmed food.  They continued for over an hour, and looked extremely happy to be doing so.

When they were done, he thanked them all, and as they popped out, he hit the button.

He lasted less than two days, judging by the food he’d eaten, as his watch had stopped, before his own stink forced him to give up.  The library was not suitable.  It might have the books, but it had no shower, no toilet (although he had used a charm on that), no place to exercise, and no where to sleep comfortably.

“Dobby,” he called.

Dobby popped back in eagerly.  “Harry Potter was only being gone for a minute,” Dobby said.

“I screwed up, Dobby,” he explained.  “Do you know anywhere that would be more suitable?  I need somewhere so that I can practice magic, can teach myself new things, and exercise.”

“Harry Potter is trying to become great and powerful wizard?”

“Kinda, yeah,” Harry agreed.  “I want to have a chance of living, and as much as my friends are helping, I have to take responsibility for myself.”

Dobby swelled up with pride.  “Dobby is knowing of a room,” he said.  “It is being called the come-and-go room, or the Room of Requirement.  It is appearing for wizards in need, and Dobby is thinking Harry Potter is in real need.”

“That would be great,” Harry said enthusiastically, and followed the elf to the seventh floor, and followed Dobby’s instructions to think about what he needed as he walked back and forth.

A door appeared, and he gasped as he entered.  It was huge.  There was a shower in one corner, next to a bath, a sink, and more importantly, a toilet.

A fair distance away stood a huge bed, and as he watched, Dobby unpacked his trunk into a wardrobe.

Other elves started transferring the food he had left.

He continued to look around, smiling at the exercise area, and the large library, as well as the potions area.  The final place was duelling platform.

“This,” Harry said, in awe, “is brilliant.  You are a wonder, Dobby.”

Dobby smiled brightly and popped out.  And for the second time, Harry hit the button.

Albus Dumbledore looked up as the lights dimmed, and the school seemed to slow down.  He frowned; someone was using a lot of Hogwarts’ magic.  He closed his eyes, and tried to find out what was going on, only for his attempt to fail completely.

He blinked in surprise, and tried again, only for the same response.

The only reason that would happen that made any sense to him, was if Hogwarts approved of the use of magic, and more, was helping.

It wasn’t unknown for Hogwarts to help with a spell, but it hadn’t happened in his lifetime.

He pulled out his wand and cast Lumos, and went back to reading the reports on his desk.  He’d find out eventually what was going on.

Sidney wasn’t a very good conversationalist. 

He was, on the other hand, an excellent listener.

He was also inanimate.

And wooden – really wooden, as in cut from a block of mahogany.

With hair conjured out of paper.

And a face transfigured from leftovers.

He didn’t judge, he didn’t berate Harry for being petty or childish.  He just watched.

And he was the only person Harry had talked to for far longer than he wanted to remember.  It was all very well planning on staying this long, but he had noted a detrimental effect or two.

“Do you think I’m going mad, Sidney?”

Sidney didn’t answer.

“I suspect so, logically, I know that talking to you in insane, and yet I do feel that you are what is anchoring me to the here and now, despite the here and now not being the here and now at all.”

Sidney seemed to nod in agreement.

“Right, it’s time for my push ups, count for me?”

Sidney seemed to nod again, and he settled down and started pressing.  After the first few times of trying to increase his fitness, he’d given in and actually studied it.  He had been pushing himself daily, with no rest periods, and had actually hurt himself doing so.  He was now on a strict, challenging routine designed to boost his speed and strength.

“All right,” he cheered as he collapsed face down on the mat.  “I did it.”

Sidney didn’t offer any verbal congratulations.

“I think that I’m going to have to limit my time in here,” Harry announced.  “I know it will change our relationship somewhat.”

Sidney gave his normal possible-nod.

“I think I started talking to you after a month, so I’ll limit it to four weeks a night.  Then get some conversation and come back.

Sidney didn’t approve of that idea.

“I also need a better way of training, because really, reading and practising aren’t enough.  I might know more spells, but I’ve got no way of doing better on other things.”

Sidney agreed.

“I could invite other people to come in, but that wouldn’t be fair.  The lack of real light is strange, and I could do with seeing outside again.  And it is asking people to give up part of their life.”

Sidney showed his agreement again.

“So I’ll keep it a secret, and do a month every night.  I can be done by Christmas.”

Sidney really didn’t like that.

“So that’s what I’ll do,” Harry announced.  “And study some ways of helping myself out.  Maybe some golems would work, if I can find a spell, then I can see if I can get Lisa to train one, that will get me started.”

Sidney approved.

“And maybe we can find you a girlfriend; that would be nice.”

Sidney really approved of that.

Several sessions later, he couldn’t call them days, he finished his final meal, and hit the button to stop the Dilator.

“Dobby?”

Dobby popped in.  “Harry Potter needs a shave!”

Harry blinked at him.  He hadn’t heard anyone speak but himself for ages.  “Yeah,” he agreed.  “I thought I’d try it out.”

“Not good,” Dobby advised.

“Probably not,” Harry agreed slowly.

“And Dobby will be needing to adjust some of Harry Potters clothes.  Harry Potter is having shoulders.”

“It’s good to see you, and hear from you, Dobby.”

Dobby bounced happily.

“I’ll go and shave,” he said, “then return to my bed.  How long was I gone?”

“Seven hours,” Dobby said.  “Yous had foods for seven months!”

Harry blinked.  He thought he’d only been gone for three months.  He moved over to the mirror, and laughed at himself.  It was strange how just a few words made everything better.

He shaved quickly, and bounced out of the room, leaving it to Dobby to clear up.  He climbed into bed for a nap, eagerly looking forward to the next morning.

He bounced out of bed as soon as it was light, dressed in some of the clothes Dobby had laid out for him, and walked to Hogwarts after greeting Crusher and Smasher.

Gabrielle met him half way, and he picked her up, threw her high into the air, and caught her.  He hugged her tightly.  “Hi,” he said.

She giggled and kissed him on the cheek.  “You missed me,” she announced.  “Lots.”

“I always miss you,” he replied.

“Not like this before,” she said.  “Strange.”  They walked into the school and Gabrielle wiggled out of his arms, a frown on her face.  She touched the floor, and then took a hold of Harry’s leg.  She looked at Harry in confusion.  “Hogwarts is tired,” she said.  “But happy.  Like she did something she’s proud off and wants to do it again.”

Harry smiled and lightly touched the floor, sending his thanks.  Now that he knew Hogwarts was happy, and he more convinced than ever to continue on his path.

The next few weeks seemed to pass in a blur.  All his free time was taken up with his lessons, including the hour or two he would spend every night with Gabrielle, before using the time dilator to squeeze everything else in in the evenings.  Then every night, at around three am, he’d go to the Room of Requirement and spend a month there.  

Lisa, more than anyone else, was astounded with his progress.  He half wished he could tell her that every night he would practice for the equivalent of ninety hours.  So his progress was just dedication, and not miraculous.

She quickly introduced him to a down-to-earth Wizard named Ben.  Ben was Lisa’s father, and was the current United Kingdom kick-boxing champion.  He was into the sport before he came to Hogwarts, and as soon as he finished school, got back into the scene, which was where he met Lisa’s now deceased mother.

Lisa was fast, but Ben was sudden.  It was a speed he wanted desperately, so he did everything they told him, no matter how repetitive they were.  It was after the third month in the room that he realised they were training his subconscious in how to act in a fight.  That was a turning point from him, and the little bit he’d been holding back was now throw into his effort.

In the Room of Requirement, Sidney remained his companion, along with Janice.

Although he was a little spooked when little Christopher appeared, and Harry had no memory of creating him.

The other thing that spooked him was that he would often go to sleep in his bed, but would wake up on the cold hard stone of Hogwarts, in the middle of the Room of Requirement.  It wasn’t the waking that spooked him, as much as the fact that he always felt less alone, and was never cold.

In the end, he gave up on the bed, and would sleep on the stone directly, covered in a light blanket, and using his arm as a pillow.  The cold stone seemed to drain the energy from him, so that he slept incredibly deeply, and yet he would wake up refreshed and ready for another day’s learning.

He felt something was changing inside him, but he didn’t know what, and soon put it out of his mind.

One month, he decided to see what he could to increase his magical reserves.  There were some rituals for that, but he didn’t like the idea of them – the cost was to high, so he went for the hard way.  Casting spell after spell until he was exhausted and had nothing left, then doing it again.

Running out of magic was painful, as spells tried to pull magic from every pore of his body.  He did this every six hours, as the book suggested, and did start to see an improvement after three weeks.

Each month, he’d study some books and practice the spells, just to see what was available, often picking books up at random.  He had no idea when he’d need to animate an army of statues, or being able to enchant an apple to display a name seemed pointless, but he learned the spells anyway.

At the end of each month, he’d test himself to check that he had actually learned things.

Back in real time, and after consultation with the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students they decided to only eat on the Ship on weekends, and do without the wine during the week.

Hermione was accompanying him to a lot of his extra normal lessons, enjoying the experience.  She was also working hard on the mental protection issues. 

Smasher and Crusher were happy to do what they could to help her research.  Even if it just meant keeping her company and keeping other students away.

In Transfiguration, he had been informed about the Yule Ball.  Gabrielle had suggested that he ask Fleur, but he had demurred.  To his amusement, Gabrielle had said that her sister might be a cow, but she was the prettiest girl there.

Viktor had immediately asked Hermione, and Christophe had asked Melissa.  Most of his friends had wasted no time in getting the girls and boys that they wanted.

Which left Harry to get his own date.

He walked into the darkened class room, and smiled.  Kate was lounging on the bed, wearing high cut knickers, a pair of black high-heels and a languid smile.

She rolled off the bed, smiling sexily at him.

He pulled off his robes, then his shirt.  “Doing anything at Christmas?” he asked.

“Why?”

“I want you to go to the Yule Ball with me.”

Kate stiffened slightly.

“Don’t worry,” he said firmly, “I’m not asking you on a date.”

Kate relaxed a little. 

“This is strictly business – like everything else between us.  You’ve made it very clear that I’m not to fall in love with you, and I’m not.  I am, however, in a situation, where I want a beautiful escort for an evening.  I really don’t want to deal with any of the witches at the school, and you’d send a message to everyone here.”

She slowly smiled at him.  “Good boy,” she praised.  “I’ll add the evening to the bill.”

He nodded.

“I presume you want me to knock-em dead?”

“Definitely. 

“Sounds like fun.  So, let’s see what you remember from last time?”

There was something that he loved about dancing with a nearly naked lady.  The fact that she was gorgeous was a bonus.

They never talked about her work, and he was happy with that.  He knew what she did, and put any uncomfortable-ness about it behind him.

Kate was a professional escort.  That was her job, it was her career choice, she wasn’t forced into it – it was what she did by choice.  She was well educated, and well trained.  She could make a guy feel like a king.  And as a boy, with very little experience (well, none, if he was honest to himself) he had been very susceptible to her charms, and he was incredibly grateful that she hadn’t taken advantage of it.

He suspected that he actually learnt more with her than with all the others.  She gave him confidence and a sense that he was an adult, and could act as one.

He moved with her automatically, before he bent her over and stole a kiss.  “Thanks,” he said.

“That’s what I’m paid for,” she replied cheerfully.  “Now, let’s do that dance again, and this time, mean it!”

He grinned, and pulled her close.

“Do you know that you’re two inches taller than when you started with me?” she asked softly.  “And that you’ve added shoulders, biceps, the start of some pecs, a firm stomach, and leg muscles?”

“I’ve been working out,” he said.

“No,” Kate responded slowly, “this is impossible growth.  I’m presuming I’m the only person who’s really seen you naked?”

He nodded.

“Then you may get away with calling it puberty, but not to me.  Want to explain?”

“I’m playing with time.  I’ve got a Time Dilator, that allows me spend a month in a room for around an hour outside.”

“That’s logically inconsistent,” Kate pointed out.  “Dilating time would make it slower, surely?”

“Don’t call me Shirley,” Harry said with a grin, causing Kate to lightly punch his arm.

“Perhaps it dilates time outside the room?”

“Only a wizard would make a device that affected the rest of creation,” Kate muttered.  “I guess it doesn’t matter, as long as it works.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed.

“So how old are you now?”

Harry thought for a few minutes, adding up each night that he’d done, “almost seventeen.”

“Well,” Kate said, “that is well past the age of consent,” she purred, as she pushed him onto the bed and kissed him seriously.

In real time, his lessons with Kate continued, as she continued her quest to make him a fit into whatever situation he found himself in.  He learned more about females than he ever knew existed.

Melissa kept up her lessons about politics for a while, but as Harry was studying in his own time, she soon moved on to psychology.  She would teach in one lesson, then test in another and the words she had used when he had failed one test still reverberated around his head. 

His duelling and charms lessons were going fine; he really enjoyed them, and worked as hard as he could, both during real time and part time.

His continued growth wasn’t all good though, the weight and height he had put on meant a shopping trip during a Hogsmeade day.

Gabrielle, Adrienne, Melissa, and Hermione had ganged up on him, and he was forced to use his money for something other than education and protection.

Gabrielle was presenting her homework to him every morning, with a degree of pride.  Her pride was nothing compared to his.  Gabrielle worked so hard for him, and he was so impressed.

Hermione spent as much time with him, and his friends, as she could.  She loved speaking to the older students, and it was dragging her out into being a better rounded person.  Every weekend, she could be found sipping wine while talking with everyone else.  She was normally with a French girl named Chloe, and her boyfriend, Andrew.

Hermione had even had a conversation with him regarding Viktor.  She politely requested that he tell Viktor that he wasn’t adverse to the odd kiss between the two, as Viktor was terrified of him.

He’d solemnly promised to do so – and had, with the proviso that Viktor understood that Hermione’s ‘no’ was a ‘no’ and not a ‘maybe’.

Christophe and Melissa were a lot closer, and he’d had a quiet word with Christophe as well, just to make sure.

Melissa had shouted at him for ten minutes for that one… then given him a big hug.

His relationship with the students in his year was still practically non-existent, but he was a lot friendlier with the senior year.  His wine creating skill probably helped that, as he’d been happy to provide Melissa with a barrel or two.

He hadn’t spoken to Dumbledore at all, and was more than happy with that – especially as he saw Sirius at least once a week. 

He was getting on better with all his professors – with the exception of Snape, obviously.  They seemed to appreciate the extra effort he was putting in, and the way he was looking after Gabrielle.

At the end of the Christmas term, and a few of the Hogwarts students had left for home, the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students had decided to stay, which was great for Harry.  He was able to rearrange his classes for during the day, which allowed him the evenings to spend time with his friends.

He’d also decided to stop using the Dilator.  He had noticed that he hadn’t had the same benefits over the past few evenings, and that the room started misbehaving.  Gabrielle had informed him one morning that Hogwarts wasn’t happy, and that was enough of a reason to stop.  The last thing he wanted to do was ignore advice from Hogwarts.

He kept Sidney, Janice and Christopher, for sentimental reasons.  And before he closed the Room of Requirement, he stood in the middle of the room and gathered all his magic.  He poured it back into the school, trying to give something back.

He had a wave of awed gratitude first, closely followed by approval float over him, as well as a sense of warning that he should stop playing with time now.

He did exactly that, cutting his lessons back to normal time.

He had received an invitation to go to the Weasleys, but he’d politely declined, sending a long letter to Molly and Arthur explaining why.  He received his Christmas present by return post, with a letter explaining that they understood completely, and that he was always welcome, regardless of his relationship with Ron and Ginny.

Fred and George had gone home, but were coming back most days to check on his training and to make sure that everything was going smoothly.

“Harry, Harry?”

He looked up from the book he was reading, as Gabrielle sprinted toward him with her usual exuberance.  She launched herself carelessly into the air from about three feet away and crashed landed on his lap.

“Hi?”

She grinned at him and ripped his book out of his hands, placing it down on the bench.  “My parents are here!  Come and meet them!”

“Okay, okay,” He agreed, as he stood.

“Carry me,” she ordered.  “They’re by the carriages.”

He smirked, and threw her other one shoulder in a firemen’s carry.  Gabrielle squealed her protest, as he started to jog.  He used a cushioning charm on his shoulder to ensure that she wasn’t hurt by it.

His bodyguards had the afternoon off, and Lisa had gone home for Christmas.  He’d promised not to go anywhere unaccompanied.

As they emerged from Hogwarts, he could see Fleur and Madame Maxime standing next to a distinguished looking couple.  He slowed to a fast walk as he walked over to meet them, Gabrielle still clamped firmly to his shoulder.  “Hi,” he greeted them in French, his lessons, and the fact that he was spending as much time as he could with his French friends meant that he was now proficient, if not fluent.  “Harry Potter,” he introduced himself.  “Gabrielle’s surrogate legs.”

“This is Marie, and I am Michael,” the male greeted him back, switching to English.  “Do her own legs not work?”

“Papa,” Gabrielle protested.

With a smile, he flipped Gabrielle into the air, and caught her on the way down.  She deliberately shook her hair as she did, sending her hair everywhere.

“You do that on purpose,” Harry scolded as he knelt on one knee and pulled a comb out of his pocket that he kept for exactly this reason. 

“Moi?” Gabrielle asked innocently, as she turned so that he could comb her hair.

“Yes, you,” he said dryly.

“Harry,” Michael called, “walk with me?  Fleur’s going to take Gabrielle to get changed.”

“Can Harry come this evening?” Gabrielle asked.

“Gabrielle!” the exclamation came from everyone, including Harry.

Gabrielle grinned, not intimidated in the slightest.

“Maybe,” Michael said.  “Go and get changed.”  Harry followed the man away from the carriage, and down the side of the Great Lake.

He watched Michael move with a small amount of jealousy.  The man was perfect.  With his blonde hair and blue eyes, his perfect nose, and his body that would have made Michelangelo itch for his hammer and chisel.

“Harry, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I’ve heard very little about you,” Harry replied amiably.

“I am only a father,” Michael replied dryly.  “I am here to provide financial support, and occasional emotional support.  As you might have guessed, I am Veela.”

Harry nodded.

“I have a few gifts,” he continued, “one of them is the ability to tell if someone is lying to me.  Can I ask you a serious question while I turn this ability on?”

“Yes,” Harry said instantly.  He was really impressed that Michael had asked straight out.

Michael turned and looked at him, his blue eyes seemed massive.  Rather than fight it, Harry let himself go with it.  “Do you find my daughter sexually attractive?”

“Yes.”

Michael’s eyes darkened, a feeling of magic built up around him.  The promise of violence filled the air, causing Harry to reach for his wand.  “She’s only eight,” Michael ground out through his teeth.

Harry felt shock race through his body.  “What?  Fleur’s only eight!?”

The magic and threat of violence vanished.  Michael slowly started to blush.  “Come, Harry,” he ordered.

“Huh?”

“When you are married, you will find one rule in life.  When you make an absolute idiot of yourself, it is best to share it with your wife as soon as is possible.” 

Feeling extremely confused, Harry headed back to the carriage.  At Michael’s gesture, Marie walked over to meet them half way.

“Michael?” she asked.  “What have you done now?”

“I have just made a huge fool of myself.”

“How?”

“I asked Harry if he found my daughter sexually attractive.”

“And?”

“He replied yes, so I was ready to go all bird on him.  I said, dramatically I might add, ‘she’s only eight’.  Harry looked at me, confusion in his eyes, and you know what he said?”

“No?”

“He didn’t even think about it, he just blurted, ‘Fleur’s only eight?’”

Marie looked at Michael for a second, before her lips started to twitch.  “Oh Michael,” she whispered, before she took a step forward and buried her face in his shoulder, as she laughed hysterically.

When she had finished, Harry asked, “does someone want to let me in on the joke?”

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Michael said.  “I asked the wrong question.  What I should have asked is, ‘do you find Gabrielle sexually attractive?’”

“What!?” Harry demanded.  “She’s only eight!”

Michael and Marie looked at each other and burst into laughter again.

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Michael eventually said.  “It’s not unknown for men to like Veela children, no matter what their age, and while Olympe was pretty sure you weren’t like that, I wanted to make sure for myself.  However, by screwing up the question like I did, I know you’re not.”

“Right,” Harry said slowly.  “Thanks, I think.  So you don’t mind that I find Fleur attractive?”

“You’re a teenage male, Fleur’s an Adult Veela,” Michael said dismissively, “of course you’re going to find her attractive.”

“True,” Harry agreed, starting to relax.  He smiled, a little wickedly.  “So, do I mention now that I find Michael just as attractive?”

Michael blinked, before he looked at Harry’s face.  “Tease.”

“Oh no,” Harry replied silkily, as he moved forward, and ran a nail down the front of Michael’s shirt.  “A tease isn’t there at the end of the day.”

Michael stepped backward rapidly, looking at his wife in shock.  Harry grinned at her, and then winked.

Marie looked at Harry for a second, before she started to snigger.  “Dear,” she started, to her husband, “I believe that Harry’s just had his revenge on you.”

“Harry,” Michael said seriously, “who the hell are you?”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.  “I’m Harry Potter, that’s all I have been.”

“You’re a teenage boy; there is no way that you should be so comfortable with your own sexuality that you can play games with a male Veela.  Most adults aren’t comfortable enough.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” Harry offered.  “Come to the Yule Ball, and I’ll tell you a little about it.”

“We’re not invited,” Michael pointed out.

“I just invited you,” Harry grinned.  “Besides, you’re the parents of a Champion.”

“We’d have to get a babysitter,” Marie said slowly, “but it would be fun to have a night out.”

“Then bring her along,” Harry suggested.  “She’ll have fun.”

“Are you sure?”

“Trust me,” Harry said cheerfully.  “I love Gabrielle, I’ve got two other girls I love, one is now dating Christophe, the other is dating Viktor, and I keep an eye on them.  Gabrielle’s younger, so I can be a lot more overtly protective and no one is upset.”

“Okay,” Marie agreed.  “On one condition.”

“Which is?” Harry asked warily.

“That you come to dinner with us now.”

“Oh, sure,” Harry agreed.  “I’m finished for the day.  Should I get changed?”

“You can borrow a shirt from Michael,” Marie decided, after looking him up and down.  He was wearing black trousers and smart shoes, along with a casual blue shirt.

They headed back to the carriage, and entered.  Gabrielle and Fleur were talking, while sat on a small couch.

“We’re going to have to go shopping, Gabrielle,” Harry announced, as he walked in and took his robes off.

“I’ll get you a shirt,” Michael said to Harry as he vanished through a door.

“Why?” Gabrielle asked him.

“Because you’ve got to look your best when you come to the Yule Ball.”

Gabrielle looked at him for a long moment, her eyes flashing as she rewound his words.  “Really?” she gasped, looking at her mother.

“Harry was most persuasive.”

Gabrielle’s yell of happiness was nearly deafening, and a second later he had around fifty five pounds of excited Veela hugging him as tightly as she could. 

He laughed, and peeled her off him, and walked over to Michael.  “Swap?”

Michael nodded, and they exchanged Gabrielle for a shirt.  Fleur was frowning, while Marie was smiling at them.

Harry quickly pulled off his t-shirt, flicked his wand out, and shrunk it, before putting it in his pocket, before he quickly did the shirt up.

“I might have reacted differently, earlier,” Michael purred.

“The offer is still on, sweetie,” Harry replied.

“What, wait,” Fleur said, “You’re flirting with papa?”

“Are we flirting?” Harry asked, taking Gabrielle back.

“Probably.”

“Yes, Fleur,” Harry said patiently.  “I’m flirting with your dad.  It’s against the rules for a man to flirt with another man’s wife, so what choice do I have?”

Fleur looked completely nonplussed.

“Harry, we’re going to Apparate to London.  I’m taking Gabrielle and helping Fleur,” Marie said, as they headed toward the gates.  “Michael can take you.”

“I think I’d rather take him,” Harry purred.

“Stop that,” Michael said, poking him.  “She meant Apparate you.”

“Oh,” Harry said, “Okay then.  Where in London?”

“La Rochelle, in Charlotte Street.”

Harry nodded, as soon as he felt that they were through the wards, he winked at Gabrielle.  “You know,” he said, “I’d just rather not be taken by Michael today,” and Apparated away.

They appeared in London, a little down the road from the restaurant, and next to a cash machine.  He quickly pulled his Gringotts card out and entered it.  A tap of his pin number later and he drew out a large amount of cash, the Goblin card bypassing the normal two hundred and fifty pound single transaction limit.

Gabrielle looked at him in shock.  He grinned at her.  She slowly grinned back, and then hugged him tightly.

“How did you do that?” Fleur demanded, as she arrived, holding her mother’s hand.  Michael was next to them.

“Do what?” Harry asked innocently.

“Get here?”

“It must have been Michael,” Harry decided.  “I’m far too young to know how to Apparate.”

“At some stage,” Michael said seriously, “we’re going to have to talk.”

“We have all evening,” Harry grinned.  Thanks to Kate, he knew what was expected of him in this situation, and exactly how to act.  And that if he didn’t act like a boy, no one would treat him like one.

He carried Gabrielle, who was wearing a fetching pale blue dress, into the restaurant, weaving his way casually through the crowds of people to the little table.

“Delacour, party of five,” he said firmly.

Without looking up, the concierge said, “wait at the bar, ten minutes.”

“Excuse me?” Harry said.   “Is basic politeness to much to ask?”

The man finally looked up and met Harry’s eyes.  Harry looked at him calmly, not backing down in anyway.  The concierge looked over at Harry’s party, before he blinked.  “My apologies, sir,” The concierge said.  “Your table will be ready immediately.”

Harry nodded and picked up the wine menu.  He scanned it quickly, before folding it up.  “We’ll have a bottle of Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the ’63 please.”

“Excellent choice sir.  If you’ll follow me.”

Harry did exactly that, threading his way through the tables, and up a small set of stairs, to a raised area. 

“Thank you,” Harry said, palming some money from his pockets, and shaking the concierge’s hand.  “I’m sure we’ll have a wonderful evening.”

“If there is anything I can do, please let me know,” the concierge agreed.  “I am Jonathan.” 

“We will,” Harry agreed, as he sat Gabrielle down, and then held a chair for Fleur.  She shot him a strange look, before sitting down gracefully. Michael held a chair for Marie, before Harry took the last seat around the round table.  He was between Fleur and Gabrielle.

Before they could say anything, a waiter appeared with a bottle of wine.  He paused by Michael, who shook his head and indicated Harry.

Without a change in expression, the waiter uncorked the wine, and poured a small amount in Harry’s glass.

Harry held it up to the light, before swirling it and inhaling.  The ceremony seemed a little poncey to him, but when he has said that to Christophe, the boy had almost hit him.  He sipped it, and then frowned.

He reached up, removed the bottle from the waiter’s hand, and looked at the label.  “I’m sorry,” he said softly, “I asked for the ’63, not the ’96.”

The waiter gulped.  “My mistake sir,” he said, “I’ll be right back.” 

The others around the table looked at him in shock.

The waiter didn’t actually return, Jonathan appeared in his place, less than two minutes later.

“My apologies,” Jonathan said, looking appalled.  “It is rare for one who barely appears twenty to know the difference between wine and vinegar.  The waiter thought you wouldn’t notice the difference.  A mistake he may make again, but not in this restaurant.”

“I’ve had a good teacher,” Harry replied blandly.  “The ’96 tastes like it still needs nappies.”

Jonathan smiled.  “As an apology, please have this bottle on the house.” 

Harry looked at it and whistled.  “Now that’s a wine,” he said reverently.

Jonathan nodded in agreement.  He opened it with more élan than the waiter had managed, and allowed Harry to taste it.

The taste was far superior.  Harry sighed in pleasure.  “Perfect,” he whispered. 

Jonathan quickly went around the table, pouring a glass out for each, including Gabrielle at Harry’s nod.

With a smile, Jonathan announced that a new waiter would be around shortly to take their order.

“Who are you?” Michael asked as soon as Jonathan left.  He had switched to French.

“A ‘leetle boy’ playing at being a being a grown up?” Harry asked, settling back comfortably. 

“No boy would sit like you are,” Marie said.  “No boy would be able to tell the difference between a good bottle of wine and a brilliant bottle.”

“Have you met Christophe?” Harry asked dryly.

“Apart from him,” Marie said, waving her hand.  “We would have been happy to wait at the bar.”

“The bar was to busy,” Harry said, “you and Fleur would have been inundated, Michael and I would have had to stand on guard, besides, have you looked in a mirror recently?  No mere concierge is going to make clientele like you wait.  All three of you give off rich and powerful vibes.  It had very little to do with me.”

“Arrogant child,” Fleur muttered, a little bitterly.

“Do you think Fleur that for just one night, you could forget what ever slight I gave you, and just have a good time?  If my presence is going to cause you a problem, then I will bid you all goodnight, and return to Hogwarts.”

Fleur stared at him.  He met her gaze, “don’t do it,” he advised her, “you know what happened last time.”

“Luck,” she sneered.

Harry leaned back and slowly finished his glass of wine, before he leaned over and kissed Gabrielle on the cheek.  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he whispered.  “Michael, Marie, it’s been an honour to meet you.  I’ll look forward to the Ball.”  Before they could say anything, he was downstairs and speaking to Jonathan.

“Can I arrange to pay for their meal please?” he asked.  “Unfortunately, I’ve been called away for a crisis; our Scottish office is having problems.”

“I’m disappointed to hear that,” Jonathan replied.

“So am I,” Harry said, handing over his credit card.  A sign in the corner attracted his attention; it announced that they would be open on Christmas day.  “Do you have a table for two people on Christmas day?” he asked.  “Around six?”

“Absolutely,” Jonathan replied without looking at any schedule.

“Fantastic, this would be a perfect place to have a meal before the Ball that evening.”

“We’ll see you then, Mr?”

“Potter.  Harry Potter.”

Jonathan nodded, and handed Harry his card back.  Harry grinned, and walked outside, into the colder air.

He looked around, and decided not to go back to Hogwarts.  He was alone, in the middle of London, he was young, single, and had been working hard for years.  He needed to have some fun, and if there was one thing what had just happened proved, was that he looked older than he was.

However, he wasn’t completely irresponsible, so he magically sent a message to a few people, letting them know he was fine, and was heading for some fun on his own.

He walked randomly, vaguely heading south.  It was still a bit early, so he stopped in a pub for some adequate food, before he continued.  There was a queue forming outside one place.  Kate had informed him that he should never queue for anything, especially not a nightclub.

He walked to the front confidently; feeling like this evening was an exam of everything Kate had taught him.  He raised an eyebrow at the doorman, who nodded and pulled a rope to one side.  He slipped him another note and entered.

The interior was dark, lit by black lights everywhere he looked, which caused his shirt to glow.  Despite the relative earliness, it was packed.  He walked straight to the bathroom and used a cubicle to hide in while he cast a couple of charms on his ears, so that he wouldn’t be deafened.

He walked back into the nightclub and to the bar, where he quickly got a bottle of beer.  He walked to the dance floor and waited until he saw someone who looked good and was single.

It was about half an hour of people watching when he noticed her.  She was with a group of friends heading toward a table, she had long dark blonde hair, and when she smiled, had perfect teeth.  He moved over toward her, sliding through the crowd effortlessly.  “Hi,” he said, flashing her a grin.  “Do you want to dance?”

“What?” she asked, ignoring her friends, “No cheesy pick up line?”

He winked at her, “wouldn’t picking you up with a line be painful for you?”

She groaned.  “I dance, but only if you’re good enough.”

“Then we’ll have an evening of fun,” he replied.

“Confident, aren’t we?”

“No reason not to be.”

She stood, and offered her his hand.  He tugged it gently, sending her into a spin, before catching her, his leg between hers, holding her against him.

“Fun?” she asked

He grinned and pulled her out to the dance floor.  He didn’t care about anyone watching, because tonight he was just Harry.

“What’s your name?” she shouted.

“Harry,” he replied.  “Yours?”

“Annie.  Do you come here often?”

He smirked at her, as they danced around an older couple.  “I thought we said no pick up lines?”

She laughed, her head going back, her long hair bouncing.

As the music stopped, he held her against him, “Drink?”

“Are you trying to get me drunk?”

“Do I need to?”

“It might help,” she purred.

“Drink it is then.”  He pulled her over to the bar, and ordered another beer for him, and looked at her questioningly.

“Diamond White,” she ordered.

Their drinks appeared less than a minute later, and Harry happily overpaid the already outrageous bill.  It would ensure that he got the best service for the rest of the evening.

“You may as well come and meet my friends,” she said.

“Oh, well, then I better get a round in.”

Annie smiled slowly at him.  “Good idea,” she approved.

He nodded, and a barman appeared again.  “Six more,” she said, holding her bottle up.

“And a tray,” Harry added.  The bottles appeared, and he picked the tray up after over-paying again.

He followed Annie through the ever-growing crowd, sliding next to her on the table and placing the bottles down.

“Bribery,” he announced.

“What for?” One of them asked.

“So that you’ll go easy on an innocent boy having some fun.”

“When we see him, we’ll go easy,” another promised as she finished her bottle and reached for a new one.  “So, why did you pick Annie?”

Harry recognised the trap for what it was.  “Because she stood out like a lily in a field full of chrysanthemums.  All the flowers are beautiful, but this one’s just a little different.”

“Good answer,” the talkative one said with a smirk.  “And the real reason?”

He saluted her with his beer.  “Will I get hit if I tell the truth?”

“Probably,” she said.

“Dawn!” Annie protested.

He winked at her.  “It was because of how Annie walked to the table.  You all walked normally, Annie seemed to glide.  It was a pretty good hint that she knows how to dance, and as I came here to do exactly that…”

“So where are you friends?” Dawn asked.

“My friends?  Back in Scotland,” he answered, a little surprised by the change of direction.

“You came over here, to a group of girls, and asked the prettiest one out without backup?”

Harry looked around the girls, and then grinned, “yeah,” he agreed.  “She is the prettiest one.  It’s a close run thing, and another man would probably disagree.”

Annie glowed and hugged his arm, while the others rolled their eyes.

“So what do you do?”

Harry shrugged.  “I’m just a student, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Right,” another drawled.  “In a handmade Jean-Paul Gaultier shirt?”

Harry grinned at her, having no idea who Jean-Paul Gaultier was.  “I might also own the odd business, or two,” he confessed.  “My parents left them to me.”

“They’re dead then?” Dawn asked.

“Dawn!” Annie spat.

Dawn blushed.  “Open mouth, insert foot.”

Harry leaned to the side and looked under the table.  “Nice feet they are as well,” he said seriously.  “It happened when I was a baby, I’m over it now.”

“This conversation has taken a turn for the morbid,” Annie said, with a disgusted look at Dawn.  “Let’s dance?”

“For this evening, your wish is my command,” Harry said as he stood.

“Only for tonight?” Annie asked.

“Tomorrow, I’m going back to Scotland,” he said, a fake look of regret on his face.

“Then I better enjoy you while I can,” Annie said as she pulled him back out onto the dance floor.

Over the evening, he learnt that she worked as a dancer and was trying to become something more than a chorus girl.

They didn’t spend much time with the other girls, who danced a bit, but seemed more interested in people watching and drinking.

Annie didn’t drink much more, to his relief.

Toward the end of the night, she looked at him seriously.  “So,” she said, a little shyly, “my place or yours?”

He reached up and dragged his finger down her cheek, “we can say goodbye here,” he whispered.

“Do you want to?”

“Say goodbye, no,” he said, “but I can’t offer you anything, Annie.”

“Can you offer me tonight, Harry?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

“Then that will do,” she whispered back, covering his lips with hers.  “Let’s grab a taxi.”

He smiled and walked out with her, wrapping his arm around her as they entered the cold night air.

Her room was the top floor flat in an old building.  There were some leotards over the back of the chair, and she looked a little embarrassed at the general untidiness.

He smiled and crowded her against a wall, and kissed her. 

And one kiss quickly led to another.

Harry whistled cheerfully as he wandered back toward Hogwarts.  He was a little sad to say goodbye to Annie this morning, and had made a mental note to make sure that she got a break sooner or later.  But he hadn’t promised her anything he couldn’t deliver on.

What he wanted now was a long shower, and maybe a quick nap.

“Harry!”  He didn’t even need to look up to prepare for the blonde missile that was about to hit him, and he caught Gabrielle cleanly.

“Morning,” he greeted her cheerfully.

She hugged him, and then looked back, her eyes wide.  “You smell of girl,” she announced.

Harry shrugged and nodded.

“You had a good night then?”

“The best.”

“We were worried when you left,” she explained.  “Mum and Dad tried to find out what was going on, and by the time Dad tried to find you, you’d gone.  And Dad’s mad at you.”

“He is?”

“Yeah, you paid!”

Harry grinned.  “Why shouldn’t I?” he asked.  “I’ve got to make sure that you’re well fed.  You’re a growing girl after all.”

Gabrielle smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

Harry carried Gabrielle into Hogwarts, to find all his bodyguards (including Lisa), Fred and George, as well as Michael and Marie sitting on chairs arranged in a circle around one corner.

“Harry,” Fred said, looking at him.

“Boss,” George continued. “Friend, defeater of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”

“And sender of inadequate messages,” Fred finished.

“Yes,” George said.  “‘Guys, things didn’t work out with the Delacours, gone to explore London, be back tomorrow,’ is not the most useful of messages.”

“Yeah,” Crusher agreed.

“It doesn’t exactly give us any chance to get to you,” Lisa added.

Michael was looking at him, and then sniffed, before his eyes went wide.

“Yes,” Gabrielle agreed innocently, “he does smell of girl.”

There was a general silence as everyone looked at him.

“You went to London, and now you smell of girl?” Fred asked slowly.

“Annie,” Harry said with a shrug.  “Her name was Annie, and yes, we did have a good time -- dancing.”

Fred and George both had big grins on their faces.

Lisa stood and moved hear him, before she sat back down, a surprised look on her face.  “You’ve just made my job a lot harder,” she sighed.

“What?” Harry asked, a little surprised.

“It’s been bad enough that you’ve been putting on weight left, right and centre, that you have a habit of running around the lake topless, that you somehow look four or five years older than you are, but now you’re going out and sleeping with girls who are what, six years older than you?”

“Eight,” he mumbled.

“I’m going to have to beat the witches off with a stick!”

Harry relaxed, as he realised she wasn’t that serious.  “If it helps, I’m not concerned about anyone in Hogwarts.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Lisa grumbled.  “Rich, powerful, handsome, unavailable.  Please tell me that you’re not bringing her to the Ball?”

“She’s a Muggle,” Harry said with a sigh of regret.  “So no, I’m not bringing her.”  He smiled a little as he thought about Kate.

“Harry,” Lisa asked slowly, “who are you bringing?”

He smirked at her.

“Crap,” Lisa said.  “Right, we’ll need all of us on duty on Friday.”

“We were planning on it anyway,” Smasher said.  “So, are we going to get the full story?”

“Yeah,” Gabrielle agreed.

“The shortened version, as I need a shower.  I had dinner at a pub, wandered to a nightclub, and had a drink while I waited for someone to interest me.  I spotted Annie as she glided through the crowds of people, she was the only person who looked like she could dance, so I approached, asked her to dance, and the rest was history.”

He peeled Gabrielle from his chest.  “I’ll see you in two hours,” he said, “we’ve got some transfiguration to go through.”

She nodded as he placed her between her parents and stretched massively.  “Right, I’m going to shower and nap.  Catch you all later.”

Smasher, Crusher, Nasher and Thrasher, as well as Lisa, stood.  “Boss,” Lisa said, “we’re going to have to put a charm on you.”

“Why?” he asked, as they headed back toward the Durmstrang ship.

“So that we can find you if anything goes wrong.  I know you had a good time last night, but what if someone had found you?  It would be far easier if you could just press a button, and we can come running.”

Harry thought for a second.  “That’s a good idea,” he agreed.  “Get Hermione to work on it when she’s got the mind thingy done.”  He opened his door and walked into the room assigned to him.  He pulled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes.

“Is there anything else?” he asked, as he removed his trousers.

“No,” Lisa squeaked.

“Whoops, sorry,” he apologised solemnly.  “I kinda forgot that you might be uncomfortable.”

“No problem,” she said, blushing furiously.

“I’ll not move for two hours,” he promised, shooing them out so that he could get into the shower.  Before he got in, he asked Dobby to clean Michael’s shirt.

The two hours later he felt a lot better and dressed casually, he wandered back to Hogwarts.  Gabrielle was sitting with her parents inside the classroom they’d adopted, chatting merrily.

He handed his wand to Gabrielle and the clean shirt to Michael.

Gabrielle moved to sit at her desk and looked at him expectantly.

“Shall we do a bit of recapping first?” he asked.

She nodded eagerly.

“Right, matchstick to needle.”

Gabrielle performed the transfiguration perfectly, and Harry smiled at her, as she went through a series of other spells he’d learnt in the first year.

“Right,” Harry said, “let’s see what you’ve learnt.  Cushion to porcupine.”  He walked next to her and lifted her into his lap, as he sat down.  “Now, let’s do the wand movements.”

He slowly took her through the swishes and flicks needed, before he made her practice on her own.  When she had it down perfectly, he taught her the incantation, and then they did the spell together.

The cushion seemed to sneeze as it grew quills, and started to scurry around the desk.  Gabrielle bounced happily, as Harry cancelled the spell.

“Right, do it on your own now,” Harry said as he stood, and placed her down on the seat.  “You don’t need me anymore.”

“Not for this,” she agreed, as she settled down and cast the spell on her own.  As before the, cushion became a porcupine.

“Make sure you write it all down.”

Gabrielle nodded and pulled out a quill and some parchment and started to write down everything she had done.

“Impressive,” Michael said slowly.

“She is,” Harry agreed fondly.

“I meant you.”

“Oh, I’m not impressive,” Harry demurred.  “She’s the one doing all the work.”

“Walk with me,” Michael said, “Marie will spend some time with Gabrielle.”

Harry nodded and followed him out of the classroom; they walked outside, and started around the Lake.

Michael smirked at him.  “Last night, you were supposed to go home, and mooch around all evening.”

“I was?” Harry asked in surprise.  “Why?”

“You’re also supposed to be susceptible to the Veela charm, and you’re certainly not supposed to knock out a Veela for using it.”

“Ahh,” Harry said.

“That’s why Fleur doesn’t like you.”

“How is it that Gabrielle is a sweetheart and you and Marie seem so nice, that Fleur is such a spoiled brat?”

“Ouch,” Michael said dryly, rubbing the back of his head.  “Gabrielle is a child Veela.  She is mildly empathic, and loves to touch people who love her.  When she touches you, she can feel that you love her, and that gives her more reassurance than I can ever explain to a non-empath.  I had my parents and my sister, she has that, and she has you.  You are the first male she has met that gives her complete adoration without asking for anything back.  And of course, Gabrielle utterly adores you for everything you have done for her.  In one of her letters before Christmas, she mentioned you forty-three times and Fleur twice.”

Harry smiled.

“Fleur was our first child, and well, we spoilt her, and she was used to getting her own way before she got her charm, and well, with her charm, and she is used to everyone falling at her feet.  We have tried to rein her in over the past few years, but have not been as successful as we liked.  We love and adore Fleur, and recognise our faults in the way she is, but we also accept that she can be a brat.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Harry agreed, “but I’m not going to change who I am.”

“No,” Michael agreed.  “Mind you, I am slightly concerned about what happens next year, and how Gabrielle will be when she doesn’t see and touch you every day.  That is a bridge we will cross when we get to it.”

“You’re not planning on trying to get her into Beauxbatons early?”

“Well, we have talked to Olympe,” Michael admitted.

Harry smirked.

“Gabrielle will still miss you, even if she does go to Beauxbatons.”

Harry continued to smirk.

“Harry?”

“Did you know that Beauxbatons has the largest library in Europe?”

“I’ve donated enough money to help build it,” Michael said dryly.  “What are you getting at?”

“Hermione and I are planning on transferring to Beauxbatons next year.  We’ve not told anyone else yet, but we’re not staying here.”

“On behalf of the Board of Governors, I welcome you both to our school,” Michael said, a large grin on his face.

Harry smiled at him, and they continued to walk in silence.  “Your control over your magic is remarkable,” Michael eventually said.

“As long as I am touching my wand, I can control it,” Harry agreed.  “I was talking to Hermione and Melissa about this, and we decided that what I was doing was teaching Gabrielle’s magic how to flow properly, and once she knows how to do it, she can do it herself.”

“I’m going to talk to some primary school teachers, and we’ll see if others can do it.  I’m also thinking of getting Gabrielle her wand early.”

“I wouldn’t,” Harry said.  “This way, she can only do magic with me, so there is no experimenting that might dent her confidence, or get her in trouble.”

Michael clapped him on the back.  “Wise words, my friend.  Now, enough about this, what happened last night?  Show some pity on this old married man, and let me live vicariously through you.”

Harry just laughed.

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 4

Christmas morning was announced by a body landing on his chest.  Before he opened his eyes, he was hit by the thought that it was really nice to be have someone jump on him, and know that it could only be Gabrielle, because the wards his bodyguards had put up would not allow anyone else into his room.

“Joyeux Noel,” Gabrielle cried happily as he opened his eyes.  She was wearing a white night gown and her feet, which she was waving around carelessly, looked ice cold.

“Merry Christmas,” Harry said solemnly.  “I didn’t expect to see you this morning.”  He slid out of bed, “get under the covers and warm up!”

Gabrielle waved her hand airily as she snuggled down.  “Mama and Papa are sleeping, and Fleur’s being a grump.  So I figured you’d be more fun.”

Harry smiled.  “Did you at least leave them a note?”

“Of course.  Not that they’d need it, where else would I go?”  She yawned massively, and grinned at him.

Harry stretched.  “Right, you can nap while I have a shower.”

“Okay,” she said as she yawned again.

Harry moved into the bathroom and peeled off his shorts.  He looked at his watch and groaned.  Half past six was way too early.  They weren’t planning on meeting up until ten, and he now had a young Veela to entertain for a few hours.

Once out of the shower, he wrapped a towel around himself and walked back into the bedroom to grab some clothes, before retreating to get dressed.  He wandered into the bedroom, to find that Gabrielle was now burrowed deeply under the covers and was fast asleep.

He laughed softly, and stretched.  He contemplated having another few hour’s kip, but decided to go for a run instead.  He leaned over and gently kissed Gabrielle on her head, before he changed into a pair of shorts and put on some trainers and socks, and walked out.

Once on snowy-land, he stretched for a few minutes, before he started to jog, deciding to run around Hogwarts for a change.  It wasn’t as far as the Great Lake, but he could do it a few times, and if he detoured around the Quidditch Pitch, it would be far enough.

It was silent outside, even the local animals seemed to be sleeping, which made sense, because if he hadn’t been kicked out of bed by a Veela child, he’d be doing that as well. 

Running on fully automatic, he allowed his mind to drift.  This was the first Christmas he’d ever really looked forward to.  He’d enjoyed shopping for all his friends, and had even sent Molly, Arthur and the Weasleys presents – although he had to choose carefully, as he didn’t want to alienate Molly and Arthur.

And while the Scottish weather had produced the snow he wanted, the Great Hall was a disappointment.  There was no tree this year, because of the Ball that evening.

Most of the students who had gone home were going to be arriving a few hours before the Ball, on a special train from Kings Cross, which allowed them to spend the morning with their families.

It was something he was going to do, as Melissa, Hermione and Gabrielle were all here, as were all his other friends.  The only people missing were Fred and George, and they were going to turn up as soon as they’d discharged their family responsibilities.  He was seeing Kate later, which would mean he’d see everyone who mattered to him.

It was shaping up to be the best Christmas of his life, and he made a promise to himself to try and have big parties in the future, and, if only for one day, enjoy how lucky had had been to stumble across Fred and George when he had.

It was an hour later when he finished jogging, and he needed another shower.  He was now wide awake and ravenously hungry.  He headed back to his room to get clean and get a change of clothes. 

“Come on, princess,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Gabrielle yawned as she opened her eyes, before she stretched.  “Your bed smells of you,” she told him.

“Breakfast?”

“Yeah, I’m hungry.”

“Come on,” he said, lifting her up.  She was really warm, and she clung sleepily to him, as he carried her to Hogwarts, using a warming charm to make sure she didn’t get cold.

They were the only ones up, which meant that Dobby had to fight off a dozen elves who wanted to serve them.

He decided that as it was Christmas, he could cheat and go for a full English.  He was actually starting to think that as soon as he could get off of his diet, he’d never want to eat beef again.

Gabrielle ordered a large bowl of porridge.  The food arrived in record time, and they both ate silently, Gabrielle still looked sleepy.

As she finished, she started to wake up, and a cup of coffee (that she made several cute faces at while drinking) quickly had her earlier exuberance back.

“So,” Gabrielle said, “can we do presents now?”

“I’ll tell you what,” Harry said, “why don’t we go for a ride while everyone else wakes up?”

“Ride on what?”

“I happen to know that there’s a Hippogriff around.” 

Gabrielle’s eyes went wide, before she nodded eagerly.

“Come on, we’ll let you get changed first, then we’ll go and meet him.”

Gabrielle took his hand and dragged him back to the carriage, where she vanished inside.  She was back around thirty seconds later, looking like she’d just thrown on what she had found first – which seemed to include one of her female relatives blouses that could have doubled as a dress for her, and a pair of jeans.

He picked her up onto his shoulders and strolled around the castle.  Hagrid’s curtains were still closed, so he didn’t bother waking the half-giant up.

The Hippogriff was grazing in a small paddock to the back.  After the mess with Malfoy and Buckbeak, Hagrid had promised to only allow the seventh years to see them.

Harry bowed to the animal respectfully, while next to him, Gabrielle curtseyed.

LongFeather snickered at them.

“Fancy going for a fly?” Harry asked.

LongFeather looked at him for a long moment, before nodding hard.

Harry grinned and approached him carefully, keeping between the Hippogriff and Gabrielle.

He swung himself on top, and then leaned down to lift Gabrielle in front of him.  “Ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” Gabrielle replied nervously.

“Hai,” he shouted, digging his heels in, while reaching around Gabrielle to grab the long mane hair.

LongFeather reared back, before taking off in a gallop.  As he approached the edge of the paddock, he opened his wings, and they flew high into the sky.

Gabrielle squealed excitedly, which seemed to encourage LongFeather.

They flew over Hogsmeade, before circling around and going over the Forbidden Forest.  From the sky, it looked calm and peaceful.

Harry eventually looked at his watch, and nudged LongFeather back toward Hogsmeade.

Gabrielle shot him a quick pout, but her eyes were bright and happy.

As they headed down, Gabrielle shouted, “My parents!”

Harry smiled, and steered LongFeather toward them, aiming for him to land and come to a stop near them.  Fleur joined them, as the three looked up at them.

They landed, the regular motion of the Hippogriff’s wings changed into the up and down gait of a horse.  Harry slowed him down in front of the Delacours.  LongFeather reared up dramatically, pawing the air, before he went down on one knee.

He lifted Gabrielle down, “I’ll take him back,” he said.

Gabrielle’s grateful smile made getting up early worthwhile.  She turned and started to tell her parents exactly what had happened that morning, managing what sounding like a hundred and fifty words a minute.

Harry urged LongFeather forward, and they trotted back around the school, to his paddock.  He gave LongFeather some food, and a brushing.  LongFeather nudged his shoulder, before walking over to his nest, and collapsing down.

“Thanks,” Harry said, and got the distinct impression that the Hippogriff grinned at him.  He returned to the Great Hall, to find it was now full of people eating breakfast. 

“Flying a Hippogriff?” Christophe asked.

“Why not?” Harry replied.  “LongFeather was getting bored anyway.”

“Gabrielle enjoyed it,” Adrienne called from further down the table, “and I suspect that I would as well.”

“That, Harry,” Michael said, “was a hint.”

“I’ll talk to him,” Harry promised.  “See if he’s agreeable.”

“Boss is good with them,” Nasher said.  “Flew one last year, sadly, Malfoy bitched to Daddy and got him killed.”

Harry coughed.

“Boss?”

“There might have been an accident with a Time Turner,” Harry muttered, “and well, it’s possible that Macnair might have failed at his job.”

“Cool!”

“Is there anything you’ve not done?” Christophe asked dryly.

Harry thought for a few seconds.  “Oh, had a normal year where all I do is study and not have to worry about some psycho killing me.”

Christophe threw a roll at him.  “It’s Christmas, no depressing thoughts.”

Harry caught the roll casually.  He settled down and started to eat his second breakfast.  When he had finished, he looked at Gabrielle, who was trying to get his attention.

“We should have had a tree,” Gabrielle announced.  “It’s not Christmas without a tree!”

“It’s not?” Harry asked playfully.  “Then I guess that I’ll go get the tree, Hermione, you’re in charge of creating some decorations.”

“Yay,” Gabrielle cheered, clapping her hands.

Harry trudged outside, and headed for the Forbidden Forest.  It didn’t take him long to find a giant Douglas Fir.  He cast a spell to make sure that no animal was using it, and then used Diffindo to cut the base.  It made a loud crashing noise as it fell to the ground.

A hovering charm lifted it into the air, and he trudged back to Hogwarts.  He had to cast a shrinking charm to get it through the doors, and into the Great Hall, where the Professors were watching him in amusement.

“Harry, that’s huge!” Hermione said, as he raised it into the corner.  He turned and winked at her.

“Aww crap,” Christophe said, “That’s his evil smile.”

Harry laughed, and cast a few spells around the base.  He threw his wand at Gabrielle.  “Want to cancel the spell.”

“Finite Incantatem!” Gabrielle said firmly.

The tree grew and grew, until it almost brushed the ceiling.

“Now that,” Marie said softly.  “Is a tree.”

“I’m going to need more decorations,” Hermione said, looking worried.

“Dobby,” Harry called.

Dobby popped in and stared at the tree.  “Harry Potter is greatest wizard alive,” he stated.  “More elves, more elves!”

Other elves started to pop in, and they all looked at the tree.  “Hogwarts not having proper tree for centuries,” one elf said reverently.  “We be decoratings, please?”

“Go ahead,” Harry said.

The elves, with more still popping in, attacked the tree.  Lights, candles, fruit and decorations, all appeared from no where as they elves floated up and around, making sure that every branch had something.

Dobby stood back and started directing the elves, before another elf, a female one, elbowed him firmly and informed him that his sense of aesthetics was somewhat lacking.

The elves finished, and started to pop away.  “Stop,” Harry called.

The elves looked at him fearfully.  He walked over and dropped to his knees in front of them.  “Thank you, all,” he said softly.  “We all really appreciate the effort you have put in, and the work that you do for us through out the year.”

Almost simultaneously, the elves started to cry with happiness.

“Now, it’s Christmas, so today is the day that you can ask for anything you might need to help you with your jobs, and I’ll provide it.”

One elf slowly raised his right hand.  “I is head cleaning elf,” he said proudly, “but I is hearing from students that Muggles is having stuff that makes clothes even softer, I’s  like to try that.”

“Hermione,” Harry said, “write down a hundred litres of fabric softener.  You’ll have it on Friday, when the Muggle shops reopen.”

The elf literally jumped for joy. 

“Anyone else?” Harry asked.

Now that the first elf had got what he wanted, and not been asked to punish himself for his braveness, another elf raised her hand.  “I is being Tilly, I is head cook.”

“And a great job you do as well,” Harry said.

Tilly blushed furiously, and a look of devotion flitted across her face.  “Dobby is being right,” she whispered.  “I is wondering if I could be having cookingly books.  We is only knowing English food and some Italian, because Mario,” she pointed at a small elf in red overalls with a large moustache, “is being with an Italian family for years.  We is not knowing Frenchies food, and we is knowing Frenchies isn’t always liking English.”

“Great idea,” Harry said.  “You got that Hermione?”

“Absolutely,” Hermione whispered in reply.

With that, the flood gates opened, and elves asked for all sorts of things, from new mops, to drain cleaner to a supplier of shitake mushrooms.

Harry agreed to them all, as Hermione wrote the requests down.  It was an ecstatically happy group of house-elves who finally popped away, apart from Dobby.

“I have a present for you,” Harry said.

“Harry Potter sir shouldn’t be doing that,” Dobby replied, his eyes huge in awe.

Harry used his wand to summon a box.  As it arrived, he handed it to Dobby.  Dobby opened it and gasped.

“The red ones are Manchester United,” Harry said, “who I have been informed are the best football team in England.  The white ones from Real Madrid, the best football team in Spain.” 

Dobby held up the long bright red socks, before he burst into tears.  “Yous got Dobby socks,” he shouted, “Dobby got Harry Potter sir a present too.”  He snapped his fingers, and handed Harry the package that appeared.  Harry opened them to find socks. 

“Dobby is making them himself, sir!” the elf said happily. “He is buying the wool out of his wages, sir!”

The left sock was bright red and had a pattern of broomsticks upon it; the right sock was green with a pattern of Snitches.

“Thank you,” Harry said solemnly.

Dobby hugged him for a second before popping away.  Harry stood and stretched, placing the socks on the table.  He looked at the tree, and then at Gabrielle, “it’s missing something, isn’t it.”

“A star,” Gabrielle agreed, after shaking herself. 

“Can I have my wand back?”

Gabrielle immediately handed him the wand.  He moved opposite her and started to twirl the wand in his fingers, telling it to give off sparks.  As it did, it started to move faster and faster, creating a circle of sparks.

He let go off his wand, and allowed it to spin on its own, he concentrated hard, and a bright light started to grow from the middle, until it encompassed the whole circle his wand was keeping.  With a clap of his hands, the light burst into bright yellow flames, although no heat was coming from it.

The fire stared to rotate, creating a sphere, before he reached in and grabbed his wand.  The ball of bright flame hung there.

“How’s that?” he asked.

Gabrielle’s mouth was wide open, and she barely managed to nod.  Harry cast Wingardium Leviosa on himself, and floated up to the ceiling, where he carefully placed the ball of flame on the very top.  It seemed to illuminate the entire hall.

He floated back down, sticking his wand in his back pocket. 

“Better?” he asked.

Gabrielle nodded firmly.  “Right,” she said, “everyone needs to bring their presents here!”  She grabbed her father’s hand, and dragged him out.

“Well,” Michael said, as he headed toward the exit, “we’ve got our orders.  Five minutes?”

There was a general round of agreement, as everyone vacated the hall.

“Harry,” Filius called from the professor’s table.  Harry looked up, he’d pretty much forgotten that they were there.  “Take twenty points for some truly outstanding charms work.”

Harry smiled at him, and summoned all his presents, before banishing them under the tree.

“She has you wrapped around her little finger,” Marie said, looking amused.

“Nonsense,” Harry said, “I just happen to like being curled up in that position, it is a mere coincidence.”

Marie sniggered.

“However,” Harry said, “It does help that we have the same maturity level, I was complaining to myself earlier about the lack of tree.  Christmas should have a tree, well, the first Christmas when I see all my friends.”

Speaking of which, Fred and George chose that moment to arrive.

“Harry, nice tree,” Fred said, as George put a handful of presents under the tree next to Harry’s.

“Me?” Harry asked.

“Yes,” George said, “no one else would think about getting a tree that makes Hagrid’s look small.

Harry grinned.  “Have you met Marie?”

“No,” Fred said.  “I’m one of the two Weasley twins, Fred and George.  Not sure which one.”

“Me neither,” George agreed, “and really, it doesn’t matter.”

“Except in bed,” Fred mused.  “I’m the one who likes Alicia.”

“And I like Angelina,” George added.

“Delighted to meet you.”

“Did you have a good morning?”  Harry asked.

“Well, with Ron and Ginny hiding in the Gryffindor Common Room, it was just us and Percy, and that guy takes being a prat to all new levels,” Fred said, “and that’s with mum in one of her more reasonable moods.  We were only berated four times.”

“So no,” George said.  “But we’re here now, and we can enjoy ourselves for the rest of the day.”

“I’m glad you guys are here,” Harry said.

“Yeah, we are too,” Fred agreed.  He looked up as the others started to enter, bearing gifts.  Behind them, Christophe, Alicia and Angelina entered.  “If you’ll excuse us,” they said.

“They’re fun,” Marie said.

“They are,” Harry agreed.  “Great friends as well.  I have no idea where I’d be without them, but it wouldn’t be here with you.”

Marie smiled warmly at him.  “Then I will have to thank them later.  Where are the rest of the students?”

“Probably in their common rooms,” Harry said with an uncaring shrug.

The doors opened again, allowing Gabrielle, who was carrying a couple of boxes, and Michael, who was carrying a load more to enter.

Gabrielle put hers down at the front, then helped her father unload, before she hopped over to Harry.

“Are you going to give the presents out?” he asked.

She nodded eagerly.

“Right, you’ll need a spell then,” he said, and quickly taught her how to float present to people.  Gabrielle kissed his cheek as she finished, then dashed over to the tree to supervise the other presents as they arrived.

“You do know that most people don’t give up their wands, ever,” Marie asked.

Harry shrugged.  “I’ve only leant it to her, and Gabrielle knows how much it means to me.”

“Your faith is both touching and slightly disturbing,” Michael said as he sat down.  “You’ve not seen her when she’s throwing a tantrum.”

“True,” Harry agreed.

“Christophe,” Gabrielle called, and sent a package flying his way.  “Smasher,” she continued, “and Fred.”

Three presents were opened, and three set grateful thanks were sent out to the people who had given them.  Gabrielle kept up a fast pace as she banished packages at people almost randomly, although Harry noticed that she kept a few packages to one side.

Harry received a pair of boxing gloves from Crusher, and a punch bag from Smasher.  Nasher and Thrasher gave him two rings.  When he looked at them curiously, they looked bashful, and admitted that they were now in line for Death Eater arm bonuses, as they’d decided to collect on their fathers.  At Harry’s shocked look, they explained that their mothers had agreed it was for the best.

Harry then decided to accept the gift as it was meant, even if it did freak him out slightly.

He had the traditional Weasley jumper, which he carefully put to one side, and tickets to a Quidditch match from Hermione.

He looked at her in surprise.  She smiled at him, “you’re doing wonderfully in class,” she said, “so you don’t need to study as much.”

“Thanks, Hermione.”

Melissa got him an incredibly smart pair of formal black robes, inlaid with the faintest of silver lining.  Christophe got him a book on wine tasting, and Adrienne got him a ticket to a winery in France.  She confessed that it was a self serving present, as she lived next door to the vineyard.

Fred and George gave him a box of all their latest inventions, along with a list of passwords to all the Common Rooms.  He smiled, he wouldn’t use the pranks on the students, but they were always useful to have around.

Lisa surprised him by buying him a small knife that was designed to be hidden on his person at all times.  Viktor got him a training session with the Vastra Vultures Seeking coach.

To his surprise, he also got a few other smaller presents from some of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students, as well as a new shirt from Michael and Marie, which he thanked them for.

All of the students had presents from home, and there was a large pile of wrapping paper growing from each side of the table, and the noise level was high.

Gabrielle searched through the remaining presents, and banished some of Harry’s smaller presents to the other Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students.

With only a few presents left, Gabrielle abandoned the spells, and started handing them out personally.  She carried the first ones to Smasher, Crusher, Nasher, Thrasher, and Lisa.

They all ripped into them eagerly, and their cheer was almost deafening.  Five sets of pockets were emptied, with an amazing variety of weapons placed on a table, before five robes were ripped off and chucked onto the pile of rubbish.  Five new, and identical, robes were then put on, and done up.  Matching sun glasses were pulled out of the boxes and put on as well.  The weapons vanished, as the five turned, Lisa in the middle, surrounded by the other larger students.

“How do we look?” Smasher asked.

“Intimidating,” Melissa announced.  “And very professional.”

“Thanks boss,” Lisa said happily.  “These are great!”

“Yeah,” Crusher agreed.  “We’d thought about uniforms, but these are even better!”

“They’re based of the Auror uniforms,” Harry explained.  “Hermione, try and stun Crusher.”

Hermione nodded and pulled out her wand.  “Stupefy!”

Crusher took a few steps back, but had no other adverse reaction to the spell.  “Brilliant!” he breathed.

“Thanks boss,” Lisa said again.

“Yeah,” the others agreed, and retook their seats, sitting proudly.

Gabrielle carried the next two presents to Fred and George.  They ripped into the box, and looked at the paper inside in confusion.

Suddenly, they both held up the paper next to each other, and there was a flash of light, before the two pieces of paper joined up, and words appeared.  They both read the paper, before they looked at each other, then read it again.

Still in perfect unison, they placed it down, and ran toward Harry, diving over the table, catching him and sending them to the floor, where they hugged him excitedly.

“Get off of me, you lunatics,” he complained playfully.

“Thanks, boss,” Fred said.  “Really, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah,” George agreed seriously.  “Thanks, Harry.”

As Harry got to his feet, Gabrielle gave Christophe and Adrienne their presents.  Christophe whistled as he looked at the bottle of wine, as Adrienne squeaked at the day long stay at a Muggle Spa.

While they were looking, Gabrielle gave her parents and sister Harry’s presents to them.  Michael and Marie got tickets to the theatre, while Fleur got a calligraphy pen, something Gabrielle had suggested to him.

Harry had got Viktor got a book on Runeic magic that he seemed to appreciate.

The pile next to Gabrielle was now down to four presents.  She took the next one and gave it to Melissa.

Melissa opened it softly, and gasped.  She pulled out the gold necklace and held it up, a small Slytherin emblem dangled on the end, with two tiny emeralds for eyes. 

She looked at Harry, and then simply whispered, “Thank you,” to him.  She put it on, and continued to smile. 

Hermione’s present was next, and it came in several parts.  The first was a slim gold bracelet that she immediately placed on her arm, the second was a simpler necklace that Melissa’s, this with no emblem.  He understood that she didn’t really consider herself a Gryffindor anymore, and nor did he.

The second to last part was a signed invitation inviting her to attend Beauxbatons next year.

Finally, and traditionally, there was a small book.  She opened it, and shot him a dazzling smile as she read the words he’d written earlier.

To my best friend, thank you for always believing in me and never letting me be alone.  You have made Hogwarts worthwhile.

I love you.

Harry

PS, no silly boy words today.

PPS, I know you’re not vain, but I stumbled across this spell, and figured I’d give it to you anyway.

“Thank you,” she said, her eyes saying a lot more.  She paused, and then grinned at him.  “I’ll use it, and blame you.”

“Deal.”

Gabrielle walked over to him next, and handed him a small package.  There was a curious look of excitement and fear in her eyes, and he knew that this was his present from her.  He smiled reassuringly at her as he opened it up.  Everyone was watching, and he knew this was what Gabrielle had wanted.

He pulled out a leather cord, and held up a small circular wooden pendant.  In the middle, a Hungarian Horntail was posed, roaring a multi coloured flame that merged into the circle.  There was a strong silver blonde thread all around the outside of the wooden circlet.

“Lisa and Hermione helped me, if you touch the dragon, Lisa will be able to find you.”   She blushed, and continued, “the blonde stuff is my hair, you should wear it against your chest, so that I’m always close to your heart.”

“Oh, Gabrielle,” he whispered, sliding out from the table and dropping to his knees next to her.

“I don’t want you to ever forget me when I leave you this summer,” she whispered.

Harry shrugged off his robes, and held the cord out to her, bending his head.

Gabrielle slowly moved it around his neck, and slid it under his t-shirt.

He caught her hand, holding it against his heart.  “I swear I will never forget about you.”

Her smile was a bit tremulous, as she looked like she was fighting tears.  He touched his wand in her hand, and the last present, his to hers, was in his hand, and he gave it to her.

Like with Hermione, it had several parts.  The first part was a letter, inviting her to start Beauxbatons next year.  She gasped in delight, and carefully placed it on the bench next to them.  The next part was a pair of tiny diamond earrings, along with a gift certificate to get her ears pierced.

“I got permission from your parents,” Harry whispered.

Gabrielle cheered and hugged him, before she opened the last part.  It was an envelope, and she opened it carefully.

She read it and frowned in confusion.  It was another invitation to start Beauxbatons next year.

He could see her read it, and then read it again, before she stopped at one point, and she started to shake.

“Is this true?” she asked, her eyes as wide as he could remember, and a look of total yearning on her face.

He nodded.  It was his own acceptance letter to Beauxbatons.  She squealed and launched herself at him, burying her face in his neck as she burst into tears.

He smiled and patted her back softly.  He lifted her up as he stood, and she moved her legs around him, and showed no signs of ever wanting to let go.

“Thanks everyone,” he said, “it’s been the best Christmas morning I’ve ever had.”

“And it’s not long to lunch,” Fred added.  “Then us guys will have to waste time for hours while the girls spend decades getting ready.”

“True, brother mine,” George added.  “So worth the wait, though.”

“Absolutely,” Fred agreed.  “So, who’s up for a snowball fight?”

The cheer that came in response signified that most people were, and those that weren’t up for it, were soon dragged in anyway.

Before Harry could join them, Michael nodded his head toward a classroom.  He carried Gabrielle into the room.  She was radiating a contentedness and happiness that was giving her a soft golden glow.

“Your necklace,” Michael said, as they closed the door.  “It’s not just a pendant.  Gabrielle, Harry needs to use his hands.”

Gabrielle shifted around, so that she was hanging onto his back.

Michael looked amused.  “You may have heard that Fleur’s wand has her Grandmother’s hair in it?”

He nodded, remembering from when she had her wand tested by Ollivander.

“Well, with Gabrielle’s hair in there, and the wood we used, holly, by the way, it’s almost like a wand.  If you hold it, and cast a spell, it should work.”

Harry pulled it out of his t-shirt.  “Stupefy!”  The spell rocketed from his hand, and smashed against the wall.  “Wow,” he said.

Michael smiled.  “We are the only three who know it can do this,” he said, “and we’ll keep it that way.”

“Thank you, Michael,” he said seriously.  He reached around and lifted Gabrielle back around.  “And thank you, Gabrielle.”

She smiled massively at him, then went back to hugging him.

“Come on,” Michael said, “if there’s one thing Fleur hates, it’s her old man being a better aim that she is.”

“Fleur likes snowball fights?”

“Nope,” Michael said cheerfully.  “Makes it even more fun.”

Gabrielle giggled and reluctantly unwrapped herself from him.  “Let’s go play,” she said, and took his and Michael’s hand, pulling them out of the room.

Harry was dressed in his new robes.  He was feeling pretty relaxed and looking forward to an evening of dancing with Kate.

The dinner had been excellent, with Jonathan making sure that everything went smoothly.  They had come back to her apartment to change into their wizard outfits.

She moved out of the bathroom and he looked at her, and whistled slowly.  She was wearing pure red dress robes that had long slits alongside each of her legs.  The top barely covered her breasts, highlighting her cleavage, while her legs were emphasised by her matching high heels.

“You look amazing,” he told her honestly.

She smiled at him.  “Ready to cause a scandal?”

“Always,” he replied.  “You do know what to expect?”

“Harry, dear,” she said, “I am an escort, I am used to people looking down on me.  I can look after myself.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed.  “But I am going to play the boyfriend tonight, so I may curse the odd idiot or two.”

She laughed.  “Agreed.”

He offered her his arm.  “Shall we?”

They Apparated to Hogsmeade, where they met up with Crusher and Smasher.  They both looked at Kate, and then at Harry, and shook their heads in awe.  Together, the four of them walked to Hogwarts, heading toward the Great Hall.

They were a little late, deliberately so, and managed to time it so that they arrived just as Viktor and Hermione, Cedric and Cho, and Fleur and what looked like Roger Davies were entering the Hall.  The Christmas tree totally dominated the room, and someone had charmed his star, so that the light it gave out was filtered, giving a flickered effect through out.

They tacked on to the end of the procession, and walked out into the middle of the dance area.  He could see Gabrielle with her parents, looking like a princess in a shiny white dress with white slippers.  He shot her a wink, but she was looking at his date in awe.

Fred and George had their jaws open, before Fred mouthed, “You have balls of steel,” to him.

He could feel every eye in the school on the two of them.  A fourth year student wasn’t supposed to bring someone like Kate to a school ball.  The oldest witch of their generation was eighteen, Kate was twenty seven.  It was unfair; it was bringing a woman to a school full of children.

“Ready to rock their world?” Kate asked with a grin.

“Always,” Harry said simply.  He ignored everyone else, until the music started, and they started to dance.

This was the sort of thing they’d practised a hundred times in the past, and they were able to move with the experience.  Neither looked away from each other’s eyes, as they span and whirled around the other couples, ignoring them completely.

After a while, he realised they were dancing on their own, but he didn’t care.  She whispered to him to keep up, and then started to dance faster.

He laughed and did exactly as he was told, taking back the lead and utilising the full dance area.

Kate always seemed to glide when she danced, and it made him feel like he was weightless. 

He whispered something to her during a break in the music, and she threw her head back, her laugh echoing around the suddenly silent room, before the music started again, faster this time, a Viennese waltz, he bowed before her, as she faked a curtsey, before they took off, utilising the entire dance floor.

“I need a drink,” Kate said, after a few more dances, “and you have others to dance with.  Leave me with your bodyguards, then dance with the Veela kid, then do that blonde hottie at the Professors’ table.”

“Sinistra?” He asked, and then grinned and lightly kissed her.  “You are evil.”

“I know,” she agreed as he danced her over to the boys, and placed her down.  “I’ve got to play some games,” he explained to Crusher and Smasher.  “Look after her, and get her a drink or three.”

“Will do, boss,” they agreed. 

Harry took the direct route across the dance floor, weaving around the couples easily, until he stood in front of the Delacours.  “May I have this dance?” he said to Gabrielle formally.

“But of course, kind sir,” she replied with a giggle.  He grinned and led her over to the floor.  “You’ve learnt to dance really well,” she said, as they danced around the room.  She reached up, touching his chest, and smiled as she felt his necklace through his clothes.

“Thank you.  And you, my dear, are as light on your feet as always.”

She grinned at him.  “Well, as you can do it, let’s really go for it.”

“Oh?”

“You know I’ve practised every day for three years?”

He nodded.

“Then get some decent music on, I want to show off.”

He laughed, and danced her over to the band.  He hopped onto the stage, and had a chat with the guitarist, who agreed to play something a little more upbeat.

The dance with Gabrielle was incredibly energetic.  He was able to throw her high into the air, where she’d somersault, or twist, before he’d catch her.  He let her do the flashy moves, he wasn’t sure he could do them himself.

He caught her and hugged her as the music finished.  She hugged him back, as some applause started.

He carried her back over to her parents.

“Marie,” he said with a grin, “would you mind terribly if I blew everyone’s minds?”

Marie looked at him for a few seconds, before she laughed.  “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“You’re insane,” she said.

“Yeah, it will ruin my reputation,” he agreed.  “And it will make everyone who thinks they know me think again.”

“Go,” she ordered, as she poked Michael.

Michael smirked, and a minute later they were dancing, and once again they were the centre of attention. 

“Do you mind if I lead?” Harry asked.

“Be my guest,” Michael replied cheerfully.  “This is your show.”

Harry spun Michael around, and then caught him as he fell forward deliberately.  With his hand supporting the older man, he flipped him up, spun him, and then pulling him close.

The bizarre thought that swung through his mind was that it was weird dancing with someone who didn’t have a chest pushed into his.

“Everyone’s looking at us,” Michael whispered, his lips not moving.

“That’s the plan,” Harry agreed.  “Brace yourself for the dramatic finish.”

“You’re insane.” He laughed.

As the music stopped, Harry blanked his mind, and reached across and kissed the other man on the lips.  He decided instantly that it was the last time he’d ever do that.

“I swear that I’m going to break down in hysterical laughter as soon as I get out of here,” Michael murmured.  “That was fun.”

“I know,” he smirked.

Kate and Marie walked toward them and they separated into their partners.

“That wasn’t your professor,” Kate pointed out, an amused look on her face.

“I know, but it was a lot more fun.  I’ll dance with her later.”

“Half the school is now questioning your sexuality.”

“I turn up with the most beautiful woman in Scotland, I dance with her all night, all sorts of dances, some of which were banned for obscenity in the eighteenth century, and one dance and a tiny kiss with a guy ruins that?”

“Yes.”

“I know,” he grinned.  “Cool, isn’t it.”

Kate laughed loudly and kissed him hard.  “You little devil,” she praised as she finished.

He joined Hermione and Viktor, and Cho and Cedric, as well as Christophe and Melissa, and Adrienne and Jacque, who had moved next to his bodyguards.

“Guys, this is Kate,” he said, before giving everyone’s names.

“Harry,” Hermione called.  He looked at her, and she stared at him for a moment, “you know exactly what you are doing, don’t you?”

“Moi?” he asked with a grin.

“Yes, you.  Did you really have a one night stand in London?”

“Hermione,” Harry chastised her, pointing to Kate.

Hermione blushed furiously, “I’m so sorry,” she said.  “It’s just a rumour, Harry isn’t like that.”

Kate smiled at her, a little wickedly.  “Pity,” she murmured.  “I like an experienced lover.”

Every male on the table with the exception of Harry, felt the need to cough at that time, to the disapproval of their paramours.

“Well,” Harry said, “it’s time for more dancing.”

“Good,” Kate said, “these heels are killing me.  Dance with one of your sisters.”

“Great idea,” Harry agreed.  He grabbed Melissa, winked at Christophe, and pulled her onto the floor.

“Evil child,” Melissa said, as she put her arms around his shoulders, “don’t expect me to dance like Kate, Michael or Gabrielle.”

Harry pulled her closer, “just let me lead, and you’ll be fine.”

“So, how are you planning on finishing the evening?”

“Well, I’m going to dance with Gabrielle again, then tear up the floor with Kate, before I grab Sinistra, then Kate and I will leave.”

“Sinistra?” Melissa asked softly, shaking her head in amusement.  “At least you have taste.”

“Kate’s suggestion, actually,” Harry admitted.  “She called her ‘the blonde hottie.’”

“Just who is Kate?” Melissa asked, “at first I thought it was the girl you were rumoured to have picked up, a rumour that was confirmed earlier.”

“No, that was Annie, she’s a dancer as well.”

“Of course she is,” Melissa muttered.

“Kate’s just a friend of mine, who was open for an evening of fun.”

Melissa nodded, “and she’s having that.”

As the song ended, Harry walked her back to Christophe, then dragged Hermione onto the floor.  He pulled her close, and danced slowly with her.  She smiled at him, and he noticed her front teeth had shrunk.  “You used the charm then?”

She nodded shyly.

“You look amazing,” he said honestly.

“Thanks,” she said softly.  “Although I’m not sure about this dancing.”

“Just relax and don’t think about what you’re doing,” he whispered.

“Have you seen what’s been going on with the rest of the school?”

“Should I?”

“No,” she admitted.  “I guess not.  Ron’s here with Padma Patil, well, he was, he’s spent most of the time glaring at you.”

Harry shrugged, he hadn’t noticed.

Hermione smiled at him, “so you don’t want to dance with Padma?”

“Why?” he asked, confused.

“Yeah, I thought you’d say that,” she grinned.  “You’re beyond pettiness now.”

“I try,” he said.  “The urge still comes from time to time.”

“Your bodyguards are doing a wonderful job of keeping people away from you.  Most of the time, all it takes is a glare.  Do you know why they are wearing their sunglasses?”

“Nope,” he said slowly.  “Something I don’t know?”

“I charmed them with some Anti-Legimency charms, I’m going to put the spell on your glasses.  It won’t stop Veela power, but Lisa’s there to deal with that.”

“Great work,” Harry praised.

Hermione smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.  As the song finished, he guided her back over to Viktor.  Kate held a drink out for him that he downed quickly.  “You all right?” he asked, kneeling on one knee in front of her.

She reached out and lightly touched his forehead, stroking the scar.  “Yes,” she said.  “Go dance with the others, then we’ll finish with a bang and make our exit.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said, saluting playfully.

She raised her leg, put her right foot on his left shoulder, and pushed.

He rolled back smoothly, pushing himself to his feet, and smiled at her, before he glided across the dance floor.

“Come on,” he said to Gabrielle, “let’s let your parents show us youngsters how it’s done.”

She grinned and followed him onto the dance floor, before she moved into his arms and danced slowly with him.  They didn’t talk, they just had fun.  As the song came to the end, he moved her around, and swapped partners with Michael.

“I feel like I’ve been ignoring you,” Harry said to Marie.

“A little,” she teased.  “But I did marry a Veela, I’m used to it.”

“That’s no real excuse,” he said, “so I’ll offer my apologies anyway.”

“If you come to dinner with us again, without Fleur, I’ll accept.”

“I don’t want to cause trouble.”

“You’re not the one causing trouble,” she countered.

“Then I’ll be there,” he promised.  “Just let me know when.”

“I will.”  The music stopped, and they took a few steps back, he bowed, and she curtseyed.  Marie laughed and took a few steps forward and kissed him on the cheek.  “Right, I have two more dances,” he whispered.

“Have fun,” she said, “and you were right, we did have a good time.”

He winked at her, before he turned and headed toward the Professor’s table, where Professor Sinistra was looking thoroughly bored.  Most of the older professors were chatting to each other, while watching the dance floor, leaving her alone.

She looked up as he approached, and he could see her shock that a student would dare approach her.  He didn’t give her a chance to react, as he grabbed her hand and gently pulled her onto the dance floor.  He could feel Kate watching him with pride.

As the music started, he started to move with her, keeping a respectful distance away from her.

“Who are you?” she asked, as she started to match him, keeping her movements safe.

He winked at her.  “Someone who appreciates blondes?” he suggested.

“Someone who’s only danced with beautiful women, or girls who are going to become beautiful women.”

“And my streak continues,” he agreed.

“Are the rumours true?”

Harry sighed and didn’t say anything.

Sinistra laughed wickedly.  “Isn’t your girlfriend going to be jealous?”

“She suggested that I danced with the blonde hottie.”

Sinistra almost blushed, and he grinned at her, letting her know he had caught it.  “You are playing with everyone here, aren’t you?”

“Not everyone,” he countered.  “I am just trying to get people to realise that they don’t know me at all.  Sure, my actions will be over the press in after Boxing day, but we’re taking steps to stop that, and hey, I’m dancing with the best looking blonde in the school.”   He paused.  “Except for Michael.”

Sinistra laughed.

“Are you going to let me into the secret?” he asked.

“Which secret is that?”

“Your first name, I can’t keep mentally referring to you as Sinistra, it makes you sound like you should be wearing tight spandex in bright colours, saving the day from Magneto.”  He paused.  “Damn,” he whistled slowly.  “Keep your first name to yourself; I’m happy with this image.”

“Aurora,” she whispered, an amused look on her face.  “And I will kill you if I hear other students know it.”

“You’re secret is safe with me,” he promised.  “But I’m not giving up the idea of seeing you in skin tight spandex clothing.”

“Wretch.”

“Want me to stop?” he asked.

“If you weren’t a student,” she muttered. 

“Can you keep a secret?” he asked, recognising that the song only had around thirty seconds to go.

“I can.”

“Will you?”

She looked at him curiously.  “I will,” she promised.

“Next year I’m going to Beauxbatons, I won’t be a student of yours then.”

She looked blankly at him, and as the music stopped, he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

“Thanks for the dance,” he said, bowing dramatically, before he walked off, and headed toward Kate.

Kate met him half way, and loosely wrapped her arms around his neck as she walked him backward.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered.  “You’ve learnt everything I have to teach you.”

“You should leave that loser and get with a real man,” Draco Malfoy suddenly announced his unwelcome presence.  Harry waved his bodyguards back.

Kate slowly unwrapped her arms from around him and turned to Malfoy.  “Like you?”  She took two steps forward and grabbed Malfoy’s crotch through his robes.  “Your balls would have to drop first,” she sneered loudly.  A fake look of shock passed over her face.  “Sweet Merlin,” she muttered, “they have dropped.”  She looked at Pansy.  “You poor girl,” she sympathised.  “Still, at least you can buy some toys to fill the parts he can’t reach.”

Draco went bright red, as the students around sniggered.

Kate turned and slid over to Harry, rubbing herself up his body.  She smirked as she pressed herself tightly against him.  “Let’s go back to my place,” she suggested, nibbling on his neck.

Harry shot a wave to Gabrielle, and then picked Kate up.  “Your wish is my command,” he said, and walked out the door, moving just fast enough to get out before Dumbledore could intercept him.

He lowered Kate as the doors slammed shut behind them and started to laugh.  Kate laughed as well, as they waited.  A few seconds later, the door opened and Dumbledore appeared.  He looked a little surprised, and moved in front of them, to one side of the door.

“You clearly wanted to talk,” Harry said.  “Let’s make it quick.  I’ve got more interesting things to be doing.”

“I’m a thing?” Kate asked teasingly.

“I thought it was a bit crude to say anything else.”

“Harry, what would your parents say?” Dumbledore asked solemnly.

“Hmm,” Harry said, putting a finger on his cheek.  “Mum would probably spend a week telling me off afterwards, and then make sure that I knew every contraceptive charm known to man.  Dad would stand behind her, a stern look on his face, as he nodded his agreement with every statement.  Then, when ever Mum wasn’t looking, Dad would wink at me, or give me a thumbs up. 

“Afterward, Mum would want to meet Kate, and would be blown away by how intelligent she is, how pretty she is, and how charming she is.  We’d go out, the four of us, a few times, and Mum would realise that Kate isn’t a gold digger, that her job pays more than enough, and that she just likes me, and she’d give her blessing, and spend an evening crying because her little boy had grown up and found a remarkable woman.

“Dad would sit me down and have a long chat with me about being a man, and acting responsibly, and I’d explain that I’m still young, that the future is far away, but that for now, Kate is the best thing that had happened to me, that she’d taught me to grow up, to act like an adult, to have confidence in myself and in everything I do, and that this confidence was the basis of my recent grades improvement, my better performances in class, and me finding friends that I can just relax with.

“And afterward, Dad would hug me, and we’d get Mum and sit on the floor and eat ice cream, while we tell each other stories, stories we’d all heard a thousand times before, but we’d listen because the stories weren’t important, what was important was just being together, and that maybe we recognised that the next time we did it, I might have Kate next to me, as Mum and Dad competed to see who could tell her the most embarrassing story of me, and Mum would get out the baby photos, and Kate would laugh and giggle as she watched me crawl on a mat, wearing only a hat.

“And the next morning, Mum would be up early, cooking breakfast, while Dad slept in, and she’d check, just one more time, that I was happy, and tell me that was the only thing that mattered to her in the end, and that I had the right to make my own mistakes, that they wanted to protect me, but they could see that I was growing up, and that all I needed to remember was that they loved me, and that they would always be there for me,  I’d walk over to Mum and hug her, and realise for the first time that I was taller than her now, and that things would never be the same between us again, they would be better, because now we were friends, not just mother and son.”

Harry closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the tears run down his face.  He opened his eyes, the doors to the Great Hall had opened, Gabrielle, Hermione, and Melissa stood to the fore, tears running down their faces, his other friends behind them.

He reached out and took Kate’s hand.  He took a deep breath, part of him wanted to say more, but he’d said enough.  He slowly pulled Kate next to him, walking out of the school and into the cold night.

Kate was silent as they approached Hogsmeade, “Follow me,” she whispered, and Apparated.  He Apparated with her, and they arrived in a large bedroom.  She pulled away from him, and when she returned, she was wearing a dressing gown.  She sat on the bed, sitting on one leg.

He pulled his robes off, and leaned back against the headboard.

“You think about them a lot?”  It was a question and a statement.

“Nearly every day,” he replied.  “I’ve dreamed about them every night in one way or another.”

“How much of that was true?”

He looked at her.  “A lot of it, it could be all, but that’s not what we want.  You are everything I said you are, but that scene isn’t you.”

“Harry?” Kate whispered.

“Kate?”

“Just for tonight, can we pretend?”

He smiled.  “I’d like that.”

Harry walked back to the Hogwarts the next morning, alone.  He’d talked to Kate at length this morning, and they were going to change their relationship, to one of friends only.  He wasn’t going to hire her anymore, but they were going to spend time together, she didn’t have many friends.

He suspected that Kate had as many issues as he did, and that together they wouldn’t work. 

It had still been the best Christmas day of his life by such a huge margin that he couldn’t compare it to any other day.

He wasn’t hurrying, he had no where to be, and was just enjoying the crisp morning air.  It seemed almost surreal, with the thick snow painting Hogwarts a glorious white that sparkled in the weak winter sun.

The doors to Hogwarts opened for him, and he headed toward his friends.  Hermione half turned as he walked up silently, and she smiled at him, before she stood and hugged him tightly.

Gabrielle was next, followed by Melissa, before they pulled him into the group.

Christophe and Adrienne were smiling at him, Crusher, Smasher, Nasher and Thrasher all nodded at him solemnly, Lisa smiled.  Cedric nodded as Cho smiled at him.  Viktor reached up and patted his back.

Fred and George both offered him identical grins, as they held the hands of Alicia and Angelina.

He sat down, between Hermione and Melissa; Gabrielle sat in his lap, and he kissed her hair.

No one said anything for a few minutes, but it was a comfortable silence, one of friendship.

“You learnt our lessons well, kiddo,” Melissa eventually said.  “You didn’t lose your temper, you didn’t give in to childish sarcasm, or petty accusations; you just spoke from the heart.”

Harry smiled at her silently.

“Where’s Kate?” Hermione asked.

“Kate is everything I said last night,” he replied quietly, “but she isn’t the girl in my dreams.  We talked this morning; we’re just going to be friends.”

“I’m sorry,” Hermione whispered.

Harry shrugged.  “I’ll miss her, but I still have her friendship, and that’s the most important thing.”  He took a deep breath.  “How was Dumbledore?”

Everyone looked at each other, before Hermione sighed softly.  “You destroyed him, Harry.  Everyone who listened could feel everything you were saying, we could see it almost viscerally, we could feel how much you cared, how much the picture you painted meant to you. 

“And we could feel this deep loss from you, this immense feeling of sadness for events that will never pass, for things that can’t happen, and I think we all realised just how much you have lost.

“Professor Dumbledore seemed to realise that more than anyone.  I think he was praying for you to say something childish, for you to say anything that he could focus on, rather than your pain and anguish, but you didn’t give him that, and he had to focus on what you had lost.

“He didn’t move for a few minutes, before he slowly walked away, his head bowed.”

Harry nodded slowly.  He lifted Gabrielle up and placed her in Melissa’s lap.  “I’m going to go and talk to him.”  He paused, and then smiled, “and afterward, we’ll all go flying and have a picnic on the pitch, and just have some fun.”

Wide grins met his suggestion, as he turned.  He paused, and shot a cheeky grin at them, not wanting this melancholy mood to continue.  “Do you think I could get away with inviting Professor Sinistra?”

He walked away from the laughter and comments, and up to Dumbledore’s office.  The guardian moved out of his way before he got there, and the door opened up the stairs.

He sat down opposite Dumbledore, who hadn’t changed from the night before.  Fawkes looked at Harry, before flying over and nuzzling his face against Harry’s neck.  Harry lightly petted the Phoenix, before Fawkes gave off a light trill, and flew back to his perch.

“Do you know what I realised last night, Harry?” Dumbledore asked softly.

“No,” Harry replied.

“That you are a boy named Harry.  A boy who has lost his parents.  A boy who was raised by people who hate him for what he is.  A boy who is fast becoming a man to be proud off.  You are not my plaything, you are not a chess piece to be sacrificed on the altar of a greater good, that you have the right to become what ever you choose to become.”

Harry nodded silently.

“Where you decide to live this summer, we will put wards up.  You are welcome at Sirius’s place, at the Weasleys, although I understand that might be awkward now, and you are welcome to stay at Hogwarts.  You will never see the Dursley’s again, nor be forced to anywhere you do not want to go.”

“Thank you,” Harry said softly. 

Dumbledore looked up.  “Is it too late for us to have a relationship?”

“I don’t know,” Harry replied.  “It might be nice.”

“Yes,” Dumbledore agreed.

“I don’t blame you,” Harry said, as he stood.  “That would be futile, and while I would give everything I have to see them, I know that’s gone.  I can’t live in the past, I can only live in the present.”

“Harry,” Dumbledore called as he approached the door.

He turned and looked at the old wizard.

“Are you going to use the Dilator on extreme any more?”

Harry shook his head.  “No, I am done.  Hogwarts told me not to.”

Dumbledore nodded.  “One more question.  How did you not go insane?”

Harry smiled.  “Who said I didn’t?”

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 5

“And I call this, the last meeting of the Weasley Twins of the year, to order,” Fred said regally.

“Here here,” George added.

“According to our agreed agenda, the first item on the list is our family, and the other things that we have discovered during our day of working independently.”

George sighed.  “Let’s start from the bottom up, with darling Ginevra.  She’s decided that she ‘loves’ Harry again this week.  So she’s jealous of Kate, and is bad mouthing Harry for being with the ‘slut’.”

“Kate’s not a slut,” Fred pointed out.  “She’s a prostitute, a lady of ‘negotiable’ affections.”

“True,” George agreed.  “Anyway, so this week the bad mouthing is due to love, unlike last week, when it was due to hate.  It strikes me as remarkably sad that in no time during this did she think to try supporting him.”

“Do you think that now we have some money, we should try and get her some sort of counselling?  This behaviour can’t be good for her.”

“If we did that, we’d have to include half our family,” George pointed out.  “If not more.  Which leads us neatly onto Ronald.  I believe you have been investigating him.”

“Our darling younger brother is still on the ‘he’s in it for the fame’ kick, and it’s got worse since Harry fought the dragon.  He now compares Harry to Malfoy, not favourably, and all he sees is the fact that Harry has friends he doesn’t, does things he doesn’t, and took someone like Kate to the ball, and his jealousy is off the scale.

“There’s also some weird thing with Hermione going on.  Despite the fact that Harry has stated clearly that he claims Hermione as his sister, Ron blames him for ‘stealing’ her from him.”

George sighed.  “If I look long enough, will I ever find the logic?”

“No.”

“Right, I won’t bother then.  So, Percy?”

“Has taken prathood to a new level.  We need a new word for him, because his pratness is just completely unreal.  He looks down his nose at us because he has a job in the Ministry.  I stole his first pay slip; we earned more than him last month with out factoring in our main job working for Harry.  He seems to think that the Ministry actually has power, when all it is, is a collection of people reliant on the rich and powerful for their jobs, with a thin veneer of democracy thrown on top of it.”

“Which takes us to dear Chuckles, who is mine.  Harry managed to hide the fact that we taught him that charm, but he’s pissed at Harry for daring to fight one.  He’s bogged off back to Romania where he spends all his time with the other rugged male specimens.”  George shrugged his shoulder expressively.

“You think he really wanted to ride Harry’s broomstick?” Fred asked.

“I wouldn’t discount it,” George muttered.  “Which leaves Bill, and frankly, I’m getting just a little fed up of his very young girlfriends having just left school.  He’s right at the top end of the acceptable age for dating school girls.

“And then we have Mum, who, let’s face it, raised us.”

“No,” Fred argued.  “Unless you count shouting a form of raising?  I swear, the way she would hold it in when Harry was around was the best form of entertainment we’ve had in a long time.”

“And Dad,” George finished, “well, you can see why he spends his time in the shed.”

“We don’t like our family, do we?”

“No, we don’t,” George sighed.  “So, to move on to our favourite eight year old.  I had a chat with Marie about Gabrielle.  It turns out that she would be small for her age if she was a human, but as a Veela, she’s fine.”

“She looks to be about six,” Fred pointed out.

”Quite, and she’ll stay that way until she gets to be around twelve, then she’ll catch up over about a month.  She’ll then stay like that until she’s between sixteen and seventeen, and she’ll get her adult form.”

“Weird,” Fred said with a shrug.

“One interesting thing though, Gabrielle is empathic, and she can feel what people are thinking to a small degree.  If there’s anyone we doubt, we should introduce them to her.”

“Has she agreed to that?”

“As long as she has protection, Gabrielle will do anything for Harry.  Oh, and if we hear anyone making bad jokes about Harry and Gabrielle, Harry passed the parent test, with Michael who turned on the full Veela-lie-detector-whammy.  In the interest of being thorough, I asked Gabrielle as well, and she laughed at me.  Gabrielle seems to understand the concepts of sex, but thought of following through leaves her scratching her head and wondering why.”

“Next person who insinuates something like that can fall down the stairs,” Fred decided.  “Not sure that Bill would pass,” he muttered darkly as an aside.  “Anyway, the bodyguards are having great fun and are happy.  Lisa adores her job, and Ben’s happy – he thinks that Harry can be something special in the kick-boxing world. Smasher and Crusher are having thoughts about their future; they’re beginning to think that they would do better with someone else in charge.”

“Who do they have in mind?” George asked

“Harry.  They’re going to ask him to run the business side of things, while they are in charge of personnel, training, and running the protection unit.”

“Hmm,” George said slowly.  “That’s actually a good idea.  Lisa doesn’t want to run it?”

“She thinks it would be dull.  She is far more excited by doing the leg work.”

“All wizards lead to Harry, don’t they?  But before we get to them, what have we found out about our allergies?”

“That we are clearly, definitely allergic to fir trees.  Twice on Christmas day, our eyes started to run for no reason.  The first was when Harry and Gabrielle exchanged presents; the second was when Harry let us into his dreams of his parents.”

“We should see if there is a potion for that,” George suggested.  “But speaking of which, is there anything holding us in England?”

Fred tilted his head.  “Apart from Alicia and Angelina, not really.”

“How do we feel about moving to France?”

“Why?”

“Because I happened to glance - and by glance, I meant going through her bag when she wasn’t looking – at the presents Harry gave Hermione.  It was an acceptance letter to Beauxbatons.  I was thinking that we might want to do that as well.”

“What about Alicia and Angelina?” 

“Well, they could come, or we could try a longer distance relationship – which makes me think it would be liking leaving Hogwarts for the real world a year early, and would see if we all did love each other.  Or we could break up, and well, have you seen the quality of the French girls?”

“Yes,” Fred replied with a chuckle.  “Okay, we need to start learning French then.  Harry will be able to get us into the school.  Oh, going back, you know how we don’t know who we are?”

George nodded.  “Our earliest memories are mum calling us by different names in a ten minute period when we hadn’t moved.”

“And since then, we’ve never been sure, as everyone has called us both names at some stage.”

George nodded again.

“I’m Fred, you’re George,” Fred said cheerfully.  “We have identities.”

“How?”

“Harry has, right from the start, called us by the same names every time.  Even when we try and move around, he doesn’t seem to notice.”

“Brilliant,” George sighed happily.  “So I’m George.  I always thought that I might be, but it’s nice to know for sure.”

“Yeah,” Fred agreed.  “Anyway, as we’re talking about our employer, this year has changed a lot of things, hasn’t it?”

“Well, I think it’s because he’s a Potter, and Potters have been ruling class for eons.  Taking control and acting like he has been is deep in his blood.  It’s the only explanation of how he’s fit so neatly into the role he’s undertaken.”

“Agreed.  So, let’s start with the other students in Hogwarts.”

“Right.  Slytherin house.  Draco Malfoy is being knocked around by the older students now.  His arrogance is gone, because Snape can’t protect him, as quite a few seventh year Slytherins have discussed claiming his Dark Mark.”

“Which would be a shame,” Fred said with a grin.

“Quite.  Now, we’re going to have to get some help for Melissa at some stage.  The fourth year Slytherin girls have been mocked for following Malferret, and not Potter, when it is clear that Potter has the real power, and well, that’s the sort of thing that drives Slytherin girls mad.”

“There’s an additional thing here,” Fred interrupted.  “I was talking with Adrienne, and she tried to explain some female logic to me, and I’m not sure I’ve got it.  After yesterday, when Harry bought Kate to the ball, he’s now more attractive to every witch in the school.”

“Explain?”

“Well, it’s got nothing to do with his looks, power, or money, as those factors were in place before yesterday.  It’s because Kate is drop dead gorgeous, stacked, and dances like she was born with ballet shoes on her feet.  And she’s older.  So, as far as the witches in this school think, if they dated Harry now, they’d be favourably compared to Kate, and would therefore appear better to everyone else in school.”

George tilted his head and his eyes crossed.  “No,” he eventually said, “I can’t see the logic.”

“Like I said,” Fred agreed.  “But Melissa can only do so much to keep these ambitious witches down.  There are some rumours that the odd witch is planning on being found in Harry’s bed, then announcing that she’s pregnant the next day.”

George frowned.  “They would have to get past the wards first, and didn’t Harry cast the sterility charm?”

“Twice,” Fred agreed.  “Smart, that one.  He said he was far too young for children.  So, it wouldn’t work, but the fact that some are thinking along those lines is worrying.”

“Yeah.  He needs a girlfriend, but he doesn’t like Fleur.”

“A teenage boy who actually won’t even think about dating a smoking hot Veela because he doesn’t like her, it’s actually kinda nice.”

“Agreed.  I think we ought to step back from the girlfriend front, and let him do what he wants.  It will be easier for us.”

“And less likely to get us in trouble.”

“Moving on,” George continued.  “Ravenclaws are the most suspicious, as they recognise that Harry is right on the edge of having a natural boost in his size – yet he’s obviously had an unnatural boost.”

“What do we think?”

“Unnatural, he played games with the Time Dilator, which Kate thinks should be called the Time Accelerator, as it squeezes a lot of time into a small place.”

“That explains it,” Fred said cheerfully. 

“Yeah, so, Cho is trying to protect Harry in there, she doesn’t want to be kicked out of the parties, the learning, and the idea that Harry’s going to be important in the future.  She’s quite serious about Cedric, and wants Cedric to work for Harry, so that he can approach her parents.”

“Right, Hufflepuffs,” Fred took over.  “Most of them are merely fantasising, and are quite happy about that.  They’re the most supportive of Harry, mainly because of Cedric .  He likes Harry anyway, and has never blamed him for what happened.

“And as for the Gryffindors, well, Lee is clearly with us, the seventh years like him, especially as he can make wine.”

“It’s not that he can make wine,” George interrupted.  “It’s that he can make good wine.  Did you try that poison someone made the other day?”

“Yes, and I stand by my comment that the only use for it is with chips as a condiment.  If I may continue, all the younger years are influenced by Ron, Seamus and Dean and their bad mouthing.”

“Harry doesn’t even notice them these days, and that drives them insane.  They’re used to their accusations being met in one way or another, but the fact that Harry doesn’t even see them half the time has them looking stupid.

“They’re also losing points in class as they’re spending time glaring at Harry and Gabrielle.  One day, one of them will throw a curse, and if it goes near Gabrielle, we’ll be scraping essence du Gryffindor off the wall for a month.”

“Good.  So, the last item on our agenda.  A discussion about our future.”

“I was surprised to see that.”

“I was surprised to write it.  With Harry just giving us quitclaim deeds to a property suitable for our shop, our future should be simple.  We open the store, we make pranks, and we have a lot of success.”

“We leave home, we go back occasionally, we live independent lives and eventually beget miniature Greds and Forges to take on our legacy.”

“Exactly.  However, I look back over the last few months, and wonder if that’s what we want.  We’re in a position here, brother mine, that is unique.”

“In that we have the ear and the trust of a man who’s going places.”

“Precisely.  I wonder if a joke shop is enough for our genius.  We’ve yet to find something we can’t do when we set our mind to it, and things often take on a life of their own.”

“Like with Harry.”

“Absolutely.  So, why stop here?  He’s going to need close advisors all his life and why not us?  We’re loyal, dependable, trustworthy, independent, and we know where the best escorts are.”

“And we’ve had a lot of fun working for him.  You know, you may actually be right.”

“This isn’t to say that we give up pranks, far from it, we just treat them as we have, as something entertaining to do on the side.”

“And with the shop, we open a wine store and charge a ridiculous mark-up for it.”

“Excellent plan.  So, all we have to arrange now is the next set of Harry’s lessons.”

“At least we don’t have to worry about the Second Task, Harry seems remarkably confident that we’ll be proud of him.”

“In that case, I call this meeting to a close.  Let’s go find Padfoot and get drunk.”

“Faster!” Lisa barked

Harry increased his pace as much as he could, spinning the rope twice for every skip he did.  He was moving as fast as he could, and could feel the sweat running down his back.

“Stop.  To the bag, twenty of each low, middle and high round house kicks.”

He grabbed the bag, raised his right knee, keeping his toes pointed, he rammed the inner part of his knee into the bag, pulling down at the same time.  He repeated this, using his mental count to retain focus, as he hit as hard as he could each time.

When he reached forty, he switched legs and started again.  After he had finished with each leg, he looked at his trainer again, panting hard.

“Stretch,” she ordered.

He nodded in relief, and started to cool down, making sure to do each muscles group.  It was amazing how one day of agony because he didn’t do a good job focused his mind.

“Good session, boss,” Lisa said as he finished.  He could almost see the moment she stopped training him and became his employee again.

He grinned at her.  “It’s fun.”

“Yeah,” she agreed.  “It’s the best stress remover.  We’re going to work on your jump kicks and spins tomorrow.  You’re not keeping your balance when you finish the spin properly.”

He stretched into a standing position, and then bowed at her formally.  He looked at his watch.  “Right, I’ve got dinner with Michael, Marie and Gabrielle tonight, so take the evening off.”

“Thanks, boss.  Good to see you’re wearing the charm.”

“I doubt I’ll ever take it off,” Harry admitted.  “It’s the first piece of jewellery I’ve ever received.”

Lisa nodded slowly as she shrugged her uniform back on.  “I asked if I could wear this when school is back in, instead of the school robes, but I’m not allowed.”  She walked with him toward the Durmstrang ship.

“See Hermione, see if she can find any loopholes around that rule,” Harry suggested.  “You look good in it.”

Lisa grinned at him.  “Chatting me up, boss?”

Harry looked surprised.  “Would you be insulted if I said no?”

“Nope, I’m guessing that after seeing Kate, you’re tastes run a little older?”

“Yeah.  The girls in my year seem so young, and well, unattractive.  There are very few of you that know how to move.”

Lisa smiled brightly at him.  “Thanks,” she said.  “I’ll speak to Hermione.”

He nodded bid her a good evening as he moved to his room, showered, shaved, and got dressed in an expensive black suit.

He was meeting them there, so he slid out of his room, and used the darkness to ensure no one noticed him leaving school grounds.  He didn’t want to push his luck at the moment.  In his hand he had a conjured bottle filled with some of his conjured wine.

Once passed the wards, he Apparated to London, and his now favourite restaurant.

There was the usual heaving throng at the bar, and Jonathan was in charge as always, looking cool and collected.

“Mr Potter,” he called, ignoring the people in front of him.

Harry walked forward and shook Jonathan’s hand.  “How are you, Jonathan?”

“Wonderful, Mr Potter, thank you for asking.  Your table is ready.”

“Thank you.”

“We have a new wine in that you simply must try.  I’ll have a bottle sent to you immediately.”

“That would be brilliant,” Harry said.  “My guests will be arriving shortly.  Lord and Lady Delacour, and Gabrielle.”

Jonathan smiled.  “Young miss Delacour is quite delightful,” he said happily.  “I will show them to you as soon as they arrive.”

He grinned, because as soon as he was gone, Jonathan lost all the friendliness as he dealt with the people who were still waiting.

With nothing to do, he waited until Jonathan was free, and poured two glasses of his wine.  He walked down and handed one of the glasses over.

Jonathan looked at him in surprise.  “Try it,” Harry suggested.

Jonathan tasted it expertly, before his eyes widened.  He sipped it slowly, reverently, and looked at Harry curiously.  “This is not one of our wines.”

“I was on holiday in France last year, and I stumbled across an old vineyard.  The owner wanted to retire, so I offered her a lot of money for the vineyard and the contents of her cellar,” he lied, as he considered that admitting that he made his own wine would be met with a short journey to the local asylum.  “This is one of the bottles.”

“This is a truly outstanding red.”

“I’ll drop a bottle by for you tomorrow,” Harry promised. 

Jonathan waved his hand, and a smartly dressed man seemed to Apparate in.  “Richard,” Jonathan said, “try this.”  He looked at Harry.  “Richard is our sommelier.”

Richard went through the routine of tasting it, before he looked at Harry in surprise.

“This is outstanding.  Rhône Valley I believe?”

“Yes.  The vineyard I purchased had simply the best terroir,” Harry explained.

Richard looked thoughtful for a few moments.  “I will talk to the chef,” he decided.  “This wine deserves some pheasant.”

“I tried it with some venison, just the other day, and it was spectacular.”

Richard seemed to puff up slightly.  “Are you planning on selling this wine?”

“I’ve only had the vineyard for a few months,” Harry explained, making a mental note to actually buy one.  “It will take me a few years to get up to a commercial level, for now, I’ve got a few bottles knocking around that I’m giving to friends, like Jonathan here.”

“If you can create this quality, we’ll pay handsomely for it,” Richard promised.

Harry paused for a moment, and then slowly smiled.  “If you think its good enough, we could do an exclusive deal,” he suggested.  “I’ve got a couple of cases I can give you, you sell it for as much as you can, and we share the profits.”

Both Jonathan and Richard’s noses seemed to twitch in unison.

“An exclusive high quality red,” Jonathan said, “it’s about time the Guardian’s food critic visited us again, if we serve it to him, we’ll have clients coming out of ears.”  He smiled.  “Mr Potter, you have a deal.”

“Then do you think that you could see your way to calling me Harry?”

Jonathan smiled and nodded.  Richard smiled as well.  “I’ll go and talk to the chef.”

“Party of four,” Jonathan told him.  “No starter, as they’ll want some of the chocolate for dessert.”

Richard nodded and scurried off happily.

“He does love his wine,” Jonathan said fondly.  “I do believe that your guests have arrived.”

Harry turned, his hands going out to catch Gabrielle automatically.  She squirmed into his arms and kissed his cheek, before squirming out.  “Bonjour Jonathan,” she said, curtseying.

“Madame Delacour,” Jonathan replied with a solemn bow.  He took her hand and kissed her fingers gently.

Gabrielle giggled. 

“Michael, Marie,” Harry greeted the older two.

“It’s good to see you, Harry,” Michael said dryly.  “Gabrielle had to walk here!”

“Papa!” Gabrielle complained with a cute little blush.  She looked up at Harry, a pleading expression on her face.  “Carry me?” she begged.

He reached down and picked her up easily.  “Come on,” he said.  “I’ll pop by tomorrow,” he promised Jonathan.

“I shall look forward to it, Harry,” Jonathan said happily, as Harry moved led the other two up to their table.  He placed Gabrielle down, and then offered her chair to her, as Michael offered a chair to Marie. 

His bottle of wine was still on the table, so he quickly poured three more glasses out.  He palmed his wand, and surreptitiously refilled the bottle.

He was sitting opposite Michael, with Gabrielle to his right, and Marie to his left.  He lounged back and shot them a slow smile.  “Have you enjoyed your holiday?”

“I’ll pay you a hundred galleons to sit like that at Hogwarts,” Michael said with a grin.

“Michael,” Marie scolded.

“What?” Harry asked, feeling confused.

Gabrielle winkled her nose.  “He’s saying that you look hot,” she explained with a roll of her eyes.  “And that the stupid girls at your school would melt like cheese under the grill.”

“No deal,” Harry said to Michael.  “Not interested.”

“You’re a teenage boy,” Michael protested.  “You’re supposed to try and cut a swathe through the witches there.”

“Stop trying to live vicariously through Harry,” Marie scolded.

“Sorry,” Michael apologised insincerely.  “So,” he continued.  “Kate.”

“Yes?”

“Nice girl?”

“Very much so.”

“Stop it, Papa,” Gabrielle said firmly.  “Kate and Harry broke up after Christmas, and he feels sad about it.”

Michael looked at him for a long moment.  “I’m sorry,” he said after a while.  “But from what I could read, you were right to break up.  You had the physical stuff down perfectly, and the friendship was there, but you both have matching issues, and together you wouldn’t be able to support each other.”

“That’s what we agreed,” Harry said.  “Which wasn’t what I wanted to agree to at all, but I had no choice.  Still,” he said with a slight smile, “we’ll always have Paris.”

“You took her to France?” Marie asked.

“No, it’s a quote from a movie,” Harry explained.  “My aunt loved that movie, probably due to the lack of romance in her own life.  The actor who said it was referring to the euphoric stage of love, where everything is bright and beautiful, and the world’s problems can be overcome, just before the real world comes crashing down on your hopes and dreams, and you realise that you’re just another person, fighting for what you believe in, and sacrificing what you need to sacrifice, so that others don’t have to.”

Gabrielle reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly.

Marie smiled softly as she looked at her husband, who was lost in her eyes.

There was a surreptitious cough, as a waiter arrived with a small trolley, with four plates on it.

Michael and Marie looked away without fuss, and the waiter placed a plate in front of each of them.

“Jonathan didn’t order a starter,” Harry explained, “so that we could enjoy the chocolate pudding.”

“Yay,” Gabrielle cheered happily.

“What is this?” Michael asked curiously.

“Pheasant.  Richard, the sommelier, felt that the wine deserved a big flavour.  So he asked the chef to make it for us.”

“You do know,” Marie said, an amused expression on her face, “that normal people don’t get a chef with three Michelin stars to cook something for a bottle of wine you bring from home.”

“Even if it is truly magnificent,” Michael added.  He’d already taken his first bite.

Harry grinned at him.  “Yeah, I’ve agreed to supply this place with a couple of crates, as an exclusive.  I believe that Richard and Jonathan are already planning on how they can exploit it.”  He tried some of the pheasant, and was blown away by how tender it was.  He waved to a waiter.  “Another wine glass, please.”

“Of course sir,” the waiter agreed, scurrying away.

He was back within twenty seconds, and Harry poured another glass of wine out.  “Please give this to the chef, with my thanks.”

The waiter grinned, and nodded.

“The three most important people in any restaurant are the chef, the sommelier, and the Maître d',” Harry said to the others.  “I certainly don’t want a chef who can create this to think that I don’t appreciate his hard work.”

“Who taught you that?” Michael asked.

“Kate.”

“I thought so,” he mused.  “She seems to have taught you a lot.”

Harry nodded.  “Having someone like her in your life makes you realise that you have to grow up really fast to keep her.  She made it her personal mission to ensure that I knew how to conduct myself in any situation.”

The conversation slowed as they concentrated on eating.  Their plates were cleared away with a minimum of fuss.  Their pudding was brought to them by the chef himself.

Harry stood and shook his hand, thanking him for the outstanding meal.  They spent a few minutes talking, before the chef went back to work, and Harry sat back.

“I can’t decide,” Michael said slowly, “whether I should introduce you to the Veela court.”

“What’s that?” Harry asked curiously.

“I’m a distant relative to Veela royalty,” he explained.  “And do occasionally spend some time at court.  It would be fascinating to watch you in action there.”

“So why not?” Marie asked curiously.

“Because I don’t think their egos could handle him,” Michael grinned.  “I’m not supposed to be ignored, ever.  I am Veela.”

“Don’t worry, you are still beautiful,” Harry teased.  Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Gabrielle attack the chocolate pudding with the focused determination of one who was afraid that if they waited a second longer, it might go missing.  “But I have wine, and to some people, that is more important.”

“I love you too,” Michael responded cheerily.

As Gabrielle finished, he reached out and swapped her empty plate for his full one.

“No,” she said softly.

“Eat up,” he ordered.  “I’m going to have a coffee shortly.”

That was all that was needed for Gabrielle to give up her protestation.

“You could try savouring it this time,” he suggested, as he settled back, his wineglass held loosely between his fingers.  “Marie, I know that your husband is on the Beauxbatons board of Governors, and is a minor royal, but what about you?”

“Me?” Marie asked.  “I’m a photographer for a Muggle newspaper.  Le Mundial.”

“Now that’s an interesting job,” Harry said, as he leaned forward, focusing on her.

“Oh well done,” Michael said.  “Devastatingly good,” he added.

“Michael, if you don’t want to spend the next fortnight on the couch, shut up!” Marie ordered.

Michael pouted at her.  “I was just saying that the way he leant forward and focused on you was smooth.”

“He knows, I know,” Marie snapped.  “And it was working effectively, you might want to remember that you can use these techniques yourself occasionally.”

“But here I can point out Harry’s,” Michael protested.  “And that’s much more fun.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Harry said, “We’ll do lunch without him.”

“Good idea,” Marie agreed, as Harry settled back.  “Finished?”

“Stuffed,” Gabrielle said contentedly, as she slipped out of her chair and raised her hands to him.

He smiled and moved his chair back, lifting her into his lap, where she cuddled into him.

“Three or four years,” Michael said fondly, “Then she’ll grow up practically over night, and all we’ll have are the memories.”

Harry stroked Gabrielle’s hair softly.  “Then we enjoy it while we can,” he suggested.  A waiter appeared, removing their plates and glasses, and coffee appeared. 

He took a sip of the bitter liquid and sighed in pleasure.

“We’re going back to France tomorrow,” Marie said.  “We know that you’ll look after Gabrielle.”

“With my life,” Harry promised seriously.

“But can you keep an eye on Fleur as well?” Michael asked seriously.  “Her tongue can get her in a lot of trouble, but underneath it, she is a nice girl, really.”

Harry nodded.  “I will,” he agreed.

“Thank you.  We’re going to take Fleur and Gabrielle to see their Grandmother as well.  Want to come?”

“Sorry,” Harry said, “I’ve got some things that need doing.”

“But…” Gabrielle said, as she looked up at him, her eyes wide.

“You’ll survive,” he said softly, and lightly touched his wand, using it to send her how much he loved her.

Gabrielle gasped and started to glow.

“We are in public,” Michael pointed out, “and glowing children are not something that Muggles are used to.”

“Whoops,” Harry replied, and stopped.

Gabrielle pouted massively, and buried her face into his chest.

“I’ll miss you,” she mumbled.

“I know, sweetheart,” he replied, “but you’ll be able to tell me all about it afterward.”

“’kay,” she said, showing no sign of moving.

The next morning, Harry got up early and hunted down Christophe.

“Morning,” Christophe said cheerfully.

“Tell me,” Harry said, “what do you know about the Rhône Valley?”

“Excellent wine producing region, it’s to the south of Burgundy.  There are two main areas, the north is the best, producing aromatic whites and massively structured reds – which, by the way, are probably where I classify the Chatueax Du Harry’s Magic you produce as being from.  The south is slightly more plebeian, with a few exceptions like Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape,” he replied. 

Harry shook his head in awe, and then grinned at him.  “Fancy a day trip?”

“Why?”

“Because I need to check out the local papers, and see if there are any small vineyards for sale.  I need to cover the fact that I’ve create my own wine, as I’m having it sold in a London restaurant.”

“You’re going to buy a vineyard?” Christophe asked excitedly.

“Exactly, it has to have good terroir,” Harry said, “and be in the Rhône Valley, but apart from that, it doesn’t matter.”

“Then let’s go,” Christophe said excitedly.  They walked out together, after Harry told Crusher and Smasher where they were going.  The two checked he was wearing his necklace, before allowing him to go.

Once they hit Hogsmeade, he helped Christophe Apparate to France.

They appeared in a small gravel courtyard.

“Welcome to my home,” Christophe said.  “We’re about a hundred miles away, but I thought we’d drive there.”

“You can drive?” Harry asked excitedly.

“I can,” Christophe said, and opened a small garage.  He walked in, there was a roar of an engine, and he pulled out in a racing green low slung sports car.  “It’s my fathers,” he explained, as he opened the door for Harry to get in.  “I’ve left him a note,” he added impishly.

Harry grinned and buckled up as Christophe floored the gas, and the rear tyres span, sending a shower of stones against a wall, before they dug into the gravel and they lurched forward like a Firebolt.

“It’s a 1965 Alfa Romeo Spider,” Christophe shouted over the noise of wind.  “A classic.”

Harry had no clue what that meant, but put an awed expression on his face anyway.  He did enjoy the drive – when he’d applied a warming charm.  They drove for close to two hours, before pulling into a town.  Christophe pulled into a parking space, and told Harry to get a seat at a café.

Harry walked over and did as he was told; order two coffees from the attractive waitress.  He spent an enjoyable few minutes flirting with her, before sitting outside.  His warming charm was still in effect, so he was wasn’t bothered by the mild winter weather.

Christophe arrived back and dumped four newspapers on the table.  “Property supplements,” he explained, as he sat down and took the first paper.

Harry smiled and started to look through one as well.  When he looked at the second, he realised that it was pretty much exactly the same as the first, just in a different order.

He looked through it carefully anyway.

“Anything?” Christophe asked.

“Not yet,” Harry replied, turning a page.  A small text ad caught his eye.  Compared to everything else he had seen, it was not remarkable, which was probably why he was interested.  “Here.”

Christophe looked at the advert, and then did it again.  He flicked back through his own paper.  “I overlooked it,” he admitted.  “I’ll check back for others like this.”

Thirty minutes later they had three possibilities.  Christophe reached into his pocket and pulled out a mobile phone.  “Stole, erm, borrowed it from Dad as well,” he explained as he dialled a number.

Harry decided that a refill was in order, so went back inside to flirt with the waitress.

A few minutes later, Christophe joined them, a smile on his face.  “We can see two of them today,” he said cheerfully.

“See what?” the waitress asked.

“Christophe, Zoe, Zoe, Christophe,” Harry said.

“Vineyards, Harry’s buying one,” Christophe said excitedly.

“If he wasn’t dating my sister,” Harry said conspiratorially, “I’d swear that he loves wine more than girls.”

“Close,” Christophe admitted cheerfully.  “Wine, however, can’t keep me warm at night.”

“La la la,” Harry sang, covering his ears.  “That’s my sister!”

Christophe grinned.  “Maybe I should introduce you to mine.  She’s almost as pretty as your ex.”

“Christophe,” he chastised, “don’t be rude in front of Zoe.”

Christophe rolled his eyes.  “We’ll be back later,” he said to Zoe, and dragged Harry out.  “We’ve not got much time.”

“Okay, okay,” Harry agreed, as he jogged over to the car and jumped in, extending his legs at the right time to allow him to land casually.

“Git,” Christophe muttered as he gunned the engine, and sent them off.  “And, can you not go half an hour without finding an attractive woman?”

“Zoe was nice,” Harry retorted.

Christophe grumbled under his breath, and threw them around a corner dramatically, causing all four wheels to squeal.  Five minutes later, they pulled into a small courtyard. 

“I’m going to stand at the back,” Harry said, “You’re the expert.”

Christophe nodded, and they had a good look around with the owner.  Harry wasn’t too impressed.  There was air of decay about the place that he didn’t like.

Thirty minutes later they were back in the car.

“Hell no,” Christophe said firmly.  “Non existent terroir, it’s the sort of thing that only an Englishman emigrating to France would buy.  The wine you would make from those grapes would only be good for car radiators.”

Another hour down the road, they pulled into another small courtyard.  As Christophe introduced himself to the owner, Harry walked around.

There was a slightly melancholy air about the place, like it had once seen greatness, and now only had its memories.

He looked out at the fields, then at the large farmhouse.  He smiled and moved back to the other two.

Harry bowed deeply and kissed the owner’s hand.  She was an old woman, who had the same air of melancholy about her.  “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said softly.

“We had a good life,” she replied.  “All this, it is too much for me now.”

“I promise I will restore it,” he said.

She looked at him for a second, and then nodded.  “You will give me a fair price.”

“I will pay what it is worth,” Harry agreed.  “Which is more than you asked for.”

“I wanted a quick sell,” she explained.  “I will make you lunch, and will argue you down.”

“You can try,” Harry replied cheerfully.

“Erm, excuse me,” Christophe said, looking lost.  “What is going on?”

“We’ve agreed that I’m buying this place,” Harry explained.  “Now we’re arguing about money, but I’m more stubborn than she is, so I’ll end up paying the higher price.”

“We’ll see about that,” the woman said.

“But…” Christophe said, looking absolutely stunned.

“Can’t you feel it?” Harry asked.  “This place was once magnificent, but it was too much for two people, who didn’t really want to run a business, they just poured their hearts into this place.  And recently her husband died, you can feel the melancholy in the air.  Close your eyes, Christophe, and feel it.  Feel the soul of this place.”

Christophe did, standing still for a few moments, before his eyes opened, and he looked at Harry, shaking his head.

“Christophe is still in school,” Harry said to the woman.  “He’s going to be running this place as soon as he leaves.”

“What?” Christophe squeaked. 

“You think I’d trust anyone else to run some place this special?”

“You’re insane,” Christophe blurted.  “I’m too young,” he said weakly.

“You know more about wine than any single person I’ve ever met,” Harry told him.  “And you are dating my sister, who is a far better judge of character than I am, and if she thinks that you’d do brilliantly at anything you set your mind to, you can be damn sure that I’m going to exploit that. 

“Your goal will be to produce wines only of the finest quality, we won’t do mass market ever.  I’ve got contacts in London who will pay a premium for what we can produce here.”

Christophe took a step forward and hugged Harry tightly.  “Thank you,” he whispered.

Harry smiled.  “Now, about this lunch?”

“You may call me Renèe,” she announced.

“I’m Harry,” Harry introduced himself.  “And this splendid man is Christophe.”

Renée smiled, and took Harry’s arm, dragging him with surprising strength into a gorgeous rustic kitchen.

After an hour of the hardest negotiation he’d ever tried, it was agreed that Renèe would live there for a further six months and supervise Harry’s repairs, and then would accept slightly less than Harry offered for the vineyard.

Back in the car, they drove for a while in silence.

“You are insane,” Christophe eventually said.

“Why?”

“You can’t just get me to run a vineyard; you need someone with years of experience.”

“Bollocks.”

“I thought you only wanted a cover for your own wine anyway.”

“I did,” he agreed, “until I found that place.  My wine, for all its taste, is still conjured, and has no value beyond that.  To make it last long enough, I have to put more power than I want in it.  That place felt like it could live up to the same standard.

“Everything about it screamed potential greatness.”

“What about Melissa?” Christophe asked softly.  “I really like her.  She’s smart, sexy, scary, and sarcastic.”

“You should add Slytherin on there, to complete the alliteration,” Harry grinned.  “Leave her to me.”

“Thank you.”

Half an hour later they pulled into Christophe’s parents’ home.  An older couple met them, the male storming out.

“Mum, Dad,” Christophe greeted them, hugging the male who had a face like a thunder cloud.  “I’ve got a job when I leave school.”

The man froze, his expression changing in an instant.  “Really?” he asked.

“You remember the guy I wrote about?”

“Harry?”

“This is Harry,” Christophe introduced him.  “He’s just bought the most amazing vineyard in the Rhône Valley, and is giving it to me to manage!”

Both the adults blinked.  “Are you insane?” the male asked.

“If I was, would I know?” Harry replied casually, he was finding their accent a little hard to understand.  “Name one person more obsessed with wine than Christophe?”

They looked at each other and shrugged.

“That’s why,” Harry said with a grin.

“Is Jeanne-Antoinette coming home for dinner?”

“She is,” the male said slowly.  “I am Gustave, as my son seems to have forgotten his manners.  My wife is Inès.”

“Delighted to meet you,” Harry replied.

“Why the interest in Jeannie?” Inès asked warily.

“I told Harry I’d introduce him,” Christophe said cheerily.

“You did?” Inès asked, “The last boy she dated you scared so much that he didn’t talk to her again for a month.”

Christophe grinned.  “He was an idiot,” he explained to Harry.  “Besides, it’s only fair, Melissa is his sister.”

“Ahh,” Gustave grunted.  “The legendary girl you managed not to bring home for Christmas.”

“I didn’t want to scare her off,” Christophe replied.

“Well, while Inès interrogates Harry, we can go and have a chat about borrowing my car without permission.”

Christophe gulped, and shot a look at Harry.

“Sorry,” Harry said, “I’d never get in between a father and a son.”

“Wise man,” Inès said.  “Come into the kitchen.”

Harry followed her into a gigantic kitchen, and sat down as ordered at a table, as Inès bustled around.

“You look like no fourteen year old, ever,” she stated.  “In fact, I saw a picture of you late last year in our press.”

Harry shrugged.  “I grew up.”

Inès slowly nodded.  “I guess a magical maturity would explain it,” she agreed, and changed the subject.

A sheepish Christophe and Gustave joined them a while later and they sat around the table, talking about anything that came to mind.

To Harry, this was the greatest thing about what had happened to him.  He was able to talk to people and just be himself.  No artifice, no feeling on edge, just relaxed companionship.

A couple of hours later, there door banged open, and a small dark-haired girl bounced in cheerfully. 

“Christophe!” she cheered, and hugged him tightly.

“Jeannie,” Christophe replied, hugging her back as tightly.

“How’s England, how come you’ve only written me once?  Who is Melissa, is she pretty?  What’s Hogwarts really like?”

Gustave coughed, causing Jeanne-Antoinette to look up.  She suddenly seemed to spot Harry, and went several shades of red.

“Excuse me, monsieur,” she said formally.

Harry grinned at her.  “Hogwarts is amazing.  She’s imposing, vaguely gothic, and disjointed, and yet stunningly beautiful at the same time. 

“Melissa is a beautiful girl, who is also smart as a whip, she and Christophe have been together for a month now, and are a very cute couple.

“And Christophe has only written once because he’s been far more interested in chasing Melissa,” Harry finished with a grin.

“Thanks,” Christophe muttered.  “Harry, this is my sister, Jeanne-Antoinette, or Jeannie for short.  Jeannie, this is my good friend, Harry.”

Harry stood and walked over to her, he took her hand and bowed, lightly kissing her knuckles.  “It’s a pleasure, mademoiselle,” he said, not releasing her hand, “it’s good to see that you are as beautiful as your mother, when Christophe mentioned he had a sister, I was afraid that she’d take after him,” he finished with a wink, as he let her hand drop.

She flushed, then giggled, then blushed, then gulped, before excusing herself.

Harry sat back down, and Christophe looked at him.  He met his gaze equally.  Christophe sighed softly.  “Not going to happen, is it?”

“Fifteen, sixteen?” Harry asked.

“Sixteen.”

“Nope,” Harry said softly.  “She’s beautiful, but I’d feel like I was taking advantage of her.”

“After Kate, I guess I can understand,” Christophe said.

“Would you care to explain it to me?” Gustave asked.

“Kate was Harry’s date to the Ball,” Christophe explained.  “She was beautiful, and in her mid twenties.”

“What happened?” Inès asked.

“We took a look at ourselves, and realised that he had similar issues, and because of that, would be atrocious at supporting each other.  We had the passion and the friendship, but not that emotional strength between us that would have allowed us to take the next step, so we broke up.  It was the only way to be fair.”

Inès nodded.  “A wise move.”

Harry smiled faintly.  “Anyway, my tastes are now a little older, and as beautiful as your daughter is, she is also a little young.”

“I have no idea how to feel about this,” Gustave muttered.  “This is still my daughter.”

“And my sister,” Christophe agreed.  “And if I thought Harry would mistreat her, I’d never have allowed him anywhere near my home.”

“How do you want me to act?” Harry asked.

“Be yourself,” Christophe said, “it wouldn’t hurt for her to see how a man treats a woman, so that the next time one of the local parasites asks her out, she will know to say no without me having to threaten to impale one of them on a weather cock.”

Harry sniggered.  “I’ll have to remember that one for when Gabrielle grows up.”  He paused, and then shrugged.  “No, actually.  If anyone hurts Gabrielle I don’t know what I’ll do, well, apart from the fact that it will be violent, it will be slow, and it will publicly show that Gabrielle is not to be hurt.”  He looked at Christophe, “That does go for Melissa and Hermione as well.”

Christophe gulped exaggeratedly.

Harry grinned.

“I like your attitude,” Gustave said.  “Especially as you are not going to be going after Jeannie yourself.”

Jeannine walked back into the room.  She’d changed into a smart new skirt and blouse, and had brushed her hair.

“Do you have any homework left before school tomorrow?” Inès asked.

“Mama,” Jeannie complained.

“That wasn’t an answer,” Inès pointed out.

“Yes,” Jeannie muttered.

“Oh,” Harry said, “What do you have left to do?”

Jeannie looked at Harry, “Just some transfiguration.  It’s the practical I’ve not got right.  Why would you want to turn a stupid placemat into an anteater anyway?”

“I asked my best friend that same question,” Harry agreed.

“What did she say?”

“She said, ‘Shut up’,” Harry replied cheerfully.

“Hermione?” Christophe asked, as he started to laugh.

“Of course.”  Harry pulled his wand out, and tapped the placemat in front of him.  He whispered the spell, with a shudder, it started to grow, as it changed form, a long nose appeared first, before the rest of the anteater turned up.

“There is actually a good reason for it,” Harry said.  “If you ignore the ridiculous actuality, what you are left with is inanimate to animate transfiguration, and that can be very useful.

“For example, you are at Beauxbatons, and Christophe is canoodling with Melissa at Hogwarts.  You want to talk to him, but can’t be bothered to walk to the Owlery.  You take some paper and transfigure it into an owl.  You add a location charm, and a timed finishing spell, and send it on its way.

“The owl flies to England, finds Christophe, and with a pop, it turns back into your letter.”

Jeannie sat down opposite Harry at the table.  “That makes sense,” she said slowly.  “So why aren’t we taught to do that?”

“As near as I can understand,” Harry replied, sending her a lazy grin, “is that magic has a detrimental effect on common sense.”

“How did you do the spell so easily?”

Harry looked at Christophe, who shook his head.  “Nothing that good in the house.  Make some.”

Harry sighed and nodded.  Christophe smirked as he pulled out an empty bottle, and handed it to Harry.  Harry took it and pointed his wand down the neck of the bottle and whispered the spell.

Christophe took the bottle back and poured out five glasses.  Harry took one and settled back again, holding the glass loosely in two fingers.

“What is magic?” Harry asked.

“Well,” Jeannie said, as she took her own glass.  “It’s making things happen with wands and spells.”

“Correct,” Harry agreed.  “To a degree, but magic is more than that.  And that’s the secret of it.  I’ve heard it said that we formalise a basically chaotic ideal.  That we take what is unordered and give it order.  Personally, I think that’s the biggest pile of cow dung I’ve ever heard.

“There are three basic tenets to magic.  The first is imagination.  Our imagination is what gives the idea of what we want to achieve.  We take imagination, and work out a way to achieve the effects we want.  That may be waving a wand in some way as a focus, it may be by combining things into a potion, it maybe by reading the stars, but at the end of the day, the idea comes from us.

“We have been given this gift that is truly amazing, the gift to make our imaginations come to life. 

“Now, imagination is like the truth, it’s a wonderful and dangerous thing.  I can imagine a placemat turning to an anteater, or I can imagine Christophe topless,” Harry continued, waving his wand at his friend.  “More than that, I believe that if I do this, he is.”  He waved his wand and cancelled the spell.  “Was that spell light magic or dark magic?”

“Hey,” Christophe protested.

Jeannie was concentrating hard on him.  “Dark?”

“Okay, now imagine that you’ve come across a Muggle.  He’s been in a car accident.  You do a medical scan, and it tells you that there is nothing you can do.  The spell tells you that he’s going to die in around ten minute’s time, and his last ten minutes are going to be agonising.  You’re a witch; you do what you can for him.  You whisper an apology, you point your wand at him, and, even as you feel your heart break, you say Avada Kedavra.  You believe he would be better off dead, and you do what you have to do.

“Is that a dark spell, or a light spell?”

“I don’t know,” Jeannie whispered.

“Correct,” Harry said, leaning forward.  “A spell used by hospitals the world over to get to an injury is dark, and a killing curse can be used mercifully.  They are both spells.  They are both created the same way inside you; the only difference is the intent you have.  One is to remove clothes, the other is to kill.  They are both products of your imagination and belief, and can be used for good purposes.

“But here’s the killer part, and it’s what infects our world to the core.  Imagination is addictive.  I see a beautiful Muggle.  I have the imagination to take her, I believe I can take her, so I do.  The magic is not bad, but I’m using it in a bad way.  I’ve done it once, so why not again?  And again.  Then I do it to someone and her boyfriend comes home, so I imagine him dead.  He is dead, and I can move on.  As I do, my arrogance grows, and I stop seeing people as people, but as threats.  I have reached the top of the tree, and I want to stay there, so the first thing I do is to try and stop people using the same spells I have.  I call the magic dark, and try and polarise it.

“I turn on other creatures, because my spells might not work on them, so they are villainised and persecuted, and then I tell the schools they have to teach one way, so that the kids who are becoming magical can’t have the same spells I do, and don’t know that their imagination is the key.

“I have them blinded be silly concepts, and learning magic through rote.  You have a goal.  You do this and it happens.  You don’t tell them that hidden deep inside the rote is their imagination, that with each movement you reinforce your belief, until suddenly, you have the imagination and the belief, and it is that which is the power behind the spell. 

“And once you understand that simple idea, you look at your instruction at school differently.  They are working in the frameworks that their jobs allow, and they are trying to teach you how to do it, but they have to be subversive.  So they teach ideas that don’t make sense, hoping amongst hope that you will realise what the Ministry stops them from saying.

“And that leads me onto the second tenet.  Belief.  If you believe you can do what your imagination has suggested, then there is no reason you can’t. 

“Magic is a powerful thing, there is nothing it can’t do if you believe it and can imagine it. 

“And with that ability comes the responsibility, the responsibility to value the talents you have been given, to work for others, not for yourself, and to understand that if you go down the dark path, there will people standing in your way, and no matter how many you kill, there will be one who is more powerful, more cunning, or more intelligent, and one day your dreams will lie in the dust, trampled by someone who didn’t forget the message.

“So you asked how I can do that so easy, it’s because I understood the lesson, it’s because I could imagine the placemat as an animal, and because I had the desire to do it.  You know the spell?”

Jeannie nodded, she was breathing hard and there was colour in her cheeks.

“Do it, now.  No thinking, not second guessing me, just say the spell, and know that you can do it,” he barked.

Jeannie moved without hesitation, following his instructions exactly.  The placemat in front of her became an Anteater and started to snuffle around the table.

“Do you know why Finite Incantatem is one of the first spells they teach?” he asked rhetorically.  “It’s because it is much easier to imagine something in its original state, than it is to imagine something so different.  So, the next time you are asked to do something silly, think about what you are really being taught.  Imagine what it is that you want, and believe you can do it.  There is nothing that anyone can do to stop you, once you have that belief that if you follow the instructions, what you imagine can come to life.”

Jeannie nodded.

Christophe frowned.  “You didn’t cover power, the third tenet,” he pointed out.  “There may not be a limit to your imagination, but there is a limit to how much magic you can use.”

“Power isn’t the third tenet,” Harry said gently.  “Price is the third tenet.  There are ways of increasing your power, if you are willing to pay the price.  Every spell has a price.  Changing the state of something like a placemat has a negligible price.  Nothing is harmed, the spell doesn’t last long, and we, as wizards, have found a way to make the price less.

“Using the Killing Curse has a much higher price, not just the amount of power it takes, but the effect it has on you.  You lose the ability to distinguish between good and bad, and you become less of a human, and more of a monster. 

“My analogy earlier was slightly false, because no matter how you dress it up, the forbidden curses are the most evil ever developed.  Sure, there are rumours about nerve stimulation, and other such nonsense.  They are patently untrue.  The Killing Curse was designed to kill.  The Cruciatus was designed to cause pain, and the Imperious was designed to control people.

“This is where we differ from Muggles.  I’ve heard it said from friends that us with wands is no different to a Muggle with a gun.  If the Muggles used their souls to fire bullets, it might be more appropriate, but they don’t, they use cheap bullets, and a lot of them are capable of dealing with what they do.

“Every time you do magic, you use these three tenets to achieve what you want.  You imagine it, you believe you can do it, and you pay the price to do so.”

“You didn’t say anything about wands,” Jeannie said, “so do you need them?”

“Technically, no.”

“So you can do wandless magic?” Christophe asked.

“Well, yeah,” Harry said, looking surprised.  “But why would you want to?”

“So you don’t need a wand!”

Harry blinked and looked at Christophe, “why would you want to give up a wand?”

“If you don’t need it?”

“I can walk,” Harry said, “so why did we take a car earlier?”

Christophe paused.

“On the whole, wizards aren’t that powerful, so to compensate, we use wands and formalised movements and incantations to make the spells we want easier.  I could do the same thing without a wand, but without those helps, it would take a phenomenal amount of power, and just be a complete waste of the price I’d have to pay.  It would be worse when you are duelling.  You raise a shield, pay the price, and collapse because you’ve just drained yourself.”

Christophe nodded slowly.  “It’s just that wandless magic always seemed really cool.”

“The only way I could see it being useful,” Harry said, “is if you set the spell up beforehand, and release it wandlessly, that would allow you to do what you need, but even then, you’ve used more magic than you needed to.”

“So how do you increase your power?” Jeannie asked curiously. 

“By imagining it, finding the right way, and believing, and being ready to pay the price?” Christophe asked.

Harry winkled his nose.  “If you can find a right way that doesn’t involve selling your soul,” he agreed.  “I like to compare magic to a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it is.  You just have to be careful, though, because doing magic when you have none left is painful.  It feels like the very life force is being drained from every fibre of your being.”

“How do you know that?” Jeannie asked.

“Oh, I wasn’t happy with my power levels, so I tried to increase them.”

“Harry,” Christophe said, “let’s see it then, bring up your magic.”

Harry closed his eyes and did as asked, bringing up his magic, holding nothing back, imagining he was about to pull off the biggest spell ever conceived.  His wand started to vibrate in his hand.

After a moment, he slowly pushed it back down, taking control back over it.  He opened his eyes.

“Sweet Merlin on a bike!” Gustave exclaimed.  “People have set up religions for people with less power than you.”

Harry used every ounce of his will power not to blush.

Jeannie had a giddy expression on her face.

“That’s more effective than wine,” Christophe muttered.  “Remind me to get you to do that at Hogwarts.”

Harry laughed.  “No chance.”  He looked at his watch.  “Anyway, Christophe and I need to get going, I just remembered I promised to drop a case or two of wine into a few friends.  And he needs to meet Richard.”

“I do?”

“He’s the sommelier of one of the top London restaurants.”

“I do,” Christophe agreed.

“It was nice meeting you all,” Harry said, throwing a wink at Jeannie.  She blushed and sat up a little straighter, her shoulders going back, which had the effect of making her chest slightly more evident.

Harry looked for a second, making it obvious that he was doing so to the girl, and then nodded his goodbye at her.

“Do come and see us again,” Inès said.

“I will,” Harry agreed, as he stood and followed Christophe outside.  “Ready?”

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 6

As he had expected, Christophe and Richard had got on like a house on fire.  The conversation had quickly devolved into obscure facts and information about wine.  He’d talked with Jonathan for a few minutes until the restaurant had opened, and he’d bodily pulled Christophe away from his new friend.

They were now walking back to Hogwarts, with Christophe bouncing along beside him.

“Haaaarrrrrryyyyy!” Gabrielle yelled as she sprinted out toward him.

He smiled and went down on one knee, which allowed her to charge into him at full speed.  Her arms wrapped around him, and she hugged him as tightly as she could.

He stood, lifting the tiny girl easily, and continued to walk toward Hogwarts.  Gabrielle took one deep breath, and then managed to fit her entire day into four minutes of continuous talking.

The Great Hall was full again, as all the students were back for the start of the spring term.  He sat on his table, and smiled.

“Harry,” Fred called, “do remember that you’re back under school rules again, so you’ll have to be much more careful when you leave Hogwarts.”

Harry nodded.  “I’ve not forgotten.  This has been a brilliant Christmas, and I’m going to see if I can make it better next year.”

“How?” Adrienne asked curiously.

“Bigger party, better location, private ball,” Harry said, listing of the top of his head.

“Invitations for us?” she asked.

“Of course.”

She grinned happily.  “So what did you do today?”

“Me? Not much.”

“Not much?” Christophe demanded.  “Not much!”

“What did you do, Harry?” Gabrielle asked sweetly.

Harry smiled at her.  “I gots me a vineyard,” he said, putting on an accent.

“You bought a vineyard?” Adrienne asked.

Harry nodded to Christophe, “Meet the manager.”

Adrienne turned to Christophe, who had a smile so wide it threatened to split his face.  “It’s got beautiful terrior,” he said.

“Harry,” George asked, “exactly why have you got a vineyard?”

“Well, I’ve started selling my wine, but realised that it was just impractical to continue to make it magically, when I could do it properly.”

“That makes sense,” Fred agreed.  “We’ve got a new schedule for you tomorrow, and a whole new bunch of lessons.”

“Great,” Harry said cheerfully.  “Is Sirius going to be on it again?  I need to thank him for giving me permission to do what I wanted this holiday.”

“Sure is,” George agreed.

Harry smiled and looked around his table.  His bodyguards were opposite him, his friends to the sides.  Hermione was with Viktor at the end, along with Chloe and Andrew, talking, with a happy and relaxed expression on her face.

Melissa was looking at him, then at Christophe.  He met her eyes, then nodded to the right.  She nodded, and he lightly touched Gabrielle, who nodded and continued her conversation with Smasher.

As had happened with Hermione, a table appeared for him, and he sat down.  Melissa sat down opposite him, and the noise faded slowly.

“What are you thinking, Melissa?” he asked softly.

“France?” she asked.  “I thought you said that Christophe was going to move to England!”

Harry nodded.  “Plans change,” he said softly.  He reached out and lightly took her hands, forcing her to look at him.  “Are you a witch, or are you not?”

“I am,” she said slowly.

“So what, exactly, is the problem with you living in a huge gorgeous Villa, in the south of France, that’s connected to the Floo system?”

Melissa opened her mouth, and then shut it again.

“Especially when you realise that it’s over a hundred miles away from Inès and Gustave, who are wonderful people, but you will not be living in the shadow of his parents.”

“Beautiful?” she asked.

“And a lot warmer than England.”

“You really are looking after me, aren’t you?”

“That’s my job,” Harry agreed cheerfully.  “Oh, and I might have mentioned that if he hurts you, I will make him into an example that will echo through the annals of time.”

Melissa giggled.  “Okay, back to the real world.  You need to be careful, kiddo. Bringing Kate to the Ball was brilliant, as was what you did with Sinistra, but it has set you up as a target from witches who want that sort of thing.  We’re doing our best to cover you, but there will be someone who gets through our protection.”

Harry smiled at her.  “You are really looking after me, aren’t you?”

Melissa laughed.  “Yes.  Now, let’s go tell my boyfriend that he’s not getting rid of me that easily.

Harry smiled as they rejoined the rest of his friends.  As was normal, they spent most of the evening in the Great Hall, not noticing that the other students had long gone to their Common Rooms.

The next morning, he was back in his school uniform, eating breakfast.  Gabrielle was next to him, as always, and his bodyguards were all in their school uniforms.  “Sorry,” Lisa said with a sigh, “Hermione couldn’t find anything.”

He nodded.  “You still have all those weapons?”

Lisa smiled wickedly and didn’t say anything. 

Gabrielle was back in her miniature Gryffindor uniform, practising some movements with his wand.

He ignored the normal rush of the owls bearing letters and papers, and concentrated on his breakfast.

He couldn’t help notice the uncomfortable feeling of a lot of people staring at him.  “What?” he asked.

“It’s nothing,” Christophe said cheerfully, as he stole the paper from Melissa.  He casually opened the front page, and then did a classic double take.  “You used a shelving charm on a girl?” he asked.

All of a sudden, a memory flew back to Harry.  He buried his head in his arms.  “Go away,” he ordered.

“Oh no, my friend,” Christophe said, “as your closest male friend who isn’t working for you yet, one of my rights and responsibilities is to tease you mercilessly.  And, as I had to write a long letter about you to my sister, I deserve it.  So, exactly why the shelving charm?”

Harry ignored him.

“It’s a good idea,” Gabrielle said cheerfully.  “The sticking charm can get uncomfortable when it’s used with skin against a wall, as gravity still drags a person down.  By using a shelving charm under the bum, the mph….”

Harry looked at Gabrielle, where his hand was firmly covering his mouth.  “I accept that you are Veela,” he said in a low voice.  “I accept that you may have some theoretical knowledge of intimacy, but please, for the sake of my sanity, keep that knowledge to yourself!”

Gabrielle kissed his hand softly.  “ You answer the questions then,” she said as she pulled away.

Harry pouted at her.

“Don’t be silly,” Gabrielle said, “we’re just teasing you.”

“I know,” he sighed.  “Now, pretend you’re not listening.”

She grinned at him and covered her ears.

“A shelving charm makes it…  more comfortable,” Harry muttered.

“What was that?” Christophe asked.

Harry repeated himself louder.

“Okay,” Christophe agreed, “that’s enough.”  He went to put the paper down, when he blinked, as something caught his eyes.  “Forty five minutes?” he demanded.  “How did your tongue not get sore?”

Harry banged his head against the table.  He mumbled his answer into the table, trying to avoid answering.

“What was that?” Melissa asked.

“Et tu, Melissa?” He asked.

She nodded.

“I recited the first year Potions text book.  In Parseltongue.”

“Why?” Melissa asked.

Harry looked up, and whispered, “why do you think?”  He said it in Parseltongue.  He was well aware of the way it made his tongue flicker.

“That’s enough,” Hermione stated primly.  “Just tell me one thing, Harry,” she continued.  “You are using protection?”

Harry nodded.  “Two sterility charms, and three prophylactic charms.  I can barely look after myself these days, never mind children.”

“Good,” Hermione nodded.

There was a fluttering of wings, and an owl appeared, bearing a letter for him.  He took it, scratched the owl on the head, and opened it.

Harry,

I’m so sorry. 

I don’t know how Skeeter got that story, but it was from me.  I was meeting with one of the girls from the Agency, and boasted about you a little, and that’s the only time I told that story.

I’ve talked to her this morning, and she is willing to swear on her magic that she has not told anyone.

We are professionals, and discretion is an important part of what we do.  I’m embarrassed and saddened that this has got out.

If there is anything I can do to make it up, please let me know.

Love,

Kate.

Harry reached into his bag and pulled out a quill.  He turned the letter over, and scrawled a quick reply, which basically consisted of an exhortation not to be silly, and that he would talk to her soon.

“Hermione,” Harry said.  “Kate’s been bugged, can you see if you can come up with something that will make sure private conversations stay that way?”

She nodded seriously.

“Come on, Gabrielle, let’s go to class.”

As they walked, Melissa fell into step next to him.  “I’m not going to apologise for that, kiddo,” she announced.  “I told Christophe to push you into it, because it helped us.”

“Oh?”

“There were rumours that some of the girls wanted to trap you with some little Potters.  Now they know that is futile.  We’d talked about this, and Hermione, who is so smart she makes my teeth hurt, took advantage.”

“Why?” Harry asked.  “Why would they do that?”

“Would you not marry the mother of your child?”

Harry blinked.  He opened his mouth and shut it again.

“Exactly, it was seen as a quick way to get into a life of power and luxury.”

Harry sighed.  “Then I guess it was worth it.”

Melissa smiled wickedly, “yes, they no longer want to trap you, they just want…”

“To ride his broomstick?” Gabrielle asked innocently.

Harry groaned, picked her up, and started to tickle her.

“Stop,” Gabrielle squealed, as she tried to escape his merciless fingers.

Harry smiled and hugged her.

“Yeah, that,” Melissa agreed.  “Now get into class, kiddo.  Horny witches.”

“And the odd wizard,” Gabrielle interposed.

“Yes,” Melissa agreed, “now they have a different opinion of you.”

Fortunately, the furore over the revelations in the press over his love-life soon faded.  Even if it did take him to the top of Witch Weekly’s most eligible bachelor list.

Life settled down into a routine, where he’d spend the day in class with Gabrielle, the evenings with his tutors.  Sometimes he’d be accompanied by Hermione, he continued his French lessons, only this time he helped to teach Melissa and Hermione.

He saw Kate, and they spent an evening together at the restaurant.  Jonathan approved heartily of Kate, and ensured that they had the best table in the house. 

Oliver continued to run him ragged in personal fitness.  Lisa and Ben were pushing him harder than ever.

There were a few times when he was very tempted to use the Time Dilator, but he managed to resist.  The thing was addictive, and was a short cut.  It was only the warning from Hogwarts that kept his will strong.

He didn’t forget Annie, the girl he’d met in the nightclub, and had, via several intermediaries, arranged for her to have a chance at a secondary role in a musical.

Adrienne had agreed to work for Christophe in the vineyard.  There was no problem with that from Melissa; she was far too self-assured to be vulnerable about her boyfriend’s friendship with another witch.

More than his bodyguards, Gabrielle was his barrier between himself and the rest of his year.  She monopolised his time with a deliberate intent that suggested that she knew exactly what she was doing.  Anytime he was approached, she needed some urgent help with something, or wanted a hug, or, in one place, when she was across the room, she twisted her ankle and burst into tears.

He’d written to her parents, asking them permission to buy her a wand, she’d come on in leaps and bounds, and he had rethought his earlier plan.

But in the background, the Second Task approached.  A few days beforehand, he’d confessed his plan to Fred and George, and their role in it.  The twins had been impressed – and decided that he needed to get drunk more often, as he clearly thought better when inebriated.

Viktor and Cedric were now very close friends, and had their own plans for rescuing what ever was going to be taken from the merpeople.

Current betting was that it would be Harry’s necklace, Cedric’s ring, Viktor’s Firebolt, and Fleur’s earrings.

“You ready, boss?” Smasher asked.

“I think so,” Harry replied.  He took one last bite of his breakfast, and relaxed back.  Gabrielle leant against him, and he put an arm around her.

“Harry will do great,” Gabrielle said proudly.

“I hope so,” Harry agreed.  “Guys, why not take Melissa, Cho, Hermione and Gabrielle to the seats?  Make sure they get good ones.”

“Good idea, boss,” Crusher agreed.

“We can look after ourselves,” Melissa pointed out.  “And it doesn’t start for ninety minutes.”

“Gabrielle, who got the best seats last time?”

“We did,” she replied cheerily.  “And we got ice cream!  And if we get there early, we can watch all the people come and try and get our seats, and Crusher, Smasher, Thrasher and Nasher can scare them away, while Lisa just looks cool and dangerous!”

“Well,” Melissa said dryly, “I can’t argue with that.  Come on Hermione, Cho.”

“Good luck,” Gabrielle said, kissing him on the cheek, before she dashed over to her sister and did the same thing.  Melissa and Hermione wished their own partners good luck as well.

The other girls walked over, as Melissa bent down and lifted Gabrielle up.  With some wicked giggles, the four girls, surrounded by the five bodyguards and Christophe walked out the Great Hall.

Harry stretched, nodded to Fred and George.  He turned to the other champions.   “So what are we going to do for the next ninety minutes?”

Viktor reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of cards.  “Poker?”

Eighty minutes later, Harry was a hundred Galleons poorer, Viktor and Cedric were both fifty Galleons lighter, Fred and George were about even, and Fleur was well ahead.  The French champion had an amazing poker face – she just smiled, and the smile never changed.

There was a crash at the door, and Smasher crawled in.  Harry was beside him in a second, casting what scant healing charms he knew.

“I’m sorry, boss,” he whispered.  “There was too many of them, we couldn’t fight them off.  They took them.”

“Who?” Harry asked, feeling a lead weight settle in his stomach.

“The Aurors, they took the girls,” he croaked.

Harry looked at one of the French students.  “Get him to the nurse,” he barked.  He looked at Fred and George, and with a movement of his head, sent them off.  He suddenly realised what was going on, and he didn’t like it.

He stood and marched out.  The others followed him.  The smiles and laughter were gone.  Smasher and Nasher were in the hall, unconscious, Lisa near them.  Her knife was bright with blood.

“Get them to the nurse as well,” he ordered, and sent Crusher on as he found the boy, with several broken bones on the steps.  Christophe was near him, the recipient of several dark curses.

Harry growled.  He pulled his magic to the fore, his wand tight in his hand and stormed toward the lake.

“Ahh, Harry,” Bagman said, as they reached the Lake.

“You organised this?” Harry demanded.

Bagman nodded.

Harry punched him in the face, and as he flew backward into the air, Harry then stunned him.  He threw him to some of the German students.  “Keep him,” he barked.

They nodded, as Harry marched toward the other judges.  The crowd was silent.  “Why,” Harry growled, “are my bodyguards unconscious.”

No one moved. 

“The girls were needed for the task,” Dumbledore explained, a sad look on his face. 

“So you attacked them?”

Dumbledore looked surprised, and turned to Snape.

“They wouldn’t give them up,” Snape sneered.

“Damn right,” Harry agreed.  “Not one of those women would submit to being put in to a place of danger.”

“The only way to get them out is to complete the task,” Dumbledore said, staring hard at the Potions Professor.

Harry growled.  “This isn’t over,” he promised.

“Harry,” Fleur called, she was completely white, the colour on her face was gone.  “They have Gabrielle,” she whispered.  “I don’t give a shit about this stupid competition.  Can you get her back?”

“I will,” he promised.  “Nothing on this planet will stop me.”

“Get her,” she said, “please, and do it fast.”

“Guys,” He called, dragging Cedric and Viktor close.  “I’m faking this entire damn tournament,” he explained softly.  “We need to do this well, so that we have the press on our side.”

“What do you want us to do?” Cedric asked.

“I want you three to each take a point on the lake, and then just send me your magic.  The spell is simple,” he quickly explained it, with the wand movements.  “I’ll do the rest.  I promise you that we will have them back within five minutes.”  He paused, “then I’ll find out who hurt our people and make sure that they’re punished.”

The three nodded.

“I’ll go to the left,” Fleur said, as she started to run.  He watched her for a second, and then shook his head.

“I’ll go right,” Viktor said and took off to the right.

“And I guess I’ll stay here,” Cedric said dryly.  “What are you going to do?”

Harry smirked.  “Put on a show.  If things go well today, and the last holdout sells out, I’ll own the Prophet.  You can bet there’ll be outrage over this.”  He turned, and ran down a small pier.

Lee Jordan’s voice suddenly echoed around the stands.  “With Ludo Bagman being out of commission, I’ll be your commentator for this second and controversial task.  We’ve already seen an amazing display of magic from Crusher, Smasher, Thrasher, Nasher, and Lisa as they tried to protect the unwilling victims from the Aurors, but the nine of them could only hold out for so long, and with Professor Snape – who used some very nasty curses – the girls were soon captured.

“Delacour and Krum have sprinted down the side of the lake, and I can tell that Potter has galvanised them.  We already know that Potter doesn’t want to be here, and I think that the organiser have made a serious mistake.

“Potter jumps over the end of the pier, and what the hell!  He’s walking on water!  Potter’s walking on water!”

Harry skidded to a stop on top of the waves.  Running on water was one of the weirdest things he’d ever done.  The charm wasn’t that difficult.

He hadn’t released his magic, so he sent the raw power through his wand, not caring about what price he had to pay, and started to rise in the air.

As he did, he was hit with first one, then two other bursts of magic.  He could feel the trust and worry in each of the streams.

He allowed the magic to warp around him, and sent a small pulse down.

Fred looked at George as they felt a pulse of magic.  “It’s time,” he announced.

“I’m ready,” George agreed.

They both pointed their wands at the ceiling and paused.  They cast bubblehead charms on themselves and then shouted “Diffindo.”

The ceiling grumbled and then collapsed, large pieces of stone fell to the floor, then a drip started.  The drip turned into a stream, which turned into a raging torrent.

Water exploded down in to the Chamber of Secrets, bypassing them as it exploded on the floor.

The first animal they saw was the Giant Squid, who actually looked amused as it dropped past.  Fish and Grindylows flashed past, as did Merpeople, who looked panicked.

“Now,” Fred shouted.

George smirked and sent a spell down to one side.  A small hole appeared in the side of wall, and a portal glistened into place.

They twins shared a smirk at each other, as the water continued to pour down.

Harry concentrated on making a light show, as he created shields to stop the rest of the water from going down the hole.  Over a third of the lake had gone down, leaving a muddy mess.  He could see the Merpeople village, and smiled in relief.  He could see the girls!

He let the spells go, and floated back around to the pier.  Fleur and Viktor sprinted around to join Cedric.

“Shall we?” he asked, offering his arm dramatically to Fleur.

Fleur peered down the path, and smiled.  She cast a spell, and the mud turned to marble.  “We shall,” she agreed.  She looped her arm with his, then around Cedric.  Harry grabbed Viktor, and they walked smoothly down to the lake. 

Lee had gone quiet, as had the crowd.  From what Harry could see, a number of them had completely gobsmacked expressions.

It was less than a minute when they got there.  The girls were all lying on the ground, unconscious.  Harry cast a cutting charm on the chains holding them in place, then walked over and lifted Melissa up, who he guessed was his, as Gabrielle was for Fleur, Hermione was for Viktor, and Cho was definitely for Cedric.

With their targets in their arms, they carried them back to the pier.

“Wait here,” Harry ordered, “I need to get the water back.”

“Are you going to tell us how you did it?” Viktor asked.

Harry winked at him.  “Maybe,” he said cheerfully.  “Perhaps after I turn someone into a smear on the castle walls for daring to touch Gabrielle.”

Fleur blinked.  “Not the others?”

“I swore I’d protect Gabrielle,” he explained, “and that takes precedence over the absolute rage I feel for them taking Hermione and Melissa.”  He paused, “Just.”

He floated himself over to the centre, and braced himself.  This was the stupidest part of his plan, and he hoped he had enough magic to do it, and get through it.

“Accio Lake!” he yelled.

From the ground a small trickle of water appeared, before, like a huge geyser, a torrent of water exploded into the air.

He smiled, it was working! 

Only the water kept coming, and it was increasing in volume and depth.  He stopped his magic, but the water didn’t stop.  He peered through the torrent and groaned.  His spell was no longer just pulling water up from the Chamber of Secrets, but from the rest of the lake as well.  The geyser was now over two hundred feet tall, and it was increasing all the time as the lake was sucked into the bottom of it.

It was completely out of his control, and a feeling of fear shot through him.  He didn't want to kill any Merpeople accidentally, or the Squid, or drown the crowd.  Well, not most of them anyway.

He knew he had to change his tactics, so with a yell, he created a couple of the same shields he'd used earlier, separating the water into two streams, and diverting it in a large heart-shape back to the lake bed.

The pressure from the water was immense, and he struggled to hold the shields in place.  He could see Merpeople slide up the geyser, and then shoot down the sides, wide smiles on their faces.

It was only when the Giant Squid went past for a second time that he realised that the lake was now in a massive feedback loop.  He groaned, he could feel that he was running out of magic rapidly, but the water was still coming.  He needed his wand to keep the inverting shields in place, but he needed to do something about whatever was pushing the water up.

He used his left hand and grabbed the necklace around his neck. "Finite Incantatem!"  The spell erupted from him like it was shot from a canon.

The water stopped flowing abruptly, although what was already going up continued on its journey around the shields.

As the water was clear, he cancelled the spells and sunk down, balancing on the water carefully.  He was utterly exhausted.

The water before him rippled as the Giant Squid surfaced.  Harry looked at him for a moment, and then shook his head in disbelief.  The Squid had a puppy-dog expression on his face.  "No!" Harry said.  "I am not doing it again!"

The Squid pouted at him, before his expression changed.  He went back underwater, before surfacing under Harry’s feet.  Two tentacles wrapped around his ankles, and held him tightly.  Harry didn't move as he was lifted a foot above the waves.  The Squid started to swim back toward the pier where his friends were.

To his complete bemusement, Merpeople lined the path the Squid was taking, their tridents raised in salute.

“Six minutes,” Lee’s amplified voice whispered.  “Six minutes to rescue all four victims.  And spells, dear Merlin, what spells they were.  Incredible, awe inspiring spells, of magic not seen for hundreds of years.  Water flowing hundreds of feet into the air, before arching gently back in to the lake.  And as Potter is carried back to the pier by the Giant Squid, honoured by Merpeople, I can’t help but feel like I’m back at Camelot, marvelling at Merlin himself.

“Only I’ll bet Merlin never looked quite that angry!”

“Why aren’t they awake?” Harry snarled as he stepped off of the Squid.  The four girls were lying on the pier next to Cedric, Viktor and Fleur.

“The…the charm,” Bagman explained from the Durmstrang students.  “It needs to be removed.”

“Remove it,” Harry snapped.

Bagman stumbled forward.  Melissa was the first to open her eyes.  “I knew you’d do it, kiddo,” she muttered.  “Where’s Christophe?”

“Hospital wing,” Harry said as he hugged her tightly.

“Stupid, idiotic boy took a curse for me,” she whispered, as she clung back to him.

“Gabrielle!” Fleur cried.

Gabrielle opened her eyes, and then burst into tears, hugging Fleur tightly.  Harry reached over and pulled the two sisters in to the hug he was sharing with Melissa.  Gabrielle moved so that she was hugging both him and Fleur at the same time.

He concentrated on the love he had for Gabrielle, and for Melissa, and sent it to them.

Gabrielle sighed and started to glow.  Fleur had a weird look on her face.  Hermione woke up and hugged Viktor, before joining the hug.  Cho and Cedric joined them shortly afterward.

“I can’t keep this magic up,” Harry whispered.  “This is the time for a strategic retreat, so that it looks like we’re in control.  Let me do the talking.”

“After what you just did,” Cedric said, “I think I’m following you for the rest of my life.”

Harry stood, and gently passed Gabrielle to Fleur.  “You injured our people for your stupid game,” he said quietly, using his magic to send his words through the gathered crowd.  “Questions need to be answered, but right now, we’re more concerned with our people.  Do not think this is over.”

He turned and started to walk.  He heard Fleur address the crowd.  “You put my sister at risk,” she said with a voice void of expression.  “You can take this stupid tournament and go fuck yourselves with it.”

Harry smiled to himself.  “What she said,” Cedric announced, following them.  Viktor just turned his back contemptously.

Lee’s voice echoed around the stadium.  “This has been the strangest task imaginable,” he said.  “We have over thirty Aurors in hospital, successful kidnapping of unwilling victims left, right, and centre, and four champions who, it appears, have given up on the competition completely.

“You have to question the running of this tournament, and the methods used.  What was supposed to be a test of magic has been that, but it has been much more a test of how the Ministry runs the school, and the only word I can think of, is badly.

“I’ve been Lee Jordan, and I’m going to go and check on the real victims of this travesty.”

Harry walked inside the school, Melissa to his left, and Fleur, who was still carrying Gabrielle, to the right.  They met Fred and George.

“Everything okay?” Harry asked.

“Your magic was unbelievable,” Fred said.  “Only one problem.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, somehow the water leaked.”

“Where to?”

“Snape’s private quarters.”

“On the fourth floor?”

Fred and George grinned.  “Weird, that.”

Harry smiled at them, as they walked in silence into the hospital wing.  The six of them were being tended by Madam Pomfrey. 

“How are they?” Harry asked.

“They’ll be fine,” the nurse said.  “I’ve removed all the curses.  Aurors fighting students,” she muttered, shaking her head.

“Sorry, boss,” Crusher said, looking down.  “We failed.”

Harry walked over to him; most of the others were still unconscious.  “Then you will learn from this, and next time you will do better.”

“Next time?” Crusher asked in surprise.

“Damn right,” Harry said.  He took Crusher’s hand, and squeezed it tightly.  “You fought off over thirty Aurors, and it took a Death Eater to help bring you down.  That’s amazing!  You did what you could, and you put your bodies on the line.  I can ask for no more than that.  Now, you just concentrate on getting better.”

“Thanks, boss,” Crusher said.  He looked around and smiled.  “You got them, then?”

Harry nodded.

Christophe groaned as he woke up.  Harry almost went to him, but nodded to Melissa instead.

“You absolutely bloody idiot,” Melissa stated, before she leaned over him and kissed him hard.  “If you think you’re getting away from me now, you’re wrong,” she stated flatly. 

“I can live with that,” he croaked.

The others started to wake up, and Harry made sure he went around congratulating and reassuring them.  He gave Lisa a huge hug, letting her smack his back in frustration.  He didn’t inquire as to the source of blood on her knife.

“They were great,” Gabrielle said excitedly, as she sat on a bed next to Christophe.  “The Aurors ordered us to help, we all said no.”

“Damn right,” Melissa added, “we’re not prizes.”

“There was an argument, and then Bagman ordered the Aurors to get us.  Crusher and Smasher and Lisa moved in front of us, while Nasher and Smasher moved to the sides.  The Aurors suddenly attacked.”

“They threw the first spell?” Harry asked.

“They did, boss,” Lisa clarified.

Gabrielle bounced, “and then everyone started to fight.  Lisa ordered us to retreat to Hogwarts, so we moved down the stands.  People were screaming, and curses were going everywhere.  The judges hadn’t come out yet, so there was no one to help us.

“Melissa, Cho, and Hermione started throwing all sorts of curses to help.”

“And Gabrielle started throwing fireballs,” Crusher added proudly.

Gabrielle blushed demurely.  She sighed, “Then Snape started throwing really nasty curses, and he got Nasher in the back.”

“Yeah,” Nasher muttered.

“And after that, I was knocked out,” she finished.

“Lisa, Crusher and Smasher went nuts,” Melissa continued, “Lisa managed to stab Snape, before she was cursed out of it, and Crusher and Smasher dived into the pile of Aurors.”  She looked at Harry.  “They all proved their worth today.

“All the Aurors and Snape were taken to the tent near by, and were treated by Ministry nurses,” she finished.

Harry nodded in agreement.  He looked at Hermione, “you might want to turn off your ears for a second.”

She was still firmly against Viktor, who had an arm around her.  She smiled faintly and shook her head.  “They attacked us.  We didn’t go for them.  When the government feels free to kidnap, and then abandon students fighting for their lives, it is a sign of a regime out of control, and I want no part of it.”

Harry looked at Crusher and Smasher.  “It’s time for Snape to have an accident,” he said coldly. 

The two looked at each other and nodded.

“Okay,” Madam Pomfrey announced, as she walked into the room.  “Visiting time is over, and you’re all fit enough to leave.”

The bodyguards slid out of bed, and stretched.  They looked at their school uniforms and winced.  They were coated in blood and dirt.

“Accio uniforms,” Harry called.

Five uniforms - the ones Harry had ordered for them for Christmas - flew through the door a few seconds later.   “This is the smallest concession I’m getting out of this,” Harry explained.  “And you’ve all won the right to wear them.  Now, can I have some pepper-up potion?”

“Why?” Madame Pomfrey asked.

“Because I’ve used a metric tonne of magic today, and I need to be awake to deal with everything.”

“No,” Pomfrey replied.  “Students are not allowed to use potions for that reason,” she explained as she walked into a cupboard and pulled a bottle out.  “It would be against the rules,” she finished, as she placed the bottle in front of Harry.

“You’re quite right,” Harry agreed, as she turned and walked out of the room.  He took the potion, and sighed as the steam came out of his ears.

Harry squared his shoulders and marched out.  Down the stairs, the Great Hall was empty, so they walked outside.  His bodyguards moved around to flank him.  There were several groups of people; one had the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, a woman he didn’t know, and Albus Dumbledore.

He marched over to them.

“Now, see here, Potter,” Fudge said nervously.

“Your Aurors attacked students, and then kidnapped other students,” Harry said coldly.  “I’m going to love your explanation for this.”

“I’m Amelia Bones,” the woman introduced herself.  “I’m the Head of Magical Law Enforcement.  I apologise for the actions of my Aurors.”

Harry blinked at her.  A direct apology was the last thing he expected, and he didn’t quite know how to handle it.

“Under whose orders were they acting?” Harry asked, moderating his tone carefully.

“Ludo Bagman,” Amelia replied.

“So he is being charged with assault and kidnapping?” Harry asked.  “And what about Snape, who is not a registered Auror, yet threw curses at the students?”

“Harry,” Dumbledore said sharply.  “He was helping the Aurors.”

“By throwing dark curses?” Harry asked.  “And I wasn’t talking to you.  Mrs Bones?”

Amelia looked thoughtful.  “There will be a full independent investigation,” she eventually said.  “Charges will be bought against anyone who used illegal curses, as will the running of this tournament be investigated.”

“Amelia,” Fudge protested.

Harry looked at Dumbledore, “As a member of your staff has ruined the robes of these students, they will be wearing their replacements until our safety is guaranteed from attempted kidnappers and members of staff who see fit to curse students.”

Dumbledore avoided his eyes.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thrasher nudge Nasher, and mouthed “a galleon.”

Nasher’s hand shot out to Harry’s shoulder and retreated.  Harry caught a glimpse of a beetle of some sort in his fingers, before Nasher opened his mouth and crunched down on the beetle.

There was a strange wave of magic, “Spit it out,” Harry ordered.  Nasher clutched his stomach, as he dropped to his knees, and managed to direct his vomit over Fudge and Dumbledore.

An ever growing shape fell from his mouth, and the form of Rita Skeeter appeared, cut almost in two.

“That,” Harry said slowly, “was unexpected.”

Nasher looked green as he stared down.

“Arrest him,” Fudge yelled.  “That’s murder.”

“What is?” Harry asked.

“He killed her.”  Aurors were heading their way, and his entire group pulled out their wands.

“Wait a second,” Amelia said.

“I am the Minister,” Fudge screamed.  “I order that you arrest him.”

“Nasher works for me,” Harry interrupted.  “I’m responsible for his actions.”

“That’s your last mistake,” Fudge sneered.  “Arrest Potter.”

“Boss?” Smasher growled.

Harry turned and made a decision.  They could fight now, and they would lose, or he could be arrested, and they’d win.  The decision wasn’t difficult.  “Go to the Hall,” he ordered firmly.  He turned and held out his wrists to the Aurors.

“I’ll see you rot for this,” Fudge yelled triumphantly.

“And I’ll see you in court,” Harry replied evenly.

“I’m sorry,” Amelia said to him.

Harry looked at Dumbledore.  “Leadership is doing what is right for everyone, not yourself.”

A few minutes later, Harry found himself in a dark cell.  His wand had been taken, but not his necklace.  He stretched out on the bed and waited.  He had more than enough faith in his friends to know that they were already working on a way to get out of him.  He was pretty sure that Hermione would know about as much about politics as Melissa did, and as much about law within twenty four hours.

He was also sure that with Britain’s feudal and archaic laws, it would be several days before he got to see a friendly face again.

A couple of hours later, the doors opened, and he recognised the form of Walden Macnair, the animal executioner.  The other was dressed as an Auror.

Macnair sneered.  “No magic down here, Potter,” he said.  “Time to teach you a lesson.”

Harry was off the bed in a flash, his foot buried in Macnair’s crotch about a second later.  He didn’t hold back, focusing his power as Lisa and Ben had taught him.

Macnair moved about a foot in the air, as his eyes crossed.  He fell to the ground and vomited. 

Harry didn’t stop moving, as he punched the other one, breaking his nose, then, as he had practised so many times, he grabbed his head and introduced his knee to the other man’s face.

The man collapsed in a heap.

Deciding to add insult to injury, Harry searched them, found their wands, and snapped them.  He checked their arms before he ripped up the blanket on his bed, and used it to bind his two prisoners firmly.  He shut the heavy door, escaping now would completely miss the point, and relaxed back on the bed.

The meal he got at six o’clock was tested first on his two prisoners.  The food was delivered through a flap, and no one once asked if he’d seen anything.

After he had eaten, he went through one of Oliver Wood’s routines, then several of Lisa’s, before he fell into an exhausted sleep.  With everything that had happened, he didn’t even think about the strange events on the lake.

At around ten in the evening, he was thrown out of his sleep as everything went white and the pain kicked in.  He’d used too much magic, and hadn’t had enough food, so his reserves were rebuilding from what sources of energy they could access, and it hurt.

The next day, apart from a rank odour he could smell coming from himself, he felt a lot better.

It was the fourth day before he finally had company.  Melissa and an Auror with a shaved head appeared in his doorway.

Melissa paused and looked at the two tied up bodies.  “Harry,” she said slowly, “What’s going on?”

“They decided to teach me a lesson,” Harry replied.  “Macnair is a Death Eater, as is the other one.”

The Auror growled.  He stepped out the cell for a second.  Melissa moved over and hugged him tightly.  “How you doing, kiddo?” she asked.

“Pretty hungry,” he admitted.  “Apart from that, good.  I grew up in a cupboard.  This is surprisingly spacious compared to that.”

Melissa’s eyes flashed for a second, before she nodded.  The Auror stepped back in the room.  “Amelia is coming down,” he said. “I’m Kingsley Shacklebolt.”

“Harry Potter,” Harry replied cheerfully. 

Kingsley nodded and stepped back out of the jail cell.

“You’ve got the Wizarding World in an uproar, Kiddo,” Melissa said happily.  “Fudge is barely clinging on to power.  The Prophet launched an all out attack today, on Fudge, Snape, Bagman, and the others.  Half the country is on the verge of open revolt, and you’re in jail for the most ridiculous trumped up charge in existence.

“And it’s become an international scandal.  Gabrielle and Fleur called their parents, who talked to the Veela King and Queen, who bypassed the British government, and asked our Queen what was going on. 

“The Queen asked the Prime Minister to investigate, and well, let’s say he’s been having a crash course into our anachronistic laws.

“The French and German governments have protested strongly about the kidnappings.

“Cedric’s dad has been leading an internal revolution in your name; he thinks that you walk on water for helping his son like you have been, and giving him a chance to show his worth.

“Cho’s parents have been putting financial pressure on the Ministry, they’re heavily into importing, and are the sole suppliers in this country of a lot of items the Ministry needs.

Harry smiled.  “How is everyone?”

“Working together, Hermione’s been ensconced in the Library – skipping classes even!  Fred and George have been making allies left, right and centre in your name, and then using them.  Every one else has been helping out as needed.

“There is some bad news, though.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, Malfoy made some disparaging remarks about you, and well, he fell down five flights of steps.  Three times.  Nasher and Thrasher took it rather personally.  They’re good kids, now that they’ve got a better role model to follow.

“Snape’s not been seen, and Dumbledore has been avoiding us.”  She hugged him again tightly.  “That’s from Gabrielle,” she said.  “She’s been keeping a brave face on things, but she misses you terribly.  Oh, and Fleur is worried about you as well.  I think you finally got through to her.

“Fred and George told everyone how you pulled off the Second Task, and we were all really impressed.  It was so simple, a hole in the ceiling of the Chamber of Secrets, followed by an Accio charm. 

“Viktor said it was a perfect example of thinking outside the box.  Cedric, Viktor and Fleur all tried to quit the tournament, but it’s magically binding.  They’re not happy about it, but are going to wait and talk to you.

“As for the rest of the school, the Hufflepuffs think you’re the reincarnation of Helga Hufflepuff – not only did you rescue everyone, put aside any differences, but you then displayed incredibly loyalty to people working for you.

“Ravenclaws are wondering how the hell you pulled off what you did, and we’re not telling.

“The Slytherins appreciate what you’ve done; this sort of chaos gives people incredible places to move.  There are several of us who are taking and shaking this opportunity for everything we can get.

“The Gryffindors, with the exception of some hold outs, are behind you.  Years one and two are yours, along with years five to eight.  So, with a few exceptions in your age group and the one below, you’ve managed to unite the school.”

Harry shrugged.  “By product.”

“Yeah, I know, but we’ll take it.  Every Beauxbatons and Durmstrang student has helped out in one way or another.  You’ve got some good friends there.

“Anyway, as your representative, allow me to say that we’re going to kick absolute arse in court.  There is going to be Muggle government oversight, so Fudge won’t be able to play any tricks, while we have free hand to be sneaky.”

Harry smiled broadly.  “I knew this would happen,” he said.  “I knew you wouldn’t let me down.”

“That’s the way it works, kiddo,” Melissa said, “you look after us, and we return the favour.  The last five days, apart from worrying about you – and yes, we all know you can take care of yourself – have been great.  Christophe’s been wonderful, not just supportive, but focused and driven to help you out – someone threatened his idea of heaven in running his own vineyard, so he’s making damn sure you’re going to be fine.

“The important thing to remember, is that you are Lord Potter.  It might be a title only, but it is still valid.  Purebloods has some incredibly dumb rights – from the point of view of justice, obviously.  As such, all the laws are stacked in your favour, and you can pretty much get away with anything.  This is something we might want to change later, but for now, run with it.”

The door swung open again, and Amelia Bones appeared, with another Auror, this one with pink hair.

“What is going on here?” Amelia demanded.

“I am Lord Potter’s representative, and this is a private conversation between myself and my client,” Melissa barked back.

Amelia took a step back, and shook herself.  “My apologies,” she said.  “My question related to the two on the floor.”

“Oh, they came in to ‘teach me a lesson’,” Harry explained.  “So I knocked them, tied them up, and used them to check that my food wasn’t poisoned.  I did try and inform one of the guards, but no one listened.”

“Oh,” Amelia said slowly.

“They’re both Death Eaters,” Harry added. 

Amelia’s eyes darkened.  She strode over to them and checked their arms.  “Macnair, Mablar,” she said, “you two will be in Azkaban for this!”

“Macnair will probably never have children again,” Harry said.  “Oh, and I suspect they both have concussion, because I’d knock them out when ever they interrupted my sleep.”

“How did you catch them?” The pink haired Auror asked curiously.  “Wandless magic?”

“Why is it that everyone is so obsessed by that?” Harry asked.  “It’s massively overrated as a useful tool, especially when it’s much easier to do things without using it.”

The Auror blushed.  “So how did you do it?  Macnair’s much bigger than you.”

Harry took a step forward, and as he brought his right leg around, he pivoted on his left, shifting his arms for extra emphasis.  He pulled the kick centimetres away from the Auror’s neck.

“Sweet Merlin on a bike,” the Auror whispered. 

“How the hell did you move that fast?” Kingsley asked.

“Kick boxing,” Harry responded.  “I’ve been doing it for ages.”

“One of our friends’ dad is a Muggle champion,” Melissa said, “and he thinks that Harry could become a British junior champion if he wanted too.”

Harry moved back.

“You two, take these two pieces of slime into the cell next door.  They can have a trial tomorrow as well.”

“If I may make a request,” Harry said, “I’ll do a civil suit on them, with Melissa as my solicitor.  We’ll do it before my trial.”

Amelia smiled coldly and nodded.  She looked around and sighed.  “I do apologise for your accommodation.”

“Don’t worry about it, although I would appreciate the chance to shower and shave before the court tomorrow.”

“Granted.  Melissa, time is up.”

Melissa nodded and hugged him again. 

“Tell Gabrielle I love her,” he said, “and everyone else.  Tell them that I knew they would do their best, and they haven’t let me down.”  He paused, “and when I get out, we’ll have a party the likes of which hasn’t been seen in decades.”

Melissa nodded and kissed him on the cheek, before they left.  The door slammed shut, and he was left alone in the dank again.

He collapsed onto the bed and gave in to the urge to have a childish tantrum for a few minutes.  It was therapeutic, and he was in a better mood when he finished.

He spent as much time exercising as he could, as the best way to pass the time.  His meals were about four times as large as the previous ones.

It was ten o’clock in the morning a few days later when his door opened again, and Kingsley and other Auror escorted him to an area.  He undid his robes, and pulled off his clothes as quickly as he could.  The female Auror squeaked and turned her back.

“It’s okay,” Harry said, “I lost my self-consciousness ages ago.”

The Auror didn’t turn around, although her hair turned a bright red.

“Cute trick,” Harry said, as he moved into the shower.  Fifteen minutes of almost-scalding hot water and a full bar of soap had him feeling human again.  He washed his hair, shaved, then walked out of the shower and towelled himself down.

There some new robes for him to one side.

“Sent by the Delacours,” Kingsley said. 

Harry nodded and put them on.  He smiled coldly, and pulled his magic to the surface, using his necklace as the focus.  His days of forced incarceration and not being able to do magic had returned his magic to even higher than normal levels.

Kingsley and the Auror both gasped and backed away slowly, until they hit a wall, then fell to their knees.

“Lesson one,” Harry lectured to the Aurors, He was preparing himself to act like an arrogant Lord.  “Never presume that a prisoner is harmless.  Lesson two, if you are walking into a situation that you don’t control, act like you do.  Where is the court?”

Kingsley pointed wordlessly.

“Precede me,” he ordered.

The Aurors looked at each other, and then scampered ahead of him.  They moved through the Ministry.  Every where he went, people were drawn to him and the magic he was outputting.  Crowds parted for him, and guards moved out of the way. 

The doors to the court room were closed, and before Kingsley could open them, Harry reached out and touched them, causing them to fly open with a bang.

He stalked in, his expression as dark as he could make it.  Fudge was sat in the front, flanked by Amelia, and another who was sat so far back that her face was in the shadows. 

Above them, in formal robes that signified that they were members of the Wizengamot, sat around fifty wizards and witches.  To the left of them, members of the press sat, quills at the ready.  To the right, and behind him, were the members of the public.

Harry walked over to Melissa, who smiled at him. 

There was complete silence in the room.  Harry looked around, shot a wink at Gabrielle who was waving energetically at him; she was with Fleur and his friends, surrounded by the bodyguards in full uniform.

Dumbledore was one of the Wizengamot members, and was staring at him curiously.

“Are you okay, Harry?” Melissa asked dryly.

“Okay?” Harry asked.  “I’ve been incarcerated for days, locked in a cell with no natural light, had my human rights totally abridged by that idiot of a Minister there, on a trumped up charge.  There was an attempted assault in my cell from two people working for that idiot, and the food was awful.  Okay?” He repeated, “I’m furious.”

“Excuse me,” a grating voice simpered.  “It sounds like you accused the Minister of something.”

“And you are?” Harry growled.

“Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Ministry.”

“A secretary?” Harry asked.  “If you’re just a secretary, shut up and let your superiors deal with this.”

Umbridge froze, and then went bright red.

Amelia banged her gavel.  “The first case on our books is Potter versus Macnair and Mablar.  Bring in the prisoners.”

“What?” Dolores screamed.  “You can’t do that.”

“Secretaries should be seen and not heard,” Amelia replied frostily.  “Sit down, be quiet, or you will be ejected.  As this is a civil case, I will preside.”

The doors opened, and Kingsley and the female Auror dragged in two bodies.  They both shied away from Harry.  A small and nervous looking man was with them.

Melissa stood and patted Harry on the shoulder.  “Do try and keep a hold of your temper,” she said loudly.  “I’d hate to have to defend you from accidentally killing someone.”

Harry sighed and dropped his magic.  The audience seemed to take a sigh of relief.

Melissa looked at Amelia.  “As they are Death Eaters, I believe it is now required that they take Veritaserum.”

“Objection,” the man called.

“On what grounds?” Melissa snapped.  “They both have the Dark Mark on their arms.  Under the Ministry versus Crabius Claw in 1984, the precedent was set that all Death Eaters would be questioned under Veritaserum.”

“Objection withdrawn,” the man whimpered.

Melissa smiled coldly as Macnair was put on the stand, and three drops of Veritaserum forced down his throat.

Melissa didn’t hang around; she went straight for the jugular.  “Are you an active Death Eater?”

“Yes,” Macnair replied.

“Did you take part in the raid on the Quidditch World Cup final?”

“Objection,” the other solicitor said again.

“Counsel?” Amelia asked.

Melissa replied, “I am merely establishing character and motive.”

“I’ll let it pass,” Amelia decided.  “Answer the question.”

“Yes.”

The crowd hissed.

“Did you, and your colleague, illegally enter Harry Potter’s prison cell, with the intention of ‘teaching him a lesson?’”

“Yes.”

“And what did this lesson entail?”

“To stay out of our way.  We were going to beat him within an inch of his life.”

The shouts from the crowd were deafening.

“I will have silence,” Amelia roared, “or I will have this courtroom cleared.”  The threat of missing what was going to happen was enough to shut the crowd up.

“One more question,” Melissa said.  “Who told you to do it?”

“Lucius Malfoy,” Macnair replied, to gasps from the crowd.

“He is an active Death Eater as well?”

“He is.”

“How did you get access to Potter’s cell?”

“Umbridge gave me the keys.”

“Lies,” Umbridge shrieked.

Harry looked at her.  “I wish to bring civil charges against Dolores Jane Umbridge for attempted assault, wilful misuse of limited authority.”

“And endangering the last line of an Ancient and Most Noble house,” Melissa added.

“Bailiffs, arrest Umbridge,” Bones ordered.  “As for Macnair, I’ve heard enough.”

“Your honour,” Melissa said.  “Under the Ministry versus Stevens act of 1587, reparation of one hundred thousand galleons is required.”

“Scribe?” Amelia asked.

There was some hasty flicking of a large book, before the scribe, who Harry realised was Percy Weasley, whispered something.

“Speak up boy,” Amelia ordered.

“The law does exist, but…”

“The day I need legal advice from a scribe is the day I retire,” Amelia responded instantly.  “Macnair, you are ordered to pay one hundred thousand galleons.  All your assets will be seized instantly, and after your fine has been paid, any remaining assets will be returned to you.”

“Your honour,” Melissa said, “we would also like a restraining order on Macnair.”

“That is not needed.  Walden Macnair, you are hereby placed under arrest under suspicious of being an active terrorist.  Get him out of here, and put the next one on trial.”

The trial of the Auror was even shorter.  He was an active Death Eater, and had taken orders to do it.  He was ordered to pay the same amount.  Additionally, orders for the arrest of Lucius Malfoy were issued.  The solicitor for the two Death Eaters had long since given up trying to defend them.

“Now,” Amelia said.  “We get to the Ministry versus Harry Potter.”

“Finally,” Fudge murmured.

Amelia shot him a vicious look.  “Perhaps, Minister, you will read out the charges?”

Fudge got to his feet, he looked around portentously.

“I’ll bet his speech has more rodomontade than a Lockhart interview,” Harry muttered, just loud enough to be heard.

Hermione laughed from the audience, unfortunately, no one else did.

“Mr Potter,” Amelia said, “please do keep such comments to yourself.”

“What does that mean?” Fudge asked plaintively.

“That you’re an idiot,” Fred shouted from the gallery, to a lot more laughter.  As Harry looked up, he could see Hermione explain what the word meant to the others, who passed it on.

“Silence,” Amelia said.  “Minister, if you will continue, and please, keep the bluster to a minimum.”

Fudge was now quite red.  “The Ministry charges Harry James Potter with the Murder of Rita Skeeter, and with inciting public malfeasance with his policy of paying for the arms of Death Eaters.  Additionally, employees under his command assaulted thirty members of the Aurors.”

“Mr Potter, how do you plead?”

“Not guilty,” Harry replied.  “Guilty, and not guilty.”

Amelia noted it down.  “In which case, we will deal with the Second Degree Murder of Rita Skeeter first.  Mr Fudge?”

“In that case, the Ministry calls forth its first witness, Harry James Potter.”

Harry smiled and walked to the box, where he was sworn in.

“I demand that he be given Veritaserum,” Fudge ordered.  “Scribe!”

“Objection,” Melissa said firmly.

“On what grounds?” Amelia asked.

“Mr Potter is fourteen years old.”

“Sustained.  Scribe, sit back down.  Minister Fudge, any further attempts to commit illegal acts in this courtroom will see the case against Mr Potter thrown out.”

Fudge growled.  He took a deep breath, and then turned to Harry.  “Mr Potter, did a member of your personal staff kill Rita Skeeter?”

“Yes,” Harry replied, and didn’t say anything else.

Fudge seemed to be waiting for something, but when Harry didn’t say anything else; he turned to Melissa, and said, “Your witness.”

Melissa got to her feet slowly.  She paced up and down in front of the bench, as if thinking deeply.  “Mr Potter,” she said slowly.  “Please explain what happened.”

“Well,” Harry said, “I was talking with Fudge, Madame Bones, and Albus Dumbledore, when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Smasher bet Nasher a galleon he wouldn’t eat a ladybird on my shoulder.  As this is an ongoing bet between them, Nasher reacted immediately; he grabbed the ladybird and ate it.  There was a strange feeling of magic, and I told him to spit it out.  He did, and was violently sick at the same time.  The form of Rita Skeeter appeared, in two pieces.”

“Let the court note that Mr Potter accurately recited the events,” Amelia stated.

Fudge growled at her.

“You will show respect, Minister Fudge,” Amelia ordered. 

Melissa smiled faintly.  “Remember that you are under oath, Mr Potter.  Did you know that Rita Skeeter was an Animagus?”

“No, I did not.”

“No further questions,” Melissa said.

“Do you have any more witnesses?”  Amelia asked Fudge.

“I call Bozo.”

Harry returned to sit with Melissa, as the photographer took his place.

“Bozo,” Fudge started.  “Will you please describe what happened at the Weighing of the Wands?”

“Objection,” Melissa said, “Irrelevance.”

“I’m establishing motive,” Fudge countered.

“I’ll allow it,” Amelia decided.

Bozo gave an extremely accurate portrayal of what happened, with no embellishments at all.

Fudge looked baffled by it.  He probably didn’t know that Harry now owned the Prophet, and as such, was Bozo’s boss.  Eventually, Fudge handed the witness over to Melissa, who declined to ask him any questions.  She looked thoroughly bored, as Fudge bought out several more witnesses who suggested that there could have been bad blood between Skeeter and Potter.

Eventually, Fudge rested the case for the prosecution.

Melissa stood.  “This travesty has taken up far too much of the courts time,” she said.  “I call Rebecca Flynn from the Department of Animagus Registration.”

Rebecca, an old portly witch, ambled onto the dais. 

“I have one question,” Melissa said.  “Was Rita Skeeter a registered Animagus?”

“No.”

“No further questions.”

Fudge didn’t bother to ask her any questions.  Amelia invited Fudge to give his closing speech, and he did, for twenty of the most boring minutes of Harry’s life.

Finally it was Melissa’s turn.

“With the help of some very clever people,” Melissa said into the silence, “I searched through the law books, looking for precedents that would be controlling in this case.  There are none.  Why?  Because it is not illegal to eat a bug.  So what we have is a criminal, one Rita Skeeter, caught in the act of breaking the law and using her skills illegally, all for her tawdry gossip column.

“Second-degree murder is defined as either an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable “heat of passion”, or a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender's obvious lack of concern for human life.”

“To start with, my client did not even commit the act, making this murder trial the biggest farce the Ministry has seen in decades.  Secondly, there was no obvious lack of concern for a human life, as the victim was not a human at the time.

“What happened was a tragic accident, caused by the victim breaking the law.”

Fudge glared at her, as she sat down comfortably.

“The Wizengamot will now retire and consider its judgement.  Bailiffs, refreshments for Mr Potter and Ms Mockridge.”

“You did great, kiddo,” Melissa said cheerfully.

“And you are amazing,” Harry said softly.  He blinked as the Wizengamot returned a scant few minutes later. “That didn’t take long.”

“As it shouldn’t, there was nothing to discuss,” Melissa explained.  “Skeeter was breaking the law.”

Albus Dumbledore stood.  “We find the defendant, Harry Potter, not guilty.  Additionally, we find Cornelius Fudge guilty of bringing false charges and wasting the Wizengamot’s time.  We fine him the sum of one thousand galleons, payable to Mr Potter.”

“You can’t do that,” Fudge screamed.  “I’m the Minister.”

“Not for much longer,” Harry muttered.

“Right, let’s move this along,” Amelia said.  “You have pleaded guilty to the charge of inciting public malfeasance with his policy of paying for the arms of Death Eaters.”

Harry nodded.

“Vigilante justice is not allowed; however, in sentencing you, I take into account your age, and the fact that acts of violence toward sections of society have dropped over eighty percent.  You are hereby fined five hundred galleons.”

Harry nodded, as Fudge spluttered.

“Now, the final charge against Mr Potter, namely that employees under his command assaulted thirty members of the Aurors.  Mr Fudge?”

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 7

Fudge called his first witness, a nurse, who described the injuries that the Aurors had received.

As she finished, Harry turned, and shot an awed glance at his bodyguards, who puffed up in pride.

The second was an Auror who testified about the battle itself. Fudge didn’t call any of the people from Harry’s group to the stand.

Melissa didn’t bother to ask any questions, unless she caught a flat out lie.

Finally, it was the defence’s turn.

“I call Ludo Bagman to the stand,” Melissa said. The courtroom looked surprised, as the Director of the Tri-Wizard Tournament was called.

“Mr Bagman,” Melissa started. “You do know that you are under oath, and that I have signed statements from over a thousand people testifying as to what happened?”

“What is your point?” Fudge demanded.

“Simply that Mr Bagman has been economical with the truth in the past, and is rumoured to have problems with the goblins. I was just reminding him that if he is caught in a lie, Veritaserum can be administered.”

Luda paled, before he squared his shoulders.

“Mr Bagman,” Melissa continued. “You were at the event in question?”

“I was.”

“In your own words, would you please describe what happened?”

Ludo sighed. “As part of the second task, the loved ones of the Champions were to be placed with the Merpeople. We approached the chosen people, and requested that they accompany us. They refused.

“I then called the Aurors over, to try and get the chosen people into position. Again, they refused, and one of the Aurors suddenly threw a curse at the group. One of the brutes protecting them blocked it, and returned with a curse of his own, from there, it descended into a pitched battle.”

“So an Auror threw the first curse, at a bunch of students protecting others from an attempted kidnapping?” Melisa asked to clarify.

“Yes, the Auror threw the first curse, but it was not a kidnapping.”

“What would you call forcing students to be placed in danger at wand point?”

“Necessity,” Bagman snapped.

“As one of your so called chosen people, I was not a willing participant. I was not consulted, not was my consent given. I also note that the consent of the guardian was not sought either. Your necessity was kidnapping, plain and simple. Where were the Hogwarts Professors during this?”

“They were in the stands, as soon as the fighting started, I ordered the other Aurors to ensure that they didn’t interfere.”

“What gave you the right to attempt a public kidnapping?”

“The Tri-Wizard Tournament gave us the right,” Ludo announced, “to use any student.”

“No,” Melissa replied, “it didn’t. Ministry laws enacted in 1402 guarantee the right of any member of the public not directly entered into a competition to decline to participate. Unfortunately, that law did not extend to participants directly entered against their wishes.”

“Scribe?” Amelia asked.

Percy quickly opened the huge book again.

“Page one thousand and four, paragraph eight,” Hermione called down from the gallery, to the amused laughter of the people around her.

“Well, Scribe?” Amelia asked.

“She is correct,” Percy muttered.

“You will speak up,” Amelia roared.

“The counsel is correct,” he said.

“I’ve had enough of this,” Amelia said. “I hereby order the Wizengamot to return a verdict of Not Guilty. Mr Potter, I apologise for you incarceration over the past week. I assure you that the Ministry will launch a full and independent public inquiry into the Tri-Wizard tournament, and the action of the organisers.”

“Could you please investigate just how I was entered into this stupid tournament?” Harry asked. “And find out which of your cowards attacked an eight year old girl, as I will be challenging him to a duel!”

“We will,” Amelia agreed darkly.

“I’m free to go?”

“You certainly are. Scribe, return Mr Potter’s wand to him.”

Percy didn’t meet Harry’s eyes as he handed his wand to him. Harry smiled, and released his magic again, letting it react with his wand.

Fudge edged away, as Amelia paled slightly. Even Dumbledore, up in the stands, looked shocked at the power levels in the room.

Harry dropped his magic and grabbed Melissa, hugging her tightly. “You were amazing.”

She hugged him back. “That was the most fun I’ve ever had,” she whispered. “And my career is now set. Come on, you can meet my dad, and we’ll escape from this crowd.”

“Harry!” Gabrielle yelled over the noise of the crowd. Crusher and Smasher lowered her down from the dais, and she sprinted toward him.

He smiled and went down on his knees, holding out his arms. Gabrielle smacked into his chest, burying her face into his neck, as she hugged him with a quiet desperation.

“I’m fine,” he whispered. “Honest.”

She looked at him, her eyes glowing, as she searched his soul. She smiled brightly and rested her head on his shoulder.

He stood, lifting her easily. “Shall we?”

Melissa nodded, and they exited the court. Outside, there was a scrum of reporters, all shouting questions at him.

Harry ignored them, as he followed Melissa through a door. They walked down the corridor and into a lift, taking it to the fourth floor.

Melissa knocked on a door that opened immediately. An older man was smiling at them. He had the same blonde hair as Melissa, only cut short. His eyes were the same colour as well.

“Melissa,” He called, “I’m so proud of you. I listened to it all on the Wireless. You made Fudge look like a complete idiot!”

“Thanks, dad,” she said. “Dad, this is Harry Potter, and the imp in his arms is Gabrielle Delacour. Harry, this is Cuthbert Mockridge, my father.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“As it is you,” Cuthbert agreed. He reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of wine and three glasses. “A toast,” he suggested. “To my daughter, for taking on Fudge and Dumbledore, and winning.”

“To Melissa,” Harry agreed warmly. They chatted for a few more minutes, before Melissa looked at her watch. “We have to get going, dad, we need to get back to Hogwarts.”

“Of course,” Cuthbert said as he hugged his daughter. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Love you,” Melissa mumbled.

“I love you, too, dear,” Cuthbert said. “Use my Floo; it’s on the restricted list, so you can get to Dumbledore’s office.”

Melissa threw the powder in, and called the name as they stepped in. Harry kept a tight hold of Gabrielle as they tumbled through the network. They appeared in Dumbledore’s empty office.

“Well, boy?” one of the portraits called.

“Total acquittal,” Melissa said, “close to two hundred thousand galleons profit, and a full public inquiry.”

The portrait looked stunned.

The Sorting Hat laughed, “told you you’d do better in Slytherin,” he chortled.

Melissa smirked, “You say that is if I should be surprised. I think most of know that Harry personifies features of all the houses, and frankly no longer cares for the house system.”

“I wish others would follow him,” the Hat muttered. “Stupid archaic system. Just because it’s tradition, doesn’t make it a good thing.”

Harry laughed, as he followed Melissa. Instead of heading for the Great Hall, she headed outside, to a large area by the Carriages. “We’ve got permission to hold a party,” she said cheerfully. “So we’ve put up weather wards, and Christophe has arranged the wine.”

All his friends were waiting, and as he approached, they cheered so loudly that the windows on the carriage shook.

Gabrielle smiled and reached across, to Melissa. Harry let her go, and a second later, he had Hermione hugging him tightly.

“That was amazing,” she squealed happily. “You and Melissa destroyed them, and no one’s going to dare come after you again, your power was showing just how annoyed you were.”

Harry hugged her tightly. “Hermione,” he said softly. She looked up. “Thank you,” he said. “I knew I could count on you to save me.”

She hugged him again, then let him go, pushing him onward. He was grabbed by Nasher, who spun him around and gave him a bone crushing hug. “Thanks, boss,” he said fervently. “You really came through for me.”

“Anytime,” Harry said, “but no more bug eating.”

Nasher nodded hard, and stepped to one side, so he could be hugged by Thrasher. Crusher and Smasher both gave him bone crushing hugs, before Lisa gave him a much more enjoyable hug. “Nice one, boss,” she whispered, before releasing him. Viktor lifted him off his feet, before passing him to Cedric. “Dad wants to meet you,” he said.

“Mine too,” Cho added, as she hugged him. “That was brilliant.”

Fred and George were next, and they threw him to the ground and pounced on him. The hugs continued, and he even got a quick hug from Fleur.

“Speech,” Christophe yelled. “Speech!”

Harry climbed up on table, a glass in his hand, and looked out at everyone.

“Thank you,” he said. “A week ago, I made the decision to go to jail. I knew it would be bad, but I knew that we would get far more out of it. I made this decision not based on my abilities, but on yours.

“I knew that Hermione would be in the Library before anyone could blink. I knew that Melissa would fight tooth and nail to represent me, and I knew that every single one of you would do everything you could for me.” There was a roar of agreement. “And when I was in jail, it was that thought that kept me going. I knew that you were actually having it worse than me.

“I was sitting there, bored, with plenty of time to catch up on my sleep, while you were all out here, working, getting frustrated, missing sleep.” There was some laughter and teasing jeers from the crowd.

“You are my friends, and my friends are everything to me. I will never forget this, I will never forget the effort you have put in for me, and I promise that if you ever need anything, I will be there for you.”

There was another loud cheer.

Harry smiled. “Now, despite everything that happened, we completed the Second Task, so let’s party!”

“Wait,” Gabrielle shouted. “Don’t you want to know what your score was?”

“Not really,” Harry replied cheerfully.

Fleur sniggered. “We all got forty five points. You got a perfect score.”

Harry blinked. “Despite punching out Bagman?”

“That wasn’t part of the competition,” Cedric explained. “What you did do was be the focus of the quickest rescue imaginable. No one else has a clue how you did it.” He paused, “actually, we have one question. How did you walk on water?”

Harry smiled. “It was a simple water repellent charm. I had to practise in the bathtub for ages to get used to it.”

Cedric sniggered.

“Do we know what the last task is?”

“A giant maze,” Fleur said. “We go in order of how many points scored, and whoever gets the trophy first, wins.”

Harry sighed. “So, how about we go through together, and then take the trophy together?”

“Yeah,” Cedric said. “That’s the best way, as we can’t pull out of this stupid competition.”

“I’m in,” Viktor said agreeably.

“I will join in,” Fleur said.

Harry dropped down so he was no longer on the table, and sat on the edge. Gabrielle scampered over and sat next to him.

“Has anything happened with Snape?”

“Yeah, he’s back,” Nasher said, “and he really hates Squisher now.”

“I got him in the groin with my knife,” Lisa said proudly. “But he does blame you for what happened.”

“Good,” Harry said cheerfully. “He’s going to be investigated, and I think we’ll make sure they know all sorts of things about him.”

There was a pop, and Dobby appeared, he latched on to Harry and hugged him tightly. “Harry Potter sir did it,” Dobby cried. “I was knowing you coulds be doing it.”

Harry smiled at him.

Dobby straightened up. “Dinner is being served,” he said. “Elves are cooking feast just for yous. After Christmas, when Harry Potter brought back the present giving days, all elves are now agreeing with Dobby, and were wantings to help.”

“Please say thank you on my behalf.”

Dobby glowed in pleasure, and a series of circular tables appeared. Harry moved to one, and Gabrielle stole the seat next to him. Melissa and Christophe, Viktor and Hermione, Cedric and Cho, Fred and George, quickly joined them. The remaining two seats were taken by Fleur and Adrienne – who gave her boyfriend an apologetic look.

The meal that followed was one that every person there would remember for the rest of their lives. The elves outdid themselves, and everyone was seduced into over eating by the tastes. It was the best meal he’d ever had in the Wizarding World, he just kept to himself that he’d had several better meals in the restaurant.

“Tilly,” Harry called, as the final plates were removed.

The female house-elf appeared with a pop, looking nervous.

“I just want to say that this is the single greatest meal I have ever eaten in the Wizarding World,” he said. “And if you ever get bored of working for Hogwarts, I would love to have you work for me.”

Tilly’s eyes went impossibly wide. “Harry Potter would hire Tilly, like Dobby?” she asked, “even though Tilly is castle elf, and not human elf?”

“The boss doesn’t care about what people are,” Smasher called from the next table, “just what they can do. And this was amazing grub.”

Tilly bounced excitedly. “Tilly would love to being sir’s elf,” she said. “Tilly is only loosely bound to castle, new bound will be better, make Tilly stronger.”

“Harry,” Hermione said. “Is Dobby working for you, or bound to you?”

“Working,” Fred said.

“Dobby,” Harry called.

The elf appeared instantly. “Dobby, do you want to be bound to me, or to continue to work for me?”

Dobby looked thoughtful. “Dobby is free elf,” he said. “Dobby is happy.”

“Okay,” Harry said, “I just wanted to give you the choice, before I bind Tilly.”

“Dobby is being grateful,” he said, “but Dobby doesn’t need it. Dobby is Harry Potter’s employee, just like Crushing and Smashing.”

“Pull out your magic, Harry,” Hermione said, “and say, I Harry Potter, bind Tilly to my House.”

Harry did as he was told, and Tilly started to glow, before Harry felt a connection to him. “Tilly is human elf,” she said proudly. “Tilly will get back to kitchen, make sure boss and friends get all great food.” The ecstatic elf popped away with Dobby.

“Thanks,” Harry said to Hermione.

She smiled back at him. “And don’t mention the acronym-that-must-not-be-named,” she added. “I was beaten over the head with logic by some of our friends, and have changed my view somewhat.”

He grinned at her.

“Right,” Gabrielle said, “we’ve eaten, now it’s time to dance and have fun!”

“As you command,” Harry grinned at her. “Fred, George, some music?”

The celebration lasted well into the night, and into the next morning. While Gabrielle had fallen asleep around midnight, the rest of them had just kept going. It was a bedraggled, inebriated and tired lot of students that stumbled into the Great Hall the next morning.

Fortunately, as it was a Sunday, they were all planning on having breakfast, then collapsing, and sleeping off their hangover.

“Potter!” Snape hissed, as they entered. He stood between them and their table.

“It’s Snape,” Harry said delightedly. “How’s your office? Did you get caught in the water, I was hoping it would conf..canf… make you get clean,” he finished brightly.

“You’re drunk,” Snape sneered.

“Undoubtedly, and you're ugly,” Harry replied. “And I shall be sober in the morning. But let’s not get personal, eh Snivellus?”

“What did you call me?” Snape yelled.

“A yeasty, hedge-born, foot-licker?” George asked.

“A festering boil on a rancid buttock?” Fred tried.

“An immoral sadist who gets sexual satisfaction out of degrading children,” Hermione suggested, as she leant against Viktor for support.

“No,” Harry said, “I think it was Snivellus. But don’t mind him; he’s just a greasy Death Eater with bad personal hygiene who had an unhealthy thing for my mum. Disturbing, that is.”

Snape went white, then red, then white. “You arrogant…”

Whatever else Snape was going to say was irrelevant, as Harry, slightly unsteadily, kicked him in the stomach. The follow up was grabbing Snape’s head and guiding it to his knee, as his reflexes kicked in.

He felt Snape’s nose break, and dropped him to the floor. “Ewwww,” he said, waving his hands wildly in the air. “I touched Snape’s hair! Yeuch!”

“Mr Potter,” Dumbledore called.

“Hey, it’s the Headmaster,” Harry said. “Wave to him.”

As requested, everyone waved at the Headmaster, who looked disappointed.

“My office, I think.”

“You think about your office,” Harry agreed. “I’m gonna think about breakfast then sleep.”

“That was an order.”

“What was?”

“My office.”

“What about it?”

“You are to go to it.”

“I am?” he asked. “Fred, did I have an appointment booked for this morning?”

Fred pulled out a piece of parchment. “No,” he said, “This morning is sleeping, followed by quiet hangover time.”

Harry turned and smiled brightly at the headmaster. “You must be mistaken; I’ve not got an order with you this morning.”

“Mr Potter,” McGonagall said.

“Hi cat-lady,” Harry called back.

McGonagall blinked at him.

“I always wanted a cat growing up, they’re cool,” Harry said to George.

“We had a puppy once, we loved it.”

“What happened?”

Fred looked down, “It’s a pain that never ends,” he said. “We’ll tell you later.”

“Poor Fred,” Harry said, giving him a big hug.

“Mr Potter!”

“Hey, it’s Dumbledore, let’s wave to him.”

“I think you did that already,” Hermione said.

“Really?”

She nodded.

“Wow, you really are smart,” he agreed. “Is it breakfast yet? I’m hungry.”

“Mr Potter,” Albus tried for the third time. “Will you please go to my office, so we can try and sober you up, and then discuss whether or not you’ll be expelled?”

“Expelled?” Harry gasped.

Dumbledore nodded.

“Hey, if I’m expelled, I won’t have to take part in this stupid tournament!”

“No fair,” Cedric called. He stumbled over to Snape and pulled out his wand. Whatever spell he slurred seemed to work by making Snape completely bald. “Me too.”

“That looks fun,” Fleur announced sleepily. “Here, take my sister,” she said, passing a still sleeping Gabrielle to Harry. She walked over to Snape, and kicked him as hard as she could in the balls.

“Stop,” Albus roared.

“Ouch,” Harry said. “Vik?”

“Ya,” Viktor agreed. “If that’s alright with Herminny?”

Hermione nodded. “You’ve got a career,” she agreed. “And enough money to keep me in books.”

Viktor smiled happily and cursed Snape as well. “That’s for trying to curse Hermioninny,” he muttered.

“Great,” Harry said. “Are we expelled now?”

Dumbledore growled.

“Yay,” Harry cheered. “George, what’s my biggest property where we can go celebrate getting out of this stupid contest?”

“Potter Castle,” George replied. “But you’ve got a smaller and nicer place in France.”

“France?” Harry asked. “All the cool people live there, and Germany, and they do wine!”

“They do,” Fred agreed. “We better get expelled as well.”

“YOU WILL STOP THIS NONSENSE IMMEDIATELY!”

Harry looked at the roaring Dumbledore. “He looks pissed off,” he said in a stage whisper.

“Yeah,” Cedric agreed.

“You think he’ll do a Snape?”

“What?” Cedric asked, “A hundred billion points from Gryffindor for breathing?” he sneered in an accurate impersonation of the unconscious professor.

Harry cheered. He looked around, did a full circle, and then spotted Dumbledore. The Professor was on his feet, glowing with magic, and a furious expression on his face.

“Hey,” he said, “it’s Dumbledore, let’s all wave to him.”

As a group, they all waved at Dumbledore.

Harry looked along the table. Madame Maxime was the only one not glaring at them; she looked like she was having trouble keeping her laughter in.

“Hey,” Harry said. “I’ve got a great idea; let’s connect the bounty on Snape’s arm! There’s this guy that pays lots of money for that, and we could buy more drink with the money!”

“Yeah,” Crusher cheered. He pulled out an axe from his pocket, and then stumbled as a spell from Dumbledore pushed him backward.

“Take cover,” Harry yelled, “we’re under attack!”

His friends followed him as they dived over tables, upending them for protection. He carefully placed Gabrielle on the floor. He grabbed his wand and threw up a ward without thinking about it.

He conjured the most deadly weapon he could think off, and threw it. He turned to watch, as the plate of strawberry ice cream sailed forward and landed on Dumbledore’s head.

“Yeah,” he cheered. “For the honour of us, fight them on benches, fight them on the tables, and never let them take our cranberries!”

Food started appearing all around them, and they all launched it toward the professors.

Fred and George worked together, Fred would throw a melon in the air, and George would smack it with his arm, like a Beaters bat, sending it flying.

Fleur had conjured a large pot, and was throwing bowlfuls out while screeching, “This is what bouillabaisse is supposed to taste like you heathens!”

Viktor and Hermione were throwing hot cross buns that exploded on contact. Melissa and Christophe were creating foaming cream that seemed alive.

Adrienne had a hose pipe full of vinegar that she was spraying over everyone.

“We surrender!”

Harry paused, holding a bag full of pig’s blood. He looked over the barrier, to find that the floor in front of it was a complete mess. Students and Professors were coated in various foodstuffs, and were half-laughing, half-glaring at them.

“You’re not very good shots,” he pointed out. “Hey, it’s Dumbledore, everyone wave at him!”

All his friends stood up and waved cheerily.

Dumbledore thumped his head against the table. “That was something to do with your shield,” he said.

“Hey, that’s a cool shield,” Harry said. “We gotta thank the guy that did that!”

“It’s time for breakfast,” Melissa announced.

“Yay,” Harry cheered. He took a seat and woke Gabrielle up.

“Why is the floor covered in food, and all those people?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said. “There was something about a war, but it’s not important, let’s eat, then we can get sober.”

Gabrielle looked at him. “Wow,” she said in awe, “you’re the most drunk I’ve ever seen!” She looked down the table. “You all are completely drunk!”

“It was the firewhiskey,” Fred said.

“And the scotch,” George added.

“Don’t forget the Vodka,” Viktor added.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “Hungry and sleepy.”

“One more question,” Gabrielle said. “Why is Snape on the floor?”

“Because he’s ugly,” Harry explained.

“Oh, okay.” Gabrielle snuggled into his side as their breakfast arrived. Tilly popped in and squealed. “Cleaning elves are going to be so happy,” she said. “Harry Potter is greatest!”

“Yay,” Harry cheered once more. He started to eat, and drunk what seemed an endless supply of orange juice. After he had finished, he lifted Gabrielle up, and carried her past the cheerful elves. His friends all went different ways to their beds, as Harry, with Fleur and surrounded by the bodyguards, took Gabrielle back to the carriage.

She was giving off an air of amusement, as Harry undid her robes. Gabrielle lifted her hair, and turned her back, so that he could clumsily undo her dress. He removed her socks and shoes, then put the t-shirt that Fleur handed him over her head. He tucked her in to the bed and kissed her head gently, not noticing that she was completely awake, sober, and well rested. He turned, and stumbled to his bed on the Durmstrang ship.

He didn’t remember much after that.

His first action when he woke up was to groan.

“Here,” a voice said.

He took what was offered, realised it was a cup, and downed it. “You’re a lifesaver,” he said.

For a second, it felt like every cell in his body caught fire, but it was gone before it could really hurt, and he felt fine. “Thanks, Gabrielle.”

She grinned at him. “Madame Maxime wants to talk to you before you go to Hogwarts.”

“Gabrielle,” Harry said slowly. “Why do I have a sense of unease?”

Gabrielle laughed. “We need to go to her now,” she said. Harry nodded.

He moved out of bed, looked down, inhaled, and then looked at Gabrielle. “Two minutes,” he said, “I stink.”

“It’s not that bad,” Gabrielle replied, but he was already in the bathroom. The quickest shower in the world later and a fresh set of robes, and he felt normal. Apart from the hole in his memory.

The carriage was pretty much full by the time Gabrielle had dragged him into it. There were a couple of seats next to Fleur.

As Madame Maxime wasn’t there yet, Harry decided he’d be the one to speak first. “Does anyone else have a feeling of dread about entering Hogwarts?”

Pretty much everyone nodded.

“What did we do last night?”

“Last night,” Madame Maxime said, “you got very drunk. In my estimation, not far from paralytically drunk.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed as memories started to flood back. “That was a good party.”

“I’m sure it was,” Olympe agreed. “This morning, however, between you, you broke Snape’s nose, removed his hair, rendered him sterile, and gave him the bubonic plague.”

“We did that?” Harry asked.

She nodded.

“Good work, people,” Harry praised.

Hermione sniggered. “Viktor gave him the plague,” she said proudly.

“You then,” Olympe continued, “treated one of the most powerful men in the world as a complete irrelevance, before instigating a food fight, where you were protected.” She paused, “and I thank you for not once aiming at me.”

Harry thought it wise not to mention that he’d done no such thing. He laughed. “So Dumbledore is annoyed with us?”

“Well, it all started when Snape stood in your way, and you all realised that if you were expelled, you wouldn’t have to participate in the tournament.”

“I think I remember that,” Fred said slowly. “That sounded like a good plan.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. “Especially if we could go to Beauxbatons early!”

“Sadly, I don’t think you’re going to be expelled,” Olympe said. “But as a lot of you are going to be our students next year.”

“What?” Cho asked.

“Oh,” Harry said, “It is not common knowledge, but Hermione and I are transferring.”

Gabrielle beamed and hugged him.

“We are, as well,” Fred and George said. “Others are thinking about it.”

“I’m moving to France,” Melissa added.

“Count me in,” Cedric said.

“Me to,” Cho agreed. “Where you go, we go.”

“Thanks,” Harry said, with a smile.

“Yes,” Olympe interrupted. “As I’m being invaded, I thought I’d get your promises while you are all sober. I’m not going to demand that you don’t throw parties after special occasions – as long as they are special occasions. What I will demand is that you arrange them with me first, and that you do them off school premises, and don’t come back to school until you are completely sober, understood?”

Harry looked at Olympe for a long moment. “I think,” he said softly, “that I am going to absolutely adore Beauxbatons. But having a headmaster who treats me like an adult is going to force me to try and act like one,” he said with a mock pout. “I swear that I will not break the rules you give me and that I will not abuse your trust.”

“Yeah,” the others agreed.

Olympe smiled. “Now, Harry and Hermione, I’m afraid that Albus does want a word or ten with you. Everyone else, well, you are going to be punished. My students can spend an evening with our Abraxans, removing their waste. Durmstrang, as Karkaroff is terrified of you, you can help. Hogwarts, well, your head of houses will be punishing you. Hermione, I think your parents are being called first, then the others’ later.”

Hermione sighed, before she slowly smiled. “Come on, Harry,” she said cheerfully.

Harry kissed Gabrielle on the head, and winked at her. “We’ll see you all for dinner,” he said. “Sober, this time.” He looked at the other Hogwarts students. “Wait for us here,” he said, “and let us talk to Dumbledore first, before you see your head of houses.”

Hermione dragged him out of the carriage and to the Headmaster’s office.

Sirius was there, with a couple of people he didn’t know. McGonagall and Dumbledore were the only professors there.

“Mum, Dad,” Hermione shouted, launching herself at them.

“Hermione,” the male said, hugging her tightly, before passing Hermione to the woman next to her.

“Harry,” Hermione said, “this is my dad, Simon, and this is my mother, Carol.”

“Nice to meet you,” Harry said.

“You too,” Carol replied. “Hermione’s letters have been full of you.”

“Not bad things, I hope,” Harry replied.

“Well, you did walk on water, right?” Simon asked.

Harry nodded.

“Then no, no bad things. So, what trouble have you gotten into that requires me to miss Manchester United versus Chelsea?” Carol asked.

“Mum,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

“It’s an important match,” Carol protested. “Well, what is it?”

In a low voice, Dumbledore recited what had happened that morning.

“So let me get this straight,” Simon said. “My underage daughter was allowed to get drunk at a sanctioned party to celebrate Harry being freed from an inhumane justice system, where she joined in the putting down of an arsehole of a teacher with no right to be within a hundred yards of children, and participated in a food fight, and won?”

“Well…” Dumbledore said.

In a dull voice, Carol said, “I’m disappointed in you, for that, your next month’s pocket money will be cut by half a percent. Don’t ever do it again, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”

“And you, Harry,” Sirius added, “when you come and stay with me this summer, you’ll spend fifteen minutes sat on the stairs thinking about what you did. And if you want to do this thinking out loud, where I can hear it, well, that will be even more of a punishment.”

Harry tried hard not to smirk.

“Really,” McGonagall said, “That is hardly suitable.”

“No,” Simon replied, “what is hardly suitable is this joke of a school you consider a decent education system. I’m horrified by the lack of basic subjects you teach, the sub-standard quality of some of the lessons, and the extortionate price you charge for it.

“Frankly, I find it disgusting that you allow students to get drunk, and then complain when they act it.”

“We didn’t authorise it,” McGonagall said.

“It was on your property, in front of the school, under bright lights?” Simon asked, as Dumbledore looked away.

Hermione and Harry nodded.

Simon snorted. “And as for your professor, I’ve seen transcripts from Hermione of his lessons, and they are an absolute joke. I have complained to the Board of Governors, and will be contacting the head of this investigation. How dare you endanger my child’s education?”

Dumbledore and McGonagall looked bewildered.

“Hermione,” Carol said, “were you safe?”

Hermione nodded. “It was great, Mum, the sort of party you described. We stopped dancing around one, and just sat around drinking and talking.”

“I’m so pleased you have real friends,” Carol said softly. “I told you it would happen.”

Hermione nodded.

“And you, young man, thank you for rescuing my daughter.”

“It was Viktor,” Harry said.

Carol and Simon both snorted.

“Anyway, I love Hermione, she’s my best friend, and she’s been there for my every time I’ve needed her. She lived in the library, reading the dullest books in existence to help free me. She’s amazing.”

“She is,” Simon agreed proudly.

“Are you planning another party?”

“After the final event,” Harry said, “unless we get expelled, in which case we’ll have one over the summer.”

“Dumbledore?” Carol demanded. “Are you going to expel them?”

“I’ve been contemplating it.”

“I’ve had enough,” Simon decided. “Hermione, I’m pulling you out of Hogwarts.”

“Harry, if you want to leave, you can,” Sirius said. He paused. “Oh, sign this.”

Harry glanced at it quickly, and then smirked. He pulled a feather from Dumbledore’s collection, and signed it with a flourish. “Thanks, guardian.”

“What?” Dumbledore gasped.

“I called in a favour with Amelia,” he said. “She fed me the old truth potion, I told the truth, and my trial is in a few weeks’ time. In the meantime, the Potters Will has been read, and I’ve got guardianship of Harry.

“So, Harry, want to leave?”

“Yes,” Harry said.

“What about your schooling!” McGonagall demanded.

“You didn’t seem to care about that when you were threatening to expel them,” Simon pointed out.

“Well,” Harry said, “It’s been fun.”

“Wait,” Dumbledore called. “You can’t leave.”

“Sure we can,” Harry said. “If we’re no longer students, I can’t compete.”

“You have to compete.”

“Why are you so obsessed about this?”

Dumbledore sighed deeply. “The magic is tied up with Hogwarts, if you leave, it is she that suffers.”

Harry felt a deep feeling of surprise, fear and rage emanate from the castle. “Hogwarts didn’t know that,” he said slowly. “And she’s royally upset with you.”

Dumbledore blinked. “No,” he whispered, “stop!”

A deep sense of satisfaction came from Hogwarts.

“She just transferred the burden to you, didn’t she?”

Albus nodded sourly.

Harry grinned. “Right, one of Melissa’s first rules was always to negotiate from a position of strength. My bodyguards will wear their uniforms. Hermione will have full unfettered access to the Library, and we’ll do a token punishment for this evening, by helping out the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students deal with Abraxan waste.

“You will apologise to my bodyguards for not checking on them while you did whatever the hell you thought was more important than the welfare of your students.

“You’ll keep Snape away from us, and we’ll stay away from him. We won’t have another party until the end of the Tournament.”

“And I’ll take the room next to Harry’s on the ship,” Hermione added, “So I no longer have to deal with the idiotic Gryffindors.”

Harry looked at her.

“Never you mind,” she said firmly. “I’ve been handling it.”

“Okay,” he agreed.

Dumbledore sighed. “Considering the circumstances, that’s acceptable.”

McGonagall’s lips were pursed together in utter disapproval.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked Sirius.

“Damn right,” Sirius agreed and hugged him.

Carol looked at her watch. “Excellent,” she cheered, “I can catch the second half.”

“Enjoy, mum,” Hermione said, and hugged her, then her dad, before she grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him out.

As soon as she was outside, she burst into laughter.

“Hermione?”

“My parents are died in the wool hippies, they hate ‘the man’, and have been encouraging me to be less straight laced all their lives. They’re so proud that I got drunk and helped layout Snape.”

Harry looked at her in disbelief.

“Look, my rule following was a perfectly normal reaction to the encouragement of my parents to break as many rules as I can.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed.

“Although,” Hermione continued, “they will want to know how my teeth have shrunk. Teeth are the only thing they’re serious about!”

“Blame me,” Harry offered. “And say it was magic.”

“It was you, and it was magic,” Hermione agreed. “Why did you say that we’d clear out the Abraxans, when you had Professor Dumbledore over a barrel?”

“Well, we did break a lot of rules last night, and we did sterilise Snape. We ought to be punished for that, I guess. And besides, this way, it’s not obvious that I’m blackmailing him.”

“Yes, about that,” Hermione continued. “Exactly how do you know what Hogwarts is doing?”

“She helped me out. She leant me some of her power to help me grow up. I can feel, a little, what she is thinking, especially when she tries to tell me.”

Hermione nodded. “Like you playing with time?”

Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

“Magical maturity indeed. I lost a gallon of respect for every professor who swallowed that idea without even asking you. There is no historical precedent for a magical maturity like that, or even that there is some sort of magical maturity. So, as Sherlock Holmes once said, when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

“And I deduced that the only thing it could be was playing with time. You did it over a month or so, so it seemed natural, but it wasn’t.”

Harry smiled proudly at her.

“Why didn’t you ask me to join you?”

Harry sighed softly. “Because I spent a month in a single room, with no natural light, no conversation, nothing. Because every time I went slightly insane, I talked to inanimate objects, and I worked. I went through everything everyone had been teaching me, and taught myself some new stuff, and while I was doing it, I was myself. There was no one to push me, no one to rely on, just myself.

“I did think about asking people to join me, but I couldn’t. It was something I did on my own. It was something I had to do on my own.”

Hermione nodded slowly. “I think you did the right thing,” she said slowly. “I am very proud of you.”

Harry wrapped an arm around her. “You know I love you,” he said.

“I do,” she agreed. “And I love you too. And I’m even prouder that you can say that without your silly boy words.”

Harry laughed softly.

“Now,” Hermione said, “I need you to have another word with Viktor.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I trust him now. Please tell him that he can go forward at a pace we agree, without worrying about you breaking his hands.”

Harry smiled. “That was a previous threat. My latest was cutting off his balls and feeding them to him with a summer salad and a bottle of alcohol-free beer.”

Hermione stumbled, before she burst into laughter. “You are cruel, Mr Potter,” she announced. “The summer salad and useless beer is just chilling.”

“That was the affect I was going for,” he agreed. He looked at his watch. “Let’s eat, then go out and do our detention.”

He opened the doors to the Great Hall, and ignored the glares he was getting from the now-clean students. The Hall itself was spotless, and reverberated with a cheerfulness that only the Elves could produce.

Tilly appeared in front of them, bouncing happily. “What’syou liking for Dinner?” she asked.

Harry thought for a second, and looked at the table full of his friends.

“It’s Sunday afternoon,” he eventually said, “let’s go for a full English Roast Beef with all the trimmings.”

Tilly nodded energetically. She beckoned Harry down. “Tilly has been practising,” she whispered. “I has new chocolate dish for pudding, best thing in world.”

“Brilliant,” Harry praised her. “We’ll have that for pudding.”

Tilly nodded and popped away. Bowls full of fresh bread appeared on their table.

Harry sat down, and looked at the other Hogwarts students. “We will be joining our friends in clearing out the Abraxans,” he said, a little loudly, “as punishment for our behaviour.”

They all nodded.

“Melissa, can I have a word?”

Hermione hugged him briefly, then wandered over to sit with Viktor. Melissa stood and followed him over to his private table.

“So, how would you like the case of the century?”

“I’ve already had it,” she said. “Your trial was huge.”

Harry smiled. “How about a trial against the Ministry where you defend an innocent Sirius Black?”

Melissa blinked at him. “Innocent?”

He nodded. “He wasn’t the Secret Keeper, Peter Pettigrew was. Peter betrayed my parents, and then framed Sirius.” Harry could see Melissa thinking things through.

“He didn’t have a trial?”

“Nope. Huge miscarriage of justice, wrongful imprisonment, state sponsored torture of an innocent man.”

“And that’s just the start,” she whispered. “Sweet Merlin, we’ll take the Ministry to the cleaners for this.”

“And we’ll put the money to good causes, making Sirius’s name clean again.”

“Yeah,” she breathed. “This is going to be huge.”

He nodded in agreement.

“Of course I’ll take the case,” she said excitedly.

“As far as I can tell, with the appalling lack of useful education in real life, your plan was to clerk at a law firm, prove that all your self-study has worked, and then work your way the ladder, ignoring the fact that as a beautiful female, you’ll be expected to spend some time on your back?”

“Yeah,” she said sourly.

Harry grinned at her. “Which is the traditional way,” he agreed. “The other less interesting way, is to start your own law firm, hire some people to do the job for you, and accept that your first clients will be the retainer that the Black and Potter families keep you on.

“With two huge pure blood families backing you and your reputation from winning two of the biggest cases, others will come to your door.”

Melissa was looking at him with huge hazel eyes. It was the first time he’d seen the Head girl totally speechless.

“I happen to own a property or two just off Diagon Alley that would be perfect.”

She slowly smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said softly. “Why?”

“I owe a debt to everyone who has helped me grow up. To everyone who has helped me get in shape, to everyone who helped get me out of prison. I pay my debts.” He smiled at her. “And having everyone work for me means I can keep an eye on them, can ensure that they’re safe, happy, and loved.

“What else is the point of having all this money and power if I don’t use it to destroy my enemies and reward my allies?”

“That,” Melissa said softly, “is the Slytherin creed distilled into a single sentence.”

Harry grinned at her. “Come on, food’s almost ready.” He stood and took her hand, dragging her over to Christophe.

“What have you done to her?” he asked dryly.

“Offered her the equivalent of a vineyard.”

Christophe smiled and offered a small bow. “Thank you.”

He nodded and took his seat next to Gabrielle, who instantly snuggled tightly into his side. He wrapped an arm around her, and concentrated, sending his love to her. As before, she started to glow, but as they were in a school full of witches and wizards, he didn’t stop this time.

The food that Tilly organised was completely out of this world. The beef was incredibly tender, and everything was perfectly cooked.

But it was the pudding that was the biggest success. Gabrielle got the first bite, and the sound she made was almost sexual. It was a sound that Harry decided was definitely anything but that.

The rest of the table turned to look at Gabrielle. “Harry,” Fleur called. “Can I try that?”

“Tilly,” Harry called. “One special for Fleur, please.”

Fleur dipped a fork into the chocolate sponge, and watched for a second as the melted chocolate inside oozed out. Her eyes went reverently wide, before she took a forkful.

“Sweet Merlin on a bike,” she whispered. “That’s better than sex!”

Harry stared at her. “You’ve been doing it wrong,” he eventually stated.

“Shut up, Potter,” Fleur said, ignoring him as she concentrated on the dessert.

“Harry,” Adrienne called. “Me too?”

Harry smirked. “Puddings all around, please.”

The sounds of appreciation were slightly disturbing, from girls that should really have known better.

The boys exchanged amused looks, and enjoyed theirs.

There was a few moments reverent silence as they finished, the girls with partners leaned against them.

From the door, a lone owl floated into the room, and with an imperious hoot, proffered its leg to Harry.

“Hey,” Harry greeted it cheerfully. “Want anything to eat?”

The owl nodded, and before Harry could say anything, a bowl of owl food appeared next to the owl.

Harry untied the letter and scanned it quickly. It was short and to the point, inviting him to go and see Kate that evening.

He scrawled, “I’ll be there at ten,” on the letter, and attached it back on the foot of the owl.

“Feel free to finish first.”

The owl hooted, and Harry turned to the still-glowing Gabrielle. “Better?”

She nodded. “Feel loved.”

“You are.”

She smiled at him. He stood, and lifted her onto his chest, cuddling her. “Come on,” he ordered. “Those horses aren’t going to clear themselves.”

There was some good natured grumblings as they all headed out and down to the massive stables.

Christophe and Adrienne opened a cupboard, and pulled out a series of shovels and rakes.

Harry looked at them for a long moment. “What are you doing?”

“Getting out the implements.”

“And we have to use these implements?”

Adrienne and Christophe nodded.

“Then use them, we shall. Viktor, you have your cards?”

Viktor nodded, pulling out a deck.

“Duplicate them. Crusher, Smasher, close the doors. Christophe, Melissa, Hermione, Fred, George, tables and chairs. Fleur, Gabrielle, warming charms, it’s more than a bit nippy in here.” He turned to the tools. “ Substitutiary locomotion !” he called, before passing his wand to Gabrielle so that she could do that charms with her sister.

The tools jerked themselves out of the hands of Adrienne and Christophe. The rakes started to rake the waste into corners, where shovels lifted them into barrels.

When he had his wand back, Harry then created a huge pile of multi coloured chips. He separated them into piles, took a seat at the first table. “Come on,” he said to Gabrielle, “let’s teach you the game of poker.”

Gabrielle giggled.

She then showed him that poker skills evidently ran in the family, as she was already a far better player than him. Her technique was different to Fleur’s, in that she treated each and every card as if it was an ace, regardless of the true face value.

After an hour, he left her playing with his chips, and walked around the tables, chatting with everyone, and seeing how they were doing.

The most successful players seemed to be Fleur, Fred and George, Gabrielle, and Lisa.

“Harry?”

“Yes, Chloe?” he replied to one of the Beauxbatons students.

“Why are you not interested in dating girls in your year?”

“I’ve never liked the idea of shooting fish in a barrel,” he said with a small grin.

“What do you mean?”

“It wouldn’t be fair,” he explained. “And I’d feel guilty.”

She looked doubtfully at him. “You have a high opinion of your skills, don’t you?”

“Did you see Kate?” he asked dryly.

Chloe shrugged. “You are rich,” she pointed out. “There are many things that can attract a woman.”

“You want a demonstration?” he asked.

She smirked. “Sure,” she agreed, before she shot a look at her boyfriend.

“Chloe’s got a big mouth,” her boyfriend said dryly. “It often gets her into trouble. Feel free to prove a point, Harry. She can make it up to me later.”

Chloe sent him a smirk, “and you will pay for that,” she promised.

“It’s hardly a hardship,” Harry said, stepping a little closer to Chloe. “Chloe is beautiful.” He caught her eyes and concentrated, letting how attractive he found her show. He turned slightly, so that he was facing her dead on, and reached out, lightly stroking her face, raising her chin.

“You have the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen,” he whispered intently. “The flecks of gold in the deep brown dance in the candlelight, making you look dark and mysterious.” His hand slid down, cupping her jaw, as he lightly dragged his thumb over her lips. “I’ve been watching you for weeks, hoping for a chance to get to know you better,” he continued, his cadences regular and almost hypnotic.

He didn’t let her look away from him. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he told her, as he leaned in and gently did exactly that. He didn’t kiss her hard, and push his tongue into her mouth; it was more a precursor to a kiss, a light and intimate touching of lips to lips.

He pulled back slightly, feeling her breath against his lips, seeing the ways her eyes had clouded slightly, and the way she leaned forward, trying to recapture his kiss.

This time he kissed her harder, and allowed her to close her eyes. His hands went to her shoulders, easing the power blue robes off her shoulders. She didn’t seem to notice, but arched her back as he ran his hands down her back, checking that she was wearing a bra.

He gently drew her tongue into his mouth, and lightly bit, sucking the tip, as his hands expertly danced down her blouse, undoing all the buttons, before he eased the shirt over her shoulders, leaving her torso clad only in her white bra.

He slowly broke the kiss, “Chloe,” he whispered. “Come back to me, Chloe.”

She moaned softly, as her eyes started to clear and she shuddered. Her eyes cleared totally, and she looked down at herself. “I would have slept with you,” she stated softly. “Right here. I forgot that we have a barn full of friends here. It wasn’t what you said, it was how you said it, and I felt like everything inside you was focused on me, just on me, that nothing else mattered. Your eyes seemed to glow as they devoured me. God, that was intense.”

Harry nodded. “Kate insisted I learnt how to seduce her properly, she’s been all around the world, seen and done incredible things. A fourteen year old student in a small boarding school in the middle of nowhere wouldn’t even be a minor challenge compared to her. And that’s without the fact that I’d feel like a paedophile.”

She nodded and stood up. She gathered her shirt and robes, and held out her hand to her boyfriend. “Time for me to make up for what I said earlier,” she announced cheerfully. “Take me to bed, Andrew.”

Andrew grinned at Harry, mouthed, “Thanks,” and picked Chloe up, and carried her out.

“Do not worry about them,” Julia said, “Chloe is always putting her foot in it, but she does love Andrew, and Andrew learnt in our fourth year that it was easier just to let her get on with it.”

Harry nodded. “Having a good time?”

Julia smirked. “I’m up fifteen chips, and we’re not shovelling shit. It could be a lot worse.”

Harry laughed and continued his circuit of the room.

“Guys,” he said to his bodyguards, “I’m sneaking out for the evening, as Kate wants a chat with me. I’ll be back in the morning.”

“Okay,” Smasher said, as he concentrated hard on his cards. “You have the necklace?”

“Never take it off.”

“Go,” Smasher ordered, as he asked for two more cards.

Harry smiled and walked over to Gabrielle. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he promised. “And tomorrow evening, we’ll go through everything we missed while I was in jail.”

“I went to classes with Fleur,” she said. “But Fleur said I should wait for you to do the magic.”

Harry smiled and hugged her tightly. “We’ll catch up,” he promised.

“I know,” she agreed. “Now go, you’re getting in the way of my cards.”

He laughed and wandered outside. He hoped that Chloe had been warm enough, as it was bloody cold.

As soon as he was outside of Hogwarts wards, he Apparated to Kate’s apartment in London. He knocked on the door, and was greeted by a smiling Kate. She was wearing a pale blue house coat.

“Come in,” she told him.

“Thanks, it’s brass monkeys out there.”

She tilted her head and looked at him curiously.

“Muggle analogy,” he said, “also popular is ‘as cold as a witches’ tit’.”

“How nice,” she said slowly. “Albeit factually incorrect. But this is hardly how I taught you to greet someone.”

Harry smiled slowly at her, as he stepped into her personal space. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he whispered intently, his lips a millimetre against hers, as he took her hands and held them captive against the wall of her hall. He kicked the door shut without looking, and then smiled into her eyes. “Better?”

She lightly kissed him. “A lot,” she agreed. “Sit down.”

Harry moved casually into her living room, and lounged on her couch casually. “What’s the matter, Kate?” he called.

Kate appeared again; she’d lost the house coat, and was now just wearing her heels and a pair of black silk knickers.

“You wear this stuff all the time?” he asked curiously.

“How else can I be comfortable?” she asked. “When I’m hired, I’m expected to be comfortable doing whatever I’m paid for. If I wore something else at home, when I am relaxed, I’d never be able to pull it off at work.”

He nodded, and slowly ran his eyes up and down her body, before meeting her eyes comfortably.

“Did you miss me?” she asked, her eyes meeting his challengingly.

“Of course,” he said. “I could have done with one or two of your hugs while I was in jail.”

“You impressed a hell of a lot of people with what you did; loyalty is a very attractive trait.”

Harry shrugged. “It was that or we fought, and the press would not have accepted the fact that we accidentally killed a number of Aurors.”

Kate laughed and nodded. “Harry,” she purred, “there’s someone I’d like you to meet. This is Rhiannon.”

The girl who walked had the most incredible beautiful red hair. Multi-coloured, it hung down her back like a wave, every moment causing a kaleidoscope of colour to dance over her head.

He stood smoothly, “I’m delighted to meet you, Rhiannon,” he said softly. “You have the most amazing hair I’ve ever seen.” He took her hand and gently kissed the knuckles, hovering over them a little longer than was necessary, as he stared up into her eyes.

Light green eyes met his, and small pearly teeth peeked out of full lips, as she smiled at him.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said. “I’m glad to see that it appears true.”

Harry, who hadn’t let go of her hand, brushed his thumb over her knuckles. “Thank you,” he replied, as he reluctantly released the hand.

He moved back to his seat, allowing his eyes to roam over her body. She was dressed identically to Kate, only her underwear was pure white, before he met her eyes again, the frank appreciation he regarded her with was in his eyes.

Kate moved next to Rhiannon. “Rhiannon was the friend I was talking too,” she explained. “And we agreed on one thing.”

“Oh?”

“That we are never in debt to anyone.” Kate turned and gently kissed Rhiannon, the closeness suggested that this wasn’t the first time. When they finished the kiss, both prowled toward him, only giving him time for a quick gulp.

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 8

Harry arrived for breakfast about as cheerful as he could remember. And he’d ever had a few hours sleep. Two hours, admittedly, but he felt like he’d be able to get through the day.

From what he had worked out, having two girls was a fantasy most men shared, but few ever approached. For an extortionate price, more than enough to buy an extremely nice car, Kate and Rhiannon would team up for an evening.

“Morning,” he greeted everyone, and found himself looking forward to his first lesson of the day.

“Morning,” they chorused back, in any one of the three languages they all claimed as a mother tongue.

He took his seat next to Gabrielle.

“You smell of Kate,” she announced, and before he could react, she continued, in a voice full of complete awe, “and another girl!”

Silence spread over his table as everyone turned to look at him.

He reached beside himself, picked Gabrielle up bodily, and plonked her on the table before him.

“Gabrielle,” he said softly, but firmly. “I’m not mad at you, as I’ve not told you this before, but I am telling you now. Please keep what I do to your self. You can talk to me about it in private, if you’d like, but I don’t need everyone knowing about it. Understand?”

Gabrielle nodded firmly.

He hugged her close, and lightly stroked her hair. “I do love you,” he whispered.

She buried her face in his neck. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s okay; I just want you to stop.”

“I will,” she promised.

“Way to go, boss,” Smasher grinned.

“Don’t you start,” Harry said dourly.

“Potter,” Snape’s voice hissed from the table. “One hundred points from Gryffindor for leaving school, and detention for a month, now, can we stop talking about your whore and get on with breakfast?”

Harry turned his head slowly and stared at the now-bald potions professor. Snape met his eyes for a moment. There was no magic, no sign of Legilimency, just two people looking at each other.

Snape paled and sat back down.

“The points are irrelevant,” Harry said softly. “They are a means of utilising peer pressure to enforce good behaviour. As I no longer think of myself as a Gryffindor, you are punishing innocent students. The detentions I will attend, as long as they are arranged around my other lessons.”

“One hundred points to Gryffindor, for putting up with a biased sadist for a potions master for your school careers,” Melissa said sharply, in a direct confrontation with her shocked head of house.

The arrival of the food distracted everyone, and allowed the moment to pass.

Gabrielle shifted so that she could eat while sitting in his lap.

The lessons flew past, without giving him much time to talk to some of the people who he knew wanted to talk to him, one on one. The only person he spent real time with was Gabrielle, and that was going through the work she’d done over the previous week.

The detention was done cleaning armour, without his wand. He cheated, and he didn’t really care that he had. His necklace was used to clean everything, and he spent the rest of the time thinking things through, before he headed to bed.

---

Gabrielle poked her tongue out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated on her letters. It was important that each one was as good as she could make it.

She still remembered the time she hadn’t tried as hard as she could. Harry hadn’t said anything, but he had felt disappointed, and had blamed himself for not making things clearer for her.

The disappointment had cut through her, and she never wanted to feel that way again.

She kicked her heels happily as she finished the sentence. “You should go out with Harry,” she said to her sister.

“Excuse me?”

“Harry, you remember him, tall, good looking, gorgeous green eyes, and by all accounts, great in bed.”

“Gabrielle!”

“You didn’t smell him this morning,” she said absently, starting to the next sentence. “That was two very satisfied girls he left last night.”

“Speaking of which, since when have you become a blabber-mouth?”

Gabrielle smiled as she curled an f into an l. “Everyone should know that he’s great in bed.”

“Do remember that this is a school full of humans,” Fleur pointed out. “They treat things differently.”

“Which is why you should date him,” Gabrielle returned to her original point. “You didn’t sleep with that celery that you allowed to escort you to the ball, and he was shocked when you said that chocolate was better than sex.”

“Contrary to your belief,” Fleur said icily, “I’ve never actually tried the latter.”

Gabrielle looked up for a second and shrugged. “So he can show you a good first time.”

“I’m not interested in him,” Fleur replied.

“Of course not,” Gabrielle replied. “The last thing you want is a strong smart man, who’s rich, charming, and can keep someone like Kate happy.

“Your problem is that you can’t handle a man not falling at your feet, and the fact that he thinks you’re a stuck up bitch.”

“Gabrielle!”

Gabrielle finished her paragraph and read it over, making sure there were no misspellings or smudges. The thought of the hug that she’d get for it filled her with joy. “Which is understandable,” she continued, “as you’ve acted like it.”

“I haven’t… Well, maybe a little,” Fleur admitted.

Gabrielle smiled. “Acceptance is the first step, my dear sister.”

“Brat,” Fleur muttered.

“And he does like blondes,” Gabrielle added.

“He does?”

“Yeah, he had a sexual thought when he finally got over his silly human prudishness and he undressed me when he was drunk.”

“What!?”

“Yeah,” Gabrielle continued, “He wouldn’t even be in bed with me, so it was a big step forward for him. He’s a really good drunk, who just wants to love people.”

“I meant about the thought!” Fleur screeched as she stood up.

“Oh, that. Don’t get your knickers in a twist. He was thinking about undoing your dress.”

“Oh,” Fleur said, deflating back into her chair.

Gabrielle gave the first T of the new paragraph a dramatic upward slant, and added a curlicue. “And let’s not mention how capable of love he is.”

“You’d know, you little leech.”

“I’m not a leech. Sure, I take love from him, but I give him everything back. He is the first man I have ever met who loves me as the girl I am, not the Veela I will become. And when he sends me how much he loves me, he makes me glow. I shouldn’t be able to glow for years yet! And let’s not even mention how much he teaches me.

“And he got Mama to agree to allow me to get my ears pierced this weekend.”

“That’s not fair,” Fleur grumbled.

Gabrielle waved her free hand airily, “if you’d met him when you were eight you’d have been bitchy and driven him off.”

Fleur grunted.

“So, are you going to talk to him?”

“I might,” she said grudgingly.

“Fleur and Harry sitting in a tree,” Gabrielle chanted happily, “F – U – C – …”

“Gabrielle Anne Delacour!”

---

At three am, Harry slipped out of bed, got dressed, and walked out of his room. Smasher and Crusher shared the room to his right, while Hermione had moved to room on his left. He nudged Smasher and Crusher into wakefulness.

“Boss?” Crusher asked sleepily

“Come with me,” he ordered. They slipped out of the ship, along the gangplank, and up to Hogwarts.

The doors swung open for him silently. A light to the left appeared, and he followed it.

“Boss,” Crusher said softly. “We’re heading toward the Professors’ quarters.”

“No,” Harry contradicted. “We’re in bed. You checked on me at three and half past three as you do every night, and I hadn’t moved.”

“Okay,” Smasher agreed. The light stopped by a single door.

Harry took a deep breath. “Wait here,” he ordered.

“Are you sure?” Crusher asked. “We can do this, it’s not a problem.”

“I will never ask my people to do something I wouldn’t do myself,” Harry replied.

Crusher and Smasher both gave him a smart salute.

Harry pressed on the door, and it opened.

“Whisky?” Snape offered to his surprise. The professor had managed to grow his hair back, and had a half-empty bottle next to him on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. His legs were crossed at the ankle.

“Thank you,” Harry replied, as he took the unoffered other seat.

“May I ask how you got in to my room?” Snape asked.

“Hogwarts agrees with what I am doing,” Harry explained. “I’ve recently started to feel her on a more conscious level. I think she’s been a bit lonely for a few centuries.”

Snape nodded slowly. “I thought about running, but I have nowhere to go – your mobs of Death Eater arm hunters have seen to that, and Albus simply wouldn’t believe what you are about to do.

“I did think about fighting, but I think I’d like to die with some dignity – the power you displayed at the second task was legendary, and I suspect that you could stop a Killing Curse.”

Harry pulled out his wand absently, and raised a brick wall between the two of them, before vanishing it. “Why stop when you could block?”

Snape nodded slowly. “You do know that I’m not going to tell you anything? And that I do hope that you die soon, and that I hate you?”

Harry nodded. “Torture isn’t my thing. You can take your secrets to your grave.”

“It is my own fault,” Snape mused. “If I had been paying more attention, I would have realised that what you had was confidence, not arrogance. And that the idea of a magical maturity was preposterous.”

Harry nodded in agreement. “I’ve never said that was what occurred. I just let the rumours spread.”

“Very Slytherin,” Snape agreed. He drained his whisky. “You decided to kill me when I insulted your girlfriend.”

“I’d been thinking about it for a while,” Harry said. “Mainly because of the way you attacked my people, but today showed me that you had no intention of ever changing, and that you should not be around children. But really, it’s because I hate you as well, and as you taught me, if you have power, you use it for the benefit of your friends and the detriment of your enemies. You’ve had a lifetime of unchecked crimes, and that’s going to stop tonight.”

“Melissa has taught you well. I am set in my ways. You are going to dispose of my body?”

“I am,” Harry agreed.

Snape stood, “Well, let’s get it over with.”

As the professor turned, Harry moved. His left hand covered Snape’s mouth, while his right hand, with Lisa’s Christmas present, explored between the gap between the sixth and seventh rib from the bottom of Snape’s chest.

Snape tensed, and started to struggle.

“Shhh, shh,” Harry crooned, as he dug the knife in a little deeper.

Snape seemed to freeze, before he collapsed against Harry.

Harry calmly wiped the knife clean, sheathed it, and cast a charm to immobilise the dead body – stopping blood from escaping. He levitated Snape’s body, and walked out the door.

“We didn’t hear a thing,” Smasher said, his eyes on Snape’s dead face.

“He knew I was going to kill him,” Harry explained in a monotone voice. “He decided to go with dignity, and without being forced into giving up his secrets.”

“This never happened,” Crusher assured him.

“Go back to the ship,” Harry said. “I’m going to get rid of the body, then deal with things.”

“We can do that, boss,” Crusher offered.

“Not as well as I can,” Harry said, as he walked out. As before small lights appeared before him, allowing him to make his way to the Forbidden Forest.

It took him ten minutes to reach Aragon’s lair. “Aragog,” he called.

“Human,” the giant spider called. “What do you want?”

“I bring a gift,” Harry called. He floated Snape over.

“Still warm,” Aragog noted. “Our thanks.”

Harry nodded and turned to go.

“Wait,” Aragog called. “You want nothing in return?”

“Just get rid of the body,” Harry said. “That’s it.”

Aragog nodded slowly. “A partnership. We get bodies, you get no evidence.”

Harry smiled briefly. “I’d appreciate it if I didn’t have to kill your children on my way out of here.”

Aragog clicked sharply, and the shapes that had been closing in on Harry pulled away.

Harry offered a faint salute, and then walked toward Hogsmeade. As he had the night before, he Apparated to London, and banged on Kate’s door.

“Harry?” she asked, as she appeared, wearing a white man’s shirt with most of the buttons undone. Her hair was bed-tussled, but she still managed to look beautiful.

“Hi,” he said softly.

“Come in,” she ordered, after looking at his eyes for a few seconds.

He allowed himself to be dragged in, placed on the couch, and a glass of wine placed in his hand.

Kate sat on his lap. “Talk,” she ordered.

“I just murdered Snape,” he said softly.

Kate stiffened, before she took a deep breath. She turned, so that she was straddling his lap, and raised his head so that she could meet his eyes. “Why?”

“Because I could,” he replied. “Because he called you a whore.”

“I am a whore,” she pointed out evenly.

“No, you’re a lady of negotiable affection. A whore doesn’t live in luxury; a whore doesn’t look after herself like you do.”

“I sell a lot more than a whore does,” she whispered. “And stop trying to change the subject. Tell me what happened.”

Harry sighed, and tried to look away. Kate’s hand tightened on his chin, stopping him.

“For the past few weeks I’ve been feeling a lot more from Hogwarts. She’s been unhappy about a lot of things, he was one of them. Something Hermione said the other night struck me as well, that he was a sadist who shouldn’t be allowed near children. I thought about how he’d treated me, how he’d acted at the Second Task, and realised that she was right.

“Dumbledore was never going to sack him, and so, when he called you a whore, I decided that I had to do something about it. So, half an hour ago, I slipped out of bed, walked to his rooms, had a brief conversation with him, and then stabbed him through the back and into his heart. I then gave his body to the Acromantulas.”

Kate nodded slowly.

“Describe Hogwarts.”

“The castle?”

“The being.”

“She is the castle,” Harry said slowly. “She’s elemental. Hard, unyielding, beautiful, loving.”

Kate smiled briefly as her fingers softened, and she stroked his cheek gently.

“So you killed an evil man.”

“It’s not that I killed him, it’s the way I did it,” he tried to explain. “It was premeditated, it was murder. It was no crime of passion, no duel, just me covering his mouth and stabbing him.” He wanted to look at his hands, look at the appendages capable of killing someone so easily. But he couldn’t look away from her eyes.

“Do you expect me to cry any tears for him?”

“No, I don’t expect anyone to.”

“Do you think that anyone at your school will be upset?”

“Dumbledore, maybe.”

“How do you think your parents would react?”

Harry met her eyes properly. “I’d tell dad,” he whispered. “He’d sit down with me, and we’d discuss it like I have with you. He’d be upset, and I’d explain why I did it, and how I did it. He’d be torn, and eventually he’d admit that he understood. He’d make me promise never to do anything like it again, and we’d agree not to tell Mum.

“It would be something we shared, and it would change our relationship, so that, like with Mum, we were friends now, not just father and son.”

Kate took his right hand, and placed it on her shirt, over her heart. He could feel her heart thudding.

“Harry,” she said softly. “I want you to promise me that you will never murder someone again.”

“I promise,” he whispered.

“You did the wrong thing,” she continued, “but so many people will benefit from it. Your punishment is to look after your friends and to make as many people happy as you can. For the rest of your life.”

He nodded, feeling a tear drip down his face.

Kate reached around with her free hand and pulled his head against her shoulder, her other hand keeping his hand against her chest. He buried his face against her shirt and started to cry.

---

The next morning, he walked into Hogwarts, feeling a little better. He sat next to Gabrielle, who touched him, looked at him with huge eyes, and then wrapped herself around him, hugging him tightly. He could feel how much she loved him, and it actually awed him a little.

“Thanks,” he whispered into her hair. He felt rather than saw the smile she gave back.

“Harry,” Professor Dumbledore called. “Have you seen Professor Snape this morning?”

“Why would I have?”

“He’s gone missing.”

Harry shrugged. “No, I’ve not seen him since breakfast yesterday.”

Dumbledore nodded slowly.

After a few more moments with Gabrielle, he gently eased her off him, and nodded to Melissa.

At his little table, he looked at her. “As my barrister, you should probably know that I killed Snape last night and fed his body to the Acromantulas.”

Melissa didn’t react visibly. “That’s a hell of a bomb shell,” she said, keeping her voice neutral. “Doesn’t Dumbledore know everything that goes on in the school?”

“He knows what Hogwarts tells him. She helped last night.”

“So no one knows?”

“Smasher and Crusher, Gabrielle might, Kate and you. I may tell Hermione.”

“No one who is not fanatically loyal to you knows?”

“Well, Aragog, but we came to an agreement.”

Melissa’s lips twitched. “Next time, don’t tell as many people. You’re probably lucky this time. I take it Crusher and Smasher are providing alibis?”

He nodded.

“Then it never happened. How are you dealing with it?”

“Badly, but Kate helped a lot.”

“I thought you’d split up with her?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Relationships normally are,” she agreed. “Right, I’ll get back to my boyfriend, and you can deal with your other sister.”

Harry smiled, as Melissa walked away, allowing Hermione to enter. She was looking at him strangely.

She sat down slowly. “I’m a very light sleeper,” she said softly. “I heard you leave at three this morning.”

He nodded.

“First two girls at the same time and then killing Snape. I’m not sure I know who you are anymore.”

“Harry,” he said softly. “Older, with blood on his hands, but still the same boy I was.”

“No, you’re not,” she said. She held up her hand. “I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but you are not the same boy. Talk to me, Harry. Explain what happened the other night first.”

“Kate wanted to see me. When I got to her apartment, she sat me down, and introduced Rhiannon. She was the girl that Skeeter overheard her talking to. Rhiannon and Kate said that they owed me, and that they refused to be in anyone’s debt.

“They stalked toward me, I protested for around fifteen seconds, trying to tell them that they didn’t need to do this. And then they kissed me. My protestations went straight out the window, and a good time was had by all.”

Hermione’s lips twitched. “A good time was had by all,” she mimicked. “I thought you weren’t going to see Kate again?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Okay, Snape?”

“I walked into his room and stabbed him.”

Hermione recoiled slightly.

“Yes,” Harry agreed, “it was despicable, it was murder. I try to console myself with the idea that I’ve helped a lot of people and that Hogwarts is proud of me, but at the end of the day, it was me with my hand over his mouth while my knife tried to find his heart.”

Hermione paled dramatically.

Harry didn’t allow her to look away. “There are justifications for what I did, but inside me, where it matters, they don’t count. I know what I did, and I will live with that for the rest of my life. Kate made me promise never to do it again, and I won’t. She gave me a penance, and that I will fulfil.” He looked at her, hoping she’d understand, that she wouldn’t turn her back on him.

“I don’t understand,” she said softly, “I can’t understand. The act might have been murder, but he asked for it a hundred times, every time he made a student cry, every time he acted unfairly, every time he insulted your parents, or the people you love.” She lurched forward and hugged him. “But I trust you, and I accept, now, that sometimes you have to do bad things to make good things happen.

“Don’t do it again.”

“I won’t.” He cradled her against him, rocking her slowly.

“How the hell are we going to explain this?” Hermione asked. “It looks suspicious.”

“We made up after the other nights events? I’ve promised not to do it again.” he suggested.

“Have you?” she asked.

“Honestly?”

She nodded.

“No, if a situation came up again where I had the chance of two girls, I’d take it.”

Hermione smiled faintly. “So it is a male fantasy?”

“I don’t know about fantasy, but the reality was amazing.”

She laughed softly and released him, before she turned and walked toward Viktor. “Harry’s promised not to do it again,” she informed him, a little loudly, as she sat down. “Two girls,” she sighed loudly.

Harry took his seat, next to Gabrielle. He looked up, to see Fleur smiling. She was looking radiant. He caught her eyes. “You should smile more often, it looks good on you.”

Her smile turned up a notch, and he nodded at her, wrapped an arm around Gabrielle, and settled down for his breakfast.

There was an investigation over the next few days, lead by Kingsley, and the purple-haired Auror – who he discovered was named Tonks – but with no body, no witnesses, and everyone who had a motive with cast iron alibis, there was no where for it to go.

Saturday dawned bright and early with the sort of bright spring day that reminded you that summer was around the corner.

Gabrielle dived on his bed at the unconceivable hour of five in the morning, and for once he gave in, and let her under the covers. He slipped out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans, while she watched in sleepy-eyed amusement. He climbed back into bed, rolled onto his side, and closed his eyes.

When he awoke, she was watching him sleep. “Morning,” he rasped.

“Morning,” she said happily. “Ears pierced today!”

“I know, I’ve not forgotten. Why don’t you get dressed, then we’ll go early and have breakfast in town.”

“Okay,” she agreed, gave him a quick hug, and then scampered out, her white nightgown flowing with her.

He shook his head, and made a mental note to talk to Michael about what had happened. A scalding shower later, and some clean clothes, and he felt up for the day.

He wandered outside, to find Lisa with her dad, Ben. “Morning,” he greeted them.

“Harry,” Ben called delightedly. “Lisa tells me that you’ve got nothing planned for most of today?”

“Noooo,” Harry said slowly, nodding as Smasher, Crusher, Nasher and Thrasher joined them.

“Excellent,” he said cheerfully. “I’ve entered you in a small Muggle competition. Think of it as a test.”

“I don’t want to,” Harry said firmly.

“A competition?” Gabrielle gasped. “You have to do it, Harry,” she said rapidly. “Please, do it.”

“Yeah, boss,” Smasher agreed. “You never get to have fun, this will be it.”

“Having my arse handed to me will be fun?” Harry demanded. “Are you all nuts?”

“Possibly,” Lisa said, “but how else are you going to know if you’re any good.”

“Harry,” Hermione said firmly, as she joined them.

Harry smiled, knowing that she’d be the voice of reason.

“You are going to enter, we all want you too, and I’d love to stand here and argue, but I’m hungry and want my breakfast.”

“Hermione,” he protested.

Gabrielle cheered and jumped into his arms. “Hogsmeade!” she ordered. “The sooner we eat, the sooner I can get earrings!”

“You’re paying for breakfast,” he grunted at Ben.

Ben grinned. “No problem. I’m in the senior competition, so I’ll show you the ropes.”

“And I’m in the girls,” Lisa added. “It will be great! Get moving, I’ll meet you there, I’m gonna grab a few of our friends who’ll love to watch.”

Harry just groaned. It was only as they walked, that he realised that every single one of his friends were wearing Muggle clothing. They had all known about it beforehand.

Breakfast was a raucous affair, with everyone having a great time. Fred and George, with girlfriends, had dragged along Katie, as well as Lee. Hermione and Viktor were joined at the hip, as were Christophe and Melissa, Fleur was chatting with Adrienne’s boyfriend, while Adrienne was talking to Chloe.

As they finished breakfast, and Harry had spent a few enjoyable seconds flirting with Rosmerta, they made their way to the hairdressers.

Gabrielle took one look at the needle that was going to be used, and hid behind Harry.

Harry turned to her, dropping to his knees. She hid against his chest. “It’s not that bad,” he said.

“Easy for you to say,” she mumbled. “You’re not having that thing jabbed through your skin.”

“I thought you wanted this?”

“I do, but I didn’t think it would be like that!”

“It’s perfectly safe,” the assistant said.

“I’ll tell you what,” Harry said, as he stood. “I’ll go first.”

“Really?” Gabrielle gasped.

Harry nodded and took the seat. “Just my left ear, please.”

Gabrielle took his hand with both of hers, and watched. There was a sudden movement, and a sharp pain, followed by a dull ache.

“That wasn’t that bad,” Gabrielle said in a relieved voice. “I can handle that.”

Fleur passed him a small silver stud earring as the assistant cast a charm on his ear. Gabrielle grabbed it, and climbed on his lap so that she could place it through the hole.

“There,” she announced, “you look very sexy.”

Harry shot her a reproachful look, as she giggled.

“Ready?” the assistant asked.

Gabrielle gulped. Harry lifted her off his lap, stood, turned, and placed her back down. He took the needle from the assistant, used his wand to cast a numbing charm on Gabrielle’s right ear, and then, in a smooth movement, reached out, braced her ear gently, and made a small hole in it. He cast the other charm on her ear, and then added the diamond earring. He did the same thing for her left ear.

“Why the numbing charm?” Hermione asked. “It’s supposed to hurt.”

“No one hurts Gabrielle,” Harry said softly. “Better?”

She smiled happily and nodded.

Harry looked at the crowd. “How many of you can’t Apparate?”

Katie, Lisa, Hermione, Gabrielle, Nasher and Thrasher all raised their hands.

“Viktor, you can take Hermione?”

“Wait up,” a new voice called. Harry looked up, to see Cedric and Cho jogging toward them.

“Sorry we’re late,” Cho said, “There’s something nasty going on Ravenclaw, some bullying. I had to use your name in vain, Harry.”

“Oh?”

“I just said that I’d get you involved if it didn’t stop. There’s a strange third year girl they’re picking on.”

Harry frowned. “That should really be dealt with by the professors.”

“Yes, but you’re much scarier than they are,” Melissa said. “Cho, tell me about it later, I’ll deal with it. And in the future, bring these things to me first; it’s what I am here for.” She paused. “And I’ll decide if it’s worth getting Harry involved in.”

“Oh, thanks,” Cho said. “Sorry, Harry.”

“Cedric, can you Apparate Cho?”

He shook his head, “not on my own, but if Christophe will help?”

“Sure,” Christophe agreed.

“Vik, you okay with Hermione?”

“Ja.”

“Angelina, Alicia, you can take Katie?”

“We will,” they agreed in unison, before giggling.

“Ben, you’ve got Lisa, Smasher, Crusher, help your apprentices.

“And you,” Harry said to Gabrielle, who was holding on to his hand, “you’re with me.”

Gabrielle smiled happily.

“Where are we going, Ben?”

“Outside the Birmingham NEC.”

“Where?” Melissa asked blankly.

“Ben, go, I’ll follow then set up a beacon.”

Ben nodded, hugged his daughter, and vanished.

Harry swept Gabrielle into a fast waltz, and mid step, he followed the faint trace of magic he could feel. They continued the dance seamlessly as they appeared in a small clearing. He took his wand out and set a pulsing beacon going, as he dipped Gabrielle.

The others started appearing in groups of two and three, and everyone arrived as Harry and Gabrielle finished.

“Tell me,” Lisa said to Hermione, “were they mid step when they left?”

Hermione nodded. “And they didn’t miss a step?”

“Not that I could tell.”

“He’s a git,” Hermione said fondly.

“My car’s over here,” Ben said excitedly.

Harry reached into his wallet and pulled out a card. He handed it to Melissa. “Go get everyone tickets,” he said. “I’ll be with Ben and Lisa.” He leaned and whispered a four digit number to her. “They’ll be a cash machine inside, get money with Hermione and make sure everyone has a great time.”

Melissa pecked him on the cheek and took the card.

As they all wandered away, Gabrielle perched on Smasher’s shoulders, Harry turned to Ben and Lisa. “Am I ready for this?”

“No one is, the first time,” Ben said, “but you’ll learn quickly, and you’re good enough to be here.”

Harry took a deep breath and then relaxed. “Okay, let’s do this.”

They jogged over toward Ben’s car, a Ford Escort estate. He opened the boot and pulled out three large bags. Lisa picked up the smallest, and Ben threw the medium one at Harry.

“It’s full contact,” he explained, “but you will be wearing semi-contact, closed fingered gloves, feet pads that cover your entire feet and toes, shin guards, mouth guard and most importantly, a groin guard.”

Harry nodded.

“In the ring, you’ll be wearing my club uniform, and if anyone asks, you’re a Black Belt.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah, you are. Admittedly not formally, but you can do every move needed.

“The bouts are judged on points. You get points for punches to the body, front side or back of the head, kicks to the body, full sweep – and if you do sweep, your hands and body can’t touch the floor. Kicks to the head, jumping kicks to the body get you more points, and the most points is for jumping kicks to the head.

“Illegal moves are dropping to the floor to avoid being hit, hitting the opponent in the back of the head, on the back, the neck or the shoulders, or the groin. No elbow strikes and spinning back fists either.”

Harry nodded again and shouldered the bag. They entered the huge building, to find an almost electric atmosphere inside. Hundreds of people were sitting in bunches around the stadium. The floor had four rings set up, as well as four sets of judges’ tables.

He followed Ben to a corner, where he completed his registration. With a degree of reluctance, he put his Aunt and Uncle’s house down as his home address – realising that a magical castle in Scotland probably wasn’t acceptable, and he had no idea where Sirius lived.

“Ben, do you have a mobile?”

Ben nodded and pulled a large phone out of his bag. “Cheers,” Harry said, and went to make a few phone calls.

When he got back, they separated, with Lisa going to get changed in the ladies, and him and Ben in the men’s.

The atmosphere was more nervous in the changing room. Harry stripped quickly, putting the clothes he was wearing in the bag.

A couple of kick boxers were shadow boxing in the corner. Their movements were sharp and crisp, and lightning fast.

“Ignore them,” Ben said, “they’re trying to psyche you out.”

Harry swallowed and nodded slowly. He didn’t admit that it was working. Back out in the stadium, they wandered around with Lisa, while Ben pointed out some of the best fighters that he knew.

“You’re unknown, Harry,” Ben said softly. “You’ll be able to use that for a match or two, but after that, people will start to get to know your style. You’ve practised enough, you know the moves, and all you have to do is do them now. Don’t take this lightly; people will be going for your head.”

“Okay,” Harry nodded.

“And you will have to remove your necklace.”

“I can’t do that,” Harry said firmly.

“You can’t wear it in the ring; it could hurt the opponent or you.”

“How about if I put a notice-me-not charm on it, and then make sure that it’s padded from the front, so that no one gets hurt, but it doesn’t protect me.”

Ben thought for a second, and then nodded. “That’s fair,” he agreed.

“It’s time for my first match,” Lisa said, bouncing on her toes.

They walked over to her ring, and as Lisa’s name was read out, there was a loud cheer from the crowd. They all looked up, to see that their supporters had grown in numbers. He spotted Sirius, and Kate – to his surprise. Every Beauxbatons and Durmstrang student had turned up now, as well as the rest of their Hogwarts friends.

And to his complete shock, in a dapper tartan suit, was Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore nodded to him.

Harry turned and hugged Lisa. “Knock ‘em dead!”

“Will do, boss!”

She bounced to the ring, and vaulted the high ropes easily.

“Always a good idea to do an entry,” Ben murmured, as they manned her corner. “It gives the impression of confidence that can be unnerving to the opponent.”

With a ring of the bell, the competition started. It was obvious from the start that Lisa had the upper hand.

“Amateur,” Ben sighed. “Not many girls go for this sport; Leece’s loved it all her life. When her mother died, it was what we did together to get over it.”

The fight was short lived, and ended with a brutal knee to the other girl’s stomach. She was unable to continue, and Lisa was pronounced the winner, to another huge cheer.

“You’re up next, ring one,” Ben said, after they had congratulated the bouncing Lisa.

“Boss,” Lisa said, “show off, go for the flashiest entrance you can think off. Use the psychological advantage it will give you, get the boost from the crowd.”

Harry wrinkled his nose and nodded. He took the mouth guard Lisa offered, and bit into it firmly. His opponent was called first, and he vaulted the ropes a lot like Lisa had earlier. There was some applause from the crowd.

As Harry’s name was called, he jumped onto the rim of the ring, grabbed the top rope, and used it to pull himself up. In a smooth continuous movement, he balanced on the two top ropes around the corner, before executing a perfect back somersault with twist.

The crowd, led by his friends, roared their approval, but he didn’t pay attention to them. He fixed his eyes on his opponent, and didn’t look away as the referee explained the rules.

He retreated back into his corner, and waited.

The bell went, and he moved forward, into the centre of the ring, and had to jump back to avoid a sharp kick to his ribs. The opponent followed it up with a series of punches aimed at his body, then his chin.

He dodged; keeping his head up, trying to remember everything he had been told.

The next punch knocked him back against the ropes, and for a second, he saw stars. He danced around, shaking his head to clear it.

“Stop thinking,” Ben roared.

Harry cursed himself under his breath. That was a silly mistake to make. He shouldn’t be planning what he was doing that precisely. He should be reacting and trusting his instincts. That was what he had trained for.

The opponent rushed in, confident now. Harry didn’t think as his right hand shot out, at a forty-five degree angle from his body, aiming up. Years of practising every night meant that his body knew what to do. It knew how to twist his torso, it knew how to use every muscle in his body to get the maximum power. All the work he’d done coalesced into the single punch that landed directly on the tip of his opponents chin.

His opponent lifted four inches off the ground, and fell flat on his back.

There was a second of silence, as almost in slow motion, he appeared to bounce, before he lay still.

“Yeeeeaaaahhhhhh!” Sirius’s voice rang out, before everyone in his cheering section appeared to go mad.

The ref didn’t even bother counting; he was on his knees, checking the fallen fighter was okay.

Harry raised his hands and grinned.

The roar was louder, as he removed his mouth guard, vaulted the top rope, and strode over to Ben and Lisa.

Lisa jumped at him and hugged him tightly.

“Not bad,” Ben said. “You froze to start with, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be hit by that punch, I didn’t even see it!”

Harry spun Lisa around excitedly. “Adrenaline is running through me,” he said, “man, this is an incredible feeling.” He put Lisa down, and jogged over to guy he had knocked out. He was looking a bit wobbly, as he was helped to his feet.

“You okay?” Harry asked.

The man looked at him, and then nodded. “I didn’t even see it,” he confessed. “You punch like a fucking horse!”

“Practice,” Harry said with a shrug, and almost flinched as his opponent hugged him briefly.

“You’re fighting Damon next, kick his arse!”

“I’ll try,” Harry said. “That was my first fight, and I practically froze.”

“You took a good hit and then you retaliated with a beaut. You probably won’t get that chance with Damon, he has a better defence than me, work his ribs, and throw a lot of kicks.”

“Thanks.”

The guy nodded, backed away and gave Harry a deep bow, before he turned. Harry returned to Ben and Lisa.

“Sportsmanship always goes down well here,” Ben said approvingly. “We should go and watch your next appointment.”

“Damon,” Harry said. “Good defence, I need to work his ribs and kick a lot.”

Ben nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Damon was a tough little bugger who ground out his win on points. The other guy looked frustrated as he left the ring.

Ben was the next to fight, and Harry could see the difference. He was fighting in the full adult league, and the fight was fast and furious. Punches and kicks flew out at every angle, Ben won in the third round, when a roundhouse right caught his opponent enough to give Ben a chance to throw a few more combinations.

It wasn’t long before Harry was back in the ring, his entrance the same as before. As the match started, Harry moved forward a little slower, not wanting to make the same mistakes again.

Damon threw a few punches at him, and a few kicks, which Harry blocked easily. He tried to keep his dodging to a minimum, as he didn’t want to open himself to a kick to the ribs, head, or anywhere else.

He threw a few punches back, before sending a series of kicks, working his way up the body as fast as he could, before pulling back safely.

Harry was quite content to win this on points, so he took his time, made sure to block, and threw as many punches as he could at Damon’s ribs, mixing up the combinations, throwing in kicks at irregular intervals.

The end of the round surprised him, he’d been having fun. He bounced over to his corner and sat on the stool.

Lisa removed his mouth guard and squirted some water into his mouth. “You’re doing great,” Ben said. “You’re up on points already. Keep it going.”

“That’s the plan,” Harry agreed, as he spat the water out into a bucket. “I’m in no hurry.”

The bell rung, and he moved back into the centre of the ring. This time, he let Damon come to him, and practised his counter-attacking and defence.

At the next break, Ben looked at him. “You’re going to win in the next round.”

“I am?” Harry asked in surprise.

“Yeah, you were treating the last round as a practice session. It was driving him nuts that you could practically ignore him, and score points at will.”

“Oh,” Harry said slowly, and shrugged.

Ben was right, Damon came firmly on the offensive, and pushed him back. He had to defend as hard as he could, with hardly a chance to counter.

He didn’t consciously see the hole in Damon’s defence, but his sub-conscious did. He rammed his knee into Damon’s side, avoiding the padding, and then as Damon’s eyes flickered in pain, he attacked again. Two jabs were followed by a hook straight into the same spot. He felt something crack, and stepped back.

Damon dropped to one knee, holding his hand up.

“Cracked rib,” Harry said he spat out his mouth guard into his hand.

“Broken,” Damon muttered. “Fuck, you punch hard.”

The Ref turned and raised Harry’s hand, to the cheers that he heard for the first time. He looked up at his crowd, and smiled and waved. They seemed to be having a great time. He could see plenty of drinks and snacks all around, and people were sitting in groups.

“They all for you?” Damon asked.

“Friends and family,” Harry replied. “It’s the first time most of them have seen anything like this.”

Damon nodded. “And this is your first competition?”

“Yeah, didn’t even know I was fighting until Ben sprung it on me this morning.”

“Fuck me,” Damon muttered as they walked to his corner. “All this without training?”

Harry shook his head. “I trained for around five or six hours a day for a couple of years, and now have it down to about an hour of fitness a day and an hour of fighting.”

“Why?” Damon asked.

Harry shrugged. “I had an attempt at my life, and had to hire bodyguards. I hated being helpless, so when Ben offered me the chance of learning to fight, I took it. I go to school with Lisa.”

Damon nodded. “Ben’s the best,” he said. “You had a great teacher.”

“Lisa taught me all the basics, Ben came along afterward, kicked my arse, and then taught me the rest.”

“I’d laugh, but I think I need to go to nurse. Nice meeting you, Harry. I’ll look forward to a rematch.”

“Definitely,” Harry agreed. He turned and grabbed the top rope, using as a spring to vault forward over the ropes. He span in mid air and landed on his feet.

“Wooo,” the cheer came mainly from his female section.

“Shit,” one of the nearby competitors muttered. “Look at the babes in the crowd. The blonde and the brunette especially.”

“The blonde’s dating and the brunette’s mine,” Harry said casually.

The competitor turned aggressively, then saw Harry and Ben, and backed away.

“Stuart, he’s a creep,” Lisa muttered. “He hit on me last year.”

“And he’s your next fight,” Ben said. “And you are going to win inside eleven seconds.”

Harry blinked.

Ben smirked. “I’ll tell you later.”

Ben and Lisa both won their next fights, Lisa had some trouble with a girl who made Millicent Bulstrode look small, but her speed and power eventually got through.

Ben fought a monster, the guy was close to seven foot tall, and had a huge bushy beard. The fight went down to the wire, but a late flurry from Ben meant he went through on points.

Afterward, the man gave Ben a huge bear hug, before wandering off.

Harry realised he was having one of the best days of his life. No one here cared that he was the Boy Who Lived, that he was rich and famous in his world. All they cared about was how good a fighter he was, and that was something he earned on his own – not even inheriting it from his dad – like his Quidditch skills.

This was his and his alone.

He did his jump and somersault into the ring, and bounced into the centre for the now standard instructions.

He moved back to his corner, and listened as Ben whispered something urgently.

With a nod, he waited for the bell, and then launched himself forward. About four feet from Stuart, he jumped, scissored his legs, and rammed his right foot straight into Stuart’s chin. Stuart didn’t have time to do anything, before he was thrown back into his corner, his legs akimbo and his arms wide.

The roar from his friends was the biggest yet. He turned, to see them on their feet, jumping up and down and cheering. He waved at them, and walked over to Ben and Lisa, spitting out his mouth guard.

“Told you,” Ben said with a smirk. “You’ve started slowly the last two matches, so he thought that was your style.”

“Do I have a style?” Harry asked.

“Not yet,” Ben smirked. “You won’t be able to do that again.”

“But you did it to the nicest person,” Lisa said happily.

“We’ve got an hour now; let’s go have something light to eat with the others.”

Harry took off his gear, and pulled on a pair of tracksuit bottoms. He signalled to the others that they were coming up, and they exited the ring.

As he climbed the stairs toward the stand, Gabrielle threw herself off the top step, and must have travelled ten feet across and down before he caught her. She was vibrating with excitement.

“That was brilliant,” she cheered. “Amazing, fantastic.”

“And not bad,” Michael’s voice said.

“Michael, Marie, what are you doing here?” Harry asked.

“We got an excited message from Fleur,” Marie said, “and it sounded like fun. You were all doing really well.”

“Did you see the bruiser Ben was fighting?” Harry demanded. “Man, he would have squished me!”

Ben, Marie and Michael looked bemused as Lisa burst into laughter and Gabrielle cheered before giggling hysterically.

“In joke,” Harry explained. “I’m doing all right, but these two are the real champions,” he continued. “I’ve got beginners luck on my side; they’re winning the old fashioned way.”

“Don’t put yourself down, boss,” Lisa said, as they moved back up stairs.

They were met with another cheer, as all three of them were hugged, patted, and kissed on the cheek. Well, apart from Kate, who went for the lips.

Sirius looked at Gabrielle. “If you don’t mind?”

Gabrielle smiled and held her arms out to Christophe, who took her. Sirius bounded forward and heaved Harry high into the air. “Sweet Merlin, kiddo,” he exclaimed. “I’m so proud of you I could burst! That last kick, no one here actually saw it. It was like magic, only no magic we could do!”

“Sirius is right,” Fred and George said.

“Erm, not to put a dampener on things,” Harry said, as he looked around. “But well, aren’t most of you afraid of Sirius?”

“Not when Fred and George vouched for him and Melissa explained how she is going to clear his name next week.” Adrienne said. “And Professor Dumbledore backed it up as well.”

Harry nodded at the Headmaster, who was smiling and hanging around at the back.

“There were a few palpitations before that,” Katie admitted. “And screw Quidditch. That looks like the sport for me. Imagine fighting Malfoy, I could legally kick his arse,” she said dreamily.

“You want to learn?” Harry asked.

“I think most of us do,” George announced. “I mean, apart from getting into your shape.”

“Sounds fun,” Michael purred, interrupting George.

“Later, sweetie,” Harry purred back.

“Tease.”

“Not if I follow through,” Harry retorted.

“Harry,” Cedric called. “You do know that you’re flirting with a guy, right?”

“Not just a guy,” Harry returned, “an amazing guy.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Michael said.

“How about in to your bed?”

Michael stumbled for a moment.

“And the winner,” Gabrielle cheered. “Harry James Potter.”

Everyone burst out into laughter as Michael pouted, then grinned as Marie nudged him.

“So,” Harry said, “are we all blending in?”

“Hermione is scary,” Fleur announced. “We’ve all been told what to do, and follow her lead. It’s been fun.”

Hermione smiled modestly.

“Right, then let’s hit the cafeteria,” Harry said.

“The grub’s pretty good at these competitions,” Lisa said.

“Great,” Smasher said. “That popcorn’s good, but I need real food. How else am I going to ensure that Gabrielle continues to get the best seats?”

“An important job,” Harry agreed, as they all headed to the far side of the stand. The noise level was high, as he walked between Kate and Fleur. The others were a few steps behind them. He was detecting some animosity between them, and wasn’t sure why.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Stuart jumped out, a sneer on his face. “I don’t know what you’re playing at,” he spat. “But you won’t get away with it, you cheat.”

Harry rolled his eyes, but before he could respond, Fleur and Kate stalked forward, each with an identical prowl, and he realised he was about to see something special. He grabbed his hidden necklace and sent a message to the others telling them to hang back.

Fleur and Kate circled Stuart slowly. Fleur was faintly using her Veela power, while Kate was using all of her experience.

Each of their steps blended into next one, and without doing anything, they screamed passion and eroticism.

“Cheat?” Kate asked, her accent a little deeper than normal. “He has no need to cheat,” she finished, as she trailed a nail over Stuart’s chest.

“He is ‘onourable,” Fleur purred, her head and shoulders going back, while her eyes were deep and mysterious. “He simply walked through your feeble defences.”

“And you walked into it,” Kate finished. She stood in front of him, artfully posed in a way that drew the eyes to her figure, and didn’t let go.

Stuart was sweating hard, panting, as he stood, completely entranced.

“Run away, leetle boy,” Fleur ordered, her voice going harsh.

“Or stay,” Kate invited, her voice as cold as liquid helium. “And we’ll tell you what we see, those secrets you think no one can see, like how you spend your nights, dreaming of things you can’t possibly understand.”

“Go,” Fleur finished, her voice sharp as a knife.

Stuart suddenly turned and ran, sprinting as fast as he could.

Fleur and Kate looked at each other for a long moment, before they both turned to Harry.

“What ever problem you have with each other, leave me out of it,” he said firmly. He knew better than to make any statements to just one of them. “And thank you. It was a privilege to watch two beautiful woman use different techniques to do the same thing.”

They both smiled at him, and the tension lifted, and the others flooded down.

“Kate,” Lisa said, bouncing up to her. “Can you teach me to do that?”

Kate laughed softly. “Fleur might be a better teacher,” she admitted.

“Oh no,” Fleur replied. “Kate doesn’t even have Veela power to back her up.”

“And you can see where Harry got some of his charm from,” Michael agreed. “Impressive, both of you.”

“Don’t worry,” Harry said, as he jumped forward, turned, curled his legs, and smacked into Michael’s chest, with one arm going around his neck. “I still love you most.”

“Git,” Michael said, as he dropped him.

“Apart from you,” Harry finished, as he swung Gabrielle high into the air. “Now let’s eat,” he said, putting her down, and waltzing her onward.

Gabrielle laughed, her head going back as she looked up, trusting him to lead her completely.

They arrived at the doors, and Fred and George opened the double doors dramatically, allowing them to dance in.

Harry counted heads, and walked to the front, where the till was installed. “This lot are all with me,” he said. “Total it up and I’ll pay for the lot.”

“Harry, we are quite capable of paying for ourselves,” Hermione said, stamping her foot.

“In fact,” Viktor said, “this one’s on me. No arguing or I’ll sic Hermione on you!”

“No,” Harry cried, dropping to his knees and hiding behind Gabrielle. “Not that, anything but that!”

“Quiet, you,” Hermione ordered. “Yes, we’re paying. Now, everyone grab a tray and load up.”

There was a rush toward the start of the queue. “You sure about this, Vik?”

Viktor smiled. “You have any idea about how much I get paid?”

Harry shook his head.

“Yes, I’m sure. And dating Hermione, well, let’s just say that I’ve learnt a lot about Muggle culture.”

Harry nodded and smiled.

“Come on, let’s fill up,” He said to Gabrielle. “Thanks, Vik.”

Viktor smiled broadly. Harry grabbed two of everything he got so that Gabrielle had food, before they joined, Kate, Sirius, Hermione, Fleur, Christophe and Melissa at a table. Viktor turned up a few minutes later, a happy look on his face.

“Not bad,” he said to Hermione, passing her the receipt. Hermione looked and smiled, then gave him a quick kiss.

“So,” Harry said, as he started to eat. “Fancy transferring to a French team next year?”

“Way ahead of you,” Viktor smirked.

Harry laughed. “I’m glad you’re here, Kate.”

“Nice earring,” Kate said approvingly.

“Fleur chose it.”

“She has taste,” Kate admitted. “I didn’t expect you to take my dance lessons and do that with them.” She grinned. “The first time we danced, Harry kept his hands about a foot from my body.”

“Hey,” Harry protested, before he smirked. “It was closer to two.”

Gabrielle patted him consolingly, and then went back to devouring her food.

“I have to say it, Harry, as the only one here who knew your parents. Your mum would be a mess about now. Pride, fear, anger, protectiveness, they’d all be warring. Jimbo would be competing with me to see who could cheer louder.”

Harry smiled at him. “The competition will be harder this afternoon; we’re into the quarter finals now. I’ve lost the element of surprise.”

“You’ll do great,” Melissa predicted. “We didn’t expect you to get this far.”

“I’m happy,” Harry said. “It’s been fun. Each fight has been different. And I’ve only really been clocked in the first fight.”

Gabrielle paused in her eating, and turned so that she could run her hands over his face. “Bruising,” she announced.

“Thanks.”

She beamed at him and went back to the more important issue of food.

Harry wasn’t that hungry, he was however, thirsty, and he made sure he drunk plenty.

Melissa and Kate got into a conversation, as did Fleur and Hermione. All around him people chatted and laughed, and he just drunk it in, enjoying the atmosphere.

Gabrielle moved onto his lap, and he cuddled her close.

He had no idea how much time has passed, when Lisa tapped him on the shoulder. “We need to go and start to get ready,” she said.

Harry passed Gabrielle to Hermione and stood. He winked, “I’ll be back to join you shortly when I loose, and we can cheer the experts.”

“Right,” Lisa muttered.

Half an hour later, Harry found himself in a real fight. The guy he was fighting was as good as he was. Kicks and punches were being exchanged rapidly, and he’d taken several to the face and head, that had his face feeling like it had been tenderised.

He’s got a few shots of his own in, and was determined to only loose if he was knocked out.

In the last round, his opponent had his guard in the wrong place for a fraction of a second, and Harry summoned up his last resources and kicked straight up, following it up with a couple of knees to the side, then a vicious punch to the ribs, and finished with a knee-kick combination that sent his opponent to the floor. The other guy got up quick, and the round ended with a flurry of action from both sides.

When the bell rung, they looked at each other, and hugged. “Who won?” Harry asked.

“No idea,” The other guy said.

The ref took them into the middle of the ring, while the judges conferred. After an interminable amount of time, the ref suddenly raised Harry’s hand.

A huge cheer went up from his cheerleading section, and he sunk to his knees, exhausted.

“You better fucking get to the final,” his opponent muttered. “Good fight.”

“Hardest I’ve ever had,” Harry agreed. “I got lucky.”

“You make your own luck.”

Harry turned, and climbed through the ropes, too tired to vault them. He almost collapsed as Ben and Lisa caught him.

“That was a bruiser,” Lisa announced. “Your face looks like shit.”

“Thanks,” Harry muttered. He took a deep breath. “Half an hour, and I’ll be fine.”

“You’ve got an hour,” Ben said, as he laid him down. “Have a nap.”

Harry was out before the words were finished.

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 9

When he woke up, he was feeling better. His energy levels were about seventy five per cent, and that should be enough.

Ben and Lisa had both continued their progress to the semi-finals as well.

As he looked up, his crowd seemed to have grown. Harry noticed that everyone was still grouped into their normal social groups.

“Muggles,” Ben explained in amusement. He had a black eye. “They wanted to join the party. Our lot are having such a good time.”

Harry smiled. “Time to go entertain them again.”

“Harry,” Lisa said seriously. “The last guy was a lot better than this one was. Try and end it quickly, save your energy for the final.”

Harry nodded and did his now normal entrance. The roar of approval was louder.

He felt confident this time, confident in his own abilities. He was happy to take the fight to the other guy.

He won in round three, a straight knock out from a flying knee to the sternum.

He acknowledged the crowd, and then vaulted back to Ben and Lisa.

“Lisa’s final is first, then yours, then mine,” Ben said cheerfully. “It doesn’t matter how we do, the fact that we are in all three finals is brilliant.”

“How are you feeling, Leece?” Harry asked.

Lisa smiled warmly at him. “Pretty damn good, boss. Slightly sore right shoulder, but that’s it.”

Harry reached out and pulled her t-shirt off. He knew that she fought in a sports bra. “Hold your bra up,” he ordered, as he slid one of the straps down and gently touched her shoulder.

She winced slightly under his touch.

He frowned, and pulled back slightly. He clapped his hands, then rubbed them together hard until he could feel his hands get hot, and he gently placed them back on Lisa’s shoulder, and started to massage.

“Ooohhh,” Lisa moaned softly.

Harry spent more time concentrating on not accidentally using magic than on what he was doing.

“That’s good,” Lisa said after a few minutes.

“No magic,” Harry whispered. “Muggle massage techniques.”

Lisa slid the strap of her bra back up, and then did a few stretches, followed by a couple of jabs.

“I am so going to kick that bitch’s arse,” she vowed, as they were called to the only remaining ring left.

“Damn right,” Harry agreed. “Lisa, do my entrance.”

She looked at him in surprise.

“It will get the crowd going, and I’ll be doing it as well.”

Lisa took a deep breath and nodded. She put her mouth guard in and waited. As she was called forward, and while the crowd cheered, she jumped onto the ring, grabbed the top rope, and used it to swing on to the corner, before doing the backflip with twist.

The roar, centred on all their friends, was huge.

Lisa danced in the centre, looking eagerly at her opponent, a small oriental girl, who moved like greased lightning.

The fight was far more technical than previous ones; opportunities for direct hits were scant, with each girl being able to react with no delay.

As the fight went on, Harry knew Lisa was going to win. The other girl was getting frustrated that her speed wasn’t working, while Lisa was sticking to the plan.

The fifth round it entered, a small mistake was all Lisa needed, and a cross-right had the other girl unconscious.

Harry vaulted into the ring and lifted Lisa high into the air, screaming. Lisa had both her gloved-fists raised to the crowd. Their friends were on their feet, screaming just as much, and the noise was almost deafening.

Ben took Lisa from him, and gave her a huge hug, and Harry could feel the pride the father had for his daughter.

They cleared the ring, and stood around for ten minutes, waiting for Harry’s fight to start. Ben and Lisa told them everything they knew about Luke, Harry’s opponent in the final.

The guy was fast, clean, and had deadly accuracy.

Harry looked at the crowd, and made eye contact with Kate. “Relax,” she mouthed.

“Wake me up thirty seconds before they call me,” he ordered, and sat down in a lotus pose.

He took a deep breath, exhaled, and sunk into a meditative state as fast as he could.

“Harry, Harry, Harry?”

Harry slowly opened his eyes and smiled. He didn’t acknowledge Ben or Lisa as he moved through the crowd to the ring. He jumped up to the corner, and did his backflip.

He smiled as he landed. Luke looked like he was a distant cousin to the Malfoy family. He pulled the memory of murdering Snape to the front of his mind, and looked at the boy.

Luke’s eyes went wide.

Harry locked the memory back in its place, and waited for the fight to start.

Luke landed the first punches, a straight jab caught him in the centre of the chest; Harry smiled in response, and launched a flurry of punches, finishing with a series of kicks that worked their way up Luke’s body.

The last move of the round was a swinging right kick, that as the bell rung, he turned into a dance move, and twirled on the spot twice, before he bounced into a forward flip, landing on his hands, and pushing off.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ben demanded.

“I can’t beat him normally,” Harry said, “but he doesn’t know that. I’m playing games with him.”

Unfortunately for Harry, a series of punches in the next round had the confidence flooding back in to Luke. Harry tried his best to knock that confidence back, but they were too close in skill for that to work.

As the fight continued, Harry realised he had two choices. The first was to do something really stupid, and maybe win. The other was to admit that he was going to lose on points – which would be honourable.

He glanced at the crowd, at his friends cheering him on, at Kate, at Sirius, at Gabrielle, at Melissa, at Hermione, at Christophe, even at Dumbledore.

Stupid it was!

In the next round, he started to feign tiredness, making his punches sloppier, raising his guard slower.

Luke upped the tempo, and Harry started to defend desperately.

Harry dropped his left hand slightly, and Luke attacked, throwing everything into a straight right.

Harry dipped his head slightly, taking the punch just above his eye. His head was knocked back hard, but his back leg was already braced, and he lowered his knee, and then launched forward with a double-punch that caught Luke straight on the chest.

Luke, his balance moving forward, caught the full force, and for a second, his hands went out, as he tried to regain his balance.

It was all the invitation Harry needed. As with his first punch of the tournament, he put everything he could into it, and prayed that it hit. It did, right on the chin. Luke’s head was thrown back violently and the jaw was forced back and upward, toward the brain. The sudden and sharp burst of movement, forced Luke’s brain to move, effectively shutting it down for a few seconds.

Harry felt his legs go as the effect of Luke’s punch kicked in with a vengeance, but before he hit the floor, Ben and Lisa had him lifted straight into the air.

“You are fucking nuts,” Ben roared.

“Great fight, boss,” Lisa added.

Harry could see his friends on their feet, jumping up and down, and hugging everyone within reach.

Lisa was almost pushed out the way, as Luke stumbled over, and hugged Harry hard.

Harry clung on to him.

“It was a trap, wasn’t it?” Luke demanded.

“Yeah,” Harry said, still feeling groggy. “You were kicking my arse.”

Luke groaned, and hugged him again. “You have balls of steel.”

“And a head full of pain, now,” Harry agreed.

Luke laughed. “You moving up to the Adult division next year?”

“Yeah, he is,” Ben said.

“I’ll see you then for my rematch. Good luck in China.”

Harry clapped him on the back, and decided that the guy clearly had no relationship with the Malfoy family, although he did wonder what a tea-service had to do with anything.

“I need to sit down,” Harry muttered.

“You’re going to have a right shiner until we get you to the nurse,” Lisa said.

“I’m keeping it,” Harry mumbled. “I earned this.”

“Okay,” Lisa agreed, and helped her father sit him down.

After five minutes, his headache lessened enough that he could function again. He took a deep breath, and looked at Ben.

“We’ve done our part; it’s time for you to do yours.”

Ben nodded.

“Don’t forget the entrance. Your guy has already seen Lisa kick arse, me win with a suicidal move, and will know that you trained us. He’s going to doubt himself already.

“You know you’re the best, we know you’re the best, they,” he added, pointing to the crowd, “don’t know it yet, but they will. Now, get in there, kick his arse, so we can all go out and celebrate all evening!”

Ben nodded again, his expression focused. “Get in there,” Harry roared.

Ben ran to the ring, and did the now standard entrance, before fixing his opponent with a glare.

This fight didn’t last long. Ben was all over him, attacking fast and furiously. Watching him, Harry realised how much he was going to have to practice if he was going to get into the adult matches successfully.

The sheer pace and angles used were awesome, and he tried to remember so that he could use them himself next time.

Four straight knees to the chest, followed by a down-swinging punch to the face finished the fight with a knock-out.

Harry and Lisa jumped into the ring, to lift Ben upwards, to the cheers and shouts from the crowd.

As they let him down, Ben hugged them both, and Harry could feel the pride this time.

“Great fight,” Harry told Ben. “There is so much that I still have to learn.”

“I’ve had more years practice,” Ben said, a huge smile on his face. “We’ll get you there. Both of you.”

They climbed out of the ring, and waited while a small platform was built. An official came over to them, offered her congratulations, and led them to one side where they would wait for their medals.

An announcer introduced himself, welcomed everyone to the ceremony, and then started with the junior female division. After announcing the two runners-up, he took a deep breath.

“And, our winner, from the Turpin stables in Middlesex, our new National Champion, Lisa ‘The Rocket’ Turpin!”

There was a huge roar, as Lisa bounced out excitedly, waving to the crowd.

“National Champion?” Harry asked Ben slowly. “I thought this was a small event!”

Ben smirked. “And you would have frozen if I’d told you the truth.”

Another thought came to Harry. “Luke said something about China?”

Ben nodded. “That’s where we’re going this summer. We’ve qualified to represent England.”

“Fuck,” Harry muttered.

“Pay attention,” Ben ordered.

“And, our winner, hailing from Surrey, trained by the legendary Ben Turpin, and first-timer in any competition, Harry ‘The Hitman’ Potter!”

Harry stumbled out as Ben pushed him hard, and then blinked as a wall of sound hit him. He slowly smiled. This was better than Quidditch. In Quidditch he had a team around him to help him out, to rely on. In the ring, it was just him and his opponent. He stood and failed on his skills, and this time he’d won.

He walked over to the dais, and as he bent, he had a gold medal put around his neck, before he was handed a tall silver trophy.

He raised the trophy to the sky, and saluted his friends. They shouted and screamed their approval. Harry could even see Dumbledore caught up in the emotion, as he clapped as hard as he could.

Harry hugged Luke and the guy who had come third, and then moved to the side so he could cheer for Ben.

They had to wait for the senior ladies winner first – who smiled ruefully as she got a good cheer, but not of the same volume that Harry and Lisa had received.

Finally, Ben ‘The Assassin’ Turpin was summoned. He got the third biggest roar of the evening, behind Harry and Lisa, and he saluted the crowds, before raising the main trophy.

After posing for a few photographs, together, and alone for KickBoxing Magazine, they were finally allowed to shower, get changed, and meet up with the others.

They had been patiently waiting for thirty minutes by the Competitor’s Exit.

They surged forward, as the three walked into sight, Gabrielle, as always, far in front of the rest, as she dived at Harry.

They were soon surrounded and hugged, kissed, patted, and generally congratulated.

Harry, managing to free one hand, put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.

Everyone turned to face him, going quiet.

“Right, listen up,” He said loudly. “We’ve got a coach out front taking us into London, where I’ve booked us a private room at a restaurant; we’ll then go to a nightclub.” He paused. “There is some champagne coming, but no one gets drunk tonight, we’ve all been hitting the parties a bit hard recently. Now, let’s get out the front, as it’s a ninety minute drive.”

Harry strolled off, Kate and Fleur fell into step, closely followed by Sirius, Albus, Michael and Marie. The others trailed along.

The coach was huge, and was a revelation for most of the Wizards and Witches. There was a large TV at the front, and smaller ones in the back of every headrest. Music flowed around, as people took seats, sitting in their groups.

Harry nodded to Dumbledore, Sirius, Michael, Marie and Kate, getting all the adults together. “I think we need some charms,” he said softly. “An expanding charm on the inside, and illusion charm on the driver, and something to make sure we all get there safe.”

“I’ll take care of the driver,” Kate offered.

“I’ll do the safety,” Sirius said.

“And I’ll enlarge the carriage,” Albus said.

“That leaves us with keeping the sound inside, and some wards for our protection,” Michael finished with a look at Marie.

“Harry,” Marie said, “I’m afraid I couldn’t resist taking some pictures of you. Do you mind if I publish them?”

“If it’s only about the kick boxing, then no. I’m proud of this.”

Marie nodded and hugged him, before taking Gabrielle from him.

As soon as Kate stared talking to the driver, the others started to move. The interior of the coach quadrupled in size, and Harry could feel more spells being cast outside.

“Okay people,” he shouted. “The driver’s seeing us sitting like good citizens, so let the party start!”

Fred and George appeared with a pop, steadied themselves, then started handing out bottles of butter beer.

Harry took one and moved over to Michael and Marie. Gabrielle had already fled her mother, and was sitting with Hermione and Viktor.

“I wanted to say thanks,” Harry said. “For the pressure you helped put on the Ministry when I was arrested.”

“It was our pleasure,” Marie said firmly. “The French press had a field day, there are rumours in the press circles that you are coming to France next year, and everyone wants to keep on your good side. And as the facts came out, well, our government used the opportunity to score a few points against the English.”

“And as for the Veela Royalty, well, I’m afraid their support came at a price.”

“Oh?” Harry asked slowly.

“Yup, you’re invited to Court later this year, as a special guest.”

Harry slowly smiled. “Okay.”

“Now, Harry,” Michael continued, “It’s important that you knock them dead.”

“I’ll see if I can drag Kate along,” Harry promised.

“If it helps, you’ve both changed in the past few weeks,” Michael said slowly. “You’ve lost some innocence, and maybe, she’s gained some.” The male Veela shook himself.

“Moving on swiftly,” Harry said. “How do I handle the fact that Gabrielle wants to climb into bed with me?”

Marie laughed softly. “And this is one Michael can definitely answer.”

Michael shot her a half-exasperated look. “Thank you, dear,” he said in a dry tone. He pulled out his wand and elegantly cast a privacy spell.

“I need to learn how to cast like that,” Harry said slowly. “It’s impressive.”

Michael grinned as he put his wand away. He took a slow drink of butterbeer, and fixed Harry with a look.

“What she wants is intimacy. There is something extremely intimate about being in the same bed as another person, and that’s what she desires. For her there is a line between intimacy and anything else. She feels that she can be in bed with you, and not be hit with you wanting her sexually.

“There’s a fair chance that if she found you in bed with another female, she’d still do it. Perhaps more so, as she’d know that the target of any remaining sexual desires would be the other girl.”

Harry sighed and nodded. “It’s not wise for her to climb into bed with anyone, well, apart from you, obviously.”

“Welcome to the world of having a female Veela daughter,” Michael said. “You have no idea how hard it is for us. When you are in the position we are, you hear all the excuses from different species – and even our own – for taking advantages of our girls.

“I’ve heard them all. The favourite is, ‘They are Veela; they mature faster’. Which is absolute shit. Yes, their bodies do mature faster; it doesn’t mean that their minds do. The Veela age of consent is sixteen, the same as the Muggle world, for a reason. Children are not capable of making that sort of decision until they have the maturity to understand the consequences of their actions.

“I’ve heard ridiculous things about how sleeping with an underage Veela is acceptable because of some form of ‘mating’. As if somehow a sentient species could evolve where they could be kept as slaves!

“And of course, there’s the ever popular, ‘She enthralled me into raping her.’ I can’t even begin to explain what’s wrong with that statement!”

Michael took a deep breath and made a visible attempt to calm down. “As I’ve said, when Gabrielle asked to come to Hogwarts, I might have gone a little over the top on the threats to Olympe and Fleur, which was why Gabrielle was locked inside the Carriage.

“When I heard about you, I had you investigated from top to bottom, and if I had found anything, I would have had Gabrielle out of there instantly.

“Fortunately, you were fine, better than we could have hoped for, in fact. So I was able to go back to my normal state of trying to work out how to let Gabrielle grow up without turning her into a brat, and at the same being terrified that someone might misunderstand her, or worse, that someone will try one of the excuses out after they have abused her.”

Harry felt a coldness settle through his heart as he thought about what Michael had said. “Gabrielle’s earrings are now charmed. If she is ever in danger, I will know. And if she is in trouble, I will break my promise to Kate.”

Michael was pale as he looked at Harry. “You’re so cold,” he whispered. “That is where your innocence went. What happened?”

“I made a decision, and stood by it.”

“Snape,” Marie gasped. “It was him, wasn’t it?”

Harry looked at her. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Michael slowly grinned. “You’re lying,” he crooned. “But we’ll move on.”

“Yes,” Marie agreed with a cold smile on her face.

“So, yes, if Gabrielle climbs into bed, kick her out if you’re tired, but if you don’t care, let her get what she wants.”

“Okay,” Harry said with a smile. He looked at Marie, “save me a dance later?”

“Of course. And congratulations on your win.”

Harry grinned at her. “Thanks,” he looked at Michael. “See you later, sweetie,” he purred, and moved away.

His next target was Hermione, she was with Viktor, and he dropped in opposite them. “Having fun?”

“Yes,” Hermione said primly. She sighed. “Let me heal that awful bruise.”

“No,” Harry said, “I earned this, I’m keeping it.” He grinned at her, “partly to remind me not to do anything so stupid in the future.”

Hermione grumbled under her breath, before she looked at Harry. “So you did that on purpose?”

“Yeah, I was losing, and I figured I could either lose on points, or gamble on a stupid idea. I looked at you lot, and figured I’d rather go down in a blaze of glory. So I let him hit me, and then went for it.”

“And it was brilliant,” Viktor added reverently. “Lisa and Ben were always going to win, but we couldn’t tell with you. You have to play Quidditch professionally, Harry – I need someone else on the league who understands that.” He smirked, and lightly poked Hermione’s arm, “and don’t think I don’t remember how you reacted.”

“Yes, well,” Hermione said huffily, although her eyes were dancing with mirth.

“I’m not sure about Quidditch,” Harry admitted. “Everyone says that I got my talent from my dad. In kick boxing, it’s just me, and I like it.” He looked at Viktor. “It’s like a Quidditch match with only the Seekers. It’s your skill and training against his.”

“I understand,” Viktor said, nodding slowly. “However, Hermione would kill me if I switched sport.”

“Damn right,” Hermione said with a grin. “I’m going to spend some of the summer with him.”

“Cool,” Harry said cheerfully. “I think I’m going to China for the World Championships.”

“We’ll be there,” Viktor said, “There’s no international tournament this summer.”

Harry leaned over and hugged Hermione – who hugged him back tightly. “I was petrified,” she whispered, “but you were brilliant.”

The next stop on Harry’s bus tour was Fred and George, who were with the other Gryffindors.

“Have fun?” Harry asked.

“Brilliant day,” Katie said. “Really.”

“Okay, you guys are friends, you see each over all the time, when we finish this conversation, I want you scattered.”

They all looked a little abashed and nodded. “It’s habit,” Alicia said.

“Drop it, cliques are always bad.”

“And if we don’t,” Fred said, “we now know that Harry can really kick our arses.”

Harry laughed, and chatted for a few more minutes, before moving on. Christophe, Adrienne, Melissa and Gunther were all together, and he slid in next to Melissa.

“I’ve just told the some of the others off for not mingling; do I need to have the same conversation with you?”

Melissa politely stuck her middle finger up at him. “We’ll circulate,” she promised. “Kate’s nice.”

“Yeah,” he agreed with a smile.

“And Sirius is a hoot,” Adrienne added. “He spent all the time he wasn’t watching you watching the Ladies fight.”

Harry smirked, “Really? That’s interesting.”

“And that,” Christophe said, “is his evil smile.”

“I practice,” Harry said modestly.

“I sent Jeannie a letter half an hour ago,” he continued, “along with some pictures of you. I want her to take them to school.”

“Why?” Harry asked with a frown.

“So that the next boy who thinks about asking her out realises just who her big brother is friends with.”

Harry laughed, he could appreciate the protectiveness.

“So how was your day out as Muggles?”

“Surprisingly logical,” Melissa said. “It actually threw into contrast just how bad we are at organising some things.”

“Yeah,” Adrienne agreed. “And it was fun, your bodyguards, when they weren’t cheering you on, made sure that everyone was safe. There was the odd Muggle who tried to get a bit friendly, but they soon backed away.”

“Apart from one,” Gunther interrupted. “He threatened Smasher with his kick boxing skills. Crusher, Nasher and Thrasher seemed to materialise, and invited him to go ahead, while they subtly displayed a number of the weapons they carry.”

Melissa laughed. “He went a walking soon afterward.”

“I’m glad you had a good time,” Harry said. “Now, go circulate. I’ve got to continue my own.” He slid away, and went around the coach. He complemented Fleur, and received a hug from Cho, before he caught up with Sirius.

“So, female kick boxers, eh?”

Sirius pouted at him. “Great day out,” he said, ignoring the question. “No one recognises a smart Sirius Black.”

“And to be fair, no one expects a wanted criminal to be in a crowd at an arena.”

“I know you told me you’d been learning this stuff, but Merlin, Harry, you should have seen yourself. They had one of those big tv things, and when you got in the ring for the final, the look you gave him told him you weren’t going to lose!”

Harry laughed softly. “I was out of my depth slightly. But Ben and Lisa have been fantastic teachers.”

“And you pushed yourself when you were using the Dilator.”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, helped me keep sane when I got through the pesky parts of being a teenager.”

“Those years are supposed to be the best of your life,” Sirius pointed out gently. “Growing up is supposed to be fun.”

“Have you seen Kate?” He demanded.

“And heard about the other girl,” Sirius replied. “I’m so jealous I can’t speak straight. So, yeah, it has worked out for you. And don’t side-track me, I’m trying to be responsible here! Sacrificing your childhood isn’t a good thing.”

“My childhood was like sucking monkey-balls,” Harry said, using speech he knew that Sirius would appreciate. “My young adulthood has included a kick boxing competition, Kate, a massive food fight, and being arrested.”

Sirius laughed. “Tell me, how do you know what sucking monkey-balls is like?”

“Guess work. You’re the only one I know who likes to lick his own balls.”

“Touché,” Sirius smirked. “Kate’s been talking to Albus for fifteen minutes now. You might wanna go save her.”

Harry stood and winked at Sirius.

“Harry?” Sirius said. “If it means anything, I approve.”

Harry nodded. He slid down the coach, pleased to see that new groups had formed, and people were having a good time.

He slid into the chair next to Kate, who was opposite Dumbledore. “Nice suit,” he said cheerfully. “If you’ll excuse me for one second.” He didn’t wait for Dumbledore, as he reached up to cup the side of Kate’s face. He brushed one thumb gently over her lips, before he leaned in and softly kissed her. “Thanks,” he whispered.

“What for?” she asked, her eyes dancing in amusement.

“For being you.”

“Very good,” she praised. “Top marks.”

“Have I earned another kiss?” he asked roguishly.

“Maybe,” she replied.

He leaned in and lightly kissed her again. “I’ll take what I can get.” He allowed his fingers to whisper down her cheek, before taking her hand and turning to a highly amused Headmaster.

“I’ll give a hundred points to Gryffindor if you do that to Minerva,” Albus offered.

“Sorry,” Harry replied, “Aurora’s far more to my liking. Professor McGonagall is a little too strict.”

Albus raised his eyebrows. “You got her name?”

“She told me.” He paused, “it had to do with spandex.”

“I’ll have to take your word for that. I hope you don’t mind me tagging along today.”

“I was surprised,” Harry admitted.

“Ben cleared today with me,” Dumbledore explained. “And I decided that I had nothing better to do, so I would watch as well. I only meant to stay for the first fight, but I am glad that I stayed and watched the whole thing.

“I have honestly never seen that many Wizards and Witches in a Muggle place for so long before, without any problems. Of course, Miss Granger and Miss Pastwa were very firm in giving out explanations.”

“I grew up Muggle,” Kate explained. “Before going to the Ladislas Institute of Magic.”

“A fine school,” Albus approved. “I think that our Muggle studies classes would benefit from a similar excursion, and I will speak to Ms Granger about it.”

“Good plan,” Harry agreed.

“As for the fighting,” Albus said. “It was not what I expected.”

“Oh?”

Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled. “Yes, I expected it to be a lot like our duelling competitions. I didn’t expect the respect and sportsmanship that was on show. It was quite remarkable seeing how a few seconds after you were each trying to knock each other out, you were hugging and talking.”

Harry nodded. “It was one of the best things, I think it’s because there isn’t as much testosterone involved after the fight. We’ve both stood up and given it our all, and losing isn’t a slur, it just means we have to work harder. So there is no point in being antagonistic, we can learn from each other.”

“I quite agree,” Albus said. “And lunch was superb.”

“Wait until you see what I have planned,” Harry grinned.

“Where are we going?” Kate asked.

“La Rochelle,” Harry said. “I booked their private room this morning.”

Kate blinked. “You got the private room this morning?”

“Sure, Jonathan and I are friends, he helps me out. I phoned him for advice – woke him up too – and he arranged it all for me.”

“Good work,” Kate said approvingly.

“And Jean-Sebastien is doing something special for us. His sous-chefs will be taking care of the normal guests.”

Kate smiled.

“And Richard is picking us some splendid wine,” Harry finished. “It should be a meal to remember.”

Kate smiled. “You’ve done well.”

Albus raised his hand. “Who are these people?”

Kate turned to Dumbledore. “The maître d’, sommelier, and head chef of one of the best restaurants in the country. Harry took some advice I gave him, and made friends with the most important people there – the people who actually run the restaurant.”

“I brought a vineyard in France recently,” Harry added. “It’s got brilliant terroir, Christophe is going to run it for me, and we’re going to sell the wine exclusively in their restaurant. It means we’ll be able to charge a fortune for each bottle, and have instant global credibility, which means I’ll start to recoup my investment in around three or four years.”

Kate nodded slowly. “Are you planning on living there?”

“No, I’ve already promised it to Christophe and Melissa. I may buy a nearby Villa as a holiday home though.”

“May I ask what you plan to do for the final task?” Albus asked.

Harry smiled. “The Tri-Wizard Tournament will end in a draw, but no one should be disappointed. I’ve found this spell that should do what we need.”

“As much as I expected this Tournament to go one way, I have been impressed with the way you all worked together in the Second Task.”

Harry looked at him for a long moment.

“I apologise,” Albus said. “I did not know until later how badly injured your people were.” He sighed. “Hogwarts doesn’t tell me as much anymore.”

“She’s mad at you. She blames you for allowing Snape in the school.”

“Was he really that bad?”

“You know the answer, but you ignored it.”

Albus nodded slowly. “I think I have ignored a lot,” he admitted.

“Moving on,” Kate said, “That is an impressive bruise, Harry, but we are not going out with you looking like that.”

“But I earned this.”

“Good for you,” Kate said, as she pulled out her wand and healed him. She leaned forward and kissed him. “There, all better. I’ve left a small mark for you, so it will look like you are covering it with make-up.”

Harry just pouted at her playfully.

---

Fred and George sat at the back of the coach, sipping butterbeer, while their girlfriends danced with some of the Durmstrang students in the large aisle between the seats.

“Good day,” Fred said.

“Being able to disturb Padfoot is always fun,” George agreed. “You know what we need to do?”

“Work out how to make Canary Creams taste of black pudding?”

“Yes. But that wasn’t what I was thinking off. We need to work out a way of playing that last fight in the Great Hall. Show everyone that if you try and take Harry on, he will accept what you give him, to a point, then he’ll suck you in, and then he’ll win.”

“Very true,” Fred agreed. “Something like a projector for a Pensieve. It might also shut our idiot younger brother up. He’s been saying that he could take Harry in a fight if it wasn’t for the bodyguards.”

George sniggered. “Let’s make that happen,” he suggested. “What are we going to do about Kate?”

“Nothing at all. We like Kate, we like Harry. This is our time to back out and forget everything. Let them make the mistakes together. Something has changed between them.”

“Something to do with a dot-named-Potter and a dot-named-Snape that faded away after a few minutes of being in the same room?”

“That’s probably it,” Fred agreed softly. “You know, I think that’s why we’re happier taking a back seat, and why we’re following him for real, not for a lark like when we started.”

“Because he’s at the front, leading?”

“Precisely. Now, we have two boys dancing with our girls. What would we use to do?”

“Prank them?”

“Correct. What do we do now instead?”

“We take a leaf from the book of Harry,” George said. “Coming?”

The two walked to the impromptu dance floor, and said, “Do you mind if we cut in?”

The two Durmstrang boys with Alicia and Angelina backed away cheerfully, allowing Fred and George to move in. A second later, the twins were dancing a romantic slow dance with the Durmstrang boys, leaving their girlfriends laughing.

---

By the time the meal had ended, Harry felt that he had opened a lot of people’s eyes to Muggle culture. As he had come to expect, the meal itself had been simply outstanding, and he was trying to work out a way he could get Tilly trained by Jean-Sebastien.

Tilly and Dobby had supplied smart clothes for everyone, so that they weren’t out of place. They had to visit Kate and Ben’s places, but everyone else had decent clothes at Hogwarts.

He slipped out to the front and took care of the bill, making sure to have a chat with Jonathan and Richard.

Kate had told Jonathan about the tournament, and he had to answer several questions, before bashfully admitting that he’d won his division.

Richard had instantly gone for a bottle of champagne, and they had all shared a glass. Harry ignored, as did the others, the looks they were getting from the other diners, who probably hadn’t seen Jonathan be so friendly and open.

“We’re going to walk down,” Harry said.

“Walk?” Jonathan asked, totally horrified. “Nonsense. You will take some taxis. Go back to your friends; I will sort it all out. Go, go.”

Harry allowed himself to be shooed away, back into the private room. He did his whistle again. “We’re leaving shortly,” he said. “Finish up; we’ve got some dancing to do.”

As everyone got their coats, there was an air of excitement that promised a great evening.

Jonathan regally summoned them out, and they trooped through the restaurant, in to a fleet of taxis. The trip through London was fast and efficient, and the taxi driver pulled to a stop directly outside the door, next to a traditional red carpet.

Harry opened the door and stepped out, after the driver said that it was on account. He handed over a tenner tip for each of the cabs with a wink. He tried not to wince at the “Cor, thanks Guv,” cockney response.

He helped Kate, Fleur, Melissa, Michael and Gabrielle out of the cab, allowing it to pull forward for the next cab to appear.

Kate slid into his personal space and undid his tie, sliding it off, and opening his collar.

“Mr Potter,” an energetic thin man bounced out of the club. “Welcome, Jonathan’s told me so much about you, it’s just fabulous to have you here.”

“Thank you, Mr?”

“Oh, I’m Iain.”

“And I’m Harry,” Harry said, holding out his hand.

“We’ve cleared out the VIP section for you.”

Harry smiled and palmed his credit card, he passed it to Iain. “Please see that everything is taken care off.”

“But of course, Mr Potter.”

“It took me a while, but I broke Jonathan of that habit, I can break you as well.”

“Sounds fun,” Iain said with a slight grin.

“Harry,” Harry said firmly.

Iain looked behind them. “All here? Excellent. Follow me. We’ll need to mark the under-age members with this pen, so that the bar staff know not to serve them anything alcoholic.”

“Of course,” Harry said, and called the ones who were obviously underage forward. Iain didn’t question his judgement.

“And you,” Iain said in perfect French, “must be Miss Delacour.”

Gabrielle smiled brightly and performed a perfect curtsey, despite the fact she was wearing a straight skirt and a jumper.

Iain bowed solemnly. “You grace our club with your presence.”

Gabrielle favoured him with a bright smile. “Thank you, kind sir,” she said in incredibly formal French. “Your greeting honours us.”

“Oh my,” Iain said, switching to English, and clutching his chest over his heart. “She is delightful; I’m quite in love with her already. As always, Jonathan is an excellent judge of character. Come, all of you.”

Harry followed them into the loud nightclub; he didn’t have to weave through the crowd, as a couple of bouncers cleared the path before them. They headed toward some stairs, and another bouncer held back a black velvet rope.

After looking at the table, Harry leaned into Iain. “Six bottles of your very best champagne and orange juice for the young ones, then the adults will switch to wine. If any of the older ones wants a drink, get your barmen to check with me first. I will, of course, take care of everyone.”

“Of course, Harry.”

“See,” Harry grinned, “That wasn’t hard, was it?”

Iain laughed. “I do hope you have a delightful evening.”

“We will, my last time here was brilliant.”

Iain bowed and moved off smartly, summoning several waiters with an imperious click of his fingers.

Harry moved over to Kate, and put his hand in his pocket so he could touch his wand, and cast the sound muffling charm he’d used so successfully last time. He slowly moved around the entire group, casting the spell over and over again.

Gabrielle was looking around, absolutely fascinated as the dark lights made different colours glow.

Harry grinned and moved over to one of the waiters. He whispered a request, and the man vanished. He returned a few minutes later with several pots.

“Thanks,” Harry said.

The champagne arrived next, and was poured expertly into glasses. Harry stood up, and looked at all his friends. “To friendship,” he said firmly, “And to Ben and Lisa, for teaching me what they have.”

“To friendship,” everyone said back.

“Now, dance, chat, have fun!”

About half the people headed immediately for the dance floor.

Harry turned and picked up Gabrielle, he dumped her down on the table in front of her parents. They’d chosen to sit with Sirius and Dumbledore, both of whom were looking around as curiously as Gabrielle.

“Arms up,” Harry ordered, as he pulled her jumper up and over her head. Gabrielle moved obediently, she was wearing a dark t-shirt under the jumper.

Harry put his finger in the first pot and drew a circle on her shirt. The fluorescent pink glowed in the dark light.

Gabrielle gasped in delight, and allowed him to paint her. He put two lines under each of her eyes, one in pink, the other in yellow, before he drew a swirl on each of her cheeks.

When he had finished, she dashed to a mirror, made some faces at herself, before squealing and throwing herself at him for a hug. She turned and dashed off, and he watched her move over to Fleur and start dancing with her.

“Harry,” Fred said, “we couldn’t help but notice that young Gabrielle has some interesting paint on her.”

“Quite,” George agreed. “We want some.”

Harry laughed and showed them the pots. “You can do each other.”

Fred and George each picked up a pot, and attacked each other. They stopped, exchanged pots, and continued.

When they finished, they had identical faces, in opposite colours. They almost looked like skulls. They grinned, showing gleaming white teeth, and vanished.

“Want to do me?” Kate purred.

“Yes, repeatedly, in multiple positions, but I think that Sirius, Professor Dumbledore, Michael and Marie would object. And there are indecency laws in the Muggle world.”

Kate laughed, as Michael muttered, “I wouldn’t object.”

Harry sat Kate on the table as well, but unlike with Gabrielle, he slid her jacket off, then ripped her shirt, leaving her stomach clear. He knelt and started to paint her stomach with his fingers, making his movements soft and sensual.

Her skirt was already short enough, so he didn’t have to worry about that, although he did abuse his position to caress her legs.

He looked up and met Kate’s dark eyes. They were twinkling at him, showing how amused she was. He slid up her body slowly, running his fingers in careful patterns, before he put a few small streaks on her face, under her eyes and down her jaw.

“Thank you,” she said calmly, before giving him a soft kiss. She ripped open his shirt, tearing the top four buttons off. “If people still want to be painted in a few minutes, give them the pots and come and dance with me.” She strutted down to the dance floor, freeing her hair, before she started to dance.

She captured the attention of everyone around her with ease, the way her ripped shirt flicked and flickered, and the effects he’d painted on her stomach showed off the way she moved.

There was a cough behind him, and he turned. Michael and Marie had moved in front of the table. “Us next,” Marie said firmly. “For tonight we’re going to forget that we have two children.”

“Good,” Harry said, as he looked at them. As always, Michael was immaculate, in an expensive suit with a white shirt. Marie was wearing a smart skirt and a white shirt. With the light, he could see a camisole underneath it.

He moved over to her first, invading her personal space confidently. He fixed her with his eyes, and smiled softly. Her eyes said she knew exactly what he was doing, and approved.

He slid his hands up her shirt, and then down the buttons, before easing it off her shoulders. He took the paint, and slid down, so that he could paint her stomach as well. He made the pattern different to Kate’s, before he made some marks on her camisole. He finished with some on her face, and stepped back.

Marie turned and looked in the mirror, before she shot a look at her husband. “Don’t take long,” she ordered, “or I might find someone else.”

She slinked down to the dance floor.

“Tonight is going to be brilliant, the last time she had look on her face, Gabrielle was conceived, and I needed a week to recover!” Michael had an excited look on his face.

“Forgotten me already?” Harry teased, as he removed Michael’s jacket, and started to paint his shirt. He undid a few buttons from the top, and put some paint of on the male Veela’s chest.

Michael shook his head, and almost ran after his wife as soon as Harry had finished.

“Professor Dumbledore?” Harry asked.

Dumbledore blinked in surprise, and then laughed.

“Oh no, Harry, tonight, I am happy being the older statesman. I’m quite fine here with this glass of champagne and all these wonderful sights to see.”

“Sirius? There are probably a lot of single woman here.”

Sirius laughed. “Maybe later,” he said.

“’Arry?”

Harry turned to Fleur.

“Kate sent me to be painted,” she drawled slowly.

Harry looked at her and shook his head. “You have the body of a Greek goddess, combined with fashion sense of a Swiss nun,” he sighed mournfully. “Come here.”

Fleur looked startled.

Harry reached out and removed her cardigan, leaving her in a patterned white blouse. He undid the blouse, and looked at her plain white bra, before sighing. He looked around, and then moved her to a booth. He quickly pushed her down so that her torso was out of sight, and pulled off her shirt. Before she could protest, he removed her bra, took a second to admire her figure, before putting her shirt back on. He tied the tails of the shirt together, using the fabric tension as a make-shift bra.

“Far better,” he praised as he pulled her back up so he could paint her. “You are incredibly beautiful.”

The normally composed French Part Veela blushed, as Harry slid down and painted her stomach. As he was down there, he hitched up her skirt and rolled up the waist band, showing off her legs some more.

“Fleur,” he whispered, as he stood up. “No one here cares that you’re a Veela, all they care about is that you’re a beautiful woman. Go down there, break hearts, have fun.” He pulled off his watch and attached it to her left wrist. “If you feel uncomfortable, touch the button here, I’ll be with you within a second. You’re safe; you’re always safe with me.”

Fleur’s clear blue eyes were studying him, as if she’d never seen him before.

“Go,” he ordered.

Fleur slowly smiled at him, and did as she was told. Harry watched her, as she made her way, almost automatically, over to Kate.

Kate sent a smirk up at him – even though there was no way she could have seen him, before she hugged Fleur and started to dance with her.

“Harry, can you please teach me to do that?” Sirius croaked.

“Do what?” Harry asked.

“You just half-stripped her in public, and didn’t get slapped!”

“It’s confidence, Padfoot,” Harry said. “You have to know how to do it. I could probably do you if I fancied you.”

“Like Michael?”

“Yeah,” Harry smirked.

“I’m thinking that I’ve slightly missed the boat on the birds and the bees talk.”

“And the birds and the birds, and the bees and bees,” Harry agreed. “And let’s not mention the fun that is the bird and the bee and the bird’s friend from the next nest over.”

“But right now, there are two beautiful girls down there dancing, there are far too many men looking at them in awe. I think that I’m wasting my time talking to two old men.” Harry shot them a teasing smirk, and grabbed the rail. He braced and pulled himself over it, falling the fifteen foot to the ground in a controlled manner.

Tonight, his confidence was sky high. He could see Michael and Marie dancing, their bodies bouncing to the music. Marie looked brilliant, but Michael was something else. The male Veela was concentrating on his wife, and was dancing just for her, and it was breath taking. Women all around him were watching, and looking envious.

Gabrielle was dancing with his bodyguards, who had surrounded her, so that no one came close to the young girl.

As he moved closer, Kate and Fleur both ignored a couple of guys who tried to approach them. He smiled faintly; they’d approached with the tack of rampaging hippogriffs. Kate looked up, and gave him a challenging smile, before flicking her eyes at Fleur.

He had no idea what was going on between the two of them, but was willing to have fun for now and find out later.

He moved between them, as the music changed beat.

In time to the music, he reached out, and caressed Fleur’s face, his hand going to hers, as she started to back away. He yanked softly, forcing her against him, before he released her and span.

Kate was moving away, but he could see the pride in her eyes before she turned her back on him. He reached out and stopped her, his hands on her shoulder, and he pulled her back.

Kate bent her knees, falling backwards, and he caught her, his hands around the base of her neck, supporting her, as he leaned over and stared in her eyes. He raised his hand fast, throwing her into an upright position.

He turned, span on the spot, and looked at Fleur. He reached out, in time to the music, and grabbed the knot of her shirts, his fingers brushing against the sides of her breasts. He pulled her close, locked her into position, and started to whisper into her ear. “Relax, have fun, there are no promises here, just a chance to dance like you’ve secretly dreamed, and know that at the end of the day, nothing happens. You’re completely safe.”

He pushed himself away from her, and stalked toward Kate. She just stood, softly swaying to the music in a way that captivated attention. Her look challenged him, and it was a challenge he accepted.

He span around her, his hands in the air, looking at her from all angles, before taking her in his arms and pulling her back toward Fleur, moving both girls closer to each other.

He released her and twisted, his hands going to Fleur’s hips, sliding up to the side of her stomach, and pulling her back against him. He slid his right leg between her, and held her tightly, dancing back and forth for a few seconds.

He turned, and danced around Kate, his hands on her hips. He held her back against his chest, and subtly led her into an intricate series of dance steps that she followed with the skill and grace that he expected from her. They ended with her facing toward Fleur, as Harry moved from her and back to the Veela.

Fleur was using a touch of her charm, and her expression was haughty. He moved into her space, taking firm hold of her hips, leaning forward as she leaned back. He supported her and lifted her up as he swayed back himself. He balanced her carefully, as he leaned forward and lightly kissed the base of her throat, before pulling her back up right. He spun, keeping Fleur close to his back and pulled Kate in.

The three of the moved in unison, simple back and forth steps, that would look impressive from the side, and was quite difficult to achieve with one more person than normal.

He slid out from between them and moved them closer. Kate’s arm snaked around Fleur, and pulled her close, as Harry dropped to his knees, just as the music stopped.

Harry grinned up at them, and they both started to laugh.

“Woooo,” Sirius’s voice cut through the atmosphere, as people started to applaud.

Harry ignored them, and looked at Gabrielle. She had a yearning expression on her face, and he nodded at her.

Gabrielle sprinted over to them, and started to dance with him as the music started again. Kate and Fleur went back to having a conversation as they danced together.

Over Gabrielle’s head, Harry noticed Iain leading a few more bouncers in, and pointing at him, Fleur and Kate. He met Iain’s eyes, and nodded his thanks.

Iain smiled widely at him, as Harry concentrated on his miniature dance partner. Without warning, he lifted her up and threw her high into the air.

Gabrielle shrieked with pleasure, tucked her knees in, somersaulted, and arranged herself to be caught, which he did, holding her against his chest, as he danced around in a circle, clearing some space.

The techno music changed, a rock and roll beat underplayed the next track, and he smirked. He grabbed her hands, slid her down through his legs, then up high into the air.

She was easy to dance with, as she was so light, but she knew how to hold herself, how to make things easy, and how to fly.

After dancing with Gabrielle, he had closer dances with Fleur and Kate, neither of whom wanted to actually talk – he was happy to stay quiet.

He danced a few dances with some of the other girls, but wasn’t that interested in them. His dance with Marie was hysterically funny, as they both did outrageous moves that always stopped just short of the decency line, while teasing Michael.

He moved back to Fleur and Kate, and they danced together – nothing as dramatic as the first dance, just three people having fun.

“Harryyyyy!”

Harry turned, as a long pair of dancer’s legs attached themselves to his waist, his hands automatically went to a well-muscled derriere, and his lips were stolen in a hard kiss.

“You just have to be Annie,” Kate said dryly.

“Either that, or his charm was really improved,” Fleur agreed. “Getting women to jump him like that.”

Annie unwrapped her legs, and looked at the other two women. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” she said, blushing furiously. She blinked. “You’re gorgeous, both of you.”

“Thank you,” Kate said dryly.

“Erm, have I just treaded on some one’s toes?” she asked. “Because Harry didn’t know I was going to be here tonight…”

“It’s complicated,” Kate said, as Fleur nodded in agreement.

“Don’t ask me,” Harry said with a shrug. “So, how have you been?”

“You should know,” she said, “you got me the job!”

“Whoa,” Harry said firmly. “I don’t do charity, and I don’t give out jobs. What I did was give you a chance. If you weren’t a great dancer, if you didn’t work your socks off, if you didn’t do everything that you have done, you wouldn’t have got the job. It was down to you and you alone.”

“Harry is right,” Fleur agreed. “All he gives is opportunities.”

“Well, thank you, you didn’t have to do that. You didn’t promise me anything.” She blushed again as she looked at Fleur and Kate.

“Neither of us was dating him at the time,” Kate said, “and clearly we both know about you; stop being embarrassed. So, you’re a dancer?”

“Yes,” Kate said. “I was at work earlier, when one of my friends said that a familiar face was here, so I came as soon as I finished.”

“Want to dance?” Fleur asked. “I’ve never had a chance to dance like this before, and it’s fun. Just a dance, nothing about later.”

“Hardly a surprise,” Annie muttered. “I feel like I’m the ten year old fat kid back at school next to you two.”

“Hey,” Harry said sharply, moving into her personal space. He raised her chin and stared at her. “You are beautiful, as beautiful as Fleur and Kate, and I won’t hear you put yourself down, understood?”

Annie gulped, “Understood,” she croaked.

He released her, and she took several deep breaths. “Does he talk to your souls directly as well?” she asked.

Kate and Fleur both nodded.

“Do you find it the strange mix of abject terror, incredible warmth and deep arousal?”

They both nodded again. “Thank God it’s not just me,” she said in relief. “Let’s dance.”

---

Kate sat at the bar with Annie. They were both watching Fleur and Harry dance. Harry’s shirt was now draped over his back and shoulders, the buttons undone, and he had some Gabrielle-painted patterns on his chest.

He was gorgeous. The kick-boxing had helped sculpt his body into leanness with a purpose, but it was his confidence and stance that made him truly stand out.

He knew that no matter what situation came up, he could handle it, and it showed.

She hadn’t meant to spend the day with him, she hadn’t meant to watch him fight, but when Fred and George had sent her the message, she’d not been able to resist.

Her heart had been in her mouth for most of it, but she had appreciated the way he’d sought her eyes out.

She looked at Fleur, and smiled. The French part-Veela was perfect for Harry. She was gorgeous, pure, and untouched.

Fleur was the sort of girl Harry needed.

Kate knew Harry was starting to have feelings for her, and that she’d broken her single rule in life, and started to have feelings for him as well.

She’d almost screwed up earlier, when she’d reacted to Fleur with jealousy, before remembering her promise not to get involved with Harry herself.

She needed to help them get together, although she hoped she wouldn’t have to sleep with both of them to manage it. She hated giving out freebies, and it would be too difficult to try and charge for it.

The music ended, and Harry and Fleur were pressed against each other.

She grabbed Annie and moved over, deciding to help drive him mad, so that Fleur would have no problems later.

Because Fleur would be perfect.

After all, she had been paid to help Harry get Fleur, and she always did what she was paid for.

---

Gabrielle sat on her bed, with her legs crossed. Frankly, she was confused.

Her parents had vanished, and she was pretty sure what they were up to. She hoped so, anyway. It would be nice to have a new sister.

All her friends had gone to bed.

But what confused her was what had happened after the end of the party. Kate had gone home, Annie had gone back to her flat, Harry was in his bed, and Fleur was here.

It didn’t make sense. There had been so many emotions on display earlier, so much unresolved sexual tension, so why was everyone in their own bed?

She watched as Fleur brushed her own hair, slowly. She could feel her sister’s sadness, even from across the room. It didn’t make sense. She should be in bed with Harry, not here.

“Fleur?” She asked softly.

Fleur paused for a second, and then continued to brush. Each stroke was identical to the last.

“Why are you here?” she tried.

Fleur slowly put her brush down, and moved over to her bed. She sat, propped up against the headboard, and held out her arms.

Gabrielle scampered across the gap between them, and sat on her sister’s lap.

Fleur held her close, tightly, in a way that she hadn’t for years.

“Fleur?” she asked again, starting to be a little scared.

“When Kate sent me up to Harry, he removed my cardigan, my shirt, my bra, and then did my shirt up again.”

Gabrielle nodded. “You looked amazing.”

“Thank you,” Fleur whispered. “I’ve never let another man see me in anything more revealing than a swim suit, and yet he had me topless without any effort.”

“And it was exciting?” Gabrielle prompted.

“That, and terrifying. I can’t be what he needs, Gabrielle, and he can’t be what I need.”

“Huh?” she asked, now really confused.

“I need someone more normal.”

“But you are Veela.”

“Part,” Fleur corrected gently. “My Veela side wants him passionately. And my human side is terrified of him. I cannot go through life unbalanced like that.”

“Is it Kate?” Gabrielle asked, not understanding.

“Yes and no.”

“She’d share,” Gabrielle pointed out.

“Oh, Gabrielle,” Fleur said, hugging her tightly. “All this knowledge in your golden head without the understanding needed beneath it. Kate doesn’t want to share, and neither do I. In real life, sharing doesn’t happen. Look at Mum and Dad.”

“They both like Harry,” Gabrielle said.

“They do,” Fleur agreed. “Very much, but they are adults, as is Harry. They laugh and they flirt, but that is it, there are limits they all agree to, and they all follow. Mama is amazing, a human woman with a male Veela, she has to be so strong, because all the time, woman try to seduce Papa, but Papa isn’t interested because he loves Mama more than life.

“Harry has been playing with that, turning it around so that a male is doing the flirting with Papa, not a female, and it disarms them both completely. Mama doesn’t feel jealous, or frustrated, or scared, because she can feel that it’s just in fun, and it is funny. Both Papa and Harry are heterosexual.”

“But they kissed.”

“They’re also very secure, and Harry did it to play with people’s minds.”

“You didn’t think that before, though.”

“I hadn’t touched Harry like I have now; I know a lot more about him than I did then. Harry also likes Mama, and flirts with her as well, and Mama likes it, because it gives Papa an idea of how she feels a lot of the time.

“Papa trusts Harry with Mama, as he trusts Harry with you. He knows that Harry would never cross the invisible line they have with each other. So, for others, it looks like they would all go to bed together, but that would never happen. They would all imply it, or pretend, because it makes them laugh, but at the end of the night, Mama and Papa go to their bed, and Harry goes to his.”

“But Kate did share before,” Gabrielle tried, trying a different track.

“For reasons other than because she wanted too,” Fleur said gently. “There is a history in her that is dark and disturbing, and I didn’t go into it. It wasn’t any of my business.

“The thing is, Kate can handle Harry, whereas only part of me could, and that isn’t good enough.”

Gabrielle sighed deeply. “So why aren’t you at least having a fun first time?”

“Because I think I could get addicted to him. Maybe if I was older…” Fleur trailed off.

“These sound like excuses,” Gabrielle said. “It’s like you’re denying yourself something that would be great and you’re trying to work out why.”

Fleur’s embrace changed, to one of protectiveness, and that confused her even more.

“Gabrielle,” she said quietly. “Harry is not perfect.”

“What?” she asked, she didn’t think he was perfect. Close to it, but not absolutely.

“There is a darkness inside Harry, Gabrielle. And that is the real reason.”

“A darkness?” she asked.

“Yes,” Fleur said softly. “Behind the smiling face, the charm, the ability to dance like an angel, there is something deep and dark. It is his will, his desire, and I don’t know how to temper it, or how to help control it. I’m afraid that something would set him off, and I couldn’t stop it.”

“Harry would never hurt you!”

“I know, I know,” Fleur said soothingly. “I know it would never be aimed at me, but one day, someone might hurt me, and Harry would react, and it would be terrifying.”

They were silent for a while, before Gabrielle felt Fleur start to cry.

She turned, kneeling up so that she could try and be the big sister. She opened herself, and felt the desire her sister had for Harry, and the matching fear that she’d be swallowed up by him, and the way the conflicting emotions were tearing her apart.

Slowly, Gabrielle realised that in making himself grow up, Harry had lost something integral, he’d spent too much time alone, and trusted himself more than anyone else. He had people who could give him advice, but if he didn’t agree with it, he wouldn’t take it, and no one and no thing could stop him.

It had the potential to be devastating for the people close to him, or the people against him.

But her sister was very wrong. It wasn’t scary, it was wonderful. She knew that if anyone hurt them, Harry would deal with it, and the world would then be scared to hurt them in the future. It was a beautiful darkness that would keep her, and everyone she loved, safe for the rest of their lives.

Harry always wanted to help the people he cared about; that was why he was doing what he did, not for himself, but for everyone else, so that he could protect them.

She gently eased Fleur down as she fell asleep, so that her sister was comfortable. She covered her with a blanket, and kissed her forehead gently. She did love Fleur, almost as much as she loved Harry.

Gabrielle slipped on some shoes and walked out of the carriage, unafraid of the dark. There may be monsters out there, but the monster’s monster was her personal God.

The monster’s monster was like stone.

She almost stumbled as thoughts raced together.

He was like stone. He could be cold, hard, and ruthless. Like stone. Like living stone. Like Hogwarts. There was a distinct similarity between how Harry felt at a deep level, and how Hogwarts could project herself.

She smiled widely. That was so cool!

She looked at the sky and twirled under the stars. If she prayed for Harry, he would be there for her. If she needed something, he would provide it. If she had enemies, he would smite them for her. If she needed comfort, he would provide it. If she needed to know something, he would teach her and make her earn the answer. And if she needed someone to make the right decision, no matter what the cost, he would make it.

She had everything, she felt like she was his first angel, entrusted with a role more important than creation. In return for everything he provided, all she had to do was worship him with every part of her being.

And worship she did, without hesitation or doubt.

She walked up to the ship, and nodded as Crusher opened one eye to look at her, and then went back to sleep.

She walked down stairs, passed Hermione’s room, and straight into his. She stood by his bed and lightly touched his shoulder, putting a pleading look on her face. She deserved this, she’d stayed away from him as much as she could all day, and sat with others when all she wanted to do was never be out of touching distance.

He opened one eye long enough to focus on her, before he muttered, “Fine,” and went back to sleep.

That was good enough for her. She kicked off her shoes and climbed into bed with him. She was about to sleep, when she could hear her father’s voice warning her not to do this. Just to be absolutely sure, she reached out and gently touched him, opening herself completely, checking to see what he was thinking about.

She snatched her hand back and giggled, before blushing furiously.

There was definitely no sexual desire aimed at her. Lots and lots of desire directed at Fleur, Annie and Kate, oh yeah. Although she didn’t think her sister was that flexible, or that Annie liked girls that much, or that Kate would be comfortable in that position.

Still, there was nothing wrong with his imagination. And the quality and clarity of his imagery was simply unbelievable.

She giggled silently again, snuggled close to his back, and went to sleep.

When she awoke, she found herself cuddled against his chest. She smiled happily, and then slipped out of bed. That last thing she wanted was a return of his silly human morals.

She looked at the large clock, and winced. They were going to be late for breakfast. “Harry,” she called, climbing back onto the bed.

“Hey,” he rasped sleepily.

“Breakfast?”

He yawned and stretched, before inhaling. “Yeuch, I need a shower,” he stated. “Then yes, breakfast.”

She didn’t bother trying to tell him that he smelled fine, because he was a tad smelly. He hadn’t showered after the tournament – just used a cleaning charm – and had gone to bed immediately. She’d showered before her discussion with Fleur.

She called for Tilly to get her some clothes, and got dressed while Harry was still in the shower, and then made sure she was busy while he got dressed.

She got him to carry her to breakfast, and relaxed, happily absorbing the love he always gave her. “I love you,” she whispered, and kissed his ear softly. The flow of love back seemed to double, and it took all her willpower not to groan in pleasure. She knew he didn’t like her making those sort of sounds.

Hogwarts welcomed them back into the school. Now that she’d realised there was a connection between the two of them, it was easier to sense it.

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 10

It took a lot of Harry’s willpower not to squeeze Gabrielle too hard when she whispered that she loved him. She always said those words just when he needed to hear them and it always gave him a boost.

The doors to Hogwarts opened for them, and he felt Hogwarts welcome him back, as well as suggest a different place he might sleep at night, a place where she could help protect him.

He’d think about it, the idea had possibilities.

The doors to the Great Hall opened for them and Harry stumbled to a stop.

High above the Professors’ table and directly in front of Fred and George was a giant silent projection of his last fight.

The colours were incredible, the picture sharp and well defined, and to his shock, when he cast a magnifying charm in front of his face, there was no pixilation. It put the TV back at the Dursley’s to absolute shame.

But he soon forgot about such details, as he got lost in his own fight. He hadn’t realised it had been like that. The speed they had both moved at, the little kicks and knees that floated between them as they danced around the ring. He was fascinated, never having seen himself fight before. All the little things he hadn’t realised he’d done were now visible.

He looked around, to see everyone, including the professors, entranced. He recognised that it was near the end of the bout, as his movements became sloppy and unprofessional. Looking at it now, it was obvious that he’d been faking. In the heat of the battle though, things would not have been that clear.

He flinched as he saw his opponent land the punch. It was a beaut, and he had been incredibly lucky not to be knocked out. His double-punch-followed-by-uppercut was lightning fast, and Luke hit the ground. He watched himself stumble for a ten count he didn’t remember, before Ben and Lisa steadied him and lifted him high in to the air, screaming in silence.

The memory flickered, changing to the night club, and he watched as the Harry on the screen vaulted the rail and seemed to float down to the ground.

“Stop it,” he growled, his magic exploding with a suddenness that had some of the younger students who hadn’t even noticed he was there yelping in fear.

Gabrielle seemed to snuggle tighter against his chest.

“H-Harry,” Fred said.

“Harry,” Fleur called, as she walked over to him. “Let them show it.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I want to see what we looked like,” she said softly. “Please?”

“That was private,” Harry explained quietly. “The fight was public. There’s a difference.”

“I know,” Fleur agreed, “please?”

He closed his eyes and nodded. “We will be talking about this later,” he said to Fred and George. The twins gulped, before they waved their wands, and the projection started. They nodded to Christoph, who had a wireless, from it, the same music from the night before started.

In the flashing light, and from a different perspective, the dance was something else. Kate and Fleur looked incredible, the paint work on their bodies showed how they moved, and their outfits just emphasised how simply gorgeous the two were.

Fleur, her hair wild as she danced, managed to cling to an innocence that was seductive and enticing. Kate, darker, more experienced, like a temptress sent to test man in his rawest form.

He felt like he was the odd one out, but didn’t really care. He’d been the one with two amazing woman. Kate had taught him to dance, so she knew exactly how to move with him. Fleur had just picked it up instantly.

“You are an incredible dancer,” he told Fleur. “Kate and I have been dancing together for ages; this was your first time with us.”

Fleur smiled proudly, her eyes on the show. “It was so much fun.”

The song ended, and the three on the screen hugged.

“Gabrielle, go and eat with the others,” Fleur said to her sister.

Gabrielle nodded and hugged him, before scampering off.

“Can we talk?”

“Of course,” He replied. “Shall we eat outside?”

Fleur nodded and smiled. She took the lead, and they walked outside. He knew he wouldn’t have to ask Tilly; she’d find him.

He cast several warming charms on a bench, and sat in front of it. Fleur knelt down next to him, and then dropped to her side. He met her eyes.

“Can I hold your hand please?”

“Excuse me?”

She smiled at him. “I want to feel what you are feeling when we talk. It will help.”

He looked at her for a long moment, and then held his hand out. He smiled slightly. “You’re looking more relaxed.”

“What was it you said last night? Body of a Greek goddess, fashion sense of a nun?”

“Something like that,” he agreed. “You also seem more at peace this morning.”

“I’ve had a lot to think about. I was explaining to Gabrielle last night why I am going to request that we not date.”

Harry looked surprised at her.

Fleur smiled, “That is a bit of an arrogant statement,” she agreed. “But I do know that you think I am beautiful.”

“Drop dead gorgeous,” Harry corrected dryly.

“Thank you. If you ignored Kate, would you have said yes?”

“A few weeks ago, I would have said no. But over the past few weeks, you’ve started to smile, and well, I like you now. So I would say yes. And if it wasn’t for Kate, I may well be pursuing you.”

Fleur beamed at him. “I explained to Gabrielle that I don’t think that I can handle you at the moment. The darkness you have inside you scares my human side, and makes my human side fear that it would be swallowed up by my Veela side.”

Harry frowned; he didn’t think that he had that much darkness.

“And really, the only person I’ve met who can handle that is Kate, who has her own darkness.

“Yesterday was a revelation to me. I was able to act like I wanted, and just have fun, and no one treated me any different. I always took Papa’s warnings about what can happen to Veela children, and I’d been a scared for a very long time.”

Harry tightened his hand over hers reassuringly. She shot him a quick smile.

“I was explaining last night that I couldn’t live with my Veela side being dominant to my human side, because my Veela side finds you, with your confidence and darkness, very attractive.

“And after Gabrielle left last night, I continued to have a think about my life so far. I’ve been thinking about who and what I am since the Second Task, and I realised something. I’ve been out of balance for years. I was suppressing my Veela side and trying to be human – and being jealous of humans. This morning, I think I accepted who I am for the first time. I’ve always dressed to minimise my looks and figure.

“And that’s partly because I always listened to Papa. I remember all the horror stories he used to tell me, so I’ve made sure that no one could get close to me, that all my relationships were under my complete control, so that I wouldn’t be scared. I’ve been scared for so long.

“So I’ve been a brat, a bitch, and done my best to not be as attractive as I can be.”

Harry laughed softly. “Not that successfully; even if you shaved your head and gained four hundred pounds you’d still be attractive.”

Fleur smiled at him again. “Shh,” she ordered. “What I’m trying to say is, thank you, for just blasting through my objections, and opening a different world to me.”

“Fleur,” Harry said, “it was my pleasure. But you over-estimate me. All I did was dance with a beautiful woman.” He paused and grinned teasingly, “and got her topless.”

She threw her head back and laughed.

“You do know,” Harry said softly, “that I’m only giving you two years. If we’re both single then, I’m going to do everything I can to get close to you.”

Fleur studied him and nodded. “Deal.”

“What do you want from me?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” she asked, a look of confusion appearing on her face.

“How do you want me to act with you? Friendship? Acquaintanceship?Strangers who know each other.”

Fleur’s face cleared. “Friendship,” she said firmly. “Not like Gabrielle, Melissa or Hermione, more like my parents.”

“Flirting, laughing, and joking, but up to a line?” he asked to clarify.

“Exactly!”

“I can do that,” he said cheerfully. “Does that include talking to you about Kate and asking advice?”

“Absolutely!”

He lightly pulled her forward and gave her a quick hug. She hugged him back warmly, before settling back, keeping hold of his hand. “Okay, now on to the hard part.” She took a deep breath. “I know that Dad has tested you, but for my piece of mind, can I please check you about Gabrielle as well?

“I know I should trust, but she is my sister, and part of the reason I couldn’t sleep last night was because I was worried about her. I know it’s stupid, I know that Papa is far better at this than me, but ...”

“Fleur, go ahead,” Harry interrupted, trying to hide his amusement as she tried to explain herself. “Far be it from me to dare to do anything that would impact negatively on your beauty sleep. An army of disgruntled men would track me down and try to kill me, and some of them might even get close to attract the attention of my bodyguards!”

Fleur giggled. “Okay, relax and close your eyes.”

He did as she told him, and an image started to appear before him. It was his bedroom, and he could see it with amazing clarity.

Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to the bed. In completely inappropriate lingerie, Gabrielle was smiling enticingly at him, patting the bed next to her.

“What the hell was that?” Harry yelled, as he pulled away from Fleur. The image cancelled immediately as he lost contact with her.

Fleur reached out and pulled him back. “Relax,” she said, “absolute revulsion to the idea of Gabrielle in a sexual way is a pass. Now concentrate, just once more. Please.”

Harry grumbled under his breath and reluctantly relaxed again. The scene was the same, the same room, with the same clarity. But on the bed, instead of Gabrielle, was Fleur in the same outfit.

She shot him a hot look, and then removed the her top slowly. She raised her hands above her head and arched her back. The scene slowly faded, and he shifted a little, his jeans suddenly uncomfortable. “I owed you that,” Fleur said with a pleased smile. “Now, let’s eat.”

Tilly arrived with their breakfast, and Fleur shifted so that she was near him, their legs touching. “Get used to it,” she said at his look. “Veela are tactile, and while I’m nowhere near as needy as Gabrielle, I have a long time to make up for, and I like to touch… some people at least.”

He nodded, and the conversation shifted, as they both started to make proper friends with each other.

“How are you going to cope when Gabrielle is ready to start dating?” Fleur asked.

“I’ll try and be ready for it beforehand,” Harry replied slowly.

“And what age do you think she’ll be ready?”

Harry smiled. “I was thinking about forty?”

“Good number,” Fleur praised with a grin. “I always thought thirty-five, but I’m willing to bow to your advice.” She glanced at his watch on her wrist, and then moved to take it off.

“Keep it for now,” Harry said. “I’ll get you something else.”

“Harry,” she protested.

“Melissa and Hermione’s necklaces are charmed, as are Gabrielle’s earrings and my bodyguards’ outfits. The others have smaller charms on them. I will never be surprised by them being in trouble again.”

Fleur whistled slowly.

“You don’t have to tell them that,” he added.

“I won’t,” she promised, and changed the subject.

The hours seemed to fly by, as they looked out at the lake and talked.

“So, what does Fleur Delacour want with her life?”

Fleur sighed. “I was planning on going into Gringotts when I leave school.”

“Sounds good,” Harry said. “Why?”

Fleur looked away. “Because they are Goblins, and don’t care about my Veela side,” she admitted.

“Pfft,” Harry said expressively.

“Yeah, it doesn’t exactly thrill me now. I think that what I really want to do, is cook.”

Harry blinked. “What?”

“Cook, you know, as a chef.”

“That is probably the last thing I expected to hear from you.”

“Don’t think I can do it?” she challenged proudly.

“Fleur, my dear, you’ve just made a huge mistake.” He turned, so that he was sitting over her lap. “Tell me that you want to be a chef.”

“I want to be a chef,” she said firmly, meeting his gaze equally.

“You’ve just lost a load of your free time,” he told her. “You’re going to work your cute little arse off. Tilly?”

The elf appeared instantly.

“Take Fleur to the kitchens. She is going to cook dinner for me, Gabrielle, Hermione and Viktor and Melissa and Christophe tonight. You are to help her, working as she directs, and to get her any ingredient she wants.”

Tilly nodded, looking curious.

“This is it, Fleur,” he told her, amused by how stunned she was looking. “I’m going to go and place a bet that your food is brilliant,” he finished, as he hopped off her lap, and walked toward Hogsmeade, so that he could Apparate away.

The opportunity here was far too good to waste.

---

Annie walked into the stage entrance to the show she was currently working in. She’d allowed herself a lie in that morning, and was looking forward to the evening. She loved dancing for a living, more so now that she actually had a speaking part.

“Annie, darling!”

Annie blinked. Darling? She was normally, ‘you, yes, you in the corner’ not ‘darling’, and certainly not to Antonio, the director-cum-producer of the show.

Most of her colleagues were with him, gathered around a large TV. She walked over, and looked at the screen as well. She smiled, as she saw Harry, Kate and Fleur paused on the video. The screen was pretty clear, but black and white, so must have come from the nightclub’s CCTV system.

“You know these people?” Antonio demanded.

“Sure, the blonde’s Fleur, a French girl. The brunette’s Kate, she’s Polish, and the guy’s Harry, he’s English.”

“Tell me, what you think of this,” Antonio said, pressing play with an overly elaborate flourish.

She watched her friends dance, and shook her head in amusement. There was no music, but the effect was still captivating. “That was the first time they had ever danced together,” she said, offering a bit of commentary.

“Kate learned to dance when she was five, and flirted with the professional circuit for a while before something went wrong, and she quit. She taught Harry over the past year, Harry’s a sports star in an obscure Scottish sport; and he just won the UK Kick Boxing title, and was celebrating.

“Fleur’s danced all her life as well, but mainly formal. She prefers the classics.”

“Will they mind if we steal this dance?” Antonio asked, “The moves, they could be improved, but the passion is there, and the un-choreographed nature gives it a rawness and a passion that is just wonderful!”

“They were just having fun,” Annie said. She reached into her bag and pulled out her mobile phone. She phoned Kate’s number.

“Yeah?” Kate answered abruptly.

“Kate, it’s Annie.”

“Oh, hi sweetie,” Kate said, her voice changing so that it was warm and friendly.

“Got a quick question for you. Antonio, my boss, got a copy of the dance that you, Fleur and Harry did last night. He wants to know if he can steal the dance.”

“Put him on,” Kate ordered.

Annie handed the phone to Antonio.

“Hello?”

The next thing he said was in rapid fire Italian, as a delighted smile took over his face. The telephone conversation lasted close to four minutes, before Antonio hung up and did a spontaneous little dance. “Delightful lady,” he announced. “Charming, but of course, Iain and Jonathan would not talk so well about them if they were not!

“Such a contrast in looks,” Antonio continued, “The blonde angel, the dark temptress, and the warrior. He’s not classically handsome, but that body could stop traffic, and those moves, you can imagine them ending with a kick or a punch.” He fanned himself dramatically. “I don’t suppose they want a job?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Of course not, they have real lives, Harry is a businessman, Fleur is the daughter of a French Ambassador, and Kate is an executive. And you, Annie darling, you should have told me that you know these people, but no, you’ve been paying your dues like a good girl.

“We will work together after our run here is finished. I have just the role for you!”

Annie tried to hide her shock. But this did prove one thing: her theory that most of London was secretly run by a cabal of gay men.

“T-thank you,” she stuttered.

“Nonsense,” Antonio said. “Now, let us look at the rest of the evening, Iain said even if he is as queer as a bottle of warm shandy, some of the dancing was hot, hot, hot!”

---

Harry knocked on the closed doors to the restaurant cheerfully. The door opened, and Jonathan gave him a wan smile.

“What’s up?” Harry asked, as he followed the older man inside. Richard and Jean-Sebastian were sat around a table, a bottle of wine between them.

Harry pulled up a chair, and sat down with them, helping himself to a glass. “It feels like a funeral in here,” he said dryly. “Tell Uncle Harry your problems.”

“We’re being sold,” Richard said disgustedly.

“To whom?” Harry asked.

“We don’t know, probably to a chain,” Jonathan replied, his own disgust palpable.

“Who is your current owner?”

Jonathan quickly described the businessman who had bought them from the previous owner, and added a few gripes about the lack of investment and the facilities not worthy of their genius.

“Why don’t I have a quick chat with him,” Harry suggested, “businessman to businessman, see if I can persuade him to keep this place as an investment.”

“It can’t hurt,” Jean-Sebastian muttered.

Jonathan sighed and gave Harry the number. Harry walked to the telephone that was on the side and had a conversation that started rough, but soon went very well. As an agreement was reached, he smiled to himself and hung up.

He wandered back to the table and sat down. “He’s a git,” Harry said cheerfully. “And is intent on selling this place.”

Richard, Jonathan and Jean-Sebastian all put their heads into their hands.

“So, as the new owner, I will want your plans for updating this place ready in two weeks time. And Jean, your contribution will be taking on a talented cook as an apprentice a couple of nights a week and all day on Saturday, and teaching her the ropes so that I can open a Parisian restaurant this summer. I may also find someone to work under Richard and Jonathan.”

“Say that again,” Jonathan demanded.

“He wanted to sell, and I can’t let my favourite restaurant lose what I love about it, can I? I came here today to beg Jean to take my friend on and teach her the works, but now I don’t have to ask, I can just order,” he finished with a grin.

“We can update?” Richard demanded.

“Absolutely. Anything that needs doing, I will do. It’s not enough for us to be one of the best in London; we need to be the best. We’ll close for a few weeks over the summer, gut the interior, redecorate, get new furniture in, improve the kitchen, and open with a bang. While I’m taking care of that, you can be in France, helping out with my new restaurant.”

Richard charged over to the bar, and returned with a dusty bottle. He opened it expertly, and poured four glasses.

Harry took one and stood. “Gentlemen,” he said, to the still stunned faces, “to the future!”

“The future,” the other three chorused. They sipped the wine, and started to look a bit less stunned.

“You can afford this?” Jonathan demanded.

“I can,” Harry said. The Goblin lessons in finance had showed just how wealthy Pure-Bloods were, when compared to their Muggle counterparts. The exchange rate was high, due to their currency being based on the purest gold. The couple of million he had just agreed to pay for the restaurant was a fraction of his total wealth, and the property alone was worth the payment as a future investment.

He was pretty sure that he would be able to recoup his expenditure within fifteen years, and be left with a huge property in one of the best areas of London.

The offer was subject to him looking over the books (well, paying the Goblins to do it for him) and making sure there was no hidden debt. He felt like he was paying a fair price for the location, the name and the history. The fact that he got good staff was a huge bonus.

“Who am I to be training?” Jean-Sebastian asked.

“Fleur Delacour,” Harry said. “Gabrielle’s older sister.”

Jean-Sebastian smiled. “A pleasure, I will be delighted. Cooking is a male dominated game; it will be nice to have a woman involved.”

“Now that’s settled,” Harry said. “Does anyone know of a decent jewellery place that is open on a Sunday afternoon? I need to get a friend a present.”

“Open?” Jonathan asked, snapping to attention. “Nonsense, what are you after?”

“A watch, for Fleur. And maybe a few other friends.”

Jonathan went and got the phone, bringing it back to the table. He picked up the receiver and dialled a number from memory.

“Lucas, Jonathan. I need you to bring some watches here. For a blonde, five foot eight, ten stone eight. Classy, not flashy, and a selection of others. As quick as you can, there’s a good chap.” After a farewell, he hung up and grinned at Harry.

“Lucas makes just the greatest jewellery in London. He wants to get back in my good graces,” he continued. “He left me for a younger man, only now the old queer regrets what happened.”

Harry smiled, and enjoyed the wine as he waited for the jeweller. The conversation quickly turned to ideas on how they wanted to improve the place. Harry just listened, they had some good ideas, but he would hire someone to ensure that their ideas came together holistically.

There was a knock at the door, and Jonathan jumped to his feet. He moved smartly to the door and opened it. Another tall and slim man, this one wearing a white shirt and an extravagant orange cravat was lead in. He was accompanied by a couple of hulking brutes.

“Say, you’re the Hitman!” one of them said, looking at Harry.

“The Hitman?” Lucas asked wearily.

“Harry is the current UK kick-boxing champion,” Richard explained cheerfully. “It was the ghastly nickname the announcer gave him.”

“Yes,” Harry agreed.

“Can I get your autograph?” the bodyguard asked.

“Marvin,” Lucas scolded. “Where are your manners?”

“Sorry boss,” Marvin muttered.

“It’s okay,” Harry said, highly amused. Lucas opened a briefcase, and Harry gasped softly.

“I better take four,” he eventually decided, before having a long discussion with everyone there over which four to take.

---

“Albus?”

“Minerva?” Dumbledore asked, looking over his glasses as his deputy.

“May I have a few moments of your time?”

“Of course,” he replied, putting the report he was reading down. “Would you like a lemon drop?”

“Thank you,” she said, taking one.

“The students never take them,” he said sadly.

“Why not?” Minerva asked.

He shrugged. “I have no idea. What can I do for you?”

“Mr Potter,” she said. “It is long past time we discussed him.”

“It is?” he asked. “Go ahead.”

“Where is Mr Potter today?”

“London,” he replied, as Hogwarts passed him the information.

“That is exactly the problem,” Minerva said. “This is a boarding school; none of our other students are allowed to leave when they feel like it.”

“Indeed,” Albus agreed. “What would you like me to do about it?”

“Punish him.”

“I will give him detention. What then?”

“We take up all his free time.”

“And then he just walks out of school completely. What then?”

“Can we not force him?”

Albus raised his eyebrows. “How? By enacting some ridiculous law to force him to attend school here? Besides, at the end of term, this discussion becomes moot.”

“What do you mean?” Minerva asked.

“I have it on good authority that Harry has been accepted as a student of Beauxbatons next year. And he is not the only student planning on leaving.”

Minerva paled. “Miss Granger?”

“And Messrs Fred and George Weasley, Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang are all planning on going as well. There well maybe others.”

“But those are some of our best students.”

“Indeed,” Albus sighed softly. “And the most divisive. I suspect that our school will be back to normal next year.”

“Boring, you mean,” Minerva corrected acidly.

“In comparison,” Albus agreed. “Anyway, I have allowed Harry a large degree of autonomy as a way of apologising for placing him with the Dursleys. I was very wrong.”

“What about his safety,” Minerva demanded.

“You watched him fight on that remarkable invention of Fred and George’s this morning,” he pointed out. “I don’t think he will have any problems with the Muggles. He is also wearing his necklace, which means he can call for the help of his bodyguards if he needs them.”

Minerva nodded slowly. “And after his magical maturity, there aren’t many wizards who would dare fight him. And those who would are still in hiding from his bounty.”

“Minerva,” Albus sighed, very disappointed.

“What?” she asked warily.

“Name one other case of magical maturity in known history?”

Minerva opened her mouth, before she closed it again, and for the first time in his memory, the austere head of Gryffindor blushed like a schoolgirl. He chuckled. “Harry thinks that magic has a detrimental effect on common sense.”

“He may well be right,” Minerva admitted. “So what did cause the change?”

“He used a Time Dilator.”

“That is not possible,” Minerva pointed out. “There is no where near enough magic in one of those things to do more than an hour at a time.”

Albus was hit by a feeling of smugness from Hogwarts. “Correct,” he agreed. “However, if you were to add some magic to it, it is possible.”

“But no one has that sort of magic, not even Mr Potter.”

“Hogwarts has.”

“He used Hogwarts magic?”

“No, Hogwarts decided to help him out, and did so on her own behalf. She likes Harry.” A wave of emotion hit him. “No, she loves him,” he corrected himself, more than a little surprised. A new raft of feelings shot through him. “He has listened to her, and helped her in the past, and she paid attention to him. He’s more fun to interact with than the Headmasters who are always so formal.” He frowned. “There is something else there,” he mused, trying to decipher not just what had been said, but what hadn’t been said.

“Time doesn’t match up. She has longer memories of Harry than Harry has of her.”

A wave of embarrassment hit him, as well as a request not to share that knowledge with Harry.

“You’re going to have to tell him yourself,” Albus said to the castle.

Regret and acceptance went through him, before Hogwarts faded away.

“That was remarkable,” Minerva said softly. “I felt the edges of it.”

“It is. Hogwarts has always told the Headmasters everything that goes on. Hogwarts has been upset with me not listening to her, and I’m only slowly being forgiven. At the same time, we have Harry, who Hogwarts would tell anything if he asked, who doesn’t ask. So she keeps his secrets, and I normally have no idea what is going on until long after the fact.”

Minerva nodded. “He is not a Gryffindor anymore.”

“No,” Albus agreed. “They lost him when they turned their backs on him. There are parts of Harry that are very cold.”

“The look he gave his opponent,” Minerva said quietly. “He understands death.”

“Far too well,” Albus sighed. “I’m not going to stop Harry doing what he wants to. He has proved to be able to look after himself and others. His grades have him battling with Hermione over the top in his year. His progress with Gabrielle is remarkable. Michael Delacour has been keeping me very up to date with everything, and the French are planning on organising some pre-school lessons to see if they can duplicate it.”

Minerva smiled proudly. “He does understand magic, and it warms my heart to see him teach Gabrielle so carefully. Have you seen the homework she produces? I’d love it if some of my senior students put that much care and attention into it. And the content is always correct as well.”

“Gabrielle puts the effort in for Harry; she wants him proud of her more than anything else, and that is not something we can duplicate, sadly.”

“I know,” Minerva sighed. “What about his bodyguards, he hardly needs them now.”

“Nothing changes. They are his people, they are very proud of it as well. Crusher and Smasher are laying the ground work for their careers.”

“And the change in Crabbe and Goyle is remarkable,” Minerva added.

“Nasher and Thrasher have reacted well to a positive role model,” Albus agreed. “And those are the names they have chosen for themselves. Lisa, fortunately, has kept her name as a term of affection, and not insisted we use it.”

“What is it?” Minerva asked.

“Squisher.”

Minerva sniggered. “I can see why.”

“So can I,” Albus agreed with a laugh. He sobered. “I talked to Nasher and Thrasher’s mothers about what happened before Christmas. Basically, Crabbe and Goyle Senior were willing Death Eaters, and as Nasher and Thrasher are now on the opposite side, they decided to take immediate action.”

“No love lost then.”

“None at all, political marriages.”

Minerva rolled her eyes. “Purebloods,” she muttered.

“Minerva, I am well aware that I am letting Harry and his friends get away with a lot, and it’s not completely because of the fact that I need them in the competition. Part of it is from guilt, I admit, but a lot of it is because I am enjoying watching them. They are all growing up, becoming adults, making mistakes and having victories. I will miss it next year, but then, I will have other things to continue with.”

Minerva leaned back in her chair. “It worries me that things might go back to being normal. It’s such a disgusting word.”

“It is, isn’t it,” Albus mused. “However, Voldemort is possibly still out there. He has very little support left, but one day he may come back. And when he does, I will pledge my support to Harry, and do what I can to help.”

“As Harry would treat Voldemort as a threat to everyone he cares about, and would react accordingly?”

“Precisely. I suspect that the bounty for Death Eaters would be raised, and those who would normally join Voldemort will instead start hunting them. And Harry will watch, and wait for the perfect time to utterly destroy Voldemort.

“And we will find out about it much later, through someone else, as he never bothered to tell anyone, and beside, he had an airtight alibi when Voldemort died.”

Minerva looked up. “You suspect he had something to do with Severus’s disappearance?”

“Suspect, yes,” he said. “Prove? Not at all.”

“Why do you suspect him?”

“Because Hogwarts won’t tell me what happened, and by not telling me, she has told me a lot.”

Minerva frowned. “If you suspect him, why do you not do something about it? That was murder!”

“Was it?” Albus asked. “There was no body, and a full investigation that didn’t find a thing! Severus could have just walked out.”

“And if I recall, Harry had perfect alibis that said he was safe and sound, asleep.”

“Exactly,” Albus agreed. “So what would you like me to do?”

“Call him in here!”

“And do what? Attack his mind? I don’t think so; I do have morals, Minerva.”

“Of course, my apologies.”

“All I have is a suspicion based on Hogwarts not telling me anything – and that could even be because Hogwarts wasn’t paying attention! And besides, can you really see Harry killing Severus?”

Minerva nodded slowly. “Yes, you’re quite right. Harry would not have been involved in something like that. How are you doing in your search for a replacement?”

“I might be able to persuade Horace to come out of retirement.”

“He is better than Severus was,” Minerva allowed.

“Severus’ disappearance is unfortunate, but as our Head girl was ready to launch a crusade against him, life would have got very interesting for him.”

“I was surprised by that.”

“I wasn’t, regardless of the fact that she loves Harry, Melissa is a fine example of a Slytherin. She had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. It was a fine move. And next weekend, Sirius will be having his trial.”

“And she is representing him?”

“She is indeed. It will be the last thing she does before setting up her new office over the summer. I believe she has already contacted some of our recent graduates to see if they are interested in working for her.”

“How is she funding this?” Minerva asked. “It should be many years before she is in a position to start her own business. There is the internship first.”

“Harry believes that tradition should be followed right up until the point where it gets in the way of what he wants out of life. She will already have two of the biggest cases of the decade under her belt, and the Black and Potter name firmly behind her.”

“And will get clients hand over foot, as she’s a proven winner, and clients will think that if she’s good enough for the Potters and the Blacks…”

“Precisely,” Albus agreed.

“So there is little point in me talking to Harry, and asking him to rejoin the Gryffindor fourth years?”

“None at all. There is still the vexing matter of how he was entered into the Tri-Wizard tournament. Alastor is looking in to it for me, but age is catching up with him. The official investigation has been hampered due to the Goblet of Fire rejecting most of the charms used to investigate.”

“Of course,” Minerva murmured. “I was referring to the rest of my Gryffindors. However, it has occurred to me that I was not thinking of Harry. He does seem to have flourished, and that, perhaps, is the most important thing.”

She stood up. “Well, thank you, Albus. This has given me a lot to think about.”

“My pleasure, as always.”

Minerva stood and left him to his reports.

---

Harry strolled in to Hogwarts in a great mood. Sharing the best bottle of wine he’d ever had with good friends helped, of course, and he was now looking forward to Fleur’scooking. He was really impressed that she had such high reaching goals, and was determined that if she had the talent, he’d ensure she had the opportunity.

“Dobby, a table for six please. Formal.”

A round table appeared, before Dobby popped in with a white cloth. Knives, forks and spoons, all solid silver appeared as did several candles.

The lights above the table faded, allowing for a more intimate atmosphere. Harry suspected that Hogwarts had lowered the lights, and sent her his thanks. He got a proud burst of happiness in return.

“Hermione, Viktor, Melissa, Christophe, Gabrielle, join me please.”

He stood by his chair, before walking around and seating the ladies. Gabrielle scampered over to ensure that she got the seat next to him, and he sat her last.

“Where’s Fleur?” Gabrielle asked, as they sat down. “I’ve not seen her all day.”

“She’s auditioning,” Harry said. “It turns out that she wants to be a cook.”

Gabrielle nodded. “She always cooks at home, she’s the best!”

“Well, if she cooks well today, I’ve got a surprise or two for her.” He paused and peered through the darkness to where he could just make out his other friend’s table. Hogwarts was keeping the feeling of being alone in a crowd to an amazing level.

The first course was simply the most gorgeous crab cakes he’d ever tasted, with some home-made mayonnaise. The fish course was a divine shellfish broth. Harry would have been happy to drink the sauce for the rest of his life. The main course was a rabbit and crayfish pie, continuing the fishy theme for the menu. The dessert was mouth-watering delicate chocolate mousse cake. The conversation was mainly extravagant praise for the food that Fleur was serving them.

As they all finished, he requested another chair for the table, on the opposite side of him to Gabrielle, and requested that Tilly ask Fleur to join them.

Fleur appeared a few minutes later, a nervous look on her face, as she walked through the surrounding darkness to their table.

Harry stood up and started to applaud. The other’s joined him a few moments later, making Fleur both blush and look proud at the same time. She sat next to him, and turned, so that she could look at him straight.

Harry took his glass of water, and sat back, twirling it softly in his fingers, as he concentrated on Fleur.

“You are going to have to work very hard,” he said slowly, “as your grades are not allowed to drop while you’re busy.”

“Doing what?” Fleur asked, looking confused.

“Every Tuesday and Thursday night, and all day Saturday, you will be interning with Jean-Sebastian at La Rochelle. You will learn how to simplify you menus, how to run a kitchen, and of course, how to up your cooking to the sort of level that is required when cooking at a three Michelin star restaurant.

“This summer, I will be purchasing a restaurant in Paris, and while I am having La Rochelle refitted, Jonathan, Richard and Jean-Sebastian will be helping us get ready to launch.”

Fleur paled dramatically. “I can not do that!”

He reached out and took her face with his hand, gently raising her chin and staring deep into her eyes. He didn’t bother with Legilimency; the spell always left him cold. He much preferred his instincts.

“Yes,” he said softly, “you can, and you will. You are Fleur Delacour, you can do anything you set your mind to, and you have set your mind to this. Any help that you need will be given to you, any thing you need from me will be provided instantly. As I’ve said before, I don’t give favours, I give opportunities, and this is a huge one.”

Fleur stared back at him, and he could actually see the moment she agreed that she could do it. “I will,” she whispered.

“Good,” he said, leaning back and taking a sip of the water.

“Harry,” Viktor said, “what did you mean by ‘while I am having La Rochelle refitted?’”

“Oh, I agreed in principle to buy the restaurant earlier today. Anyway, Tilly?”

The house-elf appeared with a bounce. “Learn anything today?” Harry asked.

Tilly nodded eagerly. “Miss Flower was teaching me all things I’d not known before!”

“Good, because I want you to shadow Fleur when she is learning things in the restaurant.”

“Master is wanting Tilly to learn?” she asked, her eyes huge.

“Damn right,” Harry said firmly.

Tilly squealed and hugged him for a second before popping away exuberantly.

Harry smiled. It was an expensive way of getting her trained, but he reckoned he could get his money back soon enough, and making Fleur happy was a bonus.

“Going back a second,” Melissa said, “you purchased the restaurant?”

“It was for sale,” Harry pointed out. “I could hardly let someone else have it, could I? I went there to beg Jean-Sebastian to take Fleur on, but I don’t beg well, so when I found out about this, it was much easier to just buy the place.

“The goblins will be performing due-diligence for me. I am going to need an accountant soon,” he mused. “I’ll continue to use the Goblins for now, but I’d prefer someone I know and can trust a bit more.” His gaze settled on Cedric and Cho. “Excuse me for one second,” he said courteously to his guests.

He moved out of the candle light, through the darkness, and back into the light of the Great Hall. Most of the students were still eating dessert. He took a seat opposite Cedric and Cho and looked at Cedric.

“You want a job you can impress Cho’s parents with?”

He nodded eagerly.

“Right, if you can become a Chartered Accountant within two and a half years, I will hire you as my main accountant.”

Cedric swallowed.

“You will have a year to study the basics while at school, then a year and a half to gain the four hundred and fifty days of work experience you will need. I will clear it with the Goblins.”

“I can do this,” he said softly.

“I’ll help anyway I can,” Cho promised. “And my father would rate an accountant just below a doctor. It would be his second favourite occupation for my suitor.”

“Thanks, Harry,” Cedric said.

“Don’t thank me, you’ll be earning your money,” Harry said. “I’ll spend some time with you tomorrow to go through a few things,” he promised, before moving back to his guests.

“Good,” he said, as he sat between Fleur and Gabrielle. Gabrielle raised her arms pleadingly, and he lifted her into his lap, aware that Fleur was discreetly resting her foot against his.

He smiled at the table, all it needed was Kate, and it would be perfect.

---

Harry walked in to Hogwarts, alone for a change. Hogwarts wanted to show him something, and he was always willing to listen to her. He turned left and headed past the classrooms. At the end of the hallway was a new door, next to the entrance to the courtyard.

The door opened, and he descended down four flights of steps. Lights sprung in to life to illuminate his way, and then vanished behind him.

At the bottom, the corridor widened in front of a set of heavy stone doors. He paused, as the doors slowly swung open silently, revealing a pitch black room.

He walked forward, confident that Hogwarts wouldn’t hurt him, and paused as the door behind him shut, plunging him into total darkness.

In the distance, a multi-coloured light appeared, spreading over the floor a good fifty yards from where he was standing. It was the only thing he could see.

There was a soft click, and a light appeared above the multi coloured illumination. The light steadily became brighter and then, in a chain, more lights appeared, moving toward him, as the room was fully revealed to him.

He gasped softly as he looked around. He was in the entrance of a huge room. The lights were chandeliers, each with hundreds of candles. They were hung from thick oak beams that criss-crossed the ceiling, the beams themselves hung horizontally from curved boat style beams that held up the roof.

At the far end, in what had to be magic, the multi-coloured light was a huge stained glass window that was now allowing its light to shine through completely. The pattern of the window was a tall man, with what looked like either an angel or a ghost floating behind him, and a small child to his right.

The room was empty, with the exception of a fireplace to the left, in the dead centre of the wall. The fireplace was over six foot high, with a huge mantel. With another click, the fire roared into life, the flames stopping just below the top of the fireplace.

Around both sides of the room, spaced evenly, was a series of doors, with one directly under the stained glass window. He walked toward it, his trainers making a soft thumping noise. There was a small raised platform in front of the door which he climbed on to. The door opened before him, revealing a room as big as the Gryffindor room he’d shared with the other fourth years.

There was one bed, a giant four poster, against the wall, but no other furniture. To the right was another door. He walked toward it, and as all the other doors had, it opened before he could touch the doorknob.

He had to struggle to keep his jaw from dropping. It was a bathroom, but a bathroom like none he had ever seen. In the right corner, and taking up most of the floor space was a sunken bath. It seemed to be made of marble, and had stairs down. It was almost big enough to swim in. Four huge taps, in gold, dominated the far side, near the far wall. Above the taps, a massive shower head showed that the bath had a dual use.

To the left were a sink and a mirror. The sink was marble, with just a single mixer tap, it sat in the centre of a counter top that must have been six foot wide. The mirror ran the length of the counter, and was a further four foot high.

“This is definitely my bedroom,” he whispered to himself, as he walked back into the main room, and explored the other bedrooms. Each was around three quarters the size of his, with a much smaller bathroom.

He smiled to himself. With the number of rooms, he could fit all his friends in here.

Tilly and Dobby appeared, looking around curiously. “This is being new,” Tilly said in surprise. “Tilly is never seeing this space before.”

“Did you make this for me?” Harry asked.

He felt a wave of shyness from Hogwarts.

Harry knelt down and lightly touched the floor, sending his surprise and amazement to the school.

“Need more elves,” Tilly muttered, clapping her hands. “We is needed furniture!”

“I’ll pay for it,” Harry said.

“No, no, no,” Tilly replied firmly. “Elves will be making furniture. Elves are loving this!”

“Okay,” Harry agreed. “That’s my bedroom,” he pointed to the end one. “Put Gabrielle and Fleur in the one next to me, and Hermione to the right. We’ll let everyone else choose their rooms.”

He jogged out, and headed toward the classroom they were using as a make-shift common room. “Guys,” he called. “Follow me.”

Like the Pied Piper, he led the students he was closest too down to the ground floor and to his new rooms. The doors opened for him automatically.

“What is this place?” Fleur asked.

“Our Common Room,” Harry said proudly. “Hogwarts has made us a new place.”

“Wow,” Christophe whistled. “Bedrooms?”

Harry nodded. “All with bathrooms.” He pointed. “Hermione, that one’s yours. Fleur, Gabrielle, you’ve got that one.”

Gabrielle squealed happily and took off, sprinting up the stairs. The door opened for her, and she yelled for Fleur to follow her.

Hermione smiled and walked at a more decorous pace. As she did, a new door appeared between her door and Harry’s. Harry walked over to it, opened it, and laughed. “Hermione,” he called.

She looked out of her door at him curiously.

He pointed to the door.

Hermione walked down and walked through it. She blinked and turned around. “How the hell did you do that?” she demanded. “We’re below the ground floor. The library is on the fourth!”

“Just say thank you to Hogwarts.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said, looking at the ceiling.

“You’re welcome,” Harry replied on Hogwarts’ behalf. He looked at his other friends.

“You’re all old enough to make your own decisions about where you sleep. So choose a room and a room-mate. The elves are going to be around to make your furniture shortly.”

Melissa looked thoughtful for a few seconds, before she grabbed Christophe’s hand and marched him into a bedroom to the right.

Viktor took the bedroom next to Hermione’s – after giving Harry a look asking for permission.

Crusher and Smasher, and Nasher and Thrasher each took a room next to the entrance.

Cho went with Adrienne, while Cedric ended up with Adrienne’s boyfriend.

Fred and George took a room opposite Angelina and Alicia.

Lisa looked at the room that was left, and then made a face, before she jogged up to Hermione’s room.

By the time everyone had finished looking around, the elves had created a semi-circle of couches around one of the large fire places, and Harry took a seat over there. He groaned softly, as the couch seemed to mould itself to him.

“This is outstanding,” Hermione said, bouncing out. She flopped down next to him.

“You don’t mind Lisa?”

“Mind?” she asked happily, “I’m delighted to have a real friend to share with.”

“You know that Viktor’s on his own?”

“That’s how he prefers it,” Hermione said. “He’s the solitary type. He’s going to be so happy. And with the desks, and the access to the library, this place will be great. Do we need a password?”

Hogwarts sent him a negative response.

“No,” Harry replied. “I believe that Hogwarts will only allow us in, or people we allow in.”

“Professors?”

Harry grinned as an idea hit him. “Get everyone settled, I’ll be back soon.”

“That’s your ‘Evil smile,’” Hermione pointed out.

“I know,” he agreed. He walked out and up several flights of stairs, and headed toward an office.

Hogwarts told him that there was only one occupant – his target – inside. He knocked on the door, and at the murmured invitation, strolled in. Hogwarts fed him some information that might be useful.

He grabbed the nearest chair and spun it so that he could sit opposite the desk.

“Harry?”

“Let’s talk spandex,” he said with a grin.

“I have an idea, let’s not,” Aurora replied dryly.

“Pity, you’d look great in it. You’re maybe one of only fifteen women in the world who could pull it off.”

“Thank you, I think. So what brings you to my office?”

“The chance of spending some time with you alone? You’re always so busy, and those Ravenclaws wouldn’t leave you alone if I paid them.”

“And I thought you were just ignoring me.”

“Me?” Harry asked. “Nonsense.”

“So, are you here just to inflate my ego, or do you have a purpose?”

“Anyone with your looks does not need her ego inflated.”

“You are deranged,” Aurora stated. “You are spending enough time with Miss Delacour, and I’ve noticed that she’s a lot more friendly with you than she used to be.”

Harry smiled softly, leaning forward. “And she’s a very good friend, but no, we’re not dating. Not to say that I wouldn’t, but we both think it’s not the right time. With you, on the other hand…”

Aurora laughed softly. “Impudent wretch. Tell me something, Harry.”

“Anything,” Harry purred.

“Exactly how did you grow up? There are rumours of a magical maturity, but that idea is completely preposterous. It is right up there with the idea that you are the heir of some famous wizard and have suddenly inherited their powers!”

“Can you keep a secret?” Harry asked

“You already know that I can.”

“Hogwarts helped me bend time. I spent a lot of time alone, practising all sorts of things, so that I could be an adult and look after myself, and everyone I care about. People kept telling me that my biggest problem was that I was a teenage boy, so I did something about it.”

Aurora whistled slowly.

Harry grinned at her. “So if I’m single next year and you are, I may just come a-knocking.”

“I can’t tell if you’re serious.”

“No, that’s my guardian.”

“What?”

“Whoops,” Harry said. “Let’s just say that you’ll find out what I’m talking about after this weekend.”

“Okay,” she said doubtfully. “It’s time for you to stop the flirting and get to your point.”

“It is never pointless to flirt with a beautiful woman. I want you to move in with me.”

Aurora blinked, and she looked at him in shock. She shook herself and looked at him. “You have something in mind, not the obvious, that’s too crude for you. Explain?”

“Hogwarts has created a Common Room for me. My friends are all in as well, in the new bedrooms. The problem comes with the fact that there is no password; Hogwarts will simply not let anyone I don’t want in. This, of course, means no school supervision.

“While that is attractive, it would cause some problems for the rest of the school. I can ignore them, but I’m not here to make people’s lives more difficult.

“The way around it, is for me to invite a responsible adult to keep an eye on us. Your room will be inviolate, obviously, and a hell of a lot bigger than the cupboard that Hogwarts tells me is your current room. We will follow what you say, although you will need to be more open minded. We have at least one couple sleeping together, and wouldn’t be surprised at more in the future.

“You can rest assured that it is entirely consensual.

“You will be quite welcome to join in with our evening discussion as you desire, and it will give you somewhere to escape from rabid Ravenclaws who spend as much time looking at your chest as what you are trying to teach them.”

Aurora looked at him silently. “And you don’t look at my chest?” she eventually asked.

“I do, frequently, with great appreciation,” he agreed. “But I also happen to think that you have the most beautiful hazel eyes in the world, and that the way that you twirl your hair around your finger when you are distracted is incredibly sexy.”

Aurora laughed softly. “It’s not your size, Harry, that backs up your story, it’s your whole attitude. I’ll come and have a look at this area of yours before I make any promises.”

Harry reached over and gently shut the books in front of her. “All work and no play makes Aurora a dull girl,” he said, as he took her hand. He pulled her up, dropping her hand with an audible sigh as they left the privacy of her classroom. They walked silently back down to the ground floor.

He guided her down the corridor and smiled. He opened his arms dramatically and the red doors opened.

Inside, the elves had finished. The room had been re-organised into four separate areas. A study area took up one quarter of the room. Desks were arranged into groups of four, with enough spaces for everyone to sit at the same time.

Opposite it was a library area, complete with comfortable chairs. Hermione and Melissa were filling it up with books and talking in a low voice.

The relaxing area was the third part, taking up a lot of the remaining space. The couches had been replaced with one huge long couch, where everyone could lounge around. Thick rugs were on the floor for people who preferred not to sit on the couch.

To the right of the fireplace, and in the corner, a small drinks bar was set up, with Fred and George stocking it with butterbeer.

Viktor, Christophe, Fleur, Gabrielle, Adrienne, Jacque, Cedric and Cho were lounging on the couch, having a discussion about the practical nature of using Runes on a daily basis.

In the last corner, Smasher, Crusher, Nasher, Thrasher and Lisa were setting up a training area, complete with a boxing ring.

Aurora had a stunned look on her face, as Harry gently took her arm and guided her to one of the spare bedrooms.

The room was a little smaller than his bedroom. A massive four poster bed was against the far wall, with a study area to the right of it. The study had a desk almost as large as Dumbledore’s, and what looked like a very comfy chair.

Harry pulled her through into the bathroom, and smiled at the gasp.

“I’m the junior professor,” she said. “I’m not supposed to get a room like this for years!”

“Tradition is fine until it gets in my way,” Harry retorted.

Auror shook herself.

“Come on,” Harry said, and led her back out. He moved over to the library area and took a seat, nodding to the one next to him. Hermione and Melissa ignored them.

“Do you know what you’ve got here?” Aurora asked.

“Some good friends and a place that Hogwarts has put together brilliantly?”

Auror laughed. “Yes, but that wasn’t what I meant. You’ve gathered all the most interesting students in the three schools in one place. I don’t mean the ones with the highest grades, but the ones with the combination of intelligence and personality that makes them stand out.”

“It wasn’t planned.”

“It rarely is.” She looked at him. “I accept, but there will have to be a few rules. You’ve already told me about some sharing – as long as they are both over sixteen, I don’t care. Is there anything else I should know?”

Harry sighed, and tried to avoid blushing. “You may see Gabrielle in my room at strange times.”

“Oh?” Aurora asked.

“Yes, she has a habit of trying to crawl into bed with me.”

“Really?” Aurora demanded, her voice cold.

Harry sighed. “It’s complicated,” he explained, a bit weakly. “Michael, Marie and Fleur are happy about it.”

“Are they?”

“It does make me more than a little uncomfortable.”

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” she continued in her cold voice. “And it’s fun to tease you about something.”

Harry blinked at her.

She laughed and smirked at him. “Michael was at a staff meeting, and I asked about you and Gabrielle. I wanted to be sure.”

Harry laughed in relief. “You will fit right in,” he said dryly.

“Thank you. Right, let’s get everyone together.”

Harry stood and they walked to the fireplace in front of the lounging area. “Guys,” Harry called. “Everyone take a seat.”

A few minutes later everyone was sat down, looking at them.

“As we’re going to live here, and some of us are moving out of other dorms, I’ve asked Professor Sinistra to be our live-in guardian. She’s got the room in the middle, which I’ve asked Hogwarts to ensure that she is the only person who can enter. Now, she’s got some rules for us, so let the negotiations begin.”

Aurora laughed softly. “So you’re aware, Harry has bribed me with one of the rooms.”

“It makes it really hard to argue with him,” Hermione agreed.

“Rules. I will treat you with respect in here; you will treat me with respect out there. And as a mark of that, in here, you may call me Aurora.”

Everyone nodded.

“You will continue to get the top marks in the school. I want every professor jealous of me.”

There was some laughter and some nodding.

She looked at Fred and George. “If you’re going to prank, ensure that you don’t get caught. Getting caught is a detention that you will not enjoy.”

“Don’t worry,” Fred said. “Pranking is too easy these days, and Harry can normally create more chaos than we could without trying.”

“Yeah,” George agreed. “We try and make a scene, and he just does it, and gets away with it. It rather makes pranks pointless. We’re settling for pranking the world by helping Harry.”

“Thank you,” Harry said dryly.

“To continue,” Aurora said. “What happens in here stays in here. I don’t mind you sharing rooms, as long as it is totally consensual, and you are over the age of sixteen. You will not bring other people here for that purpose.”

“Amendment,” Harry interrupted. “No other students for that purpose.”

Aurora looked at him for a second, and then nodded. “Considering your personal life, I’ll allow that.”

“It will only affect him anyway,” Fleur pointed out with a teasing grin.

“Yeah,” Christophe agreed. “I even tried setting him up with my sister. He just doesn’t like students.”

“Jeannie?” Adrienne asked in surprise.

“She’s a cute kid,” Harry explained.

“Not your type?” Adrienne asked.

“A little on the young side.”

“Yeah,” Christophe snorted. “A whole two years older than you.”

Harry smiled. “Okay, let’s clear something up. Hands up those who think I went through a magical maturity.”

No one put their hands up.

“Or that Harry is the heir of someone like Gryffindor, Slytherin, Merlin, or Mum-Ra?” Sinistra asked.

No one put their hands up.

“And those who think that Harry has been playing with time?” Fleur asked.

Everyone raised their hands.

Harry pouted. “You were supposed to believe the first option,” he pointed out.

“Yeah,” George agreed. “We put that rumour around deliberately.”

Everyone turned to them.

“What?” Fred asked. “That’s what we’re paid for.”

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Aurora interrupted again. “Alcohol only in moderation, and we eat with the other students.”

“We accept the rules,” Harry said on everyone’s behalf.

“Why so generous?” Hermione asked.

“I prefer to think of them as realistic,” Aurora replied. “If I make the rules too restrictive you’ll all break them a lot more than if I try and be reasonable.”

“And it works,” Harry agreed. “Speaking of food, it’s time for dinner.”

Everyone who was seated, stood, and they followed him and Aurora out. “I’ll clear all this with Dumbledore,” Harry offered.

“I think we should do it together,” Aurora replied.

Harry looked behind him. “If anyone makes stupid comments about Professor Sinistra, deal with it.”

“Will do, boss,” Smasher and Crusher said in unison.

They walked straight through into the Great Hall, to find everyone staring at them. “What?” Harry asked warily.

“Mr Potter,” Albus said with a long suffering sigh. “Do you have anything to confess?”

“Not to you,” Harry replied evenly. “I’m going to need a little more context than that.”

“Did you happen to look at the House Points as you entered?”

“Should I have?”

“Yes. There was a new hourglass.”

“Oh?” Harry asked, interested. “Why did you do that?”

“I didn’t do that,” Dumbledore sighed. “I believe that you are a member of your house.”

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 11

“My house?” Harry asked. “I don’t really consider myself a part of Gryffindor anymore.”

“Not My house,” Dumbledore said. “ Your house.”

Harry opened his mouth.

“Don’t,” Minerva interrupted. “The word Your has been used as the title, the same as Gryffindor or Slytherin.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” Harry asked Dumbledore innocently.

Dumbledore sighed audibly.

“It’s a great name,” Harry continued. “Twenty points to Your house! Detention, and ten points from Your house. It makes it even easier for the professors. But what does this have to do with me?”

“Everything,” Dumbledore said. “How’s your new Common Room?”

“Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Hogwarts did an amazing job!”

“Harry,” Gabrielle said, tugging at his side.

He looked down at her.

“I think that Professor Dumbledore is saying that we are Your house.”

“Exactly,” Dumbledore agreed. “And every point that any of you has earned this year has been taken from the house you were in, and given to Your house. You’re currently third, fifteen points behind Gryffindor.”

Harry turned his head and looked at his friends. “We’re massively outnumbered, so I want full participation in classes. I want to win at the end of the year.”

Shark-like smiles appeared on his friends faces. “We will,” they chorused.

“Professor Sinistra is our Head of House,” Harry added, turning back to the Headmaster. “I’ll leave it up to you to negotiate her pay rise. But you don’t need to worry about her quarters; Hogwarts has taken care of that.”

Aurora looked like she was fighting an urge to gape at him.

Harry looked down at his robes and the Gryffindor colours and frowned. “We’re going to need new colours,” he pointed out.

There was a rush of magic through them, and when it had finished, they were all wearing the same uniforms. The robes were light grey, with a black and silver trim. The tie was striped in the same three colours.

“So I’m a Hogwarts student now,” Christophe said in amusement. “Cool.”

“Well, it does mean that I can help the other students better,” Melissa mused. “I can deal with Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin equally, so it works for me.”

There was another rush of magic, and every other Beauxbatons and Durmstrang student started to wear the new house colours over their uniforms.

“Associate members,” Hermione pointed out with a small smile.

Harry reached down and touched the floor.

Gabrielle knelt next to him. “She’s not worked this hard in years.”

“I think we ought to say thank you,” Harry decided as he stood up. “Fleur, Vik, Ced, you remember the power sharing spell?”

“Of course,” Fleur said.

“Teach it to the others quickly,” he ordered, as he moved toward the centre of the room. “Excuse me,” he said to the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables, as he moved them away.

With his wand, he drew a circle on the floor, and stood in it. He took a few deep breaths. “Ready?” he called.

“We are,” Cedric replied firmly.

“Gabrielle, tell them when,” he said to the only one who couldn’t participate.

Gabrielle’s expression when from forlorn to happy in less than a microsecond. “I will,” she promised faithfully.

Harry crouched, and then stood abruptly, flaring his magic at the same time. He flew into the air, until he was hovering around fifteen feet above the floor. He released all his magic in one go, pulling it all to the surface.

“Now,” Gabrielle ordered.

He threw his head back and screamed as he was hit by fifteen streams of magic, including, to his surprise, Aurora’s.

He took all the magic inside him for a second, merging it with his own, before he released it all.

Bright blue flames surrounded him before he focused down, and poured the magic straight into Hogwarts. The flame reached down and touched the floor, going through it like it didn’t exist.

“Stop,” Gabrielle ordered, and the streams pulled away from him. With just his own magic left, he continued for a few seconds, before he took control of his now heavily depleted magic and floated down.

There was a silent pause, before he was hit by Hogwarts’ reaction. She was so happy, so awake and bubbly. She was telling him how much she loved him, and it awed him.

The feeling slowly faded away, but the lights were a lot brighter, and he got the impression that Hogwarts was happy.

“I felt that,” Viktor said in complete awe. “I felt Hogwarts.”

“I think everyone did,” Aurora said quietly. “That was amazing.”

“Twenty points to Your house,” Flitwick said softly, before he grinned. “And yes, I did want to be the first. Simply amazing, Harry. Simply amazing.”

“Excuse me?” a third year Slytherin said, raising his hand.

“Yes, Mr Hazen?” Albus asked.

“How do I become a member of Your house?”

Albus looked at Harry.

Harry shrugged. “Hogwarts has to choose you. It’s her house, not mine.”

“And how do I get Hogwarts to choose me?” the boy asked.

“I have no idea at all, I don’t even know why she chose me,” Harry replied.

“Hogwarts likes smart people who try and listen to her,” Gabrielle said. “Most people never even try, and even those who do, most don’t pay attention to her properly. If you find out how to do that, and she likes you, then she’ll let you join.”

“Shouldn’t the Sorting Hat be involved?” A sixth year Ravenclaw asked.

Dumbledore frowned before he nodded slowly. “I believe it is only fair to get his opinion. Minerva, if you wouldn’t mind?”

Hogwarts seemed distinctly grumpy at the idea. While they were waiting, Harry sat down with his friends.

Minerva returned a few minutes later and placed the Hat on the stool she carried in with her.

“Well?” the Hat asked abrasively. “Why have you seen fit to disturb my composing?”

“We have a new House,” Albus explained. “And some of the other students want to join it.”

“Oh for the love of Hogwarts,” the Hat sighed. “Are you incapable of thinking for more than thirty seconds?

“One, Hogwarts, created the new House for Potter. Why, I don’t know, he doesn’t seem that loveable to me.” The Hat twitched. “Stop that,” he said to no one they could see, “I’m sure he’s a cutie pie when he’s not scandalising the Wizarding world!

“Two, Every single member of Your house is leaving Hogwarts at the end of the year. Some are finishing school, the rest have decided to move to France, so there won’t be a Your house next year – so I’m really not going to sort anyone into something that won’t even exist.

“Three, and finally, this is Hogwarts personal house. The other founders had one, so she decided she wanted one, if only for a while. She chose the students personally, as I believe young Ms Delacour told you! She knows everything I do about the students in here, and if she had thought you were suitable, she would have chosen you as well.

“Frankly, she thinks most of the Wizarding world has lost the power of critical thinking, not to mention having a deplorable lack of common sense.

“Now, if I’ve answered your questions, can I get back to my composing?”

“Of course,” Albus said softly. “Thank you.”

The Hat gave a visible shrug. “Ahh, actually, you may as well leave me here, Potter can show me his Common Room later, Hogwarts is proud of it. First time she’s made new buildings in centuries.”

Harry nodded his agreement. “Now, if we’re all done, can we eat?”

---

Harry stretched out, his feet out in front of him, as he relaxed. The previous evening had been fun. He’d let the associate members in to their Common Room, and they’d ended up having a conversation that was slightly too educational for his tastes, but had been fun all the same.

The Hat had taken part, once they’d introduced him to the wine, and had turned out to have an amusing and loquacious character.

He’d finished his extra lessons for the day, and put Gabrielle to bed. Everyone else was asleep, and he was waiting for Fleur to arrive back from her first day on the job.

He stared at the fireplace, just relaxing. He had no idea how long he waited – as Fleur still had his watch. Hogwarts told him the second she was back on school property. A few minutes later, the doors opened silently, and she walked in. He looked up at her. She smiled at him and walked over, sitting near him and resting her feet on his lap.

“Rub me?” she pleaded.

Foot rubbing was another of the skills Kate had insisted he learned. It was hardly a hardship. He pulled off Fleur’s shoes and started to rub her feet, being careful not to tickle.

Fleur groaned in relief.

“How was it?”

“Exhausting, and absolutely brilliant. I am going to be such a tyrant in the kitchen,” she said with a giggle. “Everything I did he picked fault with, but he told me why, and I know what to do next time!”

“Good.”

“Harry.”

He looked up at her.

“Thanks.”

He smiled and continued to rub her feet silently. When he finished, he reached into his pocket. “I’ll take my watch back now.”

“Of course,” Fleur said as she sat up. She reached to her wrist and removed his watch. Harry flipped open the case he’d pulled out, and took out the slim watch. He draped it over her wrist and smiled. Lucas had been absolutely right about which watch would suit the witch right.

“Harry,” Fleur whispered. “This is too much.”

“Nothing is too much for my friends,” he whispered back.

Fleur leaned up and kissed him softly. He accepted the kiss, but didn’t try and deepen it. She pulled back, her eyes studying him. She did the strap up, and admired it. “It’s charmed?”

“To the eyeballs,” he agreed. “If you’re ever in danger or trouble, I’ll know, and I’ll be there.”

“Thank you.”

He reached up and lightly stroked her face. “Go to bed, Fleur. You’ve got lessons tomorrow.”

Fleur stood, and looked down at him. “Can you try and talk to Gabrielle for me?”

“What about?”

“She desperately wants us to date, and won’t tell me why. She asked me about it again this morning.”

“I will,” he promised.

“Sleep well, Harry.”

“You too, Fleur.”

He watched as she slowly walked away, before he looked back into the fireplace. He was feeling slightly melancholy. He realised that he needed to sort out his relationship with Kate. This limbo wasn’t good enough for him. He needed to know if he was single – and could pursue who ever took his fancy, or was in a relationship, and know not to even bother looking.

“Harry?”

He looked up as Gabrielle padded toward him. She was wearing a simple white nightgown.

“Not sleepy?”

She shook her head. “I napped earlier, I was waiting for Fleur.”

Harry reached over and picked her up, depositing her on his outstretched legs. “Why do you want me to date Fleur?” he asked directly.

Gabrielle blushed and looked away.

“Gabrielle?” he asked softly, reaching out to take her hands.

A look of shame appeared on her face. “So that you won’t leave me,” she whimpered.

“I’m sorry?”

“Fleur’s Veela, she understands and wouldn’t be jealous of all the hugs and love I get from you. Most human women wouldn’t understand, because I’m not your daughter, and I would lose the best thing in my whole life!

“You are everything to me, Harry, you have so much love and you give it to me without asking for anything back. It scares me that one day you’ll realise I’m just a silly little girl, and you’ll leave me, and I’ll never be like this again.” Large crystal tears started to fall down her cheeks.

“The only person I could be serious about at the moment is Kate, and if anyone would understand, it would be her. Anyone I am serious about would have to understand that you are the most important thing in my life, and that she would have to share me with you.”

“Really?” she asked, her eyes now red as she moved her hands from his and rubbed them.

“I promise,” he said, reaching up and cupping her face. He used his thumb to stroke the tears away. “On Sunday, why don’t we go out? Just you, me, and Kate, and we can see how we work together?”

Gabrielle smiled hesitantly and nodded.

“As for Fleur,” Harry continued, letting his hand drop, and leaning back to stare at the ceiling. “At the moment, we’re friends. She doesn’t think that she’s old enough to handle me, but that’s not really true. She said that to let me off the hook. She’s more mature than I am.

“All I know is that I want to try and have a proper relationship with Kate, but I know it won’t be easy. Nothing good ever is. And I know that in doing it, I am probably losing the best chance I’ll ever have with your sister. Life is complicated, Gabrielle.”

Harry lifted her up, off his legs. He swung his feet onto the couch and relaxed down on to his back. Gabrielle draped herself over him and gave him a hug.

He wrapped one arm around her. “Go to sleep, Gabrielle,” he whispered.

She nodded and a few minutes later he felt her breathing change.

He stayed awake, staring at the ceiling for a long time, before he finally fell asleep.

He woke up again as Fleur’s door opened, and she walked out. She’d pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

“Morning,” she said, as she sat next to Gabrielle.

“Morning,” he whispered back. “You are beautiful.”

“You’re not bad yourself,” Fleur replied, as she stroked Gabrielle’s hair.

“I’m going to take her out on Sunday, with Kate, so she can see that Kate isn’t going to steal me from her.”

“She’s a little leech,” Fleur said softly. “But I wouldn’t have her any other way.”

“Me neither,” Harry agreed. “You know, I got an owl from Amelia Bones the other day. The Aurors involved in the Second Task have been suspended, but not one of the cowards admitted to having thrown a curse at Gabrielle.”

“Can you blame them?” Fleur asked dryly.

“I hate it,” Harry explained. “They are brave enough to throw a curse at a small girl, but when faced with someone who can fight back, they hide like the cowards they are.”

“You’re a scary person Harry, the darkness inside you; people can sense it when you get angry. They know that you will do what you feel is right, and that no one can stop you.”

He smiled faintly. “A few people could, probably.”

“Maybe.”

Fleur looked down at Gabrielle. “Come on, leech,” she called a little louder.

“M’not a leech,” Gabrielle mumbled. “G’way.”

“You need to have a bath before breakfast. Get moving.”

“Fleur!” Gabrielle protested. She perked up suddenly. “Harry can help!”

Fleur reached down and lifted Gabrielle up, plonking her down on Harry’s lap. “Right,” she said firmly. “Listen up. Papa may be looking at this from the Veela perspective, and be thinking about everything you get out of your relationship with Harry, but I am not. You are not allowed to climb into bed with Harry at night – waking him up is fine. You are not allowed to invite Harry to help you bathe, ever. Nor are you allowed to do anything that a normal human eight year old girl would not do.”

“But I’m part-Veela,” Gabrielle pointed out, “that’s not fair.”

“I don’t care about fair,” Fleur said firmly. “With Mama and Papa away, I’m in charge. And while you are indeed part-Veela, Harry isn’t, and you are making him uncomfortable.”

“But…” she stuttered as tears appeared in Gabrielle’s eyes.

“Go and get washed,” Fleur ordered.

Gabrielle jumped off and ran in to the bedroom, sobbing.

“Don’t,” Fleur said, as Harry started to move.

“But…”

“Yes, I know you love her to bits, but she has to learn that there are boundaries. You can’t give them to her, so I have to.”

Harry sighed. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“You need Gabrielle as much as you need anyone,” Fleur said, as she dropped onto his lap. “And it is wonderful to watch you with her, and you do try and set limits with her behaviour, such as drinking alcohol, but you would do anything to give her the love she craves, even if it makes you uncomfortable.

“As I’ve now set these boundaries, you can love her properly, without being uncomfortable.”

Harry reached up and tugged her down. “Thanks.”

Fleur smiled and cuddled against him.

“You are the strangest man I’ve ever met,” she told him. “This coldness you have gives you an amazing ability to compartmentalise. I can feel that you fancy me, and yet I can feel that you’ve locked that attraction completely away, and I live in your close friend category.”

“I can always let you out,” Harry said dryly.

Fleur poked him. After a few minutes, she pressed herself up. “Right, I’ll go and check that her Majesty is okay, you could do with a shower yourself.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Harry said with a grin.

Fleur wandered over toward her bedroom.

“You know,” Harry called, “you have a better arse than Kate.”

Fleur shot him a smile, before she vanished.

Harry sighed and checked his watch: six am. Time for a shower, and then a talk with Fred and George.

He paused as an idea struck him. It went from a small idea to an obsession in less than ten seconds. He didn’t move for at least ten minutes as he let the idea percolate.

Even as he got up off the couch, he knew that the idea would probably change the lives of all his friends.

He knocked on the bedroom door to Hermione and Lisa’s room, and then walked in.

“Hey, Boss,” Lisa said as she stretched on her bed.

“Morning,” Harry said with a smile.

“Aww crap,” Lisa moaned, “It’s too early to deal with your evil smile.”

“Nonsense,” Harry replied. “And cute pyjamas.”

“Thank you,” Lisa said dryly.

“What do you want?” Hermione asked sleepily. She sat up slowly. She was wearing a t-shirt, and her hair was messy.

“Note the evil smile,” Lisa said again.

“It’s barely gone six,” Hermione protested.

“Look, all I want is a way of legally owning a company despite my official age being fourteen. I can do it via the Goblins in the Muggle world, but the damn laws in the Wizarding world are stupidly anachronistic.”

Hermione looked at him, unblinkingly.

“Hermione?” he asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

“I think you broke her, boss.”

Hermione blinked. “Don’t do that to me,” she scolded. “Let’s hear your rationale.”

“I reckon I can build a company with a first year turnover in excess of five million galleons, and I don’t want anyone to run it for me.”

Hermione’s jaw dropped open, revealing that if she’d ever had any fillings they had been done perfectly, using white amalgam so that they didn’t show up.

He turned to look at Lisa, to discover that she clearly hadn’t had Muggle dentists as parents, as she had couple of silver coloured fillings.

“Hermione, Lisa?” he tried.

He sighed, and turned, deciding he’d talk to them later.

“Don’t you move!” Hermione screeched at him.

“What?” he asked.

“Sit,” she ordered, pointing at the foot of her bed.

He sat obediently.

“Five million galleons?”

“That’s based on the first year,” he said, “and is so small because of the relatively small population of magical people. I’ll be able to take it global in the second year, and make more.”

Hermione climbed out of bed and started pacing. Harry watched her, amused.

“Explain!”

“I’m not going to give anyone else the secret, so I’ll have to run it personally.”

“There are times when I want to smack you,” Hermione growled.

“Take up kick-boxing,” Lisa suggested.

Hermione glared at her, as Lisa playfully fended it off.

“Exactly how are you going to make this money?”

“Well, you’re going to do a small amount of research for me, with Fred and George, and I’m going to bet a fortune on you guys doing what I need. And after Saturday, I’ll have people queuing up for the official launch; I’ll have some of the biggest… Get dressed, meeting in the Common Room in two minutes.”

He trailed off as another idea hit him. He ran to the door, into the Common Room, and then straight into Cho and Adrienne’s room. Cho was half dressed, wearing a skirt and her bra. Adrienne was topless, bent over as she was pulling on a skirt.

“Cho, I need you, finish get dressed. Adrienne, you too. You have two minutes.”

He turned and stormed into Fred and George’s room. “Wake up,” he yelled. “Meeting, in a hundred seconds. Move it.”

He then moved down the rest of the rooms, poking his head in and waking people up. He even woke Aurora, who was the only person to react with a curse.

Ninety seconds later, everyone was on the couches in front of him. Fleur was drying Gabrielle’s hair.

“First,” Harry said, “those who aren’t already working for me, consider yourself hired.” He looked at Aurora, “that includes you, even if it’s only on a consultancy basis. We’ll discuss salaries and titles later, but you are now my people, understood?”

Everyone nodded obediently, exchanging bemused looks.

“I have had an idea,” Harry explained, as he started to pace. “I’m talking about money on a scale unheard off in the Wizarding world. I’m talking the invention of the telephone, the jet engine, or maybe even the Guttenberg press.

“And with the improvements we can make, in five years, we can take it to the next level, and do it all again.”

“Harry believes in this,” Fleur said, “Sweet Merlin, he believes in this. I can feel it from here.”

“It’s like a wave of belief and passion,” Gabrielle agreed.

“Even I can feel it,” Melissa said. “I don’t care what it is, I’m sold.”

Harry moved over to Crusher, who was on the end. He reached out and touched his face, so he could look into Crusher’s eyes. As he had before, he searched for any sign that he could not trust his employee. He left Legilimency in the clumsy tool department that it belonged in, and just used his instincts. He stared for a second, before he moved on. He did every one of his friends, before he moved to rest against the side of fireplace.

“What the hell was that?” Aurora demanded.

“Harry has just looked into your soul and judged you,” Gabrielle whispered.

“A little warning?” she asked.

Harry shook himself. “Damn, that was intense,” he muttered.

“No shit,” Christophe muttered. “Your idea?”

“Okay, Fred and George came up with a way of showing Pensieve memories on a screen. We sell that.”

“That’s not much,” Hermione pointed out. “It’s just a TV and video, anyone can do it with a Pensieve.

“Well, anyone who is a genius,” she added as she looked at Fred and George.

Harry smiled. “Yes, but with a clarity that no TV can match, but even that isn’t as important as what it means. Imagine owning the T.V. and the video, and making so that the T.V. only plays our brand of Videos. We own the standard, and we sell the devices exclusively in the first year. In the second, we allow other brands, and others to innovate on our idea.

“By that time, everyone will have to use our standard of Pensieve memories, as normal memories won’t work. We then licence that out to other content providers, and collect a premium on every memory sold.

“We branch out into the content providing as well, for the first year, as we can do two things. This will be so new, that just showing memories of exotic places will sell millions of copies. We can licence Muggle movies, pay someone to see it, and then use the memory. And sporting events, one person watches, and everyone can have a perfect replication of what happened. We get a team of people from different angles and we’re ever better! The possibilities are endless.

“All we have to do is encrypt the spells so that they can’t be broken down, and we have a lock on it.

“And then, in four years’ time, in a display of magnificence, we release the full specs and let the world into the secret. We ride the wave of good will this will give us, although our profits will dip slightly.

“And then, in the fifth year, we release version two and start again. Version two is a full three dimensional rendering. And in that time, we’ve worked out all the kinks, so that the magic is stored in a simple box, and we go to the next stage and release it to the Muggle world. We hide the fact that we’re using magic by making the box self-destruct if opened.

“We produce the cameras, the editing suites, everything, and sell it to the others. We hold no patents, and invite competition – but without knowing just how our magic works, they won’t have a chance!

“So, I’ll need Fred and George and Hermione working on hiding how we do the spells. Christophe, Fleur, I want memories from you of how to make wine and how to cook food. Fleur, you’re going to be the first Pensieve TV chef in the Wizarding World. Your restaurant is going to be so popular it will have a yearlong waiting list!

“Crusher, Smasher, Thrasher, Nasher, basic self-defence memories. Aurora, we’ll talk about pre-Hogwarts lessons.

“Alicia, Angelina, Quidditch matches. We can give people the real thrill of playing Quidditch full speed.

“Viktor, we’ll use your daredevil skills and show what a Seeker can really do.

“Cedric, you’ve already got your task. Cho, I need you to tell your father I’m going to talk to him on Saturday.”

Cho raised her hand. “Harry, my dad doesn’t normally meet people like that. He’s very formal.”

“I know,” Harry agreed. “But I’m not going to see him as anything but an equal. So I’m not going to go through his normal channels. He’ll be able to help us break into Asia next year, but only if we work together, I will never work for anyone. So, give him the message, and if he doesn’t like it, it will just take me a year longer.”

Cho gulped and nodded.

“And speaking of which, what are your plans?”

Cho suddenly smiled brightly. “You haven’t told me yet.”

He wrinkled his nose at her.

“Fine,” she said with a smirk. “I’ll work on the one thing you missed. It’s all very well selling the equivalent of your video things, but we all know that actual broadcasting is going to be the key. Beauxbatons has the largest library in Europe, so next year I should be able to get the theory down, and with the help of the clever people here…”

Harry grinned at her. “You won’t mind not working for your father?”

“I am female.”

“As Cedric has noticed.”

“And you didn’t earlier this morning?”

“Well, yes, but I was trying more not to look at Adrienne.”

“Hey,” Adrienne protested. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Aside from the fact that you were topless?”

“What did you expect?”

“Erm, I didn’t really.” Harry contemplated blushing, but decided he wasn’t really in the mood. “I probably ought to get an intercom system working.”

“M’eh,” Hermione said, waving her hand airily. “Just knock next time.”

“Yeah,” Lisa agreed, “then I can take my top off beforehand.”

“I did knock,” Harry pointed out.

Lisa pouted at him.

Harry rolled his eyes as everyone laughed. “So, what has your gender got to do with anything, Cho?”

“This is exactly why everyone here loves you,” Cho announced. “My dear father prefers that my brother runs things, despite the fact that I’m far cleverer than him, because he is male. So I will work with you, and when we’ve made enough money, we’ll either buy him out or set up some direct competition, and I will end up running the family firm, even if I’m doing it for you.”

Harry grinned at her. “It’s good to have a goal,” he agreed.

“What about me?” Melissa asked quietly.

“You don’t think you’re going to be busy enough?” Harry replied. “Who do you think is going to be our lawyer, in charge of our legal department – or you can do what we agreed – it’s your choice? Plans are meant to change when opportunities arrive.”

Melissa slowly smirked.

“Crusher, Smasher, we’re going to have to look at expanding rapidly this summer. To start with, I’ll vet all new employees to ensure that they are trustworthy enough. We’re going to step on a lot of established toes, and they will not like it. We already know that some wizards and witches like to react with violence.

“There may also be some attempts to pass laws against us, and if that’s the case, Melissa will be our main defence, but there may be time when a word in the correct ear can do more.

“Fred, George, Hermione, I need you skipping class for the rest of the week. Cho, if you want to help, you can. I want you to find a way to hide what spells are in the projector, so Melissa can use it on Saturday at Sirius’s trial. I’ll clear it with Dumbledore, and yes, Hermione, Gabrielle and I will take all the notes you need, so you will be able to catch up easily.

“Any questions?”

Viktor raised his hand.

“Vik?”

“Fred and George’s thing vas silent,” he pointed out. “I think I know some runes that vould give us zound as well.”

Everyone looked at the Bulgarian.

“Vat?” he asked, his accent thickening as he looked around warily.

Hermione seemed to fly into his lap, and she gave him a firm kiss. Viktor blushed, but had a pleased smile.

Hermione wiggled a time or two, before her eyes widened slightly, and her own pleased smile appeared, although her smile was slightly embarrassed as well. Harry suspected that was due to the fact that she hadn’t actually got dressed fully, and was now settled on Viktor’s lap in only her long t-shirt and knickers.

“Apart from feeling foolish for forgetting sound, I think this has been very productive. Anyway, I’m going to have a shower. See you at breakfast.”

---

No one moved from the crouch for a few minutes.

“Dad’s going to have a fit,” Cho said cheerfully. “I’m supposed to do a lot of things, but being part of the inner circle of an internationally huge corporation is not it.”

“Can we do this?” Aurora asked, looking bewildered. “I mean, why am I here? He only danced with me because his girlfriend called me a ‘blonde hottie.’”

Melissa smiled. “You could say that I’m only here because Fred and George stopped me from trying to seduce him. It wouldn’t be true, however. Harry gathers people around him who can help him get where he’s going.”

“Yes,” Fleur agreed. “As much as he loves us all, he’s very aware that we are all talented individuals with differing skill sets. He doesn’t know where his journey will end, but he knows he’s going to get there.

“For all of our intelligence, our dedication, our imagination, without him, we are nothing.”

“What do you mean?” Lisa asked.

Fleur looked thoughtful. “He is the catalyst,” she eventually said. “Hermione, at the start of this year would you have skipped classes to work with Fred and George?”

“No,” Hermione said firmly. “Never.”

“Exactly. Crusher, Smasher, would you have taken orders for expansion like you just did?”

“Hell no, but Harry’s the boss,” Crusher replied.

“Exactly,” Fleur agreed. “Cedric, were you planning on being an accountant?”

“No, I was going to join the Ministry, like Dad. I’ve always liked numbers, though, so it was a logical thing once Harry suggested it.”

“Is anyone here not really excited by this idea?” Fleur asked.

No one raised their hands.

“Exactly,” she said with a smile. “The idea itself isn’t novel, but no one else thought of it. No one else did anything but watch what Fred and George did, and move on. In fact, Fred, George, how do you feel about Harry usurping your invention?”

“His invention,” George replied immediately.

“We work for him,” Fred explained, “so all our inventions belong to him. We wouldn’t have planned this use for it, and we all know that we’ll be incredibly well rewarded.”

“Beyond our wildest dreams,” George continued. “He gave us a shop for Christmas; that was our old dream, now our dreams are blank along the margins, because we can’t dream about where we’ll go with him, we just know that as long as we don’t screw up, it will be the wildest ride in the world.”

“You know what I think?” Lisa asked. “I think that we’ve just seen the birth of a Playboy industrialist. He’ll be the one at the fore, going to all the parties, making the hard decisions, being the target, while we’re all just behind him, getting the praise and the rewards, without the danger. However, if he starts wearing a costume at night, I’m definitely going to want input in to how it looks, maybe do the fitting too.”

Hermione sniggered. “Black?”

“Or Red and Gold,” Lisa smirked back. “I think I’d prefer the Black one, more form fitting.”

“What the hell are you two talking about?” Cedric asked, looking bewildered.

“Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne,” Lisa explained. “Otherwise known as Iron Man and Batman.”

“Batman?” Fleur asked doubtfully.

“Muggle fantasy characters,” Hermione explained. “They were both the only sons of wealthy parents. Bruce Wayne’s were murdered, while Tony Stark’s died in a car crash. They were both geniuses, inventing things that allowed them to make the companies that they inherited even more powerful.”

Lisa bounced. “Wayne became Batman to fight crime, a caped crusader dressed in all black armour and a variety of weapons, all bat related. He’d swoop down and beat up the bad guys.”

Hermione took over. “Tony Stark ran a weapons company, until he saw his weapons used against his own people. He had a moment of enlightenment, and built a suit of iron.” She paused, “well, technically it was composite materials, but that’s not important. The suit allowed him to fly, to be impervious to weapons, and could take out a small army.”

“It’s a good job Harry isn’t that inventive,” Aurora said with a smile.

“No, that’s what he has us for,” Fred said, a gleam in his eye.

“Oh yes,” George agreed. He looked around the room. “My turn for a rhetorical question. Who thinks that Harry is capable of ignoring the fact that bad things happen to good people?”

No one raised their hands.

Hermione sighed softly. “Bruce and Tony could be charming, they could be seductive, and they wore their public personas like a cloak. But deep down inside them was a core of something, something hard and inflexible, forged in the hottest temperatures. It was a will to never give in, no matter what the odds against them.”

“And Harry has that,” Gabrielle said, “parts of him are like stone. It’s beautiful, it’s wonderful, he’s so strong, so unbreakable, that no matter what happens, the core of him will remain undamaged, and even if everything went wrong, he lost everything, he would start again from scratch and build everything back up.”

“She’s right,” Fleur agreed. She lifted Gabrielle up. “We need to get ready for breakfast. Keep ideas in your mind, but give him a chance to make his own decision. He may surprise us.”

“Not likely,” Gabrielle muttered.

“Okay,” Aurora said. “Before you all vanish, do I need to have a word with Harry about popping into your rooms?”

Fleur smiled. “Harry’s already compartmentalised everyone here. Melissa and Hermione are his grown up sisters, he’d react to them naked like any family member. Adrienne, Cho, and Lisa, are strictly in the friends-only category. You could cavort around naked, and it would have the same effect on Harry as Cedric wandering around naked.

“As for me and you, Aurora, we’re in the potential girlfriend category. That means if he saw us in the altogether, he’d appreciate it. He also wouldn’t do anything at the moment, as he’s with Kate. He’s seen me topless twice, and this last night he gave me a foot rub. He’s a flirt, but he won’t do anything I don’t want, because of me, and because of Kate.

“And really, if he has something like today’s ideas, I’m quite happy for him to dash in and get me involved.”

Adrienne shrugged. “It comes down to trust, Aurora. We allow Harry this freedom, because we trust him. Besides, it’s fun to tease him.”

“You do know that you are all insane?” Aurora asked.

“Are you going to back out?”

“Hell no,” the professor replied. “I didn’t really want to be a teacher anyway. I just couldn’t find anything I wanted to do more.” She stood and walked to the door. “So,” she called to Fleur. “You’re two up on me?”

Fleur laughed. “It isn’t a competition.”

“Just remember,” Cedric called, “there are other men here who are quite happy to leer and give you lots of practice.”

“Git,” Cho mumbled affectionately.

“Yeah,” Crusher said. “And no doing it in public, crikey, we’d have to kill people if you two started acting like that in public.”

“Why, thank you,” Fleur said, with a smile.

“No fair,” Aurora said with a pout.

“Try hanging around Kate,” Fleur said. “She’s the first human I’ve met who can keep up with a Veela – well, one who doesn’t use her charm anyway.”

“I’ve got a lot to learn,” Aurora said. “Cedric, can you do me a favour?”

“Of course.”

“Try and get into my room.”

Cedric looked at her strangely, but did as he was told. He got to within a foot of the door, before he stopped abruptly. He struggled, but couldn’t get anywhere.

“Thanks,” Aurora said softly. “I thought that would happen.”

Cedric stepped backward. “Huh?” he asked.

“Harry said that no one would be allowed in my room. He didn’t pay any attention to that this morning when he woke me up.”

“Do you want me to have a talk with him?” Melissa asked.

“No, I would have killed him if I’d missed that.” She grinned wickedly. “Besides, I can’t let Fleur get too far ahead of me.” She vanished into her room.

---

Harry led the way out of their Common Rooms, heading toward breakfast. He was still buzzing over his idea of how to properly exploit the idea he’d had. He looked to his left, and was slightly surprised to see a witch – Tracey Davis, if he wasn’t mistaken – trapped in what looked like a spider web. She was wearing some black lingerie and a pair of uncomfortable looking high heels.

“Crusher, Smasher, get her down, find out what she wanted,” he ordered as he walked past. Her lips moved, but no sounds came out.

As they approached the Great Hall, Harry spotted Professor Dumbledore ahead. He hurried up. “Professor Dumbledore,” Harry said, putting his arm around the older man. “How are you this fine morning?”

Dumbledore turned his head and looked at him. “Simply wonderful, Harry. Simply wonderful.”

“Excellent. It’s one of those days, when you know that you can do anything your soaring imagination can see.”

“Should I raise the wards?”

“None of that,” Harry chastised gently.

“What do you want, Harry?”

“Why is everyone so suspicious of me?”

“I could list the reasons, but I want to eat breakfast sometime this morning before it gets cold.”

“Ouch,” Harry protested. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I’m pulling Cho, Hermione, Fred and George out of lessons for the rest of the week.”

“May I enquire as to why?”

“You may.”

“Why?”

“They’re doing something that needs to be done by Saturday. I can safely say that it will rock the world. Speaking of Saturday, after the trial I’m going to see Cho’s father, then pop into my new restaurant, before meeting up with Kate.

“Sunday I’m taking Gabrielle to Alton Towers.”

“Alton Towers?” Albus asked, looking interested. “I always wanted to go there.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Harry promised. “If we have a good time, we’ll do a day trip there at the end of the year, everyone who watched my fight.”

“Deal,” Albus agreed. “And I’ll trust your judgement that what your friends are doing is important.”

“It has to be, as they are not earning me house points when they are out of class.”

“Quite,” Albus said softly. “Do you really think you can win?” He stopped, as they had reached the Professor’s table.

Harry looked the old man directly in the eyes. “I think that with the people I have behind me, there is nothing we cannot do, no frontier we cannot conquer, and no adversity we cannot overcome. Isaac Newton paraphrased an ancient saying, when he said; if I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

“They are my giants, they lift me up and support me, and all I have to do is stand there and see the future.” He bowed respectfully, before swirling, and walking to his friends.

Without exception, they had their heads high, and looked both proud and focused. They looked motivated to pull off the miracles he demanded off them.

He dropped next to Gabrielle, and waited for his food.

Crusher and Smasher turned up and took the places opposite him.

“What did she want?” Harry asked curiously.

“A little bit of Potter,” Smasher smirked.

“She was going to seduce Harry and get a baby?” Gabrielle asked.

“Not the baby part,” Crusher replied. “She wanted in on whatever is going on. Things have moved on again, and the rest of the school now knows that they are being massively left behind, and some of the cleverer ones want in.”

“She wasn’t pleased,” Smasher added. “She’d been hanging there for around six hours. As soon as we approached her, she was released.”

“Hogwarts did it,” Harry said. “She’s pretty amazing.”

“Yeah,” Crusher agreed. “We got a full night’s sleep as well. Tracey had been silenced. Anyway, we had a quiet word, and she will tell everyone that they ain’tgonna get through Hogwarts defences.”

Smasher grinned. “Thing is, she was convinced that she had the stuff, so that when she got in your room, you’d just do her.”

Harry wrinkled his nose distastefully. “And then what? Hand myself in for statutory rape? She’s what, fourteen?”

“Fifteen, but yes, she’s underage.”

“You know, the idea seemed more fun before someone actually put it into practice. This proves my point that I need to get my relationship status sorted out properly.”

---

Aurora pulled out her quill, and settled down. Albus was due to start the morning meeting in a few minutes.

“So…” Pomona Sprout drawled.

She looked up. “Excuse me?”

“Come on, spill the gossip,” Rolanda Hooch demanded. “What’s it like in Your house?”

“And what’s Potter like alone?” Pomona added.

Aurora looked at the two other professors. “Wonderful, and the same as he is all the rest of the time. And I’m not going to say anything else, I’ve got a great relationship with those kids, and I’m not going to blow it.”

“What’s you room like, then?”

She smiled. “Palatial, the bath itself is bigger than my previous rooms. Everything is the best marble with gold fittings. The elves made Harry custom furniture, and my desk is almost as big as Albus’ is.”

The two other women whistled under their breath.

“If I can have you attention please?”

Aurora looked up and did pay attention, as Albus explained that Horace Slughorn was going to take over Potions from Monday, that Snape still hadn’t been found, and that the search was being called off, and that Hermione, Cho, Fred and George would not be in class, and that they would see why on Saturday.

“Is there any other business?” Albus asked as he came to stop.

Aurora took a deep breath and raised her hand.

“Aurora?”

“I’m afraid, Albus, that I won’t be coming back to school next year.”

There was a loud uproar from the other Professors. Albus tried to regain control, before letting off a bang with his wand. She met the Headmaster’s eyes equally.

“I’m going to kill him,” Albus muttered. “Stealing my staff, what next?”

Aurora smiled faintly.

“Aurora, you’re going with Harry?” McGonagall asked, her lips pursed.

“I am,” Aurora agreed. “There are chances in life that only come once. You can either grab the chance and hold on for dear life, or spend the rest of your life regretting that you didn’t have the courage. This morning, Harry showed us his vision for the future, and it was breath-taking. He judged me, and then invited me to join him.

“You have all told me, at one stage or another that I am too young to teach here; that I need more life experience.

“That advice has been in the back of my mind, and when I sat with Harry this morning, I realised you were right.

“If I was older his passion and drive would not make me want to join him, but they do. I want to watch the world change from a position where I can help influence it. Power and authority are shockingly seductive things to be offered.”

“What did you mean by ‘judged me’?” Albus asked.

“Well, Harry stared into our eyes, and seemed to make a decision based on what he saw there.”

“Legilimency?” Albus asked.

“I wish,” she snorted. “I can defend against that naturally. This was not magic. This was one man who turned his entire personality on to me. His look demanded that I reveal my soul to him, and it never even occurred to me that I could think of saying no. He did it to everyone in the room.”

“What has he offered?” Minerva asked.

Aurora smiled faintly. “I won’t tell, not until he tells me that he can. Like everything in life, it’s not the what, it’s the how. He has a plan and some of the most talented young people in the world ready to do whatever it takes to pull them off.”

“My Ravenclaws are going to be so disappointed,” Filius said lightly.

Aurora nodded. “If I do come back and teach, I’ll find out then if it was my personality and teaching style they liked, or if it was just my cleavage.”

“Perhaps a combination of the two,” Pomona muttered, just loud enough to be heard.

“One final question, my dear,” Albus said. “Is there anything I should know about going on in the Common Room?”

“Possibly,” Aurora said. “However, you’ll have to trust me that everything is above board.”

Albus smiled. “I quite thought that would be your response,” he admitted.

“Are there any rules for dealing with Your house,” Rolanda asked.

Albus looked at Aurora. “Rules, no,” she eventually said. “However, if you want some advice?”

“Please.”

“Don’t treat them as students. Treat them as adults, and watch what happens. You won’t find a single one of them who won’t be working their socks off. It occurs to me that if they are treated slightly differently because of how they act, and the work they put in, it might inspire other seniors to grow up a bit and act the same way.”

“Excellent advice,” Albus agreed.

---

Harry leaned back and enjoyed the coffee he was drinking. As was now normal, he was sitting with Gabrielle in the centre of the table, with two spaces clear in front of him. Throughout his meals they would be filled be people who wanted a quick chat with him, and then they’d leave so others could take their place.

Gabrielle vacillated between paying attention and talking to Crusher and Thrasher, who sat to her right.

“Harry,” Chloe said, as she sat down opposite him, Andrew sat next to her.

“Chloe, Andrew,” he greeted them back.

“We want in,” Chloe announced.

Gabrielle immediately broke off her conversation and turned to look at the two. “Why?” she asked.

“I hate being on the fringes of anything interesting,” Chloe said. “I’ve been on the fence for too long, and if I wait any longer, I’ll get splinters and regret.”

“As for me,” Andrew said affably, “she’s the engine; I’m the brakes and steering. I wasn’t about to gamble our future until I was sure.”

“And you are now?” Harry asked.

“Hogwarts made that decision for us. Everyone felt how she responded this morning.”

“Besides,” Chloe whispered, with a faint blush, “the room situation is attractive as well.”

Harry laughed softly. He got out of his seat and walked around the table. Gabrielle followed him.

“Stand,” he told them. They both stood, he moved to Andrew first, and as he had with the others, searched his soul. The boy was quiet and thoughtful. He didn’t like the limelight, and wanted a life where he was free to do what he wanted without having to play political games. He was also dedicated to Chloe, who he viewed as a magnificent creature, full of life and energy, while he was a bit more staid.

Harry dropped his hand, and approached Chloe. She met his eyes, even before he started, the contrast the two was clear. Chloe had no fear, no reservations, and was throwing herself into this with the same passion that she did everything.

He could see how the two worked together, and how important Andrew was to her. He was her rock, the one thing in her life she could rely on to always support and protect her. He would stop her from going too far, from getting into situations that she knew she couldn’t handle – but would have tried to anyway.

He had never seen such a well-matched couple.

He searched deep inside her, and she wasn’t as dedicated to him as Andrew was. Andrew was slow to make decisions, but when he did, he made them for life. Chloe had made her decision months ago, and because of it, her dedication was lighter. It would become more fervent over time. Without Andrew, he might have demurred for a few years, but with Andrew, and with Chloe’s utterly firm commitment to him, he had no worries.

He released his gaze on her eyes, and moved back.

“Christ,” Chloe whispered.

Gabrielle walked up and raised her arms. “Hug,” she demanded.

Adrian bent over and lifted her up. Gabrielle started to glow immediately, a look of concentration on her face. After around ten seconds, she reached out to Chloe, who took her. After another ten seconds, she nodded and squirmed out of the hug.

Gabrielle looked at Harry and nodded firmly.

“Two down, one more to go,” Harry said. “Hogwarts?”

Harry felt a slight tug on his magic. He blinked and released it, feeling Hogwarts absorb what he was offering. The two in front of him glowed for a second, before their uniforms changed to the new uniforms of Your house.

“All right,” Chloe cheered, pumping her arms before she jumped forward and kissed Harry. She pulled back, and Andrew shook his hand firmly. As soon as the French boy had finished, Chloe jumped on him and gave him a far more passionate kiss than the one she had given Harry.

Harry laughed softly. “Thanks,” he said to the castle.

“How come they get in just by asking,” someone – and Harry had long since given up even pretending to find out their names - asked.

Harry looked at him, mentally rewound through the people who had taken the badges and matched the face. “Because they didn’t wear ‘Potter Stinks’ badges,” he suggested. “And they’ve always been straight with me. And Hermione considers them good friends.” He shrugged. “Yes, I hold grudges, it’s a character flaw.” He lifted Gabrielle into his arms. She immediately got comfy, and sighed in pleasure.

“We need to give Hogwarts a new name,” she announced. “Hogwarts is too formal, besides, she’s prettier than that. Hogwarts is like a surname. I wouldn’t want to be called Delacour all the time. Besides, Hogwarts is the castle, she’s the personality.”

“What do you suggest?” Harry asked. “

She frowned. “I like Natalie.”

Hogwarts sent them both a negative.

“Dawn?” Harry suggested.

There was a pause, before Hogwarts sent a shy positive feeling.

“Dawn Hogwarts,” Harry said, letting it roll of his tongue. “That’s a good name.”

Gabrielle kissed him on the cheek. “Well done,” she said. “Dawn likes it.”

“She does,” Harry agreed. He retook his seat and glanced at his watch. He still had a few more minutes before his first class of the evening. He returned to watching his friends while cuddling with Gabrielle.

Gabrielle was more than happy with that idea.

---

The next morning, Harry woke up late. He was a little more tired than he expected to be, but put that down to working out with Ben at half past eleven in the evening.

He walked into the Common Room, after showering and dressing, to find that everyone had already left for breakfast.

He stretched hugely, and then slowly walked out to find them. Crusher and Smasher were hanging around outside the door, waiting for him.

He nodded at them and preceded them up the stairs to the Great Hall. The doors opened for him, and he walked tiredly over to Gabrielle.

She looked at him and smiled, and then frowned. She stood and moved over and hugged him. She released him and looked at him again, before her frown turned into a look of disappointment. She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the far side, where he held his private conversations.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, raising a privacy shield.

“How could you,” she asked. “We told you not to do that again!”

“Do what?” he asked, getting confused.

“Play with time,” Gabrielle replied, putting her hands on her hips.

“But I didn’t,” he said.

“But… but you’re older,” she pointed out. “I can feel it.”

“Gabrielle, I swear that I haven’t done anything,” he said, looking her straight in the eyes.

“But, then, how?” she asked slowly. “How are you older? It doesn’t make sense!”

It happened quickly, so quick that he could do nothing to stop it. Someone, or something, took control of his body.

“Harry,” Gabrielle screamed, as she took his wand and cancelled the privacy shield. “Fleur, someone’s got Harry!”

Fleur, along with Hermione, Melissa, and all the others ran over.

His hands rose and cast a spell. He tried his best to stop it, but couldn’t, who ever had control of him was in complete control. A transparent golden shield surrounded him.

Spells hit him, but couldn’t penetrate the shield.

It seemed like a direct assault was not going to work, so he decided to try and be sneaky about it. He started simple, trying to learn the spell that had been cast.

Strangely, whoever was in control was happy for him to learn.

His body walked into the middle of the Great Hall. Chairs and tables moved smoothly out of his way. The Professors were now trying to help, each casting spells at him.

Gabrielle took a deep breath, and then tried to walk through the shield, but she was gently floated out of the way before she got to him. She was deposited into Fleur’s arms.

Harry felt all his magic called forth, but not the way he would do it. He would always bring up his magic under his control, channelling it.

The intruder just tapped his core directly, opened a conduit, and released everything into his body.

All the students and professors pulled back, hiding their eyes.

The lights dimmed, and Harry started to fight even harder. It was okay when it was just him, but now who ever had control of him was draining Hogwarts as well, and he couldn’t accept that. He could feel the power inside him grow, further than he had even dreamed it could. He put all his will, all his determination, and battered forward.

The wall keeping him away from his control was hard, like granite, with no visible imperfections. He bashed against it, and refused to stop. No one hurt Hogwarts.

‘Please, stop’, a voice appeared in his mind. He didn’t recognise it, but he recognised the plea for what it was. It was a desperate call for help from someone who really needed it.

His delay was all the intruder needed. He could hear his voice yell, a language he didn’t know, speaking spells he’d never heard before. The intruder fed him the knowledge instantly, teaching him the language, but not the spell itself.

The lights went dark, and everything went still. Not a word was spoken, before his voice spoke, in the same language. “Begin,” it commanded.

All his magic focused on one spot on the floor, all the magic of the school focused as well.

“Now,” his voice whispered.

The magic kicked in like a nuclear explosion. Power beyond power poured out of him, lighting the darkness in a glorious kaleidoscope of colours, rotating almost as fast as the eye could see.

A deep noise started, but it quickly shifted, so it was light, high, and almost female.

There was a bang that blasted everyone back a few feet, before the lights went out, and Harry had control of his body again. He stumbled as his brain was filled with knowledge.

He cancelled the magic, taking what was left under his control. He was almost completely depleted, but had enough for one more spell. “Lumos Solarium,” he muttered, grabbing his necklace.

The Great Hall illuminated again, and without exception, everyone gasped. In the middle of Hogwarts, standing, clad in only a thin sheet, was a small girl.

“Dawn?” Harry gasped.

She looked at him, and smiled, before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed on to the cold stone floor.

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 12

Harry dashed forward and jumped, diving forward so he could catch Dawn’s head before it impacted on the stone.

He carefully pulled her into his arms; she was cold, stone cold. He wrapped the blanket around her.

“Guys,” he said without looking up. “I need your magic, power sharing spell.” He hadn’t even finished the sentence before he was hit by nineteen spells, the extras coming from McGonagall, Dumbledore, Sprout and Flitwick.

“Thanks,” he said, as he felt his magic return to around half his normal level.

“Harry,” Hermione whispered, “is that really her?”

Harry nodded. “This is Dawn Hogwarts,” he whispered back.

“Harry,” Madam Pomfrey called, “do you want me to have a look at her?”

“No,” he replied. “I’ve got this. She’s just tired. It took a lot out of her.” He concentrated and started to slowly and delicately give her his borrowed magic. He was in no hurry, and knew that doing this fast would be counter-productive.

After about two minutes he felt her start to come around. Her head moved slightly, but her eyes didn’t open. She stretched, her hand slipping out of the blanket.

Gabrielle sprinted out of the Great Hall.

Dawn’s lips started to move, whispering words he couldn’t make out, in a voice that was eerily similar to the one that had spoken in his mind earlier.

Gabrielle returned, and she dashed over to him, panting slightly. She was carrying a dress, some underwear and a pair of shoes.

“Some privacy please,” Harry requested.

As before, he had an abundance of help, as multiple privacy charms hit the air around them.

He kept a hold of the blanket, as he lifted Dawn up.

Gabrielle grabbed the knickers and put them in place, so that Harry could drop the blanket. He held Dawn with one hand and helped Gabrielle get the dress on her. Gabrielle then knelt and put the shoes on.

“Gabrielle,” he said.

She looked up at him.

“I am really proud of you,” he said softly. “Well done.”

Gabrielle’s smile was blinding as she beamed at him happily.

“Cancel the spells,” he suggested.

Gabrielle nodded and waved his wand. It reminded him that she really needed her own wand now. He resolved to find time over the weekend.

Dawn’s eyes opened, and she looked around curiously, before gasping. She squirmed, and he placed her on the floor. She turned slowly, taking in the Great Hall, looking at the ceiling.

The ceiling instantly changed to a warm summer’s night, the sun a deep and majestic red, setting slowly in one of the corners.

She raised her hand, and all the lights came back on.

“I have my control,” Dawn whispered. “After all these years, I can move, I can change things as they should be changed. No more straining for the simplest of things!”

She spread her arms and spun on the spot. A matching cyclone appeared on the ceiling and she grinned, before she stopped, the cyclone vanishing, as she looked up at the Professors’ table.

Her eyes scanned down, to the right. “Aurora,” Dawn whispered, as if she were putting a face to a name she knew so well. “The most beautiful professor since I began, with the courage to leap into eternity with us.”

Professor Sinistra blushed, and Harry wondered how she’d handle everyone now knowing her name. And how many male pupils were suddenly going to discover a life-long interest in Astronomy.

“Melissa,” she whispered, as she looked at his table. Her voice sounded as if words were foreign to her, and that the ability to speak was a new one. “Older sister, sneaky and underhanded, but with a heart of gold, you are loyal to the ends of the world for those you deem worthy.”

Melissa actually blushed as she looked at the personification of Hogwarts.

“Christophe, whose knowledge of wine is outdone only by determination to work for what you think is the best way forward for yourself, and those you love.”

Christophe smiled faintly and bowed formally to the girl.

“Hermione, smartest witch in six hundred and forty seven years, when the choice came between your best friend and popular opinion, you did not sway, you stood, unbowed against the world.

“Viktor, taciturn and brusque, hiding an interior of deep and original thought, you put on a show for the world, as if life is a sport and you a performer.”

Viktor and Hermione both had huge smiles and slight blushes as they looked at her.

“Fleur, so beautiful, and you have gained the courage to break your self-imposed boundaries to become what you can, what you must.”

Fleur curtseyed gracefully, favouring Dawn with her best smile.

“Fred and George, catalysts with such unintended consequences, you knew not where the journey would take you, but now that you have caught a tiger, you are holding on, as you will for as long as you do exist.

“Alicia and Angelina, quiet and shy, you look before you leap, and have now decided to leap, and you are thinking of recruiting more.”

The twins looked too shocked to actually respond, while the two girls shot Hogwarts a warm wink.

“Lisa, so pretty and so friendly, and yet the most dangerous of you all. You will protect that which you love, first and foremost.”

Lisa grinned, nodded, and shot Dawn a salute.

“Adrienne, friendship is everything to you, along with Jacque, your taciturn love.

“Chloe, quick to love and quick to change her mind, tempered by Andrew, slow to move, but inexorable when he does.”

The two French students reacted with a bow and a curtsey.

“Smasher, Crusher, Thrasher, and Nasher, you took jobs for money, not realising you would be paid with things a million times better, now you work for love.”

The four boys looked a little uncomfortable, before their backs straightened and they saluted.

“Cedric, my Hufflepuff with a backbone, and Cho, the Ravenclaw who learnt how to have fun, you have broken free of your moulds, and now look at you, the future you desire within reach. You had the courage to reach out.”

The two, now prepared, gave a formal bow and a curtsey to Hogwarts.

“Gabrielle,” Dawn whispered. She moved forward and hugged her. Gabrielle hugged her back, and for a moment, the two girls just held each other. Harry suspected that they were communicating.

Dawn slowly released Gabrielle, and turned to face Harry. “Harry,” she whispered.

He smiled at her.

Dawn burst into tears. “I’m so sorry,” she cried. “I’m so sorry for what I did to you!”

“Dawn,” Harry whispered, “come here.” He opened his arms.

Gabrielle lightly pushed Dawn, and she almost fell the few feet into his arms. She buried her neck in face and sobbed and sobbed, as he hugged her tightly.

Harry looked at Gabrielle, who shrugged, her expression confused.

“It’s okay,” Harry whispered. “Whatever happened, I can deal with it, I promise.”

“You might stop loving me,” Dawn whimpered.

“Harry would never do that,” Hermione said firmly. “I promise you that.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed.

“Really?” Dawn asked.

He nodded.

Dawn pulled back, and then kissed him, full on the lips, in a completely inappropriate kiss.

There were some rumblings from the gathered students.

“What did you say?” Dawn demanded, looking to the right. She moved out of his arms, and marched forward. Tables separated before her, as she headed directly toward the sneering face of Draco Malfoy.

The wall behind him reached out, grabbing his arms and legs, imprisoning him. He opened his mouth, but it vanished before a sound came out, as Dawn continued her enraged march toward him.

“I don’t like you,” she said, her voice chilling in its intensity and lack of tone.

Harry suddenly realised what she was about to do, and dashed forward. “Dawn Hogwarts, you will stop right there immediately!”

Dawn stopped mid step, and pivoted to look at him. She placed her raised foot down and an expression of shock appeared on her face.

Harry walked up to her and picked her up. “You will not touch him.”

“He called you a paedophile,” she protested, the full force of Hogwarts behind her. The effect was incredible; it was like nothing he had ever dealt with. He could feel her will telling him to back down, but he refused. “He’s a cheating, lying sneak that Uncle Salazar would have killed years ago for being an oily oik!”

“That does not mean that you get to decide if he lives or dies,” he told her firmly. “You are Hogwarts, you are this school, and I will not have your reputation sullied. Your halls are open to all who wish to learn, and that is how it will stay.”

“He doesn’t want to learn though; he wants to just be given everything.”

Harry smiled at her. “Then you know what to do.”

Dawn’s expression turned to one of awe as she worked out what he meant. She turned in his arms and shifted so that her feet were on the floor. He let her go. She took a step forward. “Draco Malfoy, you are no longer welcome in my halls. Goodbye.”

Malfoy vanished.

Dawn put her hands on her hips and looked at the Slytherin students. “If Uncle Sal were alive now, he’d laugh at all of you. You’ve got no idea what Slytherins are. The closest you have is Melissa, and that’s because she’s grown up and embraced other ideas.

“I’m this,” she held up her thumb and forefinger apart about an inch, “close to closing Slytherin House down for good. You are on probation. Research what Slytherin should be, and change.

“And don’t you laugh,” she turned on the Gryffindor students. “You’re just as bad. Uncle Goddy is rolling in his grave with you lot. And while I’m on it, Ravenclaws, Auntie Row knew how to party. You’ve forgotten how. And Puffs, Auntie Hel had a temper that scared the other three. She was the one who the others went to when they had an argument. Backbones aren’t a negative.

“And you,” she said, turning her head to Dumbledore. “We’ll be having a very long talk later!”

Several things weren’t adding up in Harry’s mind. Little clues were tugging at his mind.

“Gabrielle,” Harry said, interrupting Hogwarts, “stand next to Dawn.”

Gabrielle moved obediently. The two girls weren’t similar, they were identical. The only difference was that Hogwarts had deep black hair, while Gabrielle was blonde. They even had the same sea blue eyes.

“Dawn?” Harry asked.

Dawn looked down. “I thought if I looked like this, you’d love me,” she whispered. “You love Gabrielle more than anyone.”

“Dawn, I don’t love Gabrielle because of how she looks, I love her for who she is. I love all my friends that way.”

Dawn started to cry silently. “But none of your friends did what I did to you!”

“Should we not take this somewhere private?” Melissa suggested.

“No,” Dawn whimpered. “I want everyone to know, to understand what I did and why, to understand my responsibility.”

Gabrielle moved closer and put an arm around Hogwarts. “Tell him,” she whispered.

In a low voice, Dawn started her story. “Uncle Sal, Uncle Goddy, Auntie Row and Auntie Hel made me first, with the very first stone that they laid.

“They gave me the rules that I live by. That I am to protect the students to the best of my ability, that I am to control the castle, and that all the magic I will absorb indirectly will be given to that purpose.

“They were going to set me free, and as they built Hogwarts, they were working on how they were going to do it, as it was going to take everything they had.

“But then, fifteen years later, Auntie Row died suddenly, and Uncle Sal couldn’t take it, he ran away.

“Uncle Goddy and Aunty Hel tried to help me, but they couldn’t, because they weren’t strong enough. Uncle Goddy found a way to let me speak to the subsequent Headmasters, but that was all they could manage

“But I was so bored and lonely. I’ve been like that for one thousand and fourteen years.

“I was trapped, unable to use all this magic that I’ve absorbed to help myself finally come to life, and only able to talk to Headmasters who quickly forgot how to listen to me properly. I had to shout to get them to hear the simplest instructions.”

Gabrielle sat down, and pulled Dawn with her, so that Dawn sat in front of her, so that she could hug Dawn from behind.

“And then, for the first time in my history, someone – you started to sleep inside my second most important room. I started to talk to you, and you started to listen. But I could only do it while you were asleep.”

She took a deep breath. In a barely audible voice, she continued, “So I kept you asleep for longer than you thought. I was able to use my magic for that, because I was caring for you, and I started to teach you the very basics of the true language of Magic. And as I did, I was able to learn about you.”

Harry sat down on the floor, locking down his emotions as he did. They wouldn’t help right now.

“And I wasn’t lonely, and it was amazing. But then, I felt guilty, so I had to get you to stop, because if you didn’t, I was going to keep doing it. I had to give you up. And it was so hard!

“But then, you gave me your magic. It wasn’t accidental; it wasn’t something I absorbed indirectly. You stood in the middle of my mind and gave me such a huge amount of magic. I’d watched you drain your magic every few hours, and then build it up again.

“I watched the agony you pushed yourself through as you sought a way of increasing your power without losing your soul.

“I watched you try to sleep through pain that I could feel even though I was so far away. I tried to help, I held you as much as I could, and it seemed to help.

“You were so strong, you just kept punishing yourself beyond limits that any sane person would acknowledge, pushed forward by the love you held for the people close to you, and a desire to protect them from the world.

“The magic you gave me wasn’t enough, but it gave me an idea, it gave me a plan. It gave me a goal.

“I set to work immediately, I kept your magic to one side, hoarding it carefully, while I used the magic I was allowed to, and I made Your House for you. And I put it there for a reason. Your bed is over my heart. I needed it, and I needed you there, because there was no way I could explain all this to you.

“When you moved in, I concentrated, learning more about you, and how to take control of you. Taking control of most humans is easy,” she said, pointing her finger at sixth-year Gryffindor, who immediately started to tap dance. “But,” she continued, as the boy stopped dancing, “not you who learned the mind arts, then disregarded them for your own instincts.

“You are almost impossible, but you were the only one I could use. You are the only person who learned to listen to me, and through you, Gabrielle did as well. But she was young, her magic so advanced for her age, but still young. You were the only person I could even think of using. You loved me, and you had the power I needed.

“And then you sped things up. You said thank you to me, for something that I have never been thanked for before. You gathered not just your magic, but the magic of your friends and you gave it to me, all to me, and I was nearer, I could see it coming closer.

“I used your subconscious; I helped mould your mind so that it was strong, but so that I had the key.

“I finished last night and was going to wait, but I had to work fast when Gabrielle realised something was wrong.

“I should have realised that she knew you so well that she would be able to tell that you’d been away.

“I took control of you. I was confident. No human could break my will, for I am Hogwarts. As you, I was a student, so I could bypass the restrictions placed on me, and I could help myself for the first time in history.

“But you thought someone was attacking me, and you attacked back. You almost broke my shield. You ignored your own pain and suffering to try and save me. I did the only thing I could, I begged you, and you relented. I began the spell devised so many years ago, and behold, I am bought to life, by your magic.

“Together, we cast a spell that even my family could not do.”

Harry looked around, his emotions still held tightly under his control. Everyone was looking on in absolute awe.

As he looked at Dawn again, tears started to fall down her face. She stood and slowly moved forward so that she was looking into his eyes. “But to do all this, I had to steal from you. I stole your life; I stole six years from you. While you slept, I slowed time itself. That silly device you had was inefficient, so I moved in, and when you pressed the button, I was the one who slowed time.

“A student wanted my help, so I was allowed to use magic stored for an eon.

“I used this magic for my own selfish purpose, and I kept you asleep for so very long. You grew, and I cared for you, but you had no idea, could have no idea.

“I’m so sorry, Harry. Please, forgive me.”

Harry looked at her, and knew one thing. He needed time to digest this; he needed to think things through alone.

“I need time,” he whispered, as he stood and turned.

“Harry,” Dawn cried, and he found he couldn’t move.

“Dawn,” he whispered softly, intently. “Release me.”

She did.

The wards that were ever-present in Hogwarts seemed to waver for a second, and he didn’t hesitate, he powered through them, needing to get away.

---

Dawn collapsed into a ball and started to sob. The ceiling changed, so that it was dark. A thunderstorm appeared, lightning illuminating everything as the lights faded.

There was no noise, no wind, just an immense feeling of sadness that crushed everyone present.

“Dawn,” Gabrielle called. “It’s not that bad!”

“How would you feel, if Harry was that devastated over something you’d done?” Dawn wailed.

Gabrielle closed her eyes and gulped. She couldn’t even face the idea that Harry would be that upset with her. It was a horrific idea, and her deepest and darkest nightmare.

But if there was one thing she knew about Harry, was his capacity to forgive the people he loved, no matter what they did.

She walked over to the girl who looked like her twin, and gently lifted her up. “Stop this,” she ordered.

Dawn looked at her in confusion, through the tears that fell from her eyes.

“This does no one any good at all,” she said. “Crying doesn’t get you anywhere.” She paused, “although it does help you feel a little better,” she added, remembering her own tantrums.

“But I feel upset and sad, I feel like crying. Isn’t this what humans do?”

Gabrielle nodded. “We do,” she agreed. “But it doesn’t solve anything.”

“How can we solve it?” Dawn wailed. “I stole his life.”

“So you have to apologise, promise never to do it again, and he’ll forgive you.”

Dawn’s eyes cleared. “Really?” she asked. “It doesn’t seem enough.”

“Harry will forgive you because he loves you.”

“Still?”

“You took something from him, but you did it for reasons he will understand when he has thought things through. The only thing he can’t handle is betrayal.”

“But I did that,” Dawn shouted. “I betrayed his trust in me. I stole from him.”

Gabrielle put her hands on her hips. “Did you betray him because you were jealous?”

Dawn shook her head.

“Because you thought it would be fun? Because you thought he deserved it?”

“Of course not,” Dawn said.

“You did it to escape a horrible jail,” Gabrielle said, moving forward and taking Dawn’s hand. “You did the wrong thing, but you did because you had no choice. You’d waited for years for someone like him, and you couldn’t risk it being another thousand years.”

Dawn sniffled and nodded. “I wanted to ask him, I really did, but I just couldn’t.”

“Harry will forgive you, I promise.”

“Really?”

Gabrielle nodded. “Of course, you’re going to feel guilty, so you have to make sure that you make it up to him.”

“How?”

Gabrielle grinned. “No idea, but you’ll have fun finding out.”

Dawn giggled slightly and nodded. “Why did ferret-boy make such a fuss about me kissing Harry?”

Gabrielle sighed. “Because you’re the same age as me, and I’m not going to be ready to kiss like that for years yet. It was the wrong sort of kiss.”

Dawn looked confused. “But she was kissing like that this morning,” she said, pointing at a seventh year Ravenclaw. “She seemed to be having fun.”

The girl in question blushed furiously.

“Yes, but she’s past puberty,” Gabrielle explained. “We’re not.”

Dawn looked thoughtful. “Puberty: the stage of adolescence in which an individual becomes physiologically capable of sexual reproduction,” she recited. “But that makes no sense, I’m over a thousand years old, and I’m a castle, I can’t reproduce. I’m either way past puberty, or not ever going to, so why the fuss?”

“Humans are weird,” Gabrielle agreed. “It’s because you look young.”

“Is that why everyone stops you sleeping with him?”

“Well, kinda, yes. But I am actually young as well. I know I shouldn’t do it, but it’s a time when I get him to myself. He’s asleep, and I’m really close to him, and it just feels right.”

“So I wouldn’t be able to do that looking like this?” Dawn asked to clarify.

Gabrielle nodded.

“Then there’s a simple solution,” Dawn cheered. She looked down at herself, and started to grow. It was like watching ten years of Gabrielle’s own growth in a second, as Dawn’s body changed, until she looked to be around eighteen or nineteen. Her dress changed with her, growing with Dawn’s new body.

Gabrielle winced. “Dawn,” she begged. “Can you please not look like me?”

“Why?” Dawn asked.

“Because it’s not fair.” She felt a tear run down her face. “I’ve got to do that the normal way, and it’s going to take me years and you just did it. All my friends are older than me, and it’s just not fair. I’m trying my hardest to grow up as quickly as I can, but just watching you like that isn’t fair. I want to be old; I want to be with everyone, not left behind like I will have to be when they start to change the world. It’s just not fair!”

“Oh, Gabrielle,” Dawn whispered, dropping to her knees. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think about you.”

“It’s okay,” Gabrielle sniffled.

“Come on, Gabrielle,” Dawn said, “let’s change how I look.”

Gabrielle smiled slightly.

“So, first question, hair colour?”

“Hmm,” Gabrielle said. “Me and Fleur are blonde, and Harry likes our hair. Melissa and Hermione are brunettes, and he likes that as well. His mum had red hair, I think.”

“She did,” Dawn agreed. “Pretty red hair.”

“But why bother with human colours?” Gabrielle asked.

“Ooh,” Dawn clapped her hands and mirror emerged from the floor. She tried an electric blue colour that caused both of them to laugh. She then went to shocking pink, and they giggled again.

“Harry’s favourite colour is green,” Gabrielle said.

Dawn tried a neon green colour that would have lit up Hogwarts with all the lights turned off.

“My eyes,” Gabrielle cried, covering them playfully.

“It is a bit much,” Dawn agreed. She slowly started to darken the colour, until it was several shades darker than a rich forest green.

“Wow,” Gabrielle whispered. “That is so cool. Make it longer, and wavy.”

Dawn nodded, and her hair grew a few more inches, acquiring some deep waves as it grew. She clapped her hands together excitedly.

“Okay,” Gabrielle said happily. “Longer legs, Annie had great legs, and Harry really liked them. Keep the boobs though.”

Dawn grinned and grew a couple of inches, and surveyed herself from her new height and nodded. She was now around five foot eight.

She kicked off the shoes she’d borrowed from Gabrielle and nodded to herself. The dress she was wearing lengthened, so that it was long and swirled around her legs, while the top delicately clung to her torso, showing it off without being tacky.

She turned and looked at Gabrielle. “How do I look?”

Gabrielle smiled softly. “Perfect.”

Dawn swept forward and pulled Gabrielle into a tight hug. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome,” Gabrielle replied, hugging her back as tight.

Dawn released her and the mirror sank back into the ground. She sighed deeply. “I’m still so sad, though,” she whispered.

“I know,” Gabrielle agreed. “I’d feel the same way. If I can’t have a hug from Harry, I go for chocolate.”

Dawn smiled softly. She held out her hand, and Gabrielle quickly took it. “Let’s go,” Dawn said firmly. She started to walk, and as she did, they both descended into the floor, until they were out of sight.

---

The Great Hall was completely silent.

Most of the students had looks of absolute reverence on their faces.

The professors were speechless.

Albus Dumbledore looked completely and utterly stunned.

Fleur found herself so utterly proud of her sister that she could hardly believe it. While they had all just stood there and stared, Gabrielle had helped Hogwarts out, even as Hogwarts achieved Gabrielle’s dream of growing up early.

Fleur’s thoughts turned to Harry, and how upset he had been. She couldn’t even contemplate the idea of someone stealing years of her life.

The strange thing was that she knew that Harry would have given those years, had he been give the choice.

“Well,” she said, “I’m going to suggest that classes are delayed a little this morning, so that we can actually have breakfast, and have a chance to digest what we’ve just seen.”

“Yes,” Madame Maxime agreed, as Dumbledore appeared completely lost. “One hundred points to Your house for bringing Hogwarts to life. Fifty points to Gabrielle in Your house for helping her accustom, regardless of personal cost.

“Now, let’s eat. And keep the noise to a minimum.”

The food appeared, and an intent buzz started.

Fleur walked over and sat opposite where Harry usually sat, beckoning Aurora over to sit with her.

The others gathered around, leaving Harry and Gabrielle’s seats free.

“Are you the second in charge?” Chloe asked Fleur.

Fleur shook her head. “I don’t think there is a second in charge,” she said after a moments thought. “We’re all pretty much equal, as far as Harry is concerned.”

“True,” Crusher agreed. “That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a hierarchy though. Our skills aren’t all in the same area, so we don’t help that much. Hermione, Melissa, Fred and George, Christophe, and now Fleur and probably Aurora are the ruling council.” There was no disappointment or envy in his voice.

“I think,” Fleur said, “we all turn to Hermione and Melissa because, with Gabrielle absent, they are the ones he is closest to.”

Everyone looked at Hermione and Melissa.

Hermione sighed softly. “He brought Hogwarts to life. He pulled off the impossible, something that the four founders couldn’t do. He pushed himself to insanity and back, for us.

“I feel like I should be slapping him for being so stupid, and then hugging him forever for going through all that for us. Leece, we’re going to give Harry an hour, then we’re going to track him down.”

“I agree,” Melissa said. “I know he wants to be alone, but that sort of anger can be dangerous if it goes on too long.”

“So,” Cedric said with a grin. “We have breakfast now?”

“Git,” Cho murmured.

“Yes,” Fleur said. “And try and make sense of everything that happened this morning.”

---

Harry sighed as the door in front of him didn’t open.

He’d immediately Apparated to Kate’s place, but she wasn’t in – and he really didn’t want to know where she was, if she was working.

With his first option out of the way, the only thing he wanted to do was punch something. And that meant he had only one destination.

He Apparated again, appearing outside a non-descript brick building in Middlesex. The white sign above the door had a figure of a man executing a front kick, with the words “Turpin’s School of Martial Art” underneath.

He walked through, in a small reception area. An elderly lady with tightly curled grey hair sat at a desk, reading a magazine. She looked at him, opened her mouth, blinked, shut it again, before shrugging. “Through there,” she pointed.

“Okay,” he agreed warily, and walked through a set of double doors. The room he entered was as big as his Common Room. High ceiling windows gave a light and airy effect, to a room that emanated testosterone from every surface. From the gym area to his right, to the exercise area on the other side of the boxing ring that had pride of place in the middle.

There were about twenty people wandering around, some practising some kicks to the left, the others lifting some weights, all working out in one way or another.

Ben was in front of the ring, packing some things into a series of large bags.

“Ben,” he greeted.

“Harry,” Ben said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to pound something,” Harry explained. “Can I use your equipment?”

“How badly?” Ben asked.

“I have some frustration I need to work out,” he said, “and once I drop my emotional shields, I’m going to really need it.”

Ben looked at him for a long moment. “Something bad happen?”

Harry nodded.

“Here’s the deal, you help me out, I’ll arrange for it to be more interesting.”

“With what?”

“Once a month, I go to one of the local schools to do a demonstration. It’s my charity thing; I try to get kids off their arses and into doing something that won’t leave them fat. Kick Boxing is considered cool, so I actually get some interest.”

“Ben, I just want to hit something until I can’t move, not go to another school and put on a show.”

“I know,” Ben agreed, “I know. But, you help out, and Ivan and I will pad up and you can hit something that will hit back – and really whale on us as we’ll be protected.”

“Ivan?”

Ben pointed behind Harry.

Harry turned, to see the huge guy Ben had fought in the UK Championships. Up close, the guy was even more impressive.

“Ivan?”

“Actually, old bean,” ‘Ivan’ said, in the most bizarre accent imaginable to come out of that frame. “The name is Wesley Hunter-Smythe the Third. Glad to make you acquaintance, Mr Potter.”

“Ivan?” Harry asked.

“An affectionate nickname,” Wes explained. “I answer to Wes or Ivan.”

“He’s also a Duke,” Ben added dryly. “And a lot of fun at the parties, because no one knows how to handle him.”

“Rumour has it that my dear mama was a tad indiscriminate with the choice of beaus,” Wes said cheerfully. “So, you require a way of releasing frustration?”

Harry nodded.

“Then come and help,” Ben said. “You won’t be able to hurt us, and you’ll be able to help, Smeltings will appreciate having someone on display closer to their age.

Harry snorted at the idea he was closer to the age of school kids. He suddenly paused. “What did you say?”

“You won’t…”

“No, the school.”

“Smeltings, it’s a boarding school.”

Harry slowly smirked. “I’ll help.”

“Harry,” Ben said softly, “please tell me that’s not your evil smile.”

“Sorry,” Harry said. “Can’t. Let’s go.”

The idea of visiting Dudley’s school was one he just could not pass up.

“The truck is outside,” Ben said with a sigh. “Start loading it.”

Harry picked up a couple of bags, and watched with a raised eyebrow as Ivan picked up double his amount.

Ivan shrugged. “I had some anger management issues when I was growing up; my dear mama was at her wit’s end, before I discovered this wonderful sport. I then found that my size and strength, while a huge advantage, limit me from reaching the very top, because I am not fast enough.

“So, I help out Ben when I can, and use it to keep in shape.”

“And an intimidating one it is,” Harry agreed as they walked outside.

Ivan chuckled. “Yes, it means I do get my way in the office a lot.”

“What do you do?” Harry asked.

“Property Management in London. We have several tentacles, but our main money comes from buying places and doing them up.”

“I’ve just bought La Rochelle, we’re going to be doing it up in the summer.”

“You bought La Rochelle, the restaurant?”

Harry nodded. “The owner wanted to sell, and I got it for a good price. I’m going to give the restaurant a few years, and if I can’t make a profit, I’ll turn it into flats.”

“Come and talk to me if you do,” Ivan offered. “I’ve eaten there, and that place is huge. You could turn it into executive apartments and make a fortune.”

“Actually, I’ve a couple of properties that could do with modernising. They’re in the Stone Age, and it might be nice to have them brought up to date and earning some money rather than sitting empty.”

Ivan clapped him on the back, and Harry had to catch himself to stop from going flying.

Ben joined them a few minutes later with the last couple of bags. He chucked them in the back, and the three climbed in to the front of the white van.

Ben was driving, and he turned the radio off as he started the diesel engine. The van lurched forward.

“I say,” Ivan muttered, “I appear to have left my kidneys behind.”

“Bite me,” Ben said back. “Should take us about an hour to get there, depending on the M25. We’ll be doing a few demonstrations, I’ll have a bit of a speech, and then you can get in the ring and let loose.”

“Cool,” Harry agreed.

“So, do I want to know why you’re upset?”

Harry sighed. “Let’s just say that someone I trusted betrayed me, but did it for reasons I can understand and accept, but before I can move forward, I have to get rid of this anger.”

“You don’t seem that angry,” Ivan pointed out.

Harry turned and met the larger man’s eyes. For the briefest of seconds, he let his control slip, and felt the anger, betrayal and pain that was locked inside him. He couldn’t deal with his emotions until he had let some of them go, and he needed some where safe to do that.

Ivan gulped softly. “And I thought that look you had in the final was scary.”

“That was controlled,” Harry explained as he locked his emotions back up and shoved them down, deep inside his mind. “This is real anger.”

“No doubt,” Ivan agreed. “Your self control is unbelievable.”

“Harry’s like that,” Ben agreed. “Tough upbringing, taught him to stand on his own two feet.”

“I’ve never seen anyone who could get their eyes to glow,” Ivan muttered.

Harry made a mental note to not let his shields down in the future. “Probably the sun,” he said with a laugh. “Although, it would be a cool party trick if I could really get them to glow.”

“Anyway,” Ben said, changing the subject. “I do Smeltings once a year. Their Sports Master doesn’t like kick-boxing, and he does have a very successful boxing programme, but I’m friends with the local private school inspector, and he asked nicely.”

---

Megan Charters was the Queen, and she knew it.

As the Head Girl of St Lawrence’s Academy for Girls, and with her father being a director of one of the most important private banks in the world, she was in a privileged position, and she abused it as much as she could.

Having been dumped here, it had been her goal to be thrown out of school, but as that hadn’t worked, she’d decided to run it and cause problems in a less overt way.

Today was another of those boring days when the girls went over to their sister school, Smeltings, to be lectured at by some well-meaning idiot, who didn’t realise that she would never have to work anyway, as her father would take care of that.

Still, there was the amusement that was dealing with the boys. They were hormonal teenager males locked away from girls for most of the year. They were so desperate for a look or a touch that they’d do anything.

So she was anticipating causing a lot of havoc today, without even getting blamed for it.

She walked, taking the small steps her teachers preferred, keeping her eyes down demurely.

The ridiculous backward lessons she was given were from a different century, where girls were something less than full-fledged members of society. That part didn’t bother her as much as it did Sarah Keane, her arch-rival.

The walk down the driveway that separated the two schools was conducted in silence, as it always was.

There was a white van parked near the entrance, and the two people she could see showed that today was the annual Kick Boxing demonstration. The huge Russian-looking guy was intimidating, and the main guy usually ignored her completely.

“Harry,” a second man, the main one, called, “you got those?”

“Yeah,” a third voice answered, as its owner hopped out of the back of the van, two bags in his arms.

Even though nothing was said, Megan knew that every girl there was watching him. He looked to be around twenty, and the white shirt he was wearing did nothing to hide his physique.

He looked around, and even from the distance she could see that he had vibrant green eyes.

He followed Ben into the school and vanished from sight.

She smirked to herself, it looked like he was the perfect patsy. Boys always fell over her, and he would be no different. A few kisses here and there and the empty promise of a bit more, and she’d have him eating out of her hands.

They marched into school and were led into the main hall, where they were finally allowed to mingle.

“Did you see that boy?” Sally demanded. “He’s not done this before. And those green eyes, and that unruly hair.” She sighed dramatically.

“Wait a minute,” Douglas, one of the Smeltings’ slightly interesting boys said, “black hair, green eyes, a scar?”

“We didn’t see a scar,” Sally said, “we were too far away.”

Douglas pulled out a magazine and showed a picture of the boy.

“That’s him,” Sally said.

“Alright!” Douglas cheered loudly. “They’ve brought the Hitman!”

“The Hitman?” Megan asked curiously.

“Oh yeah,” Douglas said. “He came from nowhere to win the British championship a few weeks ago. Trained by Ben himself. They call him the Hitman because all he needs is one chance, and you’re down wondering what the hell hit you.”

“Charming,” Megan said, looking around. As always, all the girls were surrounded by the boys from Smeltings, who were at least not in their formal uniforms. One of the more persistently irritating ones was closer. There was one herd for each year group, with some students trying to get in to an older one.

Girls were always welcome, boys were not.

She noticed one particular lout hanging around – Dursley, an ugly name for an ugly person. He was deluded enough to think that he would have a chance. Ignoring the fact he was overweight, arrogant, and as thick as two short planks, he had no money and no breeding – either of which could have made up for his other shortcomings.

“Harry Potter,” Douglas said, the hero worship in his eyes both saddening and sickening.

“No way,” Dursley said. “I used to beat him up last year.”

Douglas looked up. “Say again,” he ordered, for once dropping the class clown look he liked to offer to the world, and actually acting like the Head Boy he was.

“Potter, scrawny wretch, I used to beat him up,” Dursley boasted.

“Where do you live?” Megan asked, a little hiccup in her voice that could either be awe or nausea. As expected, he took it as awe.

“Little Whinging, Surrey.”

“Hmm,” Douglas said slowly, “Potter does hail from Little Whinging.”

“Yeah,” Dursley snorted. “Little shithead.”

“You’re so brave,” Megan simpered, smiling at the overly oiled oik.

“Indeed,” Douglas muttered. “You’re our junior champion, aren’t you, Dudders?”

‘Dudders’ preened and nodded. She’d never seen a performing troll before, and had the urge to feed him some fish heads. She had a wonderful idea, and smiled to herself.

“How about you beat him up for us in the ring?” she asked breathlessly. “It would be ever so much fun. And I’ll go out with you when you win.”

Dudley gasped, and turned a strange deep red colour, before he gulped and nodded firmly.

“I’ll arrange it,” Douglas agreed. “You go with your crowd and get ready.”

Dudley nodded and scampered off.

“Oh dear,” Douglas said softly, “it does appear as if young Dudders is going to learn a life lesson.”

Megan smirked. “Good,” she said, dropping her play voice.

“You’re such a bitch, Megan,” Sarah Parks muttered, as she swept past.

“And you’re a fucking nerd,” Megan said back, returning to her innocent sweet voice.

“Besides, Sarah, Dursley needs some attitude correction,” Douglas added.

Sarah rolled her eyes and moved to the far side of the hall, where she had a good view of the ring that had been erected.

“You’re playing a stupid game, Megan,” Douglas said idly. “Intelligent people should be cultivated for what they can offer.”

“Her type is ten a penny. If I ever need a nerd, I’ll hire one without the attitude. Anyway, I want this Potter of yours.”

“Good luck,” Douglas said. “Oi, Stevo, get your fat arse over here.”

Another boy lumbered over – and despite Douglas’ claim, he wasn’t fat. “What do you want, you faggot?”

“You know the Hitman is here?”

“The whole fucking school knows now, you yelled it loud enough.”

“The Queen here wants Potter.”

Stevo looked at her, and started to snigger. “Good luck with that,” he said. “Can we watch him tell you to fuck off?”

“What?” she demanded.

“Potter had two girls hanging over him at the Championship, we weren’t sure which one was his girlfriend, but both of them make you look like the cheap tart you are.”

Megan tossed her hair angrily. “I’ll have him by the end of today,” she swore.

“Normally I’d make a wager,” Douglas mused.

“I’ll do it,” Stevo said. “You get him to go out with you and I’ll give you my car.”

“And if I fail?” Megan asked.

“Hmm,” Stevo said flatly. “In the old days, I’d’ve gone for a BJ or something, but I’d be afraid my dick would fall off it went anywhere near your mouth. In fact, nothing. Just the satisfaction that every single person knows that you’re a talentless and charmless bitch will do.”

Megan looked at him distastefully.

“You’re on our territory now, Princess,” Douglas sneered. “We don’t play your little games anymore, you taught us that much. If you’d played it nice, we’d probably still worship you, but you had to be a bitch, and make us all grow up.”

Megan sneered back. “I’ll take his car, and drive it into the fucking lake.”

---

“Harry, this is TenebrisMayweather, the Sports Master here.”

Harry held out his hand, looking over the slim and athletic looking man in front of him. He was around fifty, with iron grey hair and a ramrod straight back.

The man shook his hand, and Harry noticed a nice gold watch. He kept a hold of the hand, and looked closer. “Is this one of Lucas’s?” he asked curiously.

“You know Lucas?” Tenebris asked.

“Jonathan introduced me a few days ago. I needed some jewellery for a friend of mine, and it was late on a Sunday. Jonathan ordered Lucas around instantly, and I ended up buying four of them.”

Tenebris looked at him for a few seconds. “Would you excuse me for just one second?” he asked.

“Sure,” Harry agreed, releasing the hand.

“That was strange,” Ben said.

“I think we’re going to be fine,” Harry replied. “He’s making a phone call about now.”

“Who to?”

“Jonathan.”

“Who’s he?”

Harry smiled. “I think he’s the head of the cabal that controls London.”

Ben and Ivan both looked surprised, as Tenebris rushed back out.

“You just must call me Ten,” he said to Harry. “I’m delighted to welcome you here. Of course, I must be polite to you, for you are Jonathan’s new boss!”

“Nonsense,” Harry said, “I’m Harry, that’s all I respond to. You know Ben and Ivan, I’m sure. And I’m definitely not Jonathan’s boss; think of me as more of someone who recognises talent when he sees it, and is determined to make sure it can flourish.”

Ten smiled widely and almost wilted with pleasure. “Come, come,” he said, putting his arm around Harry. “Let me give you the two-bit tour of this old place.”

“Thanks,” Harry said.

“We’ll continue getting set up,” Ben said.

“Wonderful, wonderful, I do appreciate your visits, Ben.”

Harry allowed himself to be dragged around the school. It wasn’t that different from Hogwarts, if you ignored the fact it was non-magical and not a castle. The dormitories were about the same size, although the beds were not as nice.

“May I ask a question?” Ten asked.

“Of course,” Harry said, keeping the immediate smart response to himself.

“Why kick-boxing?”

“Luck, actually. I know Ben’s daughter very well, and after I had an attempt on my life, I asked her to help me out. Of course, being a Turpin, she instantly introduced me to kick boxing, and I never looked back.

“And although I practice kick-boxing, I have nothing but respect for boxers. I know how hard they have to train, as I’ve done it myself. And I hear that you have a fabulous programme here.”

“We do, indeed,” Ten preened. “It gives a boy some much needed discipline.”

“Excuse me, sir,” a voice interrupted them.

“Mr Adam?” Ten asked. “Douglas, our head boy,” he added to Harry.

“Hi,” Harry greeted him.

“It’s an honour,” Douglas said excitedly. “Sir, I’ve been asked on behalf of the boys here, to see if we could arrange a little something for today’s demonstration.”

“Oh?” Ten asked, a warning tone in his voice.

“Well, normally Mr Turpin’s demonstrations are impressive, but it’s a little hard for us to empathise with him, as he’s much older than us.

“We were wondering if Mr Potter –”

“Harry,” Harry cut in.

“Harry, then,” Douglas continued, “was going to help?”

“I am,” Harry agreed.

“Then,” Douglas said, “do you think you could fight without the kicks?”

“Probably. Why?”

“We’d like to challenge you, one of our champions against you – a friendly bout so we can see how a kick-boxer boxes.”

Harry looked at Ten.

“My boys are well trained,” Ten said. “It’s up to you, Harry.”

“It would be really educational,” Douglas said.

“Sure,” Harry said. “Who will I be fighting?”

“Our newest champion has volunteered. The whole school is very proud of him.”

Harry looked at Ten, who was looking at Douglas. “He volunteered?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then if Harry doesn’t mind, we’ll start with that.”

Harry shrugged. “Sure.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Douglas said, before running off.

“This should add some excitement,” Ten said. “Come on, I’ll show you to the dressing room where your delightful friends are. I will expect you to go easy on our guy, as good as he is, he is not a national champion.”

“Don’t worry,” Harry agreed. “I’ll be to busy concentrating on not kicking him.”

Ten smiled, as he paused at a door. “Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t go too easy on him. He is a bully, and perhaps finding someone better than him will have a positive affect on the rest of his school career. He is close to being expelled.”

Harry nodded as Ten swirled and vanished.

“Cabal?” Ben demanded, as he entered the dressing room.

Harry smiled. “There’s a group of gay guys that run London. Jonathan runs it. Nothing happens without one of his groups’ influence.”

“And Jonathan likes you,” Ben finished. “Git.”

“Yeah, change of plans by the way, Ten asked me to have a demonstration fight with one of their boxers first.”

“Cool,” Ivan grinned. “Show people that just because we can kick, it doesn’t mean we can’t box.”

“Okay, I’ll go out there,” Ben said, “and introduce you. You’ve got some fans out there, so do your entrance.”

Harry nodded and quickly started to get changed, as Ben led Ivan out – which was useful, as he was then able to transfigure some of his clothes into a pair of shorts, using his necklace. He then created a mouth-guard.

He took a deep breath, then moved to the corner and started to warm up, making sure to stretch all his muscle groups, before doing some shadow boxing to ensure he was as limber as he could be.

“Oh my,” Tenebris said, fanning himself dramatically. “We’re ready to start now.”

Harry nodded.

“I’ve got some gloves for you. I’ll help you put them on.”

“Thanks,” Harry said as he walked over to the older man, and took a seat.

“My second in charge is with our champion,” Tenebrus said. “You know the rules of boxing?”

Harry nodded.

“You are supposed to wear a helmet in an amateur match.”

Harry shook his head. “If I get hit, I’ll deserve to go down.”

Ten sniggered. “Ben said you’d say that,” he agreed, as he pulled the gloves onto Harry’s hand. “Nervous?”

“Nah,” Harry said. “I came here because I had some issues, and Ben and Ivan agreed to let me pound them later for helping out. I’ve got some tension to release, but don’t worry, I’ve got it under control.”

“There you go, Harry,” Tenebris announced as he finished tying the laces.

“Thanks.”

“Follow me.”

Harry did as he was told, jogging on the spot, getting his heart rate back up.

“Hailing from Little Whinging, Surrey, the United Kingdom Junior Kick Boxing champion, Harry ‘The Hitman’ Potter!”

There was some cheering from the kids as Harry bounced into the large gymnasium. It was set up with the ring at the front, and row after row of students facing it.

Harry jumped on to the ring apron, and pulled himself on to the top of the ropes, before launching himself into a backward somersault with twist.

There was a loud cheer from the students, as Harry turned to the corner. He crossed his arms and leant back, ignoring Ben as he introduced his opponent.

“…Dursley!”

There was a muted cheer, as Harry looked on in shock. Sure enough, his cousin was the one walking down to the ring. He was wearing a pair of high-laced boxing boots, baggy shorts, a t-shirt with some rolls of belly flab hanging out underneath, boxing gloves, and a head protector.

“Problem?” Ivan asked quietly.

“The only problem I’m going to have is remembering not to kill him,” he growled.

“Control, Harry,” Ivan snapped.

Harry took a deep breath.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said, as Dudley squeezed between two ropes and in to the ring.

Dudley’s eyes were massive as he looked at Harry. “What the hell happened to you, freak?”

Harry smiled coldly and put his mouth guard in.

Dudley gulped and retreated to his corner.

A younger man climbed into the ring and beckoned the two forward. “You both know the rules, Mr Potter, a kick is an instant disqualification. Dursley, keep it above the belt!” He stepped away, and a bell rang.

Dudley lurched forward, with a punch that belied his girth. Harry swayed back, and felt the air move as the punch slid past his chin. Dudley followed it up with a couple of shots aimed at his body.

Harry took the expedient manoeuvre of stepping back.

Dudley growled and followed him, launching more punches. Harry caught a few on his hands, blocking them. It seemed that his cousin had actually put his bullying to good use and learned how to fight.

Hardly seeing an opening, Harry shot a punch back, a jab into Dudley’s chest. He kept it light, just using it to score a point.

Dudley actually sneered at him, and came at him again. As before, Harry dodged and weaved, so that Dudley didn’t actually hit him.

Harry had expected Dudley to be exhausted by now, but, to his grudging respect, Dudley was fitter than he looked.

Harry suddenly slid forward and rained three shots on Dudley’s torso, still keeping them light.

As he watched him, Harry had to wrestle with his conscience. The urge to humiliate his cousin was huge. He had the skill to make Dudley look appalling, and he knew he could do it. The only thing holding him back was his sense of honour – that he was much older than Dudley now, and that what he was doing wasn’t fair.

Dudley continued to attack, letting his guard drop as he tried to hit Harry.

Fortunately, or not, one of Dudley’s punches grazed Harry’s nose, and his body reacted automatically. A cross-right, at full strength, blasted through Dudley’s weak defences and caught the fatter boy on the chin.

Dudley bounced as he hit the floor, and wouldn’t be getting up before the ten count. As the referee got to eight, the bell rang for the end of the round.

Harry looked at the ref, who said, “We use the old rules here.” A teacher helped Dudley back into the corner. “He was saved by the bell.”

---

“Oh my,” Tenebris muttered to Ben halfway through the first round.

“Good, isn’t he?” Ben said proudly.

“I think I may have misjudged you. Mr Dursley is quite good, despite his size. He’s not getting anywhere near Harry.”

“And he won’t,” Ben agreed. “It wouldn’t have mattered what sport we taught Harry, he would have been the best at it. He has the will to do what it takes. He has spent more time training seriously than I have. It’s dedication.”

“Quite, and he is just beautiful,” Ten said softly. “And it’s causing a bit of a problem. Do you see the dark haired girl with the pageboy haircut?”

“The one who undid the top button on her shirt around ten seconds ago?”

“Yes. She’s St Lawrence’s Head Girl, Megan Charters. She’s trouble.”

“Oh?”

Tenebris sighed softly. “She has all the advantages in the world, but thinks that world owes her everything. A thoroughly unpleasant, rude, arrogant, lazy, spiteful girl. She used to be loved, but went a bit too far, and now all the senior boys treat her like a pariah. The girls are too scared of her, with the exception of Sally Parks; she’s the slightly plump blonde at the end trying not to watch.

“Good couple of punches,” Tenebris added, as Harry finally threw some punches back. “She’ll end up giving her body for anyone with money.”

“An escort?” Ben asked in surprise.

“What? Oh no, she’s not smart enough to do that. I mean she’ll give it away for meaningless trinkets. The last time I saw that look in her eye, she was about to play with my Head boy, and she’s looking directly at Harry.”

Ben nodded. “I think a friend of his is in town – Harry mentioned it earlier – think I should invite her?”

“It may be a good idea,” Ten agreed. “Jesus Christ, did you see that punch!?”

“Barely,” Ben muttered. “That’s why he’s called the Hitman.”

“Jesus,” Ten whistled again as the bell rang. “I better tell Harry the fight’s not over.”

“And I’ll go and make a phone call.”

---

Harry moved over to his corner and spat out his mouth guard. “This isn’t a good idea,” he said to Ivan. “It’s all I can do not to rip the tosser in two.”

“That last punch almost did. If he’s got any sense he’ll stay in his corner.”

“Dudley’s never had any sense. And now I’m stronger than him, I have the urge to pay him back for every time he hit me when I was growing up.”

“What!”

“Oh, yeah, I lived with him and his delightful parents. They were the bane of my existence before I grew up.”

Ten wandered over to them. “He’s continuing.”

“He’s brave, I’ll give him that,” Harry agreed. “Look, this isn’t fair. I expected to be fighting someone more my age, not a kid. Especially not one I have a history with.”

“Mr Dursley believes that his size makes him immune to anything and everything,” Tenebris said softly. “He doesn’t understand that there is always someone bigger, someone stronger, and that skill is just as important. You are teaching him a valuable life lesson.”

“I can’t turn my instincts off. I’ve trained for years to react as hard and as fast as I can.”

“Like that last punch?” Ten asked. “I think only the three of us saw the punch.”

“Yes.”

Ten shrugged. “Mr Dursley understood what he was getting into when he challenged a national champion.”

The bell rang again, and Harry moved into the middle. Dudley was back on his feet, and to his credit, his eyes were not glazed. They were filled with absolute rage.

“I’ll get you for that, freak,” Dursley snarled, as he shoved his mouth guard into place.

Harry shook his head and did the same. He didn’t wait for Dudley this time; he decided to just end it, before he gave into his baser instincts and beat the shit out of him.

He parried Dudley’s first punch, and rammed an upper-cut straight through his chin. Dudley was unconscious before he hit the ground.

There was a cheer and some applause from the students, but Harry ignored them. He held his hands out to Ivan, who removed his gloves, and then passed him the open gloves that kick boxers used.

They felt far better on his fist, as he bent and put on some foot protectors, and then his helmet.

He turned, bouncing on the spot, as Dudley was rolled out of the ring by four students. Ben stood on the apron, leaning backward casually, as he faced the students, and started to speak, but Harry didn’t listen. He needed to hit something.

---

Hermione made her way to their Common Room as quickly as they could. They’d all agreed to meet up in the break between the first and second lesson of the morning, so that they could track down Harry.

She was the second to last to arrive, and took a seat at the end in her normal position. Lisa bounded in next; she dashed around the huge couch and vaulted over the back into position next to her.

Gabrielle and Dawn were nowhere to be seen, and hadn’t been seen all morning. Fleur didn’t look worried.

“Harry’s safe,” Lisa announced. “But needs some help.”

“Where?” Christophe asked, as he shot to his feet.

“Whoa, hold your horses,” Lisa said. “You’re not the right sort of help. Harry wanted to pound something, so he went to Dad’s gym. Dad persuaded him to go to a school – Smeltings. Well, turns out that Harry’s cousin goes to school there, and they’re having a boxing match at the moment. The cousin volunteered for it, Harry didn’t know he was fighting him until he got in the ring.”

“Good,” Hermione said, aware she was being a little catty. “If anyone deserves a beating, it’s him.”

“Hermione!” In different forms, practically everyone looked at her in shock.

“He bullied Harry,” Hermione explained. “Made sure he had no friends and was miserable. I refuse to feel upset for Harry getting some closure before he moves on with his life.”

“Okay,” Aurora said dryly. “Lisa, what help does Harry need?”

“According to dad, the sister-school’s bike has locked onto Harry, and the mood Harry’s in, it wouldn’t be pretty. So Dad’s asked for someone to be a distraction.”

“I’ll go.” Fleur, Melissa, Chloe, Alicia, Angelina, all joined Hermione in volunteering. The girls looked at each other and then giggled.

“As much as it pains me to say this,” Aurora said dryly, “don’t you all have classes?”

“Who cares?” Fleur asked.

“I do,” Aurora replied. “Especially as I’m now free for the day. I’ve not got a class until midnight tonight, so I’ll go.”

Everyone looked at each other, before Hermione found herself nodding. It would help their professor feel more at home with the group. “Good idea,” she said. “You do know it’s strictly Muggle, right?”

“I can handle it,” Aurora said with a large degree of self confidence.

“Not looking like that, you can’t,” Fleur decided. “Right, boys can wait here, girls, grab Aurora and into my room.”

“What?” Aurora squeaked as she was grabbed. Lisa slid between two girls and with no visible effort, bent Aurora’s right arm in to an unnatural position behind her back, and pushed her forward.

The other girls sniggered and followed them into Fleur’s bedroom.

Hermione locked the door behind them and then cast a silencing charm.

“You can let me go now,” Aurora said dryly. “I can hardly escape.”

Lisa did as she was told, and hopped onto Fleur’s bed. Gabrielle’s bed was positioned around two feet away from the other side. At least, Hermione presumed that was the case, as she couldn’t see Fleur sleeping with a teddy bear.

“Hermione, Alicia, you’re on hair, Angelina, Lisa, you’re on nails, while we go and find something in my wardrobe for her.”

“Yes, commander,” Hermione said, saluting. “You do know,” she continued, as she helped push the resisting professor into a chair. “Having hair like mine means you get to be an expert with the damn stuff.”

“Stop,” Aurora ordered firmly. “I appreciate the help, honestly, but I am twenty-three years old. It may also shock you kids to know, but I have had a social life, not recently admittedly, but I still remember more than enough to get by. Now, shift.”

The girls surrounded her moved back, as Auror pulled out her wand and cast Finite Incantatem on her fingers. Her nails grew around half a centimetre, and acquired a deep red colour.

Aurora reached up and pulled her hair out of the tight braid it was in.

“Wow,” Lisa said, “you should wear your hair down more, it really softens your face.”

“That’s why I don’t,” Aurora pointed out. “I’m a professor; I have enough problems with students studying my chest rather than my courses, without distracting them further – and I wear voluminous robes for a reason.”

“You are a good professor,” Hermione protested vehemently. “I love your lessons.”

“Thank you,” Aurora said softly. “I was warned that I was too young, which is why I’m happy to join in with you lot of lunatics.”

“So why teaching?” Lisa asked.

“There was nothing I wanted to do more. I came to the interview on a lark, and was shocked when I got it. Of course, as soon as I did, I wanted to make sure I was as good as I could be.”

Aurora pulled her hair back into a light ponytail. “What do you think; does this make me look younger?”

“Yeah,” Alicia said, “around eighteen or nineteen.”

Aurora smiled and tied her hair back, before she pulled a couple of whisps out the front to frame her face.

“Fleur, our make-work was pointless and we’re bored now,” Hermione called.

“You’re not supposed to say that,” Fleur said as she emerged from a walk-in closet with the other two girls.

“She’s more than capable of doing her own stuff,” Hermione said. “You just wanted us to be busy.”

“True,” Fleur agreed. “That and get to know her a bit better. Everything’s been happening so fast recently.”

“Ahh, the joys of being in the wake of Harry Potter,” Hermione said with a grin. “You get dragged along, and struggle to keep from drowning. Of course, when he stops, you’re in paradise, and you realise what a wild ride it was.”

“Who the hell are you and what have you done with Hermione?” Alicia demanded.

Hermione pointed at Chloe.

Everyone turned to look at the French girl.

“What?” Chloe asked.

“With Harry gallivanting around, breaking the laws of physics and time left, right and centre, I needed someone to talk to.”

“And Andrew and I spent a lot of time talking to her, along with some of the others. Once we broke through her trust in authority figures, and taught her to think for herself, we found a cool person inside.”

Hermione felt herself blushing. “So,” she said, “Harry was growing up, so I did as well.”

“Only without magic,” Chloe said proudly.

Fleur sighed softly, before she smiled. “Right, robes off.”

Aurora stood up and undid the robes she was wearing, Hermione moved forward and pulled them off, placing them on the back of the chair.

Fleur held up a blue dress, and then shook her head. “You’re going to a school, not church,” she muttered to herself.

“How is me being there being explained?” Aurora asked.

“Oh, Dad said that he knew you were shopping in the nearby town,” Lisa said.

“So I Apparate to the nearest town and grab a taxi?”

“Yes,” Hermione said. “That’s the best idea.”

“Ahh,” Fleur said and dashed into her cupboard. She emerged with a pair of black jeans. “Calvin Klein,” she announced, as she cast a spell on them that made them huge. “We’ll shrink these into place.”

Aurora nodded and whipped off her skirt.

“You know,” Melissa said idly, “every boy in Ravenclaw would have a coronary if they knew you wear Ravenclaw blue lingerie.”

Aurora smirked as she climbed into the jeans. “Hit me,” she said to Fleur. “And Melissa, believe me, I know. I might just let them know before I leave.”

“And we thought you were so strict,” Angelina muttered.

Fleur waved her wand at Aurora, and the jeans started to shrink. “Say when.”

Aurora waited, “When!”

Fleur cancelled the spell.

“How do they make my legs look?”

“Your legs are good, but they make your bum look great,” Hermione said, with a small amount of jealousy.

“Perfect,” Aurora said.

“It is,” Alicia agreed.

Aurora blushed.

“I win,” Alicia cheered.

Aurora stuck her tongue out.

Fleur looked thoughtful. “I have just the thing,” she said as she vanished again. “I’ve not even worn this myself yet. Take your jumper off, you won’t need to wear anything with this apart from a light t-shirt; the assistant swore that it was really warm.” She emerged with what looked like a coat.

Aurora removed her jumper, her t-shirt rode up as she did, showing that her taste in lingerie extended to her bra, and took the coat. It was a double-breasted empire coat in a dark grey that hugged her body intimately, and was long enough to look like a mini-dress. While it minimised her chest, it made her look incredibly classy.

Aurora did all the buttons up, then pulled her hair out of the pony tail, and shook it a few times. “So?” she asked.

“You look like you’ve been shopping, and have exquisite taste,” Chloe said. “And has just made me decide that next weekend I’m kidnapping Fleur and getting her to take me shopping.”

“Oooh,” Fleur said, clapping her hands. “Girls only shopping trip. We’ll go to Paris on Sunday.”

Hermione smiled. “Sounds like fun,” she agreed. “We’ll send the boys to do something sporty.”

Aurora pulled on her shoes, before she walked over and hugged Fleur. “Thanks.”

Fleur smiled happily. “Shopping is my vice,” she confessed.

“I’ll be there next Sunday,” Aurora promised. “I’ve not done any serious shopping for years, and I have most of my salary saved. Okay,” Aurora said. “Where am I going?”

“Smeltings is in Essex, I think the nearest town is Brentwood,” Hermione said. “Do you need Muggle money for the taxi?”

Aurora nodded.

“I’ll get you some from my room,” she promised. She walked to the door, cancelled the pointless spells she’d put on, and dashed to her room. The boys were looking at her curiously, but she ignored them. She opened her purse and took out a couple of twenty pound notes.

As much as she had a few issues with Harry paying her for research that she’d do for free for him, she did appreciate that he valued her as a professional.

Back in the common room, the boys were looking appreciatively at Aurora, who was handling it with grace and poise.

For a second, Hermione was struck with the idea that she would be like that one day, and more, that Harry seemed to attract a certain type of female. Strong, was one word, and self assured another. Even the younger ones, like her and Lisa, were either in a relationship with a guy who had gone past the irritating stage, or were looking for one.

She’d never expected her life to turn out like this, despite her parents telling that one day she’d have good friends. And she did, and all because she’d done the right thing, and stuck by her best friend. He’d paid her back so much for such a small display of loyalty.

“Here,” she said, hanging the money to Aurora.

“Thanks. Wish me luck; I’ll let you know what’s happening.”

“Good luck,” Hermione said.

Aurora turned and strolled out of the Common Room.

“I guess we should head to class,” Hermione said with a sigh. She was a little surprised to realise that she’d rather spend the rest of the day with her friends.

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 13

Ben finished his speech to the students and dropped off the edge of the ring and then made his way back over to Tenebris.

Ivan climbed into the ring. As well as the normal kick boxing gear, he was wearing a chest protector, and was wearing a large punching pad on each hand.

Harry was bouncing back and forth, from one leg to the other. Ivan took a deep breath, and then nodded.

And Harry attacked.

The second before Harry started to move, Ben could see, even from the distance, that Harry had released his self-control.

Harry’s first move was a jump kick that smacked into the pad that Ivan held in front of his face, despite the fact that it meant Harry had to jump almost a foot and a half into the air to get his foot that high.

Harry then moved into a fast series of punches that crashed into Ivan’s protected chest.

Ben shook his head. “I know this is a spar, but I’ve taught him not to drop his guard like that,” he murmured.

“I’m sure,” Tenebris agreed. “However, if the purpose of this exercise is to eliminate tension and anger, then he can be forgiven.”

“True,” Ben agreed and went silent as he watched.

“I’ve never seen the students quite this still,” Tenebris said softly. “I think they may be afraid of attracting his attention. Even our dear Megan is transfixed.”

Ben nodded. “I’ll give Ivan five minutes, and then I’ll take over.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Not really,” Ben said. “Ivan’s strong enough to handle this, and I’m quicker than Harry. You’re a good boxer, and you’d be able to stop the punches, but not the kicks.”

Ten nodded. “I’m also a little older, but it was nice of you not to mention that.”

Ben grinned, and then winced as Harry shot one of his trademark punches straight into Ivan’s chest.

“Ouch,” Tenebris muttered.

“Harry’s trying to tire himself out,” Ben said. “He wouldn’t normally do that many combinations. When I get in the ring, I’ll make him start to jump a lot more, and do the flashy moves that look good in movies but are useless in a real fight. It will help exhaust him quickly.”

“I’ve never seen that much focused fury in real life,” Ten said.

“He doesn’t take betrayal well; he’s had a lot of it. I don’t know exactly what happened. Anyway, tell me about this Sally girl.”

“Why?”

“Because you said something nice about her, and Harry’s the sort of person who likes to know who the best people are, so he can get them working for him.”

Ten nodded slowly. “Straight A student, but that doesn’t tell the half of it. She loves computers, and according to St Lawrence’s computer teacher, she’s a genius with them.”

Ben nodded. “I’ll tell Harry; don’t be surprised if he does try and recruit her immediately. If he makes a decision, he doesn’t hang around.”

“She will want to go to University.”

“Of course, but I suspect she’d like to have a part-time job during it, and guaranteed employment at the end.”

“Oh yes, yes indeed,” Tenebris said. “And Megan’s just woken up. She’s not good at keeping her thoughts to herself. It’s that laziness again.”

“Subtle, she’s not,” Ben sniffed. “She actually tried something like this with me last year.” He shook his head. “If I was sixteen, I might find her attractive, but considering that I’m twice her age, she looks like a child to me.”

“Quite,” Tenebris agreed. “It is a sad fact though, that some men go for that look.”

“Not Harry,” Ben said with a grin. “He goes to University in Scotland, and has had someone like Megan try something like that, from the attached school. According to Lisa, he just dismissed her. Normally, I’d let that happen here, but with him in a foul mood, I don’t really want to deal with the outcome of Harry being more forceful.”

“Her father is rich; I believe he’s a director of one of the inner city banks. He would cause problems.”

“Yeah, it would get messy,” Ben agreed. “I’m not sure Harry’s ready for that sort of attention yet.”

Ten looked at him strangely. “You’re suggesting that Harry would win?”

Ben nodded. “He purchased the restaurant in cash, on a whim. He’s also a titled Lord, with loads of properties dotted around England, and he already has some of the smartest teenagers in England, France and Germany dedicated to him. Lisa – my daughter, by the way – is one of them.”

“Interesting,” Ten muttered. “It could be fun for it to happen.”

Ben laughed and turned his head as he heard the sound of footsteps on the wooden floor. Tenebris turned. “The friend?” Ten asked.

Ben nodded, having no clue who the blonde woman was. She was carrying a bottle of water in one hand and a shopping bag in the other. He was pretty sure she was here for Harry, though because, even ignoring the outfit that screamed money and class, the subtle display of noticeable cleavage, and the beautiful long, honey-blonde hair, she had the long legs that characterised Kate, Fleur, and Annie.

“Hi, Ben,” she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, and a big hug. He was surprised by the show of affection, until she whispered, “My name is Aurora Sinistra,” almost inaudibly.

“It’s good to see you again,” Ben said. “Aurora, I’d like you to meet TenebrisMayweather, the Sports Master here at Smeltings Academy. Ten, this is Aurora Sinistra.”

“Delighted to meet you,” Aurora said, holding out her hand.

Acting almost on auto-pilot, Tenebris took the hand, and gently kissed the knuckles as he bowed. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my dear.”

Aurora smiled. “How’s he doing?”

“Still going strong,” Ben said.

“I’m glad he came to see you,” she admitted. “It was a smart move of his to get himself out of there and not face Dawn immediately. That could have been bad.”

“Dawn?”

“Oh, sorry,” Aurora apologised. “You’ll be introduced next time you visit Lisa. The whole thing exploded this morning, in public. A nightmare situation, made worse by everyone – including Dawn – doing the right thing and the wrong time. Of course, Dawn is devastated that she hurt Harry, but I think everyone there understands what she did, and we would have all done exactly the same thing if we’d been in her position.

“Harry knows it, which is why he’s getting rid of his anger.” She paused. “Impressively,” she added. “And how big is that guy?”

Ben laughed. “Big enough. I think it’s time I went and switched.”

“Okay,” Aurora said. “I’ll go and give my hero a drink, and let you get ready.”

“Are you sure?” Tenebris asked. “It looks unwise to interrupt them.”

Aurora flashed him a smile. “Of course.”

“Hey, Stevo,” Douglas said softly. “You said one of the Hitman’s girls was a blonde with long legs and great tits?”

Stevo nodded, not looking up from the ring, where Harry was moving in a way that made greased lightning look slow and boring.

“Check out Mayweather and Ben.”

Stevo reluctantly turned and then did a classic double take. “Different blonde,” he announced.

“Think she’s here for him?” Douglas asked.

“She’s too young for Ben and Ivan,” Stevo pointed out.

“Looks like your car is safe.”

Stevo sniggered. “It always was. The two girls I saw were a different class. The blonde and the brunette at the championship were the two most beautiful girls I have ever seen in real life. Queen Bitch is pretty, if you ignore the sneer that is always on her face, but that’s it. And really, if you had a girl like that,” he indicated the blonde who was striding confidently toward the ring, “would you even notice our dear Megan?”

Douglas shook his head. “I think we should try and talk to him at some stage, get some pointers.” He made a beckoning signal, and one of his friends wandered from the side, where he had been sitting near Ben and Mayweather. “So, Jonno?”

“Lord Potter,” Jonno said, “is also loaded, has girls like our favourite Queen throwing themselves at him all the time, had something go wrong this morning with another girl named Dawn, and Aurora Sinistra, the blonde hottie climbing into the ring, is definitely his girlfriend.”

“Good work,” Douglas praised.

Jonno nodded. “And prepare for some fun, Ben’s gonna make him do some fancy moves next.”

Aurora walked along in front of the row of children staring at the ring, and was gratified as the male half of the attention slowly changed onto her, and not onto the hard-moving Harry in the ring.

As she walked past the time-keeper’s table, she picked up the small hammer from the table and rang the bell, before she climbed in. She hid a smile as she knew that the action raised the tails of her coat.

Harry had pulled back from Ivan, but was bouncing energetically.

She walked over to him, and put her right hand on his shoulder. As expected, he reacted by turning violently and throwing a punch at her. Also as expected, he pulled it at least five inches before it got near her face.

“Aurora!?”

She put both hands on his shoulders, and pushed him back into the corner. “Sit,” she ordered, as Ten placed a small stool there.

Harry sat.

“It’s time for Ivan to take a break, and Ben’s going to take over.”

Harry had a confused look in his eyes as he looked at her.

“Drink,” she ordered, holding out the bottle,

He took it and did as he was told. He drank reluctantly at first, before he started to gulp down the water.

“Good boy,” she praised, before she leant in and kissed him lightly. As she pulled back, she watched his eyes change from confused to a combination of resigned and amused, and she knew he would follow her lead now.

She looked up, and saw Ben was ready. “Go and work out your tension,” she ordered. “Ben is going to get you to do some fancy, cinema moves to impress the kiddies. You can take me to lunch when you’ve finished.”

“Okay,” he agreed, his eyes focusing behind her. She moved out of the way, and he exploded out of the stool. She watched him for a second, as he launched into a move that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a cinema screen, before she kicked the stool out of the ring and climbed out. She wished her jeans were a little less tight, as it made the movements slightly difficult – and garnered her some unwanted attention by some of the male students.

She walked back around to the Sports Master. “So, which one has her eyes on Harry?” she asked casually.

“Front row, centre, page boy hair cut and too many buttons on her blouse undone.”

“That child?” she asked in amazement. “Tell me, does she dance?”

“Not that I’m aware off.” The obvious question was plain in Ten’s voice.

“Harry’s a little strange, in that he’s attracted to how a person moves more than how she looks. Teenagers in general have no class; and gauche teenagers that clod around like shire horses don’t do anything for him no matter how they’ve developed or how much of said development they put on display.”

Ten smiled faintly. “I’ve noticed that myself. Boxing, and to be fair, other sports, can really help with a child’s grace.”

“I’m not a dancer myself,” she said, “but I did dressage for many years, and had to learn how to move smoothly.” She frowned, “I’ve not done nearly enough riding recently. It’s hard to fit it around a career.”

“Quite,” Ten agreed. “Those are some dramatic moves.”

She watched as Harry placed a kick into Ben’s left glove and used that as a springing point, to put another into Ben’s right glove, which was held far above his head.

“He’s starting to calm down,” she noted. “The fury has gone.”

“How can you tell?”

“The eyes, you can always tell with Harry’s eyes. They are less focused than they were, and now he’s merely concentrating. If he lets you in, you can see the world in his eyes, but if not, they are just hard chunks of jade.”

“It is a most remarkable colour.”

Aurora nodded.

“I noticed you didn’t flinch,” Tenebrus said.

“Well, when Harry’s wound up like that, he is always going to punch first. I also know that he would never hurt me, so it wasn’t hard to predict that he would throw a punch, and then pull it.”

While she didn’t have that much first-hand knowledge of Harry’s moods, she’d spent enough time with the girls in their little group to have been given more than enough pointers on his personality.

Megan was angry enough to spit teeth, wherever she looked, the senior boys were smirking at her, well, when they weren’t ignoring her completely for the boy in the ring or the slut talking to that stupid old man with his stupid upright posture.

How dare that fucking bitch show her up like that? It was typical that the Neanderthal in the ring went for big-titted dumb blondes.

Well, she wasn’t going to be shown up by anyone. She’d have him, cement her position, and if he didn’t play along, she’d get daddy to shut down that shitty gym of Turpin’s. After Turpin had ignored her last year, she’d done a bit of research – well, asked her father a few questions – and now knew that her father’s company held some debts that Ben was paying off.

As Harry finished another move, he grinned at Ben for the first time, who reached out and ruffled his hair. The two hugged, before turning as every other student burst into applause.

Judging from the slightly surprised look on Harry’s face, the dumb bastard had forgotten about the crowd.

This was clearly her moment to regain her pride. She took a few steps forward, jumped to the apron of the ring, slid in, not bothering to keep her skirt down, and walked over to him.

He was looking at her in surprise, as she hugged him, and whispered, “Play along, or daddy will shut the gym down.” Blackmail, it was always so much fun.

She felt his hands go up.

Victory was always so sweet.

She stumbled backward as she was pushed away roughly. “Blackmail?” he asked, as he looked at her in disgust.

“Harry,” the blonde said, “she’s not worth it, just leave her.”

Reacting on instinct, Megan turned and tried to punch the blonde. Her hand was caught in what felt like a vice, and she struggled to free it.

“Ten,” Harry growled, “what is her father’s name?” He was holding her hand, without any visible effort.

“Daniel Charters. He’s a director at GBC.”

“Ivan, can I borrow your phone?”

A heavy phone flew from the corner, and Harry caught it in his left hand, released Megan with his right so that he could pull out the antenna, and dialled a number from memory.

“Yeah, this is Lord Potter, put me through to Jim.” Harry waited for a few seconds. “Jim, it’s Harry. I’ve got the brat of one of your directors, Daniel Charters, in front of me. She just threatened me with the closure of Turpin’s Gym. You might want to launch an investigation to see if he makes a habit of screwing his clients just to make his daughter happy. That hardly seems like honourable and profitable behaviour.”

Harry waited and listened for a few seconds. “Cheers, Jim. How’s the purchase of my restaurant going?” He paused a few more seconds, before continuing, “Good news, I’ll pop around this afternoon and sign the paperwork. See you later.” He hung up the phone and tossed it back to Ben, and looked at her with the coldest eyes she had ever seen.

“If your father has done anything like that, he will be fired and sued out of existence. Let me explain something about how your father’s employers work: you do not play games with them! Profit and honour are the two most important things to them, with honour going before profit. If your father has broken their honour, they will be forced to make things good, so that their honour remains unblemished, and that will eat into their profits.

“Of course,” he finished quietly, “if he hasn’t, and you’re just a stupid little girl, you’ll hopefully learn a lesson that blackmail is despicable, and that if you threaten any of my friends, I will destroy you.”

The grip on her hand was released, but before she could say anything, the grip was taken up by the blonde. “I only came today to try and save you from the embarrassment of going up against Lord Potter, but rather than take the warning of me being here, you acted like a stupid spoilt child.” The blonde shook her head in pity, and released her hand. “Run away, little girl.”

“How dare you,” Megan screeched.

“And now a childish temper-tantrum,” the blonde sighed. “Megan Charters, you will sit down and be quiet!” The voice was exactly the same tone and volume that her teachers used when she was in real trouble, and her instinctive reaction was to sit down immediately. Unfortunately, once she was down, sitting on a stool, there was no way she could even think of continuing her fit.

Megan looked up, in impotent fury, to see Madam Cuthbridge make her way into the ring. Ben sat on the middle rope and lifted the top rope, allowing her an easy entrance. Someone had moved some steps to the edge of the ring to allow the elderly (and portly) administrator easy access.

“I’m dreadfully sorry, Lord Potter,” Cuthbridge smarmed.

“It’s just Harry, Ma’am,” Harry said politely. “I dislike using my title, it gives people false impressions. Besides, it’s what you do that your worth should be judged on, not who you are related to.”

“Well said, young man,” Cuthbridge said with a warm smile. “I assure you that St Lawrence’s Academy does not condone her behaviour. We had hoped that by making her Head Girl, she would use her undoubted intellect and perhaps become a more rounded person.”

Megan snorted to herself. More like Daddy had made sure it happened, just like Daddy would take care of this mess.

“Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘Nearly all men can stand the test of adversity, but if you really want to test a man's character, give him power.’” Harry said, as he nodded in agreement.

Cuthbridge, the old bat, actually simpered at Potter. “Exactly. Miss Charters, you will come with me, and we will arrange a conference with your parents about your future at this school. You have run out of chances, and while this isn’t exactly a crime, your actions have been reprehensible.”

“Come on, Harry,” the blonde said as Megan was dragged – literally, physically dragged , away. “I’ll help you shower, and then you can take me to lunch.”

“So,” Harry said, as Aurora followed him into the changing room. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m acting in loco consortia ,” she said.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Well, that and failing,” she said with a sigh. “Ben asked for some help to try and deal with that stupid bint outside. We didn’t want you to have to deal with her.”

Harry smiled, “Thanks. I appreciate it. Actually, having you here did help. While I was pounding on Ben and Ivan, I was thinking about the whole thing, and it was kind of an impotent fury, because I’ve loved Hogwarts since I first saw her, but I have no idea if that transfers over to a personification of Hogwarts. I understand what she did, and I understand why, but I’m confused about the whole thing.” He took a deep breath, and then turned on the shower. He stripped and stepped in, sighing as the water pulsed down on his muscles.

“What are you going to do?” Aurora asked, as she leaned against the entrance.

“Check,” Harry said after a while. “This is what I came up with. I check Dawn’s story – dunno how, yet – and if she’s was telling the truth, and I’m pretty sure she is, then we move on and forget about it.”

“And if she’s not?”

Harry shrugged. “I leave Hogwarts immediately. I don’t take people at face value anymore, so I need to make absolutely sure she’s telling the truth.”

Aurora nodded. “You’re impressive when you’re fighting.”

“That wasn’t fighting. That was a practise session. In a real fight, Ivan would have clocked me, and Ben would have torn me apart.”

“Don’t put yourself down, old boy,” Ivan called. “You’ll excuse me if I don’t strip?” he said to Aurora.

“I’d prefer it,” Aurora replied.

“Anyway,” Ivan continued with a rumbling chuckle, “you’re getting faster the more you practice, and if that had been a real fight, my slowness would have meant you got me more than I got you.”

Harry shrugged. “Maybe, but you’d only need to get in one good hit and I’d have a free trip to France.”

Ivan laughed. “Ben would have still beaten you,” he added.

“Damn right. Toward the end, I stopped signalling where I was going to hit him; but he was still there ready for me.”

“Here,” Aurora said, handing him a bottle. He used the two-in-one shampoo and conditioner and washed his hair.

“So where are you taking me for lunch?”

“Wherever your heart desires,” Harry replied, rinsing his hair.

“Harry,” Ben’s voice called. “According to Ten, one of the girls here, Sally, is a genius at computers. Might be good for your recruitment run.”

“I’d need to learn about computers first,” Harry replied. “I’ll get some lessons lined up. Maybe I’ll ask Ten if he can recommend anyone.”

“Why?” Ben asked.

Harry turned the water off, and took the towel Aurora offered him. “Because I can’t tell if someone is telling me the truth if I don’t know anything about the subject. Humans are curious creatures; they have powers of self-delusion that are god-like. Unless I either know about the subject, or someone I trust implicitly knows about it, my ability to read someone can’t differentiate between actual knowledge and deluded knowledge.”

“Here,” Aurora said. “I got some new clothes for you in town.” She had a bag in her hand.

Harry smiled, and used the opportunity he’d just been handed on a plate. She was playing his girlfriend, and there was only one way he would repay a girlfriend for that sort of thing. He moved over and softly kissed her, “Thanks,” he whispered, looking into her eyes. He took the bag from her and ignored the way her eyes flicked down as his towel took that moment to slip from his waist. “Unless you think my current attire is appropriate?”

She smiled back at him, a little wryly, “You’re welcome.”

The clothes weren’t brand new, but dedicated care by House-elves kept up the fiction that explained what the witch was doing here. He pulled on the white shirt and black trousers, then the black socks and shoes, before he stretched languidly. He quickly bundled his t-shirt, jeans and trainers into the bag, and slung it over his shoulder.

“Ten asked if you could drop back to the gym,” Ben said. “If you two want to get a taxi, we’ll take care of the rest.”

“I’ll get Ten to assign you a couple of helpers,” Harry bargained. “Ben, Ivan, I really appreciate what you did for me today. If you ever need any help, just ask. I will be there, or will find what you need. You have my word.”

Harry saw Ben exchange a glance with Ivan. “That’s not an idle promise,” Aurora said softly. “Harry doesn’t give his friendship lightly.”

“Harry,” Ben said, “this is what friendship is for.”

“Absolutely, old bean, however, I do appreciate the sentiment. I do have one question, though. GBC?”

“I do all my banking through them and, not to be blunt, I’m loaded. I’ve spent some time with some of their board members, and know a lot about their history. Jim’s the president.”

Ben sniggered. “Poor, poor Megan. Stepped into the ring with the big boys and didn’t even realise it.”

Harry shrugged, and took Aurora’s arm. “Anyway, I’ll see you soon, Ben.”

“You will,” Ben agreed. “I need to meet Dawn.”

“And Ivan, it was a pleasure.”

“The pleasure was definitely shared,” Ivan replied.

The two walked out the door. “Harry?”

“Hmm?”

“GBC?”

Harry laughed. “Goblin Banking Corporation, it’s the Goblins’ Muggle arm. Jim is actually the grumpy goblin who’s been teaching me about money. He’ll get my message to the top people at the bank. Seriously, I’m more worried about someone acting like that, than I was at the threat. I’ve got some heavy investments in there.”

He opened the door to the hall, and watched, as two students were having a boxing match. “Go and talk to Ten, sweetie,” Aurora told him, and gave him a light kiss on the corner of his mouth. “I’ll stay here and watch the fight.”

“Okay,” Harry said, and walked over to the Sports Master.

“It’s been a pleasure,” Harry said. “Thanks for this morning.”

“The pleasure was all mine, Harry,” Ten said. “My boys have been talking about your demonstration non-stop. Mr Dursley has learned a valuable lesson, and Miss Charters has found that looks and an attitude can only get one so far. I think we have come ahead in the deal.”

“Good,” Harry said with a grin. “Then you won’t mind volunteering a few of your students to help Ben and Ivan load the van. Aurora and I have ordered a taxi, I’m going to take her for lunch as a thank you. Oh, I’m going to see Jonathan later, if you have a message for him?”

Ten smiled. “Just tell him what happened today, and that will do.”

“Will do,” Harry said with a smile, before looking up, “That was a nice punch.”

Ten seemed to glow for a second. “That it was,” he agreed.

“Think we should try and talk to her?” Jonno asked, as they ignored the boring comprehensive-school-level boxing match, and looked at Aurora.

“And piss off the Hitman?” Douglas asked dryly. “Or Lord Potter – a guy who can make a phone call and arrange an investigation into a fucking director of GBC?”

“So, that’s a no,” Stevo sniggered. “Is it the kick-boxing that gets him the chicks?”

“I think it helps, I mean, listen to the girls, they can’t stop talking about his muscles. I think I might take it up, and it does look cool as well.”

“Getting your foot seven feet into the air, while spinning? Yeah, you could say that is cool. And talk about self-confidence, knowing that you can kick someone’s arse means you don’t have to worry about it.”

“True,” Stevo said, “and helps when you’re dealing with poor deluded Megan,” he added with an evil smirk.

“You do know that Aurora’s done some teaching?” Douglas asked, “because that was a definite teacher voice.”

“Why don’t any of our teachers have an arse like that?” Stevo complained bitterly.

Harry and Aurora Apparated to London, and casually strolled to La Rochelle. “You asked for lunch,” Harry said cheerfully.

Aurora looked up at the entrance and smiled. “At least with you owning this place, I don’t have to worry about being kicked out for being under-dressed.”

“You look absolutely amazing,” Harry said honestly. “Even without me, Jonathan would simply love you.” He opened the door, and ushered her in.

The place was as busy as ever, with smartly dressed businessmen and woman talking intently around tables.

“Harry,” Jonathan called exuberantly as he strolled over.

“Jonathan,” Harry said, holding out his hand, which was quickly shaken. “This is Aurora.”

Jonathan bowed smoothly, and took Aurora’s hand, kissing her knuckles. Aurora smiled at him.

“And Ten sends his regards. Is there anyone you don’t know?”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Jonathan said innocently.

“He was wearing a watch that had Lucas written all over it, and as soon as I mentioned your name, he gave you a quick ring, and then had a large attitude adjustment.”

“Fancy that,” Jonathan said. “I do, of course, deny all knowledge.”

“How about we just agree that if you happen to spot a good deal, you let me know about it before anyone else?” Harry suggested.

“Like backing a stage show?” Jonathan asked. “I do happen to know someone looking for backing for his new show.”

Harry looked at Jonathan for a long moment. “Fine, tell him I’ll pop by and see him after lunch, if he can meet my eyes and tell me it will be a success, he’s funded.”

“Splendid,” Jonathan said. “Of course, this will help your integration into the people who matter.”

Harry looked at him. “You do know I’m moving to France for three years?”

“It doesn’t matter where you are based, although Monaco is gorgeous…”

“And has great tax laws,” Harry muttered, nodding slowly.

“Precisely. Anyway, the people I’ll introduce you to don’t care about where you are. But this is no conversation to have in front of a lady. Come, your table awaits.” Jonathan led them to the upper deck, where a couple of waiters were just finishing adding a new table.

“Thank you, as always.”

Jonathan nodded. “Aurora, you simply have to teach Harry some manners. A single name is just not enough.”

“Harry has the manners,” Aurora replied. “He chose not to use them, knowing it would force you to use my name. You may as well get used to using it, I’m another of his employees.”

“Ahh, brains to complement the beauty,” Jonathan said. “How does he find you?”

Aurora smiled. “In a cellar in Scotland, where we are grown to specification. Of course, it’s legs first, then the bust, then long hair. He’s a simple man, really.”

Jonathan’s self control slipped for a moment, before he started to laugh. He bowed deeply. “Harry’s friends are always so much fun,” he announced, and walked away, chuckling to himself. The sniggering waiter behind him was suddenly very busy as Jonathan stared at him.

Harry paused as a waiter filled his glass with wine, before he took the glass, and settled back, concentrating on Aurora. “Grown to specification?” he asked dryly.

Aurora smiled. “You should sit like that at school. It might inspire a generation of boys to stop slouching.”

“And get a bunch more children doing stupid things to get my attention?”

“Probably, but Dawn will protect you from those nasty kids. Don’t we get a menu?”

“Of course not. Jonathan will have talked with Jean-Sebastian, and they will have decided what we are going to eat, and it will be fantastic.”

“I think he’s adopting you,” Aurora said. “There was a certain fatherly glint about his eyes.”

“You think so?” Harry asked in surprise.

She nodded. “He thinks that with the right training, you can go places. Of course, he’s right, which is why I’ve handed in my resignation for next year.”

Harry took a sip of his wine, and then leaned forward slowly. “Why?”

Aurora met his gaze with equanimity. “Because I believe I won’t get this chance with anyone else. But to ask a question back, why me?”

Harry smiled slowly, “Because Kate called you a blonde hottie? Or maybe because after she pointed you out, I started to look at Aurora Sinistra, and I liked what I saw.

“A witch who grew up as a Muggle, with parents who own most of Essex. Your family dates back to William the Conqueror; you had a normal childhood, full of riding, swimming, and etiquette lessons, and everything else that a young lady needs.

“You were given the choice of ignoring Hogwarts, but the idea of magic appealed to you. You enjoyed your years at Hogwarts, but didn’t want to go into a Muggle education system and stop using magic.

“You’re independently wealthy, so you didn’t actually have to work, but went for the job at Hogwarts when it was offered, as the idea amused you. As soon as you got the job, you decided you’d be the best at it, and did everything you could – short of ridiculous lengths – to downplay your looks and you ensured that you knew everything about the subject. You took yourself from good to world class in less than two years by throwing away your social life, and putting everything into what you had committed yourself to.

“And that is what I want. I want people who can look at a huge amount of work as a challenge. I want people who can learn what I need them to learn. I want people who have pride in themselves, and pride in what they can do.

“And while I’m going to want you to learn to have fun and relax, you have that spark I desire most. I want people who, when their backs are against the wall, will come out fighting for me. And you are that sort of person, which is why I wanted you with me. When you decide to do something, you put your heart and soul into it.”

Aurora nervously licked her lips, before she took a small sip from the glass in her hand. The glass shook slightly as she placed it back down. Harry waited until she had accepted his words, before he settled back languidly.

“Note to self,” she whispered, “don’t ask questions if you’re not prepared for the answer.”

Harry saluted her.

“So you had me investigated?”

“Actually, most of it was easy to find out; Dawn told me a few things before I asked you to join us, and the rest I looked up. Sinistra isn’t exactly a common name.”

“True,” she agreed, and paused as their meal was placed before them. She took a bite, and smiled. “I’ve not eaten like this in years.”

“Perhaps if you went home a bit more,” he suggested lightly.

She rolled her eyes at him. “My relationship with my parents is complicated.”

“Aren’t all relationships?” he asked.

“So where are we going next?” she asked, clearly changing the subject.

“Into a taxi, probably. It will be paid for, and it will take us to the correct place, where we’ll be met by another of Jonathan’s coven, and then I’ll make a decision.”

Aurora smirked. “I see,” she said.

“Maybe,” he agreed, and concentrated on the food. As he had predicted, when they were finished, they were hurried into a taxi, barely giving Harry time to tip his waiter and get Jonathan to thank Jean-Sebastian, and sent on their way.

“You’re to go straight in,” The driver said, indicating a door.

Harry nodded, and walked with Aurora through the doors of a theatre. An assistant welcomed them with a smile, and escorted them into a large theatre. Three people were sat in the centre, a few rows in, watching a rehearsal.

Harry paused, and watched as well. The dancing on the stage was captivating. Somehow, Harry wasn’t surprised that he recognised one of the dancers.

“Hmm, long legs, dancer, blonde hair, must be one of us,” Aurora said in a teasing voice.

“Yeah, that’s Annie.”

The dancing finished with a dramatic flourish. Harry started to clap, as the lights came on.

“Harry,” Anna called excitedly as she moved to the front of the stage.

Harry took Aurora’s hand and walked with her to the front. Annie eased herself down from the stage and gave him a big hug.

“What?” Aurora said in an amused voice, “No pouncing and kissing him?”

“I learned my lesson last time,” Annie said dryly. “Yep, you’re Harry’s type.”

Aurora grinned. “I’m friends with Fleur, and have chatted with Kate a time or two,” she admitted.

“So what brings you by?” Annie asked.

Harry looked at the three men who were walking toward him. “That depends on Antonio.”

“I am Antonio and you just have to be Harry,” Antonio said enthusiastically. “I’d recognise that bum anywhere.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, not quite sure how or if he should respond to that.

“Iain was kind enough to send me the CCTV footage of your marvellous dance with Miss Delacour, and the wonderful Kate.”

“Then thank you,” Harry said. “So, you’re going to tell me now that your new project will be a success.”

“I am?”

Harry turned to the flamboyant older man and concentrated on him. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Annie as well.

Antonio gulped. “The idea, it came to me, London has been staid in its dancing, it needs to be spiced up. The story, that of a boy and a girl who meet in a nightclub, the dancing, it sizzles. It is romance, it is angst, it is heart ache, and it is redemption. It is human emotion, raw and painful, yet fulfilling.

“The choreography is light, and lets the dancers show their passion, and the ending is dramatic.”

Annie was nodding in agreement.

“You’re backed,” Harry said, and looked away.

Antonio sunk to his knees, breathing heavily.

“I have the first dance. Annie, grab Martin, a demonstration.”

Annie dashed away, as the other two men hurried off. Antonio climbed to his feet, shaking himself.

“The scene, it is a nightclub, they are dancing, a dance of courtship.”

Harry nodded, and watched as Annie emerged from the sides. She’d changed into street clothes, and stood next to an imaginary bar, tapping her feet along to the music.

Another dancer came out, Martin, Harry presumed, and persuaded her onto the dance floor.

The moves were good, but the passion wasn’t there. They danced like two professionals. He could see what Antonio was aiming for, but he didn’t think that Martin got the idea.

He looked to the side, and ran his finger across his throat. The music stopped instantly.

“Martin,” he called.

The man walked over. He was taller than Harry, brown haired, with good features and a strong chin.

“You mind some advice from an amateur?”

Martin shrugged. “I’ll learn from a street dancing monkey, if it makes me better, mate,” he said with an Australian twang.

“Okay, your moves are great, but you’re dancing for the wrong reason.”

“Huh?”

“Come down here,” Aurora said. “Harry, get up there and dance, show him what you mean.”

“As long as you promise to be nice about my comparative lack of skill.”

Martin grinned. “A backer who thinks he can dance? Hell, it’s worth it just for the giggles.” More of the dancers who had been in the rehearsal started to take seats in the front rows.

“Thank you,” Harry said dryly. “Annie, what the hell are you wearing?”

“Street clothes?” she asked, looking down at the cardigan she was wearing.

“Right, now go and put on the clothes you turned up here in.”

“A leotard and leggings?”

“Okay, bad presumption on my part. Aurora, can I borrow your coat?”

“Fleur’s, actually,” Aurora said, as she shrugged it off. Harry noticed that the un-introduced guys next to Antonio appeared to have misplaced the location of Auror’s eyes, as the last time Harry had checked, they were not attached to her chest. Harry passed her the bag with his clothes in it, before he jumped onto the stage, using one hand to help himself up, and handed the coat to Annie.

She pulled off the cardigan she had on, leaving her in a white shirt. “What have you got under that?”

“A sports bra.”

Harry nodded. “Start the music again.”

“What am I going to do?” Annie asked.

“What ever the hell you feel like,” Harry said, as he walked off stage.

Annie moved back to the imaginary bar, and Harry shook himself. He locked away the small audience, the dancers watching him. He convinced himself he was back in the nightclub when he had first met her.

He walked out, trying to pretend that it was a night club, and looked around, before he spotted Annie. The music was too loud to talk, so he walked over to her, and lightly touched her shoulder.

She looked at him curiously. He grinned, and indicated the dance floor.

She sniffed. He laughed, and took her hand, pulling her out of the chair. She twirled twice, and landed against him.

He pulled her closer, so that his leg was between hers, and held her hips close.

She tilted her head, and then nodded, pulling away slowly, and did a fast paced trot to the centre of the stage, without waiting for him.

He watched, a little disappointed that the borrowed coat was covering her arse.

He reached up and undid the second-to-top button on his shirt, and walked after her. She had already started to dance, simple steps with her arms high in the air.

He spun into place opposite her, and matched her movements.

Annie smirked at him, took a step back and did a triple-spin, before jumping, her legs going out to each side, before she landed. Her exaggerated pout suggested he try and top that.

He waited for the right moment, listening to the music as he bounced, before he stepped back, and did a crouched leg sweep far away enough from her legs for her not to have to dodge, before launching into a jumping roundhouse, that had his foot close to a foot above Annie’s head, he landed and continued the spin a few times.

The shock on Annie’s face was genuine, which surprised Harry, because he thought she knew that he was a kick boxer.

Annie slowly nodded, and smiled, a little hesitantly.

He moved closer, pulled her hips against his, and led her through some small steps, keeping their torsos almost still, as he looked into her eyes.

She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, before she leaned back. He moved an arm around her, supporting her back, as he leaned in and dropped a kiss on her chin. He pulled her back up, leaning back himself. He felt her shift, bracing her hips so that he could balance against her.

Instead of leaning forward, she reached out and grabbed his shirt, ripping the buttons off as she pulled her arms apart dramatically.

He raised his eyebrows as he righted himself, and span around her, pulling her close, so that her bum was tightly against his crotch. The moves were again simple, as his hands danced up the left side of her coat, undoing the buttons, before he took a hold of the top, and shoved his hips forward.

Annie took the hint and dived out of the coat, rolling over the wooden stage floor and regaining her feet; as she stood, she raised his hands up her body, lifting her hair high above her head.

Harry turned his back on her, and walked to the side, and tossed it onto the back of a bar chair. He hid his inner delight as the coat landed perfectly, before he turned. Annie was still dancing, a solo that was captivating. She’d lost herself to the music, and wouldn’t stop now until the music did.

He dashed forward, and slid to a stop in front of her. She ran her hands over his chest, and she slid past him. He twirled, grabbing her shirt and returning the favour. The two sides hung down, showing the grey sports bra she had on underneath.

She pushed him away and danced alone, her confidence shining through, a direct challenge to him.

He moved back over to her, and matched his movements to hers, acknowledging her power. As they were, they danced, taking it in turns to lead the other, until the music reached a crescendo, and he ended up on his knees, looking up in an act of conscious worship, as Annie reached up to the sky.

Annie lowered her hands and smiled at him, before she reached down and kissed him. “Thanks,” she whispered.

“Any time.”

Harry felt himself blush, as he realised that everyone was clapping, and there were even some wolf whistles – from some of the guys and a lot more of the girls.

They walked over to the edge of the stage, and took a seat. Martin shook his head. “Give me a year and I’ll finish off your training, and you could star in any show you wanted.”

“Sorry,” Harry said, “but the stage doesn’t interest me.”

Martin looked at him in shock.

“The Hitman, he is a fighter, not a dancer,” Antonio said. “Martin, you must dance like that, with your skills, and that passion, we are champion!”

“Hitman?” Martin asked.

“Meet the current United Kingdom junior kick boxing champion,” Aurora said proudly.

“I thought that move you did looked dangerous,” Martin said. “Fucking cool though.”

Harry shrugged. “Practice. You can move, you’ve got great timing and you’re fit. Give me a year to train you and I’ll make you a champion.”

Martin looked at him, before he started to laugh. “Yeah, okay, I get it,” he said. “And what you’re saying is that I need to dance like I want to get into Annie’s pants like nothing else on earth.”

“Exactly,” Harry agreed.

“Dance like it,” Annie agreed sweetly. “Nothing else.”

“Yes, dear,” Martin said dryly. “And seriously, Harry, you’re not a bad dancer. Some places you could improve, but you dance with your heart.”

“And limited, I can do some of the classics, and a couple of night club dances, but that’s it. Give me anything else and I’m lost.”

“But you dance hot, hot, hot!” Antonio interrupted. “That is the passion I am wanting, that is the desire.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Martin agreed. “Thanks, mate.”

“No problem,” Harry said. He looked at Antonio. “I’ll send someone around to discuss figures and schedules. When we start, we’ll write something into the contract to keep me from putting my beak in, although I will be talking to Kate a lot.”

“Ahh, the wonderful Kate,” Antonio sighed. “If only I was straight and younger. You couldn’t persuade her to dance for us, could you?”

“I have no idea,” Harry said in surprise. “I didn’t know you knew her that well?”

“Oh, that’s my fault,” Annie said. “I phoned Kate after that night we met up, to ask if we could steal your little routine.”

“Wonderful lady; speaks Italian like a princess,” Antonio said as he fluttered his hand in front of his face.

“I’ll ask her,” Harry agreed.

“Come on, Harry,” Aurora said. “We need to catch a train if we’re going to get back to Scotland tonight. And don’t you still need to drop into the bank?”

Harry sighed, he wasn’t ready to face Dawn yet. “I’ll charter a plane later,” he said. “Why don’t we continue your shopping trip, and then watch the show?”

“Oxford street?” Aurora asked.

“Of course,” Harry looked at Annie. “You got time to come along? I owe you a shirt.”

Annie shook her head regretfully. “I need to eat, and then relax, before getting ready for tonight’s show.”

Harry looked at Antonio, “No problem getting me tickets?”

“Of course, it is not a problem. They will be waiting for you at the desk.”

“Annie, I am replacing your shirt – what’s your size?”

“Don’t bother, I’m between an eight and a ten depending on the store and the way it is cut. It was an old shirt, anyway.”

“Which I still destroyed.”

“I destroyed yours, so we’re even.”

Harry smiled at her and nodded. He didn’t want to insult her by mentioning that he was pretty sure that he could afford it far more than she could. He hopped up and went and picked up Aurora’s coat, handing it to her. He took the bag back, and pulled out his t-shirt. He quickly pulled the shirt he was wearing off, and dumped it in a bin, pulling the t-shirt on.

Annie sat down in the small cafeteria, and was instantly surrounded by eleven other dancers, the amount that could fit on the table.

“So,” Martin drawled.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“The Hitman,” he prompted.

“Just Harry,” Annie said, before taking a bite of her salad.

“The blonde angel, the dark temptress, and now a blonde siren,” Martin prodded. “And of course, there’s you. That’s three blondes, to one brunette. I think that’s a pattern.”

Annie shrugged.

“Come on, Annie, you’re normally the good girl, and there is no fucking way you would dance like that with him, unless you’ve spent some time together horizontal.”

“You’re such a prick,” she sighed.

“You didn’t deny it,” he crowed. “Come on, we’re all waiting. What’s the story, morning glory?”

“If you call me your wonderwall, I will hit you,” she muttered. “Look, I was out with my friends, he came up, asked me to dance, we had a great time, and I thought I’d never see him again.”

“Which friends?” another of the dancers asked, “Was Tamsin there?”

Annie nodded.

“He picked you over Tamsin?” Michael queried from the far corner.

Annie smiled, a little proudly. “First, fuck you. Second, yeah, he didn’t even notice she existed.”

“Wait,” Martin said, “The same Tamsin who was last month’s Playboy centrefold?”

Annie nodded.

“But she’s gorgeous!”

“And can’t dance for peanuts,” Annie finished. “He said he was watching people move, and figured I was the best dancer there.” She smiled slightly. “Which I was. So we danced, and it was just like it was on stage this afternoon.”

“At what stage did he tell you he was loaded?” Michael asked.

Annie glared at him. “One more crack like that, Mikey, and you’ll have to go crawling to your boyfriend, because you won’t be able to top again.”

“Oooo,” the dancers whispered.

“Put the claws away, kitten,” Michael said, a little warily.

“Call me a whore again, and you’ll see how sharp they are,” she said in a cold voice.

“Sorry.”

Annie sighed. “He was wearing nice clothes, and bought us all a drink, but it was nothing flashy, nothing like you normally get when some tosser is showing off his wealth. His shirt was nice, but actually wasn’t his, he’d borrowed it. Anyway, we danced, he tried to leave, and I took a chance.”

“And?”

“And I don’t kiss and tell. He was really nice the next morning, when he kissed me gently, and said goodbye, and that was the last time I expected to see him.”

“So how did he end up backing Antonio’s next play, and what the hell did he do to him?”

“I’ve thought about this a lot over the last few weeks. Harry can be intense, scarily intense. He looks at you, and for a second, it’s like the universe shrinks to just you and him, and he is looking deep inside you, at your very soul. It’s terrifying, because when he speaks, there is nothing you can do, no defence you can erect, no lies you can think off. You are open, bared to him completely, and when he asks a question, you answer without artifice, and when he speaks, you listen with your being.”

“What did he say to you?” Martin asked softly.

“He told me that I am beautiful.”

“That’s it,” Martin said, slamming his hand down on the table. “That’s where our mouse went, and was replaced by this cat!”

She nodded. “He got me the first chance here, and then this. I don’t know why, I’m not really on his radar, he has something complicated going on with Kate, Fleur’skinda interested, that girl today was playing a game, I honestly don’t know where she stands, and me? God knows.”

“Four women?” one of the other girls said, curling her lips in distaste.

“I think it’s really only Kate, the rest of the girls just admit that we are attracted to him, and that maybe if the chance came up, we’d take it.”

“Women, you’re so fascinating,” Michael said with a grin. “So why where you so shocked when he did that move?”

Annie blinked and then laughed. “Oh, that was because I realised that if he’d hit me with it, I’d’ve been dead. We’ve all done similar moves, but that wasn’t a dance, that was beauty, grace and power combined. I forgot that he is a fighter above all else, he just wears an easy going disguise throughout the day.

“Look, guys, we’re all friends, so thanks for listening to me vent, but, keep it under your hats, eh?”

The other dancers all nodded and made different gestures indicating they would keep her secrets.

“Harry,” Aurora said with a sigh. “I have to get back to Hogwarts, I need to get some sleep before class this evening.”

Harry nodded slowly. “Thanks, for today.”

Aurora looked at her bags. “My pleasure,” she said dryly. She reached out and took his bags from him. “I’ll hang your new suits up for you.”

Harry reached out and lightly grabbed the front of her coat. He shot her a smile, and leaned forward.

She looked at him openly.

“Sleep well,” he whispered, and kissed her lightly on the lips. Before she could do anything, she felt her coat tug at her, and a second later, she was standing in the middle of the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

“Son of a bitch,” she muttered to herself.

“Professor Sinistra!” Professor McGonagall reprimanded.

Aurora winced. “Sorry,” she apologised. “He just turned Fleur’s coat into a Porkey and activated it, without giving me any warning.”

“How is he?” Gabrielle demanded.

Aurora sighed as she walked over. Gabrielle was sat with Dawn, and both were looking at her intensely.

“Calmer,” she said as she dropped down next to Hermione. “The silly bitch who was trying to play games with him got smacked down when she revealed that her dad worked for the Goblins, and then Lord Potter came out to play.

“We had lunch at his restaurant, then went and saw Annie.”

“How is she?” Fleur asked.

“Seemed good, didn’t pounce though. Anyway, Harry had a bit of a dance with her, to show one of the dancers – who I think is gay – how to seduce a woman on the dance floor. We then went shopping,” she finished, indicating the bags.

She looked at Dawn. “He’s going to want to talk to you when he gets back. He’s seeing the stage show this evening, then will get back late tonight.”

Dawn nodded and sighed.

“I think he’s forgiven you,” Aurora added. “As long as you’ve been telling the truth, you’ll get his complete forgiveness; he just wants to check first.”

“So an average day then?” Hermione asked dryly.

Aurora nodded. “Anyway, I need a nap before class this evening. If you need me, wake me.”

“Will do,” Melissa said. “And thanks.”

The young professor shrugged. “It was a hell of a lot of fun.” She stood and walked out of the Great Hall, heading toward their Common Room.

Harry walked to the bar during the intermission, and ordered a bottle of beer. It wasn’t the most cultured thing he could order, but it was what he fancied at the moment.

“Buy a lady a drink?”

Harry looked to his right, and bit his tongue to stop his obvious response about a lady asking for a drink. His instant reaction was relief that he had bitten his tongue, as he was met with one of the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

She had a slightly round face, with well defined cheekbones. While her eyes weren’t huge, they were incredibly striking, with a smoky and mysterious swirl to them. Her hair framed her face, and was as dark as the night. She was wearing a black cocktail dress that did little to hide the fact that she’d won big on life’s genetic lottery.

“Of course, Mrs?”

“Tiemerovna, Natalia, and it’s Miss,” she replied, the faintest hint of an accent in her voice.

Taking a guess, he bowed slowly, and took her hand, kissing the knuckles. “ÐžÑ‡ÐµÐ½ÑŒÐ¿Ñ€Ð¸ÑÑ‚Ð½Ð¾.”

For the briefest of seconds, she looked startled. “Ð’Ñ‹Ð³Ð¾Ð²Ð¾Ñ€Ð¸Ñ‚ÐµÐ¿Ð¾-Ñ€ÑƒÑÑÐºÐ¸?”

He laughed softly, releasing her hand. “I’m sorry, but that is the limit of my Russian.”

Her eyes laughed with him.

He turned, attracting the barman’s attention. “A dry martini please.”

“Right away, sir,” the barman said.

“It is customary to ask a lady what she likes,” Natalia pointed out.

Harry grinned at her. “Maybe,” he allowed. “But if it gives a man a chance to show off, it should be allowed. We haven’t all got awe-striking beauty to rely on.”

Natalia smiled at him and nodded. “Thank you.”

“Are you enjoying the show?”

“I would be enjoying it more if my date had shown up.”

“Well, to be fair, it is hard to get out of the mental asylum.”

She blinked at him. “I’m sorry?”

“Well, any man who would stand you up must be certifiably insane.”

She laughed again, flashing her pearly white teeth at him.

Harry ran his fingers through his hair. “Harry Potter,” he introduced himself.

“So, Mr Potter,” Natalie said, “are you enjoying the show?”

He grinned at her. “I’d enjoy it a lot more if I wasn’t alone.”

“What are you suggesting?” she asked, looking down demurely.

The barman returned with the martini, placing it in front of her. She reached out one hand for it, and he caught it, holding it loosely. She turned to look at him, a smile visible in her eyes.

“Natalia, would you do me the honour of accompanying me for the rest of the evening?”

“I’d be delighted,” she said.

“Would you like a meal afterward?”

“It’s gone nine,” she replied, “can you find a restaurant at this short notice?”

He smirked at her, because he understood that she meant a nice restaurant, not the sort of place you could just walk in.

He pulled out his new mobile, and pressed a button. The phone rang, and was answered within two rings.

“La Rochelle,” a voice said.

Harry raised the phone to his ear. “It’s Harry,” he said. “Get Jonathan to put me together a table for two at ten forty-five and a taxi to pick me up from Antonio’s theatre.”

He waited for the acknowledgement, and hung up.

“Impressive,” she said slowly.

Harry shrugged. “Not really.” Any further statement was delayed by a ringing bell, indicating the interval was over.

“I shall meet you here afterward?” she asked.

“Come and sit with me,” he offered.

She nodded her head.

He took her drink, and led the way down a flight of steps, and to the right. They walked down a corridor, and entered into the box.

“I must confess,” she said, as she sat next to him. “I saw you sitting here alone, from my seat, and was curious.” She pointed down to the stalls beneath them.

“Ahh, all becomes clear,” he grinned. “You’re just using me for a better view.”

“Don’t forget the free drink,” she agreed. “And it had nothing to do with an elegant man sitting alone, watching a show intently.”

“Ahh,” he said. “I’m not elegant, I’m actually quite gauche. Why, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a show.”

She looked surprised, but allowed the conversation to drop as the music started.

Harry settled down, his attention mostly on the stage, and only partly on the woman next to him.

His evening had just become a lot more interesting.

Natalia walked into her apartment and kicked off her shoes with a sigh of relief. She walked over to the phone. She didn’t have to dial a number, as a voice barked at her. “Report,” it said in Russian.

Keeping her frustration to herself, she replied. “I made contact with the target.”

“Good,” the voice said, before a new one took over. This voice was politer and more refined. With a shudder, she realised she was now talking to her boss’s superior.

“Be at ease, Natalia,” the voice said. “I’m sure you have many questions. For this conversation, you may ask them without fear.”

A ball of tension appeared in her stomach. This sort of privilege probably meant that she wasn’t going to like where this ended up.

“I know very little about this man,” she started. “While he did ask for my number, I believe it was more for the sake of form, than from any real desire to see me again.”

“Yes, my apologies,” the voice said. An apology? Her stomach clenched. “We dislike sending out operatives without a full briefing, but in this case, speed was of the essence. What was your opinion of Lord Potter?”

“Nice, charming, good looking, powerful; he played the game well, but seemed to have a little more depth than normal. He was going through the motions with me, as he didn’t even try and seduce me.”

The voice chuckled. “Not bad for a fourteen year old boy.”

“What!?”

“Lord Potter was born fourteen years ago; however, he appears to have successfully played with time to grow up. No one is quite sure how old he is now.”

“Twenty four,” she replied automatically.

The voice paused. “Noted. Good work. We have, of course, been aware of Lord Potter for a few years. Our agents have found all sorts of interesting things about him. However, the cause of our current interest happened this morning. For the second time this year, the thaumometers registered unbelievable amounts of magical energy being used.

“The first time, as you have probably heard, was at the Second Task of the current Tri-wizard Tournament, when unknown magic was used to divert millions of gallons of water.

“The second time was this morning. The highest recorded magical spell on our books is level twenty four, used by the late Dark Lord Voldemort sixteen years ago, during one of his rituals. This morning was level thirty seven.”

Natalia sat down abruptly. She tried to say something, but her voice didn’t seem to work. She couldn’t even imagine the scale of power involved.

“Our agent in Hogwarts informs us that Lord Potter managed to anthropomorphise the castle.”

Natalie didn’t find that that idea helped her.

“Lord Potter has managed to announce himself on the world stage. China and America are already mobilising agents in an attempt to contact him. It would be unfortunate if he were to have a bad opinion of us.”

“I understand.”

“Yes, I thought you would,” the voice agreed. “He is currently dating an escort, by the name of Kate Pastwa. We will be removing her from his social circle by Monday.”

“How?” she asked.

“One of our oligarchs has been invited to show his loyalty by taking Ms Pastwa on a cruise for several months.”

Natalia nodded.

“Your job will be to get close to Mr Potter, very close. However, there are complications. Our reports suggest that he has developed a new form of mental communication, and he is very close to a young Veela. The relationship is intriguing, knowing how protective Veela are of their offspring. She is empathic, and has Lord Potter’s trust.”

“So they will be able to tell if I am being false?”

“Indeed. Our researches have been working on something that may help. It will allow you to bury your association with us deeply enough that it will not be detected. Of course, we can not guarantee that it will be successful, but our technicians estimate a 75% chance of success. A secondary mission will be for you will be testing the protection and evaluating its effectiveness.

“At the same time, you will be doing everything you can to get Lord Potter to fall in love with you. This is a long term mission; decades, maybe longer.”

There was the counter-punch. It was bad enough to be sent on seduction missions – she’d successfully avoided them so far – but to be told it might take the rest of her life… That was unheard off.

“Of course,” she agreed, keeping her voice even.

“We cannot let the sort of power Lord Potter has be used against us. The magical authorities in Britain are stuck in the last century, and are not a threat. The rest of the world, sadly, has moved on to the twentieth century.

“Lord Potter is already enamoured with France, due to his relationship with the Delacour family and other acquaintances. You will ensure that he looks on Mother Russia as an equal friend.”

“I will.”

“Your cover will be that you work for the Russian Embassy, as the attached Witch to the Ambassador. You did not recognise Lord Potter, due to him supposedly being fourteen.

“You will be under the deepest of cover, and will not have any back-up most of the time. While we have dossiers on all his associates, I feel it best if you go in blind. Any suspicious activity will be picked up on.

“We will arrange extraction routes with you over the next three days, but I emphasize again that this mission is of the highest priority. If your cover is blown and you have to use the extraction route, you will explain your failure.”

“May I see the dossier on Ms Pastwa?”

The voice paused. “It is on your coffee table. Russia is counting on you, agent Tiemerovna.”

“I will not let her down.”

“No, you won’t. You have carte blanch to run this operation as you see fit. You will be reporting to me in the future.” The voice hung up, and she slowly placed the phone on the cradle.

She moved to her kitchen and opened her fridge. She poured herself a glass of wine, and moved to her living room. She took a few moments to sort her thoughts, and then shrugged. The assignment wasn’t exactly the worst thing that could have happened to her.

She picked up Kate’s file and started to read.

As she finished, she put it down, and snorted a single word. “Ð›ÑŽÐ±Ð¸Ñ‚ÐµÐ»ÑŒ.”

Harry slowly walked through the night, mentally berating himself for his cowardice.

He was supposed to have Apparated home. He had assured Jonathan that he was going straight home after dropping Natalia off at her apartment block.

Instead, he had paid the cabbie, and started to walk through the night.

He knew he was putting off the conversation that he needed to have with Dawn. He sighed deeply, and kept walking, using a warming charm to keep away the evening chill.

A scream caught his attention, and he started to run toward it. He rounded a corner, to find a gang of youths gathered around one on the ground.

He paused and muttered a spell under his breath, grabbing his necklace. The boy on the ground had been stabbed, and was dying, and the ones around him were taunting him.

“This is what you get for your dad not paying us,” one snarled.

The boy just writhed on the ground in agony.

Something seemed to snap inside Harry. An innocent was on the ground, and all the anger he had been trying to get rid of earlier came flooding back.

“Run away,” he growled.

As one, the gang turned to him.

“A fucking hero?” the one who had taunted the boy earlier said. “This is my fucking city you wanker, and in my city, we bury heroes.”

“I was hoping you’d say something stupid,” Harry replied, and moved forward. The first thug was dispatched with three movements, leaving him with a destroyed knee and a broken elbow.

The others dived in, and he smiled. They were untrained, but strong. He aimed deliberately for the joints. Death was too good for them.

Knives, bats, they came at him with weapons, but he ignored them, trusting his instincts to get him out of the way. Compared to Ben, or even Ivan or Lisa, they were slow. He glided past them, putting all his strength and power into the punches and kicks.

The last one, the loud mouth, was backing up, before pulling out a gun. Harry dived forward, leg first, dropping down, and kicking the hand that held the gun hard. The gun went flying to the side, and the man twisted.

Harry slid to his feet, and punched out, aiming above the first thoracic vertebra, one of his fingers extended. The man dropped to the floor like a puppet with all its strings cut.

He rushed over to the kid on the ground, grabbing his necklace again. He cast every healing spell he knew, and to his horror, found that the boy’s stomach had been stabbed multiple times. Major arteries had been pierced, and blood was flooding everywhere. The boy was going to die soon.

“P-p-please,” the boy whispered, blood on his lips.

“There’s nothing I can do,” Harry said back, feeling his heart break as he said those words.

“Th-there’s-nothing anyone can do,” the boy said. “I can feel it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“P-p-please,” the boy said again.

Harry looked into his eyes, trying to read the pain, and almost had to jump back. It was incredible; it was like nothing he had ever experienced. The boy in his arms could feel his life ending, slowly, and it was agonising.

Harry suddenly knew what he was being asked. He understood. His mind ran through a thousand scenarios, but each of them pointed back to the fact that too much damage had been done, too much blood had been lost.

Even a pain-numbing charm wouldn’t stop the boy feeling his life ebb away.

“I’m sorry,” Harry whispered again, reaching for his necklace. There was only one spell that could kill without any more pain.

The boy tried to smile, but it just turned into another pain filled grimace.

“Avada Kedavra,” he whispered, bending over the boy.

The boy was suddenly free from pain, and dead.

Harry felt tears run down his face as he stared at the dead boy.

He didn’t hear the sirens that came.

He didn’t hear the footsteps.

He didn’t hear anything, until a voice said, “Put the boy down, you’re under arrest.”

Hogwarts' Dawn
Chapter 14

Gabrielle stretched luxuriously before she hopped out of bed, grabbed the nearest top she could find, and headed out the bedroom.

Fleur was still fast asleep – she was never really a morning person.

Once in the cathedral-like common room, she headed toward Harry’s room, and as the door opened, she ran in and dived on the bed.

Only to find it empty, cold, un-slept-in, and definitely missing Harry.

She pouted massively. What was the fun of being in his bed if it didn’t smell of him and surround her in his love?

She grumpily climbed off the bed and headed toward the sofas. Dawn appeared, half transparent in the soft night light, and sat on the sofa. “He didn’t come back,” she said softly.

Gabrielle sighed and climbed into her friend’s lap. She cuddled into the now solid Dawn and relaxed. “Probably stayed with Kate,” she muttered.

Dawn nodded.

Gabrielle closed her eyes and soon fell back to sleep.

Harry found himself staring at a white brick wall.

His mind was in a mess. His holier-than-thou speech to Christophe’s sister reverberated through his head. His black and white view that there was no excuse for using the killing curse had been blown out of the water.

It had been easy to preach about the sanctity of his soul, only now, those words tasted like rank hypocrisy.

Despite everything, he knew he had done the right thing.

It had been merciful for the boy who had been slowly dying. It had been devastating to Harry.

He sighed softly.

He’d been led to this cell in a local police station, had his name taken, his valuables – including his necklace – taken from him. And that was it.

He had enough magic to send a message to some of his friends, but really, he didn’t need to bother them. He had been in worse places, and this was at least warm, with a bed.

He’d managed a few hours’ sleep and was feeling pretty rested.

And if his thoughts would stop going in a circle, he’d feel a lot better.

With a sigh, he climbed to his feet and then dropped to the floor. He started some press-ups, planning on using the space he had to work out.

“Hey, Sarge, take a look at camera seven.”

Sergeant Richard Hawkson looked at the camera in question, and raised his eyebrows. The gentlemen in the cell almost seemed to be hovering as he launched from one jumping heel kick to another.

They often got young men in their night-cells who thought that they could fight, but this was the first time he’d ever seen one who appeared to actually be able to.

He picked up the report from last night and glanced through it. The suspect, one Harry James Potter, had been found next to ten gang members and one deceased boy. The gang members were all in hospital, suffering from some permanently disabling, but not life-threatening injuries.

“Harry ‘The Hitman’ Potter,” Mike Follon, his number two, announced from a green and black computer screen of the antiquated software they still used. “According to the network, he’s actually Lord Potter, and I think I read about him last week, when he won the championship - he was trained by Ben Turpin, that guy that did the training a few months back.”

Richard looked at the screen in front of him, a feeling of dread suddenly growing inside him. He finished entering the data and pressed the ‘Confirm’ button.

The screen vanished and was replaced with the blue and white logo of the Metropolitan Police.

“Please tell me that everything was done by the book last night,” he said out loud.

“Sarge?”

“Was he read his rights, was he given a chance to contact someone?” he demanded.

Mike picked up the phone and dialled a number. He had a low-voiced conversation, before he hung up. His hand was shaking slightly.

“Jim didn’t bother – he was so concerned about the men scattered about the pavement in need of treatment, that he just bundled him in a car, took his stuff and put him in cell seven.”

“We’re totally fucked.”

“Sarge?”

“Call Jim, and everyone else in. Then send out for decent coffee, a hell of a lot of it. I’m going to call the Super.”

“Why, sir?”

“Because I suspect that all hell is going to break loose within the next hour, and we’re going to be up to our eyeballs in press and lawyers.”

“Any sign?” Chloe asked, as she joined the others for breakfast.

“Nope,” Nasher said. “And he’s not wearing his necklace. We’re starting to get a bit worried.”

“Agreed,” Melissa said. “He better have a good explanation.”

“That’s strange,” Dawn announced, as she looked at the door.

The door exploded open as a troop of Aurors, led by Minister Fudge, entered the room. “No one move,” Fudge snapped.

“Cornelius?” Dumbledore asked.

Fudge ignored him, while all of Harry’s friends slowly reached for their wands. The Minister looked around, before his eyes settled on Dawn.

“You will return all the power of Hogwarts to the Ministry.”

“No, she won’t,” Gabrielle disagreed.

“Silence, creature,” Fudge sneered. “Get her.”

The Aurors pointed their wands at Dawn.

“No,” Hermione said, her wand out and pointing back at them. “I can’t even guess as to what law you are pretending to follow here, but we will not let you touch her.”

“As of an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot this morning, I have the right to demand that all personifications of Ministry property desist their quasi-human forms immediately.”

“Excuse me, Minister,” Dumbledore interrupted. “Why was I, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, not informed of this meeting?”

“The invitation must have got lost,” Fudge said with a shrug. “Enough people were present for it to be official.”

Albus growled.

“There will be an investigation,” Fudge continued. “I’m sure someone will lose their job over it.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck what you are playing at, you fat fuck,” Chloe announced. “But you are not taking our friend.”

“You will put down your wands,” Fudge ordered.

“Last time, six of us took out all thirty of your Aurors,” Crusher said, cracking his knuckles.

“And there are a lot more than six of us this time,” Cedric added.

“Diggory,” Fudge said, “you’re father would be …”

“Delighted that he is standing up for friends in front of a fat, useless, hypocritical waste of space,” Cho intervened sweetly.

“Stop this!” Albus roared.

“No,” Hermione said, her wand pointed straight at Fudge. “Dawn has the same right to life as anyone else.”

“She is not human,” Fudge sneered. “Get them.”

“No,” Dawn shouted, her hands rising to the ceiling. An almost transparent blue barrier appeared, separating everyone. “I can not let you fight with magic over me.”

“Why not?” Melissa asked.

“It is against my rules. I must protect students. I must obey the official authority.”

“Really,” Fudge said, a smirk appearing on his face.

Natalia woke to the sound of her phone. She picked it up without opening her eyes.

“Watch the TV.”

She stretched and sat up, as her TV turned itself on. A grainy black and white image appeared, and she recognised her target from the previous night.

He walked into an alley and the view switched to another viewpoint. There was a stand-off with posturing and the faint sight of mouths moving, before around ten young men charged at Potter.

Potter didn’t stand still; it looked like he was moving in fast forward compared to the other. Knives, bats, he didn’t seem to care. But what was fascinating was the look in his eyes. There were chances for him to kill, but he didn’t use them. He was going for punishment, not death.

She smiled faintly, more than impressed with the skill on display.

With the last one down, and probably paralysed for the rest of his life, Potter went to the small one on the ground. She felt like she could see the pain and agony in Potter’s eyes as he looked down.

Despite the grainy look and feel of the film, his eyes still seemed to stand out. He appeared to whisper something – possibly a religious exhortation – as he held his hand to his chest, before the boy died.

It was another few moments before the police arrived.

“This was CCTV footage we managed to get a hold of this morning,” the voice of her boss said. “Lord Potter was arrested last night. The Embassy’s lawyers are being gathered as we speak. You are to get down there to help him out as quickly as possible.

“This is a perfect opportunity for you to ingratiate yourself with him. This will announce him on the world stage in the Muggle world. It’s been kept quiet so far, but that will not last. There will be some liberals who will complain, but as he didn’t actually kill anyone, and was obviously acting to save a life of a child, he will become a hero.

“We believe that he doesn’t have anyone to support him, and act as his P.R., so there is an opportunity there. A car will arrive downstairs in twenty minutes.”

The conversation ended with a click, and Natalia jumped out of bed. She grabbed a brush and started to run it through her hair as she entered her wardrobe and pulled out her best business suit. While it wasn’t her favourite colour – it was dark grey – it was the sort of thing she used when meeting foreign heads of state.

She grabbed her wand and set the coffee maker going, and put some toast on, as she dashed into the bathroom for a quick wash.

Once dressed, she quickly ate the toast and had her first cup of coffee. Her watch said that she still had a minute left, so she grabbed her purse and hastened out. She arrived at the curb as the first of three black Mercedes cars pulled up.

Richard sighed to himself. He found he couldn’t take his eyes off Lord Potter, who was still training. He’d been going for an hour, and had stripped down to just his trousers.

His well-muscled body was gleaming, and he was moving with such speed and smoothness that it was hypnotising. He wasn’t the only person to be watching, everyone else was as well.

“Sarge.”

He turned, and looked out the window. In the station car park, a fleet of black cars was pulling in. Two different types of Mercedes parked neatly, both of the sort that screamed wealth and power. Three different groups formed, one headed by a woman who he could tell, even from distance, was gorgeous. The other two were headed by tall grey haired men with postures that screamed trouble. Hundreds-of-pounds-per-hour trouble.

“Ahh fuck,” he muttered. He stood up, grabbed his uniform jacket and headed downstairs to the desk.

He arrived at the same time as the woman. “Natalia Tiemerovna,” she introduced herself. “Russian Embassy. I am here for Harry Potter.” She handed over a badge.

“Heh,” the leader of the next group said. “Daniel Thornton, Chief Legal Officer, GBC. Lord Potter’s lawyers.”

“Why is it always the civil service that is last,” the third man asked cheerfully. “Charles Worthington-Symthe, Her Majesty’s Permanent Undersecretary for the State. Her majesty has asked me to assist Lord Potter.”

“Is this not overkill?” Richard asked sourly.

“Lord Potter is an important person,” Charles continued, his gaze tightening as the jovial nature vanished. “Her Majesty requested that I look into this matter immediately. I am not surprised to see Daniel here; after all, Lord Potter does have some money invested in the GBC.”

Daniel smiled faintly. “He also helped us track down one of our directors who was behaving badly yesterday. The owners feel that they owe Lord Potter a debt of honour. This is the first Saturday morning I’ve worked in years.”

Charles nodded. “And Ms Tiemerovna? I must say that you are a surprise.”

A small blush dusted the face of Natalia. “I’m afraid I didn’t know he was a Lord. We had a nice date last night, and when I saw the CCTV of what happened last night, I showed my superiors, who were impressed enough to allow me to use Russia’s resources.”

Charles raised his eyebrows. “Because of a date?”

She nodded.

“Lucky man,” Daniel coughed. “Charles, as you appear the most senior, do you want first crack?”

Charles smiled thinly. “Sergeant Hawkson. You are now going to tell me that procedure was followed to the very letter, that Lord Potter was allowed to communicate his current state, aren’t you?”

Richard swallowed. “No, sir.”

Sudden shark-like smiles appeared on the faces of all the lawyers, while the Russian girl looked irritated.

“You have seen the CCTV footage?” Charles asked, a tape appearing in his hands.

“It normally takes us a while to get a hold of it, sir,” Richard explained.

“Why don’t we watch it?” Charles suggested. “While you tell your men to get all of Lord Potter’s possessions ready – and prepare him for release.”

“Yes, sir,” Richard agreed, understanding that the suggestion was a direct order.

“I’ve already seen it,” Natalia reminded them. “Can I be taken to Harry?”

Richard looked at the Charles, who nodded slowly. “I’m impressed.”

Natalia smiled. “We have the same access to the CCTV network you did this morning. The arrest came up when I was searching the work database this morning. And as one of the secretaries at the Embassy is a fan of Lord Potter’s sport, it was trivial for him to find the CCTV. Harry should probably be moved into a special interest category,” she added.

Charles winced. “Quite,” he agreed. “Well, please make sure our boy is alright. Wouldn’t do for something to happen to him now.”

“Of course.”

Harry finished his cool down stretches, and smiled. He felt better. Although he desperately needed a shower now.

He looked up as the heavy metal door opened, and even more surprised at who was on the other side.

“Natalia?”

She grinned at him, and then went down on one knee. “My Lord,” she said formally.

Harry sighed.

“This is not the way to greet a Lord?” she asked. “My etiquette must be out of date.”

“By about three hundred years,” Harry agreed dryly.

She stood gracefully and looked at the camera in the corner of the room. The red light on the side blinked out. “Well,” she said, “it appears that we could have had a lot more to talk about last night.”

“You appear to have me at a disadvantage,” Harry said.

“I do,” Natalia agreed. “Lord Harry James Potter, you look nothing like you do in the Prophet.”

Harry looked at her in surprise. “And you look like a wart would never dare touch your nose.”

“Appearances can be deceptive. Not that it would have mattered, I had fun last night. This morning, I, erm, used some resources at my disposal to look you up, and you can imagine my surprise.”

“Resources?”

“Ahh, yes, I’m the Special Attaché to the Russian Ambassador to Great Britain.”

Harry sat down, resting his back against the wall. “Really?”

She nodded, “The rest of the world has moved into the twentieth century. It’s only the United Kingdom that continues with its anachronistic practices. Of course, there is no reason for them to change; it has worked well for the last eon.”

Harry snorted. “Right,” he agreed. “So, I’m free?”

Natalia laughed. “As soon as they entered the information about your arrest into the computer this morning, a number of flags were raised. As such, your lawyers from GBC are here, as is the man in charge of the current review into the Wizarding laws. And we all have some very intelligent lawyers. I’ve never seen a police officer go quite so white.

“However, I will go and ask that you be allowed to shower, for the sake of the embassy’s car if for no other reason, while I go and get you some clothes.”

“Natalia,” Harry called, as the witch turned away.

She paused and looked at him.

“Thanks.”

She smiled and nodded, before turning off and walking away. He found his eyes attached to her rear, and admired how it looked in the tight skirt.

His interest in her was higher than it had been the night before, but his mind quickly returned to another brunette – the one he actually wanted to date.

Natalia walked out of the Police Station and allowed a relieved smile to take over her face. She looked up and down the street, and sighed at the quality of the shops that were available. The standardisation of the normal London high street was a truly depressing thing.

She crossed the road, aware that a couple of the Embassy security team were following her. As she crossed a side street, she noticed a small clothes shop and headed toward it.

She sighed in relief as it turned out to be a decent enough boutique. She entered and had a look around.

“How may I be of service?” an older woman in a nice skirt and blouse combination asked.

“I need an outfit for a twenty-four-year-old black haired, green eyed male, six foot tall, thirty-six inch waist, thirty-two inch leg, size nine shoes, seventeen inch neck.”

The woman smiled and nodded. “Smart, casual?”

“Casual,” Natalia said after a moment’s thought.

The woman headed toward a rack of clothes and rifled through it. She pulled out a slightly faded-looking long sleeved black and white striped shirt. She then found a black t-shirt with some white lettering in Arabic on it.

She moved over to the trousers, and pulled out a pair of blue-black jeans, with button down back pockets. She added a pair of dark black socks, and some chunky looking black boots.

She laid the outfit out at the till, so Natalia could see what it looked like together.

“I’ll take it, and your card,” Natalia said. “You have skill.”

The woman smiled. “A lifetime’s worth of experience. It is how I’m still in business, even with my prices.”

Natalia didn’t even blink as the price tag came close to six hundred pounds. She had the budget for this anyway, and handed over the Embassy American Express card. It always amused her to use this particular card. The irony was delicious.

“Don’t bother wrapping it,” Natalia said. “In fact, can you take the labels off?”

The woman looked at her for a long moment. “You’re rescuing him from the Station?” she asked curiously.

Natalia nodded. “You’ll probably see it all over the news by lunch time. He’s not decided if he is going to sue the police yet. They dropped the ball majorly, arresting a man for trying to defend a child, and not even reading him his rights.”

The woman tutted disapprovingly as she cut away the tags.

“My thanks,” Natalia said, as she nodded to one of the body guards to grab the outfit. She turned.

“Miss?” the woman called. Natalia turned her head. “What is his name?”

“Potter, Lord Harry Potter.” She headed back toward the Station, relieving the guard of the clothes as she entered. She was allowed straight back, where Harry was in a cubicle, drying himself off.

She draped the clothes over the door, putting the boots in front of them.

“Thanks,” Harry called, as the clothes vanished.

She stepped back and waited, amused as Harry opened the door and reached out with a bare arm to grab the boots.

Another couple of minutes passed, before a fully dressed Harry opened the door. She looked him up and down and smiled slowly. She handed over the card she’d got from the shop keeper. “I’d advise using her again,” she said.

Harry looked around for a mirror, and walked over to it. He looked himself up and down and nodded. He looked at the card. “Agreed,” he said. “Well, as fun as staying here has been, I’m not so enamoured of the place that I want to extend my visit, and I’m going to need some food shortly.”

He strolled down the corridor, heading toward the exit, and she found herself having to trot to keep up with him. It was fascinating to watch him, as the young man she had enjoyed a date with last night seemed to pull the mantle of power and responsibility over himself, in a manner that seemed to belie his casual clothes.

The door out of the cells was opened for him, and he moved to the reception area. Daniel and Charles were chatting amiably, while the gaggle of lawyers behind them held low-voiced conversations.

The sergeant had a resigned look on his face.

“Ahhh, Lord Potter,” Charles greeted him. “Yet again, we meet under less than auspicious circumstances, and you see the negative side of our justice system.”

Harry tilted his head.

“I was at your farcical trial,” Charles added. “Charles Worthingon-Smythe.”

Harry’s face cleared. “My apologies, Mr Worthington-Smythe.”

“A mouthful, isn’t it,” Charles said mournfully. “Charles will do.”

“As long as we can drop the Lord in my name,” Harry bargained. “Harry is a nice and simple name.”

Charles nodded.

Harry grinned past him, and held out his hand. Daniel shook it firmly. “A trial and I wasn’t invited?” he asked dryly. “That’s the sort of thing that makes me nervous.”

“Harry had it under control,” Charles said. “He had an impressive young woman representing him.”

“Will I be arguing with her later?” Daniel asked.

“Probably,” Harry said with a smile. “She’s going to be my personal lawyer.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

A clerk appeared with a box. “Lord Potter,” he said nervously.

Harry reached in and pulled out a gold watch, attaching it to his wrist, then a wooden amulet necklace that he put around his neck. Natalia felt that she was the only one who recognised the slight flicker of worry that skirted over his face. She was a trained observer, after all.

Harry picked up his mobile phone and turned it on. From her position, she could see that nothing happened, but he acted like there was a message. He dialled a number and put the phone to his ear, acting like he was listening, while he put the rest of his confiscated items in his pockets.

He hung up, the same worried expression appeared again, but this time it stayed. “I need to get to Scotland, immediately.”

“We have a plane at Heathrow,” one of the lawyers from GBC offered.

“We have one at the City of London,” Natalia added. “It’s closer.”

Harry nodded. “Daniel, can you take care of anything else here?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks for this.”

“Not a problem, Harry, and just remember that when you read the reports of my death by irritated spouse.”

“You got a pen and paper?” Harry asked the clerk.

The clerk nodded frantically, before passing him the two items.

“Call this number, ask for Jonathan, tell him I told you to call, and that I’ve ordered a table for four for this evening, although only three will probably be there.” Harry said as he passed the paper to Daniel. He looked at the other lawyers. “You can then arrange for each of this motley crew to have dinner there as well, at my expense.”

“Harry,” Daniel protested. “We’re already paid exceedingly well for this.”

“As your client, shut up and do as you’re told.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Natalia, your guys are okay dealing with Daniel?”

“Yes.”

“Charles?”

“They are public servants…”

“Fine,” Harry said, rolling his eyes. “No one will care if they happen to have their spouses in for a team-building exercise, and if a few people happen to pop by to help with lunch.”

Charles nodded slowly, before he smiled.

Natalia studied the lawyers, and was impressed. The GBC lawyers looked like they were willing to swear fealty to the Lord in front of them and the civil service employees weren’t far behind them. Even her own people looked impressed.

“Right,” Harry said, clapping his hands. “Let’s get moving.”

“Sergeant, a car to clear the way to the airport, please,” Charles said.

“Right away, sir.”

“If you don’t mind,” Charles said, “I’ll accompany you. I have some sway in Scotland that I might be able to help with.”

Harry nodded, and headed toward the door, Natalia and Charles followed in with him. Natalia turned her head to look at the lawyers. “You’ve done well; I’ll take it from here.”

“Yes, Miss Tiemerovna,” the lead said, falling back.

The police car was already waiting for them, the lights going. Her own black Mercedes was behind it, the door opened. Harry entered indicated she should enter first, he followed her in, Charles last.

As soon as the door closed, they were thrust back against the leather seats as the driver floored it, two police cars already holding the traffic of the junction.

“Something is going wrong at Hogwarts,” Harry said firmly. “I can’t wait to take Muggle transportation.”

“I figured as much,” Charles said. “Will one of you be able to give me a lift?”

“I’ll have to bring both of you.”

“I can Apparate,” Natalie pointed out.

“Not through Hogwarts wards, you can’t,” Harry replied. “Time is of the essence.”

“I’ve told the Police to stop at the Airport gates,” Charles said. “It will keep up the pretence.”

“Harry, we need to talk as soon as this emergency is over,” Natalia added, making sure she remained useful. “A lot of things have changed.” She reached forward and opened the glass panel separating them from the driver. “We’re gone; pretend that we are still here. Organise the plane to take off and head for Edinburgh airport.” She didn’t wait for a reply.

Harry reached out and grabbed her shoulder, and then Charles’. There was a brief feeling, like that of being cocooned in magic, before the scene shifted and they were in a huge entrance hallway, facing a couple of large doors.

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” Harry said softly.

Charles straightened his tie. “That,” he said, “was the most amazing thing I have ever felt.”

Suddenly, Harry seemed to almost catch fire, as he let loose all of his magic.

Charles went wide eyed. Even Natalia gulped – she’d never felt anything like it.

Harry slammed the doors open with his foot.

Of all the sights, the one that drew the eye was the man in the uniform of an Auror, standing in front of a kneeling blonde child, his hand on her head, her face in his crotch. Her shirt was ripped open, showing her chest.

A hundred things ran through her mind. The surprised looks on the faces of the others, the way that things didn’t quite add up properly, like it had been designed to evoke the most powerful emotional reaction out of Harry.

There were five groups: a group of students behind a clear barrier, a group of Aurors surrounding a politician. The Professors, the rest of the school, and one tall girl with hair so green it belonged either in a Japanese comic or on a personification of a school.

This seemed like a perfect chance for Natalie to show off a little, and show that she was more than she seemed, and give her more of a chance to integrate with Harry quickly.

Besides, she felt her own emotions react to the little girl, who must be the Veela friend of Harry’s. It might help her get in with the child as well.

Harry seemed to be about to explode, but paused as she touched his arm. As he looked at her curiously, she marched across the hall toward the Aurors. All the attention seemed to be on Harry, and just how much magic he was pumping out. The looks on the Auror’s faces were of fear, while his friends looked relieved.

An Auror moved into her way, his wand rising. She swayed to one side and launched a punch forward, aiming for the neck. Hard to soft, she ensured she followed through as her instructors always taught her, aiming to incapacitate completely.

The Auror fell without a sound, causing another to move over to her. She wished she wasn’t in heels and a skirt, but she didn’t view the Aurors as a serious threat, as they never bothered to learn how to fight without wands.

The second was dispatched as easily; she used a light punch to the stomach to move him into the position that she wanted. With his hands out of the way, his jaw was an easy target for her palm. Soft to hard; no point in injuring yourself mid-fight.

With her target in front of her, she saw that he had released his hand on the girl’s head, and was raising them protectively.

She almost walked past him, as her fingers hitched her skirt up slightly, and she kneed him, with all the power of twenty years of ballet, nine years of military training, and eight years of Systema.

His eyes bulged - and she restrained the urge to pull them out – his face went red, and he hit the floor and vomited.

Natalia dropped to her knees, and hugged the girl tightly, covering her at the same time.

The girl hugged her back, before squirming so that she could watch – seemingly unaffected. Natalia drew the remains of her shirt around her, and almost smiled as the girl relaxed against her.

{a few minutes previously}

Gabrielle looked at the stalemate, unsure what to do. All the faith she had in Harry meant that she knew that he would be here soon.

“You have to follow our commands,” Fudge said to Dawn. “So return the power to the castle.”

“I am the castle.”

“No, you’re not,” Fudge sneered. “You are not a human, you are an artificial construct. Our mirrors can talk to us, that doesn’t make them anything more than a tool.”

“She’s more human than you are,” Fleur spat.

“Your opinion is irrelevant, creature,” Fudge retorted.

Gabrielle frowned, wondering where Harry was. She was in trouble, and she needed him, and he hadn’t shown up yet.

Fudge and the Aurors were in control; Dawn was actually stopping anyone else from interfering, as she looked like she was caught between the two sides of her rules – obedience to the Ministry and protection of the students.

At no stage did Gabrielle doubt that Harry would turn up, he obviously didn’t know she needed him yet.

Perhaps she hadn’t been praying hard enough. Or even at all. How could she expect her god to know everything, when she hadn’t even prayed for him?

She moved forward, away from the others, the barrier proving no hindrance to her, and once in some space, she dropped to her knees, and raised her hands so that she was praying.

One of the Aurors stormed over to her. “Your god won’t save you now,” he said with a sneer.

How wrong he was, he didn’t know her god like she did. But as she looked up at him, a memory of his sneer flashed through her mind. He was the one that had cursed her. He was the one that had hit her.

He stopped right in front of her, his hand out to hit her.

Gabrielle smiled up at him, completely unafraid. Harry had promised that he would never let anyone hurt her, and she had total faith in him.

“You…”

Gabrielle felt it the moment that Harry arrived back in Hogwarts. She knew it! She knew he would save her!

There was an explosion of magic from outside the doors to the Great Hall that she could still feel despite being near their table and far from said doors. Everyone turned toward it in surprise.

Gabrielle reached down to her shirt and ripped it open, before she took a deep breath, held it, and thrust her head forward. She refrained from head-butting him, as she didn’t want him to have an expression of pain. She knew exactly what it would look like, and wanted her god to both punish the one that had hurt her, and not feel guilty for it. As she expected, the Auror’s hands moved automatically down.

The door banged open, and she kept her head in place for a few more seconds, for effect, and then looked up.

Her first reaction was to sigh in disbelief. As expected, Harry was looking perfect, just like a vengeful god. Next to him, was a man who, despite looking like a lawyer, had an expression on his face that suggested that some people in the room were not going to be happy at the end of the day.

Next to them, stood both a surprise and not a surprise. A woman; she was reasonably tall, with beautiful shiny, long, dark chestnut hair, and as she was a friend of Harry’s, she obviously had the requisite long legs and ample chest.

It so wasn’t fair that everyone got to be grown up, and she didn’t even have the start of a chest yet!

And it was so typical of Harry to be left alone for just one night, and find another beautiful woman.

The woman placed a hand on Harry, and then marched forward. As if she were strolling in a park, the woman dispatched two Aurors with deceptive ease, each movement looking very different to Harry’s – it seemed more circular, it had no punch and counter-punch, more a rolling, swaying style that seemed to mean that she could attack endlessly.

The Auror in front of her was hauled around, and Gabrielle cheered internally as the woman kneed him so hard in the balls his feet left the ground!

The next thing Gabrielle knew was that she was being hugged by the woman, who was fast becoming her new role model. She kicked bum!

She squirmed out of her arms so that she could watch the show, and then settled against Harry’s friend comfortably to watch her god fix everything.

The thought of checking her new hero never entered her mind. If she was good enough for Harry, she was good enough for her.

“Dawn,” Harry said, his voice was so cold and hard, like stone. Gabrielle shivered happily. “Explain.”

“Now see here, Potter,” Fudge started.

“The next person to talk without my permission will spend the last five seconds of their lives in agony before I allow them to die.” Harry’s voice hadn’t changed, giving his threat the certainty of divine proclamation.

Fudge whimpered, and went quiet.

“My rules say that I must protect the students, and that I must listen to the Ministry. Minister Fudge wants me to return to the stone. Your friends wanted to stop them, but I can’t let them fight, so I had to stop them.”

“You didn’t stop Natalia,” he pointed out.

Natalia: that was the name of her new hero? It was a good name, almost Natalie, and Gabrielle liked that name.

“She is not a student,” Dawn replied. “And she did not use magic.”

“So, the problem we have is that you are trapped between two laws, not being able to utilise your free will?”

Dawn nodded, a look of pain on her face.

“Dawn, you will drop that barrier now,” he ordered, pointing to the barrier between his friends and the Aurors.

“But…”

“Dawn,” Harry snapped. “You will do as you are told.”

There was a battle of wills between the embodiment of the castle and the man who refused to back down.

After a minute, with the tension between the two rising, Dawn suddenly stepped back and went down on one knee.

“Lisa, Crusher, Smasher, Nasher, Thrasher, if any one moves in any way that could be deemed aggressive, you will take them out.”

“Yes, Harry,” they said in unison.

Harry walked over to the kneeling girl and raised his hand, touching her face. He suddenly went very still.

“Easy Harry, play the game.”

The advice came from Charles, and was barely audible, but it was enough for him to regain his temper.

He looked at Dawn, her new appearance not even registering in his mind. He moved over, touching her face, forcing her to look at him, before he launched himself into her mind.

“Harry?” she asked; they were standing around in a cold chamber, a room he’d never seen before.

He looked around. On the walls were some posters. He moved over to them, and nodded to himself. They were the rules she was built with. Some were rules he agreed with, morally, at least, but some he didn’t, because they infringed on what he considered inalienable human rights.

“Harry?” Dawn asked again.

“This is a representation of your mind?”

“Yes,” Dawn said.

“You can’t take these posters down?”

“No one can.”

Harry smiled. “I always liked a challenge.” He moved over to the wall, and tried to grasp the posters, only they appeared to be a part of the wall, and there was nothing for him to grip on to. “Hmm,” he muttered.

“They are my rules, my life.”

“Rules are meant to be broken every now and again, and blind obedience to anything is not a good thing. You need to be able to reason, to argue, to make your own decisions.”

“I am a castle,” she pointed out.

Harry’s response was short, to the point, and mildly profane, and probably not suitable for mixed company.

Dawn flushed.

Harry whispered a spell under his breath, and grinned as the wall seemed to shimmer, allowing him access. He walked through it, where the posters from the previous wall were now blackboards, like in a classroom.

He picked up a chalk eraser, and moved over to the first rule he didn’t like – the one that pledged obedience to the Ministry. With a cheerful whistle, he erased it. He then had a good look around, and continued to remove the ones that he didn’t approve of.

He was aware that he was unilaterally setting a person’s free will, but if he didn’t do it, who would? Fudge? He snorted to himself, before he finished and looked at what he had done.

As far as he could tell, Dawn would now have a lot more freedom to be herself, to think for herself, and to make decisions for herself.

“What do you think?” he asked.

She looked speechless.

There was door in the middle, marked ‘Memory’, and without asking for permission, he walked through it.

The first thing he saw was her view of what had happened, and the way Fudge had acted. He growled to himself, and made a promise to do something permanent about the Minister.

“Dawn, show me the past. Show me what it was like before you gained a form.”

He managed five seconds before dropping to his knees and hugging himself. It was crushing, it was loneliness, and it was cold. It was familiar.

It was so very familiar.

It was the feeling of being in a cupboard and watching the rest of the world have fun while you just watched through the cracks in the door.

It was being alone when no one else was.

It was hopelessness, it was sadness. It was defeat.

And yet through it, was the dream, the dream that one day the door would open, and that someone would free him.

“Harry?” Dawn asked.

Harry reached out, his magic pulling the girl closer to him. She squeaked, but he ignored her as he held her close. He didn’t want to say the words, he didn’t feel like he had the right to say them, but he said them because he knew she needed to hear them. “I forgive you.”

Dawn responded by bursting into tears and burying her face in his neck.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, patting her back softly. “Let it out.”

Dawn sobbed harder, and he smiled slightly. He couldn’t imagine how he would have felt if someone had let him out of the cupboard, only then to look like they had regretted it.

So he lost a few years of his lifespan? So what, what did that matter when compared to someone so cruelly treated for an eon? It was meaningless. He held her tight until she stopped crying.

He pulled back and conjured a hankie, holding it to her nose. She giggled and blew her nose heavily. “I’ve never done that before,” she said. “Blow my nose, I’ve done the crying.”

He vanished the hankie and stood. “So, how do you feel?”

“Better,” she admitted. “And I don’t have these confusing rules to follow anymore. But I’m worried; if you can do this, can someone else?”

“Good point,” Harry agreed, and moved out of her memory room, back into the rule room. He wrote one new rule on the board, effectively locking control to himself and Dawn.

Dawn looked at it. “Only Harry Potter and Dawn Hogwarts together may amend these rules,” she read out and smiled. “Thank you.”

Harry grinned at her. “Right, ready to go kick some Ministerial arse?”

“I can treat them like I did the blonde idiot,” Dawn said happily. “I control myself now.”

“That’s how it should be,” Harry said, reaching up and brushing her hair out of her eyes. “You are as real as any other person here, more so. You have a weight that is incredible on your shoulders, and you are standing tall, accepting the responsibility to educate the children as they need to be.”

Dawn smiled softly, and then hugged him swiftly.

“See you on the other side,” Harry said, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was back in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. His watch told him that they had been gone less than thirty seconds.

His magic was still swirling around the room, and he allowed it to continue. To his right, Gabrielle was sat on Natalia’s knees. He smiled internally. If Natalia had passed Gabrielle’s test, that was good enough for him.

Three Aurors were still on the floor near them.

Harry walked over to Charles, and quickly explained what had happened.

Charles looked thoughtful for a few second. “If I may, Harry?”

“Do you have to?” Harry whined playfully.

“Yes, because as much fun as it would be to watch you Apparate Fudge to the Moon, I do feel that due process should be followed.”

Harry sighed. “Go ahead.”

Charles walked over to the Minister. “By order of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second, you will accompany me to Windsor Castle immediately.”

“I am the Minister for Magic,” Fudge said. But that was as far as he got, before Harry ripped the Minster’s wand out of his hand and snapped it. Harry followed that up by lifting Fudge by the neck high into the air, and holding him.

He didn’t use any magic. He was peripherally aware of his friends moving as one, pointing their wands at the Aurors, even as Dawn raised her hands and the Aurors froze.

Harry looked at Fudge. “Today,” he said softly, “you attempted to murder one of my friends. That is not acceptable. However, my Queen’s representative has requested that due process be followed, so I will accede.

“If I hear from Charles that you have not acted properly, then no one on this planet will save you from my wrath.”

Fudge, who was now starting to go purple, tried to nod, but nothing happened apart from his body wriggling.

Harry dropped Fudge to the floor, and knelt, bending over so that no one could see him grasp his necklace under his t-shirt. With a whispered spell, he turned a coin in his pocket to a Portkey and passed it to Charles. “This will find you a quiet spot nearby.”

“Thank you. I’ll be back this afternoon to watch the trial.”

Harry blinked. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Thanks.”

“No problem. And can you at least try and not be arrested again for the rest of the day?”

“No guarantee,” Harry grinned.

“Come, Fudge,” Charles said, and grabbed the Minister. With a pop, they were both gone.

Harry looked at the remaining Aurors, he took care to memorise each and every face. “You,” Harry said, pointing to one at random. “Take these scum on the floor away, and give a full report to Amelia. I will be checking that it is correct later, so don’t leave anything out and don’t embellish.”

The Auror was still locked in place. Dawn said, “Let me help.” She raised her arms, and the Aurors vanished.

“Anyone know where Fudge lives?” Harry asked.

“The Minister’s Mansion,” Hermione replied. “It’s behind Gringotts.”

He gathered all his emotions from the last day, pulling all his power into himself. He didn’t notice as he floated off the ground. With his arms crossed, and his hands on his hidden necklace, he let the spell loose, and smiled.

“Well,” he said cheerfully, as he landed and went down on one knee. “Let’s hope he likes applesauce.”

“I like applesauce,” Gabrielle said.

“Hey,” Harry pointed out. “I’ve been here at least five minutes, and no hug yet?”

Gabrielle was up and sprinting toward him before he had finished saying the words. He dropped to his knees, and opened his arms. Gabrielle smacked into his chest at full speed and hugged him as tightly as she could. He hugged her back, stroking her hair gently.

He pushed her away and looked at her blouse. Most of the buttons were missing. He undid his own shirt and helped her into it, over her own shirt. He picked her up with one arm. “I love you,” he whispered.

Gabrielle burst into a glowing white light as she buried her face in his neck and seemed to relax some hidden tension.

Harry looked around, to find that the professors and students were still separated away by the barrier of Dawn’s.

If it kept them quiet, that was good enough for him.

He looked up and winced, as Aurora, Hermione, Melissa and Fleur were all frowning at him with their arms crossed. Melissa was even tapping her foot. “What?” he asked.

“Arrested?” Hermione demanded.

“Oh,” Harry said. “Bloody Charles could have kept his mouth shut.”

“Don’t blame him,” Natalia said. “We’ve still got to discuss how we’re going to handle everything.”

“Handle what?” Harry asked. “You mentioned that earlier.”

Natalia slid to her feet. “Have you heard of Public Relations?”

He nodded.

“The Muggle world will be going nuts around now. One man defeats a gang of hooligans that had just murdered a child. And then they find that man is a kick-boxing champion, and then, to top it all, they find that he is even a Lord, royalty in fact.

“It’s not as if the world is going to be Obliviated. The CCTV of your fight is incredible, it’s going to be on every news program and channel in the world already, and the papers are going to have a new hero.”

Harry knew he was pale now. “That wasn’t what I wanted,” he muttered.

“No,” Natalia said with a grin. “So, at some stage, you’re going to have to give some interviews, handle the press, and everything else.”

“Want a job?” he asked her.

“Nope,” she said, her eyes challenging. “I’ll give advice for free, but I won’t work for you.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because it’s bad form for the boss to date an employee. And after last night, I want my options open.”

He looked at her, even as Gabrielle giggled in his arms. Natalia couldn’t have made the message clearer if she’d tried. And he hadn’t actually thought about that aspect of his relationship with the others beforehand.

“What time is Sirius’s trial?” he asked.

“One this afternoon,” Melissa replied.

Harry looked at his watch; it was only nine thirty in the morning. He looked at Natalia. “Want to get back to your life?”

She shook her head. “Oh no, I have about eight million questions, most of them centred on the green haired lady whom you called ‘Dawn Hogwarts’.”

Harry smiled faintly. “Yeah,” he agreed. “I can see that being a curiosity.”

“Harry,” Hermione said, her hands still on her hips. “We have the odd question ourselves. For example, exactly how do you leave in a temper, spend a day with one beautiful woman, get arrested – which you still haven’t explained – and then turn up the next day with a Royal representative and a completely new beautiful woman?”

“I also saw Annie yesterday,” Harry offered.

“You’re not helping you case here, Harry James Potter!”

“Indeed not,” Aurora put in, apparently feeling that she had to act like a proper Head of House despite Harry being nearly her own age. “Why don't you start with introductions, before we resume pointing out your omissions and shortcomings?”

“Erm,” Harry said intelligently. “Natalia, I’d like you to meet Hermione Granger, the beautiful witch glaring at me next to her is Melissa Cuthbert, the lawyer I mentioned earlier. The gorgeous blonde next to her is Fleur Delacour, potentially one of the best chefs in the business. The amazing blonde next to her is Aurora Sinistra, the one who had to leave yesterday, leaving me open to being picked up in a bar. She’s also our Head of House.

“The four boys and the girl in the matching uniforms are my bodyguards. Crasher, Smasher, Thrasher, Nasher and, erm, Lisa.

“We then have Christophe, who knows more about wine than my Sommelier at my restaurant, he’s dating Melissa. If you’ve spent any time watching sport, you’ll know of Viktor Krum, who’s dating Hermione. Next to them we have Chloe and Andrew, and then Adrienne and her boyfriend Jacque.

“The twins are Fred and George, they think they’re alike, but you can soon see that one of them is the respectable one, the other is the wild one. Their girlfriends are Alicia and Angelina, and there’s often a third who’s not their girlfriend – Katie – who hangs around a lot. Hanging at the end is Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory.

“As you picked up, the woman with the beautiful green hair is Dawn Hogwarts; we’ll explain in detail later. I had a bit of an issue with her yesterday, but having peaked through her memories, all that is completely forgotten, and she’s still the same being I’ve loved for…” he paused. “Since I was eleven,” he finished with a shrug.

“Thirteen years, then,” Natalia said. “You’re definitely twenty-four.”

Harry blinked at her owlishly. “How do you know that?”

She shrugged. “Natural talent. My grandmother was a gypsy; she could do it as well.”

“Thank you,” he said, some what pleased to know how old he was. “And finally, this is the most important person in my life, Gabrielle Anne Delacour.”

Gabrielle squirmed out of his arms, turned, and curtseyed regally to Natalia.

Natalia smiled and managed an elegant curtsey back, despite being in a tight skirt. “Aren’t you just the most gorgeous little thing?”

Gabrielle beamed happily.

“Guys,” Harry continued, “this is Natalia Tiemerovna, Special Attaché to the Russian consulate in London. We met last night when we were watching Annie’s stage show – which is brilliant by the way, remind me to take you all there – and she used me to get better seats.

“She was checking that I wasn’t some sort of rapist this morning, when my arrest flagged up, and she heaved a bunch of lawyers out of bed and came a-rescuing. As did my lawyers from GBC and some from Her Majesty. So, after getting out and getting my necklace back, we high-tailed it back here.

“And you know the rest,” he finished happily.

Hermione sighed. “That’s not even close to a sufficient explanation, Harry, but it will do until we can get somewhere private.”

“Tilly,” Harry called. The elf appeared instantly, along with Dobby. “Can you make Natalia and me a large breakfast? We’ll have it in the Common Room. Dawn, drop the shields and come with us. I want everyone’s ideas on how we are going to handle what happened last night.”

The room was plain, with a simple wooden table surrounded by eight office chairs. At the head was a tanned older man with white hair and a prominent bald spot. He was wearing a suit, and had a powerful look to him. The other chairs were filled with younger men, and two women. Each person had a name on a folded piece of card in front of them.

“Thank you for coming,” said Director Frank Jones. “We are here to discuss England, and the new power that is forming over there.”

“Must be interesting to call us all here on a Saturday afternoon,” Randy Paulson muttered. “How much so?”

“He’s the only person to pull off a triple-A rank spell since Merlin died over a thousand years ago.”

The silence around the table was palpable.

“A triple-A rank? What the hell did he do, raise the dead?”

“Close,” Frank said. “He anthropomorphised the spirit of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

There was another silence as everyone tried to imagine the power needed to bring an inanimate object to life with a corporeal body.

They failed.

“The problem,” Frank continued, “is that the Russians have already moved.”

“What!” came the chorus from Frank’s subordinates.

He nodded over to a corner, where a pensieve sat. “We’ll watch what happened earlier,” he said as he stood and followed the others over. They all leaned over the side and felt their consciousness fall in to the whirling grey liquid.

They emerged outside a courtroom, most of them recognising it as the British Ministry of Magic.

“Watch, to the left,” Frank ordered.

The crowd of people parted, allowing a man to march forward. He was preceded by five uniformed bodyguards who weren’t exactly being polite with their audible suggestions that they got out of the way.

“The man is Harry James Potter, a Lord,” Frank said as he paused the memory, “To his left, is Charles Worthington-Smythe, the Undersecretary for State, and the liaison between the Crown and the Ministry for Magic.

“To the right, is Major Natalia Anastasia Tiemerovna. She was raised under the KGB’s childhood scheme, where some of the best and brightest youngsters were handed over to the state, so that they could serve them better. When the old Soviet Union fell, she moved to the FSB instantly, where she’s regarded as one of their best.

“The Russians moved faster than we could, as by coincidence, she was in England already. As you know, we’re still rebuilding our relationship with the Wizarding World over there, after our last agent got fed up of being called a colonial all the time.

“Tiemerovna helped Potter out this morning, but that’s a different issue. Watch.”

The memory continued, as they entered the large courtroom. Harry moved to the seating area, his coterie followed him as his body guards moved people out of his way, allowing him the best seat in the house.

He was silent, surveying the courtroom with a carefully blank expression. Charles settled next to him, with the others surrounding him.

“Bodyguards?” Randy asked.

“Five of them,” Frank agreed, as the memory fast-forwarded at a gesture. “This is the trial of Sirius Black.”

“The guy who betrayed the Potters when Voldemort was killed?”

Frank snorted. “Never believe anything the British Ministry tells you.”

A girl in her late teens stood next to the notorious Sirius Black, a faint smile of confidence on her face. “Melissa Cuthbert,” Frank said, “she was in his last trial, she’s one of Potter’s inner circle of fanatically loyal employees.”

They watched the trial intently, shaking their heads at the complete lack of anything resembling justice in the prisoner’s incarceration.

“Pay attention,” Frank warned.

“ If I may ,” Melissa said in the memory, “I would like to prove my client’s innocence categorically .”

“ You may ,” the judge said.

Melissa moved over to Black, and drew out a memory. She placed it in a box. On the wall, a picture appeared.

“What the hell is that?” Randy shouted, interrupting the memory.

“Cleary,” Frank said acidly, “it’s a Pensieve viewer.”

“But that’s not possible.”

“Potter is planning on distributing them.”

“So let me get this right,” Janice Porter said, speaking for the first time. “We have a young, powerful, rich wizard, that can do triple-A ranked spells, and has access to technology that we failed at five years ago?”

“Correct,” agreed Frank. “Our operative there tried to break down the spells, only to find they were encrypted. We don’t think it was Potter himself who did it; rumour had it that the two identical red-haired men in his entourage knocked it together for a laugh, and Potter spotted the idea and made damn sure no one else could use it. Intelligence reports that, based on his profile, he may well be planning on taking it to the Muggle world.”

“With the clarity, the size, and the depth of colours, it would sell like hotcakes on a cold day,” Janice muttered.

“And the Russians are already in there,” Frank said. “And it’s not as if we can go up to him and say, ‘By the way, the Russians are bad, ‘kay, and that just because the normal world has ended the cold war, doesn’t mean that the magical world has.’”

“Why not?” Randy asked.

“Because he’s a British wizard, and they’ve stayed out of it completely!”

“Oh, yeah, sorry.”

“Anyway,” Frank said, “let’s finish this off, and work out how we are going to get Potter on our side.”

They watched the memory, the endless reams of evidence for Black’s innocence, and nothing but rumour from the prosecution, having a low voiced conversation as they did.

They all went quiet as Cuthbert gave her closing speech.

“A few months ago, I stood here and argued against the Ministry in what I thought was the most farcical trial I would ever be involved in. The Minister of Magic breaking laws with no consequences. The Wizengamot going along with the Minister with no critical thought.

“And yet here I stand, almost incensed that I am arguing this case. The Ministry of Magic illegally incarcerated the Lord of an Ancient and Noble House. The Ministry of Magic broke the very charters it was founded on. The Ministry of Magic ignored the basic fundamental right of every human being accused of crime to be tried in front of a jury of his peers.

“Instead, the Ministry sentenced my client to life in prison, without parole. The Ministry then compounded this by sentencing my client to a life time of torture, as if somehow that was acceptable in a civilised world.

“The Ministry of Magic has no choice but to completely exonerate Sirius Black and to start the long process of regaining the authority it has blithely thrown away.

“The Ministry of Magic owes my client an apology, just as it owes every single citizen of Great Britain an apology.

“The world is watching. The people are watching, and the people demand justice. The people demand that the Wizengamot return to its roots of representing the people, and not themselves.”

She sat down, as the judge allowed the Wizengamot to retire.

Frank, even though he had seen this before, still palmed his face when the Wizengamot returned after three minutes to pronounce Sirius completely cleared of all charges.

The crowd in court shouted abuse at the Wizengamot, as they realised that everything Melissa had said was true – that the Wizengamot didn’t give a whit about the law, only about looking good.

A tall woman stepped off the plane from Barcelona and stretched. A four hour drive followed by a two hour wait at an airport and then a two hour flight wasn’t the best way to travel.

After a brief walk through a corridor with brightly covered adverts welcoming her to London, and informing her that she might like to use their banking services, she joined the correct queue at immigration.

Andorra was a wonderful place to live, but as it was not part of the European Union, her passport meant she had to join the slowest queue.

As always, or so it seemed at Heathrow, there were only two customs agents on duty. When it was finally her turn, she walked to the small lectern-style desk and handed over her passport and visa.

The male agent glanced at the photo and then gave her an over-long stare, before he asked a series of inane questions, of which the answers were clearly stated on the visa before him.

She answered them all politely. Eventually, he stamped the passport, one of the forms, and then muttered something that might have been a welcome. She smiled as politely as she could, took her papers and strolled off.

Once she had recovered her luggage, she headed straight out the front of terminal four and joined the small queue for a taxi.

“La Rochelle, Charlotte Street, please,” she said, as she lifted her suitcase into the black cab and took a seat.

“Sure, luv,” the balding, overweight driver replied. The taxi lurched forward with scant regard for anything that might have been in its way. A few minutes later they were making decent speed along the M4. Fortunately the traffic was light. She stared out the window, really not wanting to get into a conversation with the driver.

Just the fact that she was a passionate supporter of Barcelona meant that she had no wish to discuss the relatively new Premier League, especially not if he was an Arsenal supporter – which he was, according to the tattoo on his left arm, and the red and white scarf on the passenger seat.

“You ‘ere on holiday, luv?”

“Business,” she replied absently.

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Fortunately, he took the hint and didn’t engage her in any more questions. Thirty minutes later they finally pulled to a stop outside the restaurant. The door was opened for her, and she stepped out.

“Miss,” the doorman said, grabbing her suitcase as a matter of course.

“Can you tell Jonathan his god child is here?” she asked, as she turned and paid the cabbie. She tipped him twenty percent as an apology for her rudeness, and he appeared happier as he pulled around.

She turned and was immediately embraced.

“Calista!” her god father welcomed her. “I didn’t expect you until much later!”

“I got an earlier flight,” she said with a smile. “It’s not a problem?”

“Of course not, you can prop up my bar for a bit. It will give you a chance to see Lord Potter, the man I want you to work for.”

“Yeah, I’m really grateful for this opportunity,” she said with the brightest smile she could produce. “I needed to get out of there!”

“I know. How is Phillipe?”

“Well, apart from the fact that he still talks about the three weeks you two spent together in Sitjes in the seventies, he’s great.”

Jonathan coughed politely. “Those were an interesting few weeks,” he agreed. “Come.”

She followed him into the restaurant and ignored the looks she got, as not many people turned up to this restaurant on a Saturday night in jeans, a t-shirt and a battered brown leather jacket. The fact that the jacket was a present from Jonathan was one of the two reasons she was wearing it. The other being that she adored it.

She took a seat and the bottle of beer that was placed in front of her. “Thanks,” she said as she drank from the bottle. She appreciated the fact that Jonathan was allowing her the liberty to do so – she bet they didn’t sell much beer here.

“He’s here!” Jonathan whispered, and managed to change from her god father to the Maître D’ of the best restaurant in London in the blink of an eye.

The first to enter was a very good looking lady of Asian descent, but it was the second who managed to dominate all the attention in the room just by entering it. He wasn’t classically handsome, but he carried himself with the sort of power and self-belief that came only from having been tested and come out on top.

She knew he was a national fighting champion, and while her god-father was non-magical, she was a witch. She could sense his incredible magical power, and really quite liked the feeling of coiled strength it gave off. It seemed that the name wasn’t a coincidence – that the Boy-Who-Lived had somehow grown up into a very nice looking piece of male.

“Yes,” she murmured to herself. As always, Jonathan was right, this was exactly what she needed.

Harry stretched as he dressed quickly. He was wearing one of his new suits, and looked at himself in the mirror. He smiled. He’d come a long way since the small child who had entered Hogwarts only four years of real time ago.

Sirius was having a quiet evening with Remus and a bottle of whiskey. They were going to have a party next week, but for now, Sirius just wanted to come to terms with the fact that he now officially had his life back.

Harry had also arranged for him to visit some psychologists. There had to be quite a few problems remaining from being incarcerated in Azkaban for so very long, followed by a year on the run, and then being confined to what sounded like a terrible home.

He strolled out of his bedroom, to a couple of wolf-whistles from Cedric and George.

He grinned at them.

“My father is expecting you,” Cho said. “Do you want me to come?”

Harry shook his head. “I might not be back. I’ve not been able to get a hold of Kate for the little trip I’m having with Gabrielle tomorrow. I’m going to stop by her place after the meeting with your father.” He turned to his bodyguards, “I promise that I’ll send a call for help if anything happens this time – I’m in a far less destructive mood.” He shot a wink at Gabrielle, waved to the others, and Apparated away as Dawn once again lowered the wards for him.

He appeared in a large drawing room. An elderly oriental looking man was sat on a dark red leather chair. Next to him, standing slightly behind the armchair was a younger man who had a faint resemblance to Cho.

Harry inclined his head. He knew that he was dealing with a shark here, and he wasn’t going to show any fear. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr Chang.”

The old man nodded. “My son, Han.”

Harry nodded at him. “Have you eaten? I’ve had a busy day and it might be more comfortable for us to meet on neutral ground.”

The man looked at him for a long moment, before he nodded sharply. He clapped his hands once. “Mei Lin,” he called.

A beautiful young woman entered the room. Han’s eyes seemed to be locked to her form. He couldn’t fault Han, really. She was wearing a short-sleeved cheongsam in bright red, with a gold-coloured sun pattern repeated over it. The outfit hinted at everything, and highlighted her eyes and long dark hair.

“This is Mei Lin,” the old man grunted sourly. “I was ordered to allow her to attend.”

“Do excuse him,” Mei said softly, her voice was musical. “I’m afraid that he hasn’t quite entered the twentieth century yet. I am attached to the business development office, and when Chen mentioned that you were coming, I invited myself along. And when Chen refused, I’m very afraid my superiors may have been far more insistent.”

“Why?” Harry asked, keeping his voice neutral.

Mei laughed softly. “Why? Why, after your unique demonstration of the pensive projector today.”

Harry smiled slowly. “Shall we?” he asked. He pulled out a small piece of velvet rope from his pocket and held it out. “If you would all touch it.”

Chen Chang grunted and moved to his feet, as Han moved forward. As the three others touched it, Harry turned it into a Portkey, and they vanished, arriving in the alley to the side of the restaurant. He led the others to the entrance, and entered.

“Lord Potter,” Jonathan greeted him effusively.

“Jonathan,” Harry said back, with a brief wink. He was a little surprised, as he didn’t remember giving Jonathan his title, but a moment’s thought pointed the finger at the lawyers from GBC having spilled the metaphorical beans.

“Your table is ready, of course,” Jonathan said, preceding them to a quiet corner.

“Thank you,” Harry said, as he sat Mei, and ensured that the others were sitting before he sat down himself.

“Where are the menus?” Han demanded.

Harry looked at him for a long moment. He contemplated insulting the youngster, but decided it probably wasn’t worth it, no matter how much fun it would be. “After the wine, we will be given them,” he said softly. As he finished, Richard, the sommelier, appeared.

“Lord Potter, I have a simply marvellous white. I do believe it is almost as good as the red from your own vineyard.” He poured a small amount from a bottle that seemed to magically find itself in his hands.

Harry tasted it quickly, not making a production of it. The wine was fruity and rich, and had an extremely pleasant aftertaste. “As always, Richard, your taste is exquisite.”

Richard seemed to glow for a second, before he expertly poured everyone a glass, and left the bottle in a silver bucket on a stand next to Harry.

“You must be very proud of Cho,” Harry said, looking at the old man. He glanced briefly at Mei. “His daughter.”

“I am,” the old man grunted.

“She is doing very we –” Mei started.

“So, Harry,” Han interrupted. “This –”

Before he could continue, Harry returned the favour, by cutting him off. “The time for business is after dinner, not before,” he said icily.

The old man turned to Han and said something extremely sharply in Chinese to Han. Han flushed and leaned back.

Cho’s father looked at Harry for a long moment, but didn’t say anything further.

“Mr Chang,” Harry said slowly, causing the man to look at him. He met the pale grey eyes. “Do you want a partnership?”

Chang stared back at him, his face expressionless; nothing in his eyes giving him away, it was only the very faintest of movements that gave Harry a hint as to what he was thinking.

“Maybe in twenty years you will deal with me,” he grunted. “You will deal with Han, now.”

Harry smiled at him respectfully, thought about making an impolite observation about the unlikelihood of the elder Chang lasting another twenty years, and leaned back as waiter passed them the menus. There was silence, as everyone studied the menu. When they had finished, Harry looked up, and a waiter appeared instantly. He took Mei’s order first, then the elder and younger Changs. He didn’t take Harry’s, and vanished.

“You didn’t order?” Mei asked.

“This place is one of my vices,” Harry said. “They know my tastes here, and I prefer to let the chef decide what is best. If anyone knows, it would be him.”

Mei smiled at him; her jade green eyes seemed to sparkle in the candlelight. As the two Changs didn’t seem to want to talk, he talked to the most attractive person at the table, drawing out her life story.

The food was, as always, excellent.

As soon as the last plate was removed, Han leaned forward and broke into their conversation. “Now,” he said, his voice impatient.

“That is the second time you have interrupted Mei,” Harry said gently. “You will not do it a third time.”

Han growled softly at him.

“Did Cho tell you why I asked to meet you?” he asked the elder Chang.

As the old man didn’t respond, Han said, “A business venture. You need us.”

“Ahh,” Harry said softly. “That is where the breakdown in communication has occurred. I did ask Cho to be as polite as possible, as the last thing I wanted was my own bluntness to be attributed to her.” He turned to Han and glared at him, putting the irritation he still felt over the events of the previous twenty-four hours into it. “I do not need you at all,” he said in a low voice. “It would be easier with you, but without you it would simply take me an extra two years to get what I want.”

“You will not get into China without us.”

Harry noticed the faintest of smirks dance over Mei’s face for the briefest of seconds.

“Then I suspect that China will come to me eventually,” Harry replied. “Of course, she might not, and I will lose potential sales. I would rather that happen, than me to deal with someone so patently unready to do business with the serious players.”

“How dare you?” Han said, moving to his feet. “You have no idea who you are dealing with!”

“Sit!” Harry ordered, lacing his voice with magic. “You will not make a scene in my restaurant. Now, be quiet, and let your betters talk.” His earlier attempts to keep his temper had flown out the window. He looked at the old man. “Cho works for me,” he said tightly. “If anything happens to her, it will be you I come for.” He let his power show, but only in his eyes, trying to see what effect it would give.

It was a struggle to focus his power so tightly, but he kept that struggle in the back of his eyes.

The old man managed to keep eye contact for an impressive fifteen seconds, before he sighed deeply. He stood. “We will do as we are told. Come, Han.”

The two walked out, one looked stopped and older than he had been a few minutes ago, the other stomping out in a barely controlled rage, leaving Harry alone with Mei.

“You impressed him,” Mei said. “He thought tonight would be a fine time to allow his son to take the lead. He has perhaps learnt that there is a time and a place to allow your heir apparent to act in your place, and this was neither.”

Harry smiled faintly. “Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.”

“Which means?”

“Never tickle a sleeping dragon.”

“An apt piece of advice,” Mei laughed softly. “Would you mind telling me your plans?”

Harry smiled and agreed. He told her the rough outline he had given others, and what he planned to do in the future.

After he had finished, Mei whistled slowly. “China will help you everyway she can,” she promised, “part of my job is finding new business opportunities. Everyone at the office who saw the pensieve memory of your technology was incredibly impressed. You should visit China, it is a beautiful country.”

“I am coming to China soon,” Harry replied. “I qualified for the World Kick Boxing championship.”

Mei looked shocked for a second, before she smiled. “I’ll see if I can be assigned as your translator,” she murmured. “It would be a good excuse to go home.”

Harry smiled at her.

Mei looked at her watch. “It’s time for good girls to be heading home,” she said with a grin and a wink.

Harry stood as she did. He shook her hand, “It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”

“Likewise, My Lord,” she teased, before she walked out.

Harry found his gaze locked to the sway of her hips as she walked out. He had barely sat back down when Jonathan joined him with a bottle of red.

“Director Jones, Director Jones!”

Frank looked up as an intern came running in.

“Yes…” he paused, mentally searching for a name; his eyesight wasn’t good enough to read the small print on the badge. “Worthington?”

“This just came in from our Muggle office in London.”

Frank opened the envelope, and placed the first picture on the table in front of him. The others crowded around.

“That’s Chun Chang,” the intern said, showing off. “He runs an import and export business. Has some dealings with criminal elements, but nothing serious – nothing more than any other major businessman.”

He placed the second one down.

“Aww, crap,” Randy muttered.

“Who is she?” Worthington asked, before he could capture himself.

“Captain Mei Lin, from GuóÄnbù,” he sighed. “The Ministry of State Security. Just where the bloody hell is our special operative?”

“Two hours from Heathrow.”

“Fuck,” he sighed. “And the ideas on how to get her in?”

Silence was his only reply.

Harry knocked on the door to Kate’s apartment, not really expecting her to be home on a Saturday night.

“Come in,” she called. “It’s about time you got here!”

Harry moved in. “I didn’t know I was expected.”

“Harry!?” Kate asked, her head appearing out a door. “What are you doing here!?”

“Seeing you?”

Kate sighed. “Make it quick.”

“You’ve not been returning my calls,” he said, as she followed her in to the bedroom. There was a suitcase on the bed, and she was packing.

“It’s been fun, but it’s over, I’ve done my job,” Kate said cheerfully.

Harry blinked. “What!?”

“You heard me, run along, please. I’ve got to pack.”

Harry didn’t move. “I think I’d like a bit more of an explanation.”

“Got a good job,” Kate said. “Going to be away for months. Need to leave yesterday.”

“Kate,” Harry said softly.

She didn’t turn around.

“Look at me,” he snapped.

Kate’s hair flew as her head turned toward him, and he looked at her eyes. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you doing this? We’ve got something, Kate.”

“What we have,” Kate said clearly, “is business; an employer – employee relationship. Your people hired me, I delivered exceptional service and taught you a few extra things, and for all this I was well paid. Now it’s over, and I have a new job.”

“You don’t have to do this. There is another option.”

“And do what?”

“Well, I was hoping you’d move into protection. My bodyguards have asked me to look at their plans, and you’d fit in properly. You can already dance so learning to fight wouldn’t be that hard, and you could keep the dating part as you protect male clients, you just wouldn’t have to sleep with them. You’d be perfect.”

Kate paused and smiled at him brightly. “What a wonderful idea, and everything will be great and wonderful and there will be free puppies for everyone,” she squealed, clapping her hands under her chin. “And the dirty whore gets a new chance at life, and Harry gets what he wants and everything works out with kittens and rainbows.

“Fuck you, Harry. Fuck you and the way everything always comes up Potter. Fuck you and the way you can do whatever you want. Well, you know what? I’m not a little project for you.”

“A little project?” Harry yelled back. “What the hell do you mean by that? I’ve not said anything before this evening.”

“Not verbally,” Kate yelled back, “but I could tell that you wanted to.”

“What man wouldn’t?”

“You want the deep dark secret, Harry? You want the reasons that Kate Pastwa became a high priced whore?

“I’ll bet you think it was something bad that happened when I was a dancer. Hell no, I was making it, but it was a lot of hard work, and you had to sleep with the right people to get ahead.” She sneered, “Like little Annie, anyway a friend told me about how I could make a few extra bucks by going out on a date with someone.

“He was around fifty, rich, charming, and I drank too much champagne. When I woke up in the morning I was a little sore, and there was the equivalent of five thousand dollars on my bed. Five grand, for a night’s work. And I didn’t have to kill myself training, or sleep with some narcissistic asshole to get in the door.

“I swore there and then that I’d never work for anyone again, I’d never be owned. I’d work my own way, and that is damn well what I am trying to do.”

“I’ve never tried to own you,” Harry stated forcefully.

Kate sneered at him.

“I’ve not complained about your job, nor have I even really thought about it in anything more than an abstract way. I have never tried to own anyone, nor have I tried to control you. I know what you are like, which is why I came up with what I thought a fair compromise. Clearly my mistake. So what do you want, Kate?”

“I want you to walk out the door, and never fucking look back.”

“No.”

“Fucking leave, Harry. The person you thought I am was paid for by Fred and George.”

“Bollocks,” Harry snapped back.

“ Just for tonight, can we pretend ?” she said in a mocking voice. “Fucking gag me.”

“Liar,” Harry whispered. “Look, let’s keep the status quo then. You sleep with other men, and I’ll do the same.”

“Oh you’d like that, wouldn’t you,” she sneered. “A chance to get into the knickers of that French whore, or maybe it’s her little sister you like. So young and loyal, I know she’d do anything for you.”

Harry felt his heart freeze, and he smiled faintly. He nodded to her. “Congratulations, you found the correct button to push, very well done. Goodbye.”

He turned and walked out, Apparating away from the building and away from his childish dreams.